text:
CNN.com - Judge orders couple not to have children
I really don't know how to feel about this. It's disturbing, but also completely logical. I worry when the courts take control of our choice to have children (though obviously I'm not concerned about the possibility that they might remove the right to not have children through abortion, I know, it contradicts). I'll have to think about this for a while.
UPDATE [5/8/2004 - 20:15]: Matto at IchiBlog has some more extensive (and useful) thoughts.
Saturday, May 08, 2004
CNN.com - Judge orders couple not to have children
Friday, May 07, 2004
Do you know who Joseph M. Darby is? (via OxBlog)
Well, you should.
UPDATE [5/8/2004 - 11:17]: DemfromCT on DailyKos (yes, I'm still commenting there) pointed out that this post is a bit ambiguous. For those who weren't clear, I intended to imply that this guy is a hero, and deserving of ultimate respect.
IMAO: "Kerry email: Kerry volunteers will be responsible for getting out the vote in every precinct across the country.
Frank J.: Give me all of Florida; I can handle it. I promise!
Email: In addition to saving America by winning this election,
Frank: Whoa! Slow down there, Chachi! "Saving" America? Are you implying that without Kerry's tepid leadership, America will collapse? Yeah, riiiight."
Frank J. fisks another Kerry email. I get these every day, and I chuckle at them, but Frank makes me actually laugh out loud.
The New York Times > Opinion > The New Iraq Crisis: Donald Rumsfeld Should Go
I'm amused by all of these calls for Rummy to step down or be fired. Many other bloggers on my blogroll have more insightful things to say about it, but here's my two cents: I'll give up Rummy when Gorelick is off the 9/11 commission.
LILEKS (James) The Bleat: "Time to make Gnat's lunch for school tomorrow, finish the video project, watch the Sopranos, and sit on the back stoop with a cigar and watch the bats. "
I want this man's life. At some point, I will live in the middle of nowhere, if only for a year, and limit myself to the internet, television, family, repairmen, tools, cheap beer, and good cigars.
For those who have been following the multiple abortion debates across this blog, seditious libel, and IchiBlog, you might be interested to see its progression. I resonded to a post entitled Bush's FDA to Women: Drop Dead at DailyKos during one of my writing breaks (will this paper never be finished?), and started quite the firestorm. I'm posting as RFTR, and the progression of posts from someone called Demosthenes is particularly amusing. I lay out my opinion pretty clearly throughout the posts, so I won't comment further here, but if you're up for an amusing time, I recommend that you check it out.
Thursday, May 06, 2004
CNN.com - Bushes decline twin daughters' graduation ceremonies
Makes sense, though I feel bad for Barbara. I guess I feel bad for Jenna, too, but I only met her once, so I have much less feeling on the subject.
CNN.com - Law keeping brain-damaged woman alive struck down - May 6, 2004
The link to this article from the front page of CNN.com reads "Judge strikes down Gov. Bush's brain-dead woman law."
Does that seem a little odd to anyone else?
Point: Military Service - The Politic - Opinion
I don't really feel right excerpting a money quote from this article, as it is my own work, finally published online in The Politic. It is written in oppostion to the Counterpoint, which asserts that Kerry is uniquely qualified to be CinC. Read them both, but bear in mind that I did not have an opportunity to read the pro-Kerry piece before I wrote my own.
The only comment I'll make about Mr. Jones's piece is, do you notice how he keeps saying "John Kerry can do such and such. That is not to say Bush can't, but Kerry can do it better."? Example: "John Kerry clearly left Vietnam with a profound appreciation for the preciousness of human life - an extraordinarily important quality for the commander of the most powerful military ever assembled. This is not to suggest that George Bush is callously indifferent to human life or that he lacks the capacity to care for the nearly 600 American soldiers killed in Iraq. But I do wonder whether the president is adequately concerned with the legal and moral obligation to wage war only as a last resort." Sounds like a pretty weak argument to me. And also, it serves as a great example of how the left mischaracterizes the right's justifications for going into Iraq in the first place. As we see it, war was the last resort. Saddam wasn't complying, and we needed to do something about it. Anyway, read them both and let me know what you think.
CNN.com - Coalition targets Mehdi Army in Iraq
Looks like we're finally rolling into Najaf. May God protect the soldiers on the front line of this conflict: keep them safe, and help them fulfill their mission.
Political Wire: Lieberman's Advice: "Here are Lieberman's 'three criteria' to judge a running mate:
Someone the public sees as capable of being president.
Someone who largely agrees with the presidential nominee on issues.
Someone the presidential nominee is comfortable with."
It's too bad Senator Lieberman did not fill the second requirement when running with Al Gore. Instead, he had to pretend that he had always believed the opposite of his true convictions. It's why I'll never vote for him, despite the fact that I used to quite respect him.
Bush pauses to comfort teen (via Andrew Sullivan): "The way he was holding me, with my head against his chest, it felt like he was trying to protect me,' Ashley said. 'I thought, 'Here is the most powerful guy in the world, and he wants to make sure I'm safe.' I definitely had a couple of tears in my eyes, which is pretty unusual for me.'"
I just have a hard time believing that Kerry would have behaved in the same way. Read the whole thing.
Little Red Corvette: "Are John Kerry's presidential ambitions and the shape and images of his campaign more about a mid-life crisis writ very large than any underlying set of ideas?"
The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Shocking and Awful: "Rush Limbaugh compared the prison torture to 'a college fraternity prank,' like a Skull and Bones initiation."
Ok, Ms. Dowd, it's fine that you like to make things up, but, as a Yalie, I'm going to take this moment to correct you. Skull and Bones is not a fraternity, and there are no pranks involved in their initiation. There are, of course, rituals, but none of them are at all connected to the outside world, lest they be found out. The pranks played at Yale are significantly more likely to be played against the Skulls' tomb. If you'd wanted to be accurate, you should have drawn a connection to DKE, the fraternity of which W was the president during his time at Yale.
Also: having now continued to read the rest of this column, I have to say that if I handed it in at Yale, I couldn't expect better than a D. What is her point? She just rambles. It started out ok, and then her complaints seem to go all over the place. Freaky.
UPDATE [ 5/6/2004 - 12:07]: To clarify, I am not criticizing the comparison of the Iraqi torture to Skull and Bones, so much as I am criticizing the comparison of Skull and Bones to a fraternity, which it most certainly is not. And I'm criticizing the fact that this column is really poorly written.
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Instapundit.com: "I recommend his post, and we're pretty much in agreement (his question isn't rhetorical, but he's for staying and getting it right). Here are my thoughts, for what they're worth. There was an alternate plan (the 'low hanging fruit' strategy focusing on Somalia, Sudan, etc.). But we went to Iraq, I think, for several reasons:
First, we needed to make the point Ed describes. It's dangerous to be on our bad side, even if you're a powerful dicatator with a large army and lots of bribed foreigners. That point has been made.
Second, we couldn't have a powerful, rich dictator with WMD programs and terrorist connections, who hated us, operating in the region without facing serious handicaps in our efforts elsewhere. That's taken care of, too.
Third, invading Iraq let us credibly extend that threat to other terror-supporting nations like Syria, Iran and, to some degree, Saudi Arabia. There's no question that they feel threatened -- in fact, it seems likely that they're sending fighters into Iraq as a way of mounting a 'spoiling attack' intended to make us less likely to move against them. And we appear to be returning the favor in a lower-profile way. (And, on a more overt level, the Bush Administration is putting sanctions pressure on Syria.)
Fourth, over the longer term, we felt that a de-Saddamized Iraq provided an opportunity to produce an Arab state that would be neither a theocracy nor an autocracy, but a democratic model that would undercut Arab dictatorships (a root cause of terror, you know!) and terrorists themselves throughout the region. The dictators and terrorists certainly seem worried about that, as evidenced by their efforts -- and the efforts of their propaganda arm, Al Jazeera -- to undercut that project."
Read the whole thing, and then read the post he links to. They say it way better than I could ever hope to.
The National Debate: Where Policy, Politics and the Media Meet (via InstaPundit): "CNN's complicity - and the failure of the other news organizations described by Jordan (as well as The New York Times' John Burns in the book Embedded) - is coming home to roost as media outlets around the world make the claim without contradiction that there is no difference between Iraq under Saddam and Iraq under U.S. occupation. Where is the CNN file footage of interviews with Saddam's torture victims? Where are the shocking Saddam torture photos?
Despite their record of complicity in covering up years of brutality and torture in Iraq under Saddam Hussein, CNN has lost no time in running endless reports on the Iraqi prison photos. Besides practically non-stop reports on the Iraqi Prisoner Abuse story, CNN's line up has been stocked with guests booked to discuss the Iraqi Prisoner Abuse story."
No, I'm not going to make the claim that what happened to these prisoners in American custody was ok, because it's still better than Saddam's Iraq. That's BS, and it's a form of debate in which I will not engage. What I do want to say, however, is that we need to remember that this type of behavior in all cases is wrong. It is shameful that these soldiers persecuted the Iraqis in this way, but it is equally shameful that we allowed the same and worse to be done by other Iraqis for so long, and that the same continues around the world to this day. There is evil in the world, and we need to stop excusing it. We need to pursue it to the ends of the earth, until the repercussions of torturing another are so great as to eliminate any justification.
CNN.com - Kansas Gov. to sign illegal immigrants tuition bill
Someone needs to explain to me why it's beneficial to make illegal immigration legal. Doesn't it sort of defeat the purpose of having immigration laws in the first place?
CNN.com - Bobby Brown ordered to stand trial for hitting Houston: "Bobby Brown was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on charges that he hit superstar wife Whitney Houston."
Ok, I'm making a new rule, here and now: if you hit a woman, I get to hit you. With a two-by-four. Then a crobar. Then maybe a brick. When you recover, you bend over and let me kick you in the face. Then maybe you'll have received what you deserve.
Political Wire: Will Bush Be Challenged From The Right?: "Alabama's renegade Chief Justice Roy Moore -- the 'Ten Commandments Judge' -- 'is mulling a run for president from the right,' Salon reports.
'The possibility that' Moore 'could challenge President Bush in November may not be costing Karl Rove any sleep -- yet. But the chance that the popular conservative judge could do to Bush what Ralph Nader did to Al Gore in 2000 -- split his ideological base, and cost him the presidency -- has analysts crunching numbers and weighing Moore's chances.'
Moore says he 'will decide if he will run when he has exhausted his court appeals in the Ten Commandments case.'"
Why on earth would he do this??
Political Wire: Kerry To Open Special New York Office: "Sen. John Kerry 'will open a special New York office for the duration' of the Republican convention, 'and his campaign has already begun contacting local supporters... to coordinate a response to the G.O.P. gala,' the New York Observer reports."
I think this could be a fatal mistake for Kerry. It seems like a good idea to have a big counter-protest to the GOP convention, but Kerry shouldn't touch it. This is going to be an absurd showing of the most leftist wackos in the Democratic Party. Kerry would do well to point at it and say "look how outraged the public is about this false leader," from a distance. As soon as these wackos have an official association with him, he begins to look suspicious, and like an ultra-leftist himself. I think he'll soon regret this decision.
Political Wire: Cheney's Heart: "If you ever wondered about Vice President Dick Cheney's heart condition, an AP story indicates the seriousness with which the Secret Service treats it.
While in Tallahassee over the weekend to deliver the graduation speech at Florida State University, the local hospital prepared a room for Cheney -- complete with 'flowers, a big TV set and Secret Service agents outside the door' -- 'just in case anything might happen.'"
More justification for the recommendation I made here.
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
CNN.com - 'Nightline' ratings up for war dead show: "The folks at ABC's "Nightline" thought Friday's telecast with the names of Americans killed in Iraq would be a ratings loser -- and the opposite turned out to be true[...]preliminary measurement was up 22 percent from the previous Friday and was 29 percent more than other "Nightline" telecasts last week."
A)Bull. They knew that it would get free media coverage because they knew it would stir up controversy, and ratings always go up under those circumstances. If they didn't, then they wouldn't be at the top levels of television production
2)I renew my objection to Nightline's decision to air this show, both at the time it was done, and in the way it was handled. There was no reason to read this list now, at the expense of other lists at other times. It was as ratings ploy, and I'm infuriated by it.
Cafe Hayek: "I've got mine!" vs. "I want yours!" (via diet coke for breakfast): "I'm neither a Republican nor a Democrat. But I know enough Republicans to state confidently that many of them support less government and more reliance on markets precisely because they believe that these policies will enhance the welfare of almost everyone, especially the poor. Perhaps these Republicans are mistaken; perhaps they are correct. But the fact is that being a Republican is not evidence of a small-minded, greedy, monotone motivation to 'keep what's mine.'"
Read the whole thing. My brother's comment: "I can't tell you how many people I met during college who were shocked and appalled to hear that I am a Republican. Most of them were more understanding after I explained that I support market forces and and a rights based approach to most social issues. However, they very rarely were willing to make the leap and acknowledge that if I supported Republicans for these reasons, that others might have similar rationales, and that not all (other) Republicans were monsters."
It's hard for people to accept the fact that I think wellfare, publicly-controlled social security, affirmative action, and most other social programs are actually bad for society. They don't understand that I don't want them abolished so that I can remain part of the elite, but because I believe that introducing a bureaucratic system to people creates dependence, and locks them into the lower classes. Anyone ever heard the phrase "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help?" Government does not fix problems, it pretends to do so by inefficiently throwing money at them. So, yes, I'm also pro-life and pro-death penalty, but I'm a Republican because I believe in free markets, and freedom from government. This is why I'm looking forward to the Andrew Hamilton biography -- from what I understand, so did he.
CNN.com - Rescuers prep for hybrid car accidents - May 4, 2004: "The growing popularity of hybrid vehicles poses a new danger for rescuers at accident scenes: a network of high-voltage circuitry that may require some precise cutting to save a trapped victim."
Oh, good. So while you're saving the environment, your hybrid has you in a death grip. Doesn't that sound like fun?
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire: "'In several recent cases, the administration first refused requests for information by saying that releasing it would jeopardize national security, then released that same information itself at a moment when it became politically convenient to do so -- leaving the impression that it was safe to release all along.' "
I noticed this too, first with the PBD, then with the Justice Department memos that Jamie Gorelick wrote. I'm wondering why more haven't commented on it.
Kerry and His Church (washingtonpost.com)
Here's yet another piece about Kerry and his Church, as you might have picked up from the title. I didn't quote anything specific because I want to take this in a different direction. So now I'll quote something specific: "There is, first, the frustration of many bishops who lean Democratic on most public issues over how hard it is for even mildly antiabortion Democrats to gain traction or much respect within their party."
I once had a professor (Stephen Skowroneck for those who care) who very accurately described the Democratic Party as a circus where they try to squeeze all of the sideshows under the big-top. Understandably, it gets a little crowded in there. This image stuck with me, and I spoke to him about it after class. What he and I decided was that the only common issue (for the most part) seemed to be a pro-choice stand. I then mentioned the Catholic portion of the party, and he predicted that sometime over the next ten years we would see the Church begin to associate more closely with the Republican Party. This was about 18 months ago, and his prediction, it seems to me, may be coming true.
I don't have much more to say about this, but since pro-choice really does seem to be the key definining issue of the Democratic Party, and with several Supreme Court nominations possibly in store for the next administration, this may become a very important issue. I'm interested to see exit polling of Catholics in November, as well as turn-out data. There might be a thesis in there somewhere.
UPDATE [5/4/2004 - 15:42]: Robert Novak adds some thoughts to the above. He is then rebuked by Andrew Sullivan at The New Republic. The money quote, from Sullivan: "But is abortion different? Is the contempt for human life that any abortion inherently embodies such a social evil that no politician can be permitted to call himself a Catholic and support the right to choose it? That is indeed a critical question, and conservative Catholics are not wrong to raise it. But there is a distinction between support for the morality of abortion and reluctant support for a woman's right to choose such a moral wrong. It should be possible, if difficult, for a Catholic politician to affirm the evil of abortion but to defer to the political freedoms inherent in a liberal polity--specifically control over one's own body--in most cases."
I think what Sullivan misses in this passage is that, if you oppose abortion for the reason Catholics do (you are circumventing God's will by preventing the life of another, or, by ending one), then saying that it is a woman's right to do this is a bit untenable. You do not believe that it is a choice for a woman concerning her own body, it is a choice concerning the life of another. The government does not protect the right of a person to retain control over another's body, so, if you truly follow the teachings of the Catholic Church, you cannot say "it's still a woman's right to choose." Support for the morality of abortion and support for a woman's right to choose such a moral wrong, however reluctant, are inextricably linked in the doctrine of the Church.
David Brooks: Right Face, March!: "The one big problem they are not addressing -- and are actually making worse -- is the creepy tone of prudentialism that envelops this campaign. Nobody is passionate about John Kerry."
The overall tone of this column is that Kerry is doing well, slowly positioning himself closer to the center than he was during the primary. I agree with that, though I still think he's doing a poor job of defining himself. I think the way he's positioning himself in the middle is by not positioning himself out on the left. That's a problem too.
But I chose this quote because it's still the biggest problem that Kerry is facing. My mini-poll is up to 46 votes. 11 are pro-Bush, 2 are anti-Kerry, and 8 are pro-Kerry. That leaves 25, over HALF, who have marked themselves at anti-Bush. Clearly this is unscientific, but people are far less likely to go to the polls because they don't like a candidate than if they do like one.
A Question for those that read this regularly:
Am I a theo-con?
I picked up this term from Andrew Sullivan, and I'm wondering if people think it applies to me. Respond in the comments.
Monday, May 03, 2004
Mrs. du Toit (via InstaPundit): "And this is what George W. Bush recognized. And this is what most of us who support the President understand. It isn't about Iraq. It isn't about Afghanistan. And it won't be about Saudi Arabia, Syria, Indochina, North Korea, Iran, and Liberia. It's about making it unattractive to go up against the Great Satan.
So, when Ted Koppel decided to spend an episode of Nightline reading the names and showing the pictures of the soldiers who had died in Iraq, it felt wrong immediately. There was something really wrong about it."
Read the whole thing. She makes many, wonderful points.
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire: "Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), 'who has spent months positioning himself so that his stature and seniority make him a major Senate force in the years ahead, was today expected to announce he is seeking re-election to a fifth term,' the Hartford Courant reports.
'His intentions come as no surprise. The suspense surrounding Dodd involves how far he can go - and where - should he win re-election.'
'Dodd has long had his eye on Washington and national leadership... The more intriguing question is will Dodd go even further and seek the presidency in 2008 or the governor's office in Connecticut.' "
He's perfect for Senate leadership. After all, he is a lying sack of ... but I won't say that here. In case you can't tell, I don't care for this particular Senator from my home state. Why? Because during the Senate's vote on the Clinton impeachment articles, he sought advice from his constituency, and even held a "townhall meeting" where the public was allowed to talk to him. The overwhelming choice of Connecticut citizens who wrote, emailed, and called him, as well as those who spoke at the town meeting was to convict and boot Clinton from office. Yet Shays voted to acquit. I don't have a problem with the vote, though I disagree with it, but I have a serious problem with declaring that you want your constituent's input on a vote, listening to it, and then voting against it. I may not dislike him as much as I dislike my Congressman (Christ Shays), but I'm certainly not a fan.
Biking to Extremes (from today's Political Diary):
"Meanwhile, we've done some research: Handmade titanium Serotta bikes like Mr. Kerry's cost upwards of $3500 for the frame alone. If you want forks, be prepared cough up 500 or 600 bucks, and, of course, wheels, seat, gears, etc. are priced in the same ballpark. In short, Mr. Kerry was riding a two-wheeled testament to the law of diminishing returns. Such a bike can't do anything that a much cheaper bike couldn't do: Mr. Kerry might just as adequately have fallen off a Schwinn. The Senator, of course, has access to enough of his wife's money to buy any bike he wants, but a lot of rich people are content to park their buns on a Schwinn. It takes a certain kind of ass to insist that only the most expensive bike is good enough for it (him)."
To be fair, if you bike off-road, or bike enough on-road that you would tear another bike to shreds, you might need a bike worth thousands of dollars. Kerry, I'm sure, does not ride on those surfaces, or that often, so this is a bit excessive. I, for example, do just fine getting around town on a huffy, though I could afford better. And I certainly never make the mistake of looking like this.
Priorities & Frivolities: What a Difference a Few Months Make: "John Kerry, March 5, 2004:
At this rate the Bush administration won't create its first job for more than 10 years. Americans have a clear choice in this election. They can either suffer with more and more job losses that rip the heart out of our economy or they can give George Bush a new job in November and start putting america back to work.
John Kerry, May 3, 2004:
I think we'll probably have a pretty good job market this month and the next four or five months. That's great. That's not the problem. The problem is that we're not creating the kinds of jobs that pay more. On average, the jobs are paying $9,000 less than the jobs we're losing and American wages are going backwards...."
I'll let them stand on their own. Then tell me the first quote was anything more than opportunist sniping.
Well, It Was a Good Idea in '46: "HERE'S THE HARD THOUGHT that's been creeping up on me for a while. Mistakes are one thing, but if the folks pulling the levers don't win all the way--all the way--if the decision-makers falter and declare half-victory with a frozen smile, and tip-toe away, and act shocked, shocked, I tell you, when the whole place falls apart . . .
Then it will be impossible to gather the will, or the votes, or the moral fiber to do it again, the right way, for a very long, and by then thousands, and then millions of innocent 'occupied inhabitants' will have been tortured and slain.
And the worst part, the greatest sin: Every life lost so far will have been wasted. Every Pat Tillman--and they're all Pat Tillmans, every one--will have been given for nothing."
Granted, Larry Miller is a comedian, but this is a very serious column. I was reading the whole thing, finding line after line that I wanted to excerpt, until I settled on this near the end. Read the whole thing, though, because he does a great dissection of the argument made by many that we are only making things worse by responding to insurgents in Iraq.
The Bush "Smear" Machine
I've been confused by this for a while, and I'm glad to see Mr. Barnes lay it out so clearly for me. If you think that there really is a Bush Smear Machine indicting Kerry's service or his courage, please respond in the comments and lay it out for me. I'm very interested to see what you come up with.
Meaningless echoes - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED - April 27, 2004: "From the people who brought you 'Howard Dean will be the nominee,' 'George W. Bush is vulnerable,' 'Ralph Nader doesn't matter' and 'the news conference bombed,' we now have, more or less, 'John Kerry can't win.' Good grief."
OpinionJournal - Extra: "These weekend invitations to Westport, Conn.--I've started calling it 'Leftport'--are becoming burdensome. I find myself surrounded by people who have moved from Manhattan to homogeneous suburban enclaves encircled by white fences, white neighbors and purer-than-thou philosophies. Never mind that they moved there for better public schools and lower tax rates--and to see Paul Newman at the local grocery store. They are now of one mind: to defeat President Bush!"
Being from Fairfield (right next to Leftport), this piece may speak to me more than most. But I think Mr. Bromley makes some great points, and I'd love to have some liberals read the piece and respond in my comments.
OpinionJournal - John Fund on the Trail: "It is traditional for party activists to grumble about their prospective nominee between the time he wraps up the primaries and when he is actually nominated. But the doubts about Mr. Kerry go beyond campaign kvetching. At times, they seem to verge on quiet panic."
Really interesting, and right up my alley. I highly recommend it.
Sunday, May 02, 2004
WSJ.com - Former Philip Morris CEO Dies: "After attending Yale University, he worked at a cigar store in New York and then went to Cuba to work in a cigar factory. He joined Philip Morris as a vice president, and was named president and chief executive in 1957."
Sounds like this guy had a pretty cool life. And he lived to be 92. Maybe mind over matter actually works. I mean, he was one of the CEOs in 1971 who said "I do not believe that cigarettes are hazardous to one's health." Sounds like, in his case, he was right.
CNN.com - Kidnapped U.S. contractor found safe: "'He came out of a building and identified himself to American forces,' Kimmitt said. 'This is a preliminary report that we have that indicate it was an escape from the building."
Thank God that he's alright. Pretty impressive story, too. It appears that he escaped once before, but was recaptured before he could find any coalition troops.
Political Wire: Wilson Fingers Cheney's Top Aide: "'Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson says that the disclosure of his wife's identity as an undercover C.I.A. officer may have come from the vice president's chief of staff,' the New York Times reports.
The claim is made in Wilson's new book, The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife's C.I.A. Identity.
USA Today notes the book claims that Cheney himself 'was aware of a meeting held by his staff that started a chain of events' that led to the leak."
I've been a bit worried that it might come to this for some time now. If it's established that Cheney did actually manufacture the link, maybe this is a good time for him to bow out off the ticket? Think about the troubles it would save: defending his health, defending his refusal to release the records of his energy meetings, and it would entirely diffuse this leak issue. Plus, it leaves Bush open to grab another veep, while still leaving Cheney open to campaign for him. (not so sure about that last one) Might be a strong idea.
Our Honor, Our Grief - Keep politicians and the media away from our fallen soldiers: "I have lived through the numbing sadness of going to Dover to pick up my son, and have experienced the body-shaking pain of having to lay to his final rest a member of the U.S. military.
The idea of criticizing President Bush on his choice not to attend the funerals is ludicrous. The simple fact is that President Bush either attends all or attends none for to attend some could be interpreted as an insult to those fallen heroes whose funerals he is seen to have 'spurned.' Besides, the logistics are impossible. On the day that my son was being buried in New Jersey his two buddies he was killed with were being buried at the same time at opposite ends of Pennsylvania. What was the president to do when the helicopter crashed and killed 17 soldiers? How to attend 17 funerals without forcing the families to wait for the president?
The arguments put forth to have the ban on media coverage lifted vary from allowing the American people to bear witness to the sacrifice of the soldiers and thus honor them, to the need to deny President Bush the opportunity to hide the real costs in human terms of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Steve Capus, executive producer of "NBC Nightly News," arrogantly and presumptuously spoke for me when he stated, "It would seem that the only reason somebody would come out against the use of these pictures is that they are worried about the political fallout." Well I am that "somebody," and as I looked at those pictures the tears were not running because of my worry about political fallout. In all the criticism there has never once been put forth a single argument of how having the media coverage lifted would be of benefit to the loved ones of these heroes. We are never taken into account. We are the collateral damage in this all so obvious ideological struggle."
This is a powerful piece worth considering. It might do the Left some good to consider the fact that, though Bush may actually be Hitler/The Devil/insert other invective here, he may also be considering the well-being of the families in question, as well as the honor of the soldier underneath that flag. Just picture, as every coffin comes off the plane at Dover, a throng of cameras flash, and tapes roll. The soldiers standing by do their duty and salute their fallen comrade, but all the while the click, click, flash, flash of the media surrounds them. Oh, but you say the media wouldn't be there for every coffin? They'd just film it once and re-use the pictures right? Then what's the point, exactly? I thought the argument was to show the American people the evidence of the mounting casualties. Either way, it's unnecessary, except as an attack on the President, and an insult to the fallen and their loved ones.
I'll leave you with one of Mr. Griffin's parting thoughts: "If it is truly the intention of those who support the lifting of the ban to honor these gallant individuals while giving the American public the opportunity to grieve with them--and if it is truly the intention to bear witness to sacrifice and view at first hand the cost of this war--then let them visit the families of those who freely chose to join the military family. Let them visit the grave sites, let them journey to Fort Bragg or Fort Campbell or Fort Hood and speak to those who have returned or who might soon be joining the fight."
OpinionJournal - Featured Article
Read it. I'll have more comments, but I want to give people an opportunity to read this before I taint it.
UPDATE [5/2/2004 - 17:28]: I said I'd have more comments, and here they are, prompted by Jacob Levy's new column, The New Republic Online: Without Apology: "Presidents and their subordinates basically have three options in these situations: They can accept responsibility by resigning or firing those more directly responsible; they can apologize in a way that prevents them from having to incur any penalty; or they can refuse to apologize at all. Clinton took the second option; Bush has taken the third. But the first option is by far the best for the health of a democracy."
The piece about Woodward's book, above, shows that Bush really had been told that we had made the case for WMD in Iraq, and went forward on Tenet's word that it was "a slamdunk." I tie this in with Levy's TNR piece, because I do want to see someone take responsibility for the intelligence failings. Though I think the weapons are there, they do not appear to be there in the massive quantities or locations we were promised, and I think a head or two should roll on it. The first, should be Tenet's. He's been Director of Central Intelligence for far longer than any previous head, and it's time for him to move on. It shouldn't be positioned as "you blew it, get out," but simply as his time to move on. He has served the country well, and for that I am grateful, but it's time for someone else to take a swing at the Agency. I bet it doesn't happen.


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Internet is a source for thousands to make a handsome money and despite of blogging, there are many other ways you can basically make money online. One such popular way is to make money with Amazon Affiliate program. Because Amazon is a trustworthy source and many great merchants promote and make money selling on amazon. How to Make Money with Amazon Affiliate Program So how you can ….
Make Money Online
Buying and selling domain name, website and blog is an interesting domain flipping business that many people are not much knowledgable on it. Actually this part of the online earning requires patient, negotiation and communication skill as well as little bit of experience. But the potentiality of earnings from domain flipping and website flipping is high compare to most of the other ….
Policy Violation in Adsense is a common practice due to lack of knowledge and such violations frequently happen for new publishers mostly. Whenever a new publisher apply Adsense for their blog, they should learn the Adsense policies as much possible to deal with Adsense better. From the mentioned link, there are many sub sections and linked sections to know more and more about Adsense. ….
BuySellAds is the best middleman for paid advertisements no doubt but getting approved in BuySellAds is also not so easy specially if your blog is new or getting low traffic. In this situation everyone looking for paid advertising think for BuySellAds alternatives who will approve their blog without much hassle. Here I am going to share 5 alternatives to Buy Sell Ads which might help ….
Earlier we discussed about Publicity Clerks which is a new alternative to BuySellAds and today I am going to review another popular alternative to BuysellAds- CrankyAds. There are certain other alternatives to buysellads which you can also try for. But Cranky Ads is the pioneer one which is very easy to setup and no hassle of getting approval (approval not needed by the Editors) and ….
AdBrite which was considered as one of the top competitors of Google Adsense is shutting down today on February 1, 2013. It is stated that due to financial liabilities and market condition Adbrite can no longer continue it's operation and will not be operational after today. This is a sad news for those who are looking for a great alternative after Google Adsense, as Chitika- one of ….
Contextual Advertising programs can be a good source of make money online system if you are getting good traffic on your site every day. There are several contextual advertising networks available who provide quality in-text ads to monetize your sites. If your blog is one where user engagement is important, then in-text ads might not be the best option for you, hence so many links (links ….

subset: commoncrawl


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David Zaretsky stopped by the office the other day. I was not there. I'm never there. That doesn't matter.
Mr. Zaretsky left a note to say that he is 93 years old, and he has written a lot of poems, and he considers himself to be the undisputed poet laureate of the world.
He also wants a public reading to prove, once and for all, that he is the sultan of strophe, and is willing to put up some prize money if only his challengers would do the same.
Oh, look, I know poets.
I also know that there is no more cutthroat competition than a reading; they are all or nothing events, with great gouts of symbolic blood on the metaphorical floor.
And I know the value of poetical competition. I seem to recall a contest — did I dream it? — in which third prize was a gold rose, second prize was a silver rose, and first prize was — wait for it — a real rose.
Never mind.
I went to see Mr. Zaretsky the other day. I wanted to find out why he is so keen to prove his iambic supremacy. He lives in a seniors' building in the north end, where he gets his meals and some care, and as much company and attention as he wishes. He moved in recently. His apartment has a poet's view of the city.
He said, "I did one reading here for probably 28 people; the second time, four showed up." Oh, well, I can trump him, having on one occasion read to as many as two people; no matter, we give the same show whether the crowd is large or small.
There were stacks of thick binders on his table, each one stuffed with quatrains. I was about to ask him about his work when he simply started to recite, and the recitation was epic and bardic, and he went on for an impressively long time.
When he stopped to catch his breath, I threw some questions at him. He said he used to operate a variety store adjacent to a supermarket, back in the days when supermarkets were closed on Sundays; his store remained open, and he made some money and raised a family. But all his life he wrote songs — lyrics are his first love — and he spent a lot of his own money hiring bands to rehearse his work.
A couple of his tunes — "Ecstasy", and another called "Too Much In Love" — were recorded and had modest local airplay, but music is a cruel mistress.
Verse is also cruel; Mr. Zaretsky remains steadfastly self-published. Even so, he said, "I write poetry that is evocative and original; metric verse, beautiful, meaningful, some of it controversial; reading any one of my poems is an enjoyable experience."I asked about the challenge. Mr. Zaretsky said he was willing to put up some of his own money as a prize; if other poets wanted to challenge him, they would also have to put up some money, so as to keep impostors to a minimum.
He and the other poets would read to the people, and the people would decide who was the better poet; winner take all.
I offered to set something up for him: he could pick a theme, and choose one of his poems, and other poets would write their entries on the theme and I, being astute, unbiased and impartial, would pick the winner.
Alas, Mr. Zaretsky is unwilling to go toe-to-toe and verse-to-verse; he wants to be judged for the body of his work. That's an awful lot of poems to read, and it doesn't include all the poems of other entrants.
Let me save him, and everyone else, some time and money: by virtue of this column, and the power vested in me, I hereby declare David Zaretsky to be the Poet Laureate of the World.
In other words?
A real rose.
Joe Fiorito appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. firstname.lastname@example.com


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On Monday, an unnamed Obama administration official confirmed to Fox News that Chinese hackers had breached computers used by the White House Military Office. Bill Gertz of the Washington Free Beacon was the first to report the cyber intrusion, which occurred sometime last month.
The Military Office is responsible for, among other things, the "football," the suitcase device that permits the president to transmit commands to the country's strategic nuclear forces. "This is the most sensitive office in the US government," a former American intelligence official, speaking to the Free Beacon, said.
The White House has tried to minimize the incident. "This was a spear phishing attack against an unclassified network," said White House spokesman Jay Carney. "In this instance the attack was identified, the system was isolated, and there is no indication whatsoever that any exfiltration of data took place." Yet as Fox reported, "it remains unclear what information, if any, was taken or left behind." The truth is, at this moment, the White House cannot speak with assurance. For one thing, Beijing's hackers are extremely skillful at hiding their digital tracks.
The US needs substantially better cyber defenses. China's military, security ministry, and other government units have conducted a relentless cyber warfare and espionage campaign against American government, military, and business targets as well as against individuals and private organizations.
Yet Chinese capabilities—or even Beijing's brazenness—are not the fundamental issue. An official said the attack, in Gertz's words, "highlights a failure of the Obama administration to press China on its persistent cyber attacks." Officially, the White House would not even confirm the attack came from China.
We of course have the capabilities to know whether an attack originated in China or used that country as a conduit. If either is the case, given the country's extensive Internet controls, Beijing is responsible.
To its credit, the Obama administration, following the Senate defeat of its Cybersecurity Act of 2012, is contemplating an executive order on this matter. And Defense Secretary Leon Panetta talked about the matter in public last month.
Those are important steps in the right direction, yet President Obama needs to go to the next level and take a page out of the playbook of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In August 2007, Der Spiegel reported that Chinese hackers had penetrated German networks, including those in the Chancellery and three ministries, and infected them with spyware. That month, Merkel went to Beijing and, standing in public next to Premier Wen Jiabao, criticized his government for its attacks.
If the German chancellor can openly raise the issue in the Chinese capital, why can't American presidents?


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If you don't know about GMOs here are a few links:
~~A DIY girls adventures in life and her garden.~~ I use only heirloom, non-gmo seeds for the healthiest garden I can grow!
Friday, November 1, 2013
GMO? OMG! This is Serious!
While searching the web this week, my husband and I have come across several disturbing bit of info on GMOs. This is very important. I hope you share this Everywhere...FB...Twitter...Email people. Whatever you can do. Thank you!
Posted by Mary Smith at 7:17 AM
Labels: GMO Education
2 comments:
- Joyce Wheeler said...
Great post, way to educate.
- November 2, 2013 at 10:51 AM
- Heidi Fuqua said...
GMO's are so scary. And thanks for the educational info.
- November 3, 2013 at 11:58 AM
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>> DBATU Remedial Exam will start from Aug 13, 2018. Check departmental notice board for detail schedule.
KBCNMU Theory Examination will be...
R. C. Patel Institute of Technology
Nimzari Naka,
Shirpur- 425 405,
Dist. Dhule (M.S.)
Telefax: (02563) 259600, 801, 802.
By subscribing to our mailing list you will always be update with the latest news from us.
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Skin in the Online game
The skin may be the make-up that is positioned on the player. You will discover numerous parts of the skin which have been divided up depending on the areas within the figure of the game. The Minecraft Skin Maker will allow good coloration and doesn't value the visibility of the character. The skin of the second head and its particular surrounding locations have to be transparent only. This makes the actual layer of the second head figures diverse eye glasses and caps as well as other components. You'll be able to get a hold of the Minecraft Skins Editor through the distinct minecraft internet sites and use it to change diverse personas of the game and after that play appropriately.
Minecraft Skin editing just for players
An online game offers various personas and you may change the skins if you buy Minecraft Skin Creator. The change is performed through the user profile website page so they should load the pictures in .png file format files after which it this it easy to substitute the skin on the standard figure. There exists a document labeled char.png inside the minecraft.jar page of the online game and the file is changed and also exchanged in order that the heroes get improved for that player who has adjusted or edited the particular file. If anyone else also employs the normal skin inside the video game the player will see it the character skin with the exchanged image.
How to find your freshly produced minecraft skin
Once you have downloaded the Minecraft and you need to log in on the website and following that go to preferences and you will find the skin web page loading. The actual site will highlight current game as well as the character as is the particular default online game character "Blue shirt Guy" it really is a little picture of a man in blue tshirt wailing the hands and you may make an effort to modify this picture. There's two possibilities there and very first would be to download the character graphic and then change it from the Paint or other graphic modifying alternatives that you have in your computer. You may also use Skin Edit or perhaps the Minecraft Skins Editor and also change the picture and after that use it within the online game. Then you can definitely begin to see the action in the changed image. Log in once more and you'll discover your new image in the preference web page.
If your an everyday minecraft player and you would wish to find out in regards to the minecraft skin maker as well as of a brand new mod referred to as minecraft plane mod take a look at my site.


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While on the subject of the Dieppe Raid we would like to expressly thank David O' Keefe for sending us documentation that he had discovered in the National Archives at Kew. David, a Canadian Military Historian and Film Maker published a book in 2013 "One Day In August" which sets out his well researched findings on the truth behind the raid. Sadly the book is not available in the UK; but it is available from the USA if one searches hard enough and our copy was bought in Oregon. The plug for Davids book is well deserved for anyone wishing to learn more about the secrets of the Dieppe Raid.
"One Day In August" David O'Keefe. Published By Alfred A. Knopf, Canada 2013.


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I finally finished up my crochet rag rug a few weeks back - I'm not sure why I only just got around to photographing it! Possibly because it's been on my living room floor in it's work-in-progress state, for the past few months - so I've taken it's presence for granted!
I made my first crochet rug last summer - it lives on my bedroom floor - this one took longer, mainly because I kept running out of fabric in appropriate colours, but unlike the first one, this time it is actually a circle shape (the last was meant to be a circle but for reasons unbeknownst to me, wound up as a rectangle). Made from metres of fabric yarn - sheets, pillow cases, tablecloths salvaged from car boot sales - this rug has pride of place in my living room.
If you're planning on making your own rug - you'll need a lot more fabric than you might think!
When I've amassed some more fabric I think I might attempt to crochet a rag-rug carpet runner for my hallway… or maybe some doormats… The list is never ending!


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Turnip Main Courses
Beef and Turnip in Beer Stew
Prepare meat Preheat oven to 325oF (170oC/Gas mark 3). In a bowl mix the fl
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Turnip Casserole
Prepare and cook Preheat oven to 350oF. Butter an ovenproof baking dish. Pe
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Turnip and Bacon Casserole
Prepare and cook Peel and chop the turnips and cook in boiling, salted wate
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Duck and Turnip Pot Roast
Prepare and cook In a large oven proof casserole, heat the oil. Add the duc
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Vegetarian Turnip Casserole
Prepare the vegetables Peel the turnip and cut into thin slices. Thinly sli
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Traditional Navarin of Lamb
Cook the lamb Cut the lamb into 2″ chunks and fry for a minute or so
Read more
Braised Lamb with Turnips, Carrots, Fennel and Tomatoes
Prepare and marinate lamb Mix the beef broth, chicken broth, garlic, red cu
Read more
Lamb with Basil and Turnip Cakes
Make the basil mousse Put the chicken breast and egg white in a blender and
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Scottish Mustard Lamb and Turnip
Prepare and cook the lamb Preheat the oven to 350oF. Rub the mustard over t
Read more
Irish Lamb Stew
Prepare the meat and vegetables Cut the lamb into 1 inch cubes. Peel and ch
Read more


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Our Services for Your Event in Zurich
The Zürich Tourism Convention Bureau will be happy to assist you with organization of your event in Zurich.
Our skilled, independent advisors offer free advice when it comes to selection of the event venue, hotel reservations or organization of a well-integrated accompanying program. Send us your inquiry and we will contact you within 24 hours.
- Expert advice: As an intermediary, we put you in touch with competent service providers in Zurich, such as conference venues, hotels and other professional conference organizers.
- Referrals for venues and accompanying programs: We can prepare a customized offer for you with current prices and options. We will then be happy to help you make your selection.
- Site inspections: Following the offer, we will be happy to arrange a tour to ensure everything meets your expectations.
- Bidding for Zurich: Do you want to make a bid to host a conference in Zurich? We can assist and guide you through the process. The Zürich Tourism Convention Bureau offers conference organizers a wide range of helpful resources, ranging from customized bid books and PowerPoint presentations to venue and hotel room search and participant information on-site.


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Basket0 items: £0.00
Please select your delivery country from the drop down below.
Please select your currency from the drop down below.
If you are not visiting from United Kingdom please selectyour country from the drop down below.
Collect In-Store
This size chart should act as a guide only.
Cotton feel Tactel®
110g/m² lightweight nylon TACTEL® plain weave with 'cotton-feel'
Breathable to 98%
Water Repellent with a spray rating of grade 4
Dense weave gives a wind resistance of 10ft³/min
Cordura® Mini-Rip
160g/m² high tenacity nylon CORDURA® rip-stop
Breathable to 98%
Excellent tear strength and abrasion resistance
Dense weave gives wind resistance of 9ft³/min
Water repellent
Size Guide
At GO Outdoors we offer a wide range of delivery options to suit your needs. You can come into one of our fantastic stores to collect or have your items delivered to you at your convenience.
Please see our delivery page for more information. Restrictions apply. Prices and delivery times may vary for remote or rural parts of the UK. Working days are Monday-Friday, excluding UK Bank Holidays.
If you receive your order and it is not what you are expecting you can return it back to us within 30 days of receiving the goods for an exchange or refund (including the delivery charge if you return it within 14 days).
You can return your items by using Collect+ or by taking them to any GO Outdoors store (except Hathersage) using your delivery note as proof of purchase.
See our returns policy for more information.


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Celebrate Chinese New Year in Thailand
Thailand is home to the largest overseas Chinese community in the world, with Thai-Chinese making up 14% of the population. With such a prominent and well-integrated Chinese community, it comes as no surprise Chinese New Year is widely celebrated in Thailand.
Chinese New Year lands on Thursday, 19th February 2015 and marks the start of the Year of the Goat. While not an official holiday, fantastic events take place across the country, such as the Phuket and Suphan Buri Chinese New Year festivals.
Bangkok has its very own Chinatown, known locally as the area of Yaowarat, and if you're lucky enough to be in Bangkok over Chinese New Year, this is the place to be!
Chinese New Year traditions
On New Year's Eve prayers are made to the gods and respect paid to ancestors. In the evening the family gathers round to indulge in a lavish, home-cooked meal. The adults hand out red envelopes filled with pocket money as gifts for the children.
New Year's Day is a time for celebration. Traditionally oranges are exchanged to wish people a happy New Year. The festivities spill out onto the streets where massive parades are held. Make sure you don't miss the dragon parades which usually takes place from 3pm onwards. Dancers and drummers march through the streets accompanied by traditional Chinese dragons. The evening parades offer even more of a spectacle. The streets lit by lanterns, the dragons are illuminated and acrobats perform surrounded by firecrackers.
The colour red has become synonymous with Chinese New Year so expect to see entire streets covered in red lanterns, banners and posters. Join in and wear something red yourself to really get into the festive spirit.
Visit a temple
The streets of Yaowarat can get very busy during the New Year celebrations, so if you want a break from the hustle and bustle stop off at one of the surrounding Chinese temples. The major temples in the area are usually visited by the Thai royalty and are heavily decorated for their arrival. Incense fills the air and at dusk the temples are lit by hundreds of hanging lanterns, creating a truly magical atmosphere.
What NOT to do
To really immerse yourself in the spirit of Chinese New Year, there are some activities that are considered bad luck if you do them during New Year's Day, so stay clear! Don't argue or curse at anyone, don't wash your hair, don't trip over or break anything and don't do any work. Avoid these and your fortunes will prove prosperous.
Have you ever celebrated Chinese New Year in Thailand? Tell us your stories on Facebook and Twitter and we'll share our favourites.
Happy Chinese New Year from us all at Tourism Thailand!


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Councilman Kwame Kenyatta and a packed room of Detroiters warned today of an impending revolt against state intervention, urging residents to stock up on canned food and supplies.
"Even the Bloods in the hood fight for their territory," Kenyatta said during a 20-minute monologue on the civil rights struggle at today's city council meeting. "You are going to have to drag me out of here for me to leave."
Kenyatta cited Frederick Douglass, a former slave who became an intellectual and civil rights icon, because of his position that black people must sacrifice their lives, if necessary, to win freedom and the right to vote. Many in the audience stood up and applauded.
One by one, Detroiters pledged to take to the streets once Gov. Rick Snyder appoints an emergency manager, which is expected Thursday or Friday. Others threatened to block the entrance of city hall.
"Save up and purchase food, canned goods and water because you are going to see a new civil rights movement," pledged Marie Thornton, a former Detroit Public Schools Board member. "I won't give up my right to vote. We are going to shut down freeways and we are going to disrupt the economic system."
Added Valerie Glenn, a community activist: "Make sure you are prepared and you will survive."
Protests so far have been nonviolent. Demonstrators slowed traffic to a few miles per hour on I-75 and I-94 in the past week. But that's mild for what's to come, some warned.
What about black Detroiters who aren't prepared to fight?
"We have fought for everything we have; how do you sit on the sidelines?" Kenyatta asked.
This report was originally published on Motor City Muckraker.
Steve Neavling is an investigative journalist, a freelance reporter for Reuters and former city hall reporter for the Detroit Free Press. Neavling explores corruption, the unsung heroes and the underbelly of an oft-misunderstood city.


text: Many men show up on the Peak Testosteorne Forum and do not know why they feel lousy and how their health went downhill so rapidly. One of the fairly common reasons that this can occur is that mercury overload. Heavy metals and nutritional deficiencies are also quite common and hair testing does a nice job of uncovering many of these, something I cover in many cases that I cover below:


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Location: New York
Designer: Steve Lewis (Lewis + Dizon Design)
A far cry from the hustle & bustle of Times Square, located just outside the front doors, Aspen offers a warm and cozy respite. Tucked inside the Stay Hotel, this Colorado-ski-loft-inspired space offers guests a New York twist on the traditional design. Warm and rustic woods, dark colors and antlers abound while seamlessly complimenting the modern birch-etched glass in the main dining space.
Images 1-4 © Swipelife


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Winter Cabaret Line-Up Announced
The performing acts for the Winter Cabaret have been posted in the NEWS section. Sorry for the delay in posting.
Upcoming Events
Feb 21, 2019
FVA District Choral MPA
Cape Coral FL
Feb 25, 2019
Weekly TAG Rehearsal
Fort Myers FL
Feb 27, 2019
American Choral Directors Association National Convention
Mar 4, 2019
Weekly TAG Rehearsal
Fort Myers FL
Mar 11, 2019
Weekly TAG Rehearsal
Fort Myers FL
TAG wins National Title in Memphis
TAG came out in first place out of the ten competing groups from around the country in Memphis at the National A Cappella Convention. TAG earned the title and the prize of $5,000. Cody Vagle also earned honors as Best Male Soloist! Look for the videos from the performance coming in August.


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Plaintiffs asked for $6 billion; WR Grace said the asbestos claims were worth only $500 million because of extensive fraud. According to Bloomberg, the parties settle for "$1.8 billion," though this amount consists of in-the-money options and payments over 15 years beginning in 2019, so is substantially inflated in present value--depending on the discount rate one uses, the total is more like $600 to $900 million. I haven't yet explored the filing in detail to see what audit protections the settlement will have: will the plaintiffs' lawyers have a blank check to divvy up funds, or will allocations be decided by a neutral administrator as in the Vioxx settlement? And, alas, the settlement means we won't get a federal judge making authoritative pronouncements on the extent of fraud by the asbestos plaintiffs' bar, though the fact that the plaintiffs are settling for less than a quarter on the dollar (well under $1.3 billion of the $5.5 billion in dispute) is telling. More: the 8-K filing; Reuters; Thomson/CNN/Money.
BREAKING: WR Grace settles
Related Entries:
- Judge orders end to trial reservation system in Madison County asbestos docket
- California rejects tertiary asbestos liability in O'Neill v. Crane
- Madison County's controversial asbestos litigation system under fire yet again
- SEC files to appeal Judge Rakoff's rejection of Citi settlement
- Trask on Prakash
- Federal district court rejects Citigroup-SEC settlement, sets trial date
- Greg Conko discusses the FDA's ban on off-label promotion
- Wal-Mart Settlement Offer: Potentially Pocket Change for Class Member Participants
- SEC and Citigroup Anxiously Await Ruling
- Gryphon on Prakash on Vioxx
- Congressional hearing on asbestos fraud
- Around the web, September 9
- Judge orders lawyers to mandatory Labor-Day weekend seminar
- Around the web, August 22
- Zero for Ground Zero worker
|Rafael Mangual
Project Manager,
Legal Policy
Manhattan Institute


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Anyways, before I begin, here are my new name cards that I made in May and only started giving out during the more recent orders. Initially I thought of doing a simple design and mass print the name cards but on second thoughts, I wanted something more personalised. Therefore, each and every piece is handmade :)
On to my bakes. Yes, mostly sponge, ombre or rainbow cakes :)
This was an order from a dear friend, C, who has been ever so supportive of my cakes. Looked simple and elegant on the outside, but inside were 5-layers of rainbow :)
Made this for my yoga teacher's birthday. A slightly different design with 2 orange-pink ombre sponge layers and sandwiched with chantilly cream and strawberries, decorated with blueberries.
A big thank you to all my friends and customers who placed their orders with me and trusted me :)


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Skydiver Dies After Fall into South Jersey Yard
Authorities say a 49-year-old Brookyn man who landed in the backyard of a home after a skydiving accident in south Jersey has died.
The Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office says 49-year-old Arkady Shenker of Brooklyn died while skydiving on a trip from Freefall Adventures. He jumped from a plane around 2 p.m. and landed in a yard in the 100 block Tuckahoe Road in Sewell. He was taken to Kennedy Hospital in Washington Township where he was pronounced dead.
"I saw the jumpers. Then I noticed one, and he kind of looked like he was conscious. He was just spinning," witness Annie Marie Dye told 6 ABC.
The Prosecutor's Office says Shenker was an experienced skydiver with more than 350 jumps. He was wearing a "wing suit," which allows a skydiver to move forward while descending. It's unclear whether the specialized parachute that Shenker was wearing during the jump opened. One witness told NBC Philadelpha it appeared that Shenker's parachute did not open. Another witness, however, describes a parachute "swinging around and around" to CBS Philly.
The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the incident. An official cause of death has not yet been determined.
Shenker was skydiving from a plane operated by Freefall Adventures in Monroe along with 15 others and is described as a "frequent visitor" to the company which flies out of Cross Keys Airport.
A skydiver on a Freefall Adventure jump died in 2012 when their parachute became tangled in a tree.
- Skydiver in fatal Washington Township accident identified / 6 ABC
- Skydiver killed in Monroe Township identified / South Jersey Times
- Man Dies After Parachute Fails During Skydiving Jump / NBC Philadelphia
- Man Dies After Skydiving Accident In Gloucester County / CBS Philly


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Bob Taylor, the Singing Truckdriver - Timber Falling (Express ES 1)
The great quantity of artists with the name "Bob Taylor" in the music business makes it hard to tell who is who. This one, and this is pretty sure, was a local Memphis artist. However, several persons with this name appeared over the years in the Memphis music scene and it is again difficult to tell them apart (if this is necessary at all).
Today's Bob Taylor was born Robert R. Taylor and recorded at least five records for the Express label (likely his own imprint), another two for Gene Williams' Cotton Town Jubilee Records and one for Style Wooten's Tentay custom label.
The chronology of Taylor's Express singles is not clear. The first one was probably the sentimental "Timber Falling" b/w "It's All Over Now," which was produced by Thomas Wayne and thefore probably recorded at Roland Janes' Sonic Studio in Memphis. The disc was pressed by Wayne Raney's Rimrock plant in Concord, Arkansas. The record label credits Taylor as "The Singing Truck Driver" and shows a truck as the label's logo. It is obvious Taylor held a day job as a truck driver. Four more discs on Express followed. Publishing was credited to Rexclan Publishing Company, which has 22 compositions listed by BMI, the majority of them by Bob Taylor. It can be assumed Express as well as Rexclan were both Taylor's own companies.
In 1963 and 1965, Taylor had two releases respectively on Cotton Town Jubilee in West Memphis. He possibly appeared on Gene Williams' Cotton Town Jubilee show as well. Through Williams, Taylor made the connection with Style Wooten, who made his first steps in the recording production business at that time. In 1965, Taylor recorded for Wooten's Tentay label "After the Trial" b/w "Like a Crazy Fool" (both Rexclan Publ.). This is what we know for sure.
There was also a Bob Taylor who played drums with Narvel Felts in the 1950s and another one who became president of the Memphis Federation of Musicians. Murray Nash also recorded a singer named Bob Taylor on his Do-Ra-Me label in 1963. All three could be the same Bob Taylor from Memphis, which has to be proofed yet.
Express ES 1: Bob Taylor, the Singing Truckdriver - Timber Falling / It's All Over Now
Express ES 2: Bob Taylor - Ode to Jimmy Hoffa / Our Country Has Had It
Express ES 2: Bob Taylor - Ode to Jimmy Hoffa / Our Country Has Had It
Express 711: Bob Taylor and the Mystics - Love That Woman / Like I Want to Be Loved (1962)
Express 713: Bob Taylor - Don't Accuse Me / Blue Lights
Express 714: Bob Taylor - Hall of Fame / You'll Never Want for Love
Express 713: Bob Taylor - Don't Accuse Me / Blue Lights
Express 714: Bob Taylor - Hall of Fame / You'll Never Want for Love
Cotton Town Jubilee 107: Bob Taylor - If I Had Back What I Used to Have / Walking the Street (1963)
Cotton Town Jubilee 114: Bob Taylor - Did You Miss Me / You've Gone and Broke My Heart (1964)
Tentay 45-1041: Bob Taylor - After the Trial / Like a Crazy Fool (1965)
Thanks to Bayou Bum


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Cithryth's Captain Guide
This is my captain guide that I wrote and published on the forums a while ago. In a separate guide I'm going to be sorting through all of the feedback I got on this guide as an "Alternatives" guide. That guide will probably have more of a raiding focus as my build/style I don't think is very raid intensive.
Disclaimer: This guide showcases my opinions and what has worked for me, results may vary.
I do not claim to be the best captain or anything. I feel I do a well enough job in groups and decided to write an overview of the things I do to accomplish the captain's role.
Captain's Role
A captain's role is to support their fellowship. Captain's do this in two ways: buffs and heals.
The captain is equipped with a range of buffs to help the other fellowship members tank better, heal better and DPS more.
The captain is also equipped to boost the morale of others when in need. It is entirely possible for captains to main heal. Captains do not heal like minstrels however and we must remember this. A key to Captain healing is the shield-brother. You should chose for your shield-brother the person who will be taking the most damage.
My Stats
Note that this is with all my cappy buffs on and my hope banner out. As a captain, I don't think taking base stats (without buffs) is useful because I am always buffed up (because I am a captain, duh).
Mostly I am posting this so that you get a feel for what I put emphasis on.
My reasoning for the high crit rates and thus higher Agility is that it gives me more opportunities to heal. As you know, critting one of those two attacks will also trigger your on-defeat skills, including Rallying Cry.
So, more crits = more Rallying Cry.
Here is my quickslot layout on my captain. Although you can't see it so much in this picture, the UI I am using is Azure Glass – Mirkwood.
A note on my set up: I use the number pad to activate skills.
I have all of my main, damage dealing skills on plain old 1-9.
All of my healing skills are attached to Alt as that is the easiest of the three modifying keys for me to hit.
Most of my (what I categorize as) 'in-combat' buffs/debuffs are on Ctrl. The Tactics, IDOME, and Motivating Speech do not have keys attached because I mouse click them, hitting the appropriate F key for whichever fellow I'm buffing and then mouse clicking the skill.
Usage Notes
My general rule for tactics buffs is always use Relentless Attack unless the person asks for something else. Mostly, this is because my RA buff is the best one I have and Focus and On Guard are lack-luster. But this is also a good buff, even for healers, as the tactical crit will up their chance to crit on heals. Everyone loves crit heals!
If someone asks me for a specific buff, I will give it to them, regardless of whether I think it is a good buff or not.
When grouping with other captains, always coordinate! Check to see whose buffs are better and buff accordingly. Don't get upset if someone else's buff is better than yours. Its for the betterment of the group to go with the better buffs.
A key to Captain healing is the shield-brother. You should chose for your shield-brother the person who will be taking the most damage. Use Inspire frequently because it has a very short cooldown. Use Words of Courage as often as you are able as well. It is a nice small heal with a pretty healthy heal-over-time attatched.
And of course, the end-all be-all Captain healing skill is Rallying Cry. Use it!!
Determination — More morale for a captain is always good. I may not stack Vitality like some do, but I do enjoy having a high morale, especially because some of our healing skills take away our morale to give it to our fellows.
Justice — Again, more morale!
Valour — More morale, also a little might is good and helps to bring up our DPS a little bit.
Idealism — I trait this for the power regen that the +30 (maxed out) Fate gives. Captains can get pretty power hungry sometimes unless you are careful.
Loyalty — This one is great because it gives not just max morale, but Vitality as well. Also some nice added armour value to make us even more sturdy.
Strength of Morale — Works well in conjunction with Last Stand as an Emergency Skill combo
Man of the Fourth Age — +Will is good!
Tactics and Might Bonus — especially good for Captains, as Stallion's Spirit (More commonly refereed to as 'Blue') heals power
Return to Bree — pretty self explanatory…
Man Sword-Damage Bonus — This is my personal choice as I prefer the aesthetics of the 2h swords. Most people however use halberds, as we get a + 3% halberd damage bonus I think.
Strength from Within — Muster courage now heals as well as cures fear
Now For Wrath — Rallying Cry heals some power as well
Subtle Command – Less threat from healing
Fear No Darkness — More healing from Words of Courage
Relentless Optimism — Crit heals heal 10% more
Captain's Hope — Banners provide more morale
Expert Attacks — + Devastating/Pressing Attack crit rating
For having the Hands of Healing set, you get these bonuses, as well.
In Defence of Middle-Earth — Must have for all captains. You are not complete without this!
Hands of Healing — Who can argue with +10% to all healing?
Oathbreaker's Shame — This is a good one to use in conjunction with To Arms. Really great to help burn down a boss.
Legendary Items
Here is the full list of possible weapon legacies (I think…):
- Telling Mark Damage
- Melee Skill Power Cost
- To Arms Duration
- Kick Cooldown
- Blade of Elendil Damage
- Cry Power Cost
- Defensive Strike Armour Buff
- Devastating Blow Critical Rating
- Pressing Attack Critical Rating
- Cutting Attack Bleed Damage
- Routing Cry Damage
- Tactics: Relentless Attack Critical Buff
- Tactics: On Guard Parry Buff
And possible emblem legacies:
1. Rallying Cry Cooldown
2. Healing from Rallying Cry
3. Vocal Skills Healing
4. Melee Skills Healing
5. Words of Courage Morale Cost
6. Words of Courage Power Cost
7. Captain's Escape from Darkness Cooldown
8. Valiant Strike Power Cost
9. Healing from Strength of Will
10. Tactics: Focus' in-Combat Power Regen Buff
11. Time of Need Cooldown
12. War Cry Buff Duration
13. Shadow's Lament Cooldown
14. Threatening Shout Cooldown
15. Grave Wound Cooldown
16. Threat from Healing
17. Battle Shout Target Resist Rating
Desirable Weapon Legacies
I am always looking for ones with buffs to
- Motivating Speech
- Relentless Attack
- Telling Mark Damage
- Devastating Blow Critical Buff
To be honest, I don't get into LIs as much as some people do, and I don't get super picky about things. But those are the legacies I most like to have. Many people have a specific fighting weapon and then a separate 'Buff Stick" with all their buffing legacies on it. I also use to do this, but I have a really great 2h sword right now that has the following:
- Tier 4 Telling Mark Damage
- Tier 5 Cry Power Cost
- Tier 5 Tactics: Relentless Attack Critical Buff
- Tier 5 Vitality
- Tier 3 To Arms Duration
So far it's been working really great for me, so I'm not complaining
Desirable Emblem Legacies
Really, most emblem legacies are great. I always seem to get really good luck with emblems and always get great healing emblems. So instead, I'll just post what I have now on my emblem:
- Tier 3 Escape From Darkness Cooldown (Good if you are the only person in the group who can rez)
- Tier 4 Defence of Middle-Earth Duration (When maxed out, this can add over 3 minutes to your IDOME duration)
- Tier 3 Melee Skills Healing
- Tier 2 Words of Courage Power and Morale Cost
- Tier 5 Healing From Rallying Cry
Yes it would be nice if I had the Rallying Cry Cooldown on there, but getting bigger heals out of the skill is pretty good too. Vocal Skills healing is also a great legacy you'll want to look out for.
My Skirmish equipped traits panel:
Soldier and Skill Choice
Many captains (including myself) go for the Archer skirmish soldier. We pick this because the one area (I feel anyway) that captains lack is DPS, and the archer provides. If you use your archer herald, you may want to pick something else, however I don't know many captains that use any kind of herald, archer or otherwise.
Although many complain about their skirmish soldiers, the archer has never let me down. Always stays a bit behind me so as not to aggro everything. He can usually take on a few normals by himself, or even a lone lieutenant. He is very sturdy in the upper ranks and does a good bit of DPS.
The skills I chose for my archer are these:
The personal skirmish traits I have picked are:
- Armoured Assault (+ armour value)
- Battle-Master (+ melee crit)
- The Healing Arts ( + outgoing healing)


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Dharmendra and Hema Malini's second daughter Ahana Deol tied the knot with Delhi-based businessman Vaibhav Vora on Sunday, February 2nd at the ITC Maratha in Mumbai. Ahana's looks beautiful in the designer wedding clothes created by designer Neeta Lulla. The wedding was a mix of Punjabi and traditional south Indian customs. The reception was hosted at the same hotel. The couple will have another reception at the groom's farm house in New Delhi Feb 5. Big names from the fraternity like Bachchans, Khans, Kapoors, and business tycoons like the Ambanis graced the occasion. Vaibhav Vora is a Delhi-based businessman who met Ahana at her sister Esha's wedding in June last year. Both fell for each other, and the two families had no issues in giving their consent for the marriage. Here are some exclusive pics & photos of Ahana Deol Marriage & Wedding Reception Ceremony. Have a look!!!
Heartiest Congratulations to Ahana & Vaibhav from Indiascanner.com side!!!


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With a typical field of NASCAR Nextel Cup race cars numbering 40 or more, how does a team get selected for the honor (or the hindrance, depending on your point of view) of receiving the in-car camera?
It's a pretty easy decision to make, actually. Broadcasters and fans alike want the cameras on the popular drivers at the tracks where they do well. If a driver has won or placed in the top ten at Dover International Speedway's Monster Mile every race for the past five seasons, that driver's pretty much guaranteed to get a set of cameras on his or her car next time it comes up on the schedule. Alternately, if a driver excels at road courses like Watkins Glen in New York, that driver will get cameras aimed at him or her as he or she turns both right and left in the twisties.
Being good at a particular track or type of race sometimes isn't enough: Cameras most often end up in the cars of points leaders in the series. At the end of the season, when the top five or so drivers are racing for the Nextel Cup, those with the best shot at the big prize will likely have cameras in their cars.
Like everything else in NASCAR, the cameras are sponsored. Usually, the car's sponsor will buy an advertising package from the broadcaster that includes the in-car cameras. Once in a great while, an advertiser without a car in the race will sponsor the cameras, but that's pretty rare. The cameras are often positioned so that the sponsor's logo can be plainly seen, whether it's a sticker on the hood that can be seen by the roof cam or the badges plastered on the driver to be picked up on the doggie cam. Sponsoring the cameras for a season usually costs about $30,000, though the price can climb to $50,000 for popular drivers who are consistently high in the standings.
We now know who gets the cameras and how they get into the car. The next step is to find out how the signal gets from the cockpit of a NASCAR racer to our TV screens.


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"It's amazing how God works into people's lives." – A sentence I always say when I hear stories of miracles and answered prayers, how God worked into the lives of people I know. And it's always overwhelming when it happens to me, too. Every time God reveals a part of His greatness it really humbles me and fills me with awe. It amazes me that truly the God we serve is the God of all, and nothing is impossible for Him!
My last post was a bit sad because I was going through a tough time, but even then I wanted God to lead me on. It was hard battling with yourself when you know how you really wanted to handle a problem with your own ways. I almost wanted to take control of the situation and let my feelings affect what I do, so I asked for God's help. I prayed that He'd help me overcome this problem I was going through. I prayed that my actions would not be based on how I feel but be based on what He wills. Right after I prayed, I asked God to be with me because I know I can never do the right thing without Him with me. So by the grace of God I was able to do what is right, I apologized to the person in my family whose feelings are affected by what I have said and did. And without pretensions I was forgiven, like nothing happened.
God removed all the guilt and bitterness in my heart. God blessed me with the peace and joy that comes with His love. I'm grateful, I'm grateful that God who made the universe does not ignore my petty issues. He cares for His people. I've always been saying how amazing God works into people's lives, but then I kind of forgotten to praise God on how amazing He worked and how He is continuously working in my life. This period of my walk with God reminded me to have a grateful heart. Indeed, I am grateful… thankful for every wonders and everything that He has blessed me with. I'm grateful for the things I get to learn when He makes me experience times like I just did. I'm grateful because God sent Jesus to save us from our sins. I'm grateful that Jesus came into my life and saved me from the dark.
PSALM 118:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.


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Strengthening family relationships requires appreciation, communication, quality time together, loyalty, laughter and love. There is no one easy way to fix strained family relations, but employing these qualities and characteristics in daily family life can gradually bring changes.
Family members can show appreciation for one another by attempting to look for the positive instead of the negative. Remembering that family members are loved ones and that they should be treated as well or better than friends can also help. Taking time every day to give a compliment or express concern can go a long way.
When attempting to improve communication with family members, a person should speak clear messages that are honest and kind. One should avoid being distracted or preoccupied with other thoughts or electronic devices when speaking with a loved one. Remembering how the other person might feel can help family members be compassionate with one another.
Spending time together also can help. Doing things such as eating dinner together, working on chores around the house, going on picnics, watching a movie or celebrating family milestones can help foster family togetherness. Going bowling, taking walks and going camping also can help a family find ways to spend more time together.


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2 Conversion Conference Chicago Sessions I Can't Miss
Tom Lambert • Conferences, Conversion • No Comments on 2 Conversion Conference Chicago Sessions I Can't Miss
Conversion Conference (#convconf) is only 8 short days away and I couldn't be more amped to attend this year. The speaker lineup is stacked and the session topics go far deeper than most conferences I've attended – this is going to be awesome. While I plan on attending as many sessions as possible there are 2 in particular I can't wait for because the speakers have had a profound impact on my life and career in this field.
So who are they?
Jeremy Schoemaker (A.K.A. Shoemoney)
[hr] Even though Jeremy has no clue who I am his blog and writings have made a huge impact on my life and career. I've been following Jeremy's Internet marketing blog since I was a clueless 16 year old in high school trying to figure this whole Internet business thing out. Jeremy's blog without a doubt helped keep me motivated and inspired for a lot of different reasons.
Seeing Jeremy hold a check for over $100,000 from Google was a real eye opener for me – it was basically the point where I realized I can do this type of work as a career and build something real; not just a fly-by-night business.
If you aren't familiar with Jeremy's story, I highly recommend reading his about page – his story in inspiring to say the least and resonates very closely with mine. We both had a turning point where we realized we can do a whole lot better and turned things around with a ton of self-education and hard work. The other reason I've always been a fan of Jeremy is that he's not afraid to be himself on any of his public outlets (blog, social media, interviews, etc.) – too many people working online hide their personality in fear of losing clients or jobs. I feel like if I had played it safe like most people I'd be at least a year behind where I am now; being overly cautious and calculated has not proven to be an effective business strategy for me.
Aside from the inspiration to keep moving forward Jeremy's content has always been actionable and backed with real world experience and methodical testing. That's exactly why I can't wait to hear what he has to say about converting one time visitors into customers, I know this session alone will be worth the trip to Chicago. If this ever makes it way to you Jeremy, thank you for everything you've done – you've helped a lot more people than you realize.
Tim Ash
[hr] I'm such a nerd about conversion rate optimization that Tim Ash is like the George Clooney of CRO to me. When I first started exploring the world of CRO SiteTuners was constantly mentioned and recommended so I inevitably checked them out and ended up spending hours pouring over their content and books. Many of the lessons I learned from SiteTuners teachings have been applicable to not only improving conversions but building a better business, making customers happy, and delivering an excellent stress-free user experience.
Thanks to Tim and his awesome team of true experts I learned countless invaluable lessons that helped me improve clients websites while becoming a better marketer and professional. For that I have Tim to thank and can't wait to hear his keynote at Conversion Conference Chicago – I just hope I can take notes fast enough…
If you aren't already subscribed to the SiteTuners blog, I highly advise you do so right now.
Some other sessions I look forward to:
- Angie Schottmuller – Organic Conversions – Conversion Strategies for SEO Traffic 10:30AM Tuesday (CRO and Search is a big puzzle to most people, should be interessting!)
- Michal Parízek – 7 Pillars of a Mature Conversion Optimization Strategy 11:30AM Tuesday (I'm a big fan of systems and processes; I have a feeling this session will teach me a lot about structuring and organizing my CRO campaigns more efficiently)
- Jodie Ellis – Getting Personal: 5 Ways to Optimize More with Targeting 3:45PM Tuesday (It's mind blowing how far online marketing tech has come in the last 2 years – the things we can do with targeting today are insane and would have been near impossible in the recent past)
- Jon Morris – High-Impact PPC: Reduce Pain Points, Increase Profits 4:45PM Tuesday (As a PPC professional there's always another trick, method, or strategy to improve your campaigns across the board – can't wait for this one)
- Dennis Yu – Facebook's Hidden Conversion Rate Impact 10:30AM Wednesday (With Facebook's new partner category targeting options I've been doing a lot of experimentation wit their ad platform as of late, this is a topic I've been curious about for awhile now)
- Josh Krafchin – After the Conversion: Leveraging the Power of Confirmation Pages 1:30PM Wednesday (There are a lot of creative things you can do with conversion/confirmation/thank you pages and I know I'm barely scraping the surface with my current strategies – this session should be an eye opener)
[hr] I can already tell this is going to be a great conference with plenty of immediately applicable takeaways, see you there 🙂


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The Movie: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
What Is It?: Spiritual, meditative sci-fi epic about a goofball who leaves his wife and kids after he falls in love with a UFO.
Why Today?: On this day in 1947, the Roswell Daily Record announces that Roswell Army Air Field authorities have seized a crashed UFO.


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Nous livrons dans le monde entier.
French vintage brown glass bottle with round airtight lid.
ARIEL engraved at the bottom.
Size : 18 cm high x 8 cm diameter
Mint vintage condition.
✉ SHIPPING, please choose between these options before payment :
- If you order more than one item, please contact me to calculate the shipping costs!
🇫🇷 🇧🇪 🇱🇺 🇪🇸 France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain : cheaper delivery in a Mondial Relay Point (PuntoPack in Spain, Afhallpunt in Luxemburg, Point Relais in France and Belgium). Send me your phone number and email to be notified when your parcel is arrived! If you want a home delivery, please let me know!
🇩🇪 🇬🇧 🇮🇹 🇮🇪 🇵🇹 🇦🇹 Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Ireland, Portugal and Austria : home delivery with Mondial Relay. Please, send me your phone number and email to be notified when your parcel is arrived!
- If you are in France, Lot (46), you can visit me to pick up your package! Contact me to make an appointment. I will refund the shipping cost!


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A Taiwanese modern dance company will makes its Los Angeles debut on Saturday with a performance at Cal State L.A.'s Luckman Center in El Sereno. Cloud Gate 2, founded by choreographer Lin Hwai-Min, is the first of three dance companies – from Australia, Taiwan and the U.S. – that will take the stage at the Luckman Center this season. Cloud Gate 2, according to a Luckman press release, has been hailed as presenting "some of the most innovative and creative contemporary dance to come out of Asia in decades."
In March, Melbourne, Australia's Chunky Move arrives at the Luckman with a "technology-driven and genre-defying dance performance," and the Robert Moses' Kin Dance Company from San Francisco will perform on May 5.
Click on the link below for more details about the shows.
Submitted by the Luckman Center
February 18, the internationally acclaimed Taiwanese choreographer Lin Hwai-Min will bring Cloud Gate 2 to Los Angeles. Hwai-Min founded Cloud Gate 2 to foster new talent and showcase the next generation of Taiwanese dance. Lin exhibits Asian mythology, folklore, and tireless curiosity of new forms and movements. Dance Europe describes this innovative ensemble as, "a vibrant company." Cloud Gate 2's portfolio of work is celebrated around the world as some of the most innovative and creative contemporary dance to come out of Asia in decades. At the forefront of modern dance, Cloud Gate 2 dares to take beautiful risks that produce equally stunning outcomes.
Melbourne, Australia's Chunky Move will take the Luckman stage March 17 to perform their latest distinct yet unpredictable brand of technology-driven and genre-defying dance performance. In Connected, the dynamic is flipped and digital technology is side stepped in favor of pure mechanics. Teaming up with Californian artist, Reuben Margolin, Chunky Move's director and choreographer Gideon Obarzanek, animates both the body and the machine through physical connection between the dancers and Margolin's purpose-built, kinetic sculpture. In Connected it is people – athletic and agile dancers' bodies twisting and hurtling through space, as well as people in recognizable situations. To date, they have created a repertoire for the stage, as well as site specific, new-media, and installation works.
Robert Moses' Kin is a critically-praised American contemporary dance company known for their artistic and choreographic innovation. Choreographer Robert Moses explores topics ranging from oral traditions in African American culture to the dark side of contemporary urban lore. Described as "elegantly hip" by the San Francisco Chronical, the diverse eleven-member company employs eclectic movement vocabulary, demanding choreography, ferocious footwork, and provocative themes. Robert Moses' Kin is one of the most prolific and exciting new contemporary dance companies to emerge nationally in the past decade and will perform at the Luckman May 5.
TICKET INFO: Tickets for all events are on sale now and are available on Ticketmaster and via the Luckman Box Office at 323-343-6600.


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Becks letzter Sommer
A lovelorn professor, a crazy German African, and a musical wunderkind from Lithuania embark on the journey of their lives, from Munich through eastern Europe all the way to Istanbul. With them they carry a whole truck-load of secrets – and one question, whether it is ever too late to make one's dreams come true. A novel about music, love, and life. Offbeat, funny, wise, and touching.
The novel Becks letzter Sommer [Beck's Last Summer] by Benedict Wells has been translated into Serbian (excerpt) by Hana Ćopić and published under the title Bekovo poslednje leto by Plato Books in Belgrade.


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Sunday, September 30, 2007
freecol is dreadful !
Well, weel, I've got so many things to do (like, well, several packages to attend to, three programs to write, a book to write as well, and, last but not least, a family that will see a significant increase in size within a few days ;-)...) - but I just can't help it: I spend a decent portion of my "free time" playing freecol... Well, very good game !
Posted by Vincent Fourmond at 2:48 PM
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The Associated Press and other fact-checkers are insisting that the line about the Janesville GM factory in Paul Ryan's speech last night was inaccurate — and once again, the fact-checkers are wrong. Here's the AP's allegation against Ryan:
RYAN: Said Obama misled people in Ryan's hometown of Janesville, Wis., by making them think a General Motors plant there threatened with closure could be saved. "A lot of guys I went to high school with worked at that GM plant. Right there at that plant, candidate Obama said: 'I believe that if our government is there to support you … this plant will be here for another hundred years.' That's what he said in 2008. Well, as it turned out, that plant didn't last another year."
THE FACTS: The plant halted production in December 2008, weeks before Obama took office and well before he enacted a more robust auto industry bailout that rescued GM and Chrysler and allowed the majority of their plants — though not the Janesville facility — to stay in operation. Ryan himself voted for an auto bailout under President George W. Bush that was designed to help GM, but he was a vocal critic of the one pushed through by Obama that has been widely credited with revitalizing both GM and Chrysler.
The AP might want to check back on its own reporting on the plant closure, starting with this article from April 19, 2009, headlined "GM plant in Janesville to close for good this week":
Production at the General Motors plant in Janesville is scheduled to end for good this week.
GM spokesman Christopher Lee says operations at the southern Wisconsin plant will cease Thursday.
About 1,200 employees were let go just before Christmas when GM ended SUV production at the plant.
Some 100 workers were retained to finish an order of small- to medium-duty trucks for Isuzu Motors Ltd.
Lee says most of those workers will be laid off Thursday. He says others will be kept on to help guide the plant's shutdown.
The Janesville plant ended its SUV production line and laid off over 1,000 workers in December 2008, but the plant didn't officially close. It continued to churn out an order of Isuzu trucks until April 2009, while the local union lobbied GM for a lifeline. In May, GM put the plant onto standby, meaning that it wasn't completely shutting the door on it. There was some hope the plant would be able to resume production — and Wisconsin's bipartisan congressional delegation, including Paul Ryan, scrambled to find a way to keep it alive — but it never happened.
To simply say that the plant "halted production" in December 2008, like AP does, is both inaccurate and misleading. It was more complicated than that. If the media wants to criticize Ryan for not being "nuanced" enough and failing to praise Obama for brilliantly saving GM, that's fine. But Ryan's comments weren't inaccurate.


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Conversations with my Mother
As infrequently as possible, I phone home. This is what happens.
Thursday, 9 August 2012
when you are.
Mother: Be careful driving.
Me: I'm not driving.
Mother: No, but when you are.........
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Invoices Received
Prompt collection of invoices received in a centralized invoice ledger.
Automated Workflows
Automated, rule-based or manual start of workflows. Processing of EDI, paper, and digital invoices.
Flexible Rules
Flexible rules for automatic compliance with limits of liability, jurisdictions, and reasons for blocking.
Reporting and Analysis
Polished reporting and evaluation of all your company's invoices.


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Can one achieve art by writing for a few minutes, hours, daysand days? Can it be art if it's like the tree that falls before no one else's eyes? Can my eyes see my own artfulness? Can I trust what I see?
These questions pester my pondering, painful approach to getting something accomplished in this write-a-thon. The mountain of doubt I live on is suddenly evident and no longer hidden beneath the daily plod.
So far, I've restructured the meaning of one of my poems and started a short story. But having done so I don't feel the wonder I expected. What did I expect?
Better yet, what am I getting? See the above AND add a wonderful sense of collegiality from Facebook convivialities. I've already been to Kississame, FL and back, sent photos, seen pictures of the faces whose writings I intend to meet. And don't forget, Nicola, man we all owe her a beer or two. Okay, so things aren't so bad and I've written and thought about what to write for three days.
What I expected is this feeling of failing I sometimes find my self . . .