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Rocky Anderson is always deferential to Occupy Wall Street when asked about the movement, most recently in a Jan. 31 interview with the online environmental magazine Grist. Occupy has been a "very healthy thing in this country," and there's an "enormous convergence" between its concerns and his. But for inspiration, the Justice Party candidate points to Tahrir Square, not Zucotti Park.
"One of the great inspirations for us was what we saw in much of the Arab world, where people were intent on overthrowing their nations' dictators," he told Grist's special projects editor Greg Hanscom during a wide-ranging Q&A. "… They put their lives on the line, utilizing democratized means of communication through social networking and engaging in classic grassroots organizing — and they succeeded."
The same sort of populist, new-media-driven movement can succeed in this country, the former Democrat and Salt Lake City mayor said. The American people are disgusted with Congress, hold President Barack Obama in low regard and are ready for fundamental change. They understand that voting for Democrats and Republicans simply reaffirms a failed system and accomplishes little more than moving its players around.
"There really is a perfect storm in terms of the resonance that the idea of a major new political party has with the American people," he said.
And, Anderson argued, it won't require a billion dollars in special interest money to "overthrow the dictatorship of corrupt money in our government." His website says he is fighting corruption by not accepting campaign donations of more than $100.
"What the Justice Party and my campaign are about is to radically change that system so that we can eliminate the plutocracy — that is, government by the wealthy — and ensure instead that our government finally represents the public interest," he said.
To get money out of politics, the first priority in an Anderson presidency would be passing a constitutional amendment overturning the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling.
Beyond the corrupting influence of money in governance, Anderson further burnished the antiwar, supergreen reputation he earned during two terms as mayor of Utah's capital city from 2000 to 2008. Ending the wars and taking the lead on climate change were next on his list.
"There really is a perfect storm in terms of the resonance that the idea of a major new political party has with the American people."
"First and foremost, the wars," he said. "I would end them immediately. They have been devastating to this country and to the world. And they just feed into the corrupt military-industrial complex."
Obama, he noted, started and ended this year's State of the Union speech with a militaristic, cheerleading appeal, seemingly channeling George W. Bush. The president claimed that, through the tragic, wasteful and illegal war of aggression in Iraq, the U.S. is safer and more respected around the world.
"If the American people still buy that, after all the disclosures about the debacle of that war and the lies that led us into it, I really fear for this country," Anderson said.
As for combating the "most catastrophic consequences of the climate crisis," Obama had one "throwaway line" in the speech, which was one more than he had in the prior year's, he said.
While neither the Republican nor the Democratic parties have or will provide the "essential international leadership on climate change that's required," Anderson said he has spent more than a dozen years working on climate issues. He has spoken all over the world, received the World Leadership Forum's world leadership award and received the EPA's environmental protection award.
"I reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 31 percent in three years in city operations when I was mayor, then took our successes and worked to communicate best practices and provide inspiration to mayors not only throughout United States, but many other countries," he said. "I co-founded, with Robert Redford, the Sundance Summit."
For three years, the summit brought together dozens of mayors to learn about climate change, energy policy and the role that cities have in addressing those issues, he said.
But the impact mayors and municipalities can have is limited, Anderson said. Their role in raising public awareness of climate change is vital. And they can adopt policies that save money, demonstrate they are good for everybody and help change national policies.
"We don't have any time to lose," he said. "It's absolutely vital that we have far more aggressive and honest leadership on the federal level, because for the long term, there is no more important issue for the United States and the international community to be addressing right now."
Anderson said he wasn't impressed with the rest of Obama's speech or his presidency. He was especially irked by his talk about the kind of country everyone wants, where everybody plays by the same set of rules.
"We have a two-tiered system of justice under this president and his predecessor that is unprecedented," he said.
"What the Justice Party and my campaign are about is to radically change that system so that we can eliminate the plutocracy — that is, government by the wealthy — and ensure instead that our government finally represents the public interest."
Obama, Anderson said, has raised more money from Wall Street than any other candidate in history and hasn't prosecuted a single person for the financial fraud that helped lead to the economic meltdown, from which "these criminals" still benefit.
"That's a very good return on investment for these Wall Street bankers," he said.
On jobs, Obama's speech and job performance have been pathetic, Anderson said. Getting done everything he says he wants to do wouldn't come close to meeting the needs of the nation's working people.
"How does he, with a straight face, talk about getting jobs back to the U.S. without even mentioning free trade agreements and the need to significantly renegotiate those agreements to put them in better balance in terms of worker rights and environmental protections?" he asked.
The answers don't even have to be creative, Anderson said. Obama can hearken back to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration programs. He could put people to work rebuilding the nation's infrastructure – bringing every one of its buildings over 30 years old up to LEED certified standards, for example.
"He'd be hiring hundreds of thousands of people, putting them to work, reducing energy usage and ending up with a far improved federal infrastructure," he said.
As president, Obama should make the case to the American people the way FDR did on Social Security.
"FDR went out and fought for Social Security because it was the right thing to do," he said. "He didn't throw it out there and let Congress fight over the little pieces and end up with this horrific compromise."
Real leadership, Anderson told Grist, is bringing the American people along to a vision of what is right. It's not following the polls. "It's about standing up for what is right and making your case for it and getting the job done."
"We have a two-tiered system of justice under this president and his predecessor that is unprecedented."
And that is something Obama has utterly failed to do, he said. "He ran a great campaign. He was in a wonderful position with the support of this country for real change. And he has absolutely blown it."
Anderson's recommended course of action is for the American people to stand up and say they won't take it any more. Regardless of their political affiliations, citizens should be join together and insist on certain fundamentals.
"None of those will be met by either the Republican or the Democratic party because they helped create the system, and they thrive from the corruption in the system," he said.
Obama, for example, didn't just wake up one day and decide it would be a great public policy decision to veto the EPA's efforts to reduce ozone emissions, Anderson said.
"There's only one reason he did that, and it's the corrupting interests of those polluting industries," he said. "It's the same thing with climate change. We're never going to see the kinds of fundamental changes that need to be made to reverse the tide toward catastrophic climate disruption unless we change our system. And to do that we need to get beyond this Republican and Democratic duopoly."
Anderson's prescription starts with the grassroots in 2012.
"The best thing we can do is essentially occupy the elections," he said.
Hanscom is the former editor of the award-winning High County News and Baltimore-based city mag Urbanite. Anderson, he wrote, is no stranger to him or Grist.
"He was in a wonderful position with the support of this country for real change. And he has absolutely blown it."
"When we last spoke with Rocky Anderson," the interview's introduction begins, "he was kicking some serious butt for the planet from his position as the supergreen mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah. Anderson, an unflinching champion of issues ranging from climate action to gay marriage, quit politics in 2008 after two terms in office."
Anderson's presidential bid is backed by a tiny, mostly volunteer staff, Hanscom reported, noting that his Facebook followers reportedly came up with the Justice Party name. Anderson said the campaign, which has upgraded the voterocky.org website and has not focused on fundraising as yet. He estimated the campaign has received $10,000 to $12,000 so far.
"But Rocky is fierce and determined," Hanscom wrote. "And he's pissed about what short shrift American workers and the environment keep getting while the political elite and Wall Street fat cats get ever fatter. Given the outrage we've seen in the Occupy movement in recent months, his message is bound to strike a chord."
Steven Higgs can be reached at .


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Original "Scalawag Bunch" 1 Sheet Movie Poster 36"x 27" Universal Cinema
Save Liquid error (snippets/product-badge line 32): Computation results in '-Infinity'%
Original "Scalawag Bunch" 1 Sheet Movie Poster 36"x 27" Universal Cinema
The size is 27"x 36". See pictures for condition
I recently purchased a large collection of 1970s -1980s movie posters from a theater in Utah.
All would matte or dry mount for framing beautifully.
I will try my best to describe any major damage i see to the posters,
but most will have minor issues as they were folded before they were stored.
All posters have folds and are likely to have a few splits at the seams, and possibly pin holes.
Any major damage such as large tears and missing corners will be described above.

subset: commoncrawl


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Sign In to your account with your Artiana Id
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chemical alterations on paper
10.75 x 8 in. (27.4 x 20.1 cm.)
executed in 1972
Signed and dated 'Souza 1972' (upper right)
Acquired directly from the artist
Vinod Bhardwaj, Francis Newton Souza: Dhoomimal Gallery Collection, Dhoomimal Gallery, New Delhi, p.181 (illustrated)
(1924 - 2002)
Born in 1924 in Saligao, Goa, Souza was expelled from the Sir J.J. School of Art, Mumbai, in 1942 for taking part in the 'Quit India' freedom movement. He went on to found the Progressive Artist's Group in 1948, before leaving for London a year later. In 1955 Souza held a one-man show at Gallery One in London and also had his autobiographical essay 'Nirvana of a Maggot' published. He was awarded the John Moore Prize at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool in 1957 and received an Italian Government Scholarship in 1960. In 1959 a collection of his autobiographical essays, 'Words and Lines', was published, and in 1962 a monograph on his work by Edwin Mullins was published as well. In 1967 Souza migrated to New York where he received the Guggenheim International Award. Two retrospectives of his work were organized by Art Heritage, New Delhi, in 1986 and 1996. Souza also participated in a work-live programme in Los Angeles, hosted by Saffronart in 2001. Souza passed away in Mumbai 2002. Some important posthumous exhibition of his work include, 'F.N. Souza' at Saffronart and Grosvenor Gallery, New York, in 2008; 'F.N. Souza: Religion & Erotica' at Tate Britain, London, in 2005-06; 'Self-Portrait: Renaissance to Contemporary' at the National Portrait Gallery, London, in 2005; and 'Francis Newton Souza' at Saffronart and Grosvenor Gallery, New York and London, in 2005.


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DevExtreme Editors include the following appearance customization properties.
stylingMode: "filled" | "outlined" | "underlined"
Specifies the style used for text fields.
labelMode: "static" | "floating" | "hidden"
Specifies label display mode.
To specify styles globally (as an alternative to stylingMode), set the editorStylingMode property instead (editorStylingMode applies the same style to all editors on the page).
In this demo, you can use the "Styling Mode/Label Mode" drop down box (in the Options section) to modify styling and label modes.


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Ladies, you really stink. And do you know why? It's because you're so damn emotional. But never fear, loves, for Degree deodorant is here to let you know that it's okay to "dare to feel."
Degree deodorant has long positioned itself as a stress-activated product that responds to natural elevations in one's body temperature. Yet a recent advertising campaign separates said stress reactions into a big ol' pile of gender stereotypes.
Degree Clinical Protection for Men is touted as a deodorant "for men who take risks." Because nothing should hold you back, men! So what if your body naturally gives off odors when you sweat? You take risks, men! You need tough protection for your tough self!
Yet the women's version of the product has a decidedly different spin. The campaign, "Dare to Feel", is based around the idea that it's not necessarily the macho risk-taking of their male counterparts (or, you know, natural bodily functions) that causes women to sweat, but their emotions that turn them into big sweaty piles of stank. "Emotional sweat can cause body odor more than perspiration from physical activity," the website states, "In fact, we can start sweating when we're nervous, embarrassed, scared, and even when we're excited. Sweat doesn't happen only when we're hot or working out. This means you need extra odor protection to kick in when you're stressed or emotional."
There's no mention of emotional sweat on the men's site, or the concept that emotional issues may add to the excessive sweating that both clinical protection products are designed to fight. Both products supply the same information regarding how the deodorants work; but the emotional spin is only applied to women, while men, apparently, don't "feel," but "take risks."
I realize that I may be over-analyzing here, but when I recently saw the "Dare To Feel" commercials, I couldn't help but roll my eyes so hard that my emotional stank levels set off the alarms.
So what say you, commenters? Sexist? Or just savvy advertising?


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CGL Opens New Station in the Heart of New Mexico
Concert Group Logistics, a Downers Grove, Ill.-based leader in transportation logistics, has announced the opening of its Albuquerque, N.M., station under the leadership of Eric Fabian. A 20-year veteran of the transportation industry, Fabian started in the logistics division of the Marine Corps before beginning his civilian career with DHL first in New York and in Albuquerque beginning in 1995. Under the leadership of Fabian, the Albuquerque station is committed to growth and success. Fabian states, "Every customer is approached on an individual level. We begin each new relationship by providing our personal contact information. Our availability allows us to best serve our customers with quick and reliable service." Albuquerque's personalized approach has led to high customer satisfaction which in turn has led to several new business opportunities. Gerry Post, president at CGL, views the addition of Fabian and his team as a valuable asset to the CGL network. "The Albuquerque station is comprised of a disciplined team that is dedicated to working closely with clients to deliver personalized transportation logistics services. Located in the heart of New Mexico, Albuquerque is traditionally seen as an underserviced area. We believe Albuquerque will open many new doors for CGL." With the addition of the Albuquerque Station, CGL now has a network of 25 stations throughout the United States, all of which are equipped to handle worldwide transport.


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FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — U.S. Army prosecutors offered the first details of a rare criminal case against a general, alleging in a military hearing Monday that he committed sex-related crimes involving four female officers and a civilian.
A hearing on evidence in the case against Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair opened Monday at Fort Bragg, home to the 82nd Airborne Division. Officials said the Article 32 hearing, similar to a grand jury proceeding in civilian court, was expected to last at least two days.
The first witness called was Maj. Gen. James Huggins, the former commander of the 82nd Airborne and Sinclair's direct superior during his most recent combat tour to Afghanistan.
Huggins recounted that on March 19, a female captain came to his office late at night in tears. She reported that she had been involved in a three-year-long sexual affair with Sinclair, then her direct commander and a married man. Adultery is a crime under the military code of justice.
Huggins said he knew the female officer to be a good soldier whom Sinclair had specifically asked to have transferred under his command.
According to Huggins, the captain said Sinclair had once forced her to perform oral sex on him, but that she also had sex willingly with her boss both at Army bases in the United States and on deployments to Germany, Iraq and at the airborne division's headquarters in Afghanistan.
When she had tried to end the affair, Sinclair had threatened her and persisted in pushing for sex, according to Huggins' testimony. But she also told Huggins she finally decided to report Sinclair after finding e-mails exchanged with other women in his account.
"She was exceptionally emotional, fearful," Huggins recounted Monday. "She stated that she knows this would basically end her career."
After the conversation, Huggins initiated a criminal investigation of his deputy commander, whom he described as a personal friend.
Sinclair now faces possible courts martial on charges including forcible sodomy, wrongful sexual conduct, violating orders, engaging in inappropriate relationships, misusing a government travel charge card, and possessing pornography and alcohol while deployed.
Sinclair sat silently at the defense table during the hearing, rarely making eye contact with Huggins as he testified. Sinclair had served as deputy commander in charge of logistics and support for the division's troops in Afghanistan from July 2010 until he was sent home in May because of the allegations.
There have been only two other court-martial cases against Army generals in recent years.
Until Monday, the Army had kept secret all details of the allegations against Sinclair, refusing to release charging documents filed against him in September. That secrecy is different from other high-profile case where Army prosecutors were quick to release charging documents.
In March, the Army quickly released charge sheets laying out evidence against Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, the soldier accused of gunning down 17 Afghan civilians during a massacre in southern Afghanistan. The first Article 32 hearing in Bale's case also began Monday across the country in Washington at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, south of Seattle.
Before prosecutors could start presenting their case against Sinclair Monday, defense lawyer Lt. Col. Jackie Thompson alleged that military investigators had violated his client's rights by reading confidential emails he had exchanged with his lawyers and wife discussing the accusations against him.
Under questioning from Thompson, the lead investigator for the case acknowledged she had read the confidential e-mails, violating the terms of the subpoena used to obtain them from Sinclair's service provider. Those e-mails were later turned over to prosecutors, who are barred from seeing Sinclair's communications with his counsel.
Thompson then asked Criminal Investigative Command Special Agent Leona Mansapit if she had the resources she needed to conduct a proper investigation in Sinclair's case.
"Probably not, sir," Mansapit replied. "I wish I had."
The defense is asking the officer conducting the hearing, Maj. Gen. Perry L. Wiggins, to either require all new prosecutors to be assigned or the case thrown out.
"The investigators were tainted, and they tainted the prosecutors," Thompson told Wiggins. "They bungled the investigation, and if you leave them in place, they will bungle the prosecution as well."
A visibly flustered lead prosecutor, Lt. Col. William Helixon, was put in the uncomfortable position of calling two of his fellow prosecutors to the witness stand to deny they had read the privileged e-mails. The defense learned of the apparent violation by spotting the e-mails among 16,000 pages of evidence turned over by the prosecution earlier this month.
Wiggins eventually elected to proceed with the Article 32 hearing, after which he will make a recommendation up the chain of command about whether to court martial Sinclair. The hearing was set to resume Tuesday morning with the female captain taking the witness stand.


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Normally you do NOT want to use mysql_pconnect. This function is designed for environments which have a high overhead to connecting to the database. In a typical MySQL / Apache / PHP environment, Apache will create many child processes which lie in idle waiting for a web request to be assigned to them. Each of these child processes will open and hold its own MySQL connection. So if you have a MySQL server which has a limit of 50 connections, but Apache keeps more than 50 child processes running, each of these child processes can hold a connection to your MySQL server, even while they are idle (idle httpd child processes don't lend their MySQL connection to other httpd children, they hold their own). So even if you only have a few pages which actually connect to MySQL on a busy site, you can run out of connections, with all of them not actually being used.
In general use mysql_connect() for connecting to MySQL unless that connection takes a long time to establish.


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A slightly sharper blade
Muramasa: The Demon Blade was probably Vanillaware's most uneven game. Alongside of the expected spectacular visuals, a beautiful soundtrack, and surprisingly simple yet enjoyable combat system, came a fairly uninteresting story, and a lot of repetitive gameplay elements.
Although Muramasa was great on paper and on a canvas, it didn't always follow through with its premise, which was disappointing. It looks like not a whole lot has changed in 2013, because other than adding in some gorgeous visuals, Muramasa Rebirth on the PlayStation Vita doesn't change much.
The repetition sure is a lot more manageable on the go in shorter spurts, however.
Muramasa Rebirth (PlayStation Vita)
Developer: Vanillaware
Publisher: Aksys Games
Released: June 25, 2013
Muramasa actually gives you pretty much all the tools you need at the start of the game after you choose one of the two potential main characters — Kisuke or Momohime — each who have a different story (but ultimately visit the exact same areas, just in a different order). In a somewhat initially confusing fashion, each character can equip up to three swords, allowing the player to switch between them. If you use a sword too long, it breaks, forcing you to switch to another while it "heals" (they're spirit swords) and recovers its durability.
Everything's great from a combat perspective, as all the staples are fully intact — the downward thrust, the uppercut slash, the dashing cut, dodge rolling, blocking — it's all right there at the start, and it allows for quite a bit of finesse and skill based play. As I said, these are pretty much all of the tools you're going to get during the roughly two 10 hour campaigns outside of crafting, and it's just about all you're ever going to need.
But while the setup and foundation are solid, where the game somewhat fails is that most of the time, it doesn't quite give you a venue to show off said finesse, as it's consistently intent on delivering you handfuls of goons and relatively low-rent enemies who don't do much more than fill the screen. Thankfully, the environments are classic Vanillaware — gorgeous and full of life, especially on the Vita's OLED screen — and compliment the incredible soundtrack quite well to the point where you may not mind it as much.
Boss fights are the absolute highlight of the game, and show off how fun the combat system really can be without any elements of repetition involved. In top Vanillaware form, every boss looks incredible from a visual standpoint, and will test your skills to the max mechanically — especially on a higher difficulty setting. I'd go so far as to say that a few of them in particular are among my favorites of this generation, as they have a clear old school feel to them, and a sense of challenge. With a pared down story and a few more boss fights, any semblance of combat repetition could have been eliminated — they're that fun.
It's not just thug fighting that gets repetition too — actually getting around in the game's environments, despite how stunning they are, is at points, grating. Often times playing Muramasa is like playing a sprawling Metroidvania with large heaps of barren wastelands, with massive amounts of backtracking. Some form of real fast-travel system outside of the bare-bones one included, even if it was only for areas you've been to before and at limited areas (save points) would have been a key addition in the Vita version, but alas, you'll be hoofing it quite a bit — and thankfully, that's when you can put the Vita on its idle setting and come back later.
The translation is definitely improved from the Wii version, as each character is now more defined. Kisuke is a lot more standoffish in particular here, as his newly improved dialog helps cement his cold demeanor far better than the original script. While I didn't notice an Earth shattering difference in quality, you can easily tell that it is superior if you've played the original. As a side note, the voices are still in Japanese, and they're still great.
Outside of the flaws of the original, there is one major new problem that should be addressed: the DLC elephant in the room. The powers that be have strangely decided to not include the four new characters in the retail version in favor of selling them as DLC, for an undetermined price, and at an undetermined date. When you're charging fans for a full price portable version of something that's barely been updated content wise, you better have a few extras ready to sway people — but in this case, it's paid DLC not available at launch.
While the core game with all its blemishes and wonder is fully preserved, I can't help but think how great this re-release could have been with the characters fully intact as unlockables. For those of you who are on the fence, waiting for a verdict on the DLC and picking up the Vita version at a lower price may be the best option.
But in spite of the lack of new content, Muramasa at its core stands on its own as a solid action game. Vanillaware's visual style is absolutely timeless, and even though you may get sick of seeing the same locales over and over, the Vita's portability and instant standby feature make it much easier to pick up and play over the course of a few days.
If you've already played Muramasa to death, I doubt you'll find anything worth paying full price for in Rebirth (yet), but for those of you who haven't experienced it and haven't played a Vanillaware game, this is a great way to see that beautiful art everyone keeps talking about.


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According to a new survey from CDW-G, the 21st-Century Campus Report, administrators may be missing the opportunity to attract new students, keep existing ones and train them adequately for the workforce. The annual report surveyed 1,200 college students, faculty, IT staff and administrators and found a disconnect between administrators' top priorities and the importance of technology for students and faculty. Some of the survey's key findings include:
- 98% of administrators believe that learning and mastering technology skills will improve students' educational and career opportunities, yet just 22% of administrators say that using technology to enhance the learning process is one of their top priorities. Administrators instead focus broadly on attracting and retaining students and addressing budget shortfalls
- Administrators are missing the boat, and the connection that technology can have with their goals. Students attend college to gain skills that will help them secure a job, and administrators, faculty, and students agree that tech skills are a way to make that happen. Administrators should view technology as an investment that will attract incoming students and keep current students engaged, while saving budget dollars over the long-term
- Despite administrators' challenges, campuses are making steps in the right direction. More students are using technology every day in the classroom than last year, and many faculty and IT staff view newer technologies – like mobile devices – as essential to the 21st-century campus … The full report is available at www.cdwg.com/21stCenturyCampus.


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When 11-year-old Rachelle Rosado opens up her laptop and puts on her headphones in her sixth-grade classroom, she hears an electronic voice: The prefix "sub" goes with "mit" and that makes the word "submit."
Rachelle attends an unusual charter school in an office building across the street from Newark City Hall. The school, Merit Prep, opened up at the beginning of the 2012-13 academic year with the noble mission of raising the academic performance of low-income minority students. But it is also embroiled in a controversy over how much children should be taught by computers. New Jersey's biggest teachers union is suing to shut the school down and is hoping a state appellate court will do so in early 2013.
Students at Merit Prep are part of an educational experiment known as blended learning that combines computer software, individual instruction and small-group learning. They spend a lot of the day in a cafeteria-sized room where there's enough space for the entire school of 80 sixth-grade students— mostly black, poor and below grade level—to sit at shared lime green tables with their assigned laptops. The plan is to add one grade a year.
Rachelle says the animated characters in some of the software programs are funny. And she especially likes going at her own pace.
"In my previous school, when we start on one thing, we spent two weeks on it but in this school, if we get it complete, we just move on to the next thing," says Rachelle.
When Rachelle struggled with an online worksheet, she liked doing it over and over again until she got it right.
Hundreds of schools around the country are experimenting with big doses of online instruction inside the classroom and changing the role of the teacher.
Ben Conant, a math teacher at Merit Prep, is half disc jockey who selects the mix of computer curriculum and half personal tutor who addresses each student's weaknesses.
"I don't want kids just sitting in front of a computer and becoming like pale computer zombies," said Conant. "I was worried about that. That was my biggest fear."
The online curriculum feeds each student's answers into a data center operated by Touchstone Education, the non-profit school management group that runs Merit Prep. The data center then spits out reports that Conant can use to monitor his students' progress, figure out what one-on-one coaching each student needs and adjust what he will teach when he pulls a few kids aside into glass-enclosed seminar rooms for small-group instruction.
Students don't just work on their computers. Conant also has them do calculations on paper, which gives them handwriting practice.
"Four is messy," Conant told one student. "I want to see it like one, two and three. But your math is good."
Conant says his biggest problem in the classroom is that students are playing math games that they find on their own over the Internet. He disciplines the game players with demerits. "They want to learn; that's great," Conant says. "It's much better than students drawing little ink flowers that they scribble over and over again, which is what people do when they have notebooks and they're bored."
Ben Rayer, founder of Merit Prep, believes he can get better results for low income inner-city children by combining technology with the best practices in classroom teaching. If he succeeds with this first Newark school, he plans to build 50 charter schools just like it around the country.
Rayer says the big benefit to using technology is that he can tailor the instruction for each student.
"No longer do we teach just one lesson in front of a class of 30 or 40 students; we teach many lessons during a day to students based on their individual needs," says Rayer.
This year as Rayer develops his non-profit model at Merit Prep, his school is overstaffed with a 13-to-1 student-teacher ratio.
But he says technology should allow him to increase that. He won't put a number on it but his description of becoming 25 to 30 percent more efficient than a typical school could mean as many as 40 students per teacher.
"That is not the point of what we're doing," said Rayer. "But if this worked and a teacher could serve more students at a highly effective level, we would do that."
The New Jersey Education Association, which doesn't even represent the teachers of Newark, is worried about the specter of computers replacing teachers. The union has gone to court to shut down Merit Prep and another charter school that is also using a blended learning approach. The union's lawsuit argues that charter schools can't emphasize online instruction until the New Jersey state legislature evaluates and approves it.
"Should we be experimenting with students during their academic experience?" asks Steve Wollmer, the union's communications director. "They only get one trip through the public schools."
Computer use in education will inevitably grow, but the question is: How much?
Even some technology advocates like Doug Levin of the State Educational Technology Directors Association doubt that this model will ever appeal to middle- and upper-income families whose children are not struggling below grade level.
Levin says that's because those children don't need as much extra drilling and can use more of the school day for analysis and inquiry.
"I think this approach works much better for elementary school aged children who are really struggling to build their vocabulary, to understand basic math facts and operations," says Levin. "I think as kids get into middle and high school, what the computer can offer in that regard is less."
Levin predicts the computer drilling will succeed in raising the test scores of the low-income sixth graders of Merit Prep.
But until those results are in, this school is still an experiment.


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Officially, the junta known as the SPLDC (State Peace and Development Council) no longer rules Burma. It was dissolved for the 2010 elections, in which Thein Sein was "elected" president and a veneer of democracy was applied to the country. But the military still rules. In Asia Times Online, Bertil Lintner writes about the expansion of Burma's arms manufacturing.
Myanmar has embarked on a massive expansion of its military and military capabilities since the country was shaken by a nationwide pro-democracy uprising that almost toppled the regime in 1988. … Recent defectors from the Myanmar military say that the number of infantry battalions and other military units have been increased dramatically since 1988, but most of these are understaffed and the foot soldiers are often forcibly recruited, poorly paid and badly motivated [and] the troops, and even most of the officers, lack combat experience.
… Myanmar's newly recruited infantry may lack combat experience, and the quality of the weapons produced in its defense industries may be of poor quality. … But it is clear that the Myanmar regime is in no hurry to change its priorities, as defense spending still accounts for as much as 50% of the central government's budget.
In particular, those priorities are
… creating a loyal officer corps that the regime can depend on for its survival rather than building a professional fighting force. Regime survival has always been the main prerogative of Myanmar's generals and thus a loyal and well-supplied officer corps is still of utmost importance, regardless of their weakness on the battlefield.
Obviously when a populace is as disempowered as Burma's, the junta doesn't need a strong army.


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Airports don't have to be terrible. These ten hubs picked by Jalopnik readers are actually all kinds of awesome.
Welcome back to Answers of the Day — our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
You never remember an airport for its good qualities. You remember an airport for the time that you ran across two terminals to make a connecting flight. For that time you got frisked at security. For that time you waited four hours at baggage claim for a piece of luggage that never came back.
But airports are the gateways to cities now, and every local government wants their airport to look fresh and modern. You end up with big, grand pieces of architecture that are pretty cool. These ten are our favorites.
If there are any airports that you love that we didn't have room for on this list, let us know in Kinja below.
Photo Credit: Aeropuerto Internacional de Carrasco
10.) Wellington, New Zealand (WLG)
The airport at New Zealand's capitol wasn't very interesting until a few years ago. That's when it started to get weird. Back in 2003 it got a giant statue of Gollum and in 2011 it got this new departure lounge called "The Rock." Cool, right?
Suggested By: shortyoh, Photo Credit: Wellington Airport
9.) Princess Juliana International Airport, Saint Martin (SXM)
Planes land right over the beach in Saint Martin, which gives you the opportunity to get closer to jets than anywhere else. Of course, you have to treat this with a little caution, because the planes will knock the shit out of you.
Suggested By: SennaMP4, Photo Credit: rafcha
8.) Tempelhof, Berlin (THF)
To get absurdly, inhumanly massive architecture, you have to go to the Nazis. They probably built their huge airport in Berlin to last a thousand years, but operations closed in 2008. Since 2010, the whole place has become a huge park and host to a number of Berlin-style weirdo fashion and pop culture events. Take that Nazis!
Suggested By: TokyoBayAqualine, Photo Credit: Alexander Rentsch
7.) Hong Kong's old Kai Tak Airport (formerly HKG)
We remember Hong Kong's old airport (1954-1998) as one of the most difficult and dangerous landing sites in the world. Thanks to low approaches and always-strong crosswinds, even 747s came in with big crab angles, the airplane equivalent of opposite lock. The video is insane.
Suggested By: sinyster, Photo Credit: lokcheung
6.) Carrasco International Airport, Montevideo, Uruguay (MVD)
Uruguay's biggest airport still isn't huge, but as of 2008 it is one of the coolest. The new terminal designed by Urugurayan architect Rafael Viñoly looks better than any other airport terminal in the world, if you ask us.
Suggested By: William Smith, Photo Credit: Rafael Alvez
5.) Madeira, Portugal (FNC)
The Madeira airport used to have one of the shortest runways in the world at just a hair under a mile long. In 1977 it got a short extension, but in 2000 the airport doubled the size of its runway. Since the whole thing is on the edge of an island, they built the runway's extension on 70 foot-tall columns over the water. You land on a bridge! It's awesome.
It's also one of the most dangerous landings in the world.
Suggested By: shortyoh, Photo Credit: Silvain de Munck
4.) Paro Airport, Bhutan (PBH)
You remember the part in Prometheus where they land the spaceship into the bottom of a spectacular alpine valley? That's what it's like to fly into remote Bhutan, another contender for the world's most difficult landing. The airport itself also looks rad, though very few people ever travel to Bhutan to see it.
Suggested By: GTO1962, Photo Credit: Douglas J. McLaughlin
3.) Kansai International Airport, Osaka (KIX)
Space is at a premium in Japan, so when they had to build a new airport in the late '80s, first they made a new island, then they stuck their new airport on it. It is certainly one of the more ambitious airport designs we've ever seen. The passenger terminal, the longest in the world, is pretty cool too. It's shaped like a giant aerofoil.
The whole airport is sinking under its own weight, so enjoy it while you can.
Suggested By: Ash78, Photo Credit: mrhayata
2.) Tenzing-Hillary Airport Or Lukla Airport, Nepal (LUA)
This was rated the most dangerous airport in the world back in 2010. Take one look at the approach of the 1,510 ft runway with a 12% grade and you'll understand why. This is where people fly in to get to Mount Everest and even the airport is 9,200 feet above sea level.
Suggested By: Straightsix9904, Photo Credit: Reinhard Kraasch
1.) Courchevel Airport, France
Any airport built into the side of a mountain is cool. Any airport where the landing strip isn't flat is unbelievably cool. Combine the two and you have France's Courchevel Airport where take off is unreal.
Reader Mallthus explained how the hell you manage the slope.
For those wondering how it works, arriving aircraft land uphill, the grade slowing the plane, which is useful given how short the runway is. Departing planes take off downhill, using the slope to build extra speed, again, useful with such a short runway.
Just watch the video.
Suggested By: You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much, Photo Credit: Hugues Mitton


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Lasse Skou Hauschildt | April 10, 2014
Focus on cycling is a new publication, communicating guidelines for the road projects in the city of Copenhagen. The purpose is to contribute to road projects in Copenhagen being designed so that bicycle traffic is considered as optimal as possible.
Niels Tørsløv, Director of the Traffic Department, City of Copenhagen, writes about the publication:
"The goal of the guidelines set forth in Focus on Cycling is to ensure that bicycle traffic is factored into all Copenhagen road projects to the greatest extent possible, on a level that corresponds to the city's political aspirations, regardless of whether the actual project is a cycling project or a more general traffic project. Furthermore, the guidelines are intended to ensure a consistent traffic design. In addition, the guidelines are expected to optimise the planning of new projects since external consultants – who design the City's road projects – will understand Copenhagen's political objectives from the beginning of the planning process."
Copenhagen has a particular focus on crossings that are safe, secure and easy to get through for people cycling. Therefore, Focus on Cycling begins with an examination of cycle-friendly crossing solutions. Then Focus on Cycling treats bicycle lanes in regard to the capacity problems that have emerged with the rise in bicycle traffic seen with the perspective that today bicycle traffic in Copenhagen is at its highest level in about 50 years.
Road projects in Copenhagen must be characterised by a unity of vision. Meaning that particular consideration of pedestrians and busses must be a part of the individual projects. Car traffic must also remain and there may be wishes for green elements and more general improvements of the city space. The rules of the road for traffic areas in cities with traditional and tested solutions are of course also the basic set of rules in Copenhagen. Since the rules of the road are broad and almost always merely intended as a guide, there is often the potential to create good solutions for bicycle traffic. Though not always. Therefore, Copenhagen and other cities carry out experiments with new solutions over these years – experiments that sometimes need dispensation from the rules of the road. Solutions can also be implemented and be a part of the rules of the road. Hopefully Focus on Cycling can also further this development.
"Focus on cycling" is translated from "Cykelfokus – Københavns Kommunes retningslinjer for vejprojekter". The reader is advised that this publication is intended as the City of Copenhagen's guidelines and should be understood within a Danish context. The solutions set forth here are not necessarily immediately applicable elsewhere. Any comments or questions regarding the publication should be addressed to The Bicycle Programme: Niels Jensen firstname.lastname@example.com or Andreas Røhl email@example.com
The full version of Focus on Cycling can be found here:
Source: cycling-embassy.dk
Sustainability.org.il > תחבורת אופניים >


text: This documentary is about Edmonton filmmaker Joe Viszmeg and his battle with cancer. In 1991, Viszmeg was diagnosed with adrenal cancer and told he wouldn't live through the year. Four years later, he made In My Own Time—Diary of a Cancer Patient. In My Healing Journey: Seven Years with Cancer, he tells the story of how he survived the roller coaster of a deadly disease. He died in 1999.


text:
We stood by the window in our living room, watching the SWAT team S-L-O-W-L-Y travel down our street. Men uniformed in camouflage or in black, helmeted, jacketed, carrying large weapons. They fanned out into yards, our yard, up to doors, our door, knocked. I opened the door. A smiling team member — and it was the right thing, because it certainly helped to put us more at ease — made sure we were secure and that the suspect they were seeking was not in our Watertown home.
The previous night, my wife had heard the gunfire and explosions. I was asleep. I awoke and went into the living room. The TV was on, news reports of what had just transpired in our city. My wife gave me a quick rundown. Then we settled in for the next 23 hours. She would not sleep, I caught about 45 minutes.
The suspect was here, then there, then possibly moving toward us. We watched the news reports, along with the rest of the country, but we were in the middle of what we were seeing on the tube. We switched feverishly between channels, trying to catch the latest bulletins.
We were informed, via reverse 911 call from Watertown Police, that we should not leave our house, do not answer the door, stay away from windows. We were not happy, but we did what was asked.
It seemed like they might have had him cornered on Quimby Street, but it wasn't so. There were numerous press conferences, continuous loops of film, much conjecture, rumors, guesses. A man was on the ground on Upland Road, many rifles aimed at his head. He was taken into custody, stripped naked. It wasn't him. We waited some more.
The SWAT team came and went. The reports continued, some hopeful, some discouraging. We were told, by the Chief of Police, that we might be under order to not leave our houses for two or three days. We were downhearted, but understood.
As the evening came again, we were told that the "stay inside ban" had been lifted. We stayed in. We figured it wasn't really prudent for everyone to go running outside as though we had just been sprung from prison. I ventured a theory to my wife. I said that perhaps they lifted the ban in order to see if he might venture out in some way. While the ban was in effect, nobody was on the streets aside from police and guardsmen. With it lifted, maybe he'd be bold enough to try and get lost.
Not long after the ban was announced as lifted, more gunfire rang out in Watertown. Shots were being fired in the vicinity of Franklin Street. Reports came in, various sources, saying he was cornered. He was — maybe — in a boat in somebody's backyard. Finally, that was stated as fact. And they moved in, got him, captured him, gravely wounded but alive.
And the final scene, the one that will stay with me and give joy to my heart for a long while, was that of the citizens of Watertown coming out by the hundreds, lining Mount Auburn Street. They cheered every police vehicle, National Guard truck, EMS unit, bomb squad, and other official vehicle involved in the capture. They cheered heartily, lustily, and with a sense of relief that was palpable and fully understood by both of us.
It was the Watertown Marathon. We were cheering those who finished the race.
Jim Sullivan is a resident of Watertown and a freelance writer. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
What to do about Herman Cain?
This question goes not to the Republican Party, where "establishment" candidates like Mitt Romney privately dismiss Cain as lacking the experience, gravitas and resources to beat President Barack Obama and then to soundly govern the country.
Herman Cain is not going to be the GOP nominee.
Without a serious star-power staff, a ground game, chits to be called in by the candidate or the candidate's influential network of friends of influence, the "fat cats" sit on their checkbooks until and unless they believe their horse can win. A serious presidential candidate is not one who, like Cain, breaks from campaigning for a book tour timed to coincide with his unlikely quest for the White House.
No, Cain is a clear and present danger to the Democratic Party — and their invaluable near-monolithic black vote. Cain says things like: "African-Americans have been brainwashed" into voting for the Democratic Party; "If you (Wall Street protestors) don't have a job or you're not rich, blame yourself"; "People sometimes hold themselves back because they want to use racism as an excuse for them not being able to achieve what they want to achieve"; and "I don't believe racism in this country today holds anybody back in a big way."
How do some influential left-wing blacks react? Not well:
Cornell West, professor of black studies at Princeton: Cain needs to "get off the symbolic crack pipe."
Harry Belafonte, entertainer, civil rights activist: "He's a bad apple, and people should look at his whole card. He's not what he says he is."
Tavis Smiley, PBS host and NPR broadcaster, simply writes off Cain's comments as "ridiculous or crazy."
But Cain threatens to change the race-card game in ways that even those who voted against Barack Obama hoped he would do: Put the stake through the heart of the nonsense that white racism still holds people back. Instead, Obama sides with a black Harvard professor who badly mistreats a white Cambridge cop who was just doing his job. Obama tells an author that racism fuels the opposition to ObamaCare. Obama says nothing when comrades ranging from former President Jimmy Carter to Jesse Jackson Jr. to Morgan Freeman defend Obama by blaming racism.
Now comes Cain.
He calls his economic program 9-9-9. But Cain's real number is 95. That is the percentage of the black vote captured in 2008 by Obama. What if someway, somehow, the Republicans captured over 35 percent of black presidential vote, as the GOP did as recently as 1956?
Cain asks this question: Why do blacks, in 2011, vote Democratic? Answer: because a) they falsely believe racism remains a serious threat and b) that Republicans are bad people who wish them ill. Neither of which, says Cain, is true. Blacks are more anti-abortion, more pro-traditional marriage and more pro-vouchers for inner-city parents than the typical non-black Democrat. A bad economy, made worse by Obama's tax-spend-regulate, welfare-state mentality, means blacks suffer disproportionately.
This argument makes Cain a walking refutation to the black victicrat "leaders" who speak about the "plight" of the "black underclass," and who attribute legitimate policy differences to "racism."
Cain represents a hardworking, up-from-the-bootstraps, financially successful, plainspoken Republican Southern black man who believes America in 2011 and America in 1960 are two different worlds. Worse for the grievance crowd, Cain calls out the Democratic Party for fostering a victicrat mentality and creating a sense of entitlement.
Cain's straight talk makes him stand out in debates. He is now close to cracking the "top tier" of candidates. Clearly, lots of people have begun to listen. What if blacks start listening?
Cain believes what former slave Booker T. Washington wrote a mere 35 years after slavery ended:
"When a Negro girl learns to cook, to wash dishes, to sew, to write a book, or a Negro boy learns to groom horses, or to grow sweet potatoes, or to produce butter, or to build a house, or to be able to practise medicine, as well or better than some one else, they will be rewarded regardless of race or colour. In the long run, the world is going to have the best, and any difference in race, religion, or previous history will not long keep the world from what it wants.
"I think that the whole future of my race hinges on the question as to whether or not it can make itself of such indispensable value that the people in the town and the state where we reside will feel that our presence is necessary to the happiness and well-being of the community. No man who continues to add something to the material, intellectual, and moral well-being of the place in which he lives is long left without proper reward. This is a great human law which cannot be permanently nullified."
Or, as Cain puts it, "I left the Democrat plantation a long time ago."
Larry Elder is a best-selling author and radio talk-show host. To find out more about Larry Elder, or become an "Elderado," visit www.LarryElder.com.


text:
Blast crisis in myeloid leukemia and the activation of a microRNA-editing enzyme called ADAR1
Curator: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP
Fix to RNA-Editing Glitch May Defuse Blast Crisis
GEN News Highlights Jun 10, 2016 http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/fix-to-rna-editing-glitch-may-defuse-blast-crisis/81252818/
The self-renewal of leukemia stem cells depends on the activation of a microRNA-editing enzyme called ADAR1. According to a new study, ADAR1 activation represents a unique therapeutic vulnerability in leukemia stem cells, which can give rise to blast crisis in chronic myeloid leukemia. http://www.genengnews.com/Media/images/GENHighlight/thumb_Jun10_2016_ChronicMyeloidLeukemiaBloodCells6222419925.jpg
Few cancer mechanisms are as devastating as the generation of cancer stem cells, which arise in leukemia from white blood cell precursors. The mechanisms of this transition have been obscure, but the consequences are all too clear. Leukemia stem cells promote an aggressive, therapy-resistant form of disease called blast crisis.
Delving into the mechanisms by which leukemia stem cells are primed, a team of scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), uncovered a misfiring RNA-editing system. The main problem the scientists found was an enzyme called ADAR1 (adenosine deaminase acting on RNA1), which mediates post-transcriptional adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing.
ADAR1 can edit the sequence of microRNAs (miRNAs), small pieces of genetic material. By swapping out just one miRNA building block for another, ADAR1 alters the carefully orchestrated system cells use to control which genes are turned on or off at which times.
ADAR1 is known to promote cancer progression and resistance to therapy. To study ADAR1, the UCSD team used human blast crisis chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells in the lab, and mice transplanted with these cells, to determine the enzyme's role in governing leukemia stem cells.
The scientists, led by Catriona Jamieson, M.D., Ph.D., published their work June 9 in Cell Stem Cell, in an article entitled, "ADAR1 Activation Drives Leukemia Stem Cell Self-Renewal by Impairing Let-7 Biogenesis." The article presented the first mechanistic link between pro-cancer inflammatory signals and RNA editing–driven reprogramming of precursor cells into leukemia stem cells.
The article describes how ADAR1-mediated A-to-I RNA editing is activated by Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) signaling and BCR-ABL1 signaling. Also, it indicated, in a model of blast crisis (BC) CML, that combined JAK2 and BCR-ABL1 inhibition prevents leukemia stem cell self-renewal commensurate with ADAR1 downregulation.
Essentially, the scientists were able to trace a series of molecular events: First, white blood cells with a leukemia-promoting gene mutation become more sensitive to signs of inflammation. That inflammatory response activates ADAR1. Then, hyper-ADAR1 editing slows down the miRNAs known as let-7. Ultimately, this activity increases cellular regeneration, or self-renewal, turning white blood cell precursors into leukemia stem cells.
"Lentiviral ADAR1 wild-type, but not an editing-defective ADAR1E912A mutant, induces self-renewal gene expression and impairs biogenesis of stem cell regulatory let-7 microRNAs," wrote the author of the Cell Stem Cell article. "Combined RNA sequencing, qRT-PCR, CLIP-ADAR1, and pri-let-7 mutagenesis data suggest that ADAR1 promotes LSC generation via let-7 pri-microRNA editing andLIN28B upregulation."
After learning how the ADAR1 system works, Dr. Jamieson's team looked for a way to stop it. By inhibiting sensitivity to inflammation or inhibiting ADAR1 with a small-molecule tool compound, the researchers were able to counter ADAR1's effect on leukemia stem cell self-renewal and restore let-7. Self-renewal of blast crisis CML cells was reduced by approximately 40% when treated with the small molecule called 8-Aza as compared to untreated cells.
"A small-molecule tool compound antagonizes ADAR1's effect on LSC self-renewal in stromal co-cultures and restores let-7 biogenesis," the study's authors noted. "Thus, ADAR1 activation represents a unique therapeutic vulnerability in LSCs with active JAK2 signaling."
"In this study, we showed that cancer stem cells co-opt a RNA editing system to clone themselves. What's more, we found a method to dial it down," said Dr. Catriona Jamieson. "Based on this research, we believe that detecting ADAR1 activity will be important for predicting cancer progression.
"In addition, inhibiting this enzyme represents a unique therapeutic vulnerability in cancer stem cells with active inflammatory signaling that may respond to pharmacologic inhibitors of inflammation sensitivity or selective ADAR1 inhibitors that are currently being developed."
ADAR1 Activation Drives Leukemia Stem Cell Self-Renewal by Impairing Let-7 Biogenesis
- •JAK2 signaling activates ADAR1-mediated A-to-I RNA editing
- •JAK2 and BCR-ABL1 signaling converge on ADAR1 activation through STAT5a
- •ADAR1-mediated microRNA editing impairs let-7 biogenesis and enhances LSC self-renewal
- •JAK2 and BCR-ABL1 inhibition reduces ADAR1 expression and prevents LSC self-renewal
Post-transcriptional adenosine-to-inosine RNA editing mediated by adenosine deaminase acting on RNA1 (ADAR1) promotes cancer progression and therapeutic resistance. However, ADAR1 editase-dependent mechanisms governing leukemia stem cell (LSC) generation have not been elucidated. In blast crisis chronic myeloid leukemia (BC CML), we show that increased JAK2 signaling and BCR-ABL1 amplification activate ADAR1. In a humanized BC CML mouse model, combined JAK2 and BCR-ABL1 inhibition prevents LSC self-renewal commensurate with ADAR1 downregulation. Lentiviral ADAR1 wild-type, but not an editing-defective ADAR1E912A mutant, induces self-renewal gene expression and impairs biogenesis of stem cell regulatory let-7 microRNAs. Combined RNA sequencing, qRT-PCR, CLIP-ADAR1, and pri-let-7 mutagenesis data suggest that ADAR1 promotes LSC generation via let-7 pri-microRNA editing and LIN28Bupregulation. A small-molecule tool compound antagonizes ADAR1's effect on LSC self-renewal in stromal co-cultures and restores let-7 biogenesis. Thus, ADAR1 activation represents a unique therapeutic vulnerability in LSCs with active JAK2 signaling.
4014 Inflammatory Cytokine-Responsive ADAR1 Impairs Let-7 Biogenesis and Promotes Leukemia Stem Cell Generation
Program: Oral and Poster Abstracts
Session: 631. Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: Biology and Pathophysiology, excluding Therapy: Poster III
Interferon Receptor Signaling in Malignancy: a Network of Cellular Pathways Defining Biological Outcomes
Serine phosphorylation of Stats
The nuclear translocation of Stat-proteins occurs after their activation, following phosphorylation on specific sites by Jak kinases (8, 9). It is well established that phosphorylation on tyrosine 701 is required for activation of Stat1 and phosphorylation on tyrosine 705 is required for activation of Stat3 (8, 9). Beyond tyrosine phosphorylation, phosphorylation on serine 727 in the Stat1 and Stat3 transactivation domains is required for full and optimal transcriptional activation of ISGs (8, 9). There is evidence that serine phosphorylation occurs after the phosphorylation of Stat1 on tyrosine 701 and that translocation to the nucleus and recruitment to the chromatin are essential in order for Stat1 to undergo serine 727 phosphorylation (23). Several IFN-dependent serine kinases for Stat1 have been described, raising the possibility that this phosphorylation occurs in a cell type specific manner. After the original demonstration that protein kinase C (PKC) delta (PKCδ) is a serine kinase for Stat1 and is required for optimal transcriptional activation in response to IFNα (24), extensive work has confirmed the role of this PKC isoform in the regulation of serine 727 phosphorylation in Stat1 and has been extended to different cellular systems (25–29) (Table 2). In the Type II IFN system five different serine kinases for the transactivation domain (TAD) of Stat1/phosphorylation on serine 727 have been demonstrated in different cell systems. …..
Serine phosphorylation of Stats
The nuclear translocation of Stat-proteins occurs after their activation, following phosphorylation on specific sites by Jak kinases (8, 9). It is well established that phosphorylation on tyrosine 701 is required for activation of Stat1 and phosphorylation on tyrosine 705 is required for activation of Stat3 (8, 9). Beyond tyrosine phosphorylation, phosphorylation on serine 727 in the Stat1 and Stat3 transactivation domains is required for full and optimal transcriptional activation of ISGs (8, 9). There is evidence that serine phosphorylation occurs after the phosphorylation of Stat1 on tyrosine 701 and that translocation to the nucleus and recruitment to the chromatin are essential in order for Stat1 to undergo serine 727 phosphorylation (23). Several IFN-dependent serine kinases for Stat1 have been described, raising the possibility that this phosphorylation occurs in a cell type specific manner. After the original demonstration that protein kinase C (PKC) delta (PKCδ) is a serine kinase for Stat1 and is required for optimal transcriptional activation in response to IFNα (24), extensive work has confirmed the role of this PKC isoform in the regulation of serine 727 phosphorylation in Stat1 and has been extended to different cellular systems (25–29) (Table 2). In the Type II IFN system five different serine kinases for the transactivation domain (TAD) of Stat1/phosphorylation on serine 727 have been demonstrated in different cell systems. ….
MicroRNAs (miRs) and the IFN response
IFN-inducible JAK-STAT, MAPK and mTOR signaling cascades are also regulated potentially by microRNAs (miRs). miRs are important regulators of post-transcriptional events, leading to inhibition of mRNA translation or mRNA degradation (105). In recent years it has become apparent that the direct regulation of STAT activity by mIRs has profound effects on consequent gene expression, specifically in the context of cytokine-inducible events (106). Pertinent for this review of IFN-inducible STAT activation, miR-145, miR-146A and miR-221/222 target STAT1 and miR-221/222 target STAT2 (106). Numerous studies describe different miRs that target STAT3: mIR-17, miR-17-5p, mIR-17-3p, mIR-18a, miR-19b, mIR-92-1, miR-20b, Let-7a, miR-106a, miR-106-25, miR-106a-362 and miR-125b (106) (Fig. 4). mIR-132, miR-212 and miR-200a have been implicated in negatively regulating STAT4 expression in human NK cells (107) and miR-222 has been shown to regulate STAT5 expression (108). In addition, JAK-STAT signaling is affected by miR targeting of suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins. miR-122 and miR-155 targeting of SOCS1 releases the inhibition of STAT1 (and STAT5a/b) (109–111), and mIR-19a regulation of SOCS1 and SOCS3 effectively prolongs activation of both STAT1 and STAT3 (112). There is also evidence that miR-155 targets the inositol phosphatase SHIP1, effectively prolonging/inducing IFN-γ expression (113). Much of the evidence associated with miRs prolonging JAK-STAT activation relates to cancer studies, where tumor-secreted miRs promote cell migration and angiogenesis by prolonging JAK-STAT activation (114). miR-145 targeting of SOCS7 affects nuclear translocation of STAT3 and has been associated with enhanced IFNβ production (115). Beyond inhibition of SOCS proteins, miRs may influence the expression of other inhibitory factors associated with JAK-STAT signaling, and miR-301a and miR-18a have been shown to inhibit PIAS3, a negative regulator of STAT3 activation (116). There is also the potential for STATS to directly regulate miR gene expression. STAT5 suppresses expression of miR15/16 (117) and there is evidence that there are potential STAT3 binding sites in the promoters of about 200 miRs (118). Viewed altogether, there is compelling evidence for miR-STAT interactions, yet few studies have considered the contributions of miRs to IFN-inducible JAK-STAT signaling.
Evolution of our understanding of IFN-signals and future perspectives
A substantial amount of knowledge has accumulated since the original discovery of the Jak-Stat pathway in the early 90s. It is now clear that several key signaling cascades are essential for the induction of Type I, II and III IFN-responses. The original view that IFN-signals can be transmitted from the cell surface to the nucleus in two simple steps involving tyrosine phosphorylation of Stat proteins (8) now appears somewhat simplistic, as it has been established that modifications of Jak-Stat signals by other pathways and/or simultaneous engagement of other essential complementary cellular cascades is essential for induction of ISG transcriptional activation, mRNA translation, protein expression and subsequent induction of IFN-responses. Such pathways include PKC and MAP kinase pathways and mTORC1 and mTORC2-dpendent signaling cascades.
Over the next decade our understanding of the mechanisms by which IFN-signals are induced will likely continue to evolve, with the anticipated outcome that it will be possible exploit this new knowledge for translational-therapeutic purposes. For instance, selective targeting of kinase-elements of the IFN-pathway with kinase inhibitors may be useful in the treatment of autoimmune diseases where dysregulated/excessive Type I IFN production contributes to the pathophysiology of disease. On the other hand, efforts to promote the induction of specific IFN-signals, may lead to novel, less toxic, therapeutic interventions for a variety of viral infectious diseases and neoplastic disorders.
Exploring the RNA World in Hematopoietic Cells Through the Lens of RNA-Binding Proteins
The discovery of microRNAs has renewed interest in post-transcriptional modes of regulation, fueling an emerging view of a rich RNA world within our cells that deserves further exploration. Much work has gone into elucidating genetic regulatory networks that orchestrate gene expression programs and direct cell fate decisions in the hematopoietic system. However, the focus has been to elucidate signaling pathways and transcriptional programs. To bring us one step closer to reverse engineering the molecular logic of cellular differentiation, it will be necessary to map post-transcriptional circuits as well and integrate them in the context of existing network models. In this regard, RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) may rival transcription factors as important regulators of cell fates and represent a tractable opportunity to connect the RNA world to the proteome. ChIP-seq has greatly facilitated genome-wide localization of DNA-binding proteins, helping us to understand genomic regulation at a systems level. Similarly, technological advances such as CLIP-seq allow transcriptome-wide mapping of RBP binding sites, aiding us to unravel post-transcriptional networks. Here, we review RBP-mediated post-transcriptional regulation, paying special attention to findings relevant to the immune system. As a prime example, we highlight the RBP Lin28B, which acts as a heterochronic switch between fetal and adult lymphopoiesis.
The basis of cellular differentiation and function can be represented as integrated circuits that are genetically programmed. Identification of the master regulators within these complex circuits that can switch on or off a genetic program will enable us to reprogram cells to suit biomedical needs. A remarkable example was the discovery by Takahashi and Yamanaka (1) that somatic cells could be reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells via the ectopic expression of four key transcription factors. Interestingly, a specific set of microRNAs (miRNAs) could also mediate this reprogramming (2, 3), revealing a powerful layer of post-transcriptional regulation that is able to override a pre-existing transcriptional program (4). Similarly, miR-9 and miR-124 were sufficient to mediate transdifferentiation of human fibroblasts into neurons (5). Accordingly, we are enamored by the RNA world and pay special attention in our investigations to regulatory non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), particularly miRNAs and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and how they integrate with known genetic regulatory networks (Fig. 1). With the exception of certain ribozymes, regulatory RNAs generally do not work alone. Instead, they are physically organized as RNA-protein (RNP) complexes. Operationally, RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and their interactome work in concert as post-transcriptional networks, or RNA regulons, in response to developmental and environmental cues (6). Inspired by this concept and other pioneering studies in the worm, we recently demonstrated that a single RBP Lin28 was sufficient to reprogram adult hematopoietic progenitors to adopt fetal-like properties (7). We discuss these and related findings, which begin to disentangle the complex functions of RBPs in the context of recent advances in post-transcriptional regulation, starting with the discovery of miRNAs.
The Lin28/let-7 circuit: from worm development to lymphopoiesis
Inspiration from the worm
Working in C. elegans, Ambros and Horvitz (8) identified a set of genes that control developmental timing, a category that they termed heterochronic genes. Heterochrony is a term coined by evolutionary biologists and popularized by the worm community to denote events that either positively or negatively regulate developmental timing in multicellular organisms. The discovery of two heterochronic genes, lin-4 and lin-28, which encode a miRNA and RBP respectively, is particularly relevant to this review. The lineage (lin) mutants were previously identified and named because they displayed abnormalities in cell lineage differentiation. Furthermore, some of them were considered heterochronic, as adult mutants harbored immature characteristics (retarded phenotype) or, conversely, larval mutants displayed adult characteristics (precocious phenotype). It was not until 1993 that lin-4 was characterized molecularly, because contrary to popular expectations, the gene did not encode a protein but instead a small RNA now appreciated as the first miRNA to be discovered (9). The lin-4 miRNA acts in part by inhibiting the expression of the LIN-14 transcription factor through imperfect basepairing to sites in the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of lin-14 mRNA (9, 10). However, it was not apparent initially whether lin-4 or lin-14 is evolutionarily conserved, potentially relegating these findings to be relevant only to the worm. Interestingly, Lin28, a gene conserved in mammals, was later identified to be a direct target of the lin-4 miRNA (11). Lin28 loss-of-function resulted in a precocious phenotype, whereas gain-of-function resulted in a retarded phenotype; thus, Lin28 acts as a heterochronic switch during C. elegans larval development (11).
The possibility that lin-4 may be an oddity of the worm was dissolved with the discovery of the second miRNA, again in C. elegans, let-7 (12). Unlike lin-4, the evolutionary conservation of let-7 from sea urchin to human was quickly appreciated (13). Importantly, expression analysis showed that let-7 expression is temporally regulated from molluscs to vertebrates in all three major clades of bilaterian animals, implying that its role as a developmental timekeeper is conserved (14). This established miRNAs as a field unto its own that has progressed rapidly with the identification of Drosha, Dgcr8, Dicer, and Argonaute (Ago) RBPs as core components of the miRNA pathway (15). Orthologs of lin-4were eventually found in mammals (mir-125a, -b-1, and -b-2) (16) along with hundreds of novel miRNAs from numerous organisms (17). We now recognize that miRNAs, in complex with the RBP Ago, frequently bind their cognate targets via imperfect complementarity to evolutionarily conserved sequences in 3′ UTRs (18–20) and mediate post-transcriptional repression (21).
One diverse group of RBPs appreciated to be important in the immune system, even before the discovery of miRNAs, is distinguished by their ability to bind to AU-rich elements (AREs) often found in 3′ UTRs of genes involved in inflammation, growth, and survival. Such RBPs are known as ARE-BPs and have been implicated in mRNA decay, alternative splicing, translation, as well as both alleviating and enhancing miRNA-mediated mRNA repression (104–107). Genetic inactivation of several ARE-BPs have been linked to aberrant cytokine expression due to impaired ARE-mediated decay (5, 108–111) (Table 1). In addition, deficiency of HuR and AUF1 has uncovered a pro-survival role for both in lymphocytes (112, 113), while ectopic expression of Tis11b (ZFP36L1) negatively regulates erythropoiesis by down-regulating Stat5b mRNA stability (114). The KH-type splicing regulatory protein (KSRP) originally identified as an alternative-splicing factor is a multi-functional RBP. It has been shown to associate with both Drosha and Dicer complexes to positively regulate the biogenesis of a subset of miRNAs including mir-155 and let-7 (73, 108, 115–120). In addition, KSRP, like many other ARE-BPs, mediate selective decay of mRNAs by recruitment of exosome complexes to mRNA targets (121) and constitutes a prime example of a multi-functional RBP.
Biological processes involved in the development and function of the immune system require programmed changes in protein production and constitute prime candidates for post-transcriptional regulation. While the ENCODE project initially aimed to identify all functional elements in the human DNA sequence, recent discoveries centered around miRNAs and multi-tasking RBPs, such as Lin28, have highlighted the need for a similar systematic effort in mapping post-transcriptional functional elements within the transcriptome. Integration of genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data remains a daunting but necessary task to achieve understanding of the full impact of genetic programs and the enigmatic roles of regulatory RNAs. Mastering the science of (re)programming cell fates promises to unleash the potential of stem cells for Regenerative Medicine.


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What would you do if it's June and you found an opened box of Marshmallow PEEPS® on top of your daughter-in-law's washing machine in the laundry room? My son's washing machine, too but there they were, sitting there, already opened. Someone had eaten half the double box of the little chicks. And true, Easter was the end of April so how hard and dried out must they be by now? Then I thought to myself, I like them with a bit of stale crust, not fresh. When was the last time you ate a Marshmallow Peep?
Darn, they're BLUE.
I'm always going on and on about how I don't like to eat anything blue. Wah Wah Wah. Blue food grosses me out I always say. Blueberries are really deep purple not blue. I never liked those raspberry popsicles, either. Blue food seems so fake, like the frosting on a Smurf Cake!
HA! Okay, I won't eat one but– there was some great light streaming through their foyer windows, even with the new UV protection film they had put on last week. What to photograph? The older kids at dive team, youngest sleeping, Jack watching Tom and Jerry. I took the box of blue PEEPS, put them on the stone tile floor, turned them a bit, let the light catch on the cellophane and reflect from their sugary skin. Oh yes, I was photographing the stale blue peeps, how interesting the light was. I could see a bit of sparkle from the sugar coating. I wondered if they were still moist inside? When was Easter, I calculated the degree of freshness. That stale factor seemed attractive to me and I what does it matter anyway because remember I don't eat anything BLUE.
I'll just separate the one from the herd, flock, group, family, row…..yes, there it was, the white marshmallowy interior of a PEEP. \
The guts exposed.
Let me adjust the white balance on the camera settings with the white insides showing now. See how the light reflects on the white?
Oh I remembered the Mother Goose Rhyme about old Hannah Bantry or maybe she was young.
Hannah Bantry,
In the pantry,
Gnawing at a mutton bone.
How she gnawed,
How she clawed it,
When she found herself alone.
And you know what happened next. I broke the cardinal rule about Don't eat anything BLUE. I ripped off the tail end of that PEEP and it was chewy and very stale. Dried to perfection. Just seasoned not raw or gushy. Totally disgusting. Delicious. Childhood remembered, but they were yellow then. I ate it, chewed it, swallowed the sweet sweet sweetness of the sugary confection. And photographed the evidence. PEEPS® and I are about a year apart in age.
I put back the other ones in the still opened, airing-out-box of PEEPS®, right back on top of the washing machine in the laundry room.
I confess.
I ate it AND enjoyed doing so but limited consumption to a lone PEEP. Honest. Even though it was BLUE!!
There are all sorts of shapes, recipes and crazy info about PEEPS® and the Just Born Manufacturers.


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Vlad Perju
Professor Perju is the Director of the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy at Boston College and a tenured Associate Professor at Boston College Law School. His primary research and teaching interests include the law of the European Union, comparative constitutional law and theory, international and comparative law and jurisprudence.
Before joining the Boston College faculty in 2007, Perju was awarded a doctorate from Harvard Law School under the supervision of Professor Frank Michelman with a dissertation entitled "The Province of Cosmopolitan Jurisprudence: Constitutional Foundations". He earned two law degrees from the University of Bucharest and the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, an LLM degree summa cum laude from the European Academy of Legal Theory in Brussels, Belgium and graduated from the LL.M. program at Harvard (degree waived). While at Harvard, he served as a Byse Fellow, a Safra Fellow at the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics and a Research Fellow in Amartya Sen's Project on Justice, Welfare and Economics.
Perju was a Visiting Associate Professor at Harvard Law School in the Fall Term 2011 and a Visiting Professor of the Theory of the State at the European Academy of Legal Theory in Brussels, Belgium.
Perju was awarded the 2009 Ius Commune Prize for his article entitled "Reason and Authority in the European Court of Justice" (49 Virginia Journal of International Law 307). His paper "Cosmopolitanism and Constitutional Self-Government"was selected for presentation at the 2010 Yale/Stanford Junior Faculty Forum. In the Fall 2009, Professor Perju was a research fellow at NYU Law School. He has been an affiliate of the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard University since the Spring 2010.
In 2008 Professor Perju was appointed by the President of Romania to a seven-member Commission on Constitution Reform. He remains actively involved in the process of constitutional reform both in Romania as well as in the European Union. Some of his commentary can be found here (in English) and here (in Romanian).
At Boston College, he teaches courses in the Law of the European Union, American and Comparative Constitutional Law, The Past and Future of the State, as well as advanced seminars on European Integration and Modern Legal Theory.


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A federal judge ruled Thursday that Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, making it the first state in the South to have its voter-approved prohibition overturned.
U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen issued a stay of her order while it is appealed, meaning that gay couples in Virginia will still not be able to marry until the case is ultimately resolved. Both sides believe the case won't be settled until the Supreme Court decides to hear it or one like it.
Allen's ruling makes Virginia the second state in the South to issue a ruling recognizing the legality of gay marriages.
A judge in Kentucky ruled Wednesday that the state must recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. It did not rule on the constitutionality of same-sex marriages inside the state, however. The Virginia judge's ruling also follows similar decisions in Utah and Oklahoma federal courts.
The Virginia Attorney General's Office took the unusual step of not defending the law because it believes the ban violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. However, it asked for the judge to stay her order to avoid a situation like what happened in Utah after a federal judge declared that state's ban on gay marriages unconstitutional.
More than 1,000 gay and lesbian couples were married in the days after the ruling before the U.S. Supreme Court granted the state an emergency stay, halting the weddings and creating a cloud of uncertainty for the status of the married couples. Soon after, a federal judge also declared Oklahoma's ban unconstitutional. That ruling is also on hold while it is appealed.
In a movement that began with Massachusetts in 2004, 17 states and the District of Columbia now allow gay marriage, most of them clustered in the Northeast. None of them is in the old Confederacy.
The Virginia case centered on a gay Norfolk couple that were denied a marriage license by the Norfolk Circuit Court in July, shortly after the Supreme Court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act. A Chesterfield County couple that married in California and is raising a teenage daughter also later joined the lawsuit, seeking to have their marriage recognized in Virginia. The attorneys representing the plaintiffs are the same ones who successfully challenged California's voter-approved ban on gay marriages in court.
Opponents of the Virginia ban say the issue resonates in Virginia in particular because of a landmark 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision involving a Virginia couple and interracial marriage.
Mildred and Richard Loving were married in Washington, D.C., and were living in Virginia when police raided their home in 1958 and charged them with violating the state's Racial Integrity law. They were convicted but prevailed before the Supreme Court.
During verbal arguments in the case, Virginia Solicitor General Stuart Raphael said that the ban on gay marriage is legally indistinguishable from the ban on same-sex marriage. He said the same arguments to defend the ban now are the same ones that were used back then, including that marriage between two people of the same sex has never been historically allowed. Raphael also said supporters have failed to prove how allowing gay marriage would make heterosexual couples less likely to marry.
In defending the law, the attorney for the Norfolk clerk said that the issue is best left for the General Assembly and the voters to decide.
Nationwide, there are more than a dozen states with federal lawsuits challenging state bans on same-sex marriage.


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Odyssey: Alone Against the Whole Space Review
Price: FREE
Version: 1.1
App Reviewed on: iPhone 3GS
Graphics / Sound Rating:
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On rare occasions I start playing a game, find myself totally unenthusiastic about it, then it grows on me to the point that I feel bad for doubting it in the first place. Odyssey: Alone Against the Whole Space is most certainly one such game. The title is a mouthful and having a SHUMP's controls relegated to a virtual stick feels beyond awkward, but the wealth of RPG-like upgrades make intentionally shortening the name in conversation and taking a few minutes to adjust to the controls worth it.
The Odyssey has gotten trapped out in deep space and now has to find her way home. This by itself wouldn't be so bad if most of the denizens of deep space didn't have it out for the wayward ship and her unfortunate crew. After a brief learn-as-you-go tutorial wherein players are destined to eventually fail, the game proper begins. Odyssey is designed as an "endless" style game, with multiple levels featuring hordes of different enemies that serve two primary functions: to provide currency and experience for ship enhancements, and to try and prevent players from attaining high scores.
The entire draw of Odyssey is the progression system. Three different ships are available and each can be leveled-up RPG-style for increased combat proficiency. On top of that, they can also be manually upgraded by purchasing better parts in between missions. And then there are all the bonus items like weapons and ammo and such to give players even more of an edge. It's a clever system of enhancements that can really keep players invested and desperate to attain that slightly better armor or new ship.
While it's arguable that Odyssey's full title could be a deterrent for curious App Store shoppers (personally I think it is), what's not up for debate is the use of a fixed virtual stick. So many iOS SHMUPs use simple, intuitive, unobtrusive touch controls that suddenly being forced to adhere to such a rigid control method is jarring, to say the least. Likewise, being used to the more direct touch controls found in most other SHMUPs these days makes the stick feel rather unresponsive at the best of times. Granted things get a little better once the ship's speed is upgraded but it still takes a lot of getting used to.
To be totally honest I was ready to write off Odyssey: Alone in the Whole Space after only a few moments of play, but I stuck with it and am happy I did. It's got some fairly questionable controls and a name that's kind of embarrassing to say out loud, but beyond that lies a robust RPG system of upgrades and leveling that practically carries the entire game by itself. Oddly enough it's the sort of thing that should appeal greatly to fans of dungeon crawlers and the like.


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Comcast and Time Warner have just declared their total disinterest in the upcoming 700MHz auction. Not that they mattered anyway—the real behind-closed-doors fireworks looked to be between Google and Verizon, who've been publicly sparring over the auction rules for a while. But that might not be the case.
Google's coming out statement—essentially "whoever wins, everybody does"— was noticeably limp. No fire in their words probably signals no fire in their bid, basically.
On the other hand, Verizon throwing open its network is a decidedly hard throwdown with regard to its auction intentions. The winner of the 700MHz's contentious C Block is required to have such an open network (though only on that chunk), meaning Verizon may be strongly signaling its intent to bid and win. Gird your loins for endless "It's the Network" catchphrases, just in case. [MocoNews, CNN]


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Coal reality check
It's a risky time to invest in coal. Production was down almost 8 percent in 2009, and consumption fell even further. Environmentalists have fought new coal-fired power plants tooth and nail -- and won. Some plants are already planning a switch to natural gas. Meanwhile, the shape of future federal carbon regulation, a looming threat to the industry, remains unclear.
Nevertheless, in March, Arch Coal successfully bid $86 million to lease 572 million tons of coal in southeast Montana. Other companies are reportedly sizing up Montana's untapped reserves, too. And in Wyoming, existing mines are asking the federal government to put 5.8 billion tons of new coal up for sale.
Declining Appalachian production and a rise in international demand for Eastern metallurgical coal, which can be used in steel-making, are expected to leave holes in domestic supply that Wyoming mines can fill. Domestic sales already rose in 2007 and 2008, thanks in part to growing Eastern exports, says Marion Loomis, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association. He expects U.S. utilities to remain the primary -- and most reliable -- consumers of Powder River coal. But international markets are also being pursued: Peabody Coal hopes to establish an export terminal in the Northwest to send the basin's coal to China by the end of the year.
Loomis acknowledges that most new power will likely come from natural gas and renewables. Still, much of the existing demand will continue to be met by coal. Although natural gas is a formidable competitor, just to match the energy Wyoming coal provides, gas drillers in the state would have to about triple production. "It's just not going to happen in the next number of years," Loomis says.
Ultimately, the uncertainties surrounding coal are likely to wound the industry, not kill it, according to Rob Godby, a University of Wyoming economist. Coal-fired power plants generate large amounts of base-load electricity, the minimum amount of power utilities are required to provide to meet demand at any given time. "There's nothing to compete with that," Godby says. "Transmission already runs to (the plants), they're already built. Those all lead to a significant role for coal."
This sidebar accompanies the story, "Trouble in the PRB."


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NORMAN, Okla.— Buddy Hield's results have usually caught up with his imagination.
This season has surpassed even his wildest dreams as Oklahoma heads to the Final Four this week.The senior guard considered leaving for the NBA last year, but returned to school to improve his game and has been virtually unstoppable this season. He's second in the nation in scoring and averaging 29.3 points in the NCAA Tournament heading into the national semifinal Saturday night against Villanova.
Hield said when he came back to Oklahoma, he knew he had to average at least 17 points per game.
"Maybe 19, 20 points," he said. "To average 25 on a nightly basis is kind of tough to do. Everybody's coming at you, and you've still got to put up huge numbers. It's a blessing."
Oklahoma's run to the Final Four has reassured Hield that he made the right decision. The Sooners are rolling and now, the native of The Bahamas is a projected lottery pick after being considered a late first-round or early second-round pick a year ago.
"I can't be more happy than this," he said.
Oklahoma assistant coach Chris Crutchfield said Hield has improved because he put in the time.
"He's been special because he's worked harder," Crutchfield said. "His drive has been way more than anybody else I've coached."
Hield shoots 46.5 percent and leads the nation with 4.1 3-pointers per game. He has been at his best in key moments. He scored 46 points at Kansas, made seven of his eight 3-pointers in the second half on his way to 32 points against LSU, hit a game-winning three against Texas and scored 39 in the Big 12 Tournament against Iowa State.
MORE: Everything you need to know about Oklahoma
In the tournament, he's scored big against VCU and Oregon. A repeat against Villanova could lift his team to the title game Monday against the winner between North Carolina and Syracuse.
"A lot of times you talk about guys, especially good players, who have 'it," Crutchfield said. "You can't put a tag on it."
Hield was mostly a slasher as a freshman, when he started about half the games. He worked on his shot mechanics and became more of a spot-up shooter as a sophomore. Kruger said Hield also was persistent with the mental game.
"After every practice — and it sounds like I'm exaggerating, but no, it was after every practice — 'Coach, what do I need to work on? What do I need to do?'" Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said.
Hield learned to better balance his shooting and attacking during the second half of his junior year and was named Big 12 Player of the Year. That's when he thought it might be time to head to the NBA. After listening to evaluators, he stayed.
"I know I needed to improve, but I wanted to go so badly," he said. "I was just caught up in the moment, and I saw friends going, and I thought, 'OK, it's your turn, too.' But I had to be patient."
He improved his dribble in traffic, became a stronger finisher at the rim, improved his movement away from the ball and learned to create more space when closely covered.
"A lot of times, young people go in the gym and do the things they're most comfortable doing," Kruger said. "Players that keep getting better are going to the gym and working on things that they're less comfortable doing."
Hield also improved his shot. He was named conference player of the year again and has continued to elevate his game as defenses tried to find new ways to slow him down.
Kruger said his game has even changed in the last month, saying Hield Is separating more from defenders without the ball by changing pace and direction.
"He's got a good feel for what he needs to do to get open," Kruger said.
This article was written by Cliff Brunt from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.


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The Nordic Spirit Soccer Club began in 1986. The Nordic Soccer Club is governed by the Nordic Board and current President, Brian Monaghan. Currently, the Nordic Soccer Club has grown to twenty-five boys' and girls' teams. Parents are provided with a parent manual detailing the operation and expectations of the Nordic Soccer Club. The Nordic Soccer club is a Premier Level Club dedicated to cultivating exceptional players and providing them with the opportunity to excel. Towards this end, the Nordic Soccer Club is dedicated to providing excellent coaching and high level competition.
The Nordic Soccer Club operates three 6 week indoor soccer sessions, November through April each year. In addition to participation by the Nordic Soccer Club teams, league play is open to the public, with an assortment of senior, high school, youth and coed leagues. Approximately 120 teams play in each session. The indoor center also conducts Junior Academies for children ages 5-12, averaging 100 children per session. The late spring and sumer months are dedicated to the Nordic Club teams as they prepare for and compete in an array of tournaments and competitions