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ImmigrationLawHelp.org | Helping low-income immigrants find legal help
Justice For Our Neighbors (DC-MD Office - Rockville)
Justice For Our Neighbors (JFON) provides free legal services to low-income immigrants. DC-Maryland JFON is part of the larger Justice for Our Neighbors network, which has 16 locations throughout the United States, each of which holds a series of legal clinics at different locations throughout their regions.
The main office of DC-MD Justice for Our Neighbors is in Rockville, Maryland. The Rockville office works with immigration legal clinics (except during the Covid 19 pandemic) to review potential new clients who are seekimg advice and counsel and find out if they have a case that can be taken. If the immigration attorney determines the client has a case at the clinic consultation, an appointment will be set up at the office to begin working on the case. Potential clients must make an appointment to come to the clinics; the clinics are not drop-in. Potential clients must first come to a clinic in order to meet with the attorney.
|State served:
Services Provided
|Areas of immigration legal assistance:
|Adjustment of Status, Asylum applications, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Employment authorization, Family-based petitions, NACARA, Naturalization/Citizenship, Removal hearings, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, T visas, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), U visas, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) petitions
|Types of immigration legal services provided:
|Help completing forms, Filings with USCIS, Representation at Asylum Interviews (Credible Fear Interviews, Reasonable Fear Interviews), Representation before the Immigration Court, Representation before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)
|Non-legal services:
|Administrative advocacy (CIS/ICE/CBP), Legal Orientation Programs (LOP) / Know Your Rights Presentations (KYR), Legislative advocacy (state or national), Referrals to other services
|Populations served:
|Domestic Violence Victims, Human Trafficking Survivors, Individuals who are not in legal immigration status, Individuals with criminal histories, Individuals with physical/mental disabilities, Juveniles, Lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender, Torture survivors
|Languages spoken:
|English, German, Spanish
|Access to a commercial interpreting service or language bank:
|Nominal fee charged?
|Volunteer Coordinator
Cynthia Cotte Griffiths
(240) 825-4244


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Financial leaders are facing major headwinds this year. Declining net interest margins, loan growth and regulatory challenges are top concerns for banking leaders, according to the results of an audience survey at Bank Director's Acquire or Be Acquired conference in Arizona in January. Jordan discusses the top concerns and what to do about them.
Download the full survey results in PDF format.

subset: commoncrawl


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John doing his thing outside the Post Office in Douglas.
FamilyPeoplePortrait CandidSummerStreet
This hut forms the terminus for the Electric Railway in Douglas.
The Baldrine tram (sorry, 'Electric Railway') stop on the line from Douglas to Ramsey. Many of the stops were decorated with bloomng flowers.
On board the tram from Douglas to Ramsey.
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View from the tram travelling north to Ramsey. The weather was not especially clement during our trip, although the clouds did occasionally break.
The tram, having disonnected from its toast-rack trailer, moves from one line to the other at Ramsey so that it can return south to Douglas. The trailer was moved releasing its brake and letting gravity carry it past the points so that it can be reconnected to the (now) rear of the tram.
Ho ho.
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In the café at Ramsey waiting for our lunch.
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Boats in Ramsey harbour.
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The Laxey Wheel (Lady Isabella), seen from the Snaefell Electric Railway (another tram).
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John on board the Snaefell tram.
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View from the Snaefell tram. You can just see the Irish Sea in the distance.
The Snaefell Mountain Railway tram at its mountain terminus.
View from Snaefell over some of the Isle of Man's rolling hills.
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Panoramic view from Snaefell over some of the Isle of Man's rolling hills.
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The underside of Lady Isabella, the water-wheel at Laxey (the largest water-wheel in the world).
Lady Isabella, the Laxey water-wheel.
This aqueduct-like structure doesn't in fact carry water to (or from) the Laxey water-wheel, but rather supports the arm which the wheel drives, which in turn was used to operate the pumps to clear the nearby mines of water.
View through the spokes of Lady Isabella, the Laxey water-wheel.
Here the mechanical piston-arm attached to Lady Isabella (the Laxey water-wheel) is more plainly visible. When the mines were operating, the wheel's motion was used to drive the pumps to clear the mines of water.
View over the top of Lady Isabella, the Laxey water-wheel.
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John and Daddy on top of Lady Isabella's platform.
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Mummy down the mine.
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Daddy down the mine.
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Locals and tourists on the beach at Peel.
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A carriage of the Isle of Man steam railway, which runs between Port Erin and Dougas.
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The steam locomotive which pulled our train from Port Erin to Douglas.
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Pop-up baking at Chester St Kitchen
The weeks literally feel a blur ... I have lost track of when I last posted and although I frequently visit the site and marvel at people's bread I struggle to find time to post comments and answer questions.
We are still probably a month from opening the doors to the public as an eating space but this has not deterred the push to produce bread in the big blue oven ... that's right, the oven is now blue thanks to a fancy tiled make-over.
The test baking produces many, many test loaves ... more than our sister restaurant requires so we have started a 'pop-up bakery' ... we have an honour box system where people can buy the test loaves, chat with the baker and see the oven in operation.
It makes me smile to see my bread going to good homes ... I get an even bigger smile when I am visited by people I know ... Shiao-Ping came along and bought a loaf!!!
Along with the pop-up bakery we also hosted a breakfast for a group of Brisbane food bloggers ... this pushed my comfort level as I had to speak about the oven and the bread I produce ... public speaking is not my forte!
Here are some links to a few of the bloggers:
I have also had other visitors of note to the bakery ... Ian from the ars pistorica project came up from Tasmania with some amazing new peels he had helped facilitate and spent some time with me in the bakery. It was great to talk with a fellow bread nut about bread, bakers and bakeries. I think we both learnt a lot ... I know my shaping and workflow has improved immensely and he pushed me to bake baguettes ... his favourite bread!
Ian's favourite baguette formula uses a combination of firm starter and instant yeast. After a three hour bulk the dough is divided and shaped for the final proof ... the tricky part (other than shaping) is getting the risen bread to perfectly match the woodfired oven's falling temperature ... getting enough steam in the chamber for the thin crackly crust is the bakers last challenge ... These baguettes are dedicated to ars pistorica!
So another week has drawn to a close ... my tired hands are looking forward to the addition of a mixer to the bakery next week ... All the breads so far have been hand mixed and the addition of a mixer will free up a large portion of my time during the day. The pop-up bakery will continue up until when our restaurant opens as I push, push and push myself everyday to make the best bread I possibly can!


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- Inside Athletics
- Tickets
- Fan Zone
- Media Zone
- Social
- Shop
- Donate Now
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (April 16, 2005) - Senior Nichola Cornish (Spartanburg, S.C.) earned a NCAA regional qualifying mark in the 400 meters at the Sea Ray Relays held this weekend on the University of Tennessee's campus. Cornish recorded time of 54.39 on Friday's competition in the event for 10th place, which is also an ETSU school record for the outdoor event and replaces her previous best of 54.60 set by Cornish last season. This is the second consecutive year that Cornish has reached an NCAA regional qualifying mark in the 400 meters (54.61).
East Tennessee State's women's sprints also showed consistency with their performance in the 4x100m relay where they finished with a time of 47.51 and in the 4x200m relay with a time of 1:40.07.
In the field events, Anna Marie Ricciardi (Canfield, Ohio) had a solid performance for the Bucs reaching a mark of 1.70m, which ties her season best for the year and placed her tied for seventh in the event.
The women's distance runners also garnered experience at the meet. Christine Ward (Candler, N.C.) and Maggie Hunter (Roanoke, Va.) both competed in the 5000 meters for the Bucs. Ward finished 16th at 18:26.20 and Hunter finished 20th with a time of 19:44.31.
The Bucs now have one more chance this weekend at Vanderbilt to compete before they travel to Cullowhee, N.C. for the SoCon Outdoor Championships. The Vanderbilt meet in Nashville, Tenn. is a two-day competition beginning on April 22.


text: Exemption for an interest in a foreign general insurance companyWarning: This information may not apply to the current year. Check the content carefully to ensure it is applicable to your circumstances. End of attention Australian residents with shares in a publicly listed general insurance company can get this exemption if the following requirements are satisfied. Approved stock exchange Shares you hold in the company must be of a class listed on any stock market of a stock exchange approved in regulation 152I, Schedule 12 of the Regulations. See Appendix 1: Approved stock exchanges for more information. Trading requirement The class of shares you hold in the company must be widely held and actively traded on a regular basis on a stock market of an approved stock exchange during the period in which the exemption applies. Authorised to carry on general insurance business The general insurance company must be authorised under the law of its place of residence to carry on general insurance business. This requirement ensures that the company meets regulatory requirements for general insurance businesses in its country of residence. Principally engaged in general insurance business The general insurance company must also be principally engaged in the active carrying on of general insurance business during the period in which the exemption applies. [section 509] Last modified: 01 Apr 2020QC 18001


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This is related to another question in which it is proved that Zariski open sets are dense in analytic topology.
But it is intuitive that something more is true. Namely, that they are the sets where some polynomials vanish, and consideration of a few examples in $\mathbb R^n$ where they are of Lebesgue measure $0$, suggest strongly that the Zariski-closed sets(except the whole affine space) are of measure $0$ in $\mathbb C^n$ as well. This should be quite simple; but I am unable to prove it due to inexperience in measure theory.
The nice thing about proving this is that once this is done, then we are able to claim safely that so-and-so statement is true almost everywhere, if it is true on a Zariski-open set.
So, in a more measure theoretic formulation:
Let $X$ be a set in $\mathbb C^n$ contained in the zero locus of some collection of polynomials. How to show that $X$ is of measure $0$?
In fact my feeling is that more should be true, ie, we can replace polynomials by analytic functions at least, and get the same result.


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UK joins Israel in claims that Iran attacked tanker in fatal drone strike
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Kingdom joined Israel on Sunday in alleging Iran carried out a fatal drone strike on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea, putting further pressure on Tehran as it denied being involved in the assault. Calling it a "unlawful and callous attack," British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said his country and its allies planned a coordinated response over the strike Thursday night on the oil tanker Mercer Street. It marked the first-known fatal attack after years of assaults on commercial shipping in the region linked to tensions with Iran over its tattered nuclear deal. While no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, Iran and its militia allies have used so-called "suicide" drones in attacks previously, which crash into targets and detonate their explosive payloads. However, Israel, the U.K. and the responding U.S. Navy have yet to show physical evidence from the strike or offer intelligence information on why they blam


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Facials in Trinity - New Port Richey, FL
The facial is one of the most popular spa treatments in the world. By combining a number of different treatments, a standard facial provides an experience that is both relaxing and rejuvenating.
Learn more about facials today: Call (813) 536-3212 or contact Erin Bolton online.
What is a Facial?
Facials are one of the foundational spa treatments. They are designed to rejuvenate the skin through a variety of different methods. Facials are typically a very affordable treatment and can be provided by a licensed aesthetician, doctor or many other professionals.
Many people receive a facial in order to reduce the appearance of:
Others love the experience of a facial because it can be very relaxing and invigorating. A facial is a regenerative process, one that stimulates the skin to produce results. Many people even make a facial part of their monthly routine.
What is Included in a Facial?
No two facials are exactly the same; each provider has different methods they prefer and each recipient has a different skin type. In general, there are certain things that are included in a standard facial.
The treatments generally included in a facial are:
- Consultation: Every facial typically begins with a consultation, to see what the recipient's day-to-day life is like and how that impacts their skin.
- Analysis: In this step, the skin is given an in-depth analysis to determine which steps should be taken next.
- Steam: Some facials make use of steam vapor for both its relaxing effect and to soften up the skin before exfoliation. This step may be omitted for those with sensitive skin.
- Exfoliation: Almost every facial includes some type of exfoliation. During exfoliation, which may be done with an exfoliation machine or a special chemical peel, the skin is scrubbed to remove the top layer of wrinkled skin and replace it with a younger under-layer.
- Extractions: The extraction of whiteheads and blackheads is sometimes included in a facial, but not always.
- Massage: Many facials include a light massage of the face, which can stimulate facial muscles and is very relaxing.
- Masks: The final and most well-known step of a facial is the facial mask. There are many different types of stimulating facial masks from clay and mud, to cucumber! Finding the best facial mask for your skin is best left to a professional.
Request Facial Information Today
A facial can be both relaxing and rejuvenating! Request more information about this popular spa treatment today: Call (813) 536-3212 or contact Erin Bolton online.
Address4691 Van Dyke Road
Lutz, FL 33558
(813) 536-3212
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Tue: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Wed: Closed
Thu: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Fri: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Sat: Closed
Sun: Closed
Areas We Service:Hernando County, FL, Hillsborough County, FL, Pasco County, FL, Pinellas County, FL, Land O Lakes, FL, Brooksville, FL, Spring Hill, FL, Mango, FL, Odessa, FL, Seffner, FL, Tampa, FL, Thonotosassa, FL, Crystal Springs, FL, Dade City, FL, Elfers, FL, Holiday, FL, Hudson, FL, New Port Richey, FL, Saint Leo, FL, San Antonio, FL, Wesley Chapel, FL, Zephyrhills, FL, Clearwater, FL, Largo, FL, Palm Harbor, FL, Pinellas Park, FL, Tarpon Springs, FL, Trinity, FL
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Will Wired Proclaim 'The Web is Dead?'
Word from inside Wired is the magazine is prepping a cover story in which editor Chris Anderson declares that "the Web is Dead." At a magazine founded by digital utopians, that would be something close to sacrilege.
Anderson is expected to argue that more tightly controlled corners of the internet, especially iPad and iPhone apps, are gradually supplanting the open Web as means of publishing and online networking. The digital prognosticator isn't alone in seeing such a trend; author Jeff Jarvis has publicly fretted over the rise apps. But Anderson's story would come at an especially touchy time within his magazine, where there's been a cold war between Anderson's print division and Wired Digital, which encompasses Wired.com and the community website Reddit.
The tensions were exacerbated in June when a local newspaper quoted Anderson seeming to diss Wired.com during a talk at the Rochester Institute of Technology:
Wired.com... looks like many media websites and actually carries little content from the magazine, Anderson said. While reading any magazine is supposed to be an immersive experience, with the design and long pieces keeping readers' attentions for prolonged sittings, none of those aspects translates well to the Web, he said.
"Long-form journalism becomes 16 pages you have to click through," he said. "So like everybody else, we flail on the Web."
Anderson also praised the Wired iPad app, which he and his creative director Scott Dadich oversee. Anderson said he was misquoted about Wired.com, in particular a section of the article in which he appeared to denigrate its financial results. And he said he was partly blaming himself for other problems: "I said the website was very successful, but that *I* (like many other magazine editors) had failed to find a way to make the magazine work as a magazine there. I was referring to my creative failure, not the site's business track record."
Anderson's right that it can be awkward to read long articles on the Web, at least as they are presently formatted. But it's also hard to dispute that his general enthusiasm for the iPad over the Web reflects the consensus thinking among Condé Nast executives who have not made much money off their websites and who tend to prefer a platform that lets them easily charge for content and easily duplicate the formatting of print.
A "web is dead" cover story would just reignite a heated internal debate over whether Condé has underinvested in Wired Digital, which contains Condé's two most successful websites, Wired.com and Reddit, and put too much into its magazines, which have seen revenue decline sharply, and into its iPad apps, which increasingly get first shot at magazine content after it runs in print. And it would invite a comparison between Anderson's philosophy and that of Wired founders Jane and Louis Rossetto, countercultural futurists who put the Web and the open standards that enabled it at the heart of the utopian "digital revolution" they predicted — and relentlessly promoted in the pages of their magazine.
Anderson, for his part, told us "we never comment on our stories (or confirm or deny
speculation about what they may or may not say) before they're published. We also cover test lots of ideas that we don't run."
Maybe this is one of those rejected tests: "Web is Dead" is certainly provocative, but it could easily become infamous—like the 1997 front (above) telling readers to "kiss your browser goodbye" because it would be replaced by faddish "push" systems like PointCast (Anderson wasn't editor at the time). The Apple App Store will last much longer than Pointcast did, but the Web is getting stronger by the day.
(Update: Anderson got back to us about the Rochester article, elaborating on his Wired.com thoughts. We've added some of his comments to the post.)


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The first things Rece Davis had to say about the 40th pick and the Portland Trailblazers' selection of Jerrett were surrounding his choice to declare and his lack of a neck. Bill Simmons remained distraught over his Celtics' recent trade and dismissed the selection all together.
Grant Jerrett's NBA career was off to a glowing start.
And then late – while I was researching Andre Roberson's prospects as a member of the Thunder – I discovered the Arizona dropout was acquired by Roberson's guaranteed team for "cash considerations." Whether Jerrett feels he needed quick rationale to validate leaving Tucson is beyond me. I'd hope such validation comes in the form of on-court production. "Cash considerations," however, won't soon help his cause.
But maybe the Thunder – who even bothered to yield dollar bills for the kid – see something we don't. After all, this is the franchise that has traded away the likes of James Harden and Jeff Green and remains a perennial power. They recognized Serge Ibaka at the back of the draft and took heat for selecting Russell Westbrook and Harden as high as they did (how'd that work out?).
So Jerrett joins – or at least has a fighting chance to – the Thunder. Jay Bilas spent much of the draft lead-up referencing wingspan and length and between their two new Pac-12ers, OKC has found such. Roberson measures in at 6'7″ with 6'11" wings while Jerrett touts 6'9″ and 7'2″. Effing condors.
[Insert something about hand size here]
Of course those are the facts on Grant. He's tall, he's long, he has advanced footwork and a nice touch. He can shoot a lick. Or at least he can do all of this in an empty gym. He's perhaps unique to this draft in that he really hasn't played a ton of basketball. And what "high level" basketball he has played, he's produced just 5ppg and 3rpg. I compared that to the projected draft upon his declaration to find the average draft pick was putting up 16/6.
But this is why Sam Presti is paid for his job.
The Oklahoma City Thunder made their futures bet with whatever wealth of knowledge they held on Grant Jerrett and the confidence of previously successful evaluations. They also don't have to give Jerrett a single thing. They're only on the financial hook to the Trailblazers. Or at least they're considering it.
It's game time for Grant.


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Cirque Du Soleil presents Iris, a new resident production that was created exclusively for the Kodak Theatre and the Hollywood & Highland Center. The performances start on 21 July.
Iris promises to be a poetic splendor, an imaginary journey through the evolution of cinema. It will portray the foundations of cinema, soundstage, optical effects and different films genres. Iris will attempt to convey the grandeur of cinema in all its glory though the inventive use of acrobatics and dance.
The two young heroes of Iris, Scarlett and Buster, are in a joyfully chaotic movie set and their escapades are captured brilliantly in a fascinating kaleidoscope of movement, light and music. Iris is a constant shift between fantasy and reality, and a phenomenal blending together of motion and picture, and light and sound. Acrobatics, dance, film footage, live video and interactive projections are combined together to illustrate the endless possibilities of cinema, its enormous power to deceive the eye and to entertain.
Iris is written and directed by Philippe Decoufle, the French stage and film director. Philippe had gathered together a group of artists in 1983, they have been with him ever since ad they have been members of his dance company called DCA. Philippe has been instrumental in the creation of a number of fantastic productions that have revived contemporary dance to a great extent.
In 1992, Philippe had created the opening and closing ceremonies of the Albertville Olympic Games. His how called Desires has been running at the Crazy Horse Saloon in Paris since the year 2009. Philippe has collaborated with Cirque du Soleil for the first time to produce Iris.
If you enjoy a fascinating blend of sound, music, light, dance and movie, Cirque du Soileil Iris is something you must not miss at any cost. Book your Cirque du Soleil Iris tickets today!


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Last week, Ramona Singer, star of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of New York", hit a producer while filming in her NYC apartment, sources tell UsMagazine.com.
"She was furious and felt like the producers were ganging up on her," says one insider. "She literally lost her mind."
Singer, 53, was shooting with Sonja Morgan and Alex McCord when she lost it, another source adds.
"No one is really sure what exactly spurred her craziness," the second source tells Us. "But she got herself worked up over filming this scene and one thing led to another, and she punched the producer. Literally."
VIDEO: Is Bethenny Frankel smarter than a 5th grader?
Adds the source, "They were supposed to be filming all day at Ramona's apartment, but obviously that ended after the fight." With only one month into shooting, the first source says producers are trying "to mediate the situation so the cast all stays filming."
A rep for Bravo has declined to comment.


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Family friendly Holiday Cottages in Pyrenees-Atlantiques
We have found 3 properties to book, based on your search for Family friendly Holiday Cottages in Pyrenees-Atlantiques, Aquitaine, France.
Les Vieux Chenes Large Self Catering Villa in South West France with Large Pool near Biarritz
Holiday Cottage in Lucq de Bearn nr Pau, Pyrenees-Atlantiques, France
Renovated, Historic, French country farmhouse between Pau and Biarritz with very large swimming pool. Panoramic views of Pyrenees mountains & Jurancon vineyards. Sleeps up to 8. Gr...
£ 550.00 - £ 1,250.00 per week
Sleeps: 8
Chez Jeanne Large Self catering Holiday house French Pyrenees
Holiday Cottage in Issor, Pyrenees-Atlantiques, France
Built in the 19th century, this charming farmhouse sits on a hill near Issor. With maximum sunlight and a stunning view, it is surrounded by a large meadow giving this house an ext...
€ 750.00 - € 1,050.00 per week
Sleeps: 8
Top Barn Self catering Gite cottage Aramits Pyrenees
Holiday Cottage in Aramits, Pyrenees-Atlantiques, France
Top Barn has 3 bedrooms suitable for 8 persons and is located on the Farm of Lae De Haut on site a shared outdoor pool, games room, Toddlers Zone with toys, adults only reading/sit...
€ 600.00 - € 800.00 per week
Sleeps: 8


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Advaiya Solutions Inc. - Hotel Reviews Sentiment Analysis
This Hotel Review Sentiment analysis provides insights into customer reviews and feedback to find the best hotels for distinct locations. In this solution, customer sentiment analysis is done to provide meaningful insights to identify the hotels which provide the best experience for their customers.צור קשר עם שותף צפה בסרטון
- Gold Cloud Platform
- Gold Cloud Productivity
- Silver Collaboration and Content
- Gold Data Analytics
- Silver Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions
- The first page displays customer reviews for different locations to provide an easy way to analyse the review type. The Donut chart and Pie chart displays the customer ratings and reviews and found out that around 65% of customer reviews are positive, with around 41% of customers giving the Hotels a 5-star rating for these locations. In the last visual, a toggle button with bookmarking features allows users to quickly change the visual by clicking on the toggle. Reviews are displayed by location and by month. The page can be filtered by date and location.
- Each page contains buttons for navigating to the previous and next pages, a RESET button is there to clear all the applied filters in the tab, and a Back button allows the users to go back to the original page after drilling through.
- On the Customer Review Analysis, a Hierarchy Slicer allows users to filter and check the customer reviews for any location and hotel. Data can be further filtered by customer sentiments, ratings and dates, and location. Average customer ratings display in a gauge visual, and a bar chart allows users to see the average rating score for all the hotels. Conditional formatting allows the columnar view of the type of review.
- The Word Cloud visual page provides a view of a colour coded clusters of positive and negative keywords. Clicking on a word in the word cloud will filter all the reviews contain that word. The page can be filtered by location, date, and rating.
- The Ratings and Sentiments page provides the basis for finding Top Hotels. We have put a slicer that allows users to find up to Top 20 Hotels based on sentiments and customer ratings and can be filtered by location.
- The final page shows the overall Summary of the report. The Age Wise Distribution decomposition tree decomposes the overall sentiment score by gender, followed by age category and, finally the positive, negative, and neutral sentiment. The Key Influencer visual analyses the sentiment score by age category, average age, gender, review content, user location, and age hierarchy. The bar line chart plots the sentiment core and rating alongside each other for each quarter. The sentiment v/s rating chart uses a tornado chart for comparison between the two for each location. The last graph illustrates the sentiment score for each location using a map.
רוצה להפוך לשותף Power BI?
שותפים מוסמכים הם חלק חשוב מהצוות! מצא הזדמנויות עסקיות חדשות, צור קשרים ושתף את הכישרונות והניסיון של החברה שלך עם משתמשי Power BI ברחבי העולם.הירשם
למד מדוע כדאי לך להפוך לשותף


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Malaysians transfixed by luxury goods seized from ex-PM flat
In 10 days of dramatic political developments, none has transfixed Malaysians more than the sight of truckloads of orange boxes containing Hermes Birkin handbags and luggage filled with cash and jewelry being seized from apartments linked to former Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, was known for her love of Birkin bags and her opulent lifestyle, but television footage of the police haul has Malaysia gasping with shock. It is possibly the most sensational image of elite corruption in Asia in the three decades since former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos and her extravagant collection of designer shoes.
Thousands of Malaysians followed a livestream on social media of the police raid at an upscale condominium in Kuala Lumpur late Thursday that was part of a corruption and money-laundering investigation into the 1MDB state investment fund that Najib set up and is being investigated abroad.
Police said Friday they confiscated 284 handbags, mostly Birkins, and 72 suitcases containing cash, jewelry, watches and other valuable items that filled five police trucks from the condominium. In addition, police seized dozens of other designer handbags, cash and other valuables from Najib's house.
The labels on some of the boxes seen by The Associated Press described some of the bags as a "navy blue crocodile skin with diamond," a "blue with diamonte" crocodile skin Hermes and a gray crocodile skin Hermes. All appeared to be new and bought abroad, including in Paris and Switzerland in 2013 and 2015. Luxury publications say a Birkin can cost from $12,000 to more than $200,000.
Rosmah's fetish for bags has been compared to Marcos' collection of shoes. More than 1,200 pairs of designer shoes including gold-trimmed imports were found in the Philippine presidential palace after she and her dictator husband, President Ferdinand Marcos, fled a "people power" revolt that toppled the regime in 1986.
Ferdinand Marcos used his power to accumulate an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion, but it was his wife's treasures that stamped the couple's excesses in the collective memory of their poor nation and the world.
Rosmah was reviled by many Malaysians as an avaricious first lady and similar to Marcos, her collection of bags and jewelry, which allegedly includes a $23 million rare pink diamond necklace bought with 1MDB money, reflected the extent of the family's excesses.
U.S. investigators say Najib's associates stole and laundered $4.5 billion from the fund, some of which also landed in Najib's bank account. Najib, whose coalition was ousted in a stunning election defeat after 60 years in power last week, denies any wrongdoing.
An official at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission said Najib has been summoned for questioning as part of its 1MDB probe. The official, who declined to be named because the case is sensitive, said a notice has been served on Najib to appear at the commission's office on Tuesday.
Police commercial crime chief Amar Singh said simultaneous raids were also conducted at several other locations including Najib's family house, his former office as prime minister and an official residence. Documents related to 1MDB were taken from the office and police are still trying to crack open a safe in Najib's house, he said.
Singh declined to say if the haul would lead to an indictment of Najib. The search for evidence continues, he said.
Social media was filled with comments from angry Malaysians who want to see Najib and his wife jailed. In contrast, new Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was lauded for being thrifty after being spotted at an event wearing a $4 pair of locally made sandals.
Mahathir, 92, reopened a probe into 1MDB after leading an opposition alliance to victory in the May 9 polls. He was prime minister for 22 years until 2003 but emerged from retirement spurred by anger over the 1MDB scandal.
Mahathir, now the world's oldest elected leader, has said initial investigations showed the scale of wrongdoing by Najib's administration was more serious than thought. He said arrests will be made when there is evidence, and there would be "no deal" with Najib.
Police have spent 20 hours since late Wednesday searching Najib's house, and several police cars arrived at Najib's house Friday morning, fueling speculation his arrest may be imminent. Najib and his wife have been barred from traveling overseas.
Mahathir has said the government will seek to retrieve billions of dollars laundered from 1MDB to repay government debts that have piled up over the years. The government has also told the current attorney general, who cleared Najib of wrongdoing in 2016, to go on leave, and has relieved the country's treasury chief, who is also the 1MDB chairman.
The government has set up a five-member committee, including a former attorney general and an adviser to Indonesia's Financial Services Authority, to handle the 1MDB case.


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Kumon Math Workbooks (1-6)
A math program based on the Kumon method. Basically, the earmarks of this system are:
- Concepts introduced in small, incremental steps, allowing children to master them without confusion
- Single topic books rather than mixed strands. Children concentrate just on addition, for example, before moving to subtraction
- Concepts are taught by discovery method than being spelled out
The series is meant to be self-directed. Students take charge of their own learning on every level. They complete pages, check their work, record their scores, and determine whether to move on or review. The pace almost guarantees success. Children should work a "few" pages a day; assignments should take about 20 minutes to complete. Pages are marked with the skill level required at top and the points each question is valued at (a very young child will need some help totaling points). Very short instruction (or an example) is given on a few pages. For example, there is a short explanation when children begin to subtract a 2-digit number from a 3-digit number where borrowing is needed. However, the child is given every opportunity to intuit this beforehand. By the time he reaches this page, he has already been subtracting double-digit numbers for many pages. Some of these would require borrowing, but, since they are able to subtract, say, 7 from 12, the Kumon method wants the child to see a pattern when increasing to 7 from 22, 7 from 32, etc. This does remind me of the approach used in Miquon as well. Besides these very infrequent helps there are just some small prompts for children to look for patterns in their answers, and words of encouragement. Pages are pleasing to the eye; they are colored, clean, and problems are well-spaced. The Kumon method has been used successfully with children around the world for over 50 years. It does seem like it would help a child to take charge of his own learning and help himself to understanding rather than being spoon-fed each bite. For Kumon math earlier than Grade 1, see the Kumon section in Early Learning.


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Gracie a Family Film All the Way Around
- Annabelle Robertson Crosswalk.com Entertainment Critic
- 2007 20 Sep
DVD Release Date: September 18, 2007
Theatrical Release Date: June 1, 2007
Rating: PG-13 (for brief sexual content)
Genre: Drama/Sports/Family
Run Time: 99 min.
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Actors: Carly Schroeder, Elisabeth Shue, Dermot Mulroney and Andrew Shue
Fifteen-year-old Gracie Bowen (Carly Schroeder, TV's Lizzie McGuire) adores her older brother (Johnny Lee Soffer), whose soccer skills have created some serious expectations from the Bowen family—especially their father, a former professional soccer player. But when Gracie's brother dies unexpectedly, the Bowens are sent into a serious tailspin.
Hitherto the good girl, Gracie copes by acting out. She starts dating older guys, like the high school soccer team captain, Kyle (Christopher Shand), who has very unwholesome expectations. She takes the family car for wild rides. She cheats. She back-talks. Her grades slip. And, she paints the town red (literally). She's grieving, but no one knows how to help—least of all her parents (Dermot Mulroney, Georgia Rule and Elisabeth Shue, Leaving Las Vegas).
Gracie wants to play soccer, but her father thinks that's absurd. It's 1978—six full years after Congress passed Title IX, the "Equal Opportunity Act" enabling women's sports—but girls just do not play soccer, mind you. Especially with boys. They're not good enough and the sport is way too rough. They'll get hurt. Despite Gracie's begging, her talented father simply won't train her. Determined to make the team, however, she decides to train on her own and audition for the high school team.
Gracie is a family film all the way around. Produced by Elisabeth Shue and her brother Andrew (TV's Melrose Place), who also stars as a coach, it was financed by their brother John and directed by Elisabeth's husband, Davis Guggenheim. Their interest—and this story—evolved from events which happened when Elisabeth and Andrew were children. Like the Bowen family, they, too, lost a brother in a childhood accident. Afterward, Elisabeth and Andrew began playing soccer, and Andrew eventually became a professional player.
Elisabeth didn't encounter any obstacles to playing soccer, so Gracie was given an entirely new twist about female empowerment. It's a decent film, too—even if it lacks originality and has a few cautions for younger audiences. The pacing is a little slow, and it ends rather abruptly. But Guggenheim, who last helmed Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, otherwise does a good job with his direction.
With his childish snarls, Shand is unconvincing, but Shue and Mulroney are excellent. It's Shroeder, however, who stands out. She gives a heartfelt, moving performance which far exceeds the script and her fellow actors. Definitely look for this young woman on the red carpet in future years.
The sets of Gracie are mildly interesting, with a few old cars and those terrible running shorts and headbands we all used to wear. Guggenheim also throws in a few pop songs, like The Sweet's mega-hit, "Fox on the Run"—but not nearly as much as you'd expect. As a result, it just doesn't feel like we're in 1978.
The bigger problem, however, is that the true subject of the movie isn't girls soccer. It's the women's movement, and Guggenheim misses a golden opportunity to make that point by using current events to frame his film. In February of 1978, for example, Roman Polanski pled guilty to engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl, skipped bail and fled to France. Two weeks later, serial killer Ted Bundy was captured. Pete Rose got his 3,000th hit while playing for the Cincinnati Reds in May. Facts like these could have great deepened the plot and the setting. But one 1978 headline in particular actually parallels Gracie's story and demonstrates the growing importance of feminism. In May of 1978, 53-year-old Mavis Hutchinson became the first woman to run across the U.S. (Her trek took 69 days.)
Thankfully, the film also teaches that acting out in order to cope with grief is wrong and has very negative consequences. It shows the importance of parents staying engaged with their family during stressful times, and emphasizes how sports can keep kids—especially those who are hurting—out of a lot of trouble. However, at the same time, it also conveys the message that sports is really all we have for comfort in our time of need. A bland funeral scene, paired with the lack of any truly inspiring authority figures, underscores this slightly nihilistic theme.
In short, Gracie is a family film of fair quality that deserves significant discussion, particularly for Christians.
- Commentary with Elisabeth and Andrew Shue
- Commentary with director Davis Guggenheim
- "Bringing Gracie to Film" featurette
- Theatrical trailer
- Drugs/Alcohol: A scene with teen smoking and some implied background drinking in another.
- Language/Profanity: A handful of obscenities as well as some inappropriate slang, including a teen saying "screw you" and "bite me" to an adult.
- Sexual Content/Nudity: Two scenes in which a young teenager kisses/makes out with older boys (one college-aged). In one scene, a college student, who knows Gracie is underage, is on top of her in the backseat of a car. He removes his shirt and they appear to be about to engage in sex before they are interrupted and roughly reprimanded. Some sexual lyrics ("make a little love"). Various small sexual references as well, like "lesbo" and "hot."
- Violence: A few falls and some athletic "violence" on the soccer field and during practice (no one injured).


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Will D.C. incumbents be wiped out?
Every few years, someone advances the idea that this will be the year that the public is so fed up with politicians in Washington that they go to the polls and vote against all incumbents.
It has never happened before, but this could finally be the year.
The failure of the supercommittee is just one more example of how totally dysfunctional Washington has become. Certainly the stage was set with the embarrassing "perils of Pauline" conclusion to the fight over raising the debt ceiling this summer. The debt ceiling was raised at the last minute, but part of the deal was to create the supercommittee to come up with additional deficit reduction by Nov. 23. Now that effort has failed.
Public approval of Congress has sunk to 9 percent. As my friend former Congressman Tom Davis of Virginia points out, this is down to family and friends. Or as the late Congressman Bill Lehman of Florida used to remind his colleagues, he was a used-car dealer before he was elected to Congress and didn't think he could fall any further in public esteem. But he did.
I remember 1994 — the year a very large number of Democrats were voted out of office and the Republicans took control of the House for the first time in 40 years.
I had spent much of the spring that year back in my district in Texas, talking to voters. I told my campaign consultant in May that it was time to do a poll. I could sense the discontent. He assured me all was well and that a poll could wait. I insisted.
The poll came back showing me barely ahead of a totally unknown challenger, 38 percent to 33 percent. We immediately ramped up my reelection effort, and I survived with 52.7 percent of the vote. Many of my Democratic colleagues never saw it coming and lost. However, every Republican incumbent on the ballot was reelected.
This year could be 1994, but with a twist — everyone is at risk, regardless of party affiliation. The public may finally have had enough. Not every incumbent will lose, but we could see a record turnover.
Add to the mix that this is a redistricting year with many incumbents facing significant numbers of new voters who never have called their congressman to help Grandma get her Social Security check or to help an uncle get into the local veterans hospital.
My advice to all incumbents — regardless of party — is to run a full-scale campaign even if you have been reelected recently by large margins. And as a part of that campaign, address the real concerns of real people in your district. Don't spend a lot of time talking about abortion, gay rights or gun control. Tell people how you are going to help them or their adult children who have moved back home find a job.
Tell them how you are going to make sure Medicare is there for them when they retire. The cost of health care is real to people, and it scares the hell out of them. And tell people what you are going to do to help the economy so that their 401(k) plans don't fall through the floor.
Large swings in Congress usually occur when one party is voted out of office and replaced by the opposition like what happened in 1994, 2006 and 2010. The public goes into the voting booth to punish a particular political philosophy. This time, they just may want to punish everyone who has been there.
I have never supported arbitrary term limits for federal officeholders, telling people that we already have terms limits and they are called elections. This may be the year when term limits are imposed by the voters.
Martin Frost was a member of the Texas delegation in the House from 1979 to 2005 and was Democratic Caucus chairman and head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He is now an attorney with Polsinelli Shughart.


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July 20, 2006
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Originally posted by The Wave
reply to post by Erad3
Oh no......not another thread!
Originally posted by uptheirons!
reply to post by Erad3
I'm struggling to see the point of your topic, but i'm thinking that it's along the lines of the shuttle can't work, so all the shuttle missions have been faked...
So, how do you base your assertion that the shuttle doesn't work as advertised?
A lot of what you have posted about re-entry and Air supplies and such is complete crap in my opinion...
Originally posted by Three_moons
Originally posted by The Wave
reply to post by Erad3
Oh no......not another thread!
Oh no is right. I tried to follow along in the other thread but found it difficult. I feel as though I'm back in British Literature class in high school with the sonnet style of writing coupled with riddles disguised as a point I'm supposed to comprehend.
Originally posted by DerekJR321
You seem to have zero understanding for how anything functions in this world, and therefor you deem it all to be a hoax.
Do you not understand what a pressurized cabin is? Do you not understand that the entire space shuttle is not considered "livable space" by the astronauts?
Honestly... I always try to be nice. But after the Mars Rover post, and now this.. you make absolutely ZERO sense. I don't know if it is a language barrier or not. I am assuming English is not your first language.
You need to back up claims if you make them. Saying "space is cold so the shuttle must be fake" is not good enough.
Originally posted by The Wave
reply to post by Erad3
I totally agree - you are absolutley right.....or simply tolling?
Originally posted by DerekJR321
reply to post by Erad3
My point is I am, and I'm sure many others, are not understanding your argument.
I'm reading your arguments as:
"Space is cold"
"People can't live in space"
"The space shuttle is fake because space is cold and people can't live in space"
I am not understanding your argument. What makes you believe that the space shuttle can't be pressurized and control the temperature. Every single day aircraft travel above 30,000 feet and their cabins are pressurized. They fly just fine. The air is extremely cold and thin at that altitude. Does that mean Boeing is faking every single flight that their 747's make?
Originally posted by Wertdagf
reply to post by Erad3
just thought id pop in to let you know that to me you sound absolutely bonkers.
what about submarines.... shouldnt those be fake with your pitifull logic?
Originally posted by The Wave
reply to post by Erad3
That your perception is totally right for you.....
Originally posted by yigsstarhouse
All I know is that I knew right of the bat when reading that this was same poster of the mars rover thing and this wasn't going to go well. Me thinks someone likes to stir the pot for whatever reasons....


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MANILA, Philippines >> Relentless rains submerged half of the sprawling Philippine capital, triggered a landslide that killed nine people and sent emergency crews scrambling Tuesday to rescue tens of thousands of residents who called media outlets pleading for help.
The deluge, the worst since 2009 when hundreds died in rampaging flash floods, was set off by the seasonal monsoon that overflowed major dams and rivers in Manila and surrounding provinces.
The capital and other parts of the country already were saturated from last week's Typhoon Saola, which battered Manila and the north for several days before blowing away Friday. That storm was responsible for at least 53 deaths.
"It's like a water world," said Benito Ramos, head of the government's disaster response agency. He said the rains flooded 50 percent of metropolitan Manila on Monday evening, and about 30 percent remained under waist- or neck-deep waters Tuesday.
He urged residents in areas prone to landslides and floods to stay in evacuation centers. Because the soil is saturated, even a little rain could be dangerous, he added.
"Now that it's getting dark, I would like to repeat, if the rains are heavy you should be at the evacuation centers," he said, warning that rescue operations are more difficult at night and could put responders at risk.
Manila's weather bureau said a tropical storm off eastern China had intensified monsoon rains in the Philippines, which were forecast to last until Thursday.
In Manila's suburban Quezon City, a landslide hit a row of shanties perched below a hill, burying nine people, according to Ramos.
Army troops and police dug frantically to save those buried, including four children, as surviving relatives and neighbors wept. All the victims were recovered, some whose bodies were found near an entombed shanty's door as they apparently tried to flee.
"My wife, children and grandchild are down there," a drenched Jessie Bailon told The Associated Press while watching rescuers dig into a muddy mound where his shanty once stood.
National police chief Nicanor Bartolome went to the scene and ordered all other slum dwellers to be evacuated from the still-soggy area.
TV footage showed rescuers dangling on ropes to bring children and other residents to safety from flooded houses across the city. Many residents trapped in their homes called radio and TV stations desperately asking for help.
"We need to be rescued," Josephine Cruz told DZMM radio as water rose around her house in Quezon City, saying she was trapped in her two-story house with 11 other people, including her 83-year-old mother. "We can't get out because the floodwaters are now higher than people."
ABC-CBN TV network reported receiving frantic calls from people whose relatives were trapped in the deluge, many without food since Tuesday morning. They included a pregnant woman with a baby who wanted to be rescued from a roof and about 55 people who scrambled to the third floor of a Quezon city house as water rose below them.
Vehicles and even heavy trucks struggled to navigate water-clogged roads, where hundreds of thousands of commuters were stranded. Many cars were stuck in the muddy waters.
The government suspended work and classes Tuesday and Wednesday. Some shopping malls opened with limited grocery supplies that were quickly picked up by shoppers waiting in long lines.
The La Mesa dam, which supplies water to the capital of 12 million people, spilled excess water early Tuesday into the rivers flowing into Quezon City, as well as the neighborhoods of Malabon, Valenzuela and Caloocan, where several villages were submerged.
Along the swollen Marikina River, nearly 20,000 residents have been moved away from the riverbanks but many others asked to be rescued. Mayor Del de Guzman pleaded for patience and said overwhelmed rescue teams would try to reach everyone.
President Benigno Aquino III called an emergency meeting of Cabinet officials and disaster-response agencies. He ordered officials to make sure all residents were accounted for in flooded villages and discussed how flooded hospitals could be helped in case they were hit by power outages.
The Philippine Stock Exchange in the flooded financial district of Makati was closed. Also closed was the U.S. Embassy along Manila Bay in the historic old city, which was flooded last week when a storm surge pushed the water over the seawall.
In 2009, massive flooding spawned by a typhoon devastated Manila and surrounding areas, killing hundreds. The state weather bureau said that the current flooding was not as severe and that the weather may start to improve later this week.


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Story highlights
NEW: North Korea informed the United States of its intention to conduct a test
Obama says the test was "highly provocative," calls for swift international action
China says it "resolutely opposes" the nuclear test
"Ill-advised pursuit" of WMDs has hurt North Korea, Ambassador Susan Rice says
North Korea's nuclear test prompted united condemnation and a vow of tough action from the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.
The council issued a statement slamming the underground nuclear test that jolted the already fragile security situation in Northeast Asia.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan, repeating a statement to reporters outside council chambers, said the test violated council resolutions, and "there continues to exist a clear threat to international peace and security."
Kim said council members will start work "on appropriate measures in a Security Council resolution" and that "North Korea will be held responsible for any consequences of this provocative act." The council is chaired this month by South Korea.
The Security Council last month promised "significant action" if another North Korean nuclear test occurred.
The test probably took place near P'unggye and yielded "several kilotons," according to assessments cited by the U.S. director of national intelligence. It drew condemnation from around the globe and prompted the emergency Security Council session Tuesday morning.
It is the first nuclear test carried out under the North's young leader, Kim Jong Un, who appears to be sticking closely to his father's policy of building up the isolated state's military deterrent to keep its foes at bay, shrugging off the resulting international condemnation and sanctions.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said North Korea told the department "through our usual channel" of its "intention to conduct a nuclear test without citing any specific timing prior to the event."
After Kim Sung-hwan spoke, Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters outside the council chambers that the panel met to discuss what she called a "provocative test" and an action that council members regard as "regrettable."
The test violates North Korea's obligations under several unanimous council resolutions, she said.
The council "must and will deliver a swift, credible and strong response" in a resolution to deal with Pyongyang's missile and weapons programs, she said. The goal, she said, is to tighten and augment measures, such as sanctions, against the country.
North Korea "does not and will not benefit from violating international law," said Rice, who stressed that the country has "isolated and impoverished its people from its ill-advised pursuit" of weapons of mass destruction and weapons delivery systems.
The council's actions make it clear that such actions are "not acceptable" and "will not be tolerated," she said.
The permanent members of the U.N. Security Council are the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.
For the past year, Nuland said, world leaders, including those in China, have signaled to North Korea that if they want to end their isolation and meet their people's needs, they can go down another road. But she said North Korea has spurned an "open door" and chose "one provocative action after another."
"The question now, for all of us, is how we can get their attention," she said, adding that "it is fair to say that we are looking at the full suite of options to try to get the DPRK to try to change course."
What happens with an underground nuclear test?
Although Pyongyang had announced plans for the test in recent, vitriolic statements, its decision to go ahead with it provided a stark reminder of a seemingly intractable foreign policy challenge for U.S. President Barack Obama ahead of his State of the Union address later Tuesday.
The test was designed "to defend the country's security and sovereignty in the face of the ferocious hostile act of the U.S.," the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency said, referring to new U.S.-led sanctions on Pyongyang after the recent launch of a long-range rocket.
"This nuclear test is our first measure, which displayed our maximum restraint," KCNA said. "If the U.S. continues with their hostility and complicates the situation, it would be inevitable to continuously conduct a stronger second or third measure."
Why is North Korea obsessed with rockets?
Tuesday's nuclear test had greater explosive force and involved the use of a smaller, lighter device than previous detonations by the North in 2006 and 2009, KCNA reported.
North Korea's nuclear program is shrouded in secrecy, so it's almost impossible to independently verify many of the details of the test. But its claims play into fears among the United States and its allies that Pyongyang is moving closer to the kind of miniaturized nuclear device that it can mount on a long-range missile.
The United States will try to determine if North Korea has tested a uranium weapon for the first time, a senior White House official said. The first two were plutonium bombs.
Despite the North's claims of progress Tuesday, analysts say they believe it is still years away from having the technology to deliver a nuclear warhead on a missile.
"This test isn't going to do that in and of itself, but it is a significant step forward," said Mike Chinoy, a senior fellow at the University of Southern California's U.S.-China Institute.
Condemnation across the globe
After Pyongyang confirmed it had gone ahead with the test in defiance of international pressure, world leaders responded with condemnation.
Among those countries criticizing North Korea were the United States, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea – the five nations that had been in talks with North Korea for years over its nuclear program.
"This is a highly provocative act" that threatens regional stability, breaches U.N. resolutions and increases the risk of proliferation, Obama said in a statement.
Five things to know about North Korea's planned nuclear test
"North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs constitute a threat to U.S. national security and to international peace and security," he said, calling for "further swift and credible action by the international community."
Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that the test appeared to be timed to coincide with Obama's State of the Union speech Tuesday night.
"They had several other holidays this week that they could have taken advantage of. They tend to like to do this on holidays," Carter said.
South Korea said the test presented "an unforgivable threat to the Korean peninsula's peace and safety."
"North Korea should be responsible for all the serious consequences brought by such an action," said Chun Young-woo, national security adviser to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who is near the end of his term in office.
Obama and Lee spoke Tuesday "to consult and coordinate on the response" to the test, the White House said.
Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement demanding that North Korea refrain from any nuclear missile program and adhere to U.N. Security Council guidelines.
It condemned the test as an affront to the community of nations: "It's doubly sad that we are talking about the state with which our country has a long history of good neighborliness."
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the testing a "grave threat to the safety of Japan and a serious challenge against international disarmament framework based on the non-nuclear proliferation treaty."
Military jets in Japan were monitoring radioactive fallout, but all appears to be fine, authorities said.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the test "a clear and grave violation of the relevant Security Council resolutions."
The China question
Perhaps the most closely watched reaction came from China, North Korea's main ally and the source of crucial economic and political support to the regime in Pyongyang.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it "resolutely opposes" the North's latest test, which it noted had taken place "despite the international community's widespread opposition."
Beijing summoned the North Korean ambassador to China over its "dissatisfaction" with the test, the ministry said.
It said it "strongly" urged North Korean officials to "abide by their promise to denuclearize and take no further action that will worsen the situation."
Watch: China's role in Korean crisis
The real question, though, is whether Beijing will support significantly tougher measures against its smaller neighbor following the test, something it has refrained from doing in the past.
"The Chinese don't like the idea of international sanctions and coercing other countries," Chinoy said. "They still have a strategic interest in maintaining a viable separate North Korea as a buffer against a pro-U.S. South Korea, and that has only become more important as tensions between the U.S. and China have increased."
Recent opinion articles published in the state-run Chinese newspaper Global Times suggested Beijing's patience with North Korea may be wearing thin and raised the prospect of reducing support to Pyongyang.
But with fears in Beijing of what a possible collapse of the North Korean regime could bring, strong measures appear unlikely for the time being.
"I think the key with China right now is that they are necessary to a solution, but we can't expect them to solve the problem for us," said Philip Yun, executive director of the Ploughshares Fund, a U.S.-based foundation that seeks to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.
Seismic activity
Indications that the test had taken place first emerged when U.S. seismologists reported a disturbance Tuesday morning in North Korea centered near the site of the secretive regime's two previous atomic blasts.
The area around the epicenter of the tremor in northeastern North Korea has little or no history of earthquakes or natural seismic hazards, according to U.S. Geological Survey maps.
The disturbance reported Tuesday had a magnitude of 5.1 – upgraded from an initial estimate of 4.9 – and took place at a depth of about one kilometer, the USGS said.
Kim Min-seok, a spokesman for the South Korean Defense Ministry, said the magnitude of the "artificial tremor" suggested the size of the blast could be in the order of 6 to 7 kilotons, more powerful than the North's two prior nuclear tests.
That calculation, though, was based on the USGS's initial estimate of a 4.9-magnitude seismic disturbance, he said. A 5.1-magnitude tremor could indicate a 10-kiloton explosion.
News breaks amid key dates in Northeast Asia
The test took place at a time when several East Asian countries, including China, North Korea's major ally, are observing public holidays for the Lunar New Year, which began Sunday.
It also comes ahead of significant dates in both North and South Korea.
On Saturday, North Koreans will celebrate the birthday of Kim Jong Il, the former North Korean leader who died in December 2011 after 17 years in power and was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong Un.
Watch: What North Korea can actually do
And on February 25, the South Korea president-elect, Park Geun-hye, will take office. She had campaigned on a pledge to seek increased dialogue with the North, but Pyongyang's recent moves have left her little room for maneuver.
In a statement Tuesday, Park condemned the nuclear test, saying it harmed ties between the two Koreas.
North Korea announced last month that it was planning a new nuclear test and more long-range rocket launches, all of which it said were part of a new phase of confrontation with the United States.
It made the threats two days after the United Nations Security Council had approved the broadening of sanctions on the reclusive, Stalinist regime in response to the North's launching of a long-range rocket in December that apparently succeeded in putting a satellite in orbit.
Pyongyang said it carried out the launch for peaceful purposes, but it was widely considered to be a test of ballistic missile technology.
Threats against the U.S.?
The North's recent propaganda has used words and images that imply a threat to the United States, but analysts dismiss the prospect that Pyongyang is willing or able to carry out a military attack on U.S. soil.
The latest nuclear test is worrying in military terms, Chinoy said, "but does this mean they can drop a nuclear weapon on Los Angeles? Absolutely not. The notion that they are going to target the U.S. is way off the mark."
U.S. analysts say North Korea's first bomb test, in October 2006, produced an explosive yield at less than 1 kiloton (1,000 tons) of TNT. A second test in May 2009 is believed to have been about 2 kilotons, National Intelligence Director James Clapper told a Senate committee in 2012.
By comparison, the bomb the United States dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 was a 15-kiloton device.
The North's latest test on Tuesday suggests the country has made a notable step forward in terms of power, said Jeffrey Lewis, East Asia director at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, part of the Monterey Institute of International Studies.
"They were pretty clear they were going to up the yield a lot," Lewis said, and it "looks like they've done that."
He also warned that Kim Jong Un's regime may not be ready to relinquish the headlines yet, suggesting that a second test remained a possibility and could happen within a few days.
In a commentary last week, the North's KCNA said that Pyongyang had "drawn a final conclusion that it will have to take a measure stronger than a nuclear test to cope with the hostile forces' nuclear war moves."
It didn't elaborate on what would be stronger than a nuclear test.
CNN's Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong. CNN's K.J. Kwon in Seoul, South Korea; Yoko Wakatsuki and Junko Ogura in Tokyo; Judy Kwon in Hong Kong; Dana Ford, Matt Smith and Joe Sterling in Atlanta; Richard Roth and Anna Maja Rappard in New York; and Elise Labott in Washington contributed to this report. Journalists Katie Hunt in Hong Kong and Connie Young in Beijing also contributed reporting.


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Public health officials claim that there are fewer serious neurological side-effects with the new vaccine, but few studies have compared its safety with the older pertussis vaccines, except for injection site reactions or fever (Pediatrics, 1995; 96: 557-66; Vaccine; 1998; 16: 320-2).
In one animal study, the production of proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-beta, associated with neurodegenerative conditions, was significantly increased in the brain of mice vaccinated with whole-cell pertussis vaccine. Acellular vaccine did not have this effect. The researchers concluded that active bacterial toxins are responsible for the neurological disturbances with the whole-cell vaccine. However, animal studies are not always applicable to humans (Infect Immun, 2001; 69: 4217-23).
A comparison of adverse reactions reported to the US Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), a national system of surveillance, when the whole-cell vaccine was in exclusive use in 1995 and when acellular vaccines were introduced in 1998 shows 2071 reports of death or injury in 1995 compared with only 491 reports for the first half of 1998. Non-fatal reactions requiring hospitalisation, life-threatening illness or permanent disability declined by about a third, although the number of deaths reported (about 80 per year) were similar (Pediatrics, 2000: 106: E51).
In one study of children getting a preschool DaPT booster, fever higher than 38 degrees C occurred in 3.8 per cent of children and vomiting in more than one in 50. Thirty days after vaccination, there were 247 adverse events in 580 children, but only 63 were thought to be vaccine-related, including haematomas, headache, stomachache and sleep disturbance.
The study found that local reactions are more pronounced in children aged four to six compared with younger children and also after a fifth dose, possibly because the body reaches a level of tolerance, causing a bigger reaction (Pediatr Infect Dis J, 2001; 20: 981-8).


text:
|#!/usr/bin/env python
|# Copyright (C) 2012 The Android Open Source Project
|# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
|# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
|# You may obtain a copy of the License at
|# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
|# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
|# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
|# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
|# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
|# limitations under the License.
|import sys
|import os
|from hashlib import sha1
|except ImportError:
|from sha import sha as sha1
|if len(sys.argv) < 2:
|build_info = {}
|f = open(sys.argv[1])
|for line in f:
|line = line.strip()
|if line.startswith("require"):
|key, value = line.split()[1].split("=", 1)
|build_info[key] = value
|bad = False
|for item in sys.argv[2:]:
|key, fn = item.split(":", 1)
|values = build_info.get(key, None)
|if not values:
|values = values.split("|")
|f = open(fn, "rb")
|digest = sha1(f.read()).hexdigest()
|versions = {}
|f = open(fn + ".sha1")
|except IOError:
|if not bad: print
|print "*** Error opening \"%s.sha1\"; can't verify %s" % (fn, key)
|bad = True
|for line in f:
|line = line.strip()
|if not line or line.startswith("#"): continue
|h, v = line.split()
|versions[h] = v
|if digest not in versions:
|if not bad: print
|print "*** SHA-1 hash of \"%s\" doesn't appear in \"%s.sha1\"" % (fn, fn)
|bad = True
|if versions[digest] not in values:
|if not bad: print
|print "*** \"%s\" is version %s; not any %s allowed by \"%s\"." % (
|fn, versions[digest], key, sys.argv[1])
|bad = True
|if bad:


text:
Our editors will review what you've submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
- Related Topics:
- arthrodire Bothriolepis antiarch Arctolepis ptyctodont
placoderm, any member of an extinct group (Placodermi) of primitive jawed fishes known only from fossil remains. Placoderms existed throughout the Devonian Period (about 416 million to 359 million years ago), but only two species persisted into the succeeding Carboniferous Period. During the Devonian they were a dominant group, occurring in all continents except South America in a variety of marine and freshwater sediments.
Most placoderms were small or moderate in size, but a few may have reached a length of 13 feet (4 metres). The name is derived from their characteristic armour of dermal, or skin, bones. This armour formed a head shield and a trunk shield, the two commonly connected by a paired joint in the neck region. The arrangement of bones is so different from that of modern fishes with bony skeletons that it is unlikely that the bones of the two groups are homologous (similar in origin).
The earliest placoderms were heavily armoured and were bottom-dwelling. Many later forms became highly specialized for this way of life. Others became adapted for fast swimming between the surface and the bottom. Bottom-dwelling placoderms, such as the antiarchs, had small, ventrally placed mouths and presumably fed on bottom detritus and small invertebrates. Fossil remains indicate that some species had heavy, blunt jaw plates adapted for crushing hard-shelled invertebrates, while others were able to open their jaws wide enough to swallow smaller fish. Some placoderms, such as members of the genus Dunkleosteus, reached sizes of 10 metres (30 feet) or more and were the dominant predators of the Devonian seas.
The origin of the placoderms is unknown, although it is possible that they may have shared a common ancestor with sharks, skates, and rays, as well as with true "bony" fishes.


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All of our veterinarians have been active in local, state, and national professional organizations, including the Dallas County Veterinary Medical Association, American Veterinary Medical Association, and American Animal Hospital Association. Our doctors feel that participation in organized veterinary medicine is an important responsibility and have all strived to participate as committee members or officers when possible. We also believe strongly in community involvement; our doctors participate in educational programs at local schools and colleges and are involved with many local charity events for pets and animals in the Rowlett, Rockwall, Garland, Mesquite, and Heath communities.
Dr. Kimberly Ann Downes, DVM
Dr. Downes joined the practice in 1990 and became a partner in 1994. She is a 1989 graduate of Texas A&M University. She has extensive training and interest in Veterinary dentistry. Other interests include all aspects of feline medicine, oncology (cancer) and endocrinology.
Dr. Downes and her husband have one son. Their extended family includes a cat named "Spencer," "Maggie" the terrier/Lhasa mix, and "Stone" the career-change Guide Dog for the Blind. They are also raising their third dog, "Etcher" for Guide Dogs for the Blind with hopes of him one day becoming a guide dog.
Dr. Downes is a native Texan born in Temple, Texas. She counts working at McDonald's and Piggly Wiggly among her first jobs. When not at the animal hospital, you might find Dr. Downes toiling in her garden or poring over interior decorating magazines. Her first dog as a child was named Mack.
Dr. Wendi Carter, DVM, cVMA
Dr. Carter graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2006. She graduated magna cum laude in 2002 from Southeast Missouri State University with a BS degree in biology. She worked as an associate at Banfield Animal Hospitals from 2006-2009. Her interests include ophthalmology and soft tissue surgery. Dr. Carter is a Certified Veterinary Medical Acupuncturist and is now offering Veterinary Medical Accupuncture services to patients in the Rowlett, Rockwall, Mesquite, Garland, Dallas, and surrounding areas.
Dr. Carter lived in Colorado and Missouri before moving to Texas in 2006. She has two cats Shiga and Malike. In her spare time Dr. Carter enjoys traveling, art, spectator sports, and can often be found on weekends running in marathons and obstacle courses.
Dr. Jennifer Hurley, DVM,
Dr. Hurley graduated from Texas A&M University. She graduated magna cum laude in 2010 from Texas A&M Commerce with a BS in Animal Science. Dr. Hurley started with the Animal Hospital of Rowlett as a technician in 2009 and completed her veterinary externship with us in 2013. Her interests include feline medicine and dentistry. Dr. Hurley is a member of the Association of Avian Veterinarians.
Dr. Hurley was born and raised in Texas. She and her husband Josh have a rat terrier named Molly, two cats (Kitty and Petey) and a Severe Macaw named Gabriel.
When not at work, Dr. Hurley can be found at the beach or in her garden.
Dr. Erica Watson, DVM
Dr. Kim Clary, DVM
Dr. Clary joined the staff in 1993 after graduation from Texas A&M University. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners which means she made a choice to undergo a long and difficult process of additional studies and examination to become a board certified specialist recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). This process takes a minimum of three years to complete and the motivation behind it is, very simply, excellence. She has proven knowledge and expertise above and beyond what is required to practice veterinary medicine. Beyond that, she has earned the privilege to specialize in the treatment of one or more categories of animals. Dr. Clary has extended ultrasound training and her interests include dermatology (allergic skin disease), oncology, emergency and critical care.
She and her husband Mike have an extensive pet family. The zoo consists of two horses, 4 cats and a dog named Sheldon (named after the character on the Big Bang Theory). Dr. Clary enjoys horseback riding, reading and volleyball.
Dr Clary dislikes the color yellow, so naturally, each year the staff gets her a yellow birthday card, a yellow cake, decorates her car with yellow balloons, and even encourages her clients to wear yellow.
Dr. Amber Wawak, DVM
Dr. Brian J. Huber, DVM, ABVP
Dr. Huber started the Animal Hospital of Rowlett in 1988. He is a 1986 graduate of Kansas State University. He has extensive training in ultrasound and endoscopy. He has been a certified diplomate of The American Board of Veterinary practitioners since 1994, recently re-certifying for the 3rd time as a diplomate. This requires rigorous study and testing by the board. We are very proud of his achievement. His interests are gastrointestinal disease, cardiology and oncology.
Dr. Huber and his wife Jennifer have three children, Curran, Caroline, and Callahan. The family pets consist of three felines (Bonnie, Stevie and Mikey) and 2 canines; Birdie and Sparky.
Dr. Huber was born in Scotts Bluff, Nebraska, loves the Dallas Cowboys, Golden Retrievers, Border Collies and cats. He hopes to learn skydiving. He enjoys his vacation time with family.
Dr. Huber may not be here seeing patients, but he has been and currently is, involved in the business of veterinary medicine over many years. The entrepreneurial ventures he has started and continue to be involved with, have led to many exciting opportunities for advancing patient care in veterinary medicine. From regenerative medicine, to oncology, to dental therapies, to ultrasound diagnostics and telemedicine, he is extremely involved in improving outcomes for all pet patients. He may not be here physically, but he is helping AHR bring new therapies and technologies into the global veterinary market.


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Citizen Corps Councils
The mission of Citizen Corps is to harness the power of every individual through
education, training, and volunteer service
to make communities safer, stronger, and better prepared to respond to the threats of terrorism, crime, public health issues, and disasters of all kinds.
The Citizen Corps mission is accomplished through a national network of state, local, and tribal Citizen Corps Councils. These Councils build on community strengths to implement the Citizen Corps programs and will carry out a local strategy to have every American participate.
Click here to view a map of where these Councils are located or click here to view a listing of the Councils.
Everyone can do something to help make our families and our communities safer through:
Personal responsibility: Developing a household preparedness plan and disaster supplies kits, observing home health and safety practices, implementing disaster mitigation measures, and participating in crime prevention and reporting.
Training: Taking classes in emergency preparedness, response capabilities, first aid, CPR, fire suppression, and search and rescue procedures.
Volunteer service: Engaging individuals in volunteer activities that support first responders, disaster relief groups, and community safety organizations. Everyone can do something to support local law enforcement, fire, emergency medical services, community public health efforts, and the four stages of emergency management: prevention, mitigation, response and recovery efforts.
Local Citizen Corps Councils will:
- promote and strengthen the Citizen Corps programs at the community level, such as Volunteers in Police Service programs, CERT teams, Medical Reserve Corps units, and Neighborhood Watch groups;
- provide opportunities for special skills and interests;
- develop targeted outreach for the community, including special needs groups;
- provide opportunities of training in first aid and emergency preparedness;
- organize special projects and community events;
- encourage cooperation and collaboration among community leaders; and
- capture smart practices and report accomplishments; and
- create opportunities for all residents to participate.
Starting a Citizen Corps Council in your area will help create the groundwork for the long-term security of our neighborhoods, our communities, and our nation.


text:
We're all about maximizing our wardrobes. Of course, we want to get the most use out of our favorite fashion items, enjoying every bit of 'em until it's time to consign them. Thankfully, the styling tips in the Elizabeth and James pre-fall '14 lookbook teach us clever ways to do just that. The Olsen-run line used two long-standing trends — plaid and shirtdresses — to illustrate just how much potential there is within our own closets. That is, f we know how to use it.
With one red, tartan, tailored dress, the brand created four looks that are far from just "button it and go." They're fitting for a variety of environments or occasions and simple enough for anyone to execute. Promise. Actually, we quite appreciate the sneaky style tips for many reasons. After all, searching for multifunctional wardrobe staples is a solid piece of financial advice, too. So, read on for the Elizabeth and James tips that'll multiply your closet in four simple steps.


text:
Uncovering America's Heritage... Coin by Coin
2005 Marine Corps 230th Anniversary Silver Dollar
Hi there! I want to show you this new 2005 Marine Corps 230th Anniversary Silver Dollar. Isn't it pretty? I picked this new coin for July because the Corps has an important July in its history. It has to do with the Continental Marines.
But maybe you never heard of the Continental Marines. Congress created this service in November of 1775 to help the colonies fight the Revolutionary War. The Marines mostly fought in places like the Bahamas, where only ships could go. But they also fought on the mainland. For instance, they fought alongside the Continental Army in the second battle of Trenton in 1776.
And did you know that our Revolution was not fought only on American soil? In 1778, some Marines under John Paul Jones raided Great Britain! Twice!
After the Revolutionary War ended, America sold all its war ships and put an end to the Continental Marines and the Continental Navy. Now here's that big July: In July of 1798, Congress and President John Adams brought the Continental Marines back with the name we know it by today: The United States Marine Corps.
During World War II, Allied forces set out to recapture the Pacific islands that the Japanese had taken. The last island left to recapture was Iwo Jima. When soldiers raised the American flag on Iwo Jima, a photographer captured the event. The photograph was used as a model for the sculpture that became the Marine Corps War Memorial. The famous photograph was also used to create the obverse image on this commemorative coin.
In its 230 years, the Marine Corps has fought for American freedom and peace all over the world. The Corps' motto is "Always Faithful," which in Latin is "Semper Fidelis"...or, as the Marines like to say, "Semper Fi!"
By the way...how is your Marine Corps IQ? Find out with this fun quiz on the information from the commemorative coins page and the July 2005 Coin of the Month! Take the Marine Corps Quiz!


text:
Group That Hands Out Guns Receives Unquestioning Texas Media Coverage
A version of this story ran in the May 2013 issue.
A graduate student at the University of Houston recently uncorked the Armed Citizen Project, which may be a first-in-the-nation program, with the goal of distributing free guns to people in Dallas, Houston, and Tucson, Arizona (where Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot, 13 bystanders injured, and six killed in a 2011 assassination attempt).
The group, which is applying for nonprofit status, has already handed out at least 10 shotguns and will probably enjoy profile-building support when Wayne LaPierre and the National Rifle Association alight in Houston for the NRA's national convention in May.
But the gun-giving group appears to have already achieved a side goal: unquestioning media coverage of its suggestion that the giveaway is designed to allow the group to "analyze" what happens to crime rates when guns are injected into Texas communities.
From the website: "The Armed Citizen Project is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to training and arming residents in mid-high crime areas with defensive shotguns, for free! In training and arming law-abiding residents, we are saturating neighborhoods with defensive weapons and measuring the effect that a heavily armed society has on crime rates. We are an organization that is not simply content to hold the line on guns. We are also training and arming single women in high crime areas, competing against gun buybacks, calling out anti-gun politicians as being pro-crime, and fighting the anti-gun establishment in general."
When the organization launched earlier this year, several news venues quickly ran with the story. Houston's CBS affiliate did a generally upbeat piece anchored by the assertion that the gun giveaway is really all about sociology and criminology: "A University of Houston graduate student says he's conducting a study to hopefully answer the question being debated across the country, 'Do more guns reduce crime or not?'''
Dallas' CBS station concentrated a good portion of its feature report on an elderly black resident of South Dallas who endorsed the distribution of free guns, which are apparently paid for through donations to the group. The story went on to consider the attributes of the 20-gauge shotguns being handed out. Gun aficionados claimed that shotguns are "the most effective" weapons for home protection, no matter the shooter's competence.
"Even if you are off, you're still likely to have something in your target," a Dallas gun promoter told the station. Almost as an afterthought, there was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it 10-second soundbite glued to the end of the report from a resident who said she just doesn't like guns at all.
Then, in March, the group sent out another press release: "It is with great pride that we announce our new Anti-Rape Kit Initiative, in which we will be providing shotguns, ammunition, and training to vulnerable women in high crime areas free of charge… With our Anti-Rape Kit Initiative, we will aid in the reduction of the backlog of untested rape kits, by providing clear, direct, severe, and permanent consequences for the crime of rape."
Almost instantly, Houston radio station KTRH posted a link: "If you are interested in signing up to get a free shotgun and training or want to donate click here."
Finally, the Dallas Observer invoked a bit of healthy skepticism when it wondered whether the organization was really more interested in "trolling liberals" than arming citizens, and suggested that the group's website hints at the giveaway's real aim. The Observer's piece noted that the group's site says, "We are pissing off all of the right (left) people," and "having a blast doing it."
And to date, it doesn't appear that any news accounts in Texas have explored the online endorsements the group has received from survivalist forums, or the founder's LinkedIn page, which indicates he's worked with the Houston Young Republicans, Ted Cruz's Senate campaign, and Win Florida 2012 (a group dispatched from Texas to Florida to get out the vote for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan).
Bottom line: Kyle Coplen, the 29-year-old student who started the whole thing, seems to be having fun messing with the Texas media. In an interview later scooped up by Stephen Colbert, Coplen told Current TV (the only news outlet that has seriously tried to grill the group) that he's having a ball.
"It makes me feel great. I get up every morning with a pep in my step, giving out guns . . . living the dream."