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Whether you call it doom-mongering or good old-fashioned common sense, there's no doubt that Dark Mountain – the environmental movement founded by former Ecologist deputy editor Paul Kingsnorth and social activist Dougald Hine – has proven to be one of the most influential strands of green thought to emerge within the last five years. Eschewing activism, rejecting mainstream eco-consciousness and using creative writing as a medium; Dark Mountain has enthralled and infuriated in equal measure. 'We are fuelled by a belief that our mainstream creative culture, whether it be represented by literature, theatre, art or music, is utterly failing to engage with the magnitude of where we are as a planet and as a civilisation,' explains Kingsnorth. 'We demand political honesty and cultural engagement with the darkness which that reveals. We are trying to curate an artistic response to an age of ecocide based on a radical honesty – a critique of the very notion of civilisation and the religion of human progress.' So can Dark Mountain's unique brand of artistic, counter-cultural environmentalism win over the critics? Mark Newton spoke to Paul Kingsnorth to find out.
Mark Newton: For those readers who are not aware of the Dark Mountain project, how would you say its aims differ from other environmental philosophies?
Paul Kingsnorth: 'The Dark Mountain Project is a cultural initiative – a creative project. We began life as a writers' movement but have widened our scope because so many non-writers became involved. We exist to challenge the stories of civilisation, to question progress and human exceptionalism and the direction of our machine culture. We aim to create new stories more appropriate for an age of decline and contraction and rediscovery. One misunderstanding about Dark Mountain is that we're a 'political movement' which uses the arts to get its message across. We're not. We're an open space in which people can gather when they stop pretending that everything will be all right – that the world can be 'saved', that climate change can be stopped, that governments will start being nice if we shout at them loudly enough, that the world will change for the better through the sheer force of rational argument, that all the trends which are currently converging towards collapse will be magicked away if we work hard enough. Once you feel ready to step into that space, we ask people to look honestly at the way the world is, and where it is going, and to respond to that culturally and creatively.'
MN: It's not difficult for some readers to make the conclusion that the Dark Mountain project, in its acceptance of the inevitable, equates to simply giving up on environmental campaigning. What would you say to those people who still feel the need to prevent ecological dilemmas in the present?
PK: 'Well, surely "acceptance of the inevitable" is just common sense? How would you rather deal with the inevitable – by pretending it isn't inevitable? Shall we campaign against death or the rising of the sun in the west? It's true that I've given up on a lot of environmental campaigning, and so have many people who are involved in Dark Mountain, and this persistent refusal to be honest about the limits of our abilities is one of the reasons that so many people are now walking away from the green movement. But that's not the same thing as losing the passion and the love of nature that inspired involvement in the first place, and neither is it the same thing as 'doing nothing.' It's just refusing to attempt to do the impossible. It's a newfound realism about where we are and what is now possible. Giving up on failing methods is not the same as giving up on life. In fact, what's quite striking to me about Dark Mountain is that almost everyone who is involved is still an "activist" in some sense. They still work to protect nature from destruction and to improve what can be improved, at local and sometimes national levels. But many, including me, have given up on the mainstream green narrative. In my view, mainstream green activism is now overly technocratic, wilfully unrealistic in its aims, divorced from the everyday reality of most people's lives and, increasingly, simply a faction of the consumer growth society it was supposed to reject. But Dark Mountain is not about 'giving up' or wallowing in doom or anything like that. Some people think it is, but they're the ones who haven't been paying attention. Dark Mountain is a process. First you give up on the unrealistic ambitions of both the mainstream growth narrative and the mainstream green narrative – creating a "sustainable" consumer democracy for nine billion people, stopping climate change, making capitalism nice and all the rest of the utopian stuff. You give up on that and then you can move on. You embrace what we might call radical honesty, and you look at what is possible and what's not, and you see your true place in the world and in history. Then you can start to think much more clearly about who you are and where the world is and what you can still do that will really make a difference; what's real and what's not. We call this the "hope beyond hope." First you get real. Then you give up. Then you are re-inspired.'
MN: It's been a couple of years now since the Dark Mountain project started – how have things developed over that period?
PK: 'It's been fascinating. We started with a website and a self-published manifesto, and we've since produced two hardback anthologies of writing, staged two festivals and sold thousands of books and manifestoes. We have an active global network of over 1500 people, and so far 12 local groups have sprung up in over half a dozen nations. It's been exciting and also slightly intimidating to watch it spread. The reason I think it has taken off is that we put into words what a lot of people were thinking, and we created a space for them to gather where they didn't have to pretend anymore.'
MN: Do you think there has been a sea-change in public response and thought given the new age of limited economic growth, and is this change something Dark Mountain has discussed?
PK: 'When we wrote the manifesto, some people revelled in calling us names and trying to dismiss us. We got called "doomers" and "crazy collapsitarians" and "nihilists" and all sorts of other nonsense because we had openly talked about the end of growth, about the collapse of our ways of living, about hitting ecological and economic buffers – and, perhaps most of all, about our inability to 'solve' some of these problems withy politics or science. I've noticed that now, more than two years on, we don't get called those names any more. Everything seems much more serious today. We can all see the limits being hit on all sides, and we can see also that none of the old answers are working. This is where Dark Mountain comes in – we're a space to explore what happens when your certainties collapse.'
MN: Your latest anthology was enormously broad in scope – bringing in the creative arts as well as economic thinking. What was behind using such unconventional methods?
PK: 'I don't think it was anything especially unconventional: it was just an anthology of writing, some of it fiction, some non-fiction, some poetry, exploring the limits of civilisation from all angles. It was an attempt to bring together what we called for in our manifesto: this "uncivilised writing" that challenges the status quo. We're trying to curate a new literary movement here – calling out to writers who want to tackle these subjects that this is the place to do it. I'm inspired by the literary and artistic manifestoes of the early twentieth century – another time of upheaval. We're trying to spark something new.'
MN: If I could offer a criticism of the anthology, it would be that, while good at offering a critique of the current political and economic climate, it didn't define the next steps. Is this something those within the movement are worried about?
PK: 'Again, as a creative movement it's not our job to come up with plans. Do novels have to offer plans? Do musicians have to serve up solutions? We're not focused on giving people answers on a plate, and we never set out to offer up any political or technological "solutions" to our dilemmas. The minute you feel obliged to do that, you prevent yourself being able to think honestly and talk honestly and write honestly about the world. What if there are no solutions? What then? The idea that we can solve every problem that exists is a progressive idea; it's part of the civilisational narrative we are questioning. Our aim is not to save the world: it's to create a cultural insurrection which will help us, perhaps, in some small way, to see the world differently.'
Q&A: Jean-Christophe Vié of the IUCN
Conservation isn't just for NGOs and governments says IUCN Deputy Director of Global Species, Jean-Christophe Vié: it's something we all need to work on. Henry Gass met him to find out more
Q&A: Ross Bowers, Challenge4aCause
Launched in 2009 to raise funds to protect Namibia's endangered black rhino population, Challenge4aCause's Ross Bowers sat down with Henry Gass to talk conservation, tourism and why poaching is still a threat
Q&A: Green DJ Richie Hawtin
From dispensing with plastic CD cases to finding creative ways to reduce his carbon footprint, Richie Hawtin is blazing a green trail in the music industry. Victoria Aitken caught up with him for a chat
Q & A: Craig Sams and Jo Fairley, founders of Green & Black's Chocolate
Craig Sams and Jo Fairley on starting up an ethical business, iPhones and how best to enjoy a square of chocolate
Q&A: Helena Norberg-Hodge
Filmmaker, campaigner and environmental pioneer Helena Norberg-Hodge talks to Jemima Roberts about her latest film - The Economics of Happiness - the damage globalisation is doing, and what can be done to counter it


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Stuttgart weighs up Macheda move
Stuttgart are considering a move for Manchester United striker Federico Macheda, according to their director of sport Fredi Bobic.
The Italian has failed to establish himself in the United first team squad after unsuccessful loan spells at Sampdoria and QPR.
Stuttgart are in the market for a striker and the 21-year-old fits the bill, just as long as the conditions for a transfer are right for the Bundesliga club.
"We have been watching him for a while now," Bobic told the Stuttgart Nachrichten newspaper.
"He is one of the players we have on our shortlist."
Stuttgart's 2-0 defeat to Wolfsburg at the weekend underlined their need for a striker with top scorer Vedad Ibisevic suspended and his replacement Shinji Okazaki failing to impress.
"We know how very important Vedo is for us, but we are not dependent on him," said Bobic.

subset: commoncrawl


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By LINDSEY BAHR
AP Film Writer
There is no misfortune too shattering for Derek Cianfrance it seems. The writer and director of Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines and now, an adaptation of the M.L. Stedman novel The Light Between Oceans confidently strides into stories of little hope and painful circumstance, using pretty actors and even prettier settings to create sweeping milieus of human devastation.
But where the dissolving marriage in Blue Valentine was so tangibly real that it felt as raw as a break up, The Light Between Oceans crashes into the shores of its own strange story, pummeling the audience with Big Feelings that never quite cut through. Perhaps it's because it follows the characters down a morally murky path of increasingly poor choices where only one is given any depth after the original sin. But we'll get to that later.
The Light Between Oceans starts out as a handsome love story in a handsome place, even if dread looms in the angry seas and winds enveloping this picturesque seaside town. Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender, looking rugged and war-weary) has just returned from service in World War I and takes a position as the caretaker of a lighthouse on a small island off the coast of Australia. He's warned that the last man in the job went a little crazy out there on his own, and everyone seems to think that it's just not a good idea to live on that island without a wife. In any event, the stoic Tom finds a woman soon enough in Isabel (a luminous Alicia Vikander), who is forward and spirited enough to suggest a date with the shy newcomer. They fall fast and beautifully in love and take off for life on the is- land together, enraptured of one another in a newlywed daze.
Then Isabel starts to have problems carrying a child to term. She loses one early on, and then another quite a bit later in pregnancy. The second is the blow that threatens to destroy them, until they spot a rowboat drifting in the waters. Inside, there's a dead man and a wailing infant girl. You know where this is going.
After one night with the child, Isabel is a goner. She's fallen in love with this gift and like a stubborn child will not let go despite Tom's pleas (What about adoption? My professional obligation to log everything? The social contract to not steal babies?). But Tom, seeing the spark return to Isabel's haunted eyes, reluctantly caves.
And they start raising the little one as their own, sinking deeper into the lie until Tom realizes that the mother, Hannah (Rachel Weisz), lives heartbroken on the mainland. The human factor makes Tom's moral compass spin and it's here that the story really starts to lose itself quite simply because the other half of this equation is reduced to a one-note cliché.
As a mother, Isabel is no longer an individual, a sexual being or even a supportive partner. She is just a gooey mess of motherly emotions and insanity. It's a shame, too. How often is the devastation of multiples miscarriages and stillbirths, an experience that so many women have, actually represented? Once the child arrives, it's no longer Isabel's story. Tom gets to be the protector of his childlike wife and the martyr for their choices. By the third act, I'm certain we're not supposed to be annoyed with everyone (actually, Isabel's parents are OK).
The Light Between Oceans is stunning to see, and the performances are of the highest caliber, but it's all packaged in a story that just doesn't earn its stay, or our tears.


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States are increasingly alarmed that they could become collateral damage in Washington's latest fiscal battle, fearing that the impasse could saddle them with across-the-board spending cuts that threaten to slow their fragile recoveries or thrust them back into recession.
Some states, like Maryland and Virginia, are vulnerable because their economies are heavily dependent on federal workers, federal contracts and military spending, which will face steep reductions if Congress allows the automatic cuts, known as sequestration, to begin next Friday. Others, including Illinois and South Dakota, are at risk because of their reliance on the types of federal grants that are scheduled to be cut. And many states simply fear that a heavy dose of federal austerity could weaken their economies, costing them jobs and much-needed tax revenue.
So as state officials begin to draw up their budgets for next year, some say that the biggest risk they see is not the weak housing market or the troubled European economy but the federal government. While the threat of big federal cuts to states has become something of a semiannual occurrence in recent years, state officials said in interviews that they fear that this time the federal government might not be crying wolf — and their hopes are dimming that a deal will be struck in Washington in time to avert the cuts.
The impact would be widespread as the cuts ripple across the nation over the next year.
Texas expects to see its education aid slashed hundreds of millions of dollars, which could force local school districts to fire teachers, if the cuts are not averted. Michigan officials say they are in no position to replace the lost federal dollars with state dollars, but worry about cuts to federal programs like the one that helps people heat their homes. Maryland is bracing not only for a blow to its economy, which depends on federal workers and contractors and the many private businesses that support them, but also for cuts in federal aid for schools, Head Start programs, a nutrition program for pregnant women, mothers and children, and job training programs, among others.
Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia, a Republican, warned in a letter to President Obama on Monday that the automatic spending cuts would have a "potentially devastating impact" and could force Virginia and other states into a recession, noting that the planned cuts to military spending would be especially damaging to areas like Hampton Roads that have a big Navy presence. And he noted that the whole idea of the proposed cuts was that they were supposed to be so unpalatable that they would force officials in Washington to come up with a compromise.
"As we all know, the defense, and other, cuts in the sequester were designed to be a hammer, not a real policy," Mr. McDonnell wrote. "Unfortunately, inaction by you and Congress now leaves states and localities to adjust to the looming threat of this haphazard idea."
The looming cuts come just as many states feel they are turning the corner after the prolonged slump caused by the recession. Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland, a Democrat, said he was moving to increase the state's cash reserves and rainy day funds as a hedge against federal cuts.
"I'd rather be spending those dollars on things that improve our business climate, that accelerate our recovery, that get more people back to work, or on needed infrastructure — transportation, roads, bridges and the like," he said, adding that Maryland has eliminated 5,600 positions in recent years and that its government was smaller, on a per capita basis, than it had been in four decades. "But I can't do that. I can't responsibly do that as long as I have this hara-kiri Congress threatening to drive a long knife through our recovery."
Federal spending on salaries, wages and procurement makes up close to 20 percent of the economies of Maryland and Virginia, according to an analysis by the Pew Center on the States.
But states are in a delicate position. While they fear the impact of the automatic cuts, they also fear that any deal to avert them might be even worse for their bottom lines. That is because many of the planned cuts would go to military spending and not just domestic programs, and some of the most important federal programs for states, includingand federal highway funds, would be exempt from the cuts.
States will see a reduction of $5.8 billion this year in the federal grant programs subject to the automatic cuts, according to an analysis by Federal Funds Information for States, a group created by the National Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures that tracks the impact of federal actions on states. California, New York and Texas stand to lose the most money from the automatic cuts, and Puerto Rico, which is already facing serious fiscal distress, is threatened with the loss of more than $126 million in federal grant money, the analysis found.
Even with the automatic cuts, the analysis found, states are still expected to get more federal aid over all this year than they did last year, because of growth in some of the biggest programs that are exempt from the cuts, including Medicaid.
But the cuts still pose a real risk to states, officials said. State budget officials from around the country held a conference call last week to discuss the threatened cuts. "In almost every case the folks at the state level, the budget offices, are pretty much telling the agencies and departments that they're not going to backfill — they're not going to make up for the budget cuts," said Scott D. Pattison, the executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers, which arranged the call. "They don't have enough state funds to make up for federal cuts."
The cuts would not hit all states equally, the Pew Center on the States found. While the federal grants subject to the cuts make up more than 10 percent of South Dakota's revenue, it found, they make up less than 5 percent of Delaware's revenue.
Many state officials find themselves frustrated year after year by the uncertainty of what they can expect from Washington, which provides states with roughly a third of their revenues. There were threats of cuts when Congress balked at raising thein 2011, when a so-called super-committee tried and failed to reach a budget deal, and late last year when the nation faced the
John E. Nixon, the director of Michigan's budget office, said that all the uncertainty made the state's planning more difficult. "If it's going to happen," he said, "at some point we need to rip off the Band-Aid."
Briefly, we wanted to update you on where Truthout stands this month.
To be brutally honest, Truthout is behind on our fundraising goals for the year. There are a lot of reasons why. We're dealing with broad trends in our industry, trends that have led publications like Vice, BuzzFeed, and National Geographic to make painful cuts. Everyone is feeling the squeeze of inflation. And despite its lasting importance, news readership is declining.
To ensure we stay out of the red by the end of the year, we have a long way to go. Our future is threatened.
We've stayed online over two decades thanks to the support of our readers. Because you believe in the power of our work, share our transformative stories, and give to keep us going strong, we know we can make it through this tough moment.
We've launched a campaign to raise $44,000 in the next 7 days. Please consider making a donation today.


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The normally tireless TV personality came to Israel to connect to her Jewish roots and for a Bat Mitzvah, the coming-of-age ceremony girls typically have at age 12 or 13.
But the ministry, which is hosting Abdul, said Tuesday that she made last-minute changes to her packed itinerary because she's jet-lagged.
The ministry says Abdul was planning to hold a high-profile ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, but instead had a private weekend affair in the northern town of Safed.
Officiating Rabbi Eyal Riess of the Tzfat Kabbalah Center says Abdul wanted to escape the media circus for a more intimate ceremony.
Abdul was not immediately available for comment.


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A significant number of Roman Catholic Church Records for the province of Ontario has recently been added to FamilySearch website.
As of January 2012, 126,534 records for the Roman Catholic Church for 1760-1923 for what was then known as Upper Canada and Canada West are now available for viewing.
Within the collection you can find baptisms, marriages, deaths and some confirmation records. These records are not indexed but are sorted by county, city/town, and churches.
I personally was quite successful with my own research search this collection.
To find these records enter through the
All records collection link-Canada-Ontario
The records are sorted by the following counties.


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Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Gorditas with Roasted Tomatillo Chipotle Salsa
To make delicious, homemade gorditas, all you have to do is combine masa harina, water, and vegetable oil and stir it together to form a dough. Place the dough on a sheet of plastic wrap and shape it into a log about ten inches long. This doesn't need to be perfect at all because you will cut disks that are then formed into cakes. You cut ten disks from the log of dough and press each into a three inch biscuit cutter to mold round cakes. The cakes can be refrigerated overnight in an airtight container if you want to prep them in advance. When you're ready to cook them, heat a griddle or cast iron skillet over high heat. Cook the gorditas for two minutes on each side to brown them in spots, and then remove them to a baking sheet and press an indentation in each with the back of a spoon. Last, you heat some oil in a skillet and fry the gorditas for two minutes per side to crisp them. Drain on paper towels, and then top them as you wish.
Our toppings included refried black beans, sour cream, shredded queso quesadilla, sliced jalapenos, shredded chicken, chopped tomatoes, diced avocado, and roasted tomatillo chipotle salsa. We didn't really talk during this meal, but we smiled and nodded a lot. The salsa was smoky and velvety smooth since it was pureed with olive oil, and the gorditas were crisp, tender, perfect vehicles for the toppings. I don't know why I didn't learn sooner, but now that I know about these, I'll be making a lot of them.
Roasted Tomatillo Chipotle Salsa
inspired by La Condesa
2-3 chipotles in adobo depending on size and how spicy you want your salsa to be, plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce from can
1 large red onion
12 tomatillos, husks removed and washed
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for roasting
Salt and pepper to taste
-Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Chop onion into wedges and place on a baking sheet with tomatillos, and drizzle with olive and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are softened and browned.
-Transfer roasted vegetables to a food processor and add chipotles and adobo sauce. Puree until smooth and then slowly add olive oil while the machine is running. Taste for salt and add more if needed.
Posted by lisa is cooking at Wednesday, August 25, 2010
21 comments:
It looks heavenly!!!ReplyDelete
I shyly admit that I never had gordita before, but Chipolte salsa sounds so delicious that I wish I have it now..ReplyDelete
These gorditas are much easier to make than I thought! I'm going to definitely this soon because I love fresh corn tortillas and I am sure I'll love these too!ReplyDelete
I love gorditas, I am making these gorgeous goodies as soon as humanly possible.ReplyDelete
These look so beyond fabulous. Oh, what I wouldn't do to have one of these. I am super jealous of whoever gets to eat them!ReplyDelete
*kisses* HH
I'm having one of those moments that goes something like this: Why hasn't anyone told me about Gorditas? They look easy enough and your right, they'd make great party finger food, canapés - so all I can say is... Thanks :)ReplyDelete
Scrumptious! My kind of food!ReplyDelete
These WOULD be fab for a party. With a pitcher of margaritas, it would be one helluva party, too. ;)ReplyDelete
- AnonymousAugust 26, 2010 at 9:16 AM
Delicious! Especially with the refreshing tomatillo chipotle salsa!ReplyDelete
Yes, those look totally amazing and totally easy. I am jealous that you can go to a place with 4 different salsas on the table!ReplyDelete
What tasty & appetizing looking food!ReplyDelete
MMMMMMM,..So special & apart too!
I also thought gorditas were time-consuming and never bothered with making them!
I am so glad you tried and now I can benefit from the experience; glad you pan fried them as I was reluctant of the deep-frying advocated in mexican cookbooks!
Yummy! These look so incredible and I love the sound of the salsa, too. I'm going to try if I can get my hands on some tomatillos. Maybe I'll wait for a visit back home...ReplyDelete
Wow, I love what you're doing with dough these days! Even if it's cornmeal dough (it counts, right?) These are right up my alley -- I'm on a pan-Latin kick right now, and a tomatillo kick too. I had bookmarked this one in FW too but then, well, you know what happens when something hits that "I'm gonna cook this someday" pile. Thanks for bringing it back to the light.ReplyDelete
Wow, that looks amazing! the presentation is beautiful.ReplyDelete
first of all, gorditas is a fun word to say. secondly, and of more importance, gorditas are a fun thing to eat. tasty work, lisa.ReplyDelete
O my...those look to-die-for. The toppings sound fabulous too. YUMReplyDelete
I know that silence, it happens on occasion in my house too. These do look insanely good! Now that I know how easy they are I see them in my future.ReplyDelete
This is something new to me and I like the look of it. Looks spicy and flavourful.ReplyDelete
Oh I am sad why didn't i think of gorditas before. That picture is making me hungry.ReplyDelete
Yay! Something else for me to make with my tomatillos. I have one plant that's producing like 3. And now I can tell my husband he doesn't need to go to Taco Bell for gorditas. ;)ReplyDelete


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Paul Fagan
Paul Fagan is a Senior Scientist at the University of Salzburg. He is a co-founder of the University of Vienna Irish Studies and Cultural Theories Summer School, the International Flann O'Brien Society, and The Parish Review: Journal of Flann O'Brien Studies, which is published by the Open Library of Humanities. Fagan is the co-editor of Flann O'Brien: Contesting Legacies (Cork University Press, 2014), Flann O'Brien: Problems with Authority (Cork University Press, 2017) and Flann O'Brien: Gallows Humour (Cork University Press, 2020). He has published widely on Irish studies, modernism, transmediality and the nonhuman studies and is currently completing a monograph on the Irish literary hoax.


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Summer vacation is in full swing in large parts of the Northern Hemisphere, and it's time for parents to talk to their teenagers about staying safe during the extra hours they will spend online, three online safety experts said.
Parents should know what their children are doing online, what social-networking sites they frequent, and whether they use their mobile phones to access the Internet, said representatives of the Safe Internet Alliance, Microsoft and America Online. If teens aren't made aware of the consequences, mobile phones with cameras can lead to "sexting" -- sending sexually explicit photos -- to friends or strangers, the three safety experts said.
Parents should communicate with teens and remind them of the dangers of sharing personal information, posting sexually explicit photos and meeting people offline, said Kim Sanchez, senior audience marketing manager in the Trustworthy Computing group at Microsoft.
"Kids need to think about what they're putting out there for everybody to view before they do it," Sanchez said during a Tuesday press briefing. "They should think before they post a blog post, or put comments on their page, or photos. They need to consider this could be seen by anybody on the Internet, and it may be permanent."
A recent Harris Interactive poll found that one in five teens, ages 13 to 18, have sent nude pictures of themselves through their mobile phones or e-mail accounts, noted Linda Criddle, president of Safe Internet Alliance. Eleven percent of those teens who've sent nude photos have sent them to strangers, according to the poll.
The number of teens saying they've sent sexually explicit photos to strangers was "shocking," Criddle said.
Mobile phones offer teens an opportunity to send pictures spontaneously, and some teens don't think before sending out embarrassing photos, said Holly Hawkins, AOL's director of consumer advocacy and privacy. "It leaves very little time, if any, for having a second thought," she said.
Many mobile-phone carriers offer parental controls, the women said.
The three women urged parents to talk to their children about ethical and safe online behavior. Generally, offering guidance is more effective than trying to control children's online behavior, Sanchez said.
"Parents need to negotiate clear guidelines for their kids' Internet use," she said. "There's really no technological substitute for parental involvement, supervision and guidance."
Parents can use parental controls to monitor or block much online content, Hawkins said. "It's important to realize that, just as in the offline world, parenting online never stops, its a never-ending cycle," she said.
Parents should get online and use the technologies their kids are using, Criddle added. "So many parents seem to be just sort of afraid of jumping in," she said. "They think that somehow they're going to break something. They don't have that same willingness to just jump into a product and try it out that their kids do."


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The three steps I learned in Army basic training still apply: (1) Stop the bleeding, (2) clear the airway, (3) treat for shock. The latter requires getting the victim lying on their back, wrapping them to retain heat, and giving fluids if they are conscious.
CPR has de-emphasized mouth-to-mouth, as chest compressions will usually cycle enough air. The rhythm of compressions is appropriately the Bee Gee's "Staying Alive". It's worth the effort to take a class and practice on a mannequin - there's a fairly narrow range of pressure between ineffective and breaking ribs.
One instructor's words about tourniquets: you are effectively cutting off the limb to save the victim's life. Of course, that doesn't apply if the limb is already crushed, severed, or torn off.
If a heart attack victim is able to talk about interactions, also ask if they are allergic to aspirin.
Almost all the venomous snakes in North America are pit vipers. Their bites will not kill a healthy adult. Keep the victim calm and lying down to slow the spread of the poison and get them to a hospital for anti-venin. Since you are probably out in the woods, this means carrying them back to the road. Snakes have no interest in biting a human unless they are startled - we are too big to swallow (except for some Florida pythons, and they're not venomous). Pay attention to where you are stepping, and if you see a snake just pause to admire it, and it will go on about its business.


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Hillsong United
Hillsong United (stylised as Hillsong UNITED or UNITED) is a worship band that originated as a part of Hillsong Church. Formed in 1998 as part of Hillsong's youth ministry, the band consists of several rotating worship leaders from the church, including Joel Houston, Taya Smith-Gaukrodger, Matt Crocker, Jonathon Douglass, Jad Gillies and Benjamin Hastings. Due to several songs written by the youth ministry, Hillsong worship leader Darlene Zschech recommended that they record an album, which resulted in their debut extended play, One, which was released alongside the Hillsong Worship album Touching Heaven Changing Earth. Since then, the group has released eleven annual live albums, as well as four studio albums. The band composes songs and performs in church services as well as concerts in worldwide tours<br /> (Wikipedia)


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Tagged: Maya Hope
Hi Tim, I understand you are about to release The Tree of Life. This is the second book in your series? Hey, Suz, thank you for having me. Yes, the first in the series is, Maya Hope, a medical thriller that is set in Guatemala and North Korea. My readers are introduced to Dr. Nicklaus […]Read More


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James Harden's 28 points help Rockets knock off Spurs
SAN ANTONIO -- James Harden and the Houston Rockets are turning into a big problem for the San Antonio Spurs.
Harden scored 28 points and Dwight Howard had 15 points and 20 rebounds, leading the balanced Rockets to a 111-98 victory over the Spurs on Wednesday.
Each of Houston's starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division.
"I think we can be very good," Houston forward Chandler Parsons said. "It's obviously a process, and we're getting better every single day. But when we defend like that, rebound well and get out in transition, we're tough to beat."
Harden scored 31 points in Houston's 112-106 victory against San Antonio on Nov. 30. The Rockets have won their last three against the Spurs dating to last season and are averaging 108.8 points over the last six games in the series.
"We just didn't give very good performances," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "You can live with that from time to time. Nobody's going to play perfect every night. But you can't combine poor performances with a lack of physicality and a lack of discipline. They whipped us. They whipped us good. That's an embarrassing loss."
Parsons and Terrence Jones each scored 21 points for the Rockets (19-11), who shot 52 percent from the field. Jeremy Lin had 13 points, eight assists, two blocked shots and just one turnover.
The Spurs have dropped two of three and split their last six games. They are just 3-6 over the last month against teams with a record above .500.
Super sub Manu Ginobili led San Antonio with 22 points, and Tim Duncan added 11 points and 14 rebounds. Kawhi Leonard had 13 points, but Tony Parker was held to six points on 3-for-11 shooting.
"We didn't play well," Parker said. "Move on to the next one, it's the NBA."
San Antonio never recovered after Houston raced to a 27-9 lead. The Spurs were unable to stop Parsons' long shots, Harden's drives, Howard in the paint or Jones on the boards for follow ups.
"Our guys really came out on fire," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "They were excited to play. Really moved the ball; attacked. Terrence had great energy. He was running and helping the defense. We really set the tone early and rode that the entire game."
Houston led 40-25 after one. It was the most points allowed by the Spurs in the opening period this season, and tied for the most in any quarter. Oklahoma City scored 40 points in the second quarter of its 13-point victory Dec. 21 in San Antonio.
"The first quarter was embarrassing," Ginobili said. "They picked us apart. We were not as aggressive as they were, not as sharp as they were and they scored 40. So it's the second time that happened and that's way too many."
Ginobili slammed the scorer's table with his right palm during a timeout with Houston leading 27-11.
After trailing by 18 points in the first half, San Antonio had a couple solid stretches in the second half but couldn't make the plays it needed to complete the rallies.
"We toughened up," Parsons said. "We understand that this is a great team playing on their floor, and we have to get some big stops. Everyone collectively bought into that, we got some huge stops and we didn't stop running, either."
Leonard's three-point play on Howard's fourth foul pulled San Antonio to 71-64 with 4:47 left in the third. The Spurs closed to 73-71 before Harden and Lin began draining long jumpers to help the Rockets pull away again.
Harden closed out the victory, scoring 16 points in the final quarter after missing the previous two games with an ankle injury. His second 3 of the game made it 100-90 with 5 minutes remaining.
"No, I just was getting the feel the first three quarters of who's making shots," Harden said when asked if he was waiting on the fourth quarter. "I missed two games. I wanted to get a feel for who was playing well. Coming into the game, I wanted to keep them involved and keep them going and try to get mine towards the end."
Game notes
Rockets G Patrick Beverley (right hand) and C Omer Asik (thigh contusion) missed the game. ... Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones sat courtside, a row in front of David Robinson's customary seats. The actor laughed and applauded when The Coyote, the Spurs' mascot, snuck beside him disguised as a Christmas tree. ... Terrence Jones pushed Matt Bonner after the Spurs' reserve forward wrapped up Howard high after the Rockets star grabbed his third offensive rebound on one possession. Duncan stepped between, putting his hand in Jones' chest and pushing him away before officials broke up the gathering. ... While the Rockets got smatterings of cheers throughout the game, Howard was lustily booed whenever he attempted a free throw or entered the game.
Regular Season Series
HOU leads 2-0
Game Information
- Referees:
- Jason Phillips
- Eric Lewis
- Nick Buchert
2022-23 Southwest Standings
|New Orleans
|San Antonio


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Atlantic City
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Atlantic City, apart from its obvious draw, can be a place where the draw of the ocean can provide a calming balm. The stark contrast between the opulence of the casinos and the dearth of the surrounding area makes for a strong photographic statement.
Pictures of Atlantic City sunsets can be ordered by contacting me directly.


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MELBOURNE, Australia: Andy Murray is still hoping to make it to one more Wimbledon tournament before his problematic hip forces him into retirement. For now, he's only committing to the Australian Open.
In an emotional news conference Friday, when a tearful Murray had to leave the room shortly after his first attempt to get it started, and needed to pause several times to compose himself once it had resumed, he confirmed he'd play his first-round match at the Australian Open next week but wasn't sure how much longer he could continue beyond that.
The 31-year-old Murray said he practiced in the off-season with the main goal of making one last run at Wimbledon, where he ended the 77-year drought for British men with his title in 2013, but now wasn't sure he'd make it that far.
"I can still play to a level — not a level I'm happy playing at," he said. "But also, it's not just that. The pain is too much really.
"I don't want to continue playing that way. I tried pretty much everything that I could to get it right — that hasn't worked."
The three-time Grand Slam champion is scheduled to open against No. 22-ranked Roberto Bautista Agut at Melbourne Park, where the season-opening major begins Monday.
He has reached the final five times at the Australian Open but never won the title. Getting through the first round will be a major achievement in 2019 for the former No. 1-ranked Murray, who has slumped to No. 230 after playing just 12 matches last year following surgery on his right hip in January.
He opened this season last week at the Brisbane International, where he won his opening match against James Duckworth but lost in the second round to Daniil Medvedev, showing visible signs of limping between points and struggling to move freely around court. He had an incomplete practice match against long-time friend and top-ranked Novak Djokovic Thursday at Melbourne Park, but only won two games.
Murray has had a celebrated career, breaking long Grand Slam droughts for British men when he won the U.S. Open in 2012 and at Wimbledon the following year — when he was the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the prestigious lawn tennis title. He also became the only player to win consecutive singles gold medals at the Olympics when he won at London in 2012 and Rio in 2016.
Long considered part of the so-called Big Four in men's tennis with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, Murray likely will be the youngest of them to retire after 20 months of trying to deal with his painful hip.
At 37, Federer is in Australia attempting to win the title for the third consecutive year and for a seventh time overall. At 31, top-ranked Djokovic is at Melbourne Park also trying to win a seventh Australian title. The 32-year-old Nadal is ranked No. 2 and confident of extending his career for several years.
Murray has been preparing for the 2019 season knowing that his career could be over within months. In his training program last month, he told his support group that the pain was becoming too much and that he needed to set a date for retirement.
"I spoke to my team and I told them I can't keep doing this, that I needed to have an end point because (I was) sort of playing with no idea when the pain was going to stop," he told the news conference Friday. "I said to my team 'I think I can get through to Wimbledon' … that's where I would like to stop — stop playing."
Murray added, becoming tearful again, "But I'm also not certain I'm able to do that.
"I'm not sure I'm able to play through the pain for another four of five months."
Players and coaches around the world rallied around Murray . Juan Martin del Potro, who has struggled with injuries throughout his career, posted a message on Twitter expressing his support: "Andy, just watched your conference. Please don't stop trying. Keep fighting … You deserve to retire on your own terms."
Commentator Darren Cahill praised his contribution to the sport , as did fellow playerGrigor Dimitrov.
Murray said he's considering another hip operation, more to improve his quality of life than as a way of returning to the top level in tennis.
"I have the option to have another operation, which is a little bit more severe than what I've had before — having my hip resurfaced," he said. "That's something that I'm seriously considering right now. Some athletes have had that and have gone back to competing (but) the reason for having an operation like that is not to return to professional sports, you know, it's just for a better quality of life."
Murray said he'd spoken extensively to long-time doubles star Bob Bryan about recovering from a similar operation, but couldn't see himself recovering to be fit enough for singles and he wasn't considering transitioning to doubles.
"I have a severely damaged right hip," he said. "Obviously you see me running around a tennis court, walking in between points, and obviously I know it doesn't' look good … look comfortable.
"But there's little things, day-to-day, that are also a struggle. It would be nice to be able to do them without any pain: putting shoes on, socks on, thinks like that. That's the main reason for doing it."
Also Read:
Tennis: Murray makes winning return in Brisbane after hip injury


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MCAD Modeling Methods-Virtual Prototyping31 Jul, 2005 By: IDSA ,Mike Hudspeth
TWENTY SHORT YEARS AGO, if you wanted to present a design for a new product, you had two options: rendered sketches or expensive semi- or nonfunctional mock-ups. With the sketch route, you ended up with a static representation of the product revision current at the time the drawing was done.
The mock-up route offered two options, both of which required skilled craftsmen.
- 1. You could run up a fast foam or wooden model that you could turn over in your hand and view from all sides.
- 2. You could have a machine shop make your model. Most companies had their own shops with various levels of capability. (The downside of in-house shops was always scheduling: Everyone wanted a piece of the shop's time.) The advantage of a machined part: You ended up with a fairly accurate representation of your product. Sometimes you could even do some testing with it. To go this route, though, you needed a healthy budget.
Once you had buy-off on your design, you had to test it, and test it, and test it. If testing revealed necessary changes, you had to rebuild the test models all over again. Companies could opt to alter the physical models, but that was often harder than starting over. Often, products took years to get to market. But they worked, most of the time.
Nowadays, we have it so-o-o much better. If things can't really go at light speed, it's very near. When we have a design we need to sell to upper management, we can build a virtual prototype and run it through its paces before anybody even sees it. It boggles the mind what real power we have available right on our desktops.
CAD Tools
The process of design hasn't changed all that much throughout history. You think of something, capture it in whatever media you have at hand, and get it built. Today, we have ever more powerful computer tools. I'll leave most of the hardware to the real tech geeks, but I will discuss one of the neatest design tools to pass through my hands in years: the Tablet PC (see figure 1). For making fast sketches, there's nothing like it. Many companies make them.
Figure 1. With a Tablet PC you can sketch right on the screen—anywhere. Because its a computer, you can save and manipulate your sketches, e-mail them and even build models based on them.
Wacom has a similar device, the Cintiq tablet (figure 2), that is wired to your computer. With both, you draw directly on the LCD screen. Many applications take advantage of these devices. Alias StudioTools springs to mind (see my review in Cadalyst April 2005, http://manufacturing.cadalyst.com/0405alias). Together, the hardware and software enable you to draw naturally as you would on a napkin. The difference is that you can take that fast hand sketch and turn it into a 3D model. Alias (and other 3D modelers like SolidWorks, Unigraphics, and so on) lets you import sketches onto planes where you can create geometry by tracing right on the images (figure 3). It's really a great way to capture the exact shape you sketched in your weekly design meeting. You can construct your product in 3D space down to the last detail. But what then?
Figure 2. Like a Tablet PC, the Wacom Cintiq tablet lets you sketch right on the screen. What the Tablet PC offers in portability, the Cintiq matches in sheer size. The Cintiq comes in 17" and 21" displays.
Once construction is complete, you can assemble your product digitally and simulate its function. By setting up appropriate mating conditions, you can put the model through its complete range of motion. By pushing and pulling on the digital model, you can see if the parts interfere. Many 3D modelers offer collision detection capability and will stop the free movement of the assembly at the place where the parts hit. That can eliminate costly mistakes. You can also make some pretty neat animations of the working assembly that you can show to others.
Figure 3. Using software like Alias StudioTools, you can start a design simply by sketching, then trace the sketch to create a 3D model.
The real advantage to virtual prototyping is iteration. By having the entire product modeled down to the bolt, you can perform infinite what-if scenarios. It can be liberating to use the Save As command and then whack away at a model. Once you get something you like, go back and rebuild it parametrically.
A picture is worth a thousand words, but a rapid prototype is worth a thousand pictures. I know, this is about virtual prototypes, but if you are concerned with the heft of your device, or how it feels in your hand, nothing can replace actual hardware. Rapid prototypes are called that because they're generated quickly from your computer models. Imagine designing a hand tool and sending it off to the RP machine and in a few hours you have a part in your hand. We'll look at this exciting technology in more detail next time.
Once your parts are built to your satisfaction, you'll want to test them. You don't have to send them out to an expensive model shop anymore. You can test them right on your PC. FEA (finite-element analysis) can tell if your part will fail and where. You import your data into the analysis environment, assign materials, and define the forces acting on the part and where they act. The software tests your part and shows you the stresses graphically. Mold flow software (figure 4,) can save hours of guessing when it comes to injection-molded parts. You tell the software what the part is made of and where the injection gate is, and the software generates a report that shows how the part will fill. It predicts the confidence of fill, where the knit lines will be and even where air will be trapped without vents.
Figure 4. Analysis software, like this plastic injection molding application from MoldFlow, can identify areas of concern in your designs. Once you see the problems, it's easy to fix them.
Another great thing about a virtual prototype is that once you have something you like, you can cut tools directly from the 3D model. You don't have to worry about whether the shop has measured things correctly or if it's forgotten something entirely. If the numbers are right in the computer file, they'll be right on the cutters, in the tools and in the final parts. You'll know what you're getting. What's not to like?
Most of the time, even with rapid prototypes, you'll want a method to present your design to others. An artist is still handy to have around, but many times what you need is readily available on your desktop. Most 3D modeling packages today come with some level of photorealistic rendering capability. And most of them are more than adequate for in-house presentations to your design team. You just find the view you're interested in and render it. The computer handles the lighting and the textures (once you've told it what you want). You can even place your product in a virtual showroom. Programs like Illustrator and CorelDraw are wonderful for annotating images output from your models. You can add all kinds of callouts and flags to point out different features of your product. You can also send these pictures to marketing or sales. One downside to great images is that when customers see them, frequently they assume the product is farther along the development pipeline than it is. They might ask for parts tomorrow. I'll leave it to you whether that is a good thing.
Bottom Line
As does any technology, virtual prototyping incurs costs. Obviously you'll need a good computer. You'll want a large monitor (the biggest you can afford—trust me on this one). If you don't have one already, you'll want a 3D controller like those produced by 3DConnexion (but that's another article). You'll generate a lot of bytes, so you might want to look at storage options, including online storage space. A company called Panasas (www.panasas.com) makes storage hardware (ActiveScale storage clusters) for companies that require large amounts of storage, helping them avoid performance bottlenecks in their data stream. Also, because we're talking wish-list stuff, several companies make rapid prototyping machines for around $30,000. That may sound like a lot, but considering the effect of dropping a physical model into your CEO's hand, it's reasonable.
A word of caution: As helpful as virtual prototyping is, it should not totally replace physical testing. It may one day, but for now you'll want to have results that are real world. Besides, most regulatory agencies require empirical data. That said, building and using virtual prototypes will help your company go farther faster, and for less. Go virtual, and you'll never look back.
Mike Hudspeth, IDSA, is an industrial designer, artist, and author based in St. Louis, Missouri.
About the Author: IDSA
About the Author: Mike Hudspeth
For Mold Designers! Cadalyst has an area of our site focused on technologies and resources specific to the mold design professional. Sponsored by Siemens NX. Visit the Equipped Mold Designer here!
For Architects! Cadalyst has an area of our site focused on technologies and resources specific to the building design professional. Sponsored by HP. Visit the Equipped Architect here!


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By Robert Lane
Herb Romer, an avionics instructor, uses interactive presentation teaching aids developed in PowerPoint 2003 to help students at the Canadian Forces Base troubleshoot electrical systems in military aircraft—what are known as Automatic Flight Control Systems (AFCS).
"The challenge," Romer explains, "is that my apprentices must learn how to troubleshoot and repair all aspects of an AFCS, yet at this stage of their learning, they are not ready to work on an actual aircraft. Therefore we simulate the real experience with interactive PowerPoint presentations instead."
Students 'measure' voltages and connectivity values and work through fault-finding exercises by selecting test points within various simulation tools and interactive wiring diagrams.
Romer believes strongly that these methods must be instructor led, to maximize the learning benefit. "Otherwise students tend to treat these simulations like a game and not as an educational tool," he says. "We start by giving them paperwork explaining the problem and then ask them to formulate a plan of attack. Eventually they must explain reasons for their actions."
Students start with a problem situation: for example, some piece of equipment isn't working properly.
Figure 1, below, shows a typical problem they might encounter while testing, with additional detail explained in accompanying paperwork.
Figure 2 shows the available interactive elements:
1. Wiring diagram sheet selection (upper left corner)
2. Sheet section selection (upper right corner)
3. Test points
4. Wire continuation (gray box with red line)
Figure 2
Says Romer: "Clicking a small yellow check point displays a simulated voltmeter with the voltage at that point. The meter in Figure 3 displays 28 Volts DC — the correct voltage that should be present if no problems exist. Therefore, this test point is OK.
Clicking return button on this slide takes the user back to the previously viewed slide, in this case Figure 2.
Figure 4 shows a selected test point having a value of 0 VAC rather than the expected 26 VAC. "That's a problem and it gives learners an important clue," Romer says. " Ultimately, they must hypothesize what combination of variables might cause such a failure."
Figure 4
If you would like more information on how this interactive training system works, Herb Romer has graciously agreed to answer questions or provide details. Contact him at: firstname.lastname@example.com
About the Author:
Robert Lane is a U.S.-based presentation consultant specializing in visually interactive communication theory and is the author of Relational Presentation, a Visually Interactive Approach, techniques that are featured in this article. Lane's Web site, www.aspirecommunications.com, features free demonstration video clips, tutorials, guides, and other resources that further explain the concepts discussed in this article. Contact him at: email@example.com


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2010 Shelby GT500 Supercharged
The '10 Shelby GT500 Doesn't Disappoint
Related Video
The original GT500 was the pin-nacle of the Mustang lineup. Introduced in 1967, the GT350's big brother featured a 428ci iron block V-8 complete with a cast-aluminum intake manifold and twin 600-cfm Holley four-barrel carburetors that produced a conservatively-rated 355 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque. And, of course, there was the design. Shelby gave the GT500 a signature look with a longer front end, fiberglass hood with a functional scoop, two intake scoops on either side, a subtle spoiler lip at the rear, Le Mans racing stripes, and taillights from the Mercury Cougar. The result was a muscle car icon that has influenced automotive design for the last 40 years.
With the introduction of the redesigned S197 Mustang in 2005, so too came the opportunity for Ford to build a GT500 that could live up to the original in both performance and looks. Thankfully, the team at SVT pulled out all the stops and came up with a car that Carroll Shelby could be proud of. Launched in 2007, the modern day GT500 also featured an iron block V-8 like the original, although this time in supercharged form, to produce 500 horsepower and 480 lb-ft of torque-the most for any production Mustang at the time. Capable of running down the dragstrip in less than 13 seconds in stock form, the GT500 was also one of the best performing. The look was distinctively Shelby as well, with a more aggressive front end, vented hood, a subtle spoiler lip at the rear, and plenty of Cobra badges inside and out.
New For 2010
With the complete refresh of the Mustang lineup for 2010, SVT once again had the task of building a GT500 that would live up to the legendary name. Unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in January, the '10 GT500 showed plenty of promise-a new look, more horsepower, suspension updates, and a more refined interior compared to the last model. From the looks of it, Ford had delivered. However, we wanted to know firsthand, and were fortunate enough to secure an invitation to drive the new GT500 both on the street and on the track at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA. Does Ford's latest offering live up to the Shelby name? Read on and find out.
Reskinning The Snake
Before actually getting in the driver seat, though, we first took the time to look over the new exterior design changes. Doug Gaffka, the man in charge of designing the '10 lineup of Mustangs, knew he had a huge responsibility in penning Ford's latest Pony car. "When you do a Mustang you don't want to disappoint the customer, that's the most important part," he told us. With that in mind, he also wanted to give the car a more modern design. "I really wanted to get off the heritage approach totally and really do a more modern interpretation of where the Mustang is going." Using the '10 Mustang as a base, the new GT500 received all new sheetmetal excluding the roof. There are more curves and details, especially at the front end, that give the car a much more sculpted and muscular look. The dual grilles, taking styling cues from the legendary Shelby Cobra, are now more prominently featured, and the bulging hood provides a more aggressive appearance. The SVT team took the time to get even the smallest details right, like moving the Cobra logo to the right side of the grille to prevent any blockage of air to the intake in the left side of the grille. At the rear, the GT500 features the signature three-bar taillamps, although reshaped and now with sequential lights like in 1968, plus a low-drag rear spoiler with a Gurney Flap, and Shelby lettering that is now spread across the center of the car.
It's What's Inside That Counts
One of our favorite parts of the '10 Mustang GT was the new interior. The quality of materials was above and beyond any other production Mustang, and fortunately that has carried over to the GT500. The instrument panel is constructed of soft-touch TPO (Thermoplastic Olefin) and is complimented by genuine alu-minum panels and Satin Liquid Chrome rings around the gauges and vents. The leather seats are fitted with Alcantara inserts, as is the steering wheel, giving the interior a decidedly upscale look. One of our favorite features is the dual stripe theme found on the white shift knob and on the seats, mimicking the exterior stripes on the car. New technology is also abundant on the '10 GT500, coming standard with voice-activated SYNC, 911 Assist, Vehicle Health Report, and the Ambient Lighting System with MyColor. Jamal Hameedi, SVT's Chief Nameplate Engineer, did note that the SVT logo in the illuminated door sills will stay red, no matter what color you change the Ambient Lighting System to. "The SVT logo is red, and that's how it will stay. We don't want any green SVT logos out there," Jamal said with a chuckle. You can also opt for the voice-activated navigation system that we maintain is one of the best on any car out there.
Aware that the GT500 isn't alone in the high-performance muscle car market any longer, Ford and SVT wanted to make sure that the Shelby remains the top dog in terms of performance. To do this, they have boosted the supercharged 5.4L V-8 to 540 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque thanks to a new cold air intake system derived from the unit developed for the GT500KR. To help make best use of that power, Ford has also fortified the six-speed driveline with a new twin-disc clutch that is larger and stronger than the previous unit (250mm versus 215mm). The final drive ratio has also been changed to 3.55 from 3.31, but thanks to slightly taller Fifth (0.74) and Sixth (0.50) gears, fuel economy has actually improved.
On The Street
When the time came to finally get behind the wheel, Ford had planned a fantastic drive for us to experience the '10 GT500. For a full day we attacked some of the best driving roads north of San Francisco, from tight twisty sections to long sweepers, and came away thoroughly impressed. According to the SVT team, it used what it learned with the GT500KR program and applied it to the '10 model. The front damping and spring rates have been increased, the chassis and body have been lowered, and aerodynamics have been improved thanks to the revised front spoiler and rear spoiler. Larger, 19-inch wheels are now standard, wrapped in upgraded Goodyear F1 Supercar tires that provide plenty of grip. Convertibles will get 18-inch versions for ride quality. The GT500 still isn't quite as nimble around tight corners as the Mustang GT because of the extra weight of the iron block up front, but the steering is quicker and more responsive than you would think a 4,000 pound car should be. The new clutch is fabulous, as evidenced by the fact that we barely even noticed it. Not only does it easily handle the GT500's power, but it's one of the most driveable units we've ever experienced. The new shifter, also a carryover from the KR, provides much more direct gear changes and doesn't have the rubbery feel that plagued the previous one. One aspect of the GT500 that didn't need changing was the brakes, and fortunately the 14-inch Brembos remain up front to provide excellent, consistent stopping power.
On Track
With several hours of driving on the street in the books, the next day we headed to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma to fully test the limits of the '10 GT500. Fortunately Infineon has the facilities to test cars in a variety of ways, so we were able to take the Shelby on a quarter-mile dragstrip, a road course, and on an autocross-style figure eight.
Starting with the dragstrip, we eagerly hopped into the driver seat to see what the new Shelby could do. With the extra power and the more aggressive gearing we naturally hoped it to be faster than the '07-'09 model, but with relatively slick track conditions and a stiff head wind we had realistic expectations as well. At this point we were also able to experiment with Ford's AdvanceTrac three-stage stability control system. In default mode the electronic nanny intervenes when it senses tire slip, but it can also be set to "Sport" mode which allows for additional tire slip before interfering, as well as turned completely off. In our first run down the strip we left traction control fully on, but found that it didn't allow enough tire slip before cutting power to the rear wheels. Since we didn't have all day to practice the perfect launch, we settled on using Sport mode with a slow roll-off and eventually cracked the 12s with a 12.9 @ 110 mph. There's plenty of potential left in the Shelby, however. Despite the less-than-ideal conditions, the best e.t. of the day was a 12.3, and we have no doubt that with the right driver and right conditions a stock '10 GT500 will be able to break into the 11s.
After the strip it was time to do some road racing. While we only had time to run a handful of laps, we still got a good impression of how the GT500 can handle the corners. Just like on public roads the day before, we felt the Shelby can handle the twisties much better than a two-ton vehicle should be able to. Steering is precise, quick, and accurate, and the car feels much more at home on a road course than the previous car. Kudos to Ford and SVT for building a GT500 that loves to hit apexes just as much as breaking the timing beams. Even on the ultra-tight figure eight course, the GT500 held its own. Despite the extra weight of the iron block V-8, the car was so well balanced that the front end never failed to pull around, and any hint of understeer could be resolved with a touch of trail-braking to settle the car.
Final Thoughts
So does the '10 GT500 live up to the Shelby name? A resounding, enthusiastic, and emphatic YES! Ford and SVT did everything we could have hoped for in the '10 GT500. It's faster because of the extra horsepower and torque, gets better fuel mileage thanks to the gearing, is more driveable due to the new clutch and shifter, handles better thanks to the suspension changes, has the best interior of any production Mustang, and looks like it will eat any car that gets in its way. With a base price of $48,175 (after destination charges and gas-guzzler tax), it's still plenty of bang for the buck too. The '10 GT500 more than lives up to the Shelby name, and will no doubt become just as much of a legend than the original.
The Details
The '10 Shelby GT500
Power four-wheel discs with ABS (Brembo four-piston front calipers)Engine
- 5.4L DOHC Supercharged V-8Transmission
- Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual3.55 limited-slip rear axle
Safety & Security
Personal Safety System (seat belt pre-tensioners, load limiting retractors, dual stage front air bags, driver seat position sensing, and crash severity sensing)
AdvanceTrac Electronic Stability Control
- On, Sport, OffAirbags - Dual stage frontAirbags
- Side impactKeyless Entry - RemoteLatch (Lower Anchors & Tethers for CHildren) systemLighting
- Illuminated entrySecurity
- Anti-Theft Perimeter Alarm (incl. perimeter inclination & intrusion alarms)Security
- SecuriLock Passive Anti-Theft (PATS)Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)Traction Control
Badge - "Shelby GT500" badging on faux gas cap
Badge - "SHELBY" badging on rear decklid
Exhaust - Dual stainless steel with 4-inch tips
Headlamps - Quad reflector
Headlamps - w/integral park/turn lamps
Hood - Aluminum hood (w/ large single heat extractor)
Lighting - Foglamps
Mirrors - Power
Over-the-top "racing stripes" and "GT500" side stripes
Rear Spoiler - SHELBY rear decklid
18X9.5-inch Aluminum Wheels with Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar Tires (P255/45ZR18 front & P285/40ZR18 rear) Convertible Only19X9.5-inch Aluminum Wheels with Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar Tires (P255/40ZR19 front & P285/35ZR19 rear) Coupe Only
Center Console - Armrest with locking storage
Climate Control - Manual
Cupholders - (2) with cover
Door Locks - Power
Floor Mats - First row w/silver perimeter stitching and "GT500" embroidered logo
Lighting - Ambient lighting
Lighting - MyColor 125 color gauge backlighting
Seats - Leather sport buckets w/racing stripes coordinated to exterior stripes and Alcantara Suede accents
Seats - six-way power driver seats with power lumbar and two-way adjustable headrest
Steering Wheel - Leather and Alcantara suede w/unique thumb pads
Steering Wheel - Tilt
Windows - Power, driver & passenger global open controls
Audio - 8 speakers
Audio - Shaker 500 System (AM/FM Stereo/CDx6 MP3 Capable)
Audio - Ford SYNC
Audio - Input jack
Audio - SIRIUS satellite radio
Cruise Control
Easy Fill capless fuel filler
Headlamps - Autolamp
Instrument Cluster - Message center with compass
Instrument Cluster - six-gauge instrument cluster SVT graphics; Liquid Satin accent cluster and air registers
Pedals - Bright; clutch, brake, and accelerator
Power points
Interior trunk release
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Hybrid Event
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Zapchen Support Group – Winter
March 13 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm EDT
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An event every week that begins at 5:30 pm on Monday, repeating until March 13, 2023
Hybrid Event$100 – $200
10-week Winter series: Jan 9-Mar 23, 2023
NCBTMB 9 CE's.
Pay-What-You-Can: $100-$200.
Registration Note:
Please download and complete the Registration Form.
To pay via PayPal, credit card, or debit card, please choose the number of tickets below and click Get Tickets.
If you would like to pay by Venmo or check, Venmo @Janet-Evergreen or send a check to Janet Evergreen 115 RiverBluff Circle, Charlottesville, VA, 22902.


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On Sale
G-Star Raw Lash T-Shirt - 'Dark Black'
T-shirt Lash features folded over sleeve hems and a high-density printed G-Star RAW logo at the chest. The rounded neckline and a relaxed fit offer a comfortable wear. A woven G-Star Originals label is set at the lower side seam to sign it off.
- Round neck- ribbed
- Short sleeves, straight inset- folded, fixed
- Rounded hem
- High-density G-Star RAW print at the chest
- Woven G-Star Originals label at the side seam
A lightweight jersey, tightly knitted for a clean and compact finish. A soft handfeel is created by a peach finish.
- Compact knitted jersey
- Peach finish, soft touch
- 100% Organic cotton
- Organic cotton fibers are free of toxic pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Growing organic cotton improves the soil quality, prevents water contamination and conserves biodiversity, while saving up to 60% water.
- RAW Sustainable. RAW Sustainable garments are made of materials that are sustainable and contribute towards minimizing the environmental impact of the G-Star RAW collection.


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Cooking & preparation instructions
Overnight Thaw: Place bag on a leak proof dish and thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove shrimp from packaging and drain for 2 – 3 minutes.
Quick Thaw: Remove shrimp from packaging and place in colander under cold running water for 5 – 8 minutes or until thawed. Drain for 2 – 3 minutes.
• Heat 1 – 2 Tbsp of olive oil or butter over MEDIUM-HIGH heat
• Add shrimp and saute for 2 minutes per side, turning once; season to taste with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
• Place shrimp in a single layer on a non-stick baking sheet; brush lightly with olive oil or melted butter and season to taste with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
• Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C) or set to broil
• Bake/broil for 3 – 5 minutes, turning once
• Marinated shrimp in your favorite marinade for a maximum of 4 hours in the refrigerator
• Remove shrimp from marinade and grill over MEDIUM-HIGH heat for 2 – 3 minutes per side
Since appliances vary, these instructions are guidelines only.
Safe Handling
Packages Sizes
- 2 lb
All sizes are available in all package weight option.
16 - 20 26 - 30
Shrimp Size Chart
Understanding shrimp sizing can be tricky. Chances are, you've noticed a number on the front of a bag of shrimp. Is it referring to the size of the shrimp or the number of shrimp in the bag? In most cases, it's referring to the actual size. Shrimp size is designated by "count per pound"; meaning, if the number reads "26/30 ct/lb," that is the number of shrimp per each pound. The lower the number of shrimp per pound, the larger the shrimp, and vice versa.
Note, there is no standard definition for the descriptor of each size designation; it can vary from retailer to retailer. This table is a helpful guide to assist you in understanding shrimp sizing:
|Shrimp Count per Pound
|Size Description
|Super Colossal
|16/20 – 21/25
|Extra Large
|41/50 – 51/60
|61/70 – 71/90
|Extra Small


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This article is from Shopify, and was republished and shared through Elksourcing with the permission of Shopify.
Original link:https://www.shopify.com/blog/eco-friendly-products
Earth Day arrived quietly this year—did you almost miss it? There is, after all, a lot going on in the world, and it may be hard to find the energy to care about sustainability when a global pandemic is dominating our collective attention. But today is a good reminder that being thoughtful about how we consume is as important as ever. Now is the time to support independent businesses that have been hit hard by COVID-19—especially those on a relentless pursuit to make the world a better place.
For the environment, the impacts of a global shutdown have cut both ways. Pollution has seen a decrease and emissions have been reduced in many big cities as planes stay grounded and cars parked. On the other hand, consumption is up—and an uptick in online shopping is contributing to an increase in excess packaging.
Minimize your footprint by growing your own vegetables in a self-watering container. Orta Gardens
We can, however, make incremental changes to our shopping habits—say, switching from plastic wrap to beeswax wrap—to help minimize waste. And, with all this extra time, maybe this is the moment to eschew bagged carrots and realize that balcony container garden of your dreams.
Whether you're looking for sustainable home office solutions, ethical loungewear, or clean comfort foods, we've got you covered. To help you shop more sustainably on this 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, we've handpicked 50 good-for-you—and good-for-the-earth—products from independent business owners everywhere.
Sustainable tech
Get a glimpse of a more eco-friendly future with innovative gadgets powered by the sun or made from recycled materials.
1. Limited edition Bee AirPods and phone cases in honey by Pela Case
Bonus: 5% of the sale price supports causes like Save the Whales Coalition
2. RIVER solar generator by EcoFlow
3. SunLight portable solar light by BioLite
4. Handcrafted wood laptop stand by Oakywood
5. Wireless charger made with hemp and recycled plastic by Nimble
Bonus: shipped in biodegradable, plastic-free packaging
Ethical fashion
Style for staying home, picked from brands with a thoughtful, transparent supply chain.
6. The Pocket Classic crew tee in penny by Franc
7. Black Tulip tee by Free Label
8. Recycled cotton long shorts in stone by Pangaia
9. Cotton structured mini dress in gold medal by Hoibo
10. The Wanderer wide-leg slacks in hemp organic cotton by Uniform
Good for pets, good for the earth
Keep Rufus entertained while you (try to) work from home, with recycled and upcycled dog toys and treats.
11. Hemp and cork dog leash by Wigglywoos
12. Recycled Tug and Toss dog rope toy by Harry Barker
13. Beco Family George the Giraffe recycled dog toy from Chopper & Otis
14. Upcycled dog treats made from food rescued from agricultural and production waste streams by Shameless Pets
Gardens and the great outdoors
Turn your backyard into a staycation oasis—and a bountiful food source—with smart green goods for the outdoors.
15. Self-watering microgreen grow kit by Orta Kitchen Gardens
16. Portable campfire made with recycled soy wax by Radiate
17. Outdoor loveseat set made with recycled ocean plastic by Yardbird
18. Organic Pizza Garden Collection by The Living Seed Company
19. Beehive kits by BackYardHive
Kind foods
Organic, fair trade, or solar-grown—sure, they're good for you, but they're also delicious.
20. Organic and fair trade Peanut Butter Pitbull bar by Rescue Chocolate
Bonus: 100% of profits support animal rescue
21. Organic Mayan Magic espresso coffee beans by Higher Grounds
22. Upcycled vegetable Pulp Chips in jalapeño lime by Pulp Pantry
23. Solar-roasted coffee beans by Fluid
24. Salted caramel plant powered energy balls by Little Tucker
Low-impact (on the earth) fitness gear
Stay inside, but don't stay still. Up your at-home fitness game with sportswear and yoga gear constructed with recycled or renewable materials.
25. Sustainable sneakers by Norm
26. Biodegradable rubber eKO yoga mat by Manduka
27. Performance wear made from recycled coffee grounds by Five12
Clean beauty and personal care
Take care of your skin—and the planet—with products made from organic and naturally derived ingredients.
28. Plum beauty oil by Le Prunier
29. Bamboo and organic cotton pads and tampons by Tsuno
Bonus: each box sold helps fund girls' education
30. Naturally derived red clay facial mask stick by Found
31. Bamboo toothbrush with plastic-free packaging by VirtueBrush
32. Clean and cruelty free All-Over concealer stick by p/y/t Beauty
33. Juniper and Birch soap by Boreal Folk
A sustainable kitchen
Ditch disposables in favor of reusables or upgrade dinnerware to recycled—and seriously cute—alternatives.
34. Flora & Fauna drinking glass set made from recycled bottles by Green Glass
35. Durable kids' dinnerware made from recycled bottles by Re-Play
36. Family pack of four bowls handcrafted from coconut shells by Coconut Bowls
37. Collapsible drinking straws by Final Straw
38. Reusable produce bags by Flip & Tumble
Compassion for animals
Buy critter-friendly goods from brands that give back.
39. A symbolic moose adoption by WWF
40. Merch to support the dog rescue efforts of Justice Rescue
41. Piggy pin to support Herbivorous Acres, an animal sanctuary operated by Herbivorous Butcher
Eco-minded accessories
Treat yourself (if not now, when?) with little extras made from materials diverted from landfills.
42. Recycled and fair trade embroidered zipper pouch by Rice Love
43. Vera net socks in recycled polyamide by Swedish Stockings
Bonus: send in your old socks for recycling and get 10% off
44. Recycled firehose wallets by Recycled Firefighter
45. Reusable tote and backpack combo in forest green by Notabag
46. Sustainable eyewear by Dick Moby
Natural creativity
We can't guarantee you'll get a day off, but these kindly made craft supplies and exploration kits might buy you a few moments of kid-free silence.
47. Bike Basket Jumbo Journal made from post-consumer recycled paper by EcoJot
48. Set of six Beeswax and soy chick crayons by A Toy Garden
49. Mineral face paint by Natural Art Supplies
50. The Forest School Den Kit for outdoor discovery from Conscious Craft
Illustration by Amanda Berglund


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YAY! I combined the sketch (see below) with the Championing Award Challenge over at Moxie Fab World! I had these fabulous Pink Paislee Medallions and the wonderful flag cut outs and...well, I ended up not using them in quite the traditional 'award' formation, but I love the end result! So fun! I used two Skipping Stones Design stamp sets for this card, the butterfly from Uplifting and the sentiment from Everyday Blessings.
The ribbon is from our November partner, Creative Impressions! So cute!
So...you TOTALLY need to jump in with this sketch! It's such a fun one and offers a lot of personalization! Go for it and link it up over at Skipping Stones for your chance to win!
Jingle Out!


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In recent years, attention on measures towards skills-upgrading, workforce development and lifelong learning have gained pro-eminence in several OECD countries, but the questions of who is to benefit from these programmes and how they are to be delivered have received insufficient attention. First, while the need for skills development appears to be widely acknowledged, less emphasis has been given to low-wage and low-skilled workers, or former welfare recipients, often because their re-integration in the labour market was perceived as an overwhelming policy priority. Programme beneficiaries are broadly categorised as belonging to two distinct groups: either the unemployed - and especially the long-term unemployed - or as those 'in employment'. The dichotomy in the categorisation of the target groupimplies a strong division of responsibilities for skills provision, with the former assigned to public sector, often in co-operation with voluntary sector agencies, and the latter to employers, or to the workers themselves, through public or private training institutes. However the many failures and barriers confronting skills acquisition for the low-qualified and economically disadvantaged, and in particular those re-integrating the labour market after a spell of long-term unemployment and social exclusion, imply that public policies towards skills-upgrading are of paramount importance.
Research conducted by the OECD [DT/LEED/DC(2002)5] has showed that measures to upgrade the skills of the low-qualified are more likely to be designed at the local level than at the national level and frequently take the form of pilot projects. While some ad hoc programmes exist in many OECD countries, such as those financed through the ESF in the European Union, the conditions under which such pilots emerge, and the extent to which these effectively respond to the needs of the target group and to those of local employers remain unclear.
Study process
A cross-country comparative study process is currently being implemented. Its purpose is to examine the mechanisms used to upgrade the skills of the low qualified workers in various economic and institutional contexts and their outcomes so as to formulate a series of policy recommendations. The study aims to provide guidance on how to i) tackle the obstacles to job retention and progression for the disadvantaged workers; ii) bridge the gap between re-integration and vocational training through better integrated active labour market policies; and iii) use skills-upgrading to better meet the needs of the workers, the socially-excluded, the local employers and the community in general, within the context of integrated development strategies.
Five countries are participanting in this project: Belgium (Flanders), Canada, Denmark, the United Kingdom and the United States. The outputs of the study will consist of a final report (prepared by the OECD Secretariat), policy recommendations (approved by the LEED Directing Committee) and reports specific to participating countries (prepared by experts under the Secretariat's supervision), to be published in 2005.
Material available
For more information
Please contact [email protected].
Documents connexes


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Ivanka Trump Whining: The Sound of the Future
Ivanka TrumpKushner is very upset about a profile of her and her new husband Jared that Crain's ran yesterday. Thanks for bringing that story to our attention, Ivanka! Also: The KushnerTrump brand is the future of the New York Observer.
The Observer is, at heart, a small little paper written by very smart people. It's not really the ideal pawn in a game of New York media mogul social climbing. Which will not stop Jared Kushner and his new bride from using it for that purpose!
Ivanka (who declined to give Crain's an interview for their story, although her dad did) twitted conspiratorially, "Do you think it's because of late Jared's new paper, The Commercial Observer, has stolen the last of Crains' few remaining advertisers?" Somehow we doubt that is the case! The story is mostly a pedestrian and factual recounting of the last few years of Kushner's and Trump's uniformly laughable rise to DIZZYING HEIGHTS of business moguldom or something, despite the fact that both of them are silver spoon kids with no discernible talent for actually making money, apart from slapping the "Trump" brand on various shitty baubles. Jared is actually astoundingly good at losing money, so far.
What Ivanka calls "misinformed and pointless" is actually just a roundup of the various inanities and business failures she and Jared have racked up in the recent past. The worrying thing here is not that Ivanka (who, her dad says, "loves the public, she loves to be out there") is upset; it's that she and her husband seem to be totally enveloping the New York Observer in the Trump Brand. Ivanka's book ads were just the beginning. The fact that it's now impossible to discuss one of New York's most literary weeklies without being one degree of separation from discussing Donald Trump does not portend a happy future.
And get off Twitter, Ivanka. That will be one million dollars.
[Pic via]


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Click to viewThat driverless car Google's been working on? Good Morning America spent some time behind the wheel. They even played chicken with it.
The car's already traveled 140,000 miles, depending on cameras and a scanning laser to do the driving so you don't have to. You just tell it your destination and it plots a route for you, taking into consideration speed limits and traffic patterns. A Google engineer describes it as "Super Cruise Control," a way to augment your experience rather than usurp it. Although part of me is pretty sure that if I had this function available to me, I'd never turn it off.
The bad news: Google's not anywhere close to even thinking about retail at this point, and even if they did the cost would be astronomical. Besides, I'm sure they're just using the extra time to figure out how to make this baby fly. [Daily IQ]


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Now, more than 80 years after the famous "Scopes Monkey Trial" in Tennessee, creationism proponents are pushing for state legislation there that could make it easier for teachers to bring unscientific ideas back into the science classroom in public schools. To bolster their cause, the backers of the new bills are invoking none other than teacher John Scopes, the trial's pro-evolution defendant, as an icon of independent thinking.
"…[T]oday's evolutionary scientists have become the modern-day equivalents of those who tried to silence Rhea County schoolteacher John Scopes for teaching evolution in 1925, by limiting even an objective discussion of the scientific strengths and weaknesses of evolutionary theory," David Fowler, head of the Family Action Council of Tennessee and chief lobbyist behind Tennessee's proposed anti-evolution bill, wrote recently in an op–ed in the Chattanoogan.
Scopes had been charged with violating the Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of evolution in public schools. Thus, creationists say, he certainly would have supported a law that encouraged the teaching of all sides of "controversial issues"—such as the bill some are working to pass in Tennessee as part of a post–intelligent design (ID) campaign to teach the "strengths and weaknesses" of evolution. If adopted, this language would send a positive message to teachers inclined to introduce creationism and ID into the classroom when discussing biology and the origins of life.
Trouble in Tennessee
Following the drubbing they received in the constitutional test case of Tammy Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District in Pennsylvania five years ago (which kept explicit teaching of intelligent design, or ID, out of public schools) creationists shelved the ID language—at least publicly—and shifted their approach. More recently, they have tried to codify versions of the "strengths and weaknesses" language in states across the country—an effort that has so far met with limited success. The closest that creationists came to getting such terminology on the books was in 2008 in Louisiana, where an initial "academic freedom" bill included the phrase, but was replaced with more watered-down language that nonetheless left the door open to teaching creationism, some science educators say.
Texas's State Board of Education (SBOE) tried to preserve ambiguous language in its science curriculum in 2009. (The wording had been on the books since the 1990s, having originally been inserted as a compromise to appease creationists.) But after religious conservative members of the board were unable to garner majority support, they dropped it in favor of phrases, albeit also dubious, that included the statement students should "analyze and evaluate the sufficiency of scientific explanations concerning any data of sudden appearance, stasis and the sequential nature of groups in the fossil records."
The home state of the Scopes Trial is now on the verge of adopting the "strengths and weakness" language with the February 8 introduction of House Bill 368 (pdf). A week later, its identical counterpart, SB 893, was introduced in the senate. Whereas similar bills in Oklahoma and New Mexico have already perished in committee this year, observers are watching Tennessee's developments warily.
"The fact that it's moving so quickly is a matter of concern," says Josh Rosenau, a spokesperson for the National Center for Science Education, a watchdog organization that monitors attacks on classroom teaching of evolution. "There appears to be some momentum behind it, which suggests it could pass."
Strengths and weaknesses
As with other anti-evolution bills, the Tennessee legislation does not actually mandate the inclusion of creationist or ID teachings. Rather, it says that educators may not be prohibited from "helping students understand, analyze, critique and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories covered in the course being taught."
As in the Louisiana law, those theories can include "biological evolution, the chemical origins of life, global warming and human cloning." The bill goes on to say that this only applies to scientific information, and is not "to be construed to promote any religious or nonreligious doctrine."
On the surface, the language looks like something that all scientists would gladly embrace: Promote critical thinking? Certainly! But opponents of the legislation say that the bills' backers' intent is instead designed to undercut the teaching of evolution and open doors to creationism and intelligent design.
As with other anti-evolution bills, Tennessee's seems to be based on sample legislation written and promoted by the pro-ID Discovery Institute.
Sponsor Rep. Bill Dunn (R–Knoxville) said Fowler submitted the legislation to him in early February. The latter's organization is associated with James Dobson's conservative Christian Focus on the Family and advocates for "biblical values" and "godly officials."
Dunn could not explain why a Christian organization would be pushing legislation that supposedly has nothing to do with inserting religion into science class. He referred the question to Fowler.
Fowler, who would not say whether he is a young earth creationist ("I think that's irrelevant," he noted), said he is trying to correct the "dogmatic" presentation of science in the classroom. "This is about open discourse," he said, adding, "Good education requires critical thinking."
Fowler has spoken with members of the Discovery Institute—he would not say specifically whom—and said he drafted the Tennessee bill based on sample legislation the Institute created.
Dunn explains: "We've reversed the roles of the Scopes Trial. All we're saying is let's put all the scientific facts on the table."
Dunn said the bill would not allow the teaching of intelligent design. But in his Chattanoogan op–ed piece Fowler specifically says it would protect a teacher who wanted to teach the concept, which a federal court ruled unconstitutional in Kitzmiller v. Dover.
"The bill is likely to result in significant violations of students' and parents' First Amendment rights," says Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee. "It is not necessary; and it threatens to undermine science education across the state, endangering the educational and employment futures of Tennessee's students as well as the state's own economic and job prospects."
With 60 percent of U.S. public high school biology teachers already shying away from evolution in the classroom, according to the results of a recent Pennsylvania State University survey, these anti-evolution bills send a warning message to ambivalent teachers to avoid the subject, Rosenau said.
Separation of church and state
While the fight heats up in Tennessee, anti-evolution battles continue in other states.
Next month, Texas's SBOE will begin the four-month review process of "supplemental materials," which will be used in place of costly new science textbooks. The creationist sympathies of several members of a board-appointed volunteer review panel have raised questions about whether the SBOE intends to use these additional publications to eventually open a door to creationism and ID-friendly materials into the classroom.
Meanwhile, in Louisiana a 17-year-old Baton Rouge Magnet High School student has begun a long-shot campaign to get lawmakers to repeal the state's anti-evolution law. Zack Kopplin has lined up support of one senator, who has said she is willing to introduce the legislation. Gene Mills of the Louisiana Family Forum (also affiliated with Focus on the Family) said he welcomes the attempt. "It's healthy to have discussions," Mills says, "but I don't think it's going anywhere."
Forty years after Scopes was found guilty for teaching evolution, he mused about an alternative outcome for his case if it had gone to the Supreme Court: "The Butler Act was an effort on the part of a religious group, the fundamentalists, to impose by law their religious beliefs on the rest of society. Our Founding Fathers, acquainted with the bloody religious wars in Europe, had written into the Constitution the right of religious freedom and had further provided, by means of the doctrine of the separation of church and state, that no religious group should control or unduly influence any arm of secular government. I believe that had we reached the Supreme Court we would have been victorious on this issue."
A Tennessee House subcommittee hearing for the state's "strengths and weaknesses" bill was continued from last week to give expert witnesses on both sides time to prepare. The hearing will resume Wednesday.
The Scopes Strategy: Creationists Try New Tactics to Promote Anti-Evolutionary Teaching in Public Schools
Under the guise of "academic freedom" creationists are co-opting some old heroes of the fight to teach evolution in the classroom for their anti-science campaign
Now, more than 80 years after the famous "Scopes Monkey Trial" in Tennessee, creationism proponents are pushing for state legislation there that could make it easier for teachers to bring unscientific ideas back into the science classroom in public schools. To bolster their cause, the backers of the new bills are invoking none other than teacher John Scopes, the trial's pro-evolution defendant, as an icon of independent thinking.


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Feline Friday is simple to join. All you have to do is:
Post a picture, drawing, cartoon or video of a cat (They may be silly or cute).
Go to my sidebar and click on the Feline Friday code.
Paste the code under your cat picture.
Add your name and link.
Image Credit: Click on Image
|1. Feline Friday
2. Kathe W.
3. messymimi
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5. Margs Animals
6. McGuffy's Reader
7. 15andmeowing
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