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HONG KONG — In a move aimed at discouraging further suicides, Foxconn — the maker of Apple's iPhone and iPad — will no longer pay compensation to families of employees who kill themselves, China's Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday.
Xinhua cited posters in Foxconn's Shenzhen complex in China as saying the company had "concrete evidence" that some of its employees who killed themselves in a recent spate of suicides had done so in order to win compensation money for their families.
Most of the victims' families received more than 100,000 yuan ($14,640), Xinhua said.
"The act is wrong. Life is precious. To prevent such tragedies, Foxconn is to cease releasing compensation other than that provided by law," Xinhua quoted the poster as saying.
Foxconn is owned by Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry, which has announced two wage rises in the past two weeks for workers at the sprawling plant in Shenzhen, where some 400,000 staff assemble iPhones and other gadgets.
Hon Hai Chairman Terry Gou, Taiwan's richest man, told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting in Hong Kong on Tuesday that he would limit overtime at plants in China to no more than three hours a day.
Protesters picketed the meeting, accusing both Foxconn and Apple of poor corporate ethics after 11 workers have killed themselves and three have attempted suicide at Foxconn's operations in China this year, mainly by jumping from buildings.
The 30 demonstrators held signs saying, "Workers are not machines. They have self-esteem," outside a hotel function room where shareholders were meeting.
Protesters also targeted Apple, waving a cardboard cutout of Chief Executive Steve Jobs with devil's horns and another placard featuring the company logo and the words "Bloody Apple."
Protesters also laid white flowers at an Apple shop in a tribute to the dead workers. Organizer Debby Chan accused Foxconn of poor management, urging the Taiwanese manufacturer to raise wages and let workers set up an independent union.
Chan also said Apple should do a better job of monitoring labor and safety standards at their suppliers.
"They should strengthen their sense of corporate social responsibility," Chan said in a phone interview.
Foxconn is the world's largest contract maker of electronics. Company officials are installing safety nets in buildings and hiring more counselors.
Labor activists accuse the company of having a rigid management style, an excessively fast assembly line and forced overwork, but Foxconn denies the allegations.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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|Photos and Slide Shows
|Meeting Clock
|My Robotics Blog
Greetings from Vienna, Virginia. Gena and I have been living here for about 29 years now, and I've been in the Washington area for about 36 years (hard to believe!). I retired from Noblis, a non-profit science, technology, and strategy organization, in January 2017. I continue to consult on traffic operations and "Intelligent Transportation Systems" - the application of sensor, communications, and information processing technologies to improve surface transportation, including connected and autonomous vehicles and smart cities. More information on my consulting is available at www.mcgurrin.com.
I enjoy traveling, playing tennic, and playing around with software, electronics, and robotics. I'm also the webmaster for the alumni of Penn State's Individual in a Complex Society interest house and administer the ICS facebook page.
Gena is also retired from the Department of Energy and working part time as a private sector lawyer. Our son Glenn is an IT consultant.
everything that's already in the world when you're born is just normal;
2) anything that gets invented between then and before you turn thirty is incredibly exciting and creative and with any luck you can make a career out of it;
3) anything that gets invented after you're thirty is against the natural order of things and the beginning of the end of civilisation as we know it until it's been around for about ten years when it gradually turns out to be alright really."
"We don't ask consumers what they want. They don't know. Instead we apply our brain power to what they need, and will want, and make sure we're there, ready"
"The street finds its own use for things."
"The future is here. It's just not evenly distributed yet."
"We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run."
"Information wants to be free."
"The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them to choose from."
"The notion that standards engender successful industries seems as likely to me as the aboriginal Cargo Cult of New Guinea (build an airport of straw & twigs, & the great silver birds will swoop down out of the sky, bringing Manna from heaven.) I think it's rather the case that successful industries engender standards after the fact, based on their experiences thus far, in order to further their success."
"The idea that the rise of standards would reduce innovation was a mistake. In fact, innovation accelerates with the rise of standards."
"We can no longer depend on privacy through obscurity."
"Open systems exercise the entrepreneurial part of our economy and call into question proprietary systems and broadly mandated monopolies. In an open system we compete with our imagination, not with a lock and key. The result is not only a large number of successful companies, but a wide variety of choice for the consumer and an ever more nimble commercial sector, one that can change and grow."
"Open architectures drive integration. Integration
drives innovation and growth."
"Electronic records aren't really records."
"Rockets have legs. Rockets should land! This is how God meant it to be!"
"The last time I used a hammer, my hand slipped and I hit my thumb. And for a split second, I unconsciously reached for the Undo key..."
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled."
"People worry that computers will get too smart and take over the world, but the real problem is that they're too stupid and they've already taken over the world,"
"Trust the computer industry to shorten 'Year 2000' to 'Y2K.' It was this kind of thinking that caused the problem in the first place."
"Architecture is politics."
Clarke's Laws:
"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk."
Networking Laws:
Metcalfe's Law - "The value of a system grows as approximately the square of the number of users of the system." Robert Metcalfe
Reed's Law - "The utility of large networks, particularly social networks, scales exponentially with the size of the network." David P. Reed
In 2008, I was visiting a major state university, and to my dismay, learned that the transportation engineering graduate students, had, for the most part, never learned anything about programming or software. And this is a school with a center specializing in applying advanced communications and information technology to transportation. In my opinion, anyone that uses technical, analytic, or simulation software, or who may be responsible for procuring computer-based systems should have at least some exposure to programming. It is in this spirit that I pass along this excerpt:
"If you've never programmed a computer, you should. There's nothing like it in the whole world. When you program a computer, it does exactly what you tell it to do. It's like designing a machine -- any machine, like a car, like a faucet, like a gas-hinge for a door -- using math and instructions. It's awesome in the truest sense: it can fill you with awe...
Most of us will never build a car. Pretty much none of us will
ever create an aviation system. Design a building. Lay out a city.
Those are complicated machines, those things, and they're off-limits to the likes of you and me. But a computer is like, ten times more complicated, and it will dance to any tune you play. You can learn to write simple code in an afternoon. Start with a language like Python, which was written to give non-programmers an easier way to make the machine dance to their tune. Even if you only write code for one day, one afternoon, you have to do it. Computers can control you or they can lighten your work -- if you want to be in charge of your machines, you have to learn to write code."
Chapter 7, Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
And by the way, if you haven't read Little Brother do so, no matter what your age. It's classified as teen fiction, but it's also an important book. The author Neil Gaiman sums it up nicely: "I'd recommend Little Brother over pretty much any book I've read this year, and I'd want to get it into the hands of as many smart 13 year olds, male and female, as I can. Because I think it'll change lives. Because some kids, maybe just a few, won't be the same after they've read it. Maybe they'll change politically, maybe technologically. Maybe it'll just be the first book they loved or that spoke to their inner geek. Maybe they'll want to argue about it and disagree with it. Maybe they'll want to open their computer and see what's in there. I don't know. It made me want to be 13 again right now and reading it for the first time, and then go out and make the world better or stranger or odder. It's a wonderful, important book, in a way that renders its flaws pretty much meaningless."
"We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at
"We must not confuse
dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul
of America dies with it."
"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the
guise of fighting a foreign enemy."
"If you don't have a seat at the table, you're probably on the menu."
original source unknown
"...we are not against censorship because we realize there is always the danger of something being said."
"Those who would sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither liberty nor security."
"The jury has the right to judge both the law as well as the fact in controversy."
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
John F. Kennedy
"There's no such thing as a Democratic bridge or a Republican highway."
"Sound bites and sound policy shouldn't be confused."
"Both gas and government will expand to fill the available space."
"Those who cast the votes decide nothing, those who count the votes decide everything."
"There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old order of things, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new."
"To believe something is to believe that it is true; therefore a reasonable person believes each of his beliefs to be true; yet experience has taught him to expect that some of his beliefs, he knows not which, will turn out to be false. A reasonable person believes, in short, that each of his beliefs is true and that some of them are false."
W.V.O. Quine
"I'm not a very smart person but you're going to have winter every year, I think—you may as well get into it."
Chip Chase
"An idea should not be held responsbile for the people that agree with it."
George Will
"In view of the fact that God limited the intelligence of man, it seems unfair that He did not also limit his stupidity."
Konrad Adenauer
"No man is free who works for a living."
Illya Kuryakin
networks are the blood and veins of economic development."
"The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent;
but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries
of death — however mutable man may be able to make them — our existence as a species can have genuine
meaning and fulfillment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light."
"Security and privacy are not opposite ends of a seesaw; you don't have to accept less of one to get more of the other. Think of a door lock, a burglar alarm and a tall fence…. The debate isn't security versus privacy. It's liberty versus control."
"If you can't open it, you don't own it."
"...reality has a well-known liberal bias."
"If aliens are smart enough to travel through space, why do they keep abducting the dumbest people on earth?"
"Stability is a function of momentum."
"The world is run by those who show up."
"It is impossible to cross a chasm in a thousand small steps."
"When there is chaos, there is opportunity."
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."
"Never Panic Early"
"Forwards who pass the ball in the box are not forwards."

subset: commoncrawl


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Here's the difference between you and me. You're armed with reason, and willpower, and common sense, and common decency. Me? Less so.
Perhaps it's this lack of common decency that would lead me to dip perfectly good savory potato chips into perfectly good dark chocolate. The result seems to be a perfectly sinister meeting of savory / sweet / and chocolate. It's trouble. Nothing but trouble.
Remember that time I made Peanut Butter and Pickle Sandwiches and everyone was like, UM… Joy the Baker has LOST IT! This is that! Except there's chocolate involved, so maybe you'll let this one slide.
How to be the most popular person at the party. How to win friends and influence people. How to be really good at life. How to do it right. These chocolate-dipped chips seem to solve most of life's little vacancies. That's awesome, right?
I don't need to write you a whole recipe or give you step-by-step photographs for these chocolate-dipped potato chips. You know the deal. Here are a few pro-tips… as if you need them, pffft.
For other shenanigans related recipes see: Peanut Butter Banana Bonbons / Beer Battered Onion Rings / and sorry I'm not sorry Candy Bar Cupcakes
The Chocolate-Dipped Potato Chip
You'll need:
– about 5 ounces dark chocolate, melted
– 1 tablespoon coconut oil stirred into the melted chocolate. (optional, but totally helps the chocolate loosen and set on the potato chip)
– 2 giant handfuls of potato chips (with ridges are preferred, you know?)
– vanilla sea salt (very optional, but lovely)
Dip the potato chips in melted chocolate. Place on wax or parchment. Chill for just a bit in the refrigerator to set the chocolate. Store in a cool place or just invite a friend over and devour every last one. Repeat.
Sorry / Not Sorry


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The Hope College Symphonette will perform on Friday, Feb. 16, at 7:30 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
The group's first concert at Hope of the new semester will include works of Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Johann Sebastian Bach and Joseph Haydn. The concert will open with the "Overture to Suzannes's Secret," by Wolf-Ferrari. The concert will continue with the "Brandenburg Concerto No. 3" for strings by Bach and close with the "Symphony No. 82 L'Ours (The Bear)" by Haydn.
Organized in 1953, the Symphonette is selected each year from the larger college symphony orchestra. It is one of only four orchestras from around the country invited to perform during the 2007 National Conference of the American String Teachers Association in March, chosen from a pool of more than 100 college orchestras that had applied for the honor.
The Symphonette is directed by Richard Piippo of the Hope music faculty, who is director of orchestral activities and an associate professor of cello and chamber music at the college. Piippo has taught at Hope since 1999.
Dimnent Memorial Chapel is located on College Avenue at 12th Street.


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We rent a cabin on top of the mountain (we call it 'our' cabin since we ask for the same cabin every year)---with a view of the valley below and of the sunset. The picture above shows us sitting outside on top of our picnic table --while waiting for the sun to set.. It was a gorgeous late afternoon in Arkansas on 2/14/13.
BUT---to my great excitement this year, I saw a new 'life' bird for me, a ROADRUNNER (pictured above)... I had never seen one before ---so this is one of the highlights of this trip for me. Isn't he amazing??? All I could think about was the old cartoon... Remember "Beep Beep"???????
Well--as you can tell, we had a glorious week in Arkansas. Hope you all had a good week also. I have MUCH more to share---but those will come in time!!!
Have a fabulous Monday.


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|A scale, from the Latin word scala, a ladder
"What I am wondering about these days is when are children developmentally ready to understand the concept of ratios and relationships? Personally, I love having been able to memorize all my "math facts," but I thought, really really believed that doing calculations was doing math. If I had understood that math was more about the discovery and description of relationships it would have made a difference. I think that this is where the Wall might be: when students need to shift from "getting an answer" to understanding relationships. The calculations mind-set is so deeply hard-wired into the brain that this shift never happens.Paula puts relationships and ratios together; you could include proportion and scaling. You could include fractions or percentages. It's all part of one concept. I chose scaling as the word we would use, as it seems like the most everyday way of talking about it. We talk about scale models, the scale of a map, scaling up a recipe or picture. I dropped in the words "ratio" and "proportion" occasionally, but not in any way I wanted the kids to remember. It was about the experiences primarily.
So I am wondering, from your work with young children, when do you think you can start talking about math as if it's tool for discovery?"
Reflecting on the lessons made me think a little more about what scaling is. It's not that easy to encapsulate what it's essentially about, and I'd appreciate other people's views on this. Thinking through what's common to all the activities, it seems it's a kind of "I'm taking you with me" thing. Change one thing, other things have to change too.
It's much easier for me to think about in particular examples. The longer the car journey is, the bigger other things get. You need a bigger bag of travel sweets for instance.
So, how well did these lessons do? (Click on the numbers in circles for more detail on each activity.)
➊ Scaling up shapes on grid paper. Here, what goes together is the horizontal and the vertical scaling. Some of the children at first scaled one way but not both. But in the end they all got it. It's a really satisfying lesson for the children this, because they're creating their own shape, and the challenge level is just right.
Of course, there's something really interesting going on with the area within these shapes - there are square numbers involved - but though we touched on this, the thrust of the lesson was just to be able to create the shapes.
Julie, did something good with it in the other Year 4 class: she got the kids to add numbers to label all the lengths. This makes the numerical patterns much more obvious, and I'd do that next time.
There was triangle grid paper and some of the children wanted to use that. I went with it because I wanted to see how they'd scale up the three dimensions. But it's such a wonderful thing being able to draw 3D things on flat paper that some of them got a bit carried away with the first shape, and couldn't really scale it up easily!
If I had the same children again in later years, I would start to look at the areas and the volumes involved, how if you graph them, you don't get a straight line. This kind of non-linear scaling is really important in science, engineering and industry, not to mention maths itself!
➋ Using the pattern blocks is a nice easy activity, and kids a few years younger could do this, making sure there were twice the number of triangles as squares. Because it was easy I could use it to link this scaling to its graphical representation as a diagonal line.
This incidentally led to a nice exchange of ideas on Twitter. John Golden, who'd originally suggested pattern blocks, came up with a brilliant ratio chart. This is something older children could investigate, as well as his suggestion of more complicated mixtures.
❸ Folding and halving A-size paper is something younger children could do. It could also go off in the directions of fractions and even the idea of infinite series. (I didn't mention in the post how we looked at other rectangles that don't scale up this way - and got into an interesting discussion about squares in particular.) We touched on the fact that the A-sizes have a 1:√2 ratio, but this is something older year groups could explore more.
❹ The 1:100 and 1:500 scale models of the A380 came along at just the right time. Children have so much experience with scale when it comes to models. And as we were looking at maps of runways for our work on headings, it was natural to ask, if this is the plane scaled down, how much would the runway scaled down be? We could have done more on this if time allowed, and scales in maps is such an obvious place to deal with scaling.
➎ Cuisenaire rods gave us the chance to pass by lesson 1 again. I think younger children could do this too. What's special about this approach is that it makes the square numbers really apparent, so it would help older kids too. You can actually stand blocks on their end in the trays, so you could scale up in three dimensions too, and think about cube numbers.
➏ Kids should cook regularly anyway, but this time we especially focused on the scaling up the recipe. (I had to contrive it a bit, because the recipe was right to start with!) The online activity was good too. It showed me that scaling from a recipe for 2 to a recipe for 3 was very challenging for them. That's where to go next year and beyond. This activity also has the advantage that you can eat it!
➐ The Zoolander question from Robert Kaplinksy was, in hindsight, quite challenging for this age group, maybe too challenging. The class got the humour of Zoolander not understanding a scale model though!
❦Strangely perhaps, I'm not satisfied with all this. And I don't even know why. Is it that scaling is such a slippery concept? Is it that the work we did didn't involve much calculation? Is it just that we need to be doing things like this every year? Maybe it's this... I don't know.
I'd be interested in your ideas about this. What, for you, is the essence of scaling? Do you think it's worth devoting time to? Are there other ways of approaching it you would choose? Let me know!


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Review: I was really looking forward to picking up Samira Ahmed's debut novel, Love, Hate & Other Filters because it featured a Muslim main character, took place in Illinois, and tackled Islamophobia. While I did like some aspects of the book and think it is worthwhile to read, I did have several issues with it.
Maya Aziz wants to go to film school and attend NYU to pursue her dreams of being a documentary filmmaker. She secretly applied to NYU and got accepted, but her parents think she will attend a local college. With her parents expectations combined with anti-Muslim backlash from a recent terror attack threatens to derail Maya's dream.
I have conflicting thoughts about Maya. I admire her tenacity and her ambitions of perusing a life that is not of a traditional Indian woman (i.e. going to the medical, engineering, law fields of study). I also respect her insistence of establishing her independence, however she has little to no pride of her Indian culture and blames almost everything she thinks she can't have on her cultural constraints and on the fact that she's different. There were many times where I pictured her as a petulant child who stomped her foot and yelled whenever she was refused something she wanted without giving any consideration to her parents' point of view. Her repetitive phrase of wanting to be "normal" got on my nerves because it implied being anything but a white, Christian girl is abnormal. I also found it very hard to believe that Maya never felt isolated being the only Indian American Muslim at her school.
While her Indian American identity is discussed or rather ranted about throughout the novel, there is little to no discussion of her Muslim identity. If it was not for the references of the Quran or going to the mosque made by her parents or her common Muslim last name of Aziz, the reader would not know of her Muslim identity. There is a moment in the book where Kareem, a potential love interest, drinks wine though it is forbidden in Islam to drink alcohol. It is laughed off that Kareem observes Islam in other aspects except this one really rubbed me the wrong way. I understand that author might be showing readers that people observe religion in their own ways, but this was a missed teaching moment. While Maya is not a religious person, a lot of the "constraints" she feels is closely tied to her religion. Her issues are very relevant to Muslim teens today and I wished they were talked about in the book. The author instead zeroes in on the romance aspect of the book, which fell totally apart for me. Phil, Maya's very bland love interest, and their drama took me out of the book. I kept waiting for something meaningful to happen. It is not until half way of the book that we see Maya being affected by Islamophobia in the book, both from the backlash of the terror attack and her parent's tighter restrictions.
I know that not every #ownvoices Muslim novel will not mirror my life and it is only an indication that we need more stories, but you can't write a book where religion is a central theme of the book and not talk about it. Personally, I felt very disappointed with the book and I understand why so many of my students returned the book without finishing it. I'm not saying Maya's story is unimportant, it is, but it barely skims the surface.
Rating: 2 stars
Words of Caution: There is some language and a scene of physical assault in the book. Recommended for Grades 8 and up.
If you want a book that does a better job explaining Islamophabia and having conflicts with ones Islamic culture try: The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah, Ten Things I Hate About Me by Randa Abdel-Fattah


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ventriloquizing: Information About The Word 'ventriloquizing'
ventriloquizing is an acceptable dictionary word for games like scrabble, words with friends, crossword, etc.
The word 'ventriloquizing' is made up of 15 letters.
Using the word 'ventriloquizing' in Scrabble will fetch you 37 points while using it in Words with Friends will fetch you 43 points (without taking into consideration the effect of any multipliers).
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See all the words ending with ventriloquizing.
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There is 1 word which starts with 'ventriloquizing'
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After what seems like a lifetime of waiting, the CARCASS comeback album is finally here. The long and short of it is that Surgical Steel is great; an instant classic. It is just as exciting as you are hoping it could be.
Usually, bands make a comeback and they are able to be as good as they once were. Well, CARCASS have done more than that as they are better than ever. The craftsmanship and artistry is on another level. Jeff Walker sounds absolutely amazing. His vocals are so powerful and his lyric writing is as sharp as ever. Bill Steer has somehow improved as a guitar god. Sick, I know.
And what of the newcomer, drummer Dan Wilding (guitarist Ben Ash does not play on the album)? He is a perfect fit. And it is true what Jeff Walker says about Dan's drumming on Surgical Steel. It definitely sounds like CARCASS.
The band make it no secret that they are not out to reinvent themselves with Surgical Steel. Rather, it is largely a revisitation and continuation of their greatest release, Heartwork. Swan Song and Necroticism play a smaller, secondary role in terms of sound and style, mostly the former. But the band have learned new tricks while they were away and you will hear new riffing, melodies, and song structures. So expect insanely played dual guitars, balls out solos, grinding, blasting, melodies, tons of hooks, and lots of energy.
Diehard CARCASS fans will easily be able to spot familiar riffing, drum patterns, vocal lines, and melodies throughout. Is that a drawback? Not when they are this well done.
There's a difference between merely a comeback and CARCASS' comeback. Surgical Steel is the sound of a hungry and reinvigorated legend. The band have answered the call to the utmost and we are all better off for that. (Nuclear Blast Records)


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Review Goooooal América (DSiWare)
New World, old game
For all the emphatic 'o's in its title's iconic interjection, Goooooal América is not a game about football. Nor is it a foosball game, as you might think. If you happen to have owned a certain toy as a child, however, you'll recognize the game's inspiration right off the bat. It's based on a particular small-scale...
Screenshots 12
Goooooal América News
Nintendo Download 27th December 2012 (North America)
Fluidity, tough old-school challenges, wizards and the impossible
It's here, the post-festive Nintendo Download bonanza. Whether it's an actual bonanza is up to you, but there's a broad variety of new and old titles, with everything but the Wii U getting new content. That's right, North America, no shiny high-def pinball in the update today, but...
About The Game
A steel ball and 22 football players on springs in shallow dips; a pitch surrounded by barriers and with a goal at each end.
It's a concept that's been around for a hundred years and which still sees matches decided on quick combinations and accurate shots on goal. When possession is lost, it becomes your opponent's turn. The game is controlled using the stylus, which allows players to accurately aim and determine the power of a pass or shot. Players are selected by their heads, pulled back and released. The game's physics engine ensures smooth, realistic travel of the ball around the pitch, either delivering it into the goal or to another player.
However, it's also possible to inject the mechanics of this turn-based game with a shot of adrenaline. Just imagine replacing the ball with a time bomb. Passes have to be faster and even more accurate. Plus, intentionally losing possession of the ball at a key moment becomes a strategical option in a match. A player unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of the time bomb's blast has to leave the field and you can only hope your goalkeeper doesn't meet a similar fate.
Goooooal América features several game modes. In addition to standard matches or matches with time bombs, you can choose a single-player match, a two-player match, a 16-team tournament, and even a demanding campaign packed full of challenging tasks in which you can win various achievements.
The game can be customised with many various settings, including overall difficulty, a goal limit and the respawning of players blasted by time bombs. Plus, you can, of course, also choose your team's strip and the game automatically selects between dark and light variants.
In brief:
- A table-top football game.
- Play against the computer or a friend.
- An authentic simulation of a real table-top football game, with players on springs, playing with a steel football.
- A turn-based game in which a player's go ends with loss of possession.
- Features an innovative ARCADE mode: Replace the football with a time bomb and send the opponent's players to the bench!
- Physics-based simulation of ball travel over an uneven pitch.
- Play single matches, tournaments or skill campaigns featuring 20 objectives.
- Win exciting achievements.
- Choose from 16 national teams – those competing in this year's Championship.
- Special edition Goooooal América features the following teams: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela.


text: aveiro Dora Christofi2014-08-05T08:40:09+03:00August 5th, 2014| Share This Story! FacebookTwitterLinkedInWhatsAppEmail About the Author: Dora Christofi I'm Cypriot, with a London touch, experimenting with photography, working in marketing, love cooking, reading books, and wishing to travel the world. I currently live in Limassol, Cyprus, and try to travel as much as I can. Visit the About section for more.


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Americans won't watch Formula One. Why the hell are you having a race in Texas? Who would schedule an F1 race opposite football? Who would schedule an F1 race on the same weekend as the big NASCAR race? There are no Americans. Texans have no one to root for. Who would possibly show up?
Well, 117,429 people showed up to the race according to figured provided by the Circuit of the Americas press office, with 265,499 for the entire three-day period. Compare that to barely 50,000 for Abu Dhabi and 114,900 for race day in Australia and Austin is far from the least attended race. Many of those on hand had hometown boy in Sergio Perez, who comes from a place closer to Austin than most of the U.S.
And what an exciting race it was. As I was walking through the paddock I chanced upon former world champion Niki Lauda, who also thought it was a great race.
Would NIki Lauda lie to Jalopnik? Did I pay for any food at the circuit this weekend?
Inside the COTA confines it seems like a success, although we'll have to wait to see if anyone watched it on television (it was scheduled against a dramatic Houton Texans game).
More wrap up later, but hard to see any major issues besides some minor catering snafus. Track owner Bobby Epstein seems overjoyed as he walked around outside the media room, charitably describing the food there as the best at the track (it wasn't). They say success makes everything taste better, so I'll give him a pass.
One thing I must mention is a moment I had with another COTA official about the lack of nasty visible surprises (I'm certain it wasn't as easy as it seemed). She was understandably delighted and the whole conversation would be unremarkable if it didn't end with a sprinkler cover just then falling out of the ceiling onto the ground next to us, perhaps collapsing under the weight of expectations.
She just laughed it off.
If nothing went wrong, what would they have to improve next time?


text:
Now Foods Liver Refresh - 90 or 180 Caps
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Natural colour variation may occur in this product.
|Serving Size:
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|Servings Per Container:
|Amount per Serving
|% Daily Value
|* Percent Daily Values are based on 2,000 calorie diet.
† Daily Value not established.
|Total Carbohydrate
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Artichoke (Cynara scolymus) (Leaf), Beet (Beta
vulgaris) (Root), Raspberry (Rubus idaeus) (Leaf),
Pancreatin (Pancreatic Enzymes)
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text:
Lately, the time I most want to knit is when I am watching TV, and that means I'll want to work on something pretty easy. I find the same thing to be true when I knit in the car. I can't really look down too often, so I need simple knitting. Don't worry, I don't knit while I'm driving, only when I'm the passenger!
The ultimate easy knitting pieces are "knit in the round cowls" in easy stitches:
Nonary has no shaping and all stockinette stitch while Cermak has some occasional shaping. Seyfert's lightly textured stitch is also doable. If you space out and do a few more rows than called for between the fancy bits no one will be the wiser.
In place of a TV, my husband and I have a little LED projector and a small pulldown screen – you know, like the kind we used to have in our elementary school class rooms. With movie knitting, when we watch something together, I am knitting in the dark! Even with a headlamp, my favorite knitting tool, garter stitch or stockinette seem best.
For a darkened room, I like a yarn that I can really feel, like remix or ultra alpaca. Even though Larry and Avocet B are sweaters, there isn't much shaping involved and there are both in my favorite easy knitting stitches – garter and stst!
Knitting in the dark can be a challenge, but it makes it all the more fun when you turn on the light and see your progress in all its glory.


text:
LIBER LIBER ARCANORVM tau-omega-nu CARCERORVM tau-omega-nu ATV tau-omega-nu TAHVTI QLIPHOTH QUAS VIDIT CVM SVIS ASAR IN GENIIS AMENNTI SVB FIGVRA ADDVNTVR SIGILLA ET CCXXXI NOMINA EORVM
LIBER XXII DOMARUM MERCURII LIBER XXII CARCERORUM QLIPHOTH CUM SUIS GENIIS CUM SUIS GENNIIS .---.---.---. .---.---.---. :G :B :A : Compare :A :B :G : :---+---+---: A with Tz :---+---+---: :H :V :D : B " G :D :H :V : :---+---+---: G " B :---+---+---: :T :Ch :Z : D " A'a :Z :Ch :T : :---+---+---: H " Ch :---+---+---: :L :K :Y : V " K :Y :K :L : :---+---+---: Z " D :---+---+---: :S :N :M : Ch " H :M :N :S : :---+---+---: T " Sh :---+---+---: :Tz :P :A'a: Y " M :A'a:P :Tz : :---+---+---: K " V :---+---+---: :Sh :R :Q : L " S :Q :R :Sh : :---.---.---: M " S :---.---.---: :Th : N " Sh :Th : .-----------. S " Z .-----------. A'a " P P " Q Tz " A Q " P R " Z Sh " T Th " BIn the above, the Hebrew letters are in the upper left corner of each box, except those of the right column of ...MERCURII... which are in the upper right corner of each box.
Next, here is a description of the content of each box. This is necessarily incomplete in that some of the sigils are too obscure to admit a description.
The boxes of ...MERCURII..., mostly reflecting Tarot correspondences to the Hebrew letters with some astrological and Thelemic used as well:
HB:Aleph : This is a widdershins swastika (nazi shaped) of thin lines with all line elements parallel to the sides of the box. There is a small circle about the central intersection. There are four dots in symmetric array, one in the center of each space defined by an arm of the swastika. Greek letters in capitals appear at the ends of the arms of the swastika, oriented toward the outside. Counterclockwise from lower right: Tau, Alpha, Rho, Omega. (The suggestion is that Aleph is swastika shaped and spins out TARO).
HB:Bet : This is a composition of three separate forms. The central one is a vertical wand with a three pointed crown at top. To the right is a simple vesica. To the left is a Shiva-lingam consisting of a round top vertical shaft on a flat base. (Tools of the Magus).
HB:Gemel : This sigil cannot be fully described. It is composed of two shield forms in upper right and left with lines depending. The two forms are separate. The shield in upper left is hatched with nearly horizontal lines, descending slightly toward right. This shield has a slightly concave top with extension to the upper left and is completed by two convex sides which join in a downward point below. The line from the left shield issues from the upper right side as a short upward diagonal, curves down in a arch to the left, recurves down to the right with a curve issuing convexly upward toward the lower right base of the shield while the principle line continues as a lesser curve toward to bottom of the box --- giving a "y" shape in the lower part of this line. The shield in upper right is hatched with nearly vertical lines, deviating slightly downward to left. It is defined by three curved sides, a concave at top slightly downward to the right, an elbow curve forming the left and bottom edges at slight angles in parallel and at right angles to the hatching and a curved line to form the right side nearly parallel to the left but extending below the shield. The line associated issues from the left side symmetrically to the line of the other shield, but ends below in horizontal elipsoidal spindle, point to left, below the shield instead of a fork as did the other. (Possibly male and female or female pregnant and barren).
HB:Dalet : This sigil is composed of five elements. There are two off vertical lines curving inward from the upper quarters of the box to frame the sides. In the upper center to center is a figure rather like a radish: The bulb has a small line extending below and has inner semicircles touching the right and left parts of the circular bulb, at the inner top of the bulb is a rectangle pierced by a point that flares up to right and left to form a sort of confine for what would be the foliage on the "radish", this last portion contains an array of ten dots forming an inverted tetractys. The remaining two elements are a "T" to the left below of the "raddish" and an isosceles triangle with point up to the right. (Probably vulvicular symbolism).
HB:Vau : This figure is a circular ring, right eye of Horus in center, thirteen clockwise hooked flames about the outer rim. In a circular pattern concentric and inside the ring are following characters from top clockwise: V, infinity, V, 3, V, 10, V, 8, V, O. (Plays on unity of V.V.V.V.V. name and other Thelemic elements).
HB:Heh : This is a simple upright pentagram formed of solid lines. In the bays formed by the points with each other are the following symbols, clockwise from upper right: Mercury, A, Sulfur, I, Salt. (Out of alphabetic sequence with the preceeding, may be wrong letters. It appears to be an epitome of five with emphasis on alchemical aspects.).
HB:Zain : This sigil is composed of four elements. At top center is a crescent with horns upward crossed by a vertical arrow, point down and fledging at top. Beneath this is a lineal upright pentagram with five lines issuing radially out from the intersections of the points. To the left below is a Neter sign like a golf club with head to the left on a vertical shaft, three dots vertically below the head. The last element is to the right, the same as the one just described but the head is to the bottom below the dots and points to the right. (Simple diagram of Lover's Trump).
HB:Chet : This sigil is a solid black pentagram of narrow points, one point to top and the intersections of the points have issuing wavy rays on outward radials. (Possibly the idea of contained force associated to Cancer and the Chariot in the Royal Arch).
HB:Tet : This sigil is chiefly a large equilateral triangle with point upward, inside it and sharing the same base and axis is a smaller equilateral triangle. Between the upper apexes of the two triangles is a circle with a dot in center (sun symbol). Midway on the excluded space between the sides of the two triangles on left and right are two small shapes that may be flowers. To the left of the larger top apex is a circle dot (sun) and to the right is a Leo symbol. Within the smaller triangle is a pattern of
Roman numerals giving the value 666: D C L X V I. (Sun in Leo and 666).
HB:Yod : This sigil is a traditional "Aladin's lamp" occupying the bottom half of the box, handle to left and wick spout to right. A single vertical line emerges from the wick hole and terminates in a cross with serifs on its three end points. (Lamp of the Hermit).
HB:Koph : This is a circle with one vertical diameter and two others dividing the interior space into six equal parts. Greek capital letters appear at top: Sigma; at lower right, Tau; and at lower left, Rho. (Wheel of Fortune with letters for the three figures).
HB:Lamed : This sigil is based upon a scrolled "U" shape. This is slightly more open at the top than normal and has two tight spiral loops outward and down at the line ends. There is a dot below. Immediately above the lower dip and within is a lineal trident (a "Y" with continuation of the vertical. Above this are three horizontal dots. Above the dots is a simple figure of a horizontal line with two verticals down at its ends and a single vertical across its center. This last vertical element terminates above the upper part of the "U" in a feather of Maat with plume to the right. (Scales of Justice).
HB:Mem : This sigil is composed of a hollow, double walled, equilateral triangle with a cross issuing from its apex, the cross being terminated on the three open ends by serifs. The upper arm of this cross touches a horizontal line. This horizontal line proceeds to the right, makes a right angle and drops in a vertical to terminate in another serifed cross at the lower right of the box. (Simply a Hanged Man on a gibbet with the inverted Sulfur symbol for the figure).
HB:Nun : This sigil has a rectangle below with the letters LVX inside. Above this are the Roman numerals CXX. Above this is an inverted "V" of two straight lines having small circles at the ends of the lines and at the junction. (Possibly refers to the R+C mystery of the tomb of Fr. C.R.).
HB:Samekh : This Sigil is composed of two shapes like a rectangle cut in half horizontally and separated vertically. The lower elongate "U" has a vertical rising a short distance from its base, and all three verticals terminate above in three-serif crosses. The portion above is the same inverted except that the vertical continues both above and below the figure, the lower portion ending in an arrow head and the upper in a 3- serif cross. The letters QST appear across the shaft of the arrow. (This is an allusion to Sagittarius and the rainbow paths on the Tree of Life).
HB:Ayin : This is a circle with ocular mark at top, pierced from below by a nail. The nail ends in two round bulbs below. There is a Sigma to the left of the base and an Eta to the right. (Possibly a goat in coitus).
HB:Peh : Below is a large letter Ayin. Immediately above this is a lineal letter "Y". Above this is a small circle with a short line dependent below, essentially the antique Greek letter Qopa. (Looks like a stick figure about to fall into a Hell-mouth).
HB:Tzaddi : The basic figure is a deosil swastika. This is contained by an open box shape formed by four coils at top, bottom and sides. Within the chambers so created are letters and a shape. Clockwise from upper left: The shape is the sword of ten points on the Tree of Life; O; N; B.
HB:Qof : The central motif is an inverted "Y" shape of equal angles. Below this is an upright equilateral triangle. Above is a crescent moon with horns pointing right. To either side and near center are two mirrored patterns. The one on the left looks like a Theban "k" with a Nun to its right, all on a slope toward the lower left. The pattern on the right is a mirror reversal. (Possibly a stylized Moon Trump).
HB:Resh : The sigil is compound. Above is a six-pointed star, one point up, the points slender and the center formed by a "happy face". Below is a crescent with horns upward. The numbers 6 and 9 are dependent from the lower left and right points of the star. Three vertical dots descend from these on either side to pass just beyond the horns of the crescent. There are two Netteru symbols just inside these columns of dots, the one on the left having its head at top and to the right, the one on the right having its head at bottom to the left, within the hollow of the horns of the crescent. (This is generally modeled on a type of the Sun Trump, with indications of mutual oral intercourse.)
HB:Shin : This is a perspective drawing of a four sided pyramid, sides shaded and opening to the lower right as a tiny white rectangle at the base. There is a horizontally transverse rectangular chamber on the lower-left to upper right diagonal visible within the pyramid. (Clearly inspired by the tomb symbolism of the Judgment Trump).
HB:Taw : In the elongated box at the bottom of the table is a connected design. To the left is a thick numeral "1", sans-serif. To the right is a thick ring or zero. These are connected across the bottom by a squiggle which forms a vertical loop in center before continuing on. (Possible the 1 and 0 Thelemic motif).
The boxes of ...CARCERORUM QLIPHOTH..., mostly reflecting Tarot correspondences to the Hebrew letters with some astrological and Thelemic used as well. Most of these are too irregular in shape to permit exact description:
HB:Aleph : This is an open interior form shaped like an "E" made of string with an extension of the common loop to the left below. The thing has hair up the back and part way along the upper arm. There are needle teeth below on the upper arm and above on the middle arm. The general effect is like a grotesque head, virtually all mouth.
HB:Bet : This is a complex and decorative device. It is delineated on left and right by two curved swords, they are straight and curve in only at the top, cross hilted with serifs at bottom. There is an "equals" sign immediately below each hilt. Between the points at top is a thin crescent, horns up. A large and flat dish-shaped crescent, points up is at bottom, the lower arc broken by two pairs of very short transverse lines to right and left. There is a dot asymmetrically below the lower crescent to the left (possibly a printing fault). There is a small wiggling crescent shaped line like a smiling mouth above this. Three wavy lines are vertical on and to either side of center. Two dots like eyes complete the sigil between the upper ends of these lines. The whole figure is like a face emerging from smoke out of a bowl and between the two "swords".
HB:Gemel : This composite is a face. The eyes are two dots with small curved brows over them from the outside and not passing the center. The nose is a simple crosshilted sword, point to top. There is an oval with ocular ellipse inside at top for the mouth and a thin solid crescent for the chin. The cheeks are set forth by inward curving lines crowned at top by tiny outward tending, tiny curved clefts.
HB:Dalet : The basic figure is a vertical and flatly compressed "S" shape to left, a similar twig extending across that and past center at top. Below are three elongate drops with bulb to right forming a lower base with the end of the upright. Dependent on a short line from top is a water triangle with a fern-like stalk of three curls issuing at the top right base and drooping to the right.
HB:Heh : Two dot eyes beneath harry eyebrows. A plump "U" shape below that for a nose. A dot below that for a mouth. A beard formed of three crosses, two at cheeks and one at bottom and two squiggles between them.
HB:Vau : One vertical line diverging in two angle lines like a "Y" at top. This is crossed by a horizontal line at center and terminates below in a small cross. Just above the termination is a short horizontal line which diverges in two short diagonals ending below in crosses. The upper four line ends have the letter Yod as their terminators.
HB:Zain : A vertical forked stick in center, fork small at bottom. A curved arc across the lower quarter, ends down and terminating in linear shapes like earphones with the openings to the right. At an angle over the top of the stick a little below the upper end is a deep, thin, hollow crescent, horns up, the left higher. This crescent terminates on the right in a very small crescent, horns up to right, and is crossed by a short line just a bit below that. The short line ends in diverging thin crescents.
HB:Chet : This is a complex doodle. There is a squiggle beginning in the upper left area, forming somewhat of a tail for the head and neck of a camel extending across the center of the box. A simple line curves down from the base of the neck and attaches to the feet of a horizontal face-down human form at bottom.
HB:Tet : This is an odd sort of thing rather reminiscent of one or two of the elongate Goetic sigils. It has a harry face like that of a dog at the left, ears with the eyes dots and the nose and mouth represented by a straight line with a button at top. A flat dish on its side issues from this to form the body. There are four feet below represented by upright vesicas in a line, these being connected to the body by curved lines like knees angled to the left. There is a tail in the form of a curved line that issues from the far right end, curves above the body in parallel, makes a tight bend and curves back above that to trail off slightly upward at the very end.
HB:Ayin : This is a shape like that of the sigils of the Archangels. It is lineal, starts on the left center in curved line that comes up toward the center above. This bends back and down from a cusp in a tight little curve, then up again in a cusp and a slightly wider down curve, up to a cusp and then straight down for a short distance, small circular loop and curve up to right in another small circular loop. Then horizontal back to the left just through the top edge of the first loop and drooping down to end in a serif cross.
HB:Koph : Top center, a circle with horns at top and a cross of vertical and horizontal diameters inside. Below this a radial extends downward for a short distance and then breaks up into three flat "S" curves ended in simple loose crosses.
HB:Lamed : Composite figure: Simple Libra type balances to left and above, no support. The lower pan hangs at an angle toward the center. The bar is diagonal in the upper left quarter of the box. The upper pan is blown horizontal. There is a form like a hockey stick angled from the lower left toward the center with the head vertical. A human head tops this, looking to the right. A horizontal line crosses the stick head below the human one, the right end terminating in a circle with a black and sinuous Yod inside. The left takes a angle down and touches the lower balance pan. In the lower right is a sword, angled up toward the serif-cross hilt to the right.
HB:Mem : This is a storm cloud with eyes and a sort of mouth. It is very flat and five shapes like icicles hang from it to the left of center. The letters N V H are vertical below the cloud and to the right of the icicle shapes. There is a downward pointed fledged arrow parallel and to the right of the letters.
HB:Nun : Left center is an "X" of two crossed sticks with a flower in center. Just above and to the right is the point of a scythe blade, arcing up to above top center and beyond before it curves down in a lineal handle ending below center in a serif-cross hilt. A stylized and crowned corpse to right holds this in right hand (shown as a short of brush). The head is a simplified death head canted to the right. The neck is narrow, The body and left arm look like a plucked chicken with a wishbone for a tail.
HB:Samekh : Difficult to describe. The lower center is misshapen cross of Malta ending in a blunt pestle below. A narrow isosceles triangle touches to top of this from above with its point. There is a pair of tiny golf-club shapes at the top base of the triangle, heads turned outward. This complex depends from a line that diverges symmetrically to either side at top. This line is wavy and reaches down on the left to touch the bristle end of a shape like a shaving brush. The line on the right forms a vertical word: SKRL, and continues down and below the bottom in crumpled waves to connect up the to handle of the "brush".
HB:Ayin : Odd shapes. There is a figure like an apple with two tiny leaves to left and top. A face is on this with curves for shut eyes and a downward curve for a mouth (nose?). Below this is the letter "B". Issuing to the right from the mouth point is a hollow lineal figure of curved lines, two lobes at top, a letter "K" below that, the lower lobe extended in a shaft toward the left center bottom and a rounded end at the bottom. The letter "R" is to the right, a little below midway of this shaft. The letter "N" is beneath the shaft end.
HB:Peh : This is a barten with letters. The top has four crennels, simply, with the letter "D" in air above. The upper walls drop from the end crennels, right angle outward and then drop to the base. The base continues the walls with another small angle outward and a drop to a horizontal line across the bottom and extending slightly beyond each wall. There is a flattened rectangle within this base. An inverted "U" with serifs forms the door above this rectangle, and there is an inverted Latin cross hanging from the top inside that. Two windows complete the structure, inverted "U" shaped with flats cutting off the bottoms and inverted Latin Crosses acting to divide them are situated in the upper section and just past the first outward bends. The upper walls are flanked to left by "N" and to right by "V". The lower walls are flanked to left by "V" and to the right by "S". The base is flanked on the left by "M" and the right by "D". The word "SUE" is beneath the base.
HB:Tzaddi : This is one image. The lower part is a face, natural chin and sides smoothly going up until the ears appear as short laps to either side. Above this are two tapering lines, curved from below the ears and ascending in slight convergence to the top half of the image, about twice the height of the face above the chin. At this point there is a structure composed of two semicircles. The arcs are broken by vertical lines with a gap between in the lower part. In the upper part the arcs are interrupted by vertical elipsoid with a smaller horizontal elipsoid at top. The details of the face itself are a natural mouth, a little "U" shaped nose, two dots for eyes, brows meeting in a third arch.
HB:Qof : Three black crescents, horns down, are in vertical array in the center. They dwindle from the largest on top to a smaller near the bottom. Below the lowest of these is a vesica on its side. There is a fan of lines extending down from the upper arc of the vesica, creating an image a bit like a shell. To the right of this shell a series of seven crescents arcs upward to the right and comes a bit back toward the center at top. These crescents have horns downward at various angles to accommodate the curve, and the size increases slightly as they rise. A similar curve of crescents proceeds upward and to the left from just beyond the left side of the shell. These are more strongly incurved at top and reach nearly to the upper border of the box. There are twelve in this curve, with the ones near the shell being about half the size of those ending the curve near the upper limit, waxing in overall size as they go up.
HB:Resh : There are four elements to the sigil. In the center above is a black disk, the lower edge of it has a slender white crescent. Below this is a small horned circle with a dot in center. A line descends vertically from this small circle. A short horizontal bar crosses this line near the bottom and the ends of this bar drop verticals just short of the termination level of the main vertical line. Neteru are on either side, the one on the left has the head at top left, that on the right has its head at top right.
HB:Shin : This is a face melded into an exploded drawing of a rectangular box. The top rectangle has "NON" inside. The next rectangle has small rectangular "ears" to either side and "PAT" inside. The next down rectangle has "EBO" inside. The bottom contiguous rectangle has a set of lips and a lower lip fringe beard. To the left and right of the upper rectangle are two angled dashes for eyes and beyond them two slight curved lines for brows.
HB:Taw : This is a strange sigil. From the right: Two large lower case letter "i"'s, sansserf. From near the bottom of the left most is a horizontal squiggle of three vertical loops, then a curve to vertical and another horizontal squiggle of five downward loops, the last loop of this starts an arched squiggle up to the top of the next structure. The next structure is a vertical bar, from the bottom of which a curved squiggle arches right and about, crossing the second horizontal squiggle and reaching back over the left top to the upper end of a second parallel bar. From the bottom of this second bar a squiggle diagonals up about half the height of the bar to the left, continuing as a horizontal squiggle into the underside of the last element in the sigil. This element loops like a simplified drawing of a turtle, head downward and belly toward left. Back spotted in the pattern of Acquisitio and only two legs showing. This last could also be a sheep, such is the simplicity of the drawing.}
THE GENII OF THE 22 SCALES OF THE SERPENT AND OF THE QLIPHOTH Aleph Aa'au-iao-ua'aa [a'a=Ayin ] . . . . :Amprodias Bet Bea'a-theta-aoooabitom . . . . :Baratchial Gemel Git-omega-nosap-phi-omeg-allois . . . :Gargophias Dalet D-etanastartar-omega-theta . . . . :Dagdagiel Heh Hoo-oor-omega-ist . . . . . :Hemethterith Vau Vuaretza --- [a secret name follows] . . :Uriens Zain Zoo-omega-asar . . . . . . :Zamradiel Chet Chiva-abrahadabra-cadaxviii . . . . :Characith Tet Theta-ala'aster-a-dekerval . . . . :Temphioth Yod Iehuvahastana'a-theta-atan . . . . :Yamatu Koph Kerugunaviel . . . . . . :Kurgasiax Lamed Lusanaherandraton . . . . . :Lafcursiax Mem Malai . . . . . . . :Malkunofat Nun Nadimraphoroiza'a-theta-alai . . . :Niantiel Samekh Sala-theta-lala-amrodna-theta-a'aist . . :Saksaksalim Ayin Oaoaaaoooa'a-ist . . . . . :A'ano'nin Peh Pura-theta-metai-ap-eta-metai . . . :Parfaxitas Tzaddi Xan-theta-asteransh-koppa-ist [sh koppa = sh, q] . :Tzuflifu Qof Qani-Delta-nayx-ipamai . . . . :Qulielfi Resh Ra-a-gioselahladnaimawa-ist . . . . :Raflifu Shin Shabnax-odobor . . . . . :Shalicu Taw Thath'th'thitha'athuth-thist. . . . :Thantifaxath {73} NOTE BY H. FRA. P. 4 Degree = 7Square (1899) ON THE R.O.T.A. BY THE QABALAH OF NINE CHAMBERS Units are divine --- The upright Triangle. Tens reflected --- The averse Triangle. Hundreds equilibrated --- The Hexagram their combination. 1. "Light." ---[Here can be no evil.] Aleph The hidden light---the "wisdom of God foolishness with men. Yod The Adept bearing Light. Qof The Light in darkness and illusion. [Khephra about to rise.] 2. "Action." --- Bet Active and Passive --- dual current, etc. --- the Alternating Forces in Harmony. Koph The Contending Forces --- fluctuation of earth-life. Resh The Twins embracing --- eventual glory of harmonised life under Sun. 3. "The Way." --- [Here also no evil.] Gemel The Higher Self. Lamed The severe discipline of the Path. Shin The judgment and resurrection [0 Degree=0Square and 5 Degree=6Square rituals.] 4. "Life." --- Dalet The Mother of god. Aima. Mem The Son Slain. Taw The Bride. 5. "Force" (Purification). --- Heh The Supernal Sulphur purifying by fire. Nun The Infernal Water Scorpio purifying by putrefaction. This work is not complete; therefore is there no equilibration. 6. "Harmony." --- Vau The Reconciler [Vau of Yod-Heh-Vau-Heh] above. Samekh The Reconciler below [lion and eagle, etc.]. This work also unfinished. 7. "Birth." --- Zain The Powers of Spiritual Regeneration. [The Z.A.M. as Osiris risen between Isis and Nephthys. The path of Gemel, Diana, above his head.] Ayin The gross powers of generation. 8. "Rule." --- Chet The Orderly Ruling of diverse forces. Peh The Ruin of the Unbalanced Forces. 9. "Stability." --- Tet The Force that represses evil. Tzaddi The Force that restores the world ruined by evil. {74}


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In his first public appearance since he declined to purchase the B&N retail stores, B&N chair and founder Len Riggio responded to questions on B&N strategy in the wake of continuing Nook device losses and on his no-buy decision during the B&N annual shareholder meeting at the company's Union Square store in New York City. Riggio was genial, confident and expansive with individual shareholders though perhaps a bit testy with the institutional shareholders who pressured him repeatedly over the future of the Nook Media division.
While Mitch Klipper, head of B&N Retail, did tell PW that a new, "more flexible" and "more competitive," B&N.com Web site, revamped with new technology, would launch at the end of April 2014, the meeting did not present any new information on the state of the company. However, Riggio made his first detailed comments since B&N reported a consolidated $87 million first quarter loss in mid-August, addressing repeated questions on dividends and splitting off the unprofitable Nook Media division from the profitable retail and college divisions.
On the question of paying a dividend to shareholders, Riggio said "we're open to the idea and [the board] is deliberating a number of options," emphasizing to repeated questions on the topic that, "dividends are on the table." Indeed this question was brought up by both individual shareholders (some said it would be helpful to shareholders on fixed incomes) as well as institutional shareholders.
Both B&N CFO Allen Lindstrom and B&N and Nook Media CEO Michael Huseby recapped B&N and Nook Media's quarterly losses—once again blaming "overly optimistic" projections of past Nook holiday sales—and again emphasized that B&N had to grow its content sales and better integrate the retail stores and Nook digital strategy. Riggio noted that "our losses are coming down," and pointed out that "our biggest competitor has regularly reported losses for the last 10 years." Huseby emphasized that "we're not going to cut our way to profitability. Retail and digital work together and we have to stop these declines quickly and grow content sales. If we don't, we'll look at alternatives. We've got to grow content sales and there will be no sale or split off of B&N and Nook."
However, at least one institutional shareholder, describing himself as a "happy customer but an unhappy shareholder," queried Riggio and the B&N board on why they did not sell off the Nook Media unit as many industry observers had expected. Once again, Riggio emphasized that "everything is on the table; we're looking at all the doors. How we proceed depends on the opportunities we encounter. Some of you tell me you want a dividend, or a special dividend; others say sell one of the companies or others say split up the company. There are a lot of possibilities and not all of them mesh."
But after repeated questions on both topics—dividends or split the company—including at least one more question on his own no-buy decision, Riggio seemed to have had enough, especially on whether he was going to buy B&N retail. "I'm not obliged to talk about personal decisions," he said pointedly to one shareholder, who began to retreat from the question once it was clear Riggio was a getting a little hot under the collar. "One side is demanding I buy retail, others stay I'm stealing retail. So I don't know where you go from there." Riggio continued, emphasizing, "I love this company and this business so it's not all about money. It's more personal. I don't want to buy retail and I don't have to say why."
After more questions along the line of "how long before a decision and how much loss is too much," from shareholders, an affable Gregory Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media, a major shareholder that owns about 17% of B&N, took the stage. "Look, no one is happy with Nook, we know we need a new e-reader strategy but it's not easy when you look at [the competitors] we're up against." Maffei said, "It's not like Liberty Media is against split-offs but it would be difficult to do at this time."


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Stop injecting your children with poison – A
It is 15 years since Andrew Wakefield first hypothesised a link between the MMR vaccine and autism in children, mediated by an inflammatory bowel condition (subsequently labelled 'autistic entercolitis'). Over this period Dr Wakefield and his supporters have cited a range of studies which are claimed to 'verify', 'replicate' or 'support' his MMR-autism theory. Here is the most recent list:
'Here is a list of 28 studies from around the world that support Dr. Wakefield's research:
1.The Journal of Pediatrics November 1999; 135(5):559-63
2.The Journal of Pediatrics 2000; 138(3): 366-372
3.Journal of Clinical Immunology November 2003; 23(6): 504-517
4.Journal of Neuroimmunology 2005
5.Brain, Behavior and Immunity 1993; 7: 97-103
6.Pediatric Neurology 2003; 28(4): 1-3
7.Neuropsychobiology 2005; 51:77-85
8.The Journal of Pediatrics May 2005;146(5):605-10
9.Autism Insights 2009; 1: 1-11
10.Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology February 2009; 23(2): 95-98
11.Annals of Clinical Psychiatry 2009:21(3): 148-161
12.Journal of Child Neurology June 29, 2009; 000:1-6
13.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders March 2009;39(3):405-13
14.Medical Hypotheses August 1998;51:133-144.
15.Journal of Child Neurology July 2000; ;15(7):429-35
16.Lancet. 1972;2:883–884.
17.Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia January-March 1971;1:48-62
18.Journal of Pediatrics March 2001;138:366-372.
19.Molecular Psychiatry 2002;7:375-382.
20.American Journal of Gastroenterolgy April 2004;598-605.
21.Journal of Clinical Immunology November 2003;23:504-517.
22.Neuroimmunology April 2006;173(1-2):126-34.
23.Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol Biol. Psychiatry December 30 2006;30:1472-1477.
24.Clinical Infectious Diseases September 1 2002;35(Suppl 1):S6-S16
25.Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2004;70(11):6459-6465
26.Journal of Medical Microbiology October 2005;54:987-991
27.Archivosvenezolanos de puericultura y pediatría 2006; Vol 69 (1): 19-25.
28.Gastroenterology. 2005:128 (Suppl 2);Abstract-303
Which of these studies supports a link between MMR and autism? None of them. Which studies support a link between MMR and inflammatory bowel disease? None. In fact, none of these studies focuses on MMR: the term 'MMR' is not included in any of the titles.
One study (no 6) by Vijendra Singh, published in 2003, claims a link between measles virus and autism. According to virologists in London, Singh's methodology was suspect and the evidence for the specific 'anti-MMR' antibody he identified was 'not credible'(see Michael Fitzpatrick, MMR and Autism: What Parents Need To Know, p90).
Several studies claim to show an association between 'autistic enterocolitis' and autism. Of these (nos2, 3, 4, 9, 18, 19, 28) all but two feature Dr Wakefield as a co-author. Study no 9 is the work of Wakefield collaborators Arthur Krigsman and Carol Stott, published in a journal whose editors include Wakefield and Stott. Study no 28 is the work of Wakefield's former Royal Free colleague Federico Balzola. The study by Dr Lenny Gonzalez, (no 27) a former collaborator with Wakefield at his Thoughtful House clinic in Texas, published in Venezuela, reports the extraordinary findings of autistic enterocolitis in 100% of 45 children with autism, and in 66.66% of 57 'developmentally normal' controls. Apart from Wakefield and his former or current colleagues, no other researchers in the world have confirmed the existence of 'autistic enterocolitis' in children with autism.
Some studies suggest the presence of gastrointestinal disorders other than 'enterocolitis' in association with autism. These include upper gastrointestinal conditions, such as gastritis and oesophagitis (no 1, Horvath;no 10, Galiatsatos; no 20, Torrente); coeliac disease or malabsorption (no 12, Genuis;no 16, Walker-Smith;no 17, Goodwin); microbial factors other than measles (nos14, 15, 24, 25 – the Finegold, Bolte, Sandler team; and no 26 –Parracho and colleagues at Reading). Most of these studies feature small numbers of cases and two (nos 16,17) were published more than 40 years ago.In study no 10, Polymnia Galiatsatos and colleagues in Montreal, Canada report the cases of two young adults, one with colonic inflammation, the other with gastritis. Nikolov and colleagues at Yale(no 13) simply report on 'gastrointestinal symptoms' in association with autism.
Other studies suggest immune or autoimmune dysfunction in association with autism: Jyonuchi (nos7,8) and Singh (nos5,11). One study (no 23, Shinohe) focuses on abnormal glutamate metabolism in adults with autistic spectrum disorders. These studies do nothing to advance the vaccine-autism hypothesis.
Given that supporters of Dr Wakefield often claim that his work has been 'independently' replicated, it is worth pointing out that Wakefield himself is a co-author on a quarter of the studies listed here (2,3,4, 18,19, 21,22). Others (9, 20, 27,28) feature former Royal Free team members(Ashwood, Torrente, Furlano, Balzola), or subsequent collaborators (Krigsman, Stott, Gonzalez).
Those who, like me, have been following this sad story over the past 15 years, will have noticed that several authorities formerly cited in support of Wakefield's theory seem to have fallen by the wayside.
In the early days of the MMR controversy, Wakefield often cited the studies of Rosemary Waring and Patricia D'Eufemia in support of his notion of a 'leaky bowel'. His colleague John Walker-Smith claimed that a letter from Aderbal Sabra published in the Lancet in 1998 (about children with food allergies and ADHD) provided a 'great public vindication' of the work of the Royal Free team (see MMR and Autism, p143-4). Tokyo physician Hishashi Kawashima's claims to have identified measles virus in children with autism were widely promoted – but soon discredited. In Sunderland, retired pharmacy lecturer Paul Shattock, an ardent Wakefield supporter, attracted widespread publicity for his claims to have identified distinctive urinary peptides linking MMR and autism, but his research was never published.
The most widely cited research supposedly supporting Wakefield came from his Dublin collaborator John O'Leary (published in 2002 in separate papers with Uhlmann and Shiels). This was discredited by the evidence of Stephen Bustin in the Omnibus Autism Proceedings in the USA in 2009 (see Stephen A Bustin, Why There Is no Link Between Measles Virus and Autism, DOI: 10.5772/52844).
Another study by Balzola, based on the use of the technique of 'capsule endoscopy' in a single (adult) case has also been dropped. It was rapidly followed by a report from another member of his team of 'acute small bowel perforation secondary to capsule endoscopy'.
Other forgotten Wakefield supporters are the South Carolina immunologist Hugh Fudenberg, and the Florida preacher and vitamin salesman Jeffrey Bradstreet, whose dubious practices were exposed in Brian Deer's Channel Four documentary in 2004. The father and son team of Mark and David Geier, notorious for their promotion of the 'Lupron protocol' of chemical castration and heavy metal chelation as a treatment for autism as well as for their shoddy researches, have also been dropped from the list of supportive researchers.
Another widely quoted 'study' supposedly supporting Wakefield was a poster presentation by Stephen Walker (working in collaboration with long-standing Wakefield ally Arthur Krigsman) at the IMFAR meeting in Montreal in 2006.These preliminary, provisional, unconfirmed, non-peer-reviewed findings – of measles virus in bowel biopsy specimens – in an uncontrolled study (which does not mention MMR) were widely reported – and enthusiastically acclaimed by Dr Wakefield. Walker himself disclaimed the interpretation that his work supported any link between measles and autism. This study has never been published.
In conclusion, after 15 years, we are offered 28 studies, none of which supports the MMR-enterocolitis-autism hypothesis. It is not surprising that over this period Wakefield has failed to win the support of a single paediatrician, paediatric gastroenterologist, child psychiatrist or autism specialist in England. Surely it is time to call a halt?
By Michael Fitzpatrick
Source: http://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/2013/05/07/studies-supporting-andrew-wakefield/


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The Harvest Festival This three-day Hindu harvest festival falls in the month of Magha, corresponding with the solar equinox. Celebrated in the south, it is marked by the cooking of the rice from the first harvest after the long and arduous winter. The place for cooking the Pongal is sanctified, this three-day harvest festival is celebrated every year in Magha, from the 13th to the 15th of January. The word 'pongal' refers to the dish of sweet rice prepared on this occasion. The festival is celebrated widely in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The time of the festival is of great importance to all Hindus, as it corresponds to the solar equinox when the days begin to lengthen and the nights begin to wane.
According to Hindu mythology, this is when the day of the gods begins, after a six-month long night. The festival is spread over three days and is the most important and most fervently celebrated harvest festival of South India. A special puja is performed on the first day of Pongal before the cutting of the paddy. Farmers worship the sun and the earth by anointing their ploughs and sickles with sandalwood paste. It is with these consecrated tools that the newly harvested rice is cut. The first day is called Pongal Podigai or Bhogi Pongal and is a day of family feasting and enjoyment. Since the festival celebrates the harvest of the paddy crop, the newly harvested rice is first cooked on this day. The rice grains, along with sesame seeds, jaggery, chickpeas, groundnuts and dried coconut, are put into an earthen pot filled with milk. This is boiled until some of the milk spills over, and the preparation is called 'Pongal'. It is generally cooked at an auspicious hour, recommended by the priest, in the courtyard of the house. A portion of the cooked rice is offered to Ganesha, and the family, neighbors and friends share the rest as consecrated food. As people greet each other, they ask paal pongita or 'has the milk boiled over?'. Another ritual observed on this day is called Bhogi Mantalu, when useless household articles are thrown into a fire made of wood and cow dung cakes. Girls dance around the bonfire, singing songs in praise of the gods, the spring and the harvest.
In Andhra Pradesh, in the morning the girls burn their old clothes and wear new ones after an oil massage and bath. Then follows Pongal Panai, a ritual in which the new earthenware pots are painted and decorated with turmeric, flowers and mango leaves. The second day is known as Surya Pongal, the day for the worship of Surya, and the rice cooked in milk and jaggery is offered him. When the food is being cooked and when it boils over, people shout pongalo pongal loudly and many times to rejoice. On this festive day, a newly married couple, symbolizing freshness and joy, is presented with new clothes by the bride's parents. The servants of the house are also given new clothes to wear. Bathing in the sacred rivers during Pongal is believed to be extremely beneficial. Hence, devotees flock to Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu to bath in the waters of the Kaveri, and to Tirunelveli, also in Tamil Nadu to bathe in the river Tamirapani. Bathing in the sea at Vedaranyam in Tamil Nadu is also considered auspicious.
The third day is known as Mattu Pongal or Gopuja, the day of Pongal Shiva cursed Basava to live on earth forever for cows. It is marked by cattle worship. In earlier times, cattle formed the chief asset of an agriculturalist and it was only proper that their services were recognized and celebrated on this day. The cattle are given a ceremonial bath in the morning, their horns are cleaned, polished and painted, and then decorated with flowers. They are then given Pongal to eat. Arati is performed on them, so as to ward off the evil eye. According to a legend, once Shiva asked his bull, Basava, to go to the earth and ask the mortals to have an oil massage and bath every day and to eat once a month. Inadvertently, Basava announced that everyone should eat daily and have an oil bath once a month. This mistake enraged Shiva who then cursed Basava, banishing him to live on the earth forever. He would have to plough the fields and help people produce more food. Thus the association of this day with cattle.
A festival called Jallikattu is held in Madurai, Tiruchirapalli and Tanjavur, all in Tamil Nadu, on this day. Bundles of money are tied to the horns of ferocious bulls, which the villagers try to retrieve. Everyone joins in the community meal, at which the food is made of the freshly harvested grain. This day is named and celebrated as Tamilian Thirunal in a fitting manner throughout Tamil Nadu. Sisters for the welfare of their brothers also celebrate Mattu Pongal, also called Kanu Pongal. This festival is reminiscent of Raksha Bandhan and Bhai Duja of north India. A large banana (Musaparadisiaca) leaf is washed. It is then placed on the ground, next to the basil altar in the courtyard. On it is placed a branch of the Amla (Phylalnthusembelica) tree. On this leaf are placed at four corners, the leftovers of sweet pongal and the salty pongal called Vand Pongal, ordinary rice as well as colored red and yellow, five betel leaves, two betel nuts, two pieces of sugarcane, turmeric leaves, and two or three ber (Ziziphus mauritiana) fruit. On this also reposes an oil lamp. In Tamil Nadu women perform this ritual before bathing in the morning. In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the festival starts after everyone has bathed. All the women, young and old, of the house assemble in the courtyard. The eldest married woman distributes a handful of rice to all the others. The rice is placed in the center of the banana leaf, while the women ask that the house and family of their brothers should prosper. Arati is performed for the brothers with turmeric water, limestone and rice, and this water is sprinkled on the rangoli in front of the house. Sisters apply a tilak on the foreheads of their brothers, and give them fruit, sweets, sesame seed and jaggery. The brothers thank their sisters for their good wishes and give them money and gifts. The celebration of this festival probably originated very early on. From the very beginning, the first agriculturalists realized the importance of a good crop, which sustained the entire clan. And since, to him, it depended on some supernatural element, he thought it fit to thank the gods after a good harvest. Further, it was believed that all that is new, a new crop, the first catch of a season, and the first born of a domestic animal, was sacred and hence not to be touched by man until certain sacramental ceremonies were performed.
A part of the new was sacrificed to the gods or spirits, and one's ancestors, and only then could it be consumed. In addition, it was realized that the fruit of the earth and animals for food should not be garnered until they were ready. The community emphasized this, and until a ritual was performed, nothing could be gathered, slain, or eaten. The harvest festival of Pongal symbolizes the veneration of the first fruit. The crop is harvested only after a certain time of the year, and cutting the crop before that time is strictly prohibited. Even though Pongal was originally a festival for the farming community, today all celebrates it. In the south, all three days of Pongal are considered important. However, those south Indians who have settled in the north usually celebrate only the second day. Coinciding with Makara Sankranti and Lohri of the north, it is also called Pongal Sankranti. Though traditionally 'Pongal' is cooked using the newly harvested grain, nowadays it is not easily available. Therefore families not directly involved in agriculture cook 'pongal' using old rice, to give thanks in the traditional way.