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Leo is out of school this week, which is why you haven't heard much from these quarters. We intended to spend the week hiking, but instead we spent our time stuck inside, watching rainstorms, rainbows, seeing the soaking-wet trampoline steam when the sun makes a brief appearance, and wondering whether we're going to have our first-ever snow.
Thank heavens for Leo's iPad. Our house is well-stocked with books, videos, and activities, but the iPad gives Leo so much leisure- and learning-time independence and encourages so much self-direction -- it has made our rainy week several degrees more doable. Here are some of the apps Leo's been using the most lately:
Speech With Milo: Verbs ($2.99) and the new Speech With Milo: Prepositions ($1.99). The interface is somewhat text-based, but it is also consistent & predictable, and Leo has learned to navigate from screen to screen. Leo can use all the quality language-building (as opposed to communication/AAC) apps you can create, developers, so please let me know when you're ready to open those floodgates. Leo & his peers are waiting.
My Underwear ($2.99)* is the cutest damn app. It was designed by Todd Parr so the graphics are whimsically excellent. The games and activities are simple and fun, and Leo enjoys them -- games like "catch the falling underwear" are just unpredictable enough to keep him on his toes, while remaining straightforward and not-overwhelming.
Silly Numbers $3.99 was recommended to us by Danielle Samson, an SLP and an iPad/AAC/apps expert. Leo is a sucker for apps with good music. I am a sucker for any app that encourages Leo to independently and repeatedly review subjects in which he needs support, like 1:1 correspondence and counting. This is not a terribly complicated app -- each screen shows a number from 1 to 12, then that number of objects appear onscreen. But it is interactive -- you can tap the objects to count them over and over again, the animations are cute, the voiceover and text includes adjectives, e.g., "One Tasty Pie," for some stealth extra learning, and the design is top-notch.
The Itsy Bitsy Spider ($.99) by Duck Duck Moose is not a new app but it is new to us, and was another Danielle recommendation. If you know Leo you know he loves music and singing his favorite songs, like the eponymous tune. Getting to play that tune over and over again while fiddling with pages full of animated extras means even more loving. And that loving is ever helpful in situations where Leo needs distracting from what he doesn't love, for instance visiting his pediatrician (thank you, Duck Duck Moose!).
Andrew Answers ($2.99)* is an interactive book supporting language building through word play, repetition, and cheekiness. It also has interstitial activities during transitions, which Leo appreciates. His sisters think Andrew Answers is hilarious, so do I. Though if your kids are clever enough to model Andrew's sassy way with words, you may be in for some exasperation.
Little Bella - I Close My Eyes ($.99) is a charming interactive book, and a favorite of Mali's (and a final Danielle choice). Little Bella is an imaginative girl whose animated adventures play out every time she closes her eyes -- as she dreams about being a butterfly, flying, diving like a dolphin: I'm honestly surprised by how inexpensive this app is, given the quality of its art and animation.
I am backlogged with apps to review and will be talking about more of them (and adding them to the iPad Apps for Autism spreadsheet), soon. Once Leo's routine is reinstated, most likely.
*These apps were gifted to Leo by the developer. Which has no bearing on my review; I am featuring these apps because my kids genuinely like them.
Rainy Day Apps Leo Loves (and One Mali Loves, too)
2 comments:
Found you on twitter (@AutismLoveHope) and I have to say I am so grateful to you for writing these detailed descriptions and reasons why your child likes them, and especially the videos!! Thank you so much! Keep up the great work! ;)ReplyDelete
Great list, thanks for posting it. So far I have tried two of the apps.ReplyDelete
Little Bella- I close My Eyes was a huge hit with both my boys, as well as my niece.
My Underwear app was great, too. Max really likes the game wear you put underwear on the animals. :-)
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Since writingPart One of this series back in January 2008, a number of things have happened with regards to Windows 7, the next Windows version. First, there's been an amazing amount of silliness and speculation about the Windows 7 release date, in part due to off the cuff remarks from outgoing Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, but mostly because of bored (and boring) tech pundits who are eager to write about something controversial. Second, I've finally gotten my hands on Windows 7 build 6519, the first external build of Windows 7 to make the rounds outside the hallowed halls of Microsoft. In this part of my Shipping Seven series, I'd like to discuss both developments.
Silly speculation
If you're curious how many tech bloggers, pundits, and other pseudo-journalists come up with 500 words of prose on a slow news day, consider the following: On Friday, April 4, 2008, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates--who, it should be noted, is actually leaving his full time job at the company this summer--uttered the following sentence in response to a question about Windows Vista:
"Sometime in the next year or so we will have a new version."
Exciting, eh? Unfortunately, Gates' quote was completely misquoted and misunderstood by virtually everyone in the tech press. CNET's Ina Fried published a story that day titled, "Gates: Windows 7 may come 'in the next year'," despite the fact that Gates may not actually have been talking about Windows 7, but rather about Windows Vista: Maybe that "new version" he was referring to was Fiji, the codename for a long-overdue Windows Media Center update that may now be part of a broader Vista refresh. No matter: Despite the fact that Gates never said "Windows 7," the tech press was off to the races, trying to see who could outdo each other on the sensationalism-o-meter.
There were voices of reason, of course. Me, for starters: I dissected the Gates quote above (and some other Windows 7 news "stories" from that day) in the SuperSite Blog. Mary Jo Foley noted in a blog post of her own that Microsoft officials were still planning to ship Windows 7 "roughly three years after Windows Vista?s consumer launch (which was January 2007), meaning in early 2010." And then Ars Technica, apparently after reading my blog, published basically the same story two days later: That Gates never actually said that Windows 7 would ship in 2009. Much ado about nothing. (ZD blogger and Windows expert Ed Bott remained above the fray: He decided to start a Windows 7 release date prediction pool, which is actually a decent idea.)
So when does Microsoft really plan to ship Windows 7? In 2010, the exact same expected release date that I first published in my Windows 7 FAQ back in February 2007, over a year ago. And why do I know this is still the case? Because Microsoft Director Chris Flores publicly stated just that, just yesterday. (Curiously, his direct quote has since been removed from the linked post, which I find interesting. No matter, here's a cached version of the page with the full quote, courtesy of Mary Jo Foley. Thanks again for that.)
Hands on with build 6519
The other big development involves my hands-on experience with Windows 7 build 6519, a now-dated early beta version of the next Windows that was created way back in December. As is often the case with early betas, Windows 7 build 6519 has more in common with its predecessor (Windows Vista in this case) than it does with the eventual shipping product it represents. But that's just dandy. Because hidden among the hundreds of small changes are some real gems, hints about the direction which Microsoft will take with this version of Windows.
So with the understanding that any discussion about Windows 7 build 6519 is, by definition, a slice in time view of a product that will change dramatically in the months and years ahead, here are some mile-high views of this thing as it now stands.
I'm running it
First of all, I feel that it's important to actually live and breathe Windows 7 to gain a true appreciation for the product, so I'm using it on my main desktop machine, which is now multi-booting between an alarming number of operating system versions. (Incidentally, I don't recommend this at all. I'm doing it for testing purposes only and it's unclear how long I'll be able to deal with this.) When I first received the Windows 7 build 6519 install DVD, I just did a test install in a virtual machine. This is nice for screenshots and general testing, but it doesn't give you an understanding of the performance and maturity differences compared to its predecessor. Obviously, installing it on live hardware and actually using the thing is crucial. So I am. God help us all.
And sure enough, Windows 7 in day-to-day use is exactly what distantly-viewed screenshots and virtual machine installs had suggested: It's an update to Windows Vista with an extremely similar user experience and performance. It reminds me, very much, of the very first "community test" preview build that Microsoft shipped for Memphis back in, oh, late 1996: It was stable, fast, and had just enough going on to be interesting. Windows 7 build 6519 is just like that: If you're not paying attention, you're clearly running Windows Vista. Look a bit deeper and, oh my, what's that? And that? There are hundreds of minor changes.
Hardware and software compatibility
Windows 7 build 6519 had absolutely no trouble with the various hardware devices in and connected to my PC, and as with Vista, it coughed up a perfectly clean Device Manager. (Contrast this with Windows Server 2008, oddly.)
Software was a slightly different story. Most of the applications I use regularly had no issues under Windows 7 build 6519. But Visual Studio 2008 (and Web Developer Express 2008) refused to install when the first phase of Setup, for .NET Framework 3.5, failed. Beyond that, everything worked fine. Which makes sense: This build is basically Windows Vista.
Desktop and shell
The Windows desktop has evolved very slightly in build 6519. The Windows Sidebar is more integrated into the desktop, with Hide Gadgets and Add Gadgets options added directly to the desktop context menu. Furthermore, the Sidebar isn't visible anymore and there seems to be some weirdness about gadget ordering and arrangement. Clearly something is happening here that is more sophisticated than just hiding the Sidebar and assuming that people know how it works.
Years of futzing with the tray notification area and notification icons continues in build 6519: Infamously, the Show hidden icons slider has been replaced with a new pop-up window that includes a more obvious "Customize" link, though customization still occurs through the same old properties sheet we've been using for years. That said, new tray icons seem to be hidden by default, which is certainly not the case with Vista.
The Personalize context menu link from Windows Vista has been split out into two options, Display and Personalize. The new Personalize is like Vista's Personalize minus the Display Settings option, which is, of course, now found via the new Display menu item. It's not clear what separating these out buys you, but one oddity is that when you choose Display, the default view is, curiously, a new way to change the onscreen scaling (basically the DPI settings). To change the screen resolution, you have to click a link on the left. Interesting choice that.
In Explorer windows, there is a new view style, Smart Details, which appears to be similar to Tiles but with smaller icons. (This view style is not available on the desktop, which is still limited to Large, Medium, and Classic icons.) There's a new and obvious way to resize the Address Bar and Search box in each Explorer window, which is ugly and I'm sure will change. Otherwise, Explorer is very much like that in Vista: The Organize toolbar menu is the same, as are the various per-window toolbar buttons.
The Start Menu works identically to that in Windows Vista, except that Start Menu Search results now extend all the way across the menu, instead of being confined to the left side as they are in Windows Vista.
Control Panel is clearly on the way to some big changes. The More Options pane from Windows Vista has been condensed down to a weird and small colored strip, though the icon layout in the default view is almost identical to that in Vista. Instead of an Additional Options icon, however, we're provided with All Control Panel Items. (Which, sure enough, displays the Control Panel in what used to be called Classic View.)
Digital media applications
Gratifyingly, some of the biggest changes in Windows 7 build 6519 are in the digital media applications. Windows Media Center has received a long-overdue makeover, though it's still not complete in this build. You may recall that the version of Windows Media Center that ships in Windows Vista is a weird halfway house between the old XP version of Windows Media Center and the "Fiji" version to come. In build 6519, we can see further Fiji-fication of the Media Center UI, which means adding more translucency while steadily scaling back the old list-like menus. So while some new UI is present in the media details screens, the Settings stuff still looks like the first version of Media Center. They're getting there.
Windows Media Player has been updated in significant ways as well. I have to say, this was somewhat surprising, and it wasn't clear to me that Microsoft would invest any effort in Windows Media Player going forward given its Zune initiative and the rapidly dying "PlaysForSure" ecosystem. I guess I was wrong: While the version in 6519 is still labeled as Windows Media Player 11, it's quite clearly the initial stages of version 12.
From a UI perspective, the new Windows Media Player has been streamlined and improved. The old media type selector widget and its resulting sub-menus have been moved up into the WMP toolbar, which I think is both more discoverable and attractive. The number of toolbar buttons has been cut back, and they're now snug up on the right side of the toolbar, which isn't so successful a change. Now, we have Media Guide, Play, Burn, and Sync options by default. (So we've lost Now Playing, Library, and Rip in the default view; also, the Media Guide button doesn't also provide access to online services as it did in Vista.) It looks like the Library view is just the default, and there's no more Now Playing view, making WMP more like iTunes. However, there's a renewed emphasis on the List pane, which was detuned in WMP 11, an interesting step back.
Also new in the WMP UI are some odd looking menu gadgets in the bottom right of the application window. The Favorites menu gadget, which looks like a star, provides access to a menu with Favorites, All Library Shuffled, and Recommended Favorites choices. What's happening here is that WMP supports an Internet Explorer-like Favorites facility, where you can designate Artists, Albums, Songs, and other entities as Favorites and then access your favorite music from this handy menu. As you add Favorites, they appear on the gadget menu.
The second gadget menu is for switching the player mode, and its similar to the View full screen and Switch to mini-player buttons in WMP11 in that it combines these options with two others: Library (the new name for the "normal" view style) and Mini (which puts WMP in the taskbar).
Windows Photo Gallery doesn't appear to have changed since Windows Vista, but then this application has been superseded by Windows Live Photo Gallery anyway. Likewise, Windows Movie Maker and Windows DVD Maker appear unchanged too. Both are in need of an update, however, especially the limited and weird DVD Maker.
Other applications
Most of the applications that ship in Windows 7 build 6519 will be familiar to Windows Vista users and are unchanged. Windows Mail, Default Programs, Internet Explorer 7, Windows Calendar, Windows Contacts, Windows Defender, Windows Fax and Scan, and Windows Meeting Space all appear identical.
Some applications, however, have changed. And there are some new additions as well.
Paint, which I believe has been included in every version of Windows and has maybe changed less than any other part of the operating system, actually gets a makeover in build 6519, with rulers and an optional drawing grid.
And speaking of venerable Windows applications, Calculator has been updated. Whereas the Vista version sported Standard and Scientific modes, Windows 7 adds Programmer and Statistics modes as well.
Windows Security Center is still present, but it doesn't throw up warnings as it does in Vista when an antivirus solution isn't installed.
Welcome Center looks like the Vista version, but when you click the Show more details link, the System properties pane slides in elegantly rather than loading like it does in Vista.
As for new applications, there's a TS Workspace client for connecting to Terminal Services over HTTPS. A new standalone XPS Viewer application replaces the IE-based support for XPS in Vista. A Private Character Editor (oddly referenced as eudcedit in the Start Menu) lets you create special characters that you can then paste into documents. (This tool is actually in Vista too, by the way, it's just not in the Start Menu.)
Parting shots
There's probably more, but I've only been running Windows 7 day-to-day for a short while and I'll need more time to see if anything unusual pops up. So far so good, aside from a few application crashes (primarily Windows Media Player). I hope to have more to say about this and future builds further down the road.

subset: commoncrawl


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As you can see the new layout is in. I didn't lose any posts, nor any comments.
But I somehow can't seem to find my bullet points back o_O
They were nice and round, and I used lots of them.
If anybody happens to run into them let me know, because it would save me quite a bit of searching for them in the CSS.
Not entirely ready, buttuhm, whatdayathink?
Thursday, September 17, 2009
6 comments:
- KlepsacovicSeptember 17, 2009 at 10:07 PM
I liked the old layout. Also, the scary face keeps following me when I scroll. HELP!ReplyDelete
I'm with Klep, scary face AHHH!ReplyDelete
Sylvannas, scary? Weenies!ReplyDelete
Recent blog:=- My Bullet Points are lost!
- ThrornirSeptember 17, 2009 at 11:16 PM
It's just a shadow priest... you didn't need your face unmelted, did you? =)ReplyDelete
- CeledhringSeptember 18, 2009 at 3:31 AM
Actually, I've always hated that "this frame keeps up with you as you scroll" thing .. it just doesn't feel right on a webpage :)ReplyDelete
- TamarindSeptember 18, 2009 at 10:26 AM
I like the purple but I do wish Sylvannas wasn't stalking me... ;)ReplyDelete
Recent blog:=- Zeal of a Convert
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Running With Scissors: Pre-Season Review
- Publisher: sLeek Games
- Genre: Action
- Released: 23 Dec, 2009
- Size: 39.6 MB
- Price: $0.99
- Amazing graphics.
- Character customisation.
- Two game modes.
- Slow loading screen.
Running with Scissors: Pre Season is a bizarre yet humorous game that packs more bang for your buck in terms of features compared to your average racing game and is worth a try if you enjoy this style of game.
- Full Review
- App Store Info
Running With Scissors: Pre-Season is a strategic racing game that mixes fantasy with the truly bizarre, as players must madly dash, jump, and fly to the finish whilst avoiding atypical obstacles like giant aliens, kittens, tsunamis and meteor showers.
The controls are heavily reliant on a combination of fast reflexes and quick thinking which will take a little practice, but the first level plays out like a tutorial and will show you how to make your character dash, jump, fly and throw obstacles which will help you get the hang of it. There are also currently two game modes available, quick race and championship.
A cool feature of the game are the scratch n' win tickets at the end of each race which reward players with coins that they can spend on different outfits for their character which will not only change their appearance, but their capabilities as well.
The visuals for the game are exquisite, with a combination of flash animation and 3D graphics which have been rendered into 2D sprite sheets. The considerable attention to fine detail, such as the running with scissors in hand, also adds a nice touch to the game. The sound effects are quite amusing to listen to and the soundtrack ties in well with the "out of this universe" theme of the game.
Running With Scissors: Pre-Season although due for a few updates in the near future, is still a highly enjoyable game that will give both your fingers and mind a good work out and is suitable for players of any age group.
DescriptionRunning With Scissors :: Pre-Season
Introducing: "Running With Scissors: Pre-Season"
It's an action-strategy racing game, with an 9+ age target, and rpg collectible aspects for the characters equipment that changes their in-game graphics. Its theme is 'stranger and stranger', with obstacles like giant eyes on stalks that wink at you, tsunamis, kittens and meteor showers.
There are scratch n' win elements at the end of every race, a bunch of different outfits for your character that change your capabilities and affect the obstacles you encounter.
The graphics are a mix of flash based vector animation and 3d graphics rendered into a series of 2d sprite sheets, which allow an incredibly lush and vibrant visual experience at high enough frame rates to be visually seamless, on the target of 2nd gen iPod touch devices & iPhone 3G. The game is still fully functional on the 1st generation devices.
Sounds have been done in-house, and are a mix of funny voiceovers and environmental effects, with custom, high quality music.
For our initial release, we are targeting single player gameplay modes with advanced, non-cheating AI, and with leaderboards (coming soon).
• Awards systems hooked into the ngmoco plus+ system!
Buy Today! You won't find a more unique title than this!
Sleek Games
What's New in Version 1.2- Plus+ Support! Leaderboards, persistant storage and awards!
- 5 new accessories!
- 2 new worlds!


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Recognizing that relationships are fundamental to the health and well-being of individuals, couples, families, and communities, AAMFT exists to advance the profession and the practice of marriage and family therapy.
The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) is the
professional association for the field of marriage and family therapy. We
represent the professional interests of more than 50,000 marriage and family
therapists throughout the United States, Canada and abroad.
Since our founding in 1942, AAMFT has been involved with the problems, needs
and changing patterns of couples and family relationships. The association
leads the way to increasing understanding, research and education in the field
of marriage and family therapy, and ensuring that the public's needs are met by
trained practitioners. AAMFT provides individuals with the tools and resources
they need to succeed as marriage and family therapists.
Our members meet rigorous standards for education and training and are held
to the highest ethical standards of the profession. Clinical Fellows and Members
have met the highest standards of their profession for education and clinical
experience. Pre-clinical Fellow and Associate members are individuals in
training for clinical practice. Student members are those that are enrolled in
a graduate marriage and family therapy program, or an equivalent graduate
mental health program. Affiliate members are individuals who are interested in
marriage and family therapy but are not licensed or working toward MFT or other
mental health licensure.
Our association facilitates research, theory development and education. We
develop standards for graduate education and training, clinical supervision,
professional ethics and the clinical practice of marriage and family therapy.
AAMFT offers opportunities to earn continuing education hours through the annual
conference, advanced clinical training institute, and online courses. We
publish the scholarly research journal, Journal of Marital and Family
Therapy, articles about the field in Family Therapy Magazine, and a
variety of brochures and pamphlets that inform the public about the field of
marriage and family therapy. Also, we offer a range of professional and
practice development products, including recordings, books and brochures.
Become a Member Today! See how to begin the process here .
The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
277 S. Washington Street
Suite 210
Alexandria Virginia 22314
Customer Service: (703) 838-9808 or email@example.com
Meet the AAMFT Staff
We invite you to join the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). AAMFT's purpose is to promote and advance the common professional interests of Marriage and Family Therapists.
Understanding the Benefits of Marriage and Family Therapy
If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, therapy with a marriage and family therapist (MFT) can help.
Find an MFT
Continuing education designed specifically for MFTs. Explore the 85 online courses offered and expand your knowledge on a variety of topics. Start your personalized online classroom and earn CE credits at your own pace.
Earn CEs


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SDSU raises $18 million for indoor facility
August 2, 2012
South Dakota State University today announced leadership investments totaling $18 million for the university's planned Indoor Practice and Human Performance Athletic Facility. Sanford Health has agreed in principle to provide $10 million, while another $8 million has been committed by anonymous donors.
The overall project is estimated to cost $24 million to $28 million. Construction of the facility is planned to begin in the spring of 2013, subject to successfully raising the additional funds and final approval through the South Dakota Board of Regents' capital project process. The university received approval from the regents for preliminary planning of the facility in June 2011.
The Sanford Health partnership provides the foundation for a facility that will serve more than 450 student-athletes and will be constructed north of Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, adjacent to the Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center. The facility will provide indoor practice space for intercollegiate athletic teams, state-of-the-art areas for sports medicine, and strength and conditioning facilities.
The partnership establishes a framework for broader collaboration in mutual areas of interest such as exercise science, nutrition and human performance, injury prevention and evidence-based injury treatment and rehabilitation, according to university President David Chicoine.
"The partnership enables a deeper collaboration between our university and Sanford Health," Chicoine said. "There is significant potential with this partnership to enrich our university and to impact many disciplines. This first-class facility will support our student-athletes with practice space, training areas and health-care services, allowing them to pursue their dreams and excel in the classroom and in athletic competition."
As part of the partnership, Sanford Health will become the exclusive provider of sports medicine services for Jackrabbit Athletics for the next 10 years, offering board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons and primary care physicians, and experts with the National Institute for Athletic Health & Performance at Sanford Health.
According to Kelby Krabbenhoft, president and CEO of Sanford Health, Sanford Health has a strong history of working with athletic programs from high school to professional levels. Partnering with universities like SDSU yields major returns on the health system's investments in students.
"We are proud to align with SDSU, and the investment we have made toward the construction of this new facility is the first step in our long-term commitment to the championship excellence the university has put into motion," Krabbenhoft said. "Sanford Health provides a blanket of support to dozens of schools and thousands of student-athletes like none other in the nation. The ability to provide customized service and coverage to SDSU and all our partner schools will yield incredible collective insights and support from the combined knowledge and resources we bring to bear. This is the result of region-wide potential of the nutrition, safety, physical performance and research gained from this well organized effort in sports medicine. That means better care for the student-athlete, and incredible resources during the season and also in the off-season."
The planned facility would include an eight-lane, 300-meter track and 100 yards of synthetic turf, along with space for sports medicine, athletic training, strength and conditioning, physical therapy, hydrotherapy, observation rooms and office facilities.
According to Director of Athletics Justin Sell, the facility supports the athletic department's mission to develop lifelong champions and will have a positive impact on the university for decades to come.
"The Indoor Practice and Human Performance Facility will have the greatest impact on our student- athletes. It is a game-changing opportunity to build a facility that will benefit the university for the next 50 years," Sell said. "The demands put on student-athletes today create the need for high-quality practice and support facilities that allow our student-athletes the opportunity to compete and excel at the highest levels. There is a tremendous need for this facility and we are pleased to be partnering with a leading health care provider like Sanford Health."


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- This event has passed.
Open Mic Night
August 23, 2022 @ 9:00 pm
|Recurring Event (See all)
An event every week that begins at 9:00 pm on Tuesday, repeating indefinitely
Open Mic Night hosted by PEGASUS LOUNGE
All Genres Welcome
Bands, Singers, Instrumental, DJ's, Rappers, Comics, Poets
& Best of All DRINKERS!
This is a FREE Event


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Frank CHURCHILL
No further information available.
Get ready for ghosts and ghouls with our selection of haunting classics from some of our greatest composers of the macabre.
With its cozy, natural interiors and Blue Ribbon Garden, Walt Disney Concert Hall has been a home away from home for 20 years.
A journey through California's innovative sonic landscape.
¿Hablas español? Visita nuestra página web en español.
© 2023 Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy


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Crawler - when communication becomes a pleasure...
If you have need help, please check the FAQ
Crawler Group News | Promote Us | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Uninstall Info
© 2023 Crawler Group. All rights reserved. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.


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KRAKOW – Polish politicians appeal to the basic instincts of their constituents to get votes.
There's a hot new political trend in Poland. Politicians are making sexy commercials in an attempt to win over voters.
The latest example:
Polish politician Katarzyna Lenart has created a videos in which she strips down to her bra in a bid to draw attention to her party and election campaign.
The video begins with the sexy 23-year-old sitting in a chair wearing a tight black suit. She then uncrosses her legs in a manner reminiscent of the famous Sharon Stone scene in Basic Instinct.
Lenart proceeds to take off her tie and throws it at the camera. Afterwards she spins around on her chair, stands up and pulls off her suit jacket.
Here's another sexy Polish politician:
Things begin to get really hot and heavy when young politician slowly unbuttons her shirt. She then turns up the temperature by taking it off to reveal a pink bra.
The tease doesn't end there as the SLD candidate yanks off her bra to show… well… nothing. A censored logo pops up just in time to maintain her modesty.
Lenart said although she was nervous when filming the political advert, she had to draw attention to her party and the election campaign.
'My intention was to draw the attention of the media. Earlier I presented the youth SLD spot, but apparently went unnoticed,' she said.
The politician added that there was a hidden message that many viewers were unable to decode.
U.S. Congresswoman, Nancy Pelosi, has seen the video, and many other sexy Polish political ads, and believes U.S. politicians (including herself) will follow the Polish lead.
Here's Katarzyna Lenart's video:


text: 1892159 Broward family Broward family Breward family Breward family Brouard family Brouard family Brevard family Brewer family Broward family This identifier is deprecated. See the rdfs:seeAlso link for the new identifier. application/rdf+xml 2013-10-08T00:00:00.0 2013-10-08T12:54:53.0 Cataloged by agency: OCoLC Transcribed by agency: OCoLC FAST (Faceted Application of Subject Terminology) Data Open Data Commons Attribution License (ODC-By) v1.0 This is OCLC's "local copy" of the ODC-By license


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Australia declares India a 'top-tier' security partner
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wants to place the Asian nation "at the heart" of Indo-Pacific and beyond
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared India a "top tier" security partner during a visit to the nation's Western Naval Command.
During the visit, Albanese became the only foreign leader to ever board an Indian-built aircraft carrier.
The PM says plans are in place for India to participate for in Australia's war games – an event which involves thousands of troops on land, sea and in the air.
The games are led by either Australia or the U.S. and include the use of major assets such as warships, fighters, bombers and artillery.
In 2017, New Zealand, Japanese and Canadian forces participated.
Albanese says the trip reflects his government's desire "to place India at the heart of Australia's approach to the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
Who is PewDiePie and what's his net worth?
Felix Kjellberg, popularly known as PewDiePie, is a Swedish YouTube sensation who has risen to fame as one of the most prominent content creators on the platform.
With millions of dedicated fans worldwide, he has become a household name.
PewDiePie's journey to stardom began in 2010 when he started creating videos centered around gaming, commentary, and humor. His charismatic and relatable persona resonated with viewers, propelling him to unparalleled success. Over the years, he diversified his content to include vlogs, reviews, and a wide range of entertainment.
One of the defining moments of PewDiePie's career was his "T-Series vs. PewDiePie" battle in 2019, where he competed with the Indian music label T-Series for the title of the most subscribed YouTube channel. This event garnered immense attention and support from his fans, further solidifying his status as an internet icon.
Now, as of 2021, PewDiePie's net worth stands at a staggering $40 million, thanks to various revenue streams such as ad revenue, merchandise sales, and sponsorships. He's not only a YouTube star but also a successful entrepreneur, with his own line of merchandise and a book.
PewDiePie's journey is a testament to the power of online content creation and the immense influence YouTubers can have on global audiences. As he continues to evolve and adapt to the ever-changing landscape of online media, one thing remains clear – PewDiePie is here to stay.
Elon Musk raves about "next-level" Tesla Cybertruck performance
Elon Musk expressed his excitement about the upcoming Tesla Cybertruck Performance version, declaring it to be a game-changer in the electric vehicle industry.
With just seven words, Musk summed up his enthusiasm: "It kicks ass next-level."
Musk's comment came during a press conference where he discussed the latest advancements in Tesla's electric vehicle lineup. The Tesla Cybertruck has been a highly anticipated release since its initial unveiling, and the Performance version promises to take things to a whole new level.
According to Musk, the Tesla Cybertruck Performance will feature cutting-edge technology and performance capabilities that will exceed all expectations. While specific details about the vehicle remain limited, Musk hinted at its impressive acceleration, handling, and range, suggesting that it will outperform any other electric truck on the market.
The Tesla Cybertruck has already generated a significant amount of pre-orders, and with Musk's endorsement of the Performance version, it's likely to attract even more attention from consumers and investors alike. This announcement could also have a positive impact on Tesla's stock price, as it demonstrates the company's commitment to innovation and its ability to stay ahead of the competition.
As Tesla continues to push the boundaries of electric vehicle technology, the Tesla Cybertruck Performance version is set to be a standout addition to their lineup. With Elon Musk's stamp of approval, it's safe to say that the electric truck market is about to witness a significant shake-up.
The rise of the apologetic CEO
We now live in the era of the apologetic CEO, but do those words have meaning and consequences?
There was a time when CEOs bore the stiff upper lip. Never explain, never complain. It worked for hundreds of years, essentially telling customers and employees "We are trying our best, but if you don't like it, leave". Hold the line.
But the Covid pandemic, and the rise of the Teflon-politician plus social media, have now changed business and the way a CEO and their company deals with the outside world.
Sorry now seems to be the easiest word.
Apology strategy
It works like this:
- Major stufff up that the company expects will go unnoticed
- Denial of the stuff up or silence
- Public and then political backlash
- CEO accidentally says something publicly that makes it worse
- Board intervenes
- CEOs top media team hire external crisis comms team to fix things
- External camera crew hired and sets up in the lobby of corporate HQ or on the factory floor
- CEO makes a grovelling apology trying to connect with customers.
But what does it do to fix the original crisis? And has it become a cynical attempt at being seen to take ownership (the buck stops with me), but then nothing happens?
The Qantas case
Qantas prides itself as the national flag carrier, even though it's a publicly listed company now. But it finds itself constantly caught in the grips of customers, unions, the media and the government.
Following the pandemic, Qantas found itself in a world of pain. On the plus side, travel was back in a big way and the profits would soon follow. In this instance, it was better to be the CFO than the CEO.
Qantas stood down thousands of workers, many of whom left the relatively low-paying fickle aviation industry for higher-paying, stable jobs on the other side of "air side".
Staff problems
I recently met a tram driver who used to be a Qantas International pilot. Instead of trekking to Melbourne airport to start work, he now begins his shift by meeting the tram at the end of his street. Basically, the staff moved on.
As the post-covid era rolled along, bags were lost, flights were canceled and angry customers vented to the media, then-CEO Alan Joyce ran through the "PR crisis handbook" outlined above.
Deny, blame, admit, move on.
Here was Alan Joyce's apology in August 2022:
"On behalf of the national carrier, I want to apologise and assure you that we're working hard to get back to our best."
Fast forward to this month, and Alan Joyce is out at Qantas. His replacement is his CFO, Vanessa Hudson.
CFOs focus on operations and streamlining processes but sometimes struggle with human connection. A CEO has to put everybody first, but a CFO has to put the company first.
Vanessa Hudson is a lower-profile CEO than Joyce, so far avoiding the spotlight, or being seen mingling with celebrity chefs.
A year after Joyce's apology, Ms Hudson recorded a video statement to customers:
"I was a part of the leadership at the time, but clearly I wasn't the chief executive then. I am the chief executive now and what I would say is that I would like to be judged by what we do now and how we behave going forward."
Moving On
While the CEO has changed, the messaging has not. This may soon happen, as Vanessa Hudson grows into the role and identifies people who need to be moved on and people who need to be moved in.
But once she builds the right team, listen to them. Often CEOs ignore internal advice and only listen to external consultants.
For passengers though, what difference does an apology make? What happened in that year after Alan Joyce apologied that made Qantas better for today?
Historically when Qantas has been in trouble, they unleash another rendition of I Still Call Australia Home during some sort of sports final.
It's like the partner who keeps breaking trust and continually begs for forgiveness. It's time to pack your bags and burn that red flag.
The Qantas dilemma
Qantas has some big issues that will take decades to fix. Airlines are slow-moving beasts.
Aside from the huge debt burden, unions that are bolstered by a High Court win, plus favourable governments running the country and the states, and an angry customer base ready to rock up with pitchforks, there are even more fundamental issues facing the new CEO.
Australians are famously egalitarian. We demand high service at a low cost, and we're not afraid of complaining until things are changed. That's how we've built this great nation and keep rolling Prime Ministers.
Jumbo sized problem
For decades, Qantas has been stuck with the wrong-sized planes. Not since the 747 has there been an aircraft that meets the comfort needs of passengers and the budgets of airlines at the same time.
Airlines have been demanding more fuel-efficient planes and aircraft manufacturers are trying to squeeze more range out of smaller carbon fibre frames.
Anyone who has flown a 787 Dreamliner will soon forget the LED windows, and remember how much more space there was on a 747 or A380. Anyone who has dropped an Airpod in economy knows what I'm talking about.
Australians are big people who require big planes and bigger seats with wider pitch.
Australia is a long way from anywhere. As is New Zealand, yet Air New Zealand has come up with far more innovative ways to keep passengers comfortable on long-haul flights than Qantas.
Industry trends
The airline industry has been marching to the same tune for decades, since the emergence of RyanAir and Southwest. Cheaper flights, poorer service, and a relationship with customers that is cost-based, not value-based. The rise of airport security only tipped the scales even further towards mean airlines.
For those times, Joyce was the right CEO for Qantas, as he had successfully built up Jetstar in Australia. And frankly, Qantas couldn't carry on running as a government-funded airline.
The Crying CEO
Qantas is an example but far from the only company that struggles with its messaging. There are the CEOs that go even further.
Remember the CEO who took to LinkedIn to post a weeping selfie after making the decision to make staff redundant?
Braden Wallake runs the Ohio-based business-to-business marketing agency Hypersocia. The post received more than 6,700 comments and nearly 33,000 reactions.
Some LinkedIn users mocked Wallake's post, calling him "out of touch" and "cringe-worthy" or suggested that he should focus on helping his former employees rather than on how the situation had affected him.
New CEOs Building Trust
The appointment of a new CEO marks a significant transition that can shape the future of an organisation.
Upholding a strong ethical compass reassures stakeholders that the CEO will make decisions aligned with the organisation's core beliefs. This builds trust over time.
The CEO's track record and expertise play a pivotal role. In the case of Vanessa Hudson, this will be her most difficult task, given she was holding the financial levers at the airline.
Apologising is good spin, but action is a must.
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I'm seriously dying folks! I am so beyond excited over the upcoming reimaging of Pete's Dragon. This was one of those childhood movies I watched over and over and over and over and now,It's coming to the big screen!!! So here's your chance to catch a sneak peak at the upcoming movie. All I can say is that it's going to be AMAZING!
PETE'S DRAGON, this reimagining of Disney's cherished family film starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Oakes Fegley and Robert Redford, and flies flies into theaters on August 12th!
A reimagining of Disney's cherished family film, "Pete's Dragon" is the adventure of an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliott, who just so happens to be a dragon. "Pete's Dragon" stars Bryce Dallas Howard ("Jurassic World"), Oakes Fegley ("This is Where I Leave You"), Wes Bentley ("The Hunger Games"), Karl Urban ("Star Trek"), Oona Laurence ("Southpaw") and Oscar® winner Robert Redford ("Captain America: The Winter Soldier"). The film, which is directed by David Lowery ("Ain't Them Bodies Saints"), is written by Lowery & Toby Halbrooks based on a story by Seton I. Miller and S.S. Field and produced by Jim Whitaker, p.g.a. ("The Finest Hours," "Friday Night Lights"), with Barrie M. Osborne ("The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "The Great Gatsby") serving as executive producer.
For years, old wood carver Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford) has delighted local children with his tales of the fierce dragon that resides deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. To his daughter, Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), who works as a forest ranger, these stories are little more than tall tales…until she meets Pete (Oakes Fegley). Pete is a mysterious 10-year-old with no family and no home who claims to live in the woods with a giant, green dragon named Elliott. And from Pete's descriptions, Elliott seems remarkably similar to the dragon from Mr. Meacham's stories. With the help of Natalie (Oona Laurence), an 11-year-old girl whose father Jack (Wes Bentley) owns the local lumber mill, Grace sets out to determine where Pete came from, where he belongs, and the truth about this dragon.
Disney's "Pete's Dragon" opens in U.S. theaters on August 12, 2016.
Like PETE'S DRAGON on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DisneyPetesDragon
Follow PETE'S DRAGON on Twitter: https://twitter.com/disneypetes
Follow PETE'S DRAGON on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/disneypetesdragon/
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Story highlights
Operation to clean up irradiated areas around Fukushima nuclear plant continues
Original 20-kilometer (12-mile) exclusion zone around crippled facility remains
Residents only allowed access to outer parts of this area for limited periods
New radioactive leaks at plant continue to cause concern two and a half years on
"You're listening to Fukushima FM." The cheery jingle on the radio reminds you of a different time in this part of eastern Japan, a different world that existed before March 11, 2011.
Driving past houses that residents can no longer call home, you can still see sandbags holding down tarpaulins on damaged roofs. They're the result of the devastating earthquake and tsunami more than two years ago, and repairs the owners have not yet been able to carry out.
We're inside the original 20-kilometer (12-mile) exclusion zone, an area completely evacuated after the tsunami knocked out vital cooling systems for three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, causing them to melt down and emit radioactive material.
Read: Fukushima radiation levels spike
Residents can now return to certain parts of the outer exclusion zone but only during the day. The government does not want to run the risk of accumulative radiation exposure if people stay for a full 24 hours.
By the side of the road we pass along, teams of workers are clearing the ground of radiation and have been since the summer of 2011. It's a colossal task that involves painstakingly removing the top layer of soil and grass to remove as much absorbed radiation as possible.
The government-funded operation will have cost $1.5 billion by the end of this fiscal year, according to the Japanese government. On any given day up to 8,000 people are working on the clean-up around Fukushima Prefecture.
More than a year ago, the workers here wore full protection suits, today they simply wear gloves and the basic face masks you can see anywhere in Japan – a sign that the radiation level here has dropped.
Read: How did we get to this point?
Thousands of industrial-size black bags hold the contaminated soil. They are lined up in fields, waiting for their final resting place – wherever that may be. This is a reminder that the problem of what to do with radioactive water at the crippled Fukushima plant is not the only storage issue this country has to deal with.
During the day, the steady volume of traffic in this outer part of the exclusion zone belies the invisible threat that still exists. It's a threat that two-and-a-half years later has residents wondering when, or even if, they will be able to move back home.


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The Dodgers' Community Caravan continues through Saturday. If you've ever had a burning desire to be served a bowl of matzo ball soup by Russell Martin, today's stop at Canter's may be for you. Here are the remaining dates:
February 4: Community Visits
On Wednesday, the Caravan will visit Childrens Hospital Los Angeles in the morning, serve lunch at Canter's Deli, then at 3 p.m., tape an episode of "The Price is Right," the longest-running television game show, now in its 37th season.
Dodger fans can come to Canter's Delicatessen and Restaurant at 419 North Fairfax Avenue from 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. and be served their meal by the Dodgers.
City of Hope and Children's Hospital LA are the Dodgers' partners in ThinkCure!, the innovative program that is accelerating collaborative research to cure cancer.
Wednesday's expected stars include James Loney, Russell Martin, Delwyn Young, James McDonald, Mark Loretta, Bobby Castillo, Kenny Landreaux, Ron Cey and "Sweet Lou" Johnson.
February 5: RBI's 20th Anniversary
On Thursday, the Dodgers will attend and support the RBI Dinner, celebrating RBI's 20th Anniversary. Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities is a Major League Baseball program with roots in Los Angeles. Among current Dodgers, James Loney and James McDonald are alumni of RBI. They are expected to attend, along with Honorees Maury Wills and Derrel Thomas.
February 6: Front Office Staff Community Service at Midnight Mission
On Friday, members of the Dodgers front office will volunteer at Midnight Mission on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. Midnight Mission offers a bridge to self-sufficiency for homeless people through counseling, education, training, and job placement. Midnight Mission also provides food, shelter, clothing, personal hygiene needs, and medical care.
February 7: Truck Departure to Camelback Ranch-Glendale
On Saturday, February 7, the Dodgers' equipment truck will depart Dodger Stadium for Camelback Ranch-Glendale, home of the club's new campus in the desert. The club will welcome fans to see equipment and the truck up close, then give it a send-off on its historic inaugural journey.
To help the players meet as many fans as possible, the club will ask the players to sign one item per person.
photo by Juan Ocampo/Dodgers


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Page 419
... are sanctified , are all of one : for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren , saying , I will declare thy name unto my brethren : in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee . " For these are the overflowing ...
... are sanctified , are all of one : for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren , saying , I will declare thy name unto my brethren : in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee . " For these are the overflowing ...
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according Apostle appearance become believe blessed called cause Christ church command concerning consider contrary counsel David death described desire destroyed divine earth enemies evil expression eyes faith fall Father fear feelings flesh follows give given glory godly grace hand hath hear heard heart heaven Hebrew Hence Hieronymus holy hope iniquity Isaiah Israel judge judgment kind king latter live Lord manner meaning mind nature never observe passage Paul person poor praise pray present prophet Psalm received rejoice rendered rest righteousness saith salvation saved scriptures seek seems sense shalt shew sight signifies sinners sins soul speak Spirit spoken stand strength suffer teach thee things thou thou hast translator true trust truth turn understand ungodly unto verse whereby whole wicked wish wonderful words
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Page 484 - Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life ; but we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead ; who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver ; in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us...
Page 61 - For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee ? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son.
Page 52 - Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
Page 384 - For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles ; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of Hosts.
Page 237 - And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people ; to it shall the Gentiles seek : and his rest shall be glorious.
Page 198 - He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoar frost like ashes. He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold? He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.
Page 161 - Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort ; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
Page 243 - Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches : but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth : for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.
Page 408 - I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death : for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
Page 172 - The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.


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Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture
About the Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture
This lecture series is a fitting tribute to her work to ensure that all citizens, particularly Native Americans and adult learners, have access to quality library services. The lecture series will continue to teach library professionals more about their roles in providing equity of access.
Administered by:
2012 Winner(s)
Carol Brey-Casiano
Her lecture, "Diversity on the World Stage," will draw from her experiences as a leader in U.S. libraries and in Colombia, Brazil and Paraguay, three nations with which she is working closely in her current capacity with the U.S. Department of State.


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Signs of an earlier American
Al Goodyear is holding his breath in anticipation. Within days, the affable archaeologist expects to read the results of lab tests indicating that stone tools he recently found in South Carolina are 25,000 years old - or older.
Such results would be explosive. They would imply that humans lived on this continent before the last ice age, far earlier than previously believed. Even if the dates came in younger than 25,000 years old, researchers say, the find would add to the mounting body of evidence that humans trod North and South America at least 2,000 years before the earliest-known inhabitants, known as the Clovis culture.
Dr. Goodyear's efforts are among the latest from a growing group of archaeologists and anthropologists who have become emboldened to buck conventional wisdom and probe far deeper into the hemisphere's past than many of their predecessors did. What they are finding not only could rewrite old chapters in the history of two continents, it could write new ones.
"With all these new discoveries, it's almost a rebirth of excitement in the field. All sorts of new ideas are coming forward about migration routes and timing of arrival," says Michael Waters, a geoarchaeologist at Texas A&M University who is involved in several pre-Clovis digs around the United States. "You still have to be careful. Every claim of pre-Clovis occupation needs to be looked at quite carefully."
And they are. When stunning discoveries surface in North America's paleolithic past, they can ignite debates conducted with all the gentility of the Stanley Cup finals - as Goodyear knows.
"When these dates come back, I'll be hiding in a coal mine. I've already got a little Groucho Marx disguise I'm going to put on," quips the University of South Carolina scientist, who along with colleagues is working what's called the Topper site in Allendale County, S.C., along the Savannah River.
For decades, the Clovis culture has held sway as the oldest in the New World. Evidence for this group's presence was first unearthed in 1936 near Clovis, N.M. A second site that emerged in Arizona in 1959, and others since. A uniquely fluted spear point became the culture's icon. Radiocarbon dating at Clovis sites so far has bracketed their presence from roughly 11,200 to around 10,800 radiocarbon years ago. (Archaeologists prefer expressing dates in radiocarbon years because converting to modern calendar years becomes tricky beyond a certain age threshold.)
As evidence for the Clovis culture's presence cropped up throughout the continent and the sites became the subject of intense study, the notion that Clovis people were the oldest immigrants to the Western Hemisphere became firmly entrenched. Although some research teams periodically claimed to have found older sites, their evidence was shaky or later proved to have a less radical explanation. To claim a pre-Clovis find was akin to claiming to spot Big Foot.
Researchers often hesitated "to dig below the Clovis horizon for fear of ridicule," Dr. Waters says.
By many accounts, the turning point came seven years ago when anthropologist Tom Dillehay published the second of two encyclopedic volumes of results from a site in southern Chile known as Monte Verde. His team's evidence pointed to a human presence there 13,000 years ago. Other sites began to appear with evidence for pre-Clovis occupation that many saw as more credible than evidence from earlier efforts.
One of these sites, known as Mud Lake, sits near Kenosha, Wis. It was discovered by accident in January 1936, the same year as the first find of a Clovis point, when a Works Progress Administration crew was digging a drainage ditch and unearthed most of a foreleg from a juvenile mammoth. Turned over to the Kenosha Historical Society, it sat there until 1990, when an amateur archaeologist noted cut marks on the bones. Bones from nearby sites, known as the Fenske and Shaefer sites, showed similar markings. In 1992 and 1993, researchers excavated Shaefer and found bones with cut marks on them and stone tools underneath a pelvis bone. Radiocarbon dates on the bones and on plant material at the same level of the dig ranged from 12,500 to 12,300 years ago, nudging them beyond the Clovis time scale.
Dates from the Mud Lake bone were more stunning, says Dan Joyce, senior curator at the Kenosha Public Museum. Purported hunters slew the mammoth 13,450 years ago. He remains cautious about the presence of hunters. Cut marks are suggestive, but not conclusive. This past August, he and his team searched for the rest of their mammoth. But so far it has remained elusive enough to earn the beast the sobriquet Waldo, after the children's "Where's Waldo?" series.
While Dr. Joyce and his colleagues were planning their hunt for Waldo, Goodyear was taking a deeper look at Topper, a site he had been studying for 20 years. An adherent to the Clovis-first idea, he began to rethink his position after reading a site report from Cactus Hill, a pre-Clovis site in Virginia, in 1998.
His subsequent work at Topper uncovered what looked to be industrial-scale toolmaking well below the level at which Clovis artifacts were found. With no organic material available to radiocarbon-date the level, the team had to use a different technique that stunned them with date estimates of 16,000 to 20,000 years ago.
In May, he took his crew back to Topper for another, deeper look. They found what they interpret as tools in a layer roughly two meters (6.5 feet) below their earlier pre-Clovis finds. The soils and geology suggest that the artifacts are several thousand years older, he says. But nothing beats radiocarbon dates. Fortuitously, they found a sample of wood charcoal to derive three radiocarbon dates.
"I'd be very surprised if they're less than 25,000 years old, but I'm preparing myself mentally for the possibility that they could be a lot older," perhaps as old as 30,000 or 40,000 years, he says.
Such finds raise intriguing questions. Clovis groups were thought to have crossed a broad land bridge across the Bering Strait, hiking through breaks in the glaciers to what is now the lower 48. But if people lived on the continent at least 2,000 years earlier, they would have arrived at a time when the glaciers were impassable. This has led some to argue for a sea route along the land bridge and then the western coastline. Others suggest some may have come from Australia or the Iberian peninsula.
Not everyone is convinced by the evidence so far for pre-Clovis finds, although some doubters don't rule out the possibility that some groups where here earlier.
"The tools people find are not self-evidently hunting or butchering tools" in the way Clovis artifacts are, says Stuart Fiedel, an archaeologist with the Louis Berger Group in Washington, D.C.
Like Vikings making landfall in North America before any other modern European group, pre-Clovis sites don't seem to represent the first long-term colonization of the Western Hemisphere, he says. Interest in Clovis grew out of their apparent role as a continent-wide colonizing population and a key to the origins of the native Americans Europeans encountered after they arrived.
But others see potentially deeper insights coming from pre-Clovis finds.
"This could help us get a better handle on the amount of genetic variability we see in the descendants of these populations," says David Meltzer, an archaeologist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. It also could reset the clock for the development of civilizations in the New World.


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As I finalize this article, The Associated Press (9/14) reports that the US Embassy in Kabul has been shelled by rocket-propelled grenades, and has "canceled all trips in and out of Afghanistan for its diplomats and suspended all travel within Afghanistan."
Few here in the States have firsthand knowledge of Afghanistan. Few have any idea how the Afghan people have suffered from the ten-year invasion and occupation. Few have any sense of the absolute failure of the war – by any standard except that of generating mega-profits for certain "defense" corporations.
Haunted by this gap in my own education, this summer, I spent 30 days in Afghanistan – or more precisely, in Kabul. I was part of a small Voices for Creative Nonviolence delegation.
Nervous, Armed Men
Kabul is a city of sandbags and nervous, armed men, both on foot and in big, shiny, urgently honking vehicles. In Kabul life is lived opaquely – behind thick metal doors and high walls topped with barbed wire. Approach the airport here and soldiers will have you out of your vehicle three times and patting you down before you even turn into the parking lot.
Early on, we are told that, according to the Red Cross, the area is enduring the worse security situation in 30 years. Those with a stake in how things are dread the talked about departure of the US forces and their allies. (The US is quietly lobbying the Karzai government to agree to permanent US bases.) Some we meet prefer the devil they've come to know this past excruciating decade to other devils harder to predict, harder to identify.
Our delegation is restricted in our movements. Do we avoid venturing forth from the clipped lawns and rose gardens of our guest house compound? Hardly. But we stay inside those high walls until our driver arrives and we quickly hop in his van. Our unflappable driver, with preternatural reflexes, plunges us into what must be some of the densest, scariest, least-regulated – no traffic lights – traffic on the planet.
We're off to visit a primary school, an orphanage, a women's co-op, a photo gallery, a de-mining museum, a refugee camp. Or we see the zoo – with its pack of scrawny wolves and its flock of vultures. On one of the few evenings we stay out after dark, we attend a US Embassy-sponsored film festival showcasing young Afghan filmmakers. Our most vibrant visit is to Skateistan, an indoor skateboarding arena.
We have 40 or so meetings. We sit down with teachers, journalists, editors, social entrepreneurs and with the staff of various NGOs – internationals, Afghan-Americans and Afghans. Whether guarded or candid, perplexing or illuminating, each encounter provides a piece (a figment?) of the puzzle. We glimpse complexities and contradictions – and tragedies – some beyond our sheltered imaginations.
I journeyed to Afghanistan hoping to hear what Afghans think about Reaper drones. I think they are cowardly. Syracuse's Hancock Air Base trains Reaper personnel and, from there, some of these robotic hunter/killers are piloted over Afghanistan. Thus, the air war in Afghanistan operates in part out of my backyard. So, I thought I might meet with drone survivors. But staff at Kabul's no-questions-asked Emergency Hospital (specializing in war wounds) tell us that drone victims would be cared for elsewhere, if at all, closer to where drones prey. And where we Westerners dare not go.
Few of our contacts in Kabul seemed interested in drones. One human rights NGO staffer allowed that, yes, drones kill civilians, but – ta da! – they also destroy madrassas. I wince at this functionary's equanimity: rural Afghans may be rather less cavalier about such aerial terrorism.
A few of our meetings are inspiring. We spend an hour with Malalai Joya (her pseudonym). Malalai, a young woman barely five-feet tall, only survives by moving with her guards from safe house to safe house. She was elected to Parliament from a remote region, but was drummed out of that august body for publicizing the war crimes of several of her parliamentary colleagues. While this notoriety led to international speaking tours, it also led to assassination attempts.
Getting our directions via cell phone, we don't know where we'll meet Malalai until moments before we arrive. We enter one of those unmarked compounds on a nameless street (typical of Kabul) and are met by two armed men. One stands a few feet off, gun in hand, while the other frisks us – and has us snap photos with our cameras and write with our pens to confirm that these aren't disguised weapons.
There isn't space here to go into Malalai's remarks, or to convey the care and courage she radiates. Suffice it to say Malalai is not one of those who see their interests entwined with those occupying her country. Check out her memoir, "A Woman Among Warlords" (Scribner, 2009).
The Elephant's Trunk
Afghanistan – to begin to understand this harrowed land you must see its teeming capital. Yet, Kabul provides only an incomplete and, indeed, distorted picture of the country as a whole.
Given how tense and militarized the city itself is, we choose not to disdain whatever security it does offer. But such constraints reveal how illusory any US military claims of "progress" have been over these past ten years – despite all the hundreds of billions of dollars squandered. Not to mention all the orphans made and the thousands of limbs and lives lost.
From our glimpses of the Afghan countryside, it's clear that Kabul bears little resemblance to the hinterland. One might as well try to imagine an elephant having only seen its trunk. Or one might seek to understand the US by visiting only Washington or New York … or, for that matter, only Syracuse.
Swollen with internal refugees, Kabul is said to now have about a fifth of Afghanistan's population. Kabul's social structures are not those of the countryside. Nor do urban agendas and interests – or security issues – reflect those of the rural areas where most Afghans live.
I belabor this point because I was taken aback by how many of those we met in the capital favor an ongoing US military presence. Some fear chaos if the US leaves and its corrupt puppet government dissolves ("within three days," as a former US Embassy contractor told us). They fear the ensuing civil war – as if for years the invader hadn't been supporting fundamentalist warlords, fostering corruption, promoting ethnic hatred, paying off the Taliban, making night raids, detaining and torturing young men … and testing its high-tech weapons systems.
Some, especially among the NGO strata, have a stake in the status quo. Why not? For now, it seems to work well enough for those with internationally derived incomes. Without the invader, such perks would vanish. But I keep wondering how rural Afghans – already savaged by the occupation and by those resisting the occupation – would see things. Confined to Kabul, how are we to know?
My few weeks in Afghanistan pound home what I already know: US taxpayers must face our complicity in the terror of US militarism. As the war on Afghanistan now enters its 11th year, we must break out of our bubbles. We must stop averting our eyes.
In early November, Ed will be one of over 30 activists prosecuted for having protested the Reaper drone by "dying-in" last April at the main gate of Hancock Air Base near Syracuse, New York. Reach him at [email protected].
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