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Posted Aug 31, 2012
Amber Shea Crawley knows she is eating in a gray area.
While her cookbook "Practically Raw" (Vegan Heritage Press; $19.95) extols the virtues of eating a plant-based diet, she refuses to get wrapped up in the ethical, moral or political aspects of a strict raw vegan diet.
"Eating raw food is not a black-or-white decision, but rather a matter of proportions," Crawley states in the introductory chapter. "Every raw snack, side dish, or meal you add to your day will benefit your body."
A more relaxed approach is catching on as a growing number of raw vegans embrace an "80/20" diet – 80 percent raw and 20 percent cooked foods. "I kind of cheat on the whole idea of raw, but the point is you're using unprocessed ingredients," Crawley says in an interview. "And I don't see anything wrong with using a conventional oven."
While vegans avoid all animal byproducts, including eggs and dairy, vegan raw foodists also avoid cooking their food. That means consuming fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts in their unprocessed state with the goal of preserving maximum nutrition.
There is disagreement as to whether foods that are not heated above 118 degrees Fahrenheit contain more enzymes and are therefore healthier, but even mainstream nutrition experts agree that adding more whole foods to the American diet is a good thing.
There's a fair amount of rigidity over what constitutes a vegan diet. Crawley states in her book that readers are entering a judgment-free zone with plenty of flexibility.
"Who am I to say that locally or organically raised meat is wrong if someone has gone about it in an ethical way?"
Crawley, 27, graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in linguistics. She started eating a raw diet when she was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease, a disorder that affects the thyroid. Since 2008, Crawley has been blogging about her culinary journey at almostveganchef.com. In 2010, she graduated from the Matthew Kenney Academy in Oklahoma City as a certified raw and vegan chef.
Today Crawley considers herself 99 percent vegan, but she doesn't expect everyone to eat the way she eats, nor is she offended by people who occasionally eat meat, eggs or dairy. She insists her flexible approach is attracting a more mainstream audience interested in eating for health and longevity.
Still, eating more raw foods can be a time-consuming proposition that includes straining nut milks, mixing alternative flours and sprouting seeds to make bread. The 140-plus recipes in "Practically Raw" – everything from Flaxjacks With Miso-Maple Butter to Mushroom-Nut Burgers to Almond-Butter-Banana Ice Cream – are designed to be quicker, easier and more affordable in terms of time and money.
If you don't have a dehydrator, used to "bake" or evaporate liquids from foods, look for recipes in her cookbook marked "CO," or made in a conventional oven.
If you're in a rush to get food to the table in 30 minutes or less, choose a recipe marked "30." Those recipes take shortcuts like using cooked whole grain noodles instead of "spiralized" zucchini, a type of faux noodle made by turning zucchini or other vegetables through an inexpensive gadget known as a spiralizer.
If you don't have macadamia nuts on hand or can't afford them, substitute cashews or another nut listed in the substitution list that follows each recipe.
Recently, Crawley walked me through a few introductory recipes, starting with Zucchini Hummus. Surprisingly, Crawley is not a big fan of the summer squash, which she describes as "slimy." But when she pulverizes it in a high-speed blender or food processor, the texture she finds off-putting is transformed into a creamy dip.
Instead of raw tahini, Crawley prefers the flavor of roasted sesame seed paste, even though it has been processed. The texture is creamy and smooth, but also lighter than traditional hummus made from chickpeas. Agave nectar is the only ingredient that might seem the least bit foreign to the average supermarket shopper. It can usually be found in the health food aisle.
Next Crawley spoons chia porridge that has been setting up in the refrigerator overnight into a bowl. The gray mixture resembles tapioca. Chia seeds are one of nature's super foods, packed with protein, fiber, omega-3 essential fatty acids, protective antioxidants and phytonutritents.
A former marathon runner, Crawley first read about chia seeds in an article on the 2009 book "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall. McDougall researched and wrote about Aztec long-distance runners who relied on chia seeds for fuel.
"Somebody said something about it … probably Dr. Oz," Crawley says. "It's just funny how it started suddenly flying off the shelves, but there's nothing else like it."
Chia seeds have taken over where flax seeds' popularity left off. Flax seeds contain phytoestrogens, a compound that has been associated with breast cancer. When the chia seeds are mixed with water, they turn into a gel-like paste that can be used as an egg or fat substitute in baking.
Crawley combines almond milk, 2 tablespoons chia seeds ("it blows up when it gets in contact with liquid. A little goes a long way"), pitted dates, cinnamon and a pinch of sea salt in a high speed blender or food processor then places it in the refrigerator overnight.
The next day the porridge has a loose consistency, but it's cold, not typically what I think of when I hear the word porridge. I can't help but wonder aloud how it would taste hot. Crawley says the almond milk would probably break down and affect the overall flavor profile.
Crawley is working on a manuscript for her second book, "Practically Raw Desserts," also by Vegan Heritage Press. "Sweets are one of my favorite things," she says.
She originally developed her Famous Five-Minute Blondies for a recipe video contest. For her efforts, she won $5,000, and the recipe has become her most popular blog post ever, she says.
Traditional blondies are made from wheat flour, milk and eggs. But Crawley combines macadamia nuts, walnuts and coconut palm sugar in a food processer to create a coarsely ground mixture. She adds vanilla extract, salt and dates, pulsing until the mixture is sticky but well-incorporated. She transfers the mixture to an 8-inch square pan and packs it down tightly before storing in the freezer.
Before serving, Crawley garnishes the just-from-the freezer blondie squares with raw cocoa nibs and fresh raspberries.
Crawley is proud that "Practically Raw" has received 38 five-star reviews on amazon.com., but a month before her nuptials she is still looking for someone who can make the multi-tiered raw vegan wedding cake of her dreams.
"My fiance is more vegan than me now," she says, "and he ate meat when we met."
Makes 2 1/4 cups
1 large or 1 1/2 medium zucchini, peeled and chopped (2 1/2 to 3 cups)
1/2 cup tahini
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, peeled
1/2 teaspoon agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
Per 1/4-cup serving: 86 calories (70 percent from fat), 7 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 4 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams protein, 121 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fiber.
Makes 16 servings
1 cup dry macadamia nuts
1 cup dry walnuts
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup pitted dates
Combine macadamia nuts, walnuts and sugar in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is coarsely ground. Add the vanilla and salt and pulse several more times, until combined. Add the dates, 2 to 3 at a time, pulsing between additions until each date is well incorporated. The mixture will be sticky.
Transfer the mixture to an 8-inch square pan (or similar-sized dish) and use your fingers or a spatula to pack it down tightly. Refrigerate or freeze for at least 1 hour before cutting.
Per serving: 143 calories (63 percent from fat), 11 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 11 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams protein, 15 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fiber.
-Macadamia nuts: cashews
-Walnuts: pecans
-Coconut palm sugar: brown sugar (not packed), Sucanat, date sugar or maple sugar
-Dates: golden raisins
Makes 2 small servings
1 1/4 cups almond milk
2 tablespoons chia seeds
4 pitted dates
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
2 tablespoons pecans, chopped
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
The night before you plan to serve the porridge, combine the almond milk, chia seeds, dates, cinnamon and salt in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a container, cover and refrigerate overnight to thicken.
The next morning, stir the nuts and blueberries into the porridge and serve chilled.
Per serving, based on 2: 210 calories (43 percent from fat), 9 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 29 grams carbohydrates, 8 grams protein, 86 milligrams sodium, 5 grams dietary fiber.
-Almond milk: coconut milk or other nondairy milk
-Dates: 2 tablespoons raisins; 1 tablespoon maple syrup, agave nectar, coconut nectar or any other liquid sweetener, or stevia to taste
-Pecans: walnuts or almonds
-Blueberries: any other berry or diced fruit


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Thanks to the combination of iTunes 10.5, iOS 5, and iCloud, you can sync data wirelessly with your iOS device. In fact, there are two ways to do so: iCloud syncing, which sends specific information to and from Apple's iCloud servers over an Internet connection, and Wi-Fi Sync, which syncs your device with iTunes on your Mac via your local wireless network.
But there are notable differences between what gets synced using eachmethod–some things are exclusively iCloud or Wi-Fi Sync, while other things canbe synced via either method. And it's important to note that Wi-Fi syncand iCloud sync aren't mutually exclusive. You can, and mostly likelywill, use both methods depending on the situation and your settings.Which is why it's easy to get confused about the differences andsimilarities between the two.
Here's a quick summary of the types of data handled by each, as well aswhen each type of data is copied or synced.
Wi-fi sync
Wi-Fi syncing is identical to tethered (USB) sync–it syncs only datathat resides on your Mac. You enable Wi-Fi sync,counterintuitively, by connecting your iOS device to your Mac viaApple's USB-to-dock-connector cable, and then, in iTunes's Summaryscreen for your device, checking the box to Sync With This Device OverWi-Fi.
Wi-Fi syncing can sync the following types of data between your iOS device and iTunes. Note that,as with USB syncing, Wi-Fi syncing handles only those categories ofdata you've chosen in iTunes to sync to each device.
- Music, video, apps, books, podcasts, audiobooks,ringtones, and iTunes U content you've purchased from Apple anddownloaded to iTunes. This includes apps and media you've purchased onother iOS devices and downloaded to iTunes via automatic download.
- Music, video, books, and other media you've ripped orotherwise manually added to iTunes.
- Documents for individual iOS apps that use iTunes's FileSharing feature.
- Photos in iPhoto, in Aperture, or in folders on your Mac'sdrive that you've opted, in iTunes, to sync to your iOS device.
- Device backups (though only if you've opted for localbackup instead of iCloud backup).
- Contacts, calendars, bookmarks, and notes (though only ifyou're syncing them locally, via iTunes's Info screen for your device,rather than via iCloud or MobileMe)
Once you've enabled Wi-Fi syncing in iTunes, Wi-Fi sync happensautomatically, once per day, when your iOS device is connected to powerand on the same Wi-Fi network as the computer running iTunes. (If youunplug from power after the sync starts, the sync continues.) You'llsee a sync icon in the iOS device's status bar during any sync–you cancontinue to use the device during the sync. You can also force a Wi-Fisync–with or without power–any time you're on the same Wi-Fi networkas your computer and iTunes is running: On your iOS device, go toSettings > General > iTunes Wi-Fi Sync > Sync Now;or on your Mac, select your device in the iTunes sidebar and then clickSync in the lower right corner of the Summary screen.
iCloud sync Your iOS devices can also sync data wirelessly with iCloud, but iCloud syncing differs from Wi-Fi sync in significant ways. First and foremost, iCloud is the central storehouse of data, rather than your computer–once you've gotten your data into iCloud, your devices sync directly to it. In this way, iCloud is a lot like MobileMe syncing. But whereas MobileMe-to-iOS syncing handled only email accounts, contacts, calendars, bookmarks, and notes, iCloud also handles many of the same other types of data you can sync via iTunes. However, iCloud doesn't actually sync every type of supported data–for some items, it simply makes media available for you to download.
The types of data iCloud can sync with your iOS devices include:
- Contacts, bookmarks, calendars, and notes.
- Photos you've uploaded to iCloud–from your iOS devices, oriPhoto or Aperture on your Mac–using Photo Stream.
- Device backups–only if you've opted foriCloud backup instead of iTunes backup.
- Documents and data stored in iCloud by iCloud-enabled apps.
There are also types of data iCloud doesn't sync–it doesn't uploadthem to iCloud from your device–but does make available for automatic,over-the-air downloading to your device:
- Newly purchased music, apps, books, and (for Newsstandpublications) periodical subscriptions–only if you've opted, inSettings > Store, to automatically download these types of data.
Finally, iCloud makes particular types of data available for manualdownloading:
- Music, apps, books, audiobooks, ringtones, and(in the U.S. only) TV shows you've purchased from Apple.
- Via iTunes Match (Apple's $25-per-year music-hosting and-download service), most music you've ripped or otherwise manuallyadded via iTunes.
Unlike Wi-Fi syncing, iCloud syncs aren't all-at-once events–differenttypes of data are synced or downloaded at different times. Thefollowing list assumes your iOS device has an Internet connection:
- Changes to contacts, calendars, and notes are pushed toyour iOS device immediately after those changes are made on theiCloud.com website or are received by iCloud from another device.
- New photos are pushed to your iOS device immediately afterthey're added to Photo Stream.
- Backups occur once a day when your device is connected topower (an AC or DC adapter, a computer's USB port, or an external battery pack), has an active Wi-Ficonnection, and is screen locked.
- Changes to documents and data hosted by iCloud's Documentsin the Cloud feature are pushed immediately to your iOS device.
- If you've enabled the setting (in Settings > Store)to automatically download music, apps, books, or publications, theseitems are pushed to your device immediately after they're purchased onany other iOS device or in iTunes on your Mac. Note that "purchased"includes free downloads from Apple's media and app stores.
- If you're an iTunes Match subscriber, tracks and playlistsyou've uploaded to iCloud via iTunes Match are available for streamingplayback in the Music app. You can also choose to manually downloadindividual tracks to keep them on your iOS device for offline listening.
As noted above, depending on how you've configured iTunes and your iOSdevices, you may use iCloud sync only for, say, your photos, documents,contacts, bookmarks, calendars, and notes, but use Wi-Fi sync for music, video, and backups. Infact, movies can be synced only via Wi-Fi from your computer; TV Showscan be downloaded via iCloud in the U.S., but must be synced with yourcomputer elsewhere. And podcasts can't be downloaded automatically viaiCloud–you must manually download them from within the iTunes app orsync them via iTunes on your computer.

subset: commoncrawl


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Have you explored our Mother's Day Gifts Store yet? You better get to it – Mother's Day is May 12th!
Our store is filled with perfect gifts for moms with all sorts of hobbies and personality types but today we thought we'd focus on gifts with a specific theme – flowers!
After seeing this unbelievable Mother's Day Cupcake Bouquet (at left) on Pinterest (at first look we thought they were real hydrangeas!), we were inspired to put together some flower and garden themed Mother's Day gift ideas that any mom with a green thumb (or who just enjoys flowers) will love!
If you're brave and crafty enough to try and create your own cupcake bouquet for your Mother's Day dessert, we have the perfect way for you to present your masterpiece – with our Garden Of Love Engraved Flower Pot!
You can choose from a rich red or purple ceramic pot and have it engraved with any special title or message you'd like, such as "Mom's Garden Of Love," on the front surrounded by our precious heart design. On the back of the flower pot you can feature all of her children's names, each separated by a heart. Celebrate Grandma this Mother's Day by personalizing this beautiful gift with each of her grandchildren's names, too! Not only will this flower pot add a personal touch to your cupcake bouquet, it will be a treasured gift that she can actually use to store her favorite flowers and plants. Now when she's bragging about her kids or grand kids, she can brag about her beautiful flowers, too!
A Personal Touch Tip: Go one step further and add another personal touch by having the kids hand paint the flower pot base with colorful ceramic markers or paints!
If your mother loves flowers but doesn't have the best track record of keeping plants alive, we suggest personalizing one of our beautiful Personalized Vases that you can fill with her favorite fresh cut flowers. The Blooms For Her Personalized Glass Vase is a popular design among PMall customers and offers your choice of 7 beautiful verses (or you can write your own) that will be engraved, along with a closing sentiment and all of the children's names, next to the sweet floral design. Another one of our popular vases is the Photo Sentiments Personalized Vase. This vase is made of fine-quality, chip-resistant stoneware and features a contemporary square design with rounded corners but what people love most about it is that it can be personalized with any photo and 3-line message! Create a vase with the first photo you have of your mother holding you in her arms in the delivery room, or a photo of a memorable vacation or trip. No matter which photo you choose she's sure to think of you and how much you love her every time she uses her treasured vase.
If your mother has a green thumb and loves to spend her time working outside in her garden, she's sure to love everything in our Personalized Garden Gifts & Accessories Department.
From an Embroidered Garden Tool Bag & Kneeling Pad to Personalized Garden Flags – we've got it all!
But our most popular garden gifts for Mother's Day are the You Name It Personalized Garden Stones and the Our Loving Family Engraved Garden Stone .
With the You Name It Garden Stones you can select a large or small stone and have it engraved with any family name or first name in your choice of 6 different font styles. One of our personalization suggestions is to have a large stone engraved with "Mom's Garden" (or any message you'd like) and then personalize a small stone with each of her children's names to create a beautiful path around her garden. With the You Name It Garden Stones you have the ability to create any masterpiece you'd like!
The Our Loving Family Garden Stone is a unique gift that you can have engraved with any 2-line message at the top plus a personalized character and name for each of her children below it! You can choose from all sorts of characters, including adult, youth or baby figures – even pets! Create a character for the whole family and she'll love displaying this unique piece of art next to her beautiful flowers.
We hope you enjoyed our gift suggestions for green thumbs! We'd love to hear your personalization suggestions for our vases. Did you come up with a sweet poem that you could share with our fans that have writer's block? We'd love to hear all of your suggestions and feedback – just comment below! And don't forget to explore all of our Personalized Mother's Day Gifts – we really do have a gift for moms with all sorts of hobbies and style tastes!


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High-dose (HD) bolus IL-2 therapy is one of the most potent forms of immunotherapy for patients with metastatic melanoma and renal cell carcinoma.
Approximately 15% of patients respond to HD IL-2 therapy, with almost 5% going into complete remission; however, use of HD IL-2 therapy is limited due to the toxic effects associated with treatment. Because HD IL-2-associated toxicity is severe, it would be beneficial for clinicians to determine if a patient would respond favorably to this treatment prior to side effect onset. Previous studies indicate that regulatory T cell (Treg) populations increase in patients undergoing HD IL-2 therapy, and in this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Lazlo Radvanyi and colleagues at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center performed an in depth analysis of Treg populations in melanoma patients undergoing HD IL-2 therapy. The authors identified a distinct population of Treg cells that expressed the inducible T cell costimulator (ICOS) that was highly proliferative following the first cycle of HD IL-2. Furthermore, melanoma patients with greater levels of ICOS+ Tregs in response to HD IL-2 had better clinical outcomes, suggesting that this Treg population may be useful to predict which patients would benefit from HD IL-2.
Source: Eurekalert


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We are a complete factory authorized RV Parts and Service facility that specializes in providing quality On-Site RV Repair and convenient personalized quality services for most makes and models of Recreational Vehicles, Motor Homes, Travel Trailers, Fifth Wheels and Toy Haulers.Read more →
By becoming RV Educated, you will have a much better understanding of the procedures that are required to maintain and service your Recreational Vehicle. At RV Trax, we have found over the years that an educated consumer is our best customer.Read more →
We have RV Parts and Accessories for all makes and models of recreational vehicles, including motor homes, travel trailers, fifth wheels, toy haulers and slide in campers. We sell repair parts, or complete replacement appliances for most manufacturers.Read more →
Have a question? Send us an email. We will be happy to assist you.


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Not all hand sanitisers are the same!
Nilco Nilpure sanitises, moisturises & freshens in one.
The Serious Bit
Stay safe and sanitise with Nilpure 70% alcohol formula. It gets to work killing those nasty viruses and bacteria.
The Fun Bit
A few seconds after using this product the alcohol aroma will disappear to reveal a cleansing, tingling tea tree scent to purify your soul and invigorate the senses, leaving a super refreshing minty fragrance that lasts.
The Sensitive Bit
This super smooth, non-sticky blend of moisturisers and aloe vera extract soothe and calm your skin. Combating dry skin and leaving your hands soft, nourished, and protected. This product is great for adults and children of all ages.
The Science Bit
Nilco takes the science behind the fun very seriously, all of our hand gels are formulated to BS EN 1500 Hygienic Hand Rub European Standards, manufactured under HMRC Alcohol License, in accordance with strict ISO 9001 regulations, on ATEX rated equipment.
The How to Use Bit:
- Squeeze the gel into the palm of your hand.
- Spread over fingertips, palms and the backs of your hands until dry.
- Take a deep breath, smell your hands and relax. (This is not compulsory but highly recommended).
Note: Do not wipe off or rinse. Use only as directed.
Payment & Security
Your payment information is processed securely. We do not store credit card details nor have access to your credit card information.


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Embarrassed Samsung officials were forced to apologize to rival HTC for a sneaky PR campaign that involved paying off Taiwanese students to write negative reviews of the latter company's products. In related news, I'm looking for a Korean and Mandarin translation of the word "astroturf."
Samsung is, as everyone already knows, the top hardware maker in the Android market, and is beginning to breathe down Apple's neck as it pursues the top spot overall in the mobile device sector. The South Korean giant now accounts for 20% of global smartphone subscribers, according to the most recent comScore figures available -- more than double the numbers of Taiwan-based rival HTC.
[ MORE MOBILE: Startup Armor5 debuts with cloud-based security for mobile devices ]
ITWire reports that Samsung has admitted its use of clandestine payments to supposedly unbiased user reviewers and apologized for the recent "unfortunate incident."
The question that sprang to my mind, when this story broke, was "oh, for heaven's sake -- why, Samsung, why?" If you're running away with the Android market -- to the point where pundits are openly questioning whether you might not actually be more powerful than the company that makes the software -- why run the risk of a major PR misfire just to kick your rival when they're already pretty much down?
Admittedly, this is overstating Samsung's domination and HTC's supination a bit -- the latter company's One looks really impressive, despite embarrassing delays in getting it to market, and could well lead to a renewed challenge for its bigger rival.
Nevertheless, by any reasonable measure, Samsung has HTC on the ropes, which makes such a clumsy smear campaign all the more mystifying. The news doesn't seem to have caused much of a stir in the Western tech community, though -- at least, not yet.
I mean, the only thing weirder than that would be if HTC did something similar to Samsung, right? Well, strap on your weird helmets, because there was a suggestion that that's exactly what happened -- the indefatigable SamMobile reported that Samsung would be trading its standard plastic construction for more high-end materials in the upcoming Galaxy Note 3, based on the rave reviews given to the HTC One's slick aluminum finish. The site credited its usual anonymous "insider" sources for the scoop.
However, at least one tech blogger has said that this is hooey -- hooey, no less, drawn from the creative minds of HTC's PR department.
Rumour mill. Note 3 will be different by materials and design from current models due to success of HTC one. Really god work for HTC pr team
I'm not quite sure what this means, to be honest -- while the Australian International Business Times interpreted Eldar Murtazin's tweet as saying that HTC had somehow cooked up the rumor in-house, he may simply be saying that it's a great PR filip for the Taiwanese company.
As to the rumor itself -- given the success of the plastic Galaxy S3 and upcoming Galaxy S4, it seems strange to think that Samsung would switch gears in such a dramatic way just because a few geeky reviewers oohed and ahhed over the HTC One. But then, I wouldn't have though they'd try to pay people for phony reviews either, so who knows?
Speaking of stuff nobody seems to know -- what to make of Motorola's future releases? First, we kept hearing about the Moto X phone that was going to launch at Google I/O, then Google CFO Patrick Pichette damped down expectations, and now Eric Schmidt is telling everyone that Google's new hardware arm is gearing up to release "phenomenal" new products.
Schmidt, at an All Things D event, described "phones-plus" on their way from Motorola.
Yes, Eric, but plus what? Drinking straws? Jet engines? Guess we'll have to wait and see. I'm not looking for a huge mobile hardware announcement at I/O, but I'm getting to the point where it wouldn't be a complete surprise, either.
The standard pattern of pay money, get stuck into two-year contract, rinse and repeat has been a fact of life since smartphones hit the market -- but that's (slowly) changing.
The biggest news, of course, was T-Mobile's announcement of drastically restructured plans and fees -- no more contract lock-in, unlimited talk/text/Web and installment payments for new phones -- announced late last month. Verizon, however, said this week that it would adopt a limited version of the installment plan for device upgrades -- you'll have to pay full retail price, but you can spread the cost out over a period of months.
Oh, and Big Red also pushed back upgrade eligibility to 24 months, up from 20 months previously. Less cool.
[Hat tip: Android Guys]
Email Jon Gold at email@example.com and follow him on Twitter at @NWWJonGold.
Read more about software in Network World's Software section.


text: SOS Children's Village Thanh Hoa SOS Children's Village has been working in Vietnam since the late 1960s and in Thanh Hoa since 2005. Our organisation is very active in the area, providing vulnerable children and young people with loving homes, education and training. One of the poorest regions of the country Children playing in the grounds of SOS Children's Village Thanh Hoa (photo: SOS archives) The city of Thanh Hoa is located near to the coast, some 140 km south of the capital city of Hanoi. People in the region live mostly off agriculture (60 per cent) and services (15 per cent) but due to its proximity to Hanoi and the good transportation network between the two cities, industry, construction and trade are growing sources of income and employment. However, many people in the region continue to struggle to make a living; the province is the second poorest in the country, and the gross domestic product is about half the national average. People in rural areas face particular hardships: due to the poor infrastructure, their remote location means that social welfare measures often don't reach those in need. The region has a high rate of migration; people move from rural to urban areas within the province, but also further afield to other provinces or abroad. Parents often find it hard to meet the basic physical and emotional needs of their children. According to official estimates, there are about 10,000 children who have lost parental care in Thanh Hoa province. The actual number is probably even higher. These children depend on their relatives or the authorities for support. From early childhood on, they have to contribute towards earning their living. In rural areas, they usually take care of the animals, pick grass or look after their relatives' younger children. In the cities, they work in restaurants, polish shoes or sell newspapers. These children have neither enough time nor the means to attend school; it is estimated that about five per cent have never been to school and 20 per cent drop out after primary school. Providing support to families in need and loving care to children The local authorities approached SOS Children's Villages for help for the large number of children in need in the area, and the provincial government provided a piece of land for a new SOS Children's Village here. The social and economic conditions in the area make the work of our organisation particularly important. The provision of education and training for children and young people has continued to improve the life of many in the local area. What we do in Thanh Hoa Children playing shop in the SOS Kindergarten (photo: SOS archives) If children can no longer live with their families they can find a loving home with one of the SOS mothers - there are 14 SOS families who can care for up to 140 children. Young children from the neighbourhood can attend the SOS Kindergarten. Qualified staff at the kindergarten looks after the children, the majority of whom come from local families. The provision of day-care is particularly valued by those parents who go to work because they know their children are being cared for by professionals. Older children can go to the SOS Hermann Gmeiner School which caters for over 1,100 pupils at both primary and secondary level. There is also a canteen where children can eat, thus ensuring they have at least one nutritious meal a day. The teachers at the school work very hard to ensure that children are given the best possible education, and children receive special support in subjects where they are struggling. The kindergarten and school provide an important service to the community. When the children are ready to leave their SOS family, they move into special accommodation with other young people. They continue to receive our professional support while they develop perspectives for their future, learn to shoulder responsibilities and increasingly make their own decisions.


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Best Of
"I'm looking at this fight as one where I'm definitely improving and
getting better. I've had a great, great training camp, and I'm ready to
go out here and get a win." - Michael Johnson
The actors who walk down the red carpet at the Oscars, stopping to tell Ryan Seacrest they're just happy to be nominated? They're lying; they want to win. Being nominated is a tremendous accomplishment, but everyone wants to win. That way you don't have to summon up all your acting chops to make the "I'm so happy for them" face on live television.
Like the nominees who go home without a trophy and every fighter in the world, Michael Johnson doesn't like losing either.
Last time UFC fans saw the former Ultimate Fighter finalist, he was the latest lightweight to be caught in a submission by British standout Paul Sass. The October defeat sent the 25-year-old known as "The Menace" back to the gym in search of answers, and what he came up with is an outlook that shows that backwards step could produce forward progress, starting as early as this weekend.
"A lot went wrong," Johnson laughed when asked to assess his last appearance. "He got me in a weird situation that I didn't really spend a lot of time on. I got a little confused, and I had to tap before he tore my knee out of place. It was just a mistake that I had to go back and work on, and it's definitely not happening again anytime soon.
"Sometimes losing can be good. The majority of times they're horrible, but it's good to have it happen early, as opposed to later on in my career. This way I actually have time to work on it, get better, and not get caught in it again.
"I went back to the drawing board, spent a lot of time with my jiu-jitsu coach and the many black belts we have in our gym down here, and we work on it every day. Next time I do see something like that, I'll know exactly what to do, and not just sit there and think about it."
That drawing board is located in Boca Raton, Florida, where Johnson has spent the last year as a part of the Imperial Athletics team more commonly known as "The Blackzilians."
Training each day alongside the likes of Jorge Santiago, Gesias Cavalcante, Melvin Guillard, and Rashad Evans, Johnson has seen consistent improvement in his skills, and knows the grueling hours he spends in the gym will eventually pay dividends in the cage.
"Being down here for the last year as opposed to just getting in the game, I've improved dramatically. My standup has gotten way better working with Henri (Hooft) who has come over from Amsterdam. My jiu-jitsu has gotten better. Working on my wrestling with Mike Van Arsdale, it's gone through the roof. I see myself being a better fighter every day."
Johnson gets to put the past four-months worth of gym time to the test this weekend in Chicago when he faces Shane Roller on the preliminary portion of the UFC on FOX 2 card.
With the tremendous depth in the lightweight division, many look at this as a must-win fight for Johnson. The St. Louis native has a different way of approaching the contest, one that further shows he's ready to take a step forward in the UFC's most talent rich division.
"I think every fight is considered a must-win. If you want to go forward in this sport and you want to make yourself known — if you lose, you take a couple steps back, and if you win, you're in a completely different frame of the business.
"I'm looking at this fight as one where I'm definitely improving and getting better. I've had a great, great training camp, and I'm ready to go out here and get a win. I definitely don't want to sit here and take two losses in a row. That's really hard to come back from, and then you kind of want to sit around and second-guess yourself. I would say this is a `must not lose' as opposed to a must-win."
Some would say the two are the same, seeing only semantic differences between must-win and must-not-lose. As Johnson explains it, the difference is in how you prepare for the fight and execute your game plan when the cage door closes.
"You've got to believe in yourself and your coaches. I've had a great training camp; all the hard work is done at this point. I'm just ready to get out here and get a fight.
"I can't get nervous and put a lot of pressure on myself and say, `I have to win this fight. I have to win this fight.' Everybody wants to win, it's just one of those things where I have to take all the pressure off myself, and go out there and fight my fight. If you've done all the things that you need to do to this point, the win should be the easy part."
Winning in the UFC is never easy, and Roller will be determined to bring his two-fight losing streak to a halt and hand Johnson a second consecutive loss in the process.
Johnson is confident that won't happen, and that his meeting with the WEC veteran will be the start of a breakthrough year in 2012.
"He took this fight on short notice, so I'm really not seeing him having the wind or being in the best shape to go three rounds with me. I'm going to feel him out for the first round, put the pressure on him, and then look to finish him in the early second.
"This is definitely going to be a new start for me. I've taken a new approach to training; completely rededicated myself to the game. I've done everything necessary to be a champion in the future, and this is definitely going to be my coming out party."


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Last year we saw headlines about a possible housing market bubble, and many wondered if Americans still felt confident about the value of their homes. Recently, the 2018 Houzz & Home Study revealed:
"Homeowners with mortgages have seen their home equity more than double since 2011, increasing to a record-setting $8.3 trillion in 2017."
The average homeowner gained $16,200 in home equity between Q2 2017 and Q2 2018 according to the latest release of CoreLogic's Home Equity Report. Since 2011 home values have increased significantly throughout the country, with prices rising by 5.1% in 2018 alone. When surveyed, homeowners revealed the top four reasons why they felt their homes had increased in value.
As we can see, not only does the data show that the homes have appreciated, but homeowners also believe they know why. Many have taken advantage of the opportunity to use their newly found equity to sell their current house and move up to their dream home! 2019 will be a good year for the homeowners that still want to take advantage of their home equity! CoreLogic forecasts that home prices will increase by 4.8% by the end of the year.
If you are a homeowner who would like to find out your current home value, let's get together to discuss the hidden opportunities in your home! A Mortgage Advisor at Wallick & Volk can show you how to take advantage of the equity in your home. Find us at www.wvmb.com.
Source: www.KeepingCurrentMatters.com


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A hacker, identified as a 17-year-old based in Morocco, claims to have stolen the personal information of 350,000 users from hardcore porn mavens Brazzers.
The point, claims the hacker, was to highlight a security vulnerability on the adult site.
According to reports, the teen uploaded a small sample of the stolen data to the internet, displaying customer emails, usernames and passwords. Presumably to offer up proof that he was behind the breach.
Karen Miller, spokesperson for Brazzers' parent company Manwin Holding, reportedly said that the hacker accessed their websites via an old user forum. Investigations were ongoing.
Ms Miller also explained Manwin and Brazzers were contacting everyone who was potentially affected by the breach but underlined that no credit card information was stolen.
The Associated Press writes that this is a "potential embarrassment for Luxembourg-based Manwin, which runs some of the world's best-known pornography websites."
It is all very well to worry about the porn company's reputation, but what about the customers?! How do they feel knowing that their info, including names and emails, are either available for anyone to see, or risk being posted at the hacker's whim?
The thing that gets me here is that if the hacker was genuinely concerned about the vulnerability on the site, why didn't he follow more responsible disclosure practices?
For instance, he could have called Brazzers, explained the situation and given them an agreed amount of time to fix the problem. Granted though, this wouldn't have gotten the headlines.
Another approach would have been to contact a single journalist and showed him/her the vulnerability in action. This would have protected the site's customers much better and alerted us all once again to the vulnerabilities that exist on the web.
But there is a take-away for us all here – individuals and companies alike: Good housekeeping matters. Make sure to close down accounts and websites you no longer use. Leaving them unpatched, vulnerable and connected is just trouble waiting to happen.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
Image courtesy of Shutterstock


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Marijuana use in adolescence may cause permanent brain abnormalities, study finds
Regular marijuana use in adolescence, but not adulthood, may permanently impair brain function and cognition, and may increase the risk of developing serious psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, according to a recent study from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Researchers hope that the study, published in Neuropsychopharmacology—a publication of the journal Nature – will help to shed light on the potential long-term effects of marijuana use, particularly as lawmakers in Maryland and elsewhere contemplate legalizing the drug.
"Over the past 20 years, there has been a major controversy about the long-term effects of marijuana, with some evidence that use in adolescence could be damaging," says the study's senior author Asaf Keller, Ph.D., Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "Previous research has shown that children who started using marijuana before the age of 16 are at greater risk of permanent cognitive deficits, and have a significantly higher incidence of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. There likely is a genetic susceptibility, and then you add marijuana during adolescence and it becomes the trigger."
"Adolescence is the critical period during which marijuana use can be damaging," says the study's lead author, Sylvina Mullins Raver, a Ph.D. candidate in the Program in Neuroscience in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "We wanted to identify the biological underpinnings and determine whether there is a real, permanent health risk to marijuana use."
The scientists—including co-author Sarah Paige Haughwout, a research technician in Dr. Keller's laboratory—began by examining cortical oscillations in mice. Cortical oscillations are patterns of the activity of neurons in the brain and are believed to underlie the brain's various functions. These oscillations are very abnormal in schizophrenia and in other psychiatric disorders. The scientists exposed young mice to very low doses of the active ingredient in marijuana for 20 days, and then allowed them to return to their siblings and develop normally.
"In the adult mice exposed to marijuana ingredients in adolescence, we found that cortical oscillations were grossly altered, and they exhibited impaired cognitive abilities," says Ms. Raver. "We also found impaired cognitive behavioral performance in those mice. The striking finding is that, even though the mice were exposed to very low drug doses, and only for a brief period during adolescence, their brain abnormalities persisted into adulthood."
The scientists repeated the experiment, this time administering marijuana ingredients to adult mice that had never been exposed to the drug before. Their cortical oscillations and ability to perform cognitive behavioral tasks remained normal, indicating that it was only drug exposure during the critical period of adolescence that impaired cognition through this mechanism. The researchers took the next step in their studies, trying to pinpoint the mechanisms underlying these changes and the time period in which they occur.
"We looked at the different regions of the brain," says Dr. Keller. "The back of the brain develops first, and the frontal parts of the brain develop during adolescence. We found that the frontal cortex is much more affected by the drugs during adolescence. This is the area of the brain controls executive functions such as planning and impulse control. It is also the area most affected in schizophrenia."
Dr. Keller's team believes that the results have indications for humans as well. They will continue to study the underlying mechanisms that cause these changes in cortical oscillations. "The purpose of studying these mechanisms is to see whether we can reverse these effects," says Dr. Keller. "We are hoping we will learn more about schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders, which are complicated conditions. These cognitive symptoms are not affected by medication, but they might be affected by controlling these cortical oscillations."
"This study is an example of how the basic science research taking place in our state-of-the-art laboratories can impact human health and inform health policy," says E. Albert Reece, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., Vice President for Medical Affairs at the University of Maryland and John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "We are proud of this groundbreaking discovery and look forward to watching this research develop further."


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Palin announces resignation
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced Friday that she was resigning her office later this month, a stunning decision that could free her to run for president more easily but also raises questions about her political standing at home.
Palin disclosed the surprise news Friday afternoon from her home in Wasilla with her husband, Todd, and Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, who the governor said would take over the state on Saturday, July 25.
With the decision, Palin liberates herself from the political constraints that come with running for president while still in elected office.
Leaving office at the end of the month, the former vice presidential hopeful will be able to travel the country more freely without facing the sort of repeated ethics inquiries she's been fending off since returning to Alaska earlier this year.
In making her announcement, Palin spoke directly to those inquiries, saying she wouldn't stand by as taxpayer money was spent to investigate her.
Speaking outside her home with Lake Lucille in the background, Palin derided the "superficial political blood sport" that has been aimed at her since rocketing to fame last summer.
And, in remarks that appeared to be off the cuff, Palin also recalled her days as a high school basketball point guard, arguing that she was advancing her state by stepping down.
"I know when it's time to pass the ball for victory," Palin said.
But Palin also hinted at her own national ambitions, invoking a quote that she credited to Gen. Douglas MacArthur: "We are not retreating; we are advancing in another direction."
After the news conference, Palin asked supporters to "stay tuned" via Twitter. "We'll soon attach info on this decision to not seek reelection."
Palin has been dogged by a series of ethical complaints, many of which her allies consider as frivolous and has had to set up a legal defense fund to pay her bills.
Just this week, the Anchorage Daily News reported that these complaints against her administration had reached almost $300,000, much of that sum owing to the so-called Troopergate probe of Palin.
Beyond ethical questions, Palin has continued to face other difficulties since her return to Alaska.
Legislators of both parties have complained about some of her time away from the state Capitol, and Palin has had to grapple with a series of tabloid-type stories relating to her family.
But Palin retains a strong following among many conservatives who were electrified when she was tapped to serve on the GOP ticket by Sen. John McCain last year. She drew thousands of people to a small-town festival in upstate New York last month, some of whom drove a considerable distance just to catch a glimpse of Palin.
Palin allies contend that her star power will still benefit her home state.
"This was a positive, forward-looking decision for her state, her family and she cares so much for Alaska that she is going to get outside of the bubble and work to its benefit outside," said Jason Recher, who worked for Palin on last year's campaign.
But the decision to suddenly quit her post will also reinforce some of the very questions about Palin that were raised in the lengthy Vanity Fair story this week — whether she's overly erratic and prone to ignore her own political advisers.
Two of her own GOP allies were told this week that Palin would announce that she was definitely not running for re-election, but the move to outright leave office has caught many of her supporters by surprise.
Democrats, delighted at yet another opportunity to hammer prominent Republican officeholders, accused Palin of quitting on her state.
"Either Sarah Palin is leaving the people of Alaska high and dry to pursue her long-shot national political ambitions or she simply can't handle the job now that her popularity has dimmed and oil revenues are down," said the DNC's Brad Woodhouse. "Either way — her decision to abandon her post and the people of Alaska who elected her continues a pattern of bizarre behavior that more than anything else may explain the decision she made today."
Palin's office announced Friday morning that she would make an "announcement' at her home in the afternoon but said nothing more until the governor stood alongside Parnell and much of her Cabinet.


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The Pentagon
The Pentagon is a five-sided military compound and headquarters of the United States Department of Defense. The Pentagon is not far from the Potomac River and Ronald Reagan National Airport just across the river from Washington, D.C. in Arlington, Virginia. It is home to the offices of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of Defense, and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Ground was broken at the Pentagon on September 11, 1941, in order to house the 17 offices of the War Department in the lead up to World War II. Within 7 months, the site was ready for occupancy and the entire building was completed in 17 months. The site was the largest office building in the world, with three times the office space of the Empire State Building. At its peak in World War II 35,000 people worked at the Pentagon.[1] The Pentagon was constructed with twice as many restrooms as needed, to accommodate the Virginia segregation laws.[2]
During the Vietnam War a number of Protests against the Vietnam War occurred around the Pentagon. One of the most colorful of which occurred on October 20, 1967, when Abbie Hoffman led a group of approximately 50,000 protesters in an attempt to exorcise the Pentagon of demonic influences—Hoffman said that if successful this attempt would cause the Pentagon to levitate, rotate mid-air, and turn orange.[3]
On September 11, 2001, terrorist organization Al Qaeda crashed a passenger aircraft into the Pentagon, in an apparent attempt to destroy the building, as part of their 9/11 attacks. During the terrorist attacks, hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the west side of the Pentagon. The crash damaged three of the five sides of the Pentagon. Because the affected area was under renovation at the time, several offices were unoccupied, sparing many lives. The Pentagon has since been repaired and the first workers whose offices were damaged in the attack began moving back in on August 15, 2002, nearly a month ahead of schedule. At the center of the compound is a snack shop called the Ground Zero Cafe which sells sandwiches and coffee.[4]


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Where Are They Now (1990-1999)
Alumni from the UW-Madison Astronomy Department have moved on to positions in research, administration, and beyond. A list of Ph.D. graduates of the Department is provided below.
- Cole, Andrew A.; Ph.D.: 1999; Advisor: Gallagher; Current Position: Assistant Professor, U. Tasmania
- Erwin, Henry P.; Ph.D.: 1999; Advisor: Sparke; Current Position: Staff Scientist, Max Planck Institute, Garching, Germany
- Faison, Michael D.; Ph.D.: 1999; Advisor: Churchwell; Current Position: Director, Leitner Family Observatory, Yale
- Howk, Jay C.; Ph.D.: 1999; Advisor: Savage; Current Position: Assistant Professor, Notre Dame University
- Acord, Jerry M.; Ph.D.: 1998; Advisor: Churchwell; Current Position: Industy, Newark, NJ
- Haffner, Lawrence M.; Ph.D.: 1998; Advisor: Reynolds; Current Position: Senior Scientist, UW-Madison
- Maciejewski, Witold; Ph.D.: 1998; Advisor: Sparke; Current Position: Assistant Professor, Liverpool John Moores University (UK)
- Gibson, Steven J.; Ph.D.: 1997; Advisor: Nordsieck; Current Position: Assistant Professor, University of Western Kentucky
- Tripp, Todd M.; Ph.D.: 1997; Advisor: Savage; Current Position: Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
- Afferbach, Andrew L.; Ph.D.: 1996; Advisor: Churchwell; Current Position: CEO/Director of Engineering, Columbia Telecommunications Corp
- Casey, Brian W.; Ph.D.: 1996; Advisor: Mathieu; Current Position: Root Level Services, Madison, WI
- Cohen, David M.; Ph.D.: 1996; Advisor: Cassinelli; Current Position: Associate Professor, Swarthmore College
- Cox, Andrea L.; Ph.D.: 1996; Advisor: Sparke; Current Position: Tomotherapy, Medical Physics Department
- Ignace, Richard; Ph.D.: 1996; Advisor: Cassinelli; Current Position: Associate Professor, East Tennessee State Univ
- Jensen, Eric L.; Ph.D.: 1996; Advisor: Mathieu; Current Position: Associate Professor, Swarthmore College
- Schweitzer, Andrea E.; Ph.D.: 1996; Advisor: Gallagher; Current Position: Self-employed consultant for astro-space companies
- Shepherd, Deborah S.; Ph.D.: 1996; Advisor: Churchwell; Current Position: Staff scientist, VLA/NRAO
- Hofner, Peter A.; Ph.D.: 1995; Advisor: Churchwell; Current Position: Associate Professor, New Mexico Tech University
- O'Donnell, James E.; Ph.D.: 1995; Advisor: Mathis; Current Position: Public Outreach, Royal Observatory at Greenwich, London
- Marcum, Pamela M.; Ph.D.: 1994; Advisor: Gallagher; Current Position: Project Scientist, SOFIA (NASA)
- Miller, Walter W.; Ph.D.: 1994; Advisor: Cox; Current Position: Technical Staff, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD
- Watson, Alan M.; Ph.D.: 1994; Advisor: Gallagher; Current Position: Senior Scientist, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
- Sofia, Ulysses J.; Ph.D.: 1993; Advisor: Hoessel; Current Position: Associate Dean, American University, Washington DC
- Wolff, Michael J.; Ph.D.: 1993; Advisor: Nordsieck; Current Position: Independent Researcher, Space Science Institute
- Bjorkman, Jon E.; Ph.D.: 1992; Advisor: Cassinelli; Current Position: Associate Professor, University of Toledo
- Diplas, Athanassios; Ph.D.: 1992; Advisor: Savage; Current Position: Goldman Sachs, New York
- Lee, Chi W.; Ph.D.: 1992; Advisor: Mathieu; Current Position: West Scientific Publishing, Singapore
- Levine, Stephen E.; Ph.D.: 1992; Advisor: Sparke; Current Position: Astronomer and Deputy Director, Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ
- Sembach, Kenneth R.; Ph.D.: 1992; Advisor: Savage; Current Position: Director, Space Telescope Science Inst. (Hubble Project Scientist)
- Abbott, Mark J.; Ph.D.: 1991; Advisor: Hoessel; Current Position: Private Industry
- Schutt, Randy L.; Ph.D.: 1991; Advisor: Bless; Current Position: Private Industry-Design consultant in Holland, MI
- Nook, Mark A.; Ph.D.: 1990; Advisor: Nordsieck; Current Position: Dept of Phys, Astron, and Engr Sciences, St. Cloud State Univ, 720 4th Ave. S., St Cloud, MN 56301-4498
- Stanford, Spencer A.; Ph.D.: 1990; Advisor: Code; Current Position: Lawrence Livermore Nat'l Lab, Institute of Geouphysics and Planetary Phys, PO Box 808 L-413, Livermore, CA 94551-9900


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What are you looking at? Yeah, I'm talking you. You reading this. I said "What the fuck are you listening to??" Oh, wait… the first time I said looking at… Sorry… its just that I used to be a Bully. But now I seek help with my issue by going to forums and reading about how my victims growing up lament the experience. I had assumed that it was a co-dependent experience not just a one sided sado-masochistic display of violence. And I gotta tell you it turns me on… Well, I said I'm working on it. Anyway, this weeks podcast is comprised solely of tales of teen woe and bullying from the members of Ebaum Nation Forum. I hope you find it entertaining. I know reading it made me laugh!
Won't you please enjoy the latest episode of Lou Reads the Internet for YOU! Episode 52: Tales of Being Bullied.


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That sound you heard last weekend at the NFL Scouting Combine while the prospects performed drills was Rams general manager Les Snead licking his chops. Same with Browns GM Ray Farmer, 49ers GM Trent Baalke, and Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell.
All four are armed with extra picks in this year's draft — Snead with the No. 2 overall selection from Washington, Farmer with an additional first and third, Baalke with an extra second and third, and Caldwell with an extra fourth and two extra fifths.
They picked a good year to have additional picks. After talking with various front office personnel, coaches, scouts, and agents at the combine, one theme kept coming up — this year's draft is loaded with talent. And not just when compared with last year, when Central Michigan tackle Eric Fisher went No. 1 overall to Kansas City.
This could be one of the best draft classes ever. One AFC front office executive surmised that Fisher might not have been picked in the top 15 this year.
"The whole draft is really strong. Best draft I've seen," said new Buccaneers GM Jason Licht, a scout since 1995. "It's probably tilted a little more toward offense, but it's a strong draft."
This draft doesn't have a sure-thing quarterback like an Andrew Luck or Peyton Manning, but the quarterback class is still quite strong with Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel, Zach Mettenberger, Drew Carr, and others.
And what it lacks in star power at quarterback it more than makes up for at other positions. South Carolina's Jadeveon Clowney and Buffalo's Khalil Mack could be instant-impact pass rushers, Auburn offensive tackle Greg Robinson's combine performance has scouts comparing him to the great Nate Newton, fellow offensive tackles Jake Matthews and Taylor Lewan could also go in the top 10, and receivers Sammy Watkins and Mike Evans are top-10 picks that are as explosive as any receiver prospects of the last decade.
The draft also is deep, as teams are bracing to find potential starters in the third through fifth rounds. The Patriots have one pick each in Rounds 1 through 4, two in the sixth after they swapped a fifth for a sixth in the trade for Isaac Sopoaga, and one in the seventh.
"I've been doing this for 30 years, and this is the deepest draft that I've ever seen," Steelers GM Kevin Colbert said. "I can't see a position where there isn't more depth than there has ever been."
"Heck, the 15th receiver could be a starter in this league," Snead added.
One reason this year's draft is so strong? A record 102 underclassmen entered early, accelerating a lot of talent into this year's pool. With the new collective bargaining agreement limiting how much a player can make in his first three seasons, prospects are opting to start their professional clock sooner.
Of course, teams are wary of the maturity level of the 102 underclassmen. Some get downgraded if they don't show maturity in the interview process.
"Even though it's a more talented group, or the most talented group that I have seen, I am also worried that it's probably the most immature group," Colbert said. "We have to be prepared for more player development type of programs or maybe enhancing your player development to get the most out of these younger players.
"Experience has told us that a lot of these younger players aren't ready for this. It's a huge leap . . . The emotional part of being a college kid and all of a sudden the next day being a professional, I think it's a little easier to transition from your senior year to the pros than it would be from a junior or sophomore year."
Some final thoughts from the combine
■ Much has been made about the Lions hiring coach Jim Caldwell, who worked with Peyton Manning and Joe Flacco, and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, who worked with Drew Brees, to help Matthew Stafford take his game to the next level.
But the real name to know is new quarterbacks coach Jim Bob Cooter. While his name sounds straight out of "Hee Haw," Cooter comes with an interesting résumé. He was a four-year backup quarterback at the University of Tennessee who worked with Caldwell and Manning in Indianapolis as an offensive assistant and again with Manning last season in Denver.
Caldwell described Cooter, 29, as "young but very, very bright." And how can he help Stafford?
"I felt I needed a guy that had a real good sense of fundamentals, real good sense of how to put it all together," Caldwell said. Stafford has been known to get lazy with his footwork and mechanics.
■ Someone forgot to tell Seahawks coach Pete Carroll the party line about the combine.
While most coaches and GMs express a desire to see every player participate in all the drills, Carroll said he didn't have a problem with players such as Teddy Bridgewater and Johnny Manziel skipping out on throwing and other drills, saying they don't replicate real football.
"Here's a little different. It's a little more random. They don't have control of the route running and the depths and things," Carroll said. "It's just combine workouts, it's not football. And controlled workouts are not football. That's just what it is."
■ Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff knows he has to improve his 27th-ranked defense, and said he wants to get more "rugged" on that side of the ball. His word choice was purposeful and interesting, and reflects attitude changes that are taking place in NFL circles in light of situations such as Aaron Hernandez, and the Dolphins' mess.
"I've been semantically responsible about making sure that I don't say 'thug' and I say 'rugged,' " Dimitroff said. "That's very important for us. We understand that with today's environment and work environment, it's up to us as leaders in this business in the National Football League to be responsible with the type of people that we take."
■ Browns coach Mike Pettine had two interesting answers when asked about the report that his owner had tried to trade for 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh before settling on Pettine.
First, Pettine used a little humor.
"I got a phone call saying that report was going to come out and . . . I asked, 'How does that affect my tenure as the head coach?' I think my next sentence used the word 'flying' followed by a part of a rat's body,' " he said.
Then, interestingly, Pettine said he didn't blame his bosses for making a run at Harbaugh, who has taken the Niners to three straight NFC Championship games.
"I think it shows the organization is committed to getting it turned around, that it would investigate that option," Pettine said. "I see that as a positive."
■ Cam Newton left Auburn in 2011 three semesters shy of graduating, and he's back in school, working toward his sociology degree before organized team activities begin in late April.
"He's registered, taking classes. So we've texted back and forth," coach Ron Rivera said. "We haven't really had a chance to sit down and visit. I look forward when he comes into town. Right now, he's right in the middle of classes, and hopefully when he gets a little break he'll come out and spend a few days with us. We're not going to start our program until April 21, so they've got a lot of time on their hands right now."
■ Geno Smith started all 16 games for the Jets last season, but he threw 12 touchdowns against 21 interceptions and completed just 55.8 percent of his passes. Smith was only a second-round pick last year, and given that the Jets didn't make a huge investment in him, it's no lock that he'll return as the starter. Coach Rex Ryan certainly won't commit to it.
"When you look at it, there's really no need to right now," Ryan said. "We don't know what the deal is. Let's see what our roster looks like, and then we'll make those statements."
■ Larry Fitzgerald had his second straight sub-1,000-yard season (954), but Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said it took Fitzgerald half the year to get used to playing all three receiver positions, instead of strictly on one side of the field.
Arians said Fitzgerald's age (30) factored into his decision to move him around the field more. He did the same with Hines Ward and Reggie Wayne when he coached them.
"Larry embraced the role with those two guys as comparisons," Arians said. "Guys lose a step at age 30. It's just natural. As hard as they train and everything, at 30 it's just a different ballgame. They accept it, they want to become better players, they say, 'Help me become a better player than when I was 26.' This is how you do it."
Should league really have final say on this?
There has been a lot of buzz in the last week over the NFL assessing penalties for use of racial slurs on the field, particularly the N-word — either implementing a new rule, per the urging of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, or more strictly enforcing current rules about unsportsmanlike conduct.
But while the efforts of the Pollard Alliance and the NFL are certainly well-intentioned, they need to tread carefully. While many people are uncomfortable with the N-word in any situation, the reality is that many young African-Americans use it as a term of endearment.
Richie Incognito's use of the N-word in text messages and conversations with Jonathan Martin was horrid, but it's doubtful he or any white player uses it on the field. Instead, the new rule could be viewed as another way to penalize black players.
"I would have a problem if I'm in the huddle, and one of my teammates is talking to me, I make a good play and the N-word is used, used as a term of endearment, and a white referee comes in and says, 'I'm throwing the flag on you because I heard you use the N-word,' " said Steelers safety Ryan Clark, who is black but says he doesn't use the word in any form. "I would absolutely lose it on the field. I would go nuts."
Leading the charge
Building on our note last week that former defensive tackle Sean Gilbert, who sat out the 1997 season in a contract dispute, is planning to challenge DeMaurice Smith as the executive director of the NFL Players Association, Gilbert said in an interview with Sports Business Journal that he met with 25-30 agents last week to inform them of his plans for running the union.
The position will be up for a vote again in 2015, and Gilbert needs only 17 of 32 of the player representatives to vote in his favor.
Gilbert has been a vocal opponent of Smith and the deal he agreed to in the 2011 CBA negotiations, and claimed that he can get the players out of the current deal (without offering specifics), which runs through 2021.
"The way I see it, it's not a 10-year deal," he said.
Healthy discussion in Buffalo
Some interesting dissension is brewing in Buffalo, where coach Doug Marrone and his staff reportedly want to replace the team's old-school training staff, headed by Bud Carpenter, who just completed his 30th season with the team. According to the Buffalo News, the coaching staff thinks Carpenter's "stim and ice" philosophy to healing — electrical stimulation to injured areas, followed by ice — is outdated by today's standards, but is facing resistance from the front office, which isn't fully on board with Marrone's goal to change the Bills' culture from top to bottom.
The Bills had a fairly healthy roster in 2013, but quarterback E.J. Manuel missed two exhibition and six regular-season games with three knee injuries. Marrone has stated that player health is his team's top goal for 2014.
Extra points
With the NFL calendar set to flip to 2014 on March 11, here's a look at the five teams with the most salary-cap carryover, per NFLPA records. The cap is reportedly going to be around $132 million, plus however much teams carry over from the previous season: Cleveland $24 million, Jacksonville $19 million, Buffalo $18 million, Miami $18 million, Philadelphia $17 million (combined record: 32-48). And the bottom five carryovers: New York Giants $17,000, St. Louis $172,000, Indianapolis $597,000, New Orleans $723,000, Chicago $796,000 (combined record: 44-36) . . . A few veterans under contract could become free agents soon as potential salary-cap casualties, many of whom could be of interest to the Patriots, including receiver Sidney Rice (already cut), Bears defensive end Julius Peppers, Cowboys outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware, Browns defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin, Panthers receiver Steve Smith, and Rams cornerback Cortland Finnegan . . . The 49ers and quarterback Colin Kaepernick began discussions on a new contract extension at the combine, and sources tell us that the three-year veteran wants a deal similar or slightly better than the ones given to Jay Cutler ($18.1 million per year, $38 million guarantee) and Tony Romo ($18 million per year, $40 million guarantee). While no one expects the 49ers to let Kaepernick go anywhere, we hear that if the 49ers don't get in Kaepernick's range, the quarterback would be willing to play the 2014 season at his base salary of $973,766 and postpone negotiations until next offseason instead of signing a below-market deal . . . The NFL is always looking for ways to innovate and improve game broadcasts, and longtime quarterback Matt Hasselbeck had a good idea when speaking at MIT's Sloan Sports Analytics Conference on Friday at the Hynes Convention Center. Hasselbeck, appearing along with Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, said he'd like to see every player wear a heart monitor during games — not only so teams can help each athlete track their heart activity and give them personalized recovery plans, but also so the networks could broadcast real-time heart rates to viewers at home. This would be especially neat to see in high-pressure situations — two-minute drills, game-winning kicks, Week 1, etc. Hasselbeck joked that Adam Vinatieri's heart rate would be flat-lined right before a winning kick, while a rookie kicker would probably have wild fluctuations.
Ben Volin can be reached at email@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @BenVolin. Material from interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.


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easy-cooler® "five" vinewood
Product information "easy-cooler® "five" vinewood"
|high quality wood decor with structure combined with inox components
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easy-cooler "cooling set 16" (4 x 4) Art.-Nr: AC-916
Content 16 Stück (€12.90 * / 1 Stück)
€206.40 *


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|Please visit The Reisman Institute website for current information.
External Articles | Posted: April 30, 2011
Most Oppose Explicit Books in Public Schools Says Harris Poll
SafeLibraries Blog, Tuesday, April 26, 2011A Harris Poll shows, "A majority of Americans say ... that books with explicit language should not be available to children in school libraries (62%)." Source: "Most Americans Opposed to Banning Any Books; Large Majorities, Including Most African Americans, Oppose Changing 'Nigger' to 'Slave' in 'Huckleberry Finn'," by Samantha Braverman, The Harris Poll® #47, 12 April 2011.
Harris Poll Shows Most People Oppose Explicit Books in Public Schools
The Harris Poll tested "2,379 adults (aged 18 and over)" and showed that most people oppose banning books. No kidding. That is not the most interesting part of the poll since no books have been banned in the USA for about half a century, the last being Fanny Hill.
The most important information revealed by the poll was in response to the question, "Do you think that children should or should not be able to get the following books, or types of books, from school libraries?" On average, 62% percent opposed "books with explicit language." No other category rated higher.
Here is an interesting breakdown that shows, among other things, opposition to explicit books in public schools rises to 74% in certain groups:
"Do you think that children should or should not be able to get the following books, or types of books, from school libraries?"
Summary of those saying "probably should not" or "definitely should not"
Base: All adults
|Echo Boomers (18-34)
|Gen X (35-46)
|Baby Boomers (47-65)
|Matures (66+)
|Books with explicit language
|Political Philosophy
|H.S. or less
|Some college
|College grad
|Post grad
|Books with explicit language
That evidences that the majority of the public opposes school library books having explicit language. See Board of Education v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853 (1982), allowing for the immediate removal of such books from public schools.
Importance of Harris Poll Results to Communities
Why is this Harris Poll important to communities? The ALA, the National Coalition Against Censorship [NCAC], and the American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU] actively work to convince communities to ignore community standards so as to get communities to decide for themselves to allow their own public school children access to explicit material in public school libraries. The Harris Poll, on the other hand, shows the majority of people oppose explicit material in public school. So that will enable communities to gauge what are the community standards, provide a solid basis for that support, then apply those standards even when the ALA / NCAC / ACLU say the opposite.
ALA and NCAC Awards Librarians Who Oppose Community Standards
The ALA and the NCAC, for example, award school librarians when they reflexively report to them and support allowing public school children access to explicit material. See, for example, "School Media Specialist Passes Sexual Content Review to Students; Dee Venuto Says It Is Discrimination to Keep Children From Material Including Lengthy, Vivid Descriptions of a Ménage a Trois." One of the books that public school librarian Dee Venuto supported for children included the following depiction: [see original article]
The Harris Poll now makes clear that most people do not want explicit material in public school libraries. That graphic shows two boys watching two men doing something explicit. That's the type of material most people do not want children to have in public schools. That's part of the material for which librarian Dee Venuto won awards from the ALA and the NCAC.
Harris Poll Used By Library Community for Propaganda
The Harris Poll itself has been used by the library community for propaganda purposes. By leaving out the information that most people oppose explicit material for children in public schools, the poll takes on a misleading light. Read this for yourselves and see if you agree, and notice the information about the explicit books is completely missing: "Most Americans Opposed to Banning Any Books," by North Dakota Library Association, Intellectual Freedom Blog, 14 April 2011.
That is copied wholesale, by the way, from the Harris Poll without attribution, in other words it was plagiarized, but by itself it presents an incomplete story, therefore it is misleading. By contract, here is a media source that gives the whole story along with proper attribution: "Most Americans Opposed to Banning Any Books; Large Majorities, Including Most African Americans, Oppose Changing 'Nigger' to 'Slave' in 'Huckleberry Finn,'" by Harris Interactive, The Sacramento Bee, 12 April 2011. Being honest and truthful is not that hard to do. I have noticed the ALA makes a practice of plagiarism. See also, "Most Americans Opposed to Banning Any Books?," by Rob, The "C" Word, 18 April 2011.
ALA Silence on Harris Poll Shows It Hurts ALA Efforts
The ALA itself has not addressed this particular Harris Poll. It is my experience the ALA never reports on anything that does not favor its viewpoint unless forced to do so, such as its loss in US v. ALA. This confirms to me that the ALA sees the results of this Harris Poll to be a threat to its efforts to convince the public not to protect their own children. That's why I am broadcasting this threat to the ALA--because it helps communities to protect their children. Remember, the ALA mocks protecting children, then attacks those who attempt to do so.
Examples of Common Sense and Community Standards
Lastly, here are some refreshing applications of common sense and community standards in public schools:
- "School Excoriates Book Reviews that Fail to Disclose 'Graphic Sexual Details' in Books for Children; Lush by Natasha Friend is 'Wildly Inappropriate' for Certain Children"
- "Kentucky School Superintendent Exposes False Cries of Censorship; Removes Educationally Unsuitable Books from Curriculum Despite Being on ALA's List for Reluctant Readers"
- "It's Not Censorship, It's Parenting! -- Best Explanation Ever for What's Wrong With the American Library Association and its Effect on Public School Libraries"
- "NCAC Promotes Porn; Says Keeping Inappropriate Material From Children is Censorship; It Has Lost All Credibility"
- "School Librarian Curses at Children to Teach 'Banned' Books; School Board Apologizes to Furious Parents But Not for Indoctrination; Direct Link from School to ALA is Established"
- "TheBookBuzz.org Provides Parent Ratings of Public School Books"
- "Court Backs Local School Control in Evans-Marshall v Board of Education; ALA Loses Another Means to Propagandize Local Communities"
- And, from the ALA itself in a moment of honesty:
On rare occasion, we have situations where a piece of material is not what it appears to be on the surface and the material is totally inappropriate for a school library. In that case, yes, it is appropriate to remove materials. If it doesn't fit your material selection policy, get it out of there.
These people didn't let the ALA / NCAC / ACLU fool them into allowing explicit material in public schools. You shouldn't either. And now you have the Harris Poll for further support.


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U.S. stock futures were lower ahead of Wednesday's opening bell, as investors digest results from several major financial institutions.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) beat expectations and posted earnings per share of $1.39. The company also revealed that the bonus of its chief executive, Jamie Dimon, was cut by more than half after the London Whale debacle over bad trades. Shares lost almost 1% in premarket trading.
Goldman Sachs (GS) reported better-than-anticipated earnings of $5.60 per share, which boosted the stock more than 2% in early morning trading.
Meanwhile, U.S. Bancorp (USB) earnings came in at 72 cents per share, in line with expectations, but shares fell nearly 1%. Charles Schwab (SCHW) will report before the opening bell.
The financial sector is expected to lead the way in earnings growth, according to analysts. Overall, S&P 500 companies are expected to report earnings growth of 3.2% for the last three months of 2012, according to S&P's Capital IQ.
Related: Will the bank stock rally last?
As for economic reports, the government's key measure of inflation showed that U.S. consumer prices slowed to a 1.7% annual increase last month -- mostly due to a decline in gas prices.
The government will release data on foreign purchases of Treasuries at 9 a.m., followed by reports on industrial production and capacity utilization.
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Shares of Chipotle (CMG) plummeted 9% in early trading, after the Mexican food chain restaurant revised fourth-quarter earnings well below analysts' expectations.
Boeing (BA) shares were down more than 4% on Wednesday morning. Two Japanese airlines grounded their fleets of 787 aircraft after one of All Nippon Airways' Dreamliners was forced into an emergency landing.
eBay (EBAY) reports after the close.
U.S. stocks ended mixed Tuesday in light trading as investors awaited the wave of corporate results.
European markets were weaker in afternoon trading, with auto stocks falling on poor December registrations data.
Asian markets ended lower. The Nikkei dropped 2.6%, while China's Shanghai Composite shed 0.7% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed down 0.1%.