text:
9/11 Disinformation: Saudi Arabia Attacked America
Paul Craig Roberts
The forever changing 9/11 story is entering a new phase. Blame is being transferred from Osama bin Laden to the Saudi Arabian government.
There are 28 pages classified secret of a congressional inquiry into 9/11 that allegedly found Saudi financial support for the alleged 9/11 hijackers. Neither the George W. Bush nor the Obama regimes would release the classified pages. Only a few members of Congress have been permited to read it, and they are not permitted to speak about it. Nevertheless, Congress now has before it the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act which, if passed, permits families of victims of the 9/11 attacks to sue the Saudi Arabian government for damages. In other words, although Congress has no information except rumor with which to support the bill, Congress is going ahead. Obama says if Congress passes the bill, he will veto it.
The refusal to declassify the evidence against the Saudis and the veto threat have put many commentators in high dudgeon.
What is going on here?
One possible answer is that the public's confidence in the 9/11 story is eroding as a result of growing expert opinion that challenges the official line. In order to redirect the public's skepticism, a red herring is being pulled across the trail. The Saudi angle satisfies the belief that some sort of government coverup is involved but redirects the suspicion from Washington to the Saudis. The Saudi angle also fits the neoconservatives' original plan for overthrowing the Saudi government along with the governments of Iraq, Syria, and Iran. If the American people can be worked up against the Saudis, the neocons can get their wish for "regime change" in Saudi Arabia.
We are probably experiencing a deep state disinformation play designed to protect the false 9/11 story. The public's skepticism is now directed at Saudi Arabia, and the public's outrage is directed at the US government for covering up for the Saudis. Possible reasons that the report can't be released are (1) it is just disinformation created as a red herring and if made public knowledgeable experts would expose it and (2) it is disinformation fed to the inquiry by neoconservatives who seized the opportunity to set up Saudi Arabia for attack.
No explanation has been provided as to why Saudi Arabia, with its long and tight connection to Washington and to the Bush family, has any interest in enabling a terrorist attack on the US. The Saudis need American protection. They have no interest in making their protector look so weak as to be humiliated by a handful of young men armed only with boxcutters. Such a weak protector is no protection.
Moreover, the Saudis are fighting the war in Yemen for Washington. If the Saudis want to harm the US, why not leave the US to fight its own war in Yemen?
Here is a Saudi's take on the alleged involvement of Saudi Arabia in 9/11: http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2016/05/26/state-sponsors-terrorism-us-planned-and-carried-out-9-11-attacks-but-blames-other-countries-them-out.html
Katib Al-Shammari says that the US planned and carried out 9/11 in order to obtain hegemony over the Middle East and placed the blame for 9/11 on an ever changing list of culprits depending on Washington's goal at the time. First, he says, it was Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Then Saddam Hussein and Iraq. A New York Court blamed Iran. Now Saudi Arabia is given the villian role. The Americans, he says, always come up with suspicious documents and claim to have evidence that they never show.
Americans would greatly benefit from reading the perspective of others. Do read the Saudi's explanation of 9/11. It makes more sense than the official story.


text:
Film Review - Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
February 27, 2009
If memories could be dialed back to the dark ages of the mid-1990s for a moment, recall that the last time the "Street Fighter" video game empire was adapted for the big screen, it concerned a cartoonishly costumed Jean-Claude Van Damme and Kylie Minogue trying to save the world from the demonic clutches of an infirmed Raul Julia. Unsurprisingly, the film tanked. Now 15 years later, a new challenger has arrived with "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li," and this production is armed with a few clumsy television actors, Chris Klein, and a member of the Black Eyed Peas. This is not progress.
A criminal mastermind of the highest order, Bison (Neal McDonough) rules the streets of Bangkok with his right hand man Balrog (Michael Clarke Duncan), along with assassin Vega (Taboo) and corporate vixen Cantana (Josie Ho). With Bison's vicious Shadaloo syndicate placing the city into a state of panic, it's up to a highly trained warrior, Chun-Li (Kristin Kreuk, trying for earnestness and failing), and her unwavering dedication to justice to infiltrate Bison's underworld and battle to save the city. On Chun-Li's trail is Interpol agent Charlie Nash (Chris Klein), a man equally driven to stop Bison, rising above the law to join the lady brawler as she sets out to squash evil.
The pie crust of the "Legend" failure was shaped early on by the producers when they hired Andrzej Bartkowiak to direct this fresh attempt to merge the video game world with big screen heroics. Here's a list of the director's achievements: "Doom," "Exit Wounds," "Romeo Must Die," and "Cradle 2 the Grave." Not the most inspiring of filmographies. Certainly the new, hardened tone for "Street Fighter" requires a visionary who once helmed three DMX motion pictures, but his limitations as a storyteller and architect of foot-first action once again crumbles a promising feature film. However, Bartkowiak's numerous directorial blunders are only but a toe dipped into the pool of "Legend" futility.
With only a few characters and elements adapted from the video game series that began its reign of quarter munching over 20 years ago, the new "Street Fighter" picture is a distinct departure from the 1994 event movie failure, removing an overall cartoon atmosphere for a grittier tone concentrating on straightforward revenge scenarios, Eastern mysticism, and adding a dab of verisimilitude to once colorful characters. The screenplay by Justin Marks is surprisingly straight-faced, aggressively attempting to assign new mythos to these famous characters that will generate a sprawling fight saga to be feasted upon over several sequels and assorted gaming tie-ins. The ambition is brave, but the execution is the pits, turning the beloved "Street Fighter" legacy into a cruddy, smalltime Sci-Fi Original production, perhaps too serious for its own good.
While I do use the word "serious," "Legend" is far from Masterpiece Theater. At its core, the picture is still a crude martial arts demonstration reel, only Bartkowiak fumbles the heated encounters with ripsaw editing and clumsy choreography that exposes the actors counting off the moves in their head. It's impossible to kick back and embrace the violence when it's all made a blur, occasionally punctuated by a famous "Street Fighter" finishing move or special effect. The action is largely routine, PG-13 filler, but so is the entire movie, lamely lurching from conflict to conflict in a programmed manner. At this point, I'm positive Bartkowiak wouldn't know nail-biting tension even if it came up and bit him on the nose.
The only joy of "Legend" is watching the actors struggle to rise above the mundane details, only to spectacularly fail without assistance from behind the camera. Chris Klein takes the cake here, assuming a strange mix of Clint Eastwood and metrosexual pedophile as he swaggers around the locations trying his damndest to come across as a tough guy. It's hilarious to observe his cheese, especially in the presence of the other actors, who I swear are holding back giggles. Neal McDonough also deserves a fair share of raspberries for his acting, slipping on a goofy Irish accent to play pure Bangkok evil. Of course, why an Irish baby orphaned as an infant in Bangkok would retain a thick brogue in his adulthood is not explained, but very little of the film is, preferring the catchall Eastern locations to play ball any way it likes.
"Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li" is more numbing than awful (though a lesbian dance-off sequence with Chun-Li and Cantana pushes the needle into the red), and with a lack of gaming tributes and spectacular brawling, it's difficult to understand why the feature was even made in the first place. The end promises a sequel that appears to right several wrongs, but after this installment, I doubt enough audience members will be eager to endure another round with this mishandled franchise. I'll take Jean-Claude Van Damme and his powder blue beret any day over this insipid, clunky, and joyless motion picture.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
This is a traditional christmas or xmas song which we all know as "We Wish You A Merry Christmas". It`s great as background music for any chrtistmas or new year celebration video, commercial or project. It's kind of music that will add magic, positive, relaxing, romantic, happy, beautiful feelings to your project. The music starts with the famous theme played on harp and then the hole symphony kicks in. Hope you like it and MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL…Enjoy
There are two versions in this download: -Merry Christmas Harp And Orchestra: 2:22 -Merry Christmas Harp: 1:50


text:
Besuchen Sie unsere gemeinsame Unternehmens-Webseite
With Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), there is literally more than meets the eye. Both are rapidly growing markets and, in both areas, the potential is practically boundless. In fact, the only limit is your imagination.
Initially driven by the gaming industry, Virtual Reality is expected to serve a wide range of industrial applications in the near future. Augmented Reality has already risen considerably in industry, and has recently entered the consumer market with the popular game Pokémon Go.
Both Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality employ various optoelectronic systems including projection units, 3D sensors, eye tracking or proximity sensors. OSRAM Opto Semiconductors covers the entire product range required – ranging from both visible and infrared laser diodes and LEDs to photodetectors and integrated sensor modules. Add to this decades of experience developing components and solutions for a vast range of applications, and we are uniquely positioned to drive this technology into the future.
High speed – low junction capacitance
Most versatile black solution in mid power IRED Family
Perfect combination of power,compactness and long lifetime
Smallest package solution in high power IRED family
Internal reflector for efficient beam shaping
Compact package with integrated lens, providing highest intensity
Perfect combination of power, radiation characteristics and compactness
Smallest IR sidelookers with black epoxy package for eye tracking and gesture sensing
Small viewing angle for high performance
OSRAM Opto Semiconductors im Social Web


text:
U.S. Economy Even Weaker Than Thought
The U.S. economy grew at a meager 1 percent annual pace this spring, a slower rate than previously estimated. The downward revision will likely increase fears that the economy is at risk of another recession.
Fewer exports and weaker growth in business stockpiles led the Commerce Department to lower its estimate for the April-June quarter from its previous rate of 1.3 percent growth. That means the economy expanded only 0.7 percent in the first six months of the year.
Economists note that nine of the past 11 recessions since World War II have been preceded by a period of growth of 1 percent or less. The weaker growth could rattle an already edgy stock market, which has lost 12 percent of its value since July 21.
The report shows the economy was barely expanding even before this month's stock market plunge. Economists worry that the Wall Street sell-off could cause consumers and businesses to pull back on spending and investment.
High gas and food prices have already eroded consumers' buying power. Spending increased only 0.4 percent in the April-June period, the weakest growth since the final three months of 2009. The revision showed spending was a bit higher than the government's first estimate of 0.1 percent growth.
People bought fewer long-lasting manufactured goods, such as autos and appliances. Those purchases fell 5.1 percent this spring, the biggest drop since the final three months of 2008. That partly reflects a shortage of autos on many dealer lots after the March 11 earthquake in Japan. Consumers spending accounts for 70 percent of growth.
Government spending contracted for the third straight quarter. And spending by state and local governments declined for the seventh time in eight quarters.
What Can The Fed Do?
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver a highly anticipated speech later Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Investors hope he will signal that the Fed will launch a new effort to boost the economy, but analysts don't expect anything ambitious.
The central bank has already cut the benchmark short-term interest rate it controls to nearly zero, and last week pledged to keep it there until mid-2013. But so far lower interest rates haven't helped: mortgage rates, for example, are already at record lows, and home sales are still falling.
Several dismal economic reports have suggested the economy worsened in the July-September quarter, sending the stock market lower. Manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region contracted in August by the most in more than two years, a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found. A Richmond Fed survey released Tuesday and a New York Fed survey last week also pointed to slowdowns in those areas, although not as severe.
There have been some positive signs. The economy added 117,000 net jobs in July, twice the number added in each of the previous two months. Consumers spent more on retail goods last month than in any month since March. U.S. automakers rebounded last month to boost factory production by the most since the Japan crisis.
Most economists aren't forecasting a recession. JPMorgan Chase projects the U.S. economy will grow only 0.9 percent this year and 1.7 percent in 2012, much lower than the bank's estimates just a few weeks ago. Other economists have made similar downgrades.


text:
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. –– The Southwest Missouri chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (SWMO PRSA) has selected Irene Kanthan to receive the Dr. Joe McAdoo Memorial Scholarship for the 2013-2014 academic year.
Students from six area colleges were eligible to apply for the $1,000 scholarship, which also allows the recipient to attend monthly SWMO PRSA meetings free of charge. Kanthan will use the scholarship for her tuition and plans to attend the monthly meetings.
"I am very surprised to be selected for this scholarship considering the competition, and I believe it will aid me in my present and future career goals," Kanthan said.
Kanthan, a senior majoring in advertising/public relations, is an international student from Singapore who came to Evangel University in the fall of 2011. Since arriving at Evangel, she has been involved with Excalibur, Evangel University's yearbook, as both assistant advertising manager and advertising manager. She currently works in the public relations office at Evangel University.
"I am very pleased that Ms. Kanthan received this remarkable scholarship. She is well-deserving of such an honor and the financial support," said Nancy Pace-Miller, assistant professor of communication and faculty adviser for the Excalibur yearbook.
"Ms. Kanthan has worked as the advertising manager for the yearbook for two years and has been one of my most successful account executives. She is an outstanding student, a wonderful person and a dedicated employee."
The SWMO PRSA considered involvement in communications, academic standing, and campus and community involvement when choosing the recipient of the scholarship, and applicants were required to begin the 2013-2014 academic year as a junior or senior or a graduate student pursuing a degree in communication, public relations or a closely related area.
About Joe McAdoo
Dr. Joe McAdoo taught communication courses at Drury University for nearly thirty years before retiring in 1996. He wrote for the Springfield Business Journal, authoring over 1,700 articles. He also appeared on Ozarks Public Television Tele-Auctions as the Firehouse Quickie Guy. In 1996, McAdoo published a book titled McAdoo About Nothing. He passed away in 2008.


text:
Ars is reporting that the National Association of Broadcasters and the RIAA are in talks to strike a compromise that could result in a Congressional mandate to include FM radios in phones and other portable electronics. Thanks but no thanks?
Here's the setup: Under the current, longstanding framework, FM radio broadcasters do not have to pay artists and record labels performance rights—a significant fee that satellite and web radio services must pay—when they play a song on air. A bill currently winding its way through Congress, the Performance Rights Act, would force FM radio stations to pay up, too, though they think that they should be exempt, as they are essentially just promoting the artists to begin with.
But the two groups are flirting with a compromise that could lessen radio broadcasters' fee (to the tune of a more manageable $100 million a year) in exchange for a mandate from Congress that all phones, PDAs, and other portable electronics must contain FM radio chips. MusicFIRST, a lobbying group of which RIAA is a member, says that such a mandate would give customers more music choices. Hmm? Gary Shaprio, president of the Consumer Electornics Assocation, says "to have Congress mandate broadcast radios in portable devices, including mobile phones, is the height of absurdity." Yes, that's a bit more like it.
It's clear that the music industry, as it exists currently, needs to change drastically. But this type of behavior—essentially trying to stuff the most cutting-edge gadgets with guts for an increasingly outdated and outmoded broadcast platform—show that the lumbering recording industry giants are still thinking like lumbering giants. Maybe they'll finally wisen up, or go extinct, next year. [Ars]
Image credit diloz


text:
A man was slowly losing his memory.
After a lengthy examination, the doctor said that a risky operation on his brain might reverse his condition and restore his memory.
However, the surgery would be so delicate that a nerve could be severed, causing total blindness.
The surgeon asked, "So, which would you rather have, your sight or your memory?"
The man pondered the question for a while and replied, "My sight, because I would rather see where I am going than remember where I have been."
The enemy is always trying to dig up the past and keep us all bound up in our failures.
But be encouraged. Today is a new day! Today and every day we have a choice to make.
Like Paul, we must choose to press forward and put aside our past. We must purpose to keep our eyes on the Lord, not on our successes or failures, but upon on what can we do for Him today.
Be free from the shackles of the past! Keep your eyes on the prize.
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14
–by George Whitten


text:
How to Repair Kitchen Cabinets
Quick solutions to the most common cabinet problems
Our editors and experts handpick every product we feature. We may earn a commission from your purchases.
IntroductionKitchen cabinets work hard, and all that opening and closing creates a variety of problems. Most are inexpensive and easy to fix, so take a day and plow through them—it'll be like having a new kitchen.
Tools Required
- 4-in-1 screwdriver
- Circular saw
- Clamps
- Cordless drill
- Level
- Miter saw
- Rags
- Utility knife
Materials Required
- 1/4-in. plywood
- 1x2
- 3/4-in. plywood
- Back plates for knobs
- Brad nails
- Door bumpers
- Drawer slides
- Dry lubricant
- Magnet catch
- Removable thread adhesive
- Roller catches
- Toothpicks
- Wood cleaner
- Wood fill stick
- Wood glue
For more on learning how to build your own custom kitchen cabinets without the custom price – check out How to Build Kitchen Cabinets taught by Steve Maxwell!
Project step-by-step (15)
Build a Shelf That Won't Sag
Family Handyman
Don't bother replacing a sagging shelf with another 1/2-in.-thick shelf or it'll end up sagging too. Instead, cut a new shelf from 3/4-in. plywood. Make it the same length and 1-1/2 in. narrower (so you can add rails). Then glue and brad nail (or clamp) 1×2 rails along the front and back of the shelf, flush with the ends. The rails give the shelf additional support so it won't sag, even if you load it up with heavy cookware. Apply a polyurethane (or other) finish to match your other shelves.
Replace Worn-Out Drawer Slides
Family Handyman
Lubricants won't fix damaged drawer slides. They have to be replaced. This is a common problem on silverware drawers and other drawers that carry a lot of weight. Buy new slides that are the same, or nearly the same, as your old ones. Then it's just a matter of swapping them out. You'll find a limited selection of drawer slides at home centers, but there are dozens of online sources. These sites also sell the plastic mounting sockets that attach to the back of the cabinet to hold the slides in place.
Adjust Euro Hinges
Family Handyman
Adjusting cabinet doors with European hinges is as easy as turning a screw or two. Hinges like this one adjust in three directions; others adjust in two. If your door is crooked—not square with the cabinet—fix that first, then raise or lower it to the same height as adjacent doors.
For crooked doors, adjust the side screw on one hinge, which moves the door from side to side. It's a trial-and-error process. Make a small adjustment, then close the door to check its position. If the door is higher or lower than adjacent doors, loosen the mounting screws on both hinges, raise or lower the door, then tighten the screws. Place a straightedge across the door top or bottom to make sure it's level with neighboring doors.
If the door sticks out too far from the cabinet or the hinge side brushes against the cabinet when you open the door, adjust the depth screw. Some hinges move the door as you turn the depth screw; others require you to tap the door in or out and then tighten the screw.
Door adjustments aren't as easy if you have traditional hinges. If your doors are sagging, first try tightening the screws. If the hinges are bent, replace them if you can find a match.
Silence Banging Doors with Bumpers
Family Handyman
Doors and drawers slam loudly when wood smacks against wood. That's why most have "bumpers" near the interior corners to cushion the impact and reduce the noise. But the bumpers sometimes fall off (or kids pick them off). Get new ones at home centers. Peel off the backing and stick the bumpers in place. They're available clear or with felt, and in different thicknesses. Use bumpers the same thickness as those on adjacent doors.
Fill In Stripped Screw Holes
Family Handyman
When the screws in your hinges or drawer slides turn but don't tighten, the screw hole is stripped. That can prevent doors and drawers from closing properly. Fix the stripped screws with glue and toothpicks. Start by removing the hardware. Then apply a drop of wood glue to the ends of toothpicks and cram as many as will fit into the hole (maybe only two or three). Wipe away any glue that drips out. Let the glue dry, then use a utility knife to cut the toothpicks flush with the cabinet or drawer. Reinstall the hardware, driving the screw through the filled hole.
Beef Up Wimpy Drawer Bottoms
Family Handyman
The thin plywood used for drawer bottoms sometimes gets wavy. Stiffen up the bottoms with 1/4-in. or 3/8-in. plywood. Cut the plywood to fit over the drawer bottom, leaving about a 1/4-in. gap on each side. Apply wood glue on the drawer bottom and set the plywood over it. Set a gallon or two of paint over the plywood to hold it in place until the glue dries.
Glue Loose Knobs
Once knobs fall off your cabinets, twisting them back on won't solve the problem. They'll just keep coming loose. Use a dab of thread adhesive to keep them in place (Loctite 242, blue, is one brand that will hold the knob in place without gluing it permanently; it's sold at hardware stores and home centers). Apply the adhesive to the screw, then attach the knob. If you decide to replace the knob later, don't worry. You can remove it with a screwdriver. (If you buy a different brand, look for a removable type.)
Renew the shine
Family Handyman
Grease splatters and smoke can leave a film on your cabinets, dulling the finish. Wash the cabinets with a wood cleaner to bring back the luster. Murphy Oil Soap is one type of cleaner.
Use a sponge to rub the cleaner onto the cabinets. Cleaners like Murphy's don't need to be rinsed off, which cuts your cleaning time. For stubborn grease spots, scrub lightly with the cleaner using a No. 0000 steel wool pad. Cleaning the cabinets once a year keeps them shiny and protects the finish.
Repair Busted Drawers
Family Handyman
Some drawers are held together by only a few drops of glue or short brad nails. When you first notice a drawer corner coming apart, take out the drawer and fix it. And if one corner is failing, others probably will too. Save yourself future hassles by repairing all the weak corners now. Place a piece of scrap wood against a corner and lightly rap it once with a hammer. If the corner comes apart, fix it. If not, it should hold up.
To fix the corner, first remove the drawer front, if possible. Most fronts are attached by screws driven from inside the drawer. Remove any fasteners from the corner, then scrape away the old glue with a utility knife. Reglue the corner, tap the sides back together and clamp the drawer until the glue dries.
Repair a broken drawer front
Family Handyman
Photo 1: Reinstall the drawer front
Remove the drawer pull and screws. Then line up the mortise-and-tenons and the drawer bottom with the groove and tap the drawer front back onto the box.
Family Handyman
Photo 2: Reinforce the drawer front
Drill four 1/8-in. pilot holes through the newly installed box front. Then drive coarse-thread drywall screws through the new box front and into the old drawer front.
High-quality cabinet drawers are built with a sturdy box and a separate decorative drawer front. But the drawer fronts on economy cabinets are part of the box itself. They're attached to the sides and bottom with a mortise-and-tenon joint and held with glue and staples. Repeated openings and closings break the joint and the drawer front falls off. You can try regluing the joint, but it won't last. Here's how to fix the problem permanently.
Cut a 3/4-in.-thick piece of wood to match the width and height of the drawer box. Then remove the staples from the tenons and clean up the rough edges so you can reinstall the drawer front (Photo 1). Glue the new wood block directly behind the drawer front (use polyurethane glue if the box sides and bottom have been varnished). Secure with nails or screws. Then attach the old drawer front to the new wood block (Photo 2).
Using the old drawer pull holes as a guide, drill through the new wood block. Buy longer No. 8-32 x 1-3/4-in. machine screws and remount the drawer pull.
Add Back Plates to Cover Worn Areas
Family Handyman
Years of opening doors and drawers can wear away the finish near cabinet knobs. Instead of undertaking the time-consuming task of refinishing the cabinets, try this quick fix: Install back plates under the knobs or handles. Simply unscrew the knob or handle, slide the back plate under it, then reattach the knob or handle. Back plates are inexpensive and are available in a wide range of styles. You can special-order them at home centers or buy them online.
Replace Bad Latches
Older cabinets sometimes have "roller catches" that hold the doors closed. If you have these and your door won't close or stay closed, loosen the screws to slide the catch forward or backward on the cabinet frame. Or replace it if it's broken. The catches are available at home centers.
Fill in Scratches
Family Handyman
Use a wood fill stick to make scratches less visible. The stick fills in and colors over the scratch. Soften the stick with a hair dryer to make the application easier. Then run the stick over the scratch and wipe away any excess with a cloth. The fill probably won't be an exact match with the surrounding cabinet, but it'll be close. The sticks work on shallow and deep scratches. They're available at home centers and hardware stores.
Lubricate Sticking Drawers
Family Handyman
The fix for sticking drawers is easy. First remove the drawer. Wipe the drawer slides and the cabinet track with a clean cloth to remove any debris. Then spray a dry lubricant directly on the drawer slides. Cans are sold at home centers; it'll say "dry lubricant" on the label. Replace the drawer and slide it in and out of the cabinet several times until it glides easily. If the drawer is still hard to open, replace the drawer slides.
Dry lubricants won't leave an oily residue that attracts dirt and dust. The lubricants also work great on squeaky hinges.
Pull Doors Shut with Magnets
Family Handyman
Sure, this trick is as old as Benny Hill jokes, but it still works. When your cabinet door is warped and won't fully close, simply install a magnetic catch (sold at home centers) at the problem area. Screw the magnetic catch to the cabinet rail or stile and the plate to the door. The magnet pulls the door closed. Next, learn how to renew your kitchen cabinets.


text:
Have a Question for Rachael or Ree About Thanksgiving?
Last week FN Dish readers had the chance to submit a question to Alex and Sunny for Thanksgiving Live!, a two-hour call-in show hosted by turkey master Alton Brown on Nov. 18 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. This week, it's all about Rachael Ray and Ree Drummond.
Before the live show starts at noon, Food Network will serve up a three-hour Thanksgiving Live webcast at FoodNetwork.com. Beginning at 11:30am ET, the site will stream a pre-show featuring celebrity chef interviews and behind-the-scenes footage of Alton and the cast preparing for the big day.
Do you have a question specifically for Rachael or Ree? Whether it's about the way they set their table or a tip for the perfect gravy, we'll handpick a selection of your questions and ask them live during the pre-show. Leave your question in the comment section below, or submit it via Facebook and Twitter by using the hashtag: #ThanksgivingLive.
Don't forget: You can still submit a question for Alex and Sunny, too.


text:
Spanning 43 years, six television series, and eleven movies, the Star Trek universe can be daunting. Here's a guide to the best online resources to get you caught up before you see the movie.
Official Sources
We'd be remiss if we didn't start with the official Star Trek website, although it's hardly the best resource out there. Parts of the site seem completely deactivated, with even their news page barely updated past 2007 (and call me crazy, but I'd say there's some Star Trek news to report at the moment). Still, CBS has dozens of Original Series episodes available online, so Star Trek's official web presence isn't a complete washout. That said, it's hardly surprising that if you really want to learn about Star Trek, you've got to go to the fans.
General Reference
Wikipedia has a pretty decent Star Trek Portal that is a great starting point to explore their articles on the franchise. But even Wikipedia can't hold a candle to Memory Alpha, the dedicated online encyclopedia for all things Trek. The existence of Memory Alpha makes this list about a tenth as long as it would have been even a few years ago, as it covers pretty much every conceivable topic you could possibly imagine. If you want to jump into the deep end of the Star Trek universe, a couple hours spent at Memory Alpha is pretty much the best way to start. If that's just not nerdy enough for you, there's always Memory Beta, which exclusively covers all the stuff that doesn't even officially exist in the Star Trek universe, like all the novels and comic books that have been written over the years.
Beginner's Guide
Of course, all that information all in one place can get a little daunting, so you might want to step back for a refresher course. Again, it's got to be said that Star Trek's Wikipedia page is a pretty good primer, tracing the show's history from Gene Roddenberry's initial ideas for the show to the new movie. If you can get past the early 2000's design, The Omega Quadrant is also a good place to go for a stripped down beginner's guide to the show. It carefully works through both the factual and fictional history of Star Trek, assuming no prior knowledge and taking the time to answer all the questions that tend to confuse non-fans (like the legendary issue of what's the difference between a Trekkie and a Trekker).
Episode Guides and Reviews
The official site, Memory Alpha, and Wikipedia all have fairly extensive episode guides, although TrekGuide is probably the best website specifically devoted to the topic, providing helpful charts that for instance list which aliens appear in which episodes. If you're looking for episode reviews, Jammer's Reviews might be the gold standard, covering everything except the Animated Series (he also looks at the new Battlestar Galactica and Gene Roddenberry's other science fiction show, Andromeda). Tim Lynch's Reviews also have their charms, but he only covers parts of the 24th century shows (TNG, DS9, and Voyager), and none of The Original Series or Enterprise. The always excellent AV Club is currently working through The Original Series, with weekly posts each reviewing two episodes (they're just starting up on season 2).
Military Science and Technology
One topics on which Memory Alpha hasn't made other sites obsolete is tech specs for the franchise's starships. Star Trek Intelligence is written as though it's, well, an intelligence report prepared for the Federation, compiling all known information about every ship from Xindi Reptilian Cruisers to Kazon Torpedo Ships and quite literally everything in between. The Starship Schematic Database focuses more on visual records of the ships. Either way, half an hour spent at one of these sites will get you ready for war, 23rd century style.
Toys and Collectibles
When just watching Star Trek isn't enough, it's time to stock up on some toys, and there are certainly no shortage of options. Both The Star Trek Toy Reference Center and Star Trek Toys Online list pretty much every toy ever made from the sixties onward. Toys Online wins based on aesthetics, but the Reference Center arguably has a more complete visual record, so I suppose it depends on what you care about looking at. Still, Toys Online does have eBay links beneath all of its pages, so it's the better option when you're actually ready to start spending.
Unfortunately, there really isn't a comprehensive guide to the world of Star Trek cosplay, but at least Star Trek Costumes offers a comprehensive catalog of Federation uniforms from every era. If you've ever wondered how diehard Trek fans manage to pull off authentic Klingon costumes, here's the complete seven part process for making your very own Klingon forehead.
Conventions and Online Communities
Looking to meet up with your fellow fans? Though just about any science fiction convention is pretty much guaranteed to have a Star Trek presence, the franchise's very own convention is Star Trek Las Vegas, which will be held in August with William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy already announced as attending. There are also no end of online communities for Star Trek fans to get together, including United Federation of Trek,
Trek Web, and Starfleet. Finally, though it hasn't launched yet, the massively multiplayer role-playing game Star Trek Online has already built a strong community as fans wait for the opportunity to explore the game's 25th century setting.
Fan Fiction
Though it's not for the faint of heart, Star Trek fan fiction offers the adventurous fan an opportunity to explore the universe in ways the official version hasn't. Star Trek Fan Fiction and Orion Press are two of the best, but I'll leave it to you to locate some of the worst (they're certainly not hard to find).
Star Trek is also notable for not just prose fan fiction but also a huge amount of fan films, some of which have taken the form of full-fledged amateur TV series. Star Trek: Phase II, formerly The New Voyages, started as an attempt to complete the five-year mission of The Original Series, and has since morphed into a more open-ended continuation of Gene Roddenberry's original ideas. Although the show features the original characters played by new actors, both George Takei and Walter Koenig have appeared to reprise their roles as Sulu and Checkov, and Roddenberry's son serves as a consulting producer.
Equally impressive is Star Trek: Hidden Frontier, which has made fifty full-length episodes depicting the voyages of the USS Excelsior in the Next Generation era. Current Star Trek rights owners CBS and Paramount rather awesomely tolerate unauthorized fan productions as long as the makers don't profit from them.
Awesome Star Trek images from DesktopStarships.


text:
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The Cutaway Collar Sport Shirt
24 comments:
interesting post. just when i think i have seen it all! fashion never sleeps. keep it up!ReplyDelete
check it out i always appreciate new readers and feedback. cheers!
The fabric used for this shirt is exactly the same as used for an Epaulet shirt that I recently purchased (http://www.epauletshop.com/servlet/the-716/**Mens-Buttondown-Collar-Navy/Detail). Does anyone know who is supplying Epaulet and Wharf with this fabric?ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 21, 2010 at 1:44 PM
@James: it's called plaid.ReplyDelete
James and Anon- A trail of breadcrumbs seems to lead back to New England Shirtmakers.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 21, 2010 at 1:47 PM
Can someone tell the fellas at Wharf that a buttondown shirt has buttons for the collar? Thanks.ReplyDelete
Did the last Anon even bother reading the post before asking that question?ReplyDelete
Jay- Actually Anon @1:47 is right. Wharf labels this shirt as "'The FOUR' Plaid Button Down Shirt".ReplyDelete
To play devil's advocate for a second, is there a difference between "button down" and "buttondown"? That's the real question.
- incredulousOctober 21, 2010 at 2:05 PM
Just pointing out that a button down shirt need not have a button down collar.ReplyDelete
Incred- Everyone I have ever talked to who has knowledge of this sort of stuff on a professional level, calls shirts with button down collars "button downs". If they shirt does not have a button down collar it is referred to by another name.ReplyDelete
So maybe..."Just pointing out that a [button up] shirt need not have a button down collar."
- AnonymousOctober 21, 2010 at 2:37 PM
Echoing what LAS said ...I think.ReplyDelete
These sport shirts are called Button UP shirts. I'm sure when most of us are putting it on start with the bottom buttons and button UP.
The button details on the collar is what makes it a button DOWN.
Button is a funny word when you think about it.
- incredulousOctober 21, 2010 at 2:41 PM
Professional lingo notwithstanding, this is copy on a consumer site, no? I think that you'll find that "button down" is broadly recognized as a synonym for any open-front shirt with buttons.ReplyDelete
Wearing a spread collar sport shirt today from Isaia. It's a very soft collar, which is integrated into the front of the shirt rather than stitched on. I'm not sure if this way of attaching the collar has a specific name, but the collar rests very nicely. Obviously, it's a sport shirt and it's not meant to be worn with a tie.ReplyDelete
I've actually taken sports shirts to my tailor to have the collars remade into cutaways. Cost about 12-15 bucks. Well worth it.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 21, 2010 at 10:04 PM
Incred - If you do some research you'll be hard pressed to find references to "button down shirts" before Brooks introduced their "polo collar." You will however find many references to shirts based on their collar type. This was because most men considered a shirt with buttons down its front just a regular shirt. Putting the BD in front would be redundant (like calling it a shirt shirt).ReplyDelete
@Tuce I think your shirt has what's called a 'camp collar.'ReplyDelete
Nice shirt.ReplyDelete
I've been meaning to ask a Shirt Factory that is a client of mine on my daily business (not my blog) to make me a White Selvage Oxford slim fit shirt with cutaway collars. I think it would also look great. They also make the nicest ones in flannel.
Here in Portugal we call these collars, Italian collars...
Whats your size? maybe I can get them to make me 2 .. for free .. and I could mail you one...
- AnonymousOctober 22, 2010 at 8:04 AM
Incred - Just because a lot of people believe something doesn't make it right (ie: The right to privacy is stipulated directly in the constitution, Bob Dylan as a talented musician, etc.). I think that most of the readers of this site consider it for a consumer who wants to be educated. Why should Lawrence go out of his way to promote a terminology that is inaccurate?ReplyDelete
- incredulousOctober 22, 2010 at 12:14 PM
@Anon 10:04 - Obviously, among what are even more correctly defined as "dress shirts", an open front is a given and the collar type is much more useful distinction. Then again, even Brooks Brothers sells a "Classic All-Cotton Traditional Fit Oxford Stripe Dress Shirt", with a button down collar, next to several "Button Down" shirts.ReplyDelete
Besides, Lawrence already pegged this as a "Sport Shirt", which are basically distinguished by their deviation from the formal rules of shirting.
Correct or no, examples of "button down" shirts without button-down collars are plentiful, which was the only point I was trying to make.
- AnonymousOctober 22, 2010 at 4:14 PM
They are plentiful and inaccurate, which was my point. Instead of perpetuating bad information there should be a push to try and correct it.ReplyDelete
- Jon CheeseOctober 23, 2010 at 3:43 PM
You guys are fucking idiots. You are arguing about a shirt collar.ReplyDelete
this is one amazing article! Thank you for posting this. This is one amazing article! Thank you for posting this.ReplyDelete
I have heard lots about American apparel. I think, i have to visit there store soon Sport Tek ShirtsReplyDelete
To be honest, this is one post that provides me with fantastic knowledge and is extremely useful and helpful. I may return to this site in the future to look for more articles that may be of interest to me. Please take a look at wholesale clothing miami floridaReplyDelete
You must have understood the importance of these hats until now. You must have understood that these caps hence, make an amazing gift. BAG FRIENDLY VINTAGE HATReplyDelete


text:
One Great Shop
Collectibles | Bunny Rabbit Cork Bottle Stopper Home Decor
Regular price $ 21.95
$ 0.00
home | collectibles | home decor | bottle stoppers
Bunny Rabbit Cork Bottle Stopper
The Ganz bottle stoppers vary in size from 2 inches to 3.75 Inches. They were purchased for our store inventory some years ago and have been in storage. They were never sold or pre-owned.


text:
In the first decision of its kind, a federal judge has ordered state officials to provide a taxpayer-funded sex-change for a transsexual prisoner, after finding that the treatment is the only adequate care for the inmate's gender identity disorder.
District Court Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf said that the treatment for Michelle Kosilek, convicted of murder, had been prescribed by Department of Correction doctors. He said the only arguments for denying it were based on social bias against that type of surgery.
"This fact that sex reassignment surgery is for some people medically necessary has recently become more widely recognized," Wolf wrote in a landmark 127-page ruling Tuesday. "Denying adequate medical care because of a fear of controversy or criticism from politicians, the press, and the public serves no legitimate penological purpose. It is precisely the type of conduct the Eighth Amendment prohibits."
Kosilek, now in her early 60s, was born Robert Kosilek, but by 1990 was transitioning to a female identity. She strangled her wife, Cheryl, in Mansfield that year.
During her trial, Kosilek wore women's clothes and has legally changed her first name to Michelle. She has been staying in a men's prison in Norfolk while taking hormones and developing female physical qualities. Under Globe policy, Kosilek is being referred to as a woman because that is the gender with which she identifies.
The judge did not say who should perform the surgery or where it should be conducted, leaving those decisions to state officials. The cost of the surgery ranges from $7,000 to more than $50,000, depending on the extent of cosmetic work, according to informational surgery and transgender websites.
It was not clear how much postsurgery care would have to be provided, though the state would bear that cost as well.
Wolf's decision is the first time a judge has ruled that the sex change was necessary for a prisoner suffering from gender identity disorder, though it follows a series of rulings in Massachusetts and across the country that have affirmed that some type of medical care is constitutionally required.
Last year, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the appellate court for much of New England, upheld a lower court decision ordering hormone treatment for a prisoner with gender identity disorder. Also last year, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit struck down a Wisconsin law that prevented hormone treatment for inmates with the disorder.
Moreover, the US Tax Court in 2010 held that the costs of feminizing hormones and sex reassignment surgery for certain individuals were tax deductible, as they were necessary forms of medical care.
In Kosilek's case, the care she has already received has been unsuccessful, she argued in court documents. When the case was first filed a decade ago, Wolf had ruled that treatment was necessary but stopped short of ordering the surgery. Kosilek sued again, saying the hormone treatments, laser hair removal, and psychotherapy she had received were insufficient to address severe anxiety and depression.
Kosilek has already tried to castrate himself and twice tried to commit suicide, once while taking the antidepressant Prozac. The Department of Correction's own doctors have said that surgery is the only appropriate care for Kosilek.
In his ruling Tuesday, Wolf said that the department was acting "deliberately indifferent" in failing to provide the surgery now that Kosilek has continued to suffer "intense mental anguish," a violation of his rights against cruel and unusual punishment.
"Prisoners have long been held to have a right to humane treatment, including a right to adequate care for their serious medical needs," Wolf said, citing US Supreme Court rulings.
Wolf issued his ruling after he had held a trial in 2006 and several follow-up hearings in the years after, with testimony from doctors and specialists and state prison officials.
A spokeswoman for the state Department of Correction said Tuesday only that, "We are reviewing the decision and exploring our appellate options."
The department, under multiple administrations, has opposed the surgery since Kosilek first brought the case. State legislators have long fought against it as well, arguing that taxpayers should not be funding a prisoner's decision for a sex reassignment.
On Tuesday, US Senator Scott Brown released a statement saying: "This is an outrageous abuse of taxpayer dollars. We have many big challenges facing us as a nation, but nowhere among those issues would I include providing sex-change surgery to convicted murderers."
But transgender rights advocates welcomed Wolf's decision, saying it recognized a standard of care set by national medical and psychological groups.
"These types of treatments are medically necessary, and we are looking forward to the day all transgender people can have full equal access to medically necessary care that they may need," said Gunner Scott, of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition.
Ben Klein, a senior attorney with Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, added that Wolf recognized that there is a high standard he must follow in ordering the surgery, but that he found that it was met in the case of Kosilek.
"The real issue is that if the denial of health care amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, then there's an obligation to provide that treatment," Klein said.
Wolf, who was nominated to the bench by President Reagan in 1985, has been known for issuing controversial rulings based on law, but that often go against public opinion. He was the judge, for instance, who ordered a retrial last year in the sentencing of convicted serial killer Gary Lee Sampson, after finding that a juror withheld information about his past.
He is also the judge who held the hearings that exposed the FBI's scandalous relationship with James "Whitey" Bulger, and he has vacated convictions after finding prosecutorial wrongdoing.
In his ruling Tuesday, the judge said he expected the Department of Correction to follow the same standards of care that it would for any illness, noting he recently oversaw an agreement the state reached with prisoners' rights advocates to provide better mental health treatment.
One of Kosilek's lawyers, Frances S. Cohen, called the judge's ruling courageous, and said "it was entirely consistent with recent decisions that have held that medical doctors should make decisions with respect to treatment for gender identity disorder."
Joseph L. Sulman, another attorney, said, "The law has always been in our favor, and we thought once the law was applied to the facts, the judge really only could reach one conclusion."
He added that he anticipates the state will "promptly arrange for Michelle Kosilek to receive her treatment."
Globe researcher Jeremiah Manion contributed reporting. Milton J. Valencia can be reached at email@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @MiltonValencia


text:
US Army media brief for rape and murder of 14 year old Iraqi girl and family by 101st soldiers, 2006
From WikiLeaks
Unless otherwise specified, the document described here:
- Was first publicly revealed by WikiLeaks working with our source.
- Was classified, confidential, censored or otherwise withheld from the public before release.
- Is of political, diplomatic, ethical or historical significance.
Any questions about this document's veracity are noted.
The summary is approved by the editorial board.
See here for a detailed explanation of the information on this page.
If you have similar or updated material, see our submission instructions.
- Release date
- May 12, 2009
In March 2006 four US soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division gang raped a 14 year old Iraqi girl and murdered her and her family —including a 5 year old child. An additional soldier was involved in the cover-up.
One of the killers, Steven Green, was found guilty last Thursday (7 May 2009) in the US District Court of Paducah and is now awaiting sentencing[1].
The leaked Public Affairs Guidance put the 101st media team into a "passive posture" — withholding information where possible. It conceals presence of both child victims, and describes the rape victim, who had just turned 14, as "a young woman".
The US Army's Criminal Investigation Division did not begin its investigation until three and a half months after the crime.
Example extract: (abbreviations used: d-division, BN-Battalion, CDR-Commander, LTC-Lieutenant colonel, CPT-Captain, SGT-Sargent, IN-Intelligence, CO-Company, CF-Coalition Forces, CID-Criminal Investigation Division, PFC-Private First Class, FOB-Forward Operating Base, L/N-Local/National, TCP-Traffic Control Point)
- 2. BACKGROUND (NOT FOR RELEASE). 2.A. 1-502d Case. On 240030JUN06 the 1-502d BN CDR, LTC Kunk received a phone call from CPT John Goodwin, B CO, 1-502d IN BN, indicating a possible CF involvement in the deaths of four L/N at a residence vicinity TCP 2 on or about 12 March 2006. CID was notified, the platoon was brought to FOB Mahmudyah North to begin the interview process with CID. The alleged events took place in the vicinity of TCP 2 <AD> Yusifyah / Rushdi Mulla on or about 12 March 2006 between 1300 and 1500 hours. Allegedly SGT Paul CORTEZ, SPC James BARKER, PFC Steven GREEN, and PFC Jesse SPIELMAN, were playing cards and drinking alcohol. The Soldiers are alleged to have gone to the house of an Iraqi Family nearby. They then allegedly raped a young woman who lived at the residence and set her on fire. They are also thought to have murdered her family. To include a 5year-old child who lived at the house. PFC Steven Green was released from the service. He received an administrative discharge under AR 635-200 for a personality disorder. He was discharged from the Army on 12 May 06. He was arrested in the United States (Kentucky) on or about 3 July 2006 and charged by the U.S. Government with murder and rape. CID arrived at FOB Mahmudiyah North on Sunday 25 June 2006 and began their investigation. The case is still officially under investigation at this time."
Further information


text:
On Sept. 24, 2007, a Monday evening, Cathleen Renner sat down in her home office to tackle a project. Renner, 47, was a manager at AT&T, where she'd been for 25 years. It isn't clear how many hours she spent at the computer that night, making a plan for a possible employee strike, but she did send an email to a colleague at 12:26 a.m. When her son got up at 7 a.m., she was at her desk. Renner took him to the bus a little later, and as she walked out the door, she clutched her leg and let out a cry of pain. Still, she returned to work. At 11:34, she called an ambulance. Renner was dead by the time she reached the hospital.
Like most of us, Renner spent long hours on the job seated at her computer; in a workers' compensation claim filed after her death, her husband argued that sitting was what killed her. (Renner died of a pulmonary embolism after a blood clot formed in her leg.) The case was not exactly straightforward; AT&T called an expert who pointed out Renner was morbidly obese, weighing 304 lb., and had recently started taking new medication, birth control pills. But in 2011 a New Jersey judge ruled in James Renner's favour, noting his wife's job required her to "spend unusually long hours at her computer" and awarding him workers' compensation benefits as a result. The decision was extremely unusual, the first of its kind legal observers could recall. But if a growing number of health experts are right about the dangers of sitting, it could be a harbinger of things to come.
Like obesity or smoking before it, sitting is the new plague, and not just because it can lead to deadly blood clots. Alarmingly, the latest research links it to obesity, diabetes and the major killers, heart disease and cancer. And exercising the recommended half-hour a day, while beneficial, isn't enough to stave off the ill effects of sitting. "Thirty minutes is two per cent of your day," says Mark Tremblay, director of the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group (HALO) at the CHEO Research Institute in Ottawa. "What about the other 98 per cent?"
The latest and most powerful warning comes from a team at the University of Leicester and Loughborough University in England. In a meta-analysis of 18 studies (which included almost 800,000 participants), they found that sitting for long periods increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and death. And, as Tremblay suggested, sitting was shown to be a risk independent of exercise—meaning that a person who regularly visits the gym is still in danger if he or she is inactive for most of the rest of the day.
Sedentary behaviour—sitting at work, watching TV, commuting—now eats up the vast majority of our time. In another study, Australian researchers looked at TV watching specifically. "TV viewing time may have adverse health consequences that rival those of lack of physical activity, obesity and smoking," it stated. "Every single hour of TV viewed may shorten life by as much as 22 minutes."
Of course, those who aren't watching TV are likely sitting with an iPad, a computer, a video game or a book. We sit at the office, at home, in the car. We sit for work, and to relax. The difference between all these types of sedentary behaviour isn't understood, and we can't say how much is too much. "Not a lot of people study the health consequences of reading, and we need to," says Tremblay. In 2011, his group launched the Sedentary Behaviour Research Network (SBRN) to focus on the health impacts of sitting. It is the first and only group of its kind in the world. We're just beginning to understand the sitting disease, but what we already know suggests that modern society is making us quite sick.
Even as a child, Dr. James Levine wondered why some people seem destined to be fat, whereas others can eat as much as they like and stay thin. Now an obesity researcher, he's spent decades looking into it. In a 1999 study, he fed test subjects an extra 1,000 calories a day on top of what they needed to maintain their current weight. Some gained almost nothing; others packed on 10 times as much. In 2005, Levine, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., followed up with a twist: his subjects wore a pair of "magic underwear" he'd designed, interlaced with sensors to track every movement.
As Levine meticulously monitored caloric input and output, it became clear that those who stayed thin were moving around more, but they weren't devoting more time to formal exercise. Instead, they were unconsciously making little movements throughout the day, burning off the extra calories. They were also spending two hours less per day in a chair, compared with peers who gained weight. Years later, the fact that sedentariness is linked to obesity, independently of exercise, still surprises. "I just came from giving a talk at a sports centre," Levine says. "I thought people were going to throw their frozen yogourts at me."
The most cutting-edge research shows that if people sit too much, they're at increased risk of cancer, according to Christine Friedenreich, a University of Calgary cancer epidemiologist. A 2010 literature review in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention found that sitting was associated with a higher risk of colorectal, endometrial, ovarian and prostate cancer, as well as cancer mortality in women. Sedentary people are more likely to have metabolic syndrome (a cluster of symptoms like high blood pressure, insulin resistance and extra fat packed around the abdomen), which is associated with heart disease and some types of cancer.
The human body is built for movement, not for sitting still. "The leg muscles are the largest in the body, in terms of skeletal muscle," says Peter Katzmarzyk, a professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La.. "When you sit, you're deactivating them." After a little under an hour, our metabolism starts to go to sleep. The body becomes less adept at vacuuming sugar and fat from the bloodstream, causing them to build up and insulin levels to spike. The human system is like a Ferrari, Levine says. "If you leave it to idle, it clogs up."
It takes a surprisingly short time even for early signs of muscle wasting to occur. In a 2010 study, a team of U.S. researchers recruited subjects to wear a platform shoe on one foot for 48 hours, preventing one leg from touching the ground. "We had them wear accelerometers so we could monitor their movements," says lead author Kimberly Reich, an assistant professor at High Point University in North Carolina. "Honestly, they were just couch potatoes all weekend. We instructed them to relax, but when they needed to move, they had to use crutches." Taking a muscle biopsy 24 hours after the shoe was off, they saw changes in gene expression that could lead to muscle wasting. "We'd hypothesized that when they started walking again, everything would be back to normal," she says. "It wasn't." (The team didn't collect biopsies more than 24 hours after, so we don't know if or when these changes were reversed.)
Before scientists started to chart the effects of too much sitting, sedentariness was treated as a neutral factor—shorthand for the absence of exercise. This was in spite of the fact that earlier research had hinted sedentariness could be dangerous: in the 1950s a study in The Lancet noted that London bus drivers had double the risk of heart attack compared to bus conductors, who walked around taking tickets. That's changing. "Too much sitting now may be seen as distinct from too little exercise," stated a 2012 paper from Neville Owen of the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Australia, published in the journal Preventive Medicine. In just the past few years, sitting has emerged as its own powerful risk factor.
It's a new way of thinking. We still don't have an across-the-board definition of what "sedentary behaviour" means. The research network has called for a standard definition that would classify it as a waking behaviour done in a sitting or reclining posture which has an energy expenditure less than or equal to 1.5 metabolic equivalents, or METs, a measure of the energy demand of movement. (One MET is resting, and brisk walking or running might account for three to eight METs.) Sleep doesn't qualify; it's a restorative state and, unlike when we're sitting, we don't tend to snack while we sleep. Still, even on the question of sleep there is disagreement. "Picture your great-grandfather doing chores. He needed to rest so his muscles could rebuild," says Tremblay. "Today's world is different. The need to repair and regenerate is not really there."
Of all the types of sedentary behaviour, TV watching seems to be the worst, Tremblay says, "worse than playing a board game or working on a computer." He compares it to hibernation: "Your metabolic rate almost goes below resting." When tapping away at a computer, for example, we're a bit busier, more alert. "You may be less likely to be nibbling on something, whereas if you're watching TV, you might be snacking," he says. "You're exposed to commercials that prompt you to eat, smoke or drink."
The Australian study wasn't the only one to highlight the dangers of TV. Another, published in the online medical journal BMJ Open in July, found that the U.S. population could gain an estimated two years of life expectancy by reducing sitting to less than three hours a day, and gain 1.38 years from reducing television watching to less than two hours a day. A 2011 review of studies, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, estimated that among 100,000 Americans per year, each two-hour increment of TV watching per day was associated with 176 new cases of Type 2 diabetes, 38 new cases of fatal cardiovascular disease and 104 newcases of all-cause mortality.
But TV watching is also the most widely studied form of sedentary activity, partly because people tend to have a good sense of how much television they watch. It can be harder to recall how much time was spent sitting at a desk or in a car.
It will be years before we untangle it all, but for now a consensus is growing: too much sitting is deadly, no matter what kind. A recent series of articles in The Lancet went so far as to call physical inactivity a global pandemic. "Of the 36 million deaths each year from non-communicable diseases," a commentary states, "physical inactivity and smoking each contribute about five million."
Over the years, we've instituted more and more sitting time into our lives. In 1970, two in 10 working Americans were at jobs that required light activity, like sitting at a desk; three in 10 were in high-activity jobs, like construction or farming. By 2000, more than four in 10 were in desk jobs, and only two in 10 were in high-activity jobs, said a 2010 commentary in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. We also spend longer hours at the office. Screen time has increased dramatically, the same report noted, and other contributors to daily sitting time, like hours spent watching TV and driving, are at all-time highs. Between 1989 and 2009, the number of households with a computer and Internet access jumped from 15 per cent to 69 per cent. Screens are ubiquitous. Almost one-third of U.S. children under age 2 have a television in their bedrooms, notes a 2011 study from the non-profit Common Sense Media.
Some companies are finding ways to build activity into their employees' work hours. Researchers at CHEO, home of Sedentary Behaviour Research Network, take walking meetings; if the group's too big, they'll book a room and stand. At the San Francisco headquarters of Square Inc., a mobile payment app, "a lot of our engineers and designers are at stand-up tables," CEO Jack Dorsey tells Maclean's. Dorsey, who also co-created Twitter, notes that Ernest Hemingway worked at a stand-up desk. (Not just Hemingway—Leonardo da Vinci, Ben Franklin and other great minds famously worked standing up.) "I feel more creative on my feet," he says. Standing desks are used at Google, AOL and Facebook.
Sensing a new market, office-supply companies are swooping in. Ergo Desktop, which sells adjustable-height desks, was launched in 2009. Back then, the company was "just myself and my wife's encouragement," says Dan Sharkey. Today, the Ohio-based business employs 16 people, sells $3-million worth of desks a year and attracts clients like ESPN, Harvard University and NASA. Steelcase, another office supplier, worked with Levine to develop a desk mounted on a low-speed treadmill so employees can walk and work (it sells for upwards of $5,000). Levine also developed the Gruve device, a personal activity monitor that vibrates if its wearer has been sitting too long. Australian inventors have created something called an "alarming cushion," which works on the same principle.
But overhauling a culture centred on sitting is easier said than done. Standing at a meeting can give the impression of restlessness or inattention. Walking at a treadmill desk while typing is an acquired skill. And standing all day isn't really healthy, either; not long ago, when more jobs were in fields like manufacturing, the workplace plague was standing. "It's fatiguing," says Alan Hedge, director of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory at Cornell University. Standing can also lead to its own health problems, like varicose veins.
Hedge has an electric desk that raises and lowers with the touch of a button—but he never stands to use it. It's too much of a bother. "When I raise it, I have to change the position of the screen on the computer and move things around, and I'm just not going to do that," he says. Fancy equipment or not, like Hedge, plenty of people would simply rather work sitting down. Cutting back on sitting time at home is equally troublesome. It seems we'd rather watch others exercise on The Biggest Loser than work out ourselves.
We still don't definitively know the best way to prevent the sitting disease. Of the research that's been done, one thing does seem powerfully effective: breaking up sedentary time. A 2012 study in Diabetes Care from a team including Neville Owen found that overweight or obese adults who interrupted their sitting time every 20 minutes with two-minute walks had healthier glucose and insulin levels in their blood.
It could be that we'll see recommendations from the World Health Organization and others on breaking up or reducing sitting time, like the ones that already push people to exercise. In Canada, it's already started: the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology has released "sedentary behaviour guidelines" to warn kids off more than two hours of recreational screen time per day, and guidelines for adults will follow. In Denmark, according to a report in Bloomberg Businessweek, employers are required by law to provide adjustable-height desks for their employees.
We could see mandated walking breaks for office workers, and more workers' compensation claims. The floodgates could soon be open to legal claims similar to Cathleen Renner's. Perhaps with an eye on that possibility, AT&T has appealed the Renner decision, according to Patrick Caulfield, James Renner's lawyer; the case will be heard by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
For the millions of us who are mostly sedentary, though, change would have to happen at a societal level—everything from the workplace to the commute to home life would be affected. It would be a monumental task, but observers insist there is precedent. After all, indoor smoking today is an anachronism; eventually, maybe spending long stretches seated in a chair will be, too. "If we said to people 20 years ago, 'There will be a smoking ban,' they would have been shocked," says Emma Wilmot of the University of Leicester, lead author of the meta-analysis. "Now, we accept it."


text:
WWE RAW Results
By Bill Pritchard for Wrestlezone.com
March 5th 2012
Shawn Michaels starts off the show by saying he came out a few weeks ago and caused some trouble, but he really wanted HHH to take the match against Undertaker. He says something made HHH change his mind and he upped the ante, but he has to know what happened and he invites HHH to the ring. HHH joins him and Shawn says he knows he was a little hard on him and he pushed him and took cheap shots, but HHH stood his ground. Shawn says he called him a coward and no one else would do that and get away with it, so he needs to know what changed. HHH tries to speak but Shawn says he wants to watch the footage with him and see exactly what happened, then he asks the crew to play it on the Titantron. HHH turns to Shawn and tries to speak again, but Shawn cuts him off and says he can't believe the worst thing someone could say is that he is better than him.
HHH says it doesn't involve him, but he is just tired of people like Undertaker saying Shawn couldn't get the job done and he wasn't as good as he thought. HHH says he is doing it because he knows Shawn is the greatest in-ring performer of all time, and it pains him to look at him like a loser. He says he is finishing the Undertaker and his streak, and he will end an era by doing what everybody says Shawn couldn't do himself. HHH says he is doing it for himself but just as much for Shawn, then Shawn sarcastically says he thought they had a problem and he is glad HHH has it all under control. Shawn says he didn't like saying he couldn't get it done, but he ended up being right and he knows who will win this time. He says he will be right again, then stops and says he knows who will win because he was named the special referee of the match, then he pats HHH on the shoulder and leaves.
United States Championship
Santino Marella vs Jack Swagger (c) (w/ Vickie Guerrero & Dolph Ziggler)
Swagger hits Santino a few times but Santino comes back with a hip toss and a diving headbutt as John Laurinaitis and David Otunga come out to ringside. Dolph hits Santino behind the referee's back, then Teddy Long comes out with Kofi Kingston and Aksana and argues with John about being at ringside. Swagger whips Santino into the corner and goes for a Swagger Bomb, but Santino rolls away then Teddy and John argue at ringside again. Dolph hits Santino again so Kofi goes after Dolph and gets knocked down, then Santino turns around and hits Dolph with the Cobra. He teases hitting Vickie with it, but Aksana runs over and knocks her down, then Teddy shoves John on the floor as Santino goes for a Cobra. (Cont'd…)


text:
Six Nightmare Vacations With Monstrous Costs
Ana Gonzalez Ribeiro
Sometimes without warning, a dream vacation can spiral into a nightmare when things go awry. However, with a little foresight and careful planning, travelers can avoid those pesky traps that hinder the much-needed days of relaxing.
Bankrate asked its readers to share their worst vacation stories and their financial repercussions. Here are the six stories we found most horrifying and what you can do to prevent these disasters from affecting your vacation.
Credit Card Traps
I got a sweet offer from a bank for a new credit card: no interest for 12 months, free transfer from other cards, etc. It had a $6,500 limit, so I felt so smart when I transferred most of my other balances to it. The total balance was just less than $6,400. I planned to pay down a couple of extra thousand dollars in principal that year with the savings from interest.
I was about to go on a two-week out-of-town trip deep in the mountains where I'd be off-grid. To avoid any stress and billing problems, such as a missed payment, I paid my bill before I left.
While on the trip, I charged some small purchases to the card -- fries, a magazine and dog food -- to take advantage of the interest-free offer. These purchases were no more than $10.
When I got home, I logged into my credit card account and almost fainted when I saw my balance. Turns out, since I had paid my bill eight days before the due date, the credit card company had happily taken my money but not applied the early payment to my payment due. Therefore, they considered my payment late, defaulted me to a 14.99% interest rate, charged me a $35 late fee and assessed a $200 interest charge; all of which put me over the credit limit. They also added $39 fees for each of the three times I used my card during the trip. Since I was "late" and "over the credit limit," they put me in the default interest rate category -- a crushing 34% of my bill that totaled more than $6,500. And finally, just in case I thought I'd transfer those balances back to their original cards where I'd been paying between 8% and 14% in interest -- those other cards followed suit and also put me on the default interest rate.
Needless to say, I now bank at a credit union.-- Nicole from Georgia
Make sure this doesn't happen to you: Read credit card details about added fees and payment procedures before charging anything.
Never Go on a Trip With an Expired License
Have you ever gone to the airport and needed to show your driver's license to security, and you didn't realize it was expired? I have. They let me go through, but when I tried reserving a rental car in my name the company wouldn't let me because of my expired license. I managed to get to my destination, which was Las Vegas, but because I spent all my cash I needed to get extra money. I tried cashing my personal checking account checks but couldn't -- you guessed it, my license was expired. Thank goodness for debit cards!-- Blanche
Make sure this doesn't happen to you: Before you go on a trip, review any passports, licenses and other essential documentation you'll need.
Get Your Car Checked Out
I bought a brand-new car that soon had transmission trouble. The warranty replaced the transmission with a new one, so my family and I decided to take a road trip and drive it from Alabama to Atlantic City, N.J. However, in the middle of the night, the brand-new transmission froze. We pushed it back into a parking space and hailed a cab. The cab took 20 minutes to get us to our motel and charged an exorbitant amount of money. When we arrived at our hotel, I looked out the motel window and realized we could walk back to our car because we could see it from the motel window.
For a steep fee, we towed the car to a transmission shop and had the auto repair shop rebuild the transmission. However, the warranty would not cover another transmission charge and the shop would not take our Alabama check. So I asked our credit card company to double my limit in order to cover the repair charges. I paid off the credit card as soon as I got back to Alabama. To make things worse, we realized we all had the flu while driving back home.-- E. Gayle from Alabama
Make sure this doesn't happen to you: Get your car checked for any potential problems before a road trip. This small but preventive tip could save you loads of money and a headache.
No Really, Get Your Car Checked Out
Our group of 12 decided to go to Disney World after saving money for more than a year. The kids recycled aluminum cans, saved birthday money and did chores. We paid for everything upfront, had a padded gas fund and saved an extra $1,300 in case something broke down.
Our trip from Ohio to Florida started out fine until we got to Atlanta. When we stopped for gas, our RV broke down and the men in our group worked for 17 hours trying to fix the problem. The roadside service we had previously signed up for promptly sent us a mechanic, but he gave us an outrageous estimate and couldn't get the necessary parts for four days. We had to be at our destination by the next day, so we rented two vehicles to get us all to Disney World and another RV while ours got fixed.
To make matters worse, my dad ended up in the hospital with a heart problem and was admitted for four days. After he was released, we had him fly to my brother's house. Adding to our increasing expenses, we rented two more vehicles to get to Atlanta so we could retrieve our repaired RV. When we arrived to where our RV was located, someone had left the windows open in the rain, so we ended up sitting on towels on the ride back home. When we got just across the South Carolina border, our RV quit on us again! Since everything in our RV was wet, we rented motel rooms for the night. We had the mechanic in our local area tow the RV back home to fix it. By the time we got home, we were more than $3,000 in debt.-- Flo from Ohio
Make sure this doesn't happen to you: No matter how prepared you are, unforeseen circumstances can happen, so be flexible and ready to adapt and have a plan B ready.
Find Out About Cellphone Charges
My daughter Erin and I visited Ireland in February 2008; she was participating in the All Ireland Irish Dancing Championships in Killarney. We flew into Shannon Airport and made arrangements to share a rental car with another mother and daughter. The car was so tiny that our luggage was up to our necks. When we arrived at our hotel, our room was not ready, so I spent time making phone calls from my cellphone and eating in the overpriced restaurant. To make matters worse, a big storm in New York City shut down JFK (airport) on the day we were to arrive home, so we spent 16 hours in the Shannon Airport making calls. I came home to a $385 phone bill. I had mistakenly thought making calls from my cellphone would be cheaper than paying the hotel for the calls. Overall, the trip cost nearly $700 more than we expected.-- Suzie from Pennsylvania
Make sure this doesn't happen to you: Check out billing costs associated with every aspect of your trip so you don't overspend.
'We Had a Fountain of Our Neighbors' Waste in Our Front Yard'
My worst vacation nightmares actually occurred when I returned home. I'm a single mother of two daughters in Fairbanks, Alaska. We travel outside during spring break as often as possible. On two of my trips, I returned home to sewage backing up in my house. The first occurrence was a freeze in my home's private line, so although it was unpleasant, we only had to deal with our own family's waste.
Three days after returning from a second vacation, the main public line on our street faulted. When the utility thawed and forced the clog through, the resulting pressure caused the main-line waste to back up into my private line. We had a fountain of our neighbors' waste in our front yard. We chose to have it flow down into our daylight basement via an exterior entrance because there was no other alternative. Unfortunately, in both of these situations, the cleanup, demolition and restoration fell solely upon me. So five years later, we're still living in half of a house (the daylight basement apartment has one gutted bathroom, and the floors throughout have been reduced to concrete). I estimate these two events added approximately $10,000 to the cost of our vacations.-- Linda from Alaska
Make sure this doesn't happen to you: Make sure your home is in great shape before you leave, and have someone look over your house in case they have to contact you in an emergency.


text:
Philippines Announces Precautionary Measures Ahead of North Korean Rocket Launch
Simone Orendain | Manila April 10, 2012
The Philippines is announcing precautions for airlines and ships to avoid falling debris from North Korea's expected rocket launch, due in the next few days. North Korean officials say the first stage will fall into the sea about 160 kilometers from the Philippines, but past North Korean launches have been notoriously inaccurate.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines is rerouting some flights in anticipation of the launch that North Korea says will put a weather satellite in orbit.
Defense leaders from several governments estimate that debris from the three-stage launch could fall to earth along the rocket's southern trajectory.
Aviation Authority Spokeswoman Joy Songsong says planes will not be allowed to pass through three lanes in the skies northeast of the country from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. from April 12 - 16.
"Part of the approximately 20 flights that will be affected daily would be international flights using the Philippine airways to get to their destinations," Songsong said.
She says the aviation office asked the Philippines' two main carriers and airlines from Japan, Korea and other countries to make the adjustments. She says rerouting will add 10 minutes to flights connecting Manila with the United States, Japan and South Korea and affect other routes to and from some Southeast Asian destinations.
Philippine territory is very near the projected drop of the third phase of the launch. This prompted the Office of Civil Defense to order the no-passing zone, which includes the air and waters off the country's northeast coast.
Civil Defense Administrator Benito Ramos says North Korea has provided the expected coordinates of the rocket's path and authorities are using them in their alerts.
"We make sure that no fisherman, no aircraft, no ship will be crossing in that area so that we expect zero casualties in the event that there will be fallout," Ramos said.
Defense officials have expressed concern the launch may follow an unexpected trajectory and the rocket could come apart, falling to earth in unplanned locations.
Ramos says a piece falling with a two degree or even just one degree difference from its projected coordinates would put the entire northern island of Luzon in harm's way.
He says the Philippines would not be in a position to shoot down any missile, but he is confident the country will have help.
"I feel reassured because of the capabilities of these countries like your country - U.S., we have the U.S. military base in Okinawa. We have also Japan and South Korea," Ramos said.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino's spokesman said in a news briefing Tuesday that the country is preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best.
|Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list


text:
Make Sure You Cover These Items In Your Central Florida Rental's Lease Agreement
As an investment property owner, there are many things you need be sure to include in your renter's lease agreement. By having an iron-clad lease, you will be able to avoid costly consequences down the road. In our latest post, we discuss several things you need to be sure to include in the lease agreement … Continued


text:
Message Board
Doug Lalli Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Lalli has written!
Author Lalli's Book Reviews
Peter and Beth
Five years afer Peter Granelli's lone sexual encounter with Beth, a close friend from his college days, he spots her from a distance on a Manhattan street. Soon he becomes obsessed with the idea that Beth might have become pregnant as a result of their (somewhat disastrous) tryst. Peter's therapist urges him to track Beth down to learn the truth of the situation, but Peter has some reservations. To start with, because his father has always been emotional...


text:
Serving a diverse
community since 2004
over 500 satisfied couples
SJB Ministries, LLC
Embracing | Affirming | Dependable
Serving All Faiths & All People Everyday
Nondenominational Wedding Officiant & Minister
Reverend Starlene Joyner Burns is a nondenominational minister who offers an untraditional style to her ministerial work. As a visionary, she started a wedding ministry in 2004 as part of her service to God. Working as an officiant, minister of healing, and religious advisor; she continues to aspire in touching the hearts of many. Rev. Burns is a phenomenal speaker who is empowered through God's grace, and she shares her gifts and knowledge with all.
Many people refer to her as a minister of healing, wedding minister, officiant, spiritual advisor, teacher, artist, and minister on call. As a minister on call, she travels to you and is always available to answer the calls of all those who seek her guidance.
She is the founder and director of SJB Ministries LLC, Chapel of Love Ceremonies, and God Center for Divine Healing. Reverend Burns maintains her good standing as a religious leader through a local DC based church. If you would like to schedule her for a wedding, baby celebration, church healing service or to speak at your local church or empowerment group; kindly send your request to the email address below or click the availability link.
Reverend Burn offers the follow ceremony services:
Civil (nonreligious)
And she will work with you to create that uniquely special ceremony to reflect your feelings, beliefs, lifestyle, culture and occasion.
For your free consultation, call 202.253.3629 or send a message to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Authorized and serving MD, DC and VA
Petite Wigs, Baltimore Wedding Officiants, DC Wedding Ministers, Quick Weddings, Virginia Wedding Officiants, Nondenominational Wedding Officiants, Marriage Coach, Baby Blessings, Business Blessings, Empowerment Classes, Healing, House Blessings, Spiritual Coach, www.startum.com, http://washingtondcweddings.blogspot.com, www.startum.com/meditation.htm, www.startum.com/church/ccss.htm, www.startum.com/mydcva/virtualassistant.htm Maryland Weddings Waterfront Weddings, Black Weddings Civil Weddings Private Weddings http://www.theknot.com/kl_vendordetail.html?id=228921&vendorsearch=Y&market=017&category=COF&keyword=DC%20AREA maryland wedding officiant, http://www.startum.com/mydcva/pgrentcourtagent.htm, wedding clergy, wedding lingerie wedding jewelry wedding accessories wedding favors wedding brooms eloping in dc http://wedding.weddingchannel.com/local/vendor.asp?vuid=613114472&category=11&ruid=427755812 wedding clergy, dc gay marriages, dc gay weddings, ny officiant
Website Designed by: Reverend Starlene Joyner Burns
�All Rights Reserved 2007-2009
SJB Ministries LLC


text:
The tragic deaths of Fiona Pilkington and her daughter Francecca Hardwick are yet another example of how lives can be destroyed by a lack of acceptance of disability and the caring role associated with it.Seriously, love, do you really think that that was the sole cause of her suicide and murder of her children?
Do you think that vicious gangs of feral yobs don't torment people without caring responsibilities, or disabilities, unchecked by the police? Because they do.
We need more investment in this most essential of infrastructure services. Despite the recession, politicians need to be bold in finishing the part of the welfare state that Beveridge left out.I'm sorry..?
If they don't, more carers risk losing their career, their health and their social lives, trapped on state benefits that are a pittance (carer's allowance is just £53.10 a week).
How, exactly, would more money have resolved Ms Pilkington's woes? Should she have used it to hire a hitman, perhaps?
What was needed was the police and justice system to do the jobs we already pay them to do.
These people are scum, there's no doubt. They saw Ms Pilkington and her family as weak. As easy prey.
But you, love? You're worse. You see them as an opportunity...


text:
Portrait of the French naturalist painter Jules Breton
Portrait of the French naturalist painter Jules Breton, circa 1885
Jules Adolphe Aimé Louis Breton (1 May 1827 – 5 July 1906) was a 19th-century French Naturalist painter. His paintings are influenced by the French countryside and his absorption of traditional methods of painting helped make Jules Breton one of the primary transmitters of the beauty and idyllic vision of rural existence.
Breton was born on 1 May 1827 in Courrières, a small Pas-de-Calais village. His father, Marie-Louis Breton, supervised land for a wealthy landowner. His mother died when Jules was 4 and he was brought up by his father. Other family members who lived in the same house were his maternal grandmother, his younger brother, Émile, and his uncle Boniface Breton. A respect for tradition, a love of the land and for his native region remained central to his art throughout his life and provided the artist with many scenes for his Salon compositions.
His first artistic training was not far from Courrières at the College St. Bertin near Saint-Omer. He met the painter Félix De Vigne in 1842 who, impressed by his youthful talent, persuaded his family to let him study art. Breton left for Ghent in 1843 where he continued to study art at the Academy of Fine Arts with de Vigne and the painter Hendrik Van der Haert. In 1846, Breton moved to Antwerp where he took lessons with Egide Charles Gustave Wappers and spent some time copying the works of Flemish masters. In 1847, he left for Paris where he hoped to perfect his artistic training at the École des Beaux-Arts.
In Paris he studied in the atelier of the Michel Martin Drolling. He met and became friends with several of the Realist painters, including François Bonvin and Gustave Brion and his early entries at the Paris Salon reflected their influence. His first efforts were in historical subjects: Saint Piat preaching in Gaul then, under the influence of the revolution of 1848, he represented Misery and Despair. The Salon displayed his painting Misery and Despair in 1849 and Hunger in 1850-51.
Both paintings have since been destroyed. After Hunger was successfully shown in Brussels and Ghent, Breton moved to Belgium where he met his future wife Elodie. Elodie was the daughter of his early teacher Félix de Vigne. In 1852, Breton returned to France. But he had discovered that he was not born to be a historical painter, and he returned to the memories of nature and of the country which were impressed on him in early youth. In 1853 he exhibited Return of the Reapers, the first of numerous rural peasant scenes influenced by the works of the Swiss painter Louis Léopold Robert. Breton's interest in peasant imagery was well established from then on and what he is best known for today. In 1854, he returned to the village of Courrières where he settled. He began The Gleaners, a work inspired by seasonal field labor and the plight of the less fortunate who were left to gather what remained in the field after the harvest. The Gleaners received a third class medal, which launched Breton's career. He received commissions from the State and many of his works were purchased by the French Art Administration and sent to provincial museums. His 1857 painting Blessing of the Wheat, Artois was exhibited at the Salon the same year and won a second class medal.
Breton married Elodie de Vigne in 1858.
Breton visited Brittany several times, believing he had (as his name implied) Breton ancestry.
He continued to exhibit throughout the 1870s and into the 1880s and 1890s and his reputation grew. His poetic renderings of single peasant female figures in a landscape, posed against the setting sun, remained very popular, especially in the United States. Since his works were so popular, Breton often produced copies of some of his images. He was extremely popular in his own time, exhibiting numerous compositions at the Salons that were widely available as engravings. He was one of the best known painters of his period in his native France as well as England and the United States. In 1880 Vincent van Gogh walked 85 miles to Courrières to pay a visit to Breton, whom he greatly admired, but turned back, put off by Breton's high wall.
In 1886, Breton was elected a member of the Institut de France on the death of Baudry. In 1889 he was made commander of the Legion of Honor, and in 1899 foreign member of the Royal Academy of London. His brother Emile, an architect by training, and his daughter Virginie were also painters.
He also wrote several books, and was a recognized writer who published a volume of poems (Jeanne) and several editions of prose relating his life as an artist and the lives of other artists that he personally knew; among them Les Champs et la mer (1876), Nos peintres du siècle (1900), Delphine Bernard (1902), and La Peinture (1904). Breton died in Paris on 5 July 1906.
Breton was essentially a painter of rustic life, especially in the province of Artois, which he quit only three times for short excursions: in 1864 to Provence, and in 1865 and 1873 to Brittany, whence he derived some of his happiest studies of religious scenes. His numerous subjects may be divided generally into four classes: labour, rest, rural festivals and religious festivals. Among his more important works may be named Women Gleaning, and The Day after St Sebastian's Day (1855), which gained him a third-class medal; Blessing the Fields (1857), a second-class medal; Erecting a Calvary (1859), now in the Lille gallery; The Return of the Gleaners (1859), now in the Luxembourg; Evening and Women Weeding (1861), a first-class medal; Grandfather's Birthday (1862); The Close of Day (1865); Harvest (1867); Potato Gatherers (1868); The Weeders (1868); A Pardon, Brittany (1869); The Fountain (1872), medal of honour; The Bonfires of St John (1875); Women mending Nets (1876), in the Douai museum; A Gleaner (1877), Luxembourg; Evening, Finistère (1881); The Song of the Lark (1884); The Last Sunbeam (1885); The Shepherd's Star (1887); The Call Home (1889); The Last Gleanings (1895); Gathering Poppies (1897); The Alarm Cry (1899); Twilight Glory (1900).
Willa Cather's novel The Song of the Lark takes its name from Breton's painting.
In 1912, Jules Breton St. in the 13th arrondissement of Paris was given his name.
In February 2014, actor Bill Murray disclosed at a press event for the film, "The Monuments Men," that an encounter with Breton's painting "The Song of the Lark," at the Art Institute of Chicago, helped turn him away from suicidal (or perhaps just plain "sad") thoughts.
Source: Wikipedia
Albumen print mount on cabinet card.
Photographer: Reutlinger, Paris
Date: c. 1885
Dimensions: 14 x 10 cm (image), 16,5 x 10,8 cm (card).
Condition: very good