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Two NFC teams were hit hardest by injuries last year. One already set the AGL record in 2016, while the other has a coach with the worst AGL since 2002. Also: the Rams' incredible bill of health in L.A., and Tampa Bay's questionable injury reporting.
06 Mar 2014
by Rivers McCown
Cap Space as of March 5th: A little under $18 million. (All monetary figures courtesy of Over The Cap. This is based off the $133 million salary cap.)
Unrestricted Free Agents (16, UFAs and RFAs culled via NFL.com): Rashard Mendenhall, Andre Roberts, Jim Dray, Jeff King, Kory Sperry, Eric Winston, Mike Gibson, Marcus Benard, Frostee Rucker, Matt Shaughnessy, Karlos Dansby, Javier Arenas, Antoine Cason, Bryan McCann, Yeremiah Bell, Jay Feely
Restricted Free Agents (2): Jake Ballard, Alfonso Smith
Jake Ballard in Cold Shadow: This new SNES sidescroller follows the adventures of one Arizona Cardinals tight end trying to do something, anything, to be relevant. All buttons on the controller just make him block. The Arizona Republic reported that the Cardinals will try to bring him back, so apparently there actually is a market for this game.
Alfonso Smith has been hanging around the bottom of the Arizona running back depth chart for awhile now, and they keep trying to bring in new guys, and those new guys keep disappointing. So, hey, probably not worth any real tender amount, but he could stick around again.
Franchise Tag: The Cardinals did not use their franchise tag. In a world where Karlos Dansby hadn't already been franchised, he was probably the best use of the tag. But now we've gone one theoretical world too far, and oh no, Kevin Dyson DID score that game-tying touchdown. I'm afraid I'm going to have to put this capsule to sleep. It's too dangerous to let it live on.
Release/Restructure Candidates: Jerraud Powers ($2,750,000 saved against 2014 cap), Daryn Colledge ($2,725,000)
Neither of these players were necessarily bad last season, but there has been speculation that both could go. Phoenix radio reporter Mike Jurecki reported that Colledge could be a cap casualty, even if it would only save a few million for the Cards. Designating Colledge as a post-June 1 cut would offer more savings. ESPN's Josh Weinfuss made the case for a Powers release on his Cardinals blog.
I would tend to think Colledge's $7.275 million cap number is harder to deal with than Powers' $4.75 million. That said, guard is one of the weaker positions in free agency this year. There is merit to either move, but it depends more on what the Cardinals think of their potential in-house replacements than what we as outsiders can forecast.
Flexibility: Arizona already used their big play when Larry Fitzgerald restructured his contract to a base salary of just $1 million, freeing up tons of cap space. Others who could negotiate in this manner include Carson Palmer ($9 million base salary), Darnell Dockett ($5.5 million), and Calais Campbell ($5.5 million).
Overview: Arizona's priorities depend a lot on how they feel about their internal options. They've collected a pretty deep team at most defensive positions, and 2013 second-rounder Kevin Minter could be a possibility to step in for Karlos Dansby. On offense, rumors have tied them to Branden Albert for awhile, and tackle is still the obvious spot that needs to be solved.
Arizona also could replace Andre Roberts in free agency -- someone like James Jones would make sense -- but it could be cheaper to just stick to a draft class that seems rich in wideout talent. Tight end is another option: how many more years can Rob Housler be given to "break out"?
Finally, a Patrick Peterson extension is in the best interest of both sides as he heads into the last guaranteed year of his rookie deal.
Cap Space as of March 5th: A little over $10 million.
Unrestricted Free Agents (10): Kellen Clemens, Brady Quinn, Adam Henry, Rodger Saffold, Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Will Witherspoon, Matt Giordano, Darian Stewart, Shelley Smith, Chris Williams
Restricted Free Agents (1): Mike McNeill
A lower-string tight end that probably wouldn't be tendered in any normal situation. However, given Brian Schottenheimer's tendency to use extra-big sets last year, we can't rule anything out. Yes, that includes Brian Schottenheimer running a wildcat set with McNeill as a back.
Franchise Tag: The Rams also did not see anyone worthy of the franchise tag in their free agent class. The closest was probably Rodger Saffold, and the Rams would have had to pay an exorbitant amount for a player they consider a guard to pull that one off, so it makes plenty of sense.
Release/Restructure Candidates: Sam Bradford ($10,420,000), Scott Wells ($4,500,000), Harvey Dahl ($4,000,000)
OK, OK, the Rams aren't going to release Sam Bradford. They're just not going to do it. Even though they could let him go and select his replacement with the second overall pick. As much as I disagree with the move, you have to admire the way they've gotten out front with the messaging on the issue. Nobody has ever doubted that they would keep Bradford, and general manager Les Snead and Jeff Fisher have probably noted that they will keep him three or four times already this offseason.
The offensive line play has been bad, and two veterans who were brought in to fix the situation haven't been helping. Wells may get the go-ahead to stay just because the Rams have so much potential turmoil on the line that they need someone back. Dahl has generally been less acceptable.
Flexibility: Surprisingly, there's a lot of potential wiggle room. St. Louis has four huge base salaries in Bradford ($14.015 million), Chris Long ($13.2 million), James Laurinaitis ($10 million), and Jake Long ($8 million) that could be converted into signing bonuses for the sake of new cap money. An extension for Bradford, who has two seasons left on his deal, could also clear up a little extra space.
Overview: Well, at least the Rams won't have Cortland Finnegan to kick around anymore. As long as they stick to their media plans, St. Louis actually should have a very simple offseason: keeping Bradford, not drafting a No. 1 receiver, and auctioning off their No. 2 overall pick are the knowns. The priority in recent days has been resigning Saffold, but regardless of whether that happens or not, the Rams need to spend some of their heavy draft pick capital on the offensive line. The secondary is another target area.
I'd say quarterback is one too, but I keep being assured by high-ranking team sources that it's not, despite pedestrian results.
The Rams have a real problem here, in that they continue to say they are accumulating assets, but mostly it's the supposed assets accumulating on them. Outside of Robert Quinn, there weren't exactly a lot of breakthroughs last year. What does this offense need to click? Just how many issues can a slightly better line fix?
Cap Space as of March 5th: A little over $10 million.
Unrestricted Free Agents (9): Colt McCoy, Anthony Dixon, Mario Manningham, Kassim Osgood, Jonathan Goodwin, Tarell Brown, Eric Wright, Donte Whitner, Phil Dawson
Restricted Free Agents (2): Perrish Cox, Demarcus Dobbs
The 49ers aren't expected to tender either player. Cox will continue to bounce around the league as a nickel/dime defensive back, while Dobbs will be defensive line depth.
Franchise Tag: The 49ers declined to use the franchise tag, meaning we still haven't seen a Franchise Kicker get quarterback money. It's a shame -- really feels like Phil Dawson should be the one to do that. And as you can tell by how often teams use the franchise tag on kickers, it truly is one of the most valuable positions in the league.
Release/Restructure Candidates: Carlos Rogers ($5,105,468)
The 49ers are already looking at some big changes in their secondary with Tarell Brown and Donte Whitner as free agents. Rogers may provide the cap savings they need to re-sign one of them.
Rogers was fairly mediocre in all facets of our charting project: 50th in yards per pass, 48th in success rate. He was targeted more often than the other two defensive backs, Brown and Tramaine Brock, but not by an outrageous amount. Still, if the 49ers are getting a jump on things, Rogers will turn 33 this offseason. With Chris Culliver also coming back off injury, it might be time to turn this position over to youth.
Flexibility: The 49ers are definitely built without much in the way of star power: they have one player with a scheduled cap figure over $8 million, and we just went over why Carlos Rogers might get cut. But they have seven different players with cap figures between $6 and $7.5 million.
What I'm getting at is that San Francisco's flexibility to make a huge change to their cap is compromised a bit because they'd need to restructure so many players to do it. Besides Rogers, only Patrick Willis has a base salary over $5 million. They could make some changes if need be, but they don't have obvious answers to do it with.
Overview: The 49ers already took care of their most important free agent when they brought back Anquan Boldin on a two-year deal. The next logical step is an extension for Colin Kaepernick. The sides have been haggling around the $16-20 million a year range, which is about market rate for starting quarterbacks of some acclaim these days. (Particularly so when every team just got a nice salary cap boost.)
Other than that, they'd like to bring Tarell Brown back. Whitner probably isn't a must-keep, though he's been fine. Jonathan Goodwin is going to be replaced by recently extended Daniel Kilgore, and it's refreshing to see a succession line like that in the NFL even if it does carry more inherent risk than plugging in a rookie.
Cap Space as of March 5th: A little under $18 million
Unrestricted Free Agents (17): Tarvaris Jackson, Michael Robinson, Golden Tate, Bryan Walters, Kellen Davis, Anthony McCoy, Breno Giacomini, Paul McQuistan, Jason Spitz, Michael Bennett, Tony McDaniel, Clinton McDonald, O'Brien Schofield, Brandon Browner, Walter Thurmond III, Chris Maragos, Steven Hauschka
Restricted Free Agents (3): Doug Baldwin, Jeron Johnson, Lemuel Jeanpierre
We already know for a fact that Johnson was was tendered at the second-round level. It would be surprising if Baldwin didn't join him there. Jeanpierre I'd think would be less likely to get a tender, though that doesn't necessarily rule out his return to Seattle.
Franchise Tag: Seattle, like every other team in the NFC West, did not use the franchise tag. Michael Bennett certainly would've been a worthy candidate, but perhaps being that tied into the cap space wasn't amenable to John Schneider and company. Steven Hauschska was also mentioned as a candidate, because every kicker who successfully completes a season should be considered one.
Release/Restructure Candidates: Chris Clemons ($7,500,000), Zach Miller ($5,000,000)
Clemons was coming off a torn ACL and was only part of the rotation with Cliff Avril and Bennett at end last year -- though that's certainly nothing to scoff at. He's the oldest member of the group, as he'll turn 33 during next season, and while a healthy and well-utilized Clemons has traditionally been worth this money, it's hard to see the Seahawks paying it out. A restructure might make more sense for both sides, though releasing him shouldn't be off the table.
Miller is a fine tight end, and has often watched his numbers suffer in the passing game so he can stay and block for a line that has needed all the help it can get. But fine tight ends generally make less than this, and it would be no surprise if the Seahawks moved on from him and tried to do better with less cap space.
Flexibility: Unless Seattle wants to re-negotiate new contracts with Avril and/or Clemons, surprisingly they don't have many restructure options on the roster. They could roll some of Percy Harvin's $11 million base salary into a signing bonus, and Russell Okung could do the same with his $8.7 million base, but with only one year left on his deal they'd probably be better off just giving him a new contract.
Essentially, Seattle is going to be more in the business of handing out extensions than straight restructures, and that's a different spot to be in.
Overview: Hey, speaking of extensions Seattle needs to hand out ... this is the last year on contracts for both Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman. Those new contracts will be occupying most of John Schneider's time this offseason.
In free agency, Bennett has been a priority retain for them. There also appears to be mutual interest between Golden Tate and Hauschka in a reunion. Most of the other guys will be on the backburner while Seattle figures out the big pieces. Don't forget Russell Wilson is due for an extension after this year, as well.
Seattle probably won't spend much outside of these guys, but it wouldn't be a big surprise to see them in on offensive linemen, especially at right tackle. The draft is a possibility for that as well.
19 comments, Last at 09 Mar 2014, 1:41pm by Will Allen
Thank goodness. I thought Rivers was making up divisions just to avoid doing the NFC West. I could sworn I saw an Under The Cap: AFC Central and a Four Downs: NBA Eastern Conference.
I don't get Jake Ballard's appeal to NFL teams either. When he was on the Giants he ran about as fast as a terminal cancer patient, and that was BEFORE he screwed up his knee. Seems like teams would be better off just going to the heavy package; an OT is a better blocker than a tight end every time, and the average third tackle is probably as fast as Ballard.
I know Bennett grades out really well. He also plays in the friendliest environment, for a edge pass rusher, in the NFL. Loudest home crowd, and artificial turf at home. Guaranteed 12 games a year on artificial turf. Plays on a team which gets a lot of substantial 2nd half leads. Great defensive backs.
I think Seahawks' management is factoring this, and are going to be willing to let him go, when somebody makes a very big offer.
Seems to me all those things were true last year too, but Seattle's pass rush was highly inconsistent then. Also, Bennett's generally not an edge pass rusher on passing downs, as Avril bumps him inside.
That's kind of my point. Bennett, once it is factored that he enjoyed the best pass rushing environment in the NFL, really was not all that dominant. There's a decent chance somebody pays him too much.
My point is that I don't think it is the best pass rushing environment in the NFL considering the pass rush wasn't that good last year. Or even if it is, then the difference between best pass rushing environment and the worst isn't really that big. What helped out Bennett far more than the field, home crowd, score differential and other position units was Avril rushing alongside him on passing downs, and probably also being fresh from only being used on 58% of defensive snaps. But every pass rusher is helped by having another great rusher to prevent double teams, and there's plenty of teams with only one good rusher and the money to spend who should benefit massively from his play.
I think Will's point is that there is a 3rd category of teams that have 0 good pass rushers and will not benefit much from signing Bennett to superstar money.
A team that has 0 good pass rushers should have plenty of money to spend, so either sign another rusher that's a peg below him or develop another rusher through the draft. It wouldn't be his fault he's not producing if you put him in a situation where he can get double teamed on every down, like what Clay Matthews went through in 2011 with the Packers.
This is what Will wrote:
"There's a decent chance somebody pays him too much."
Are you saying this is impossible or unlikely?
Well, Seattle is the loudest environment, which helps a pass rusher. Seattle has Fieldturf, which helps a pass rusher. Seattle had a lot of big 2nd half leads, which helps a pass rusher. Seattle has a terrific defensive backfield, which helps a pass rusher.
I'd say Seattle had the environment which helps pass rushers the most.
And I'm saying you're overrating how much that environment can actually help. Can you point to data that shows that rushers have better sack and pressure totals in loud stadiums and turf stadiums? Pretty much all of the great defenses in this century have played on grass: the early 2000's Patriots, Ravens and Bucs, the Steelers, the Packers, the 49ers.
As for 2nd-half leads, I'd say that being a great pass rusher is highly conducive to getting those leads in the first place. Also, normally big 2nd-half leads lead to a lot of passes, but Seattle was an exception to this:
And to counter your final point, Seattle's snail-like pace on offense and defense certainly did not help pass rushers in accumulating bulk stats, and their extraordinary DL depth (Bennett, Avril, McDaniel, McDonald, Mebane, Bryant, Clemons, and occasionally Irvin and Schofield) didn't help even further.
Er, the depth does not make the environment less friendly for pass rushing. Quite the opposite. It likely inhibits the accumulation of counting stats (perhaps not with Bennett, given his number of snaps) , but that wasn't what I was saying.
If you wish to maintain that noise is not an important factor on a pass blocker's performance, you go right ahead. Same with a consistently fast track.
If noise and fast tracks add one extra sack and three extra pressures every two seasons, would you say that makes it an important factor?
How much do you think he's worth with the current salary cap and the rumored salary cap numbers going forward and how much do you expect a GM to overpay?
If you don't think noise is a factor that helps a pass rush, go back to the game against the Packers a couple years ago. It was so loud the Packers' tackles couldn't hear the snap count. So they had to go on a silent count. This allowed Bruce Irvin to make a mockery of Bulaga's pass blocking. Bulaga may not be a great pass blocker, but he's a decent one. I think the Seahawks had something like seven sacks in the first half. Rodgers may get sacked more than average. But these were quick sacks, which does not happen to him very often.
Seattle's stadium is widely considered the loudest in the league. I think they're even listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. Even without the turf, the noise alone probably contributes to at least 6-8 sacks and many more pressures for the team every year. How that distributes among players is highly variable. But I'd guess Bennett's stats have been improved by playing in Seattle.
That was by far the worst game an opposing OL has ever played against Seattle recently. How come they couldn't replicate that performance in the other games? Come to that, how come they couldn't even replicate that performance in the second half? 6-8 sacks is an absolutely ludicrous guesstimate; the back-7 coverage helps far more with sacks than the noise ever can.
Edit: Here are some numbers for you: in the last four years, Seattle has had 88 sacks in 35 road games, counting the playoffs. At home? 71 sacks in the same number of games.
I think noise has a cascading, substantial, effect on offensive efficiency. If you disagree, fine.
I don't know what Bennett will get, in good part because I don't how strong the Super Bowl winner effect remains. There have been enough flame-outs with free agents from Super Bowl champs that GMs may be less likely to overpay.
Actually, I got off track from your initial argument. I won't argue that noise doesn't have an impact, even though the sack numbers don't bear this out. But your initial argument was that Seattle's noise was more disruptive than other teams. The only thing they've influenced are false starts and delay-of-games. Quite a few QBs have said that the noise wasn't the difference maker, because they'd specifically prepared for it.
If you don't think false starts are a symptom of decreased pass blocking efficiency, again, we'll just agree to disagree.


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Max Fleischer Superman or Bruce Timm Superman, which do you prefer?
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Re: Max Fleischer Superman or Bruce Timm Superman, which do you prefer?
While I still think Fleischer's series was technically better... it was limited. It had no mythos to fall back on the way STAS did.
Now, if I had done STAS and had complete control, I would have gone much more traditional with Brainiac, made Lex a businessman/mad scientist hybrid... not used Lobo at all, introduced Mongol, not relied so heavily on The 4th World, used more gangsters/Intergang and made it look more like BTAS.
Jerry and Joe were gentlemen. Bob Kane was a thief and a glory-hound who was more concerned about profit and prestige. I cannot bring myself to believe the same things about Stan Lee in regards to his two main contributors, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. I'm inclined to believe Stan's version of events as he has usually been very willing to credit his co-conspirators, but the truth is because different versions of credit exists, we will never truly know.
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For all the extra circuitry trouble,... if you need that much extra compensation, just sit closer to the darn amp.
I was curious if anyone ever built a guitar amp that takes into account that humans have trouble hearing low and high frequencies at low volumes but not at high volumes (as described by Fletcher-Munson curves).
I envision the amp gradually boosting highs and lows as you turn the volume down and attenuating them as you turn the volume up. It would be cool if you could set your tone the way you want and have that tone remain consistent as you increase and decrease your volume since the circuit would retain the perceived volume balance of the different frequencies. I think it would make life simpler, you wouldn't have to tweak your amp as much.
I looked on the internet for some stuff and I saw some patent applications for a circuit that gradually compensates as you increase/decrease the volume, but I don't think it wasn't geared towards guitar amps.
How about a simple loudness control like found on some stereos? I was reading about those and it seems like they are a circuit with a fixed bass and treble boost that kicks in when the volume control is set at a certain point. I guess it uses a pot with four connections. It doesn't sound as nice as something that gradually compensates, but I suppose it's better than nothing.
- Clint
For all the extra circuitry trouble,... if you need that much extra compensation, just sit closer to the darn amp.
Mission Amps
Denver, CO. 80022
thiele-small alignments have diminished bass response with with large signals vs. small signals. i like to think of them as an automatically correctiing for FM phenomena.
"Stand back, I'm holding a calculator." - chinrest
"I happen to have an original 1955 Stratocaster! The neck and body have been replaced with top quality Warmoth parts, I upgraded the hardware and put in custom, hand wound pickups. It's fabulous. There's nothing like that vintage tone or owning an original." - Chuck H
On the Electar Tube 10 amp rebuild project I'm working on I have a gain control, a master volume, and no tone controls at this point. On the gain control, I added a treble bypass capacitor so when I turn the amp down it retains the highs. That works pretty well. In contrast, the master volume doesn't have a treble bypass capacitor, so when I turn that down, I lose the highs pretty quickly.
Since a treble bypass capacitor retains the highs when lowering the volume, I figured I should be able to make a bass bypass too so that it retains bass as I lower the volume too. So if I had a volume control that maintained treble and bass, then it appears that the volume control would really only be attenuating mids.
I decided to experiment. As I said before, the amp has no tone controls at this point. At loud volumes, I like the balance of treble and bass, I wanted to see if I could retain that as I lowered the master volume (the volume without the treble bypass cap). As I lowered the master volume, I lost highs and lows. But then I compensated by using a graphic EQ pedal with accentuated lows and highs and diminished midrange. That worked pretty well. I got a decent tone at lower volumes. Using an Xotic BB Preamp pedal with gain turned down and bass and treble boosted sounded even better.
But the EQ pedal and the Xotic BB Preamp pedal are "active", they can boost stuff. Using passive components, instead of boosting highs and lows, I would need to cut mids. I have a Torres midrange control kit for guitar that is designed to scoop mids. I think I'll try adding that to my amp and see how that works.
I reckon if one wanted to do something like this - my 1st ( feeble ) thoughts would be:
Since typical passive RC tone circuits are attenuators, one might be able to run the circuit ground connection ( like the mid-slope resistor in Fenders ) through some device...like a transistor.
From there, you could use a ganged volume pot and as you adjust the volume of the amp, you could scale the transistor's response to bring the tone circuit in and out of the the signal path.
The Marshall 30th Anniversary amps are the only guitar amps I know of that have low-volume compensation, but there are probably others as well.
Below are some circuits - the first set I got off the Web somewhere, the second one - which is not strictly 'loudness compensation', just a simple bass boost - is what I use in my amp; IME small-value pots have little or no treble attenuation at different settings. This circuit can be easily implemented in an Rk MV circuit, and suitable inductors were available from Mesa-Boogie last time I checked - the smaller the pot value, the smaller the L value needed for the same LF boost frequency.
Last edited by Ray Ivers; 09-16-2007 at 04:24 PM.
Check out the channel 2 gain control of Hughes & Kettner Vortex:
It's not a solution for F&M compensation but does attenuate low frequencies when gain is increased and accentuate highs when gain is turned down.
I'm interested in your bass boost circuit and had some questions about it.
You said.This circuit can be easily implemented in an Rk MV circuit
I'm a newbie at all this, so I don't know all the lingo, but what does "Rk MV" mean? I assume "MV" means master volume. But what do you mean by Rk?
Is your circuit supposed to be a master volume pot with a bass bypass? If so, isn't a 2.5K pot way too small to turn down the volume?
I've been messing around with rebuilding an Electar Tube 10 amp. Based on that schematic (http://www.freeinfosociety.com/elect...iew.php?id=375), where would you put your bass boost?
- Clint
Rk stands for 'cathode resistor'. Replacing a cathode resistor with a small-value pot (wiper = pot output) can make an excellent MV control in some circuits, although the Electar Tube 10 is not a good candidate for this setup IMO.
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Michigan vs. Iowa: Hawkeyes Secondary Will Shut Down Wolverines' Passing GameNovember 23, 2013
The Iowa Hawkeyes face the Michigan Wolverines at noon ET on Saturday, and it will be a matchup nightmare for the maize and blue. Michigan has stumbled lately, and if it hadn't barely survived last week's sloppy triple-overtime game against Northwestern, it would be the owners of a three-game losing streak. Now the Wolverines face one of the best defensive units in the nation.
Iowa's defense has allowed 18.7 points and 319.2 yards per game, ranking it ninth overall. This is largely on the back of its stingy pass defense, which gives up just 189 passing yards on average thanks to a stellar secondary. And since Michigan's best playmakers are its wide receivers, and its best rushers don't rack up many yards, the Wolverines offense will be bottled up all day long.
The Hawkeyes play what used to be called football and is now called "old-school football," meaning they run the ball, control the clock and play tough defense. But they find themselves 6-4 because they lack the electric playmakers to get into the end zone with regularity. That speaks to why the over-under for this game is only 45 points and still likely will not be reached (per Bovada).
Iowa has actually outgained Michigan by over 14 yards per game, but the Wolverines score almost eight more points on average because of their red-zone efficiency. That efficiency will plummet this weekend. Unfortunately for Michigan, this is a matchup of strength versus strength, and the Wolverines' wideouts will face one of the best secondaries in the country.
The most explosive component of Michigan's offense is the receiving tandem of Jeremy Gallon and Devin Funchess. Each player is averaging 16.3 yards per catch, and Gallon has been a machine this season, corralling 65 catches for 1,062 yards and seven touchdowns. He will be hounded all day long.
The Wolverines have two talented runners in Fitzgerald Toussaint and quarterback Devin Gardner, but neither of them has found much room to work. They are averaging just 3.5 and 3.2 yards per carry respectively. De'Veon Smith and Derrick Green were the leading rushers in Michigan's last game, and they average 3.5 and 3.3 yards per carry respectively.
Worse still, as the Wolverines are forced to try to run the ball past Iowa, there will be plenty of punts. Hawkeyes speedster Kevonte Martin-Manley has returned two punts for scores this season, and he flips the field with regularity. He's averaging a robust 18.8 yards per return, which is a potent combination with a stout defense.
Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock has not been very efficient this season with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions on 191.6 passing yards per game. He will have to eliminate mistakes in this defensive clash, but running backs Mark Weisman, Damon Bullock and Jordan Canzeri can shoulder the offensive burden for the Hawkeyes. Canzeri is coming off a breakout 165-yard showing in last week's win over Purdue and has averaged 6.9 yards per carry.
Last season, Gardner torched Iowa for three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns for a lopsided victory in Ann Arbor. This year's matchup takes place in Iowa City, where the wind chill will be at possible-frostbite-on-the-nose levels, and it comes against a significantly improved Hawkeyes defense.
Iowa will ground Gardner's passing game while their proficient linebackers, led by Anthony Kitchens and James Morris, will bottle up the run. Expect the Hawkeyes to beat up Michigan and control the ball in a low-scoring affair, as their defense delivers sweet revenge for last year's 42-17 drubbing.


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A holiday to Scotland is always amazing thanks to our #ScotSpirit - quite simply it is everywhere you go. This year, we're celebrating the Year of Young People 2018 which will give young personalities the opportunity to shine, showcase their talents and contributions, and create new ways to stand out. The year will boast a spectacular programme of events as well as providing more ways to explore all that Scotland has to offer, so you can make memories that will last a lifetime.
So, if you're looking for the beat of a music festival, the adrenaline of an outdoor adventure, or the experience of a breathtaking roadtrip, then Scotland's for you.
We would love to share Scotland with you so don't forget to share your experiences with us via #ScotSpirit, #YOYP2018, and be in the iKnow in Scotland's Community.


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White Owl cigars are manufactured in Dothan, Alabama and are a classic brand that date back to the 1800's. Created with a sheet-type wrapper and binder that encases mixed filler tobacco blend. White Owls are great for any occasion.
$34.99 Retail: 39.99 Save $5.00
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always great
BnB Does It Again! Excellent Service
Great buy. Only drawback is the wrapper is too thin and they may tend to decompose in your mouth. I don't mind a good chew once in a while. For the price I can put up with it.
ExcellCigar at Reasonable Price
Wrapper is not heavy enough. Draw end will disintegrate once in a while. Just consider it chewing tobacco.
Great taste at a great price
Best gentleman's cigar for the price. Wrapper is a bit weak so smoke em fast!
Good product at reasonable prices.
Best cheap cigar around.
Sweet Litle Cigar
Sweet Litle Cigar that stays fresh in it's own foil wrap. Also quite smooth. Any very easy on the pocketbook.
Wonderful as usual. Maybe change the name on your shipping site to something less generic that "Shipping Department." It's hard to tell its from you. Maybe BnB Shipping Department.
Always Good
Great products at the right price!
Always good and resonably priced
Benn buying from BnB for years because they have what I want at the right price and deliver on time.
39.99 $34.99
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Free to Advertise, Hedge Funds Search for Mascot
(Corrects affiliation of Michael Steinhardt)
Memo To: All Staff
From: Hedge Fund Marketing
Subject: Mascot for Advertising Campaign
With the Securities and Exchange Commission lifting the ban on our advertising activities, we need a mascot for our ads. The wise owl, the noble lion, the soaring eagle -- all taken. So we asked everyone from the youngest analysts to the most seasoned traders to contribute ideas. Thank you for your submissions, and to The Intern for collecting them. They are:
The mink: A little obvious, but as John from fixed-income arbitrage notes, it's an animal with cachet, at least when it's dead. Those of us with wives have expensive experience with this. According to Wikipedia, "the American mink is the only extant member of the genus Neovison." This is a plus -- Neovison sounds like a Google Glass competitor and could appeal to both Gen X and boomers.
The giant oceanic manta ray: It is said to have the largest brain of all the world's fish. Ben in distressed debt points out that aside from being big and rare, "minimal concrete information exists on oceanic manta movements." We like that. (Also, giant manta rays seem far enough away from the notion of vampire squids.)
The albino wallaby: Steve from compliance reports that hedge fund legend Michael Steinhardt has rare albino wallabies on his property. Not sure where this association gets us -- they're white, they hop. No one's ever accused us of being cuddly and we'd like to keep it that way. Still, a valiant effort by Steve.
Related content: View the slideshow version of this story, which adds reader suggestions for hedge fund mascots. Add yours at the bottom of this story.
The naked mole rat: Ian in currencies acknowledges that it sounds creepy at first and the visuals aren't great. But the naked mole rat's physical traits allow it to thrive in an otherwise harsh underground environment. It has a lack of pain sensation in its skin and low metabolic and respiratory rates, perhaps making it an ideal trader.
The tigerfish: A little out-of-the-box thinking by Jane in mortgage-backeds. These fish have large, razor-sharp teeth and are known as fierce predators. Wikipedia again: "In the western gamefishing world, hydrocynus vittatus is regarded to be Africa's equivalent of the South American piranha." Turns out Herb has one of these up on his wall from his trip to the Okavango Delta. These fish are known to attack humans. Take that as you will.
Jeff Koons's Balloon Dog: This one came in anonymously. I think many of us know who displays one of these in his driveway, and thus why this has to be a joke rather than a serious idea. For those who don't get out enough and/or don't read Vanity Fair, this person's last name rhymes with crowin' and goin'. Initials of his firm rhyme with "thwack." You get the picture. If not, see The Intern.
As we continue to refine ideas, it's helpful to consider why a few suggestions will not work:
The Royal Imperial Eagle: Rome collapsed.
Balerion the Black Dread; the Hungarian Horntail: Not sure if these suggestions were made in the spirit of Balloon Dog. Appreciate the learned references to "Game of Thrones" and the Harry Potter series. But dragons are not real, and we don't want to open ourselves up to comments about fanciful thinking or, say, imaginary returns.
And finally, a note on our ad strategy: As a shot across the bow to competitors, we will send a banner plane over the Hamptons beaches on Labor Day weekend, by which time we will have selected our mascot. If you send your address to The Intern, he will alert you to the approximate time the plane will fly over your area. Attaching small banners/flags to yachts would be appreciated, as would affixing decals to longboards, helicopters, etc. Stan in tax strategy suggests speaking with your wealth managers about the writeoff.


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Look no further than the NFL draft to explain how rookie quarterback Christian Ponder's passing pockets are shrinking faster than wallets at Christmas time.
The Vikings are making a valid case as the league's least-invested team in drafting offensive linemen since 2002, when they last chose one in the first round, left tackle Bryant McKinnie, who is now with the Baltimore Ravens after being cut by Minnesota in training camp for excessive weight gain and health concerns.
From 2003-11, 28 NFL teams have drafted at least one offensive lineman in the first round, including 11 teams with two or more. The other three teams that didn't – Giants, Chargers and Titans – start a combined five second-rounders, two third-rounders and three fourth-rounders from the past eight drafts.
Former first-round pick Steve Hutchinson, a potential hall of fame left guard, was a shrewd free-agent signing for the Vikings in 2006, but Hutchinson is well past his prime at age 34. Alongside him are two sixth-round picks (center John Sullivan, left tackle Charlie Johnson), an undrafted free agent (right guard Anthony Herrera, injured) and second-round pick Phil Loadholt, who has shown promise but still struggles in pass protection.
Joe Berger, a sixth-rounder in 2005, is starting in place of Herrera. The Vikings made the offensive line a priority in 2006 by drafting Ryan Cook in the second round, but the team released him in September. Johnson was drafted by the Colts in 2006 and signed by the Vikings in the preseason.
The Vikings' Band-Aid approach to lineman acquisitions extends to the backups, where sixth-round rookies Brandon Fusco and DeMarcus Love develop behind the scenes and undrafted tackle Patrick Brown sees spot duty.
Though the draft is an inexact science, it can be argued the Vikings' draft methods have led them to this point: The Vikings rank 27th in the league with 30 sacks allowed, including eight in the past two games as Ponder is constantly forced to throw under duress.
One team that compares to the Vikings' lack of stockpiling early-round offensive linemen is Tennessee, which starts a second-rounder, two fourths, a fifth and a seventh, all selected since 2004. Tennessee is second in the league with 14 sacks allowed.
To be sure, the Vikings rank sixth in rushing offense at 143.1 yards per game. Sullivan has acquitted himself well in a contract year. Hutchinson and Loadholt are still capable run blockers. Herrera, though oft-injured, is a fierce competitor.
Also, the Vikings have had first-round success with players such as running back Adrian Peterson, wide receiver Percy Harvin and linebacker Chad Greenway.
But if the 2-8 Vikings have a top-three pick in April's draft, highly touted USC left tackle Matt Kalil will be an inviting – if not glaringly obvious – option.
NFL Network analyst Michael Lombardi, a former personnel executive with the Raiders and Browns, said the Vikings would be wise to address the offensive line despite glaring needs in the secondary and at receiver.
"So much of their future depends on the quarterback position, but if you want to give him a real shot, the line is a good place to start," Lombardi said. "Get a young, talented player they can develop."
Selecting offensive linemen early and often isn't always the solution. The 4-6 Seahawks and 3-7 Dolphins each have taken three offensive linemen in the first round since 2003.
But the league's two best teams, the 10-0 Packers and 9-1 49ers, have selected a combined four linemen in the first round in the past two drafts. Mike Iupati and Anthony Davis, both 2010 selections, protect 49ers quarterback Alex Smith, who is enjoying a career resurgence. Starting right tackle Bryan Bulaga, also a 2010 pick, has bolstered the Packers' pass protection. In April, the Packers also selected Derek Sherrod, Bulaga's backup, with the last pick of the first round.
The Vikings could follow a similar blueprint as Green Bay and San Francisco in their rebuilding project, adding quality linemen to the mix of building blocks with Ponder, running back Adrian Peterson, wide receiver Percy Harvin and defensive end Jared Allen.
Pos. Round Overall Year
Mike Malano C 7 240 2000
Lewis Kelly OL 7 248 2000
Brian Crawford T 7 225 2001
Bryant McKinnie T 1 7 2002
Ed Ta'Amu G 4 132 2002
Nat Dorsey T 4 115 2004
Marcus Johnson G 2 49 2005
Ryan Cook G 2 51 2006
John Sullivan C 6 187 2008
Phil Loadholt T 2 54 2009
Chris DeGeare T 5 161 2010
DeMarcus Love T 6 168 2011
Brandon Fusco C 6 172 2011


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Ozzy Osbourne is headlining the Second Stage when Ozzfest rumbles back into town July 11 at the Verizon. This qualifies as a big deal because the legendary rocker turned reality TV star is in semi-retirement from the tour he and his wife, Sharon, created. He's only playing a handful of dates, letting System of a Down do the Main Stage heavy lifting.
But his explanation of why he chose to play San Antonio this time brought his colorful history in this town flooding (maybe that's a poor choice of words) back.
In an often hilarious interview with free-lancer David Glessner that will appear in Friday's Weekender (note: I counted 14 parenthetical "expletives," which actually seems kinda low), Ozzy explained, "Everybody else in this country has seen a lot of (solo) Ozzy Osbourne except (San Antonio) because of the Alamo incident back in the (expletive) Dark Ages. I like San Antonio very much."
The "incident," of course, is the stuff of legend. On Feb. 19, 1982, the day of his HemisFair Arena concert, a drunken Osbourne, wearing pink tights and ballerina shoes for a photo shoot with the British music mag Melody Maker, decided to relieve himself on the Alamo Cenotaph. He was arrested for public intoxication, bragged about the incident that night at the show and was banned from using city facilities a few months later. He didn't set foot on a San Antonio stage until more than 10 years later, when he played two sold-out shows at the county-run Freeman Coliseum.
I remember the first show well, for a lot of reasons. Musically, Ozzy seemed none the worse for wear and not exactly tamed by the experience. He threw buckets of water on the crowd, mooned them twice and said of his 10-year absence, "That was quite a price for a piss."
I also remember the logistical challenge the two shows presented. They were on a Thursday (Oct. 1) and a Saturday (Oct. 3). Naturally, we had a big Weekender preview the Friday before the shows. But what to do about the section sandwiched between them?
The solution: Let the review of the Thursday concert work as the preview for Saturday concert. So Jim Beal Jr. and I decided to do a tag-team review. I wrote a generic story for the early edition Oct. 2, and left the show before the encore to race back to the office and write the review that would replace it for the home edition. Jim stayed until the bitter end and called in additional details, including the encore tunes ("Mama, I'm Coming Home," "Crazy Train").
It's the only time in 16 years of doing Weekender that we redid a page between editions. And now that we have early deadlines (Weekender wraps up before lunch on Thursday), it won't happen again any time soon.
I also learned that night that Jim must come from a nomadic tribe. I got into the Freeman, found my seat and stayed there. Jim found his seat and immediately got up and commenced to wanderin'. He managed to make it to the souvenir stand and purchased a lovely T-shirt of Ozzy sitting on the toilet declaring his intent to retire (he has retired more times than Michael Jordan).
Reminded of his purchase Monday, Jim said, "Damn! I wondered whatever happened to that shirt?"


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The U.S. Supreme Court today held that a public university can require that student groups allow "all comers" in order to receive the benefits of formal recognition. Such a requirement, a 5-4 majority led by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg decided, does not violate the First Amendment's guarantees of freedom of speech or association.
The case, Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, is the second time in as many weeks that LGBT-equality advocates found themselves on the winning side of a case at the high court. This morning, Ginsburg spoke about what she called a "novel First Amendment question."
The case arose from circumstances at the University of California-Hastings College of the Law, in which the Christian Legal Society (CLS) on campus refused to admit all students as members, primarily leading to an exclusion of those who engage in what is referred to as "unrepentant homosexual conduct." This violated the nondiscrimination policy of the school, as well as the more broad "all comers" practice that all parties agreed was applied at the school, leading to the school's refusal to grant CLS formal recognition.
This, CLS argued, was a violation of the students' free-speech rights and associational freedoms. The university, which was sued by CLS, and Outlaw, the LGBT student group at the university who joined in the lawsuit, disagreed.
That Ginsburg was there on Monday might have been a surprise to some. As Chief Justice John Roberts noted at the outset of the court's session, Ginsburg's husband of more than 50 years, Martin, died June 27. The chief justice told the crowd assembled to hear the announcement of the final decisions of the term that Martin Ginsburg, a celebrated tax attorney, "was as loving as he was gifted."
The day also was notable for it likely was Justice John Paul Stevens's last day on the bench, having announced his retirement earlier this year. The confirmation hearings for President Obama's nominee for Stevens's replacement, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, began a little more than an hour after the court recessed.
Despite the unusual circumstances of the day, all nine Supreme Court justices were there as Ginsburg told the audience that the question before the court was: "May a public law school condition official recognition of a student group on the group's agreement to open membership to all students who want to join?"
The court's answer, she said, was yes, adding, "to meet First Amendment [requirements], the school need not provide a religion-based exception."
The National Center for Lesbian Rights, which – along with Paul Smith at Jenner & Block – represented Outlaw, praised the ruling.
"Today's decision affirmed the longstanding doctrine that university nondiscrimination policies do not violate free speech when applied in a consistent and evenhanded way," NCLR senior attorney Christopher Stoll said. "The court rejected the dangerous argument that anti-gay groups must be given a special exemption from nondiscrimination policies."
The "dangerous argument" was, however, supported by four of the court's members, with Justice Samuel Alito writing a dissenting opinion for himself, Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.
Alito argued that the principle behind the court's majority opinion was that there is "no freedom for expression that offends prevailing standards of political correctness in our country's institutions of higher learning." He wrote that the court's decision "arms public educational institutions with a handy weapon for suppressing the speech of unpopular groups — groups to which, as Hastings candidly puts it, these institutions 'do not wish to … lend their name[s]."'
Stevens, in one of his last opinions before his retirement, agreed with Ginsburg's opinion but wrote separately as well, countering some of Alito's arguments with blunt statements that struck at the heart of the case.
"CLS, in short, wanted to receive the school's formal recognition — and the benefits that attend formal recognition," Stevens wrote, "while continuing to exclude gay and non-Christian students (as well as, it seems, students who advocate for gay rights)."
Justice Anthony Kennedy, who also agreed with Ginsburg's opinion, added an opinion of his own focusing on the role of student groups in a college environment.
"A school quite properly may conclude that allowing an oath or belief-affirming requirement, or an outside conduct requirement, could be divisive for student relations and inconsistent with the basic concept that a view's validity should be tested through free and open discussion."
Stevens also fought back against what he saw as the distorted view from the dissenting justices that the opinion "point[s] a judicial dagger" at religious groups in America.
"Although the dissent is willing to see pernicious antireligious motives and implications where there are none," Stevens wrote in a footnote, "it does not seem troubled by the fact that religious sects, unfortunately, are not the only social groups who have been persecuted throughout history simply for being who they are."
The case has been sent back to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which must decide several secondary arguments not resolved by the Supreme Court opinion.


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Best Chinese power triode I've heard to date
I recently reviewed the whole fleet of 300B tubes. The Shuguang Treasure 300B-Z came in second place overall, it's an outstanding tube and looks great as well (in my opinion). In terms of detail retrieval none of the other 300B's could match the 300B-Z. ONE CAVEAT, this tube always sounded quite bad when first powered on, almost unlistenable for the first few minutes. Give it 15 minutes to warm up (it doesn't need to be playing music) and it sounds like itself. Which is to say, excellent. For my full review see my website, www.wallofsound.ca


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|25.09.2013 - Carbon pricing is the best first step to address global warming
|The essential first step is to put in place a functioning carbon price. Europe has had this since 2005 in the form of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). California, Québec, British Columbia, Australia and New Zealand have all recently established carbon pricing of one sort or another. South Korea, Japan, and Switzerland appear to be moving toward carbon markets. Even China has started pilot carbon trading in Shenzhen, and it plans to add programs in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangdong and Hubei...............................................Full Article: Source


text: KRP-600M KURO plasma was any huge secret, but across the pond, the outfit just got official with it alongside three other 1080p sets and a fantastically sexy media receiver. The 50-inch KRP-500A and 60-inch KRP-600A each boast a 64-millimeter thin enclosure, "extreme contrast" levels, DLNA certification and a trio of tuners including analog, digital (DVB-T for Europe) and digital satellite (DVB-S/DVB-S2). Furthermore, the two "A" models come bundled with a whisper-quiet media receiver that appears to be nothing more than a sexy 4-port HDMI switcher. As for the 50-inch KRP-500M and 60-inch KRP-600M, those should ring up slightly cheaper due to the exclusion of internal tuners and the fact that the aforementioned media receiver isn't packed in. Speaking of Euros, there's no mention of price, though release dates span from August (600M) to September (600A) to October (500A / 500M).


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80s authentic vintage -Missing Label, but original label was Snoopy and Friends- Unisex red background acrylic longsleeve pullover ugly Christmas sweater with red, black, green and lurex gold Snoopy sitting in decorated Christmas wreath design. Gold lurex accented hearts above and below wreath. Made for a woman but come on, Snoopy and hearts? Show your feminine side guys.. If sleeves are too short, just scrunch them up and rock it 80s style. Tall or Oversized Long Fit.
Fits 40Bust (Womens Large) or 40Chest (Mens Medium), 30Sleeve, Tall or Oversized Long Fit
Very Good Condition
1.31 lbs


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An Ossett nursery is offering families 15 hours a week of free childcare for two-year-olds, as part of a new national scheme.
The scheme begins on Wednesday, September 3, and it will provide free early education and childcare for parents and care providers who meet the entitlement criteria.
The early learning initiative for two-year-olds is building on a scheme already in place for three and four-year-olds, which has been running for four years.
Elaine Patterson, manager of Ossett Child Care and Pre-School, said: "We want to target the most vulnerable children and we firmly believe we can make a difference in a child's life.
Mrs Patterson said her nursery is looking forward to helping new two-year-olds develop their education through playing and fun challenges.
She said: "There are children who start school and can't speak and aren't even toilet trained.
"If a child comes to us before the age of five then we can really make a difference to their life by getting them to learn in our fun play environment."
For more information about the entitlement criteria visit www.gov.uk/free-early-education
Parents and care providers looking for more information can contact the Wakefield District Families Information Service - who provide free support and advice for accessing childcare - on 0800 587 8042.


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Nathan Ware
So many good Pac-10 storylines for the upcoming season, let's take a look at some of the issues that we'll be tracking.
– Is anyone going to steal the conference crown from USC this year? I've lost track of how many Pac-10 titles they've won in a row at this point (actually, they've won 5 in a row). 2008 should be another title season for them.
– The biggest game of the entire season is USC's matchup with the Ohio State Buckeyes. I'll take the Bucks by 10. This game should resemble OSU's game with Texas in 2006 (OSU actually won by 17 but it was closer than the score indicates). Two really good teams, one is just better.
– ASU should have the best chance of challenging the Trojans for the conference crown but I'm still not a believer. My prediction is that they are headed back to San Diego for a Holiday Bowl rematch with Texas. Remember that crazy play where Mack Brown's stepson stepped onto the field and touched the ball?
– Can the Weaze find a QB in Westwood?
– At some point, you have to feel sorry for Ben Olson.
– Oregon State will take a step backwards this year. I don't see them making a bowl game but the national media seem to be in love with the Beavers.
– The biggest enigma in the conference – aside from UW – is Arizona. They are tough team to figure out. Check out this schedule:
August 30 Idaho
September 6 Toledo
September 13 at New Mexico
September 20 at UCLA
October 4 Washington
October 11 at Stanford
October 18 California
October 25 USC
November 8 at Washington State
November 15 at Oregon
November 22 Oregon State
December 6 Arizona State
Let's look at their schedule from an optimistic perspective. After all, they do have a senior QB, some talent at the skill positions, and Stoops is supposed to be some sort of defensive coaching mastermind.
The Wildcats should be 3-1 through the end of September. October is likely a 2-2 month. And, they should be able to split their final 4 games for a 7-win season. That will earn them a bowl berth and a contract extension for America's best screaming coach. Interesting team to follow……
– 2008 is year 4 of the Pac-10 utilizing instant replay. So far, I'd give the conference a C+ grade. Many of the replayed plays don't need to be replayed (i.e. the play is obvious) and I would argue that they take too long. Last season, the conference had 127 plays reviewed across 66 games (all conference games and home out-of-conference games) with an average time of 1 minute, 44 seconds per replay. They need to get the replays down to a minute average and cut out 1/3 of those 127 replays. We'll see how it goes. For whatever it's worth, only 30 plays were reversed.
– Cal will make a comeback this year and put last year's late-season troubles behind them.
– Oh, those poor Cougs. It's going to be a long season. The media even picked Stanford ahead of them.
– Here are the Pac-10 non-conference games that you need to program into your Tivo.
August 30th
USC at Virginia (Might be interesting, USC should win, though)
September 1st
Tennessee at UCLA (The Weaze gets a beat-down to start his UCLA coaching career)
September 6th
BYU at UW (BCS implications? For BYU, of course)
September 13th
Oregon at Purdue (put some extra batteries in the scoreboard)
Ohio State at USC
September 20th
Boise State at Oregon
Georgia at ASU
October 25th
Notre Dame at UW
November 29th
Notre Dame at USC


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Our friend Adrienne Gonzalez of Jr. Deputy Accountant has been named managing editor of Going Concern, the web's most popular (and funniest) accounting site.
JDA's hits over the years include getting the name "Zimbabwe Ben" in print in Time Magazine.
Let it never be said we don't have an eye for talent.
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Not quite round. Not quite a cylinder. It's the perfect oval-ish, rice-shaped bead. Just chunky enough to be substantial, string together as a simple strand or space them out with a contrasting bead. It's a great bead to use as a sleek alternative in our Beaded Braid project. This natural stone has rich deep reds, a hint of tan, balanced with gray tones.
Temporarily strung on 16 inch strands. Approximately 60 beads per strand.


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Mordechai Kedar: The Arab World on the Precipice
The situation in Syria is deteriorating quickly, and the state is literally disintegrating. The cracks in the government are widening; ambassadors, generals and soldiers are deserting, some branches of the Ba'ath party are announcing their secession from the regime, the Russian advisers are fleeing for their lives and the feeling that the end is near is taking hold more and more. Not the end of Asad, but of Syria. Not the regime, but the system.
Rubin Reports: Mitt Romney Captures Jerusalem
Speaking to an often-cheering group of about 400 people in Jerusalem, Governor Mitt Romney gave a speech less notable for what he said than for the fact that the audience believed he was sincere in saying it.
Alan Dershowitz: No "Buyer's Remorse" For Voting For Obama
Republicans are trying to woo away Jews who voted for Barack Obama in 2008, hoping they have experienced "buyer's remorse." I, for one, have experienced no such remorse. I have gotten from President Obama pretty much what I expected when I voted for him.
Olympic Opening Ceremonies and the Death Throes of a Civilization
Watching the ceremony last night, I had a profound sense of sadness for the hollow revelry. There was no dignified memorializing of the greatness, uniqueness, and courage of Britain's past. There was "irreverent, idiosyncratic" entertainment, and a very long segment of writhing self-abasement before the shibboleth of socialized medicine.
Is Syria Falling into the Hands of Al-Qaeda?
Palestinians who fled the fighting in Syria this week said that the some suburbs of Damascus were full of Al-Qaeda militiamen from a number of Arab countries. Others said that many fighters belonged to radical Salafi groups.
Alger Hiss, The "Loss" of China, and the Obama Administration's Blindspot Toward The Islamist...
When Andrew McCarthy drew a parallel between the treatment of State Department official (and Soviet spy) Alger Hiss in the 1940s and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's aide Huma Abedin Weiner today it reminded me of an interesting discovery from my own research, as documented in my history of the State Department, Secrets of State.
The Levy Report: Reinvigorating the Discussion of Israel's Rights in the West Bank
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was presented with the report of the Commission to Examine the Status of Building in Judea and Samaria, headed by former Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy (the "Levy report"). The report has drawn a flurry of overwrought criticism due to its inclusion of a section concerning the lawfulness of Israeli settlement activity.
The Arab Spring: A Blessing for Hamas
By meeting separately with Khaled Mashaal and Mahmoud Abbas, Mursi has created the impression that the Palestinians have two legitimate leaders. Even more, Mursi has put Mashaal on an equal footing with heads of state, thus granting legitimacy not only to the Hamas leader, but to his entire movement.
Rubin Report: The True Lesson of a Tragedy in Colorado Film Theater
There is no political ideology, government program, or redistribution of wealth that is going to cure humanity's ills. In today's secular, even anti-religious, Western society, religious people are seen as aggressive, intolerant, and foolish. But there are two things a decent religious person possesses that others don't: A belief that there is a divine judge, which may make them curb their behavior; and a desire for self-improvement, to reduce their sins and strive for something higher.
Flight of Christians from Mid-East Reaches Syria
A mass exodus of Christians, including a group evacuated from the besieged city of Homs, have been fleeing Syrian cities for safety. Caught in the middle of a showdown between opposition forces and the Syrian army, many Christians fear the prospect of an Islamist-led government if President Bashar al-Assad is deposed.
Germans Do Not Favor Male Circumcision
An opinion poll indicates that, despite the political initiative to have the Cologne verdict overruled by a law later this year, a majority of Germans favor a ban of male circumcision. In a Europe that is becoming ever more secular, there is a real danger that religious practices will gradually be pushed aside in order to assure that the impression is not given that little children and -in ritual slaughter- animals are made to suffer.
Israeli Settlements an 'Obstacle to Peace'?
The 4th Geneva Convention does forbid government deportation or "individual or mass forcible transfers" of population into territory it occupies. But neither the Geneva Convention nor any other law prevents the establishment of voluntary settlements on an individual basis if the underlying purpose is security, public order or safety, and as long as the settlements do not involve taking private property. It is absurd to suggest that Israel "deported" its own citizens to the territories.
On Academia, Politics and Survival in the Middle East
All of the universities in Israel are political, and moreover, all of the colleges, yeshivas, hospitals, prisons, factories, homes, roads, trees - everything that we have established, built, and planted in Israel - everything, but everything, is political. The whole Zionist enterprise is a political project because it is the political and nationalistic manifestation of the desire of the Jewish people to return to its land and to renew within it its national life, its independence and its sovereignty.
The New Mega-Mosque in Paris: 'Building a French Islam'
The Socialist government in France has inaugurated a new mega-mosque in Paris as a first step towards "progressively building a French Islam." It is not only vast in its dimensions, but is also highly visible and symbolic: its towering minaret, which has purposely been designed to change the suburb's skyline by being taller than any church steeple in the neighborhood, is supposed to become the "new symbol of Islam in France."
Rubin Reports: Islamists Are Generally Winning But Not Everywhere and Not Inevitably
The next era in the Middle East will be dominated by the debate over whether Islamism is the way to go. Islamists will radicalize the regional scene, carry out terrorism at home and abroad, and inflict repression on their own people wherever they get power.
Who Will Save the Christians in the Gaza Strip?
According to the Greek Orthodox Church in the Gaza Strip, at least five Christians have been kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam in recent weeks. In a rare public protest, leaders and members of the 2,000-strong Christian community in the Gaza Strip staged a sit-in strike in the Gaza Strip this week to condemn the abductions and forced conversions in particular, and persecution at the hands of radical Muslims in general.
Monetizing Debt: A Historically Disastrous Policy
Few understand better than the Germans how economic self-destruction can bring a nation and the world to the edge of abyss. The crushing debt imposed on them at the end of World War I led to unprecedented hyperinflation as they monetized their obligations, running their printing presses to create millions of worthless marks.
The Holders of Absolute Truth
A few days ago, en route to the south of Italy, there was a heated exchange between an Italian chief steward and two Egyptian sheikhs wearing the robes of the Egyptian religious university, Al-Azhar. The dispute erupted over where the sheikhs were to sit on the plane: the steward insisted they sit in their assigned seats in economy class, while they insisted on moving to business class. They relayed their extreme displeasure at what they called European arrogance & inflexibility.
Rubin Reports: Yankee Go Home! Saith the Good Guys
The interesting news was not that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was pelted with stuff while visiting Cairo, the important issue was who was doing the pelting. Once upon a time, anti-American radicals threw things at U.S. leaders. But now….the hurlers of objects were people from the Free Egyptians Party and other Egyptian liberals. At the same time, leading Christians refused to meet with Hillary.
The Art of "Gray-Hull Diplomacy"
How should an American president use the military in an intimidating, persuasive manner, to induce Iran to give up her nuclear-weapons purpose? Very little has been discussed on this topic in the forums of punditry; virtually all treatments focus on the feasibility or proper method of a military attack campaign. Is there an "intimidation option," short of a shooting war? And if so, what would it look like?
Rubin Reports: Will the Rebels Win Syria's Civil War and What That Means
The tide seems to be turning in Syria. While the civil war is far from over, the regime is clearly weakening; the rebels are expanding their operations and effectiveness. There have also been more high-level defections. What does this mean and why is this happening? There are three main factors that are making a rebel victory seem more likely.
Anti-Semitism Sweeping France
On 5 July, the very day that the Nouvel Observateur was published, a 17-year old Jew was beaten up in a train near Toulouse because he was wearing a necklace with a Star of David. The aggressors were two 18-year old Frenchmen of North African origin who had just applied to join the French army.
Jihadi Tourism Hits Europe
In Norway, for example, an ethnic Norwegian convert to militant Islam who has received terrorist training from al-Qaeda's offshoot in Yemen, is awaiting orders to carry out an attack on the West, officials from three European security agencies said on June 25. Although the terrorist-in-waiting is believed to still be in Yemen, even if he is found he cannot be extradited: under Norwegian law it is not a crime to attend a terrorist training camp.
Honor Violence in America
Americans, however, have been reluctant to accept the notion that honor violence occurs on US soil, just as – until recently – they insisted that the radicalization of Muslims in Europe was not a problem that could confront Americans. But with events such as Nidal Malik Hassan's 2009 attack at Fort Hood we've learned otherwise: radical Islam is alive and well in these United States and with it, religious and culturally-based violence against women.
Islam's Threat to Diversity
There are those who claim that the Islamization of Egyptian society reflects "the will of the people." But history teaches us that the will of the people is not always beneficial. Eight decades ago, the will of the German people brought Adolf Hitler to power, plunging mankind into genocidal wars and massacres that claimed more than fifty million lives. This example allows us to criticize the current cultural wave sweeping over Egypt.


text:
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Originally posted by rainfall
Originally posted by vermonster
quite a classy fellow, a porn star i see too.
Well if he's in the military I'm sure it's gay porn that he is into...
Isn't that why most 'guys' join the military.....so they can play 'rump ranger' with their 'bunk buddies.'.....
Originally posted by felonius
Have yall not heard the hell these folks are having? Marriages going to pot? Some of them just walking off bases muttering? These people need our help and our support. I really dont know what to do to help but the least I can do is offer them my hand and say thank you.
The least you can do is say thank you for their getting themselves into a situation that caused these symptoms?
Doesn't make much sense to me
If these weren't illegal and immoral wars I would have said the above
but if they know it's wrong but still continued then...
it's their fault
Originally posted by ch1ldofthe70s
Like many of our ATS members I have had my boots on the battlefield and its not easy. Sometimes judgment calls have to be made which later look like major errors. Saying goes "hind sight is 20/20".
Originally posted by rainfall
I wonder if some of those 'major error' calls had anything to do with slaughtering innocent women and children......oops...'.hind sight is 20/20.'....oh well....
Originally posted by vermonster
i'll call every soldier a hormonal naive child to their face for signing up within the last 5 years.
it is obvious our military has other interests than protecting its country. like increasing opium production in afganyland and killing brown people.
if you fail to do your homework before signing up and fall for the hollywood army of one bs, well then, you fell for it. sheep believe what they are told, and make great bullet catchers, its just nature you know.
personally i dont refer to our boys in camo as 'soldiers' anymore, but slaves.
i know plenty of soldiers.
Originally posted by vermonster
the average soldier, err slave rather.......
Originally posted by vermonster
but like i said before, nature kills stupid.
Originally posted by vermonster
funny how no one wants to talk about the fact that since our occupation of afganyland began opium production has skyrocketed.
this is why i dont support our precious, brave, and heroic legions of poppy protectors over there.
Russia has become the biggest consumer of Afghan heroin with 21% of all the drug consumed in the world, as of the latest UN Office on Drugs and Crime report "Addiction, Crime and Insurgency" published on October 21.
According to the report, no less than 70 tons of heroin were trafficked to Russia in 2008 – that's three times more than to the US and Canada together, and much more than previously estimated.
"It's being brought to Russia across the unprotected, transparent, and I would call them virtual borders, which were established after the collapse of the Soviet Union," says Viktor Ivanov, head of the Federal Drug Control Service.
At present, opium poppies are mostly grown in Afghanistan, and in Southeast Asia, especially in the region known as the Golden Triangle straddling Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Yunnan province in the People's Republic of China.
The majority of the heroin consumed in the United States comes from Mexico and Colgmbia. Up until 2004, Pakistan was considered one of the biggest opium-growing countries.
Afghanistan's opium production is used to fund insurgencies against invading U.S. forces. The money from Afghan opium trickles through everyone in the country — from farmers to police to government officials. Outside the country, Afghan opium production is a $65-billion industry.
Afghanistan is now responsible for 92 percent of the world's opium supply.
Most of this supply is distributed throughout Pakistan, Russia, Europe and China. Russia has been hit hard with heroin use, as deaths resulting from AIDS have exploded from 1,900 people in 2001 to 40,000 in 2007, 80 percent of which resulted from dirty needles.
The U.S. war in Afghanistan strongly influences Russia's rising heroin statistics. After the U.S. went into Afghanistan, the Taliban needed more weapons and money, facilitating increased opium production. Russian gangsters trade military weapons with Taliban drug lords for heroin, fueling the vicious cycle with the U.S. military.
Russia is the world's top consumer of Afghan heroin. Last month President Dmitry Medvedev warned that high drug use amongst the country's youth was a threat to national security.
Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, said AIDS still carried heavy stigma in Russia and the government needed to address this.
"Something in society is malfunctioning and it is unable to talk aloud about weaknesses," he said.
Police in the southeastern Chinese border town of Zhuhai have recently seized 11.5 kilograms of heroin and arrested five suspected drug traffickers, Xinhua News Agency reports.
It is reportedly the biggest drug case in China in three years. Besides the large amount of heroin, police also confiscated other drugs, raw materials, a pistol and 97 bullets.
Sunday, August 9, 1987
Chinese criminals have taken over the dominant role in New York City's heroin industry, in a sudden restructuring of a multibillion-dollar enterprise that for decades was the preserve of the Mafia, Federal law-enforcement officials say.
Authorities say ethnic Chinese traffickers have recently been flooding the New York market with huge shipments of Southeast Asian heroin, or China White, which is among the world's purest.
Originally posted by felonius
Many of those that did sign up for service did do so under the impression that they were going to be used to fight a "good" war. I do think they have been horribly betrayed by our government. I had considered enlisting my self but my wife and I discussed it. My family wouldnt have been able to handle it financially. I have to put my family first.
Please, all service people represented here, dont take that wrong.
Originally posted by jerico65
What a hoot. "Obnoxious trolling", yet you posted this:
Originally posted by vermonster
the average soldier, err slave rather.......
You know, I don't know of anyone that was in A-stan that had anything to do with poppies, etc. Maybe that why no one is addressing your BS posts.
Originally posted by vermonster
but like i said before, nature kills stupid.
Then why aren't you dead yet? I guess nature is taking it's time, huh?
Originally posted by vermonster
reply to post by SLAYER69
nice. i like how you left out the fact that the taliban, or freedom fighters as we once referred to them as, imposed a ban on herion up until 2001.
Another source claims opium production was cut back by the Taliban not to prevent its use but to shore up its price, and thus increase the income of poppy farmers and revenue of Afghan tax collectors.[67
Originally posted by vermonster
if my country was invaded by a foreign entity who wished to control my way of life by installing a puppet dictatorship, i would hope that my countrymen would use every tactic under the sun to get them the hell out of MY country.


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Joanna MarpleIn her 20's. Joanna took her guitar and rucksack and wandered the continents, getting involved with some wonderful people, projects and stories. Right now she is a European transplant in the US who writes young adult novels and picture books that offer readers mirrors and windows; lives to 'live' and worlds to explore. Joanna believes equity and empathy should be at he core of our actions and words. She is also a school librarian and gets a kick out of book-matchmaking.
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Category Archives: Diversity Day 2016
Girl Man's Up – Diversekidlit
Title: Girl Mans Up Author: M-E Girard Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books, 2016 Ages: 14+ Themes: gender, queer, gender fluidity, LGBTQIA, Portuguese Canadians, friendship, loyalty, respect, family dynamics Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review Opening: There … Continue reading
Somewhere Among – Diverse Children's Books & GIVEAWAY
Title: Somewhere Among Author: Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu Publisher: Athenium Books for Young Readers, 2016 Ages: 8-12 Themes: Japanese/American, biculturism, 2001, new baby, 9/11, terrorism, bullying I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review Opening: PREPARING MYSELF … Continue reading


text: In article <20010119150944.5BDD7415D5 at mercury.hgmp.mrc.ac.uk>, <huangz at biowww.net> wrote: >In an immunoprecipitation-western blot I used rabbit polyclonal antibody >and protein A agarose beads(protein A is covalently bind to beads) to >pull down antigen complex. In following western blot I used rabbit >polyclonal antibody as primary antibody and HRP-anti rabbit IgG as >secondary. The result turns out to be many bands, including IgG bands. I've never seen a perfectly clean IP-western, but I've done a fair few that are pretty good. If you blot with an antibody from a different species than the IPing antibody, and probe with a species-specific antibody (not just an antibody raised to one species, which generally cross-reacts; you need to use an antibody that has been actually stripped of cross-reacting species), you can get clean results. If you absolutely have no choice and must use two rabbit antibodies, you might try covalently coupling the antibody to beads, instead of using protein A; I've never tried this, but it might help, at least with the heavy chain cross-reactivity. Ian -- Ian York (iayork at panix.com) <http://www.panix.com/~iayork/> "-but as he was a York, I am rather inclined to suppose him a very respectable Man." -Jane Austen, The History of England


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If you haven't already read the TechCrunch article that leaked the story late yesterday, or the press release that went out this morning, well, that is why I am here to tell you about the new bird in town: the Answers.com Hoopoe.
It is a really cool project in the alpha stage. Tweet your question @AnswersDotCom and get a reply with a snippet of the answer and a link to the full page on Answers.com.
Pronunciation tip: Wondering how the chirp you're supposed to pronounce Hoopoe? Have the following conversation out loud with yourself –
"Who goes there?"
"Edgar Allan Poe."
Fun tip: Aside from tweeting the question with @AnswersDotCom, you can also use either #answersdotcom or #hoopoe in your tweet to get the same response.
For your entertainment: Here's a snazzy video intro to Hoopoe.
But what are you waiting for? The real fun is directly on Twitter. Go on, tweet your question @AnswersDotCom and get your Answers.com reply instantly!


text:
Story highlights
- Critics have said it took too long for dispatchers to alert police
- "We will investigate all aspects of this incident," official says
- A public funeral for boys is set for Saturday
- Josh Powell was a suspect in the 2009 disappearance of his wife, Susan Cox-Powell
Authorities have launched an investigation into how dispatchers handled 911 calls from those seeking help before, they say, Josh Powell killed his sons and himself in his Washington home.
Critics have said it took too long for dispatchers to grasp the danger of the situation and alert police.
"We will investigate all aspects of this incident, and if there is a need to refine our processes, (as we do continually) we will do so," said Tom Orr, director of the Law Enforcement Support Agency, which operates the 911 call center. "If there is a need to investigate from a disciplinary perspective and assign individual responsibility, we will do that as well."
Call center records show that it took eight minutes for the dispatcher to send a police car, and it took an additional 13 minutes for a police car to get to Powell's home, CNN affiliate KCPQ reported.
Orr's comments come as the community come to grips with Sunday's murder-suicide at Powell's Graham, Washington home. Powell is accused of snatching his young sons from a social worker who was delivering them for a supervised visit, locking the door, hacking the kids with a hatchet and starting an explosive fire in the home.
Tapes of 911 conversations, released this week, detail the frantic social worker trying to get help.
But even after she told a dispatcher that she smelled gasoline and Powell would not let her in the home, a dispatcher continued to ask questions about her job and says "life-threatening situations come first."
"This could be life-threatening," the social worker pleads. "He was in court on Wednesday and he didn't get his kids back and this is really ... I`m afraid for their lives."
The social worker's husband said she was badly shaken up.
"She's very upset and traumatized. She has said that she thinks this is something that is going to be a life-changing event," the husband told KCPQ.
There has been some criticism of the 911 operator's responses to the social worker. Ed Troyer, spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, said he wished the operator's "etiquette" would have been different, but information gathering on such calls can take time.
"We try to get it right every single time. With humans here sometimes, there are mistakes made. I can`t tell you whether that was the case here until the investigation is complete," Orr told the affiliate.
Services for Charlie, 7, and Braden Powell, 5, will be held Saturday. Family members said they were having a hard time dealing with their grief.
"How could you do that to your children?" their grandfather, Chuck Cox, told HLN's Nancy Grace on Wednesday night.
Cox said the social worker should not have been taking the boys to Powell's residence alone.
"I'm glad she is safe," he said. "She could very well have been in that house. He could have closed the door behind her."
Powell was embroiled in an ugly custody dispute with the Cox family that stems back to the 2009 disappearance of his wife, Susan Cox-Powell.
According to investigators, Powell had said the last time he saw his wife was the night he and his sons -- then ages 2 and 4 -- left to go camping after midnight in freezing weather.
Police have said they will continue to investigate her disappearance despite the deaths.
Chuck Cox said he tried to prevent the visitation.
"We had warned the police ... everybody, that he (Josh Powell) was capable of hurting those children and we were very concerned," he said. But, apparently, the law allowed for it, according to Cox.
"I don't think we could have done anything more," he said.
The grandfather restated his belief that his son-in-law, whom he described as very controlling and unlikeable, is responsible for Susan Cox-Powell's disappearance.
According to Chuck Cox, Josh Powell bristled when he heard or saw evidence that the boys were close to their grandparents.
The Coxes said the boys at first would not talk about their missing mother, but they then opened up a little bit.
One said he last saw her on a camping trip, Chuck Cox told HLN. But then they would forget details or not want to talk about her.
"They went back to a trained and coached response," the grandfather said. "Josh didn't want them saying anything about it."


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Bibliophile was founded by Mark Grimshaw (Wikindx), Matthias Steffens (RefBase) and Daniel Pozzi (PHPBibMan) in 2004. Our goal is to promote collaboration between developers and end-users of bibliographic databases.
We provide GPL PHP libraries to be used in any project for conversion, import and export of bibliographic exchange formats (EndNote, BibTeX etc.), formatting of raw bibliographic data and citations (APA, Chicago, IEEE etc.) and a range of other utilities. See the downloads page for more details.
One future target is to establish a technology to provide cross-site searches for references. BPCentral, the central server will hold a catalogue of installations and the kind of search interface they provide and some more information. A first preliminary version is already up and running.
We have a little more information on the project page. The mailing list archives are accessible from there.
This website is hosted by SourceForge and maintained by Mark Grimshaw based on original work by Daniel Pozzi. We would like to thank SourceForge for their great services and their kind support.


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....doesn't exist!!!! :(
I recently went on a mission to find the perfect ink - one that comes in a good range of colours, doesn't stain clear stamps (too much!) and gives a perfect impression (picking up detail) each and every time....
Brands: Hero Arts (Dye & Chalk); Papertrey Ink (Dye); Adirondack (Dye); VersaMagic (Chalk), Memento (Dye); VersaFine (Pigment)
I justified the expense by reminding myself that stamping is actually my job now but it still stung - a lot. I had planned on just keeping the brand that 'did it all' and putting the rest on ebay (I'm a very thrifty crafter!) so it pains me to conclude that I failed in my mission.
Oh well, guess I'll have to keep them all ;)
Edit: I will do a little write up of my findings soon, I don't like to assume that anyone would be interested in my opinions (lol) so thank you for asking :) x


text:
What does MCSF mean in Conferences?
This page is about the meanings of the acronym/abbreviation/shorthand MCSF in the Community field in general and in the Conferences terminology in particular.
Midwest Consolidated Security Forum
Find a translation for MCSF in other languages:
Select another language:
Discuss this MCSF abbreviation with the community:
Use the citation below to add this abbreviation to your bibliography:
"MCSF." Abbreviations.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2018. Web. 19 Mar. 2018. <https://www.abbreviations.com/term/360792>.


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By SANDIE BANKS
The News-Democrat
This fall, Jefferson Community and Technical College Carrollton Campus, will see the expansion of their Early College Program to include three new counties and a total of nearly 100 high school students.
The Early College program was established in 2013-2014 and included Carroll and Oldham County students. This year, the program will pick up students from Henry, Gallatin and Owen counties.
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Russia bans U.S. officials
Moscow action in response to claims of rights violations
Published 8:28 pm, Saturday, April 13, 2013
A day after the United States imposed sanctions on Russians accused of rights violations, Moscow said Saturday that it could not "leave this open blackmail without response" and published a list of 18 current and former U.S. officials who will now be barred from entry to Russia.
The list is headed by four men who Russia says are responsible for legalizing harsh interrogation methods in U.S. detention centers: David Addington, who served as chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney and provided legal support for interrogation policies; John Yoo, a high-ranking Bush administration lawyer who wrote several major opinions on torture; and Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller and Rear Adm. Jeffrey Harbeson, each of whom commanded detention operations in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The remaining officials are justice and law enforcement officials whom Russia accuses of violating the rights of its citizens abroad. Several were involved in a case against Viktor Bout, the convicted arms dealer now in federal prison in the United States, and a drug-trafficking case against a Russian pilot, Konstantin Yaroshenko.
The most high-profile among them is Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, who oversaw prosecution of the Bout case.
Moscow had warned that it would give a tough response to the United States' so-called Magnitsky List of sanctioned figures, named after a lawyer in Russia who was investigating official corruption, only to be arrested and die in custody in 2009. Already, Russia's Parliament has banned adoption of Russian children by American families, canceling scores of adoptions that had not reached their final stages.
A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, which released the tit-for-tat list Saturday, said that Washington must realize that it cannot conduct its relationship with Moscow "in the spirit of mentoring and undisguised diktat."
"Our principled opinion on this unfriendly step is well known: Under the pressure of Russophobically inclined U.S. congressmen, a severe blow has been dealt to bilateral relations and mutual confidence," said the spokesman, Alexander Lukashevich.
He added, "The war of lists is not our choice, but we had no right to leave this open blackmail unanswered."
A State Department spokesman who declined to be identified said: "As we've said many times before, the right response by Russia to the international outcry over Sergey Magnitsky's death would be to conduct a proper investigation and hold those responsible for his death accountable, rather than engage in tit-for-tat retaliation."
The diplomatic tussle comes after a year of deepening strain between Russia and the United States, and on the eve of a visit by President Barack Obama's national security adviser, Thomas E. Donilon. The Obama administration has sought Russian cooperation in crises in Syria and North Korea, and recently decided to scale back plans for a missile defense system in Europe, an irritant to Russia. But President Vladimir V. Putin attributes a wave of protests against his government to Western interference in domestic affairs, and is increasingly hostile to American criticism of his human rights record.
The Kremlin has made no comment since Friday, when the Obama administration announced that it had penalized about two dozen Russians, ordering their assets in the United States frozen and denying them entry to the country.


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Duane Bonifer
Twenty years ago, Asbury United Methodist Church could have held most of its services in one of its members' living rooms as the church rarely had more than 10 people at a service.
Today, the church at 9600 New Columbia Road on the Adair-Taylor county line, is a thriving faith community of more than 220 members. Weekly attendance averages more than 100.
And on Sunday, the church will host a special service that celebrates "105 years in ministry."
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Discussion in 'General Gallery' started by amar fit for battle., Aug 25, 2007.
"Self Expression"
James 5-0
thoughts and comments greatly appreciated
that skate shot is wicked. great lighting.
Holy hell! I LOVE the first shot!!! The skate shot is great too! Damn, awesome, awesome work.!.!>!>!
I really like the first image! The concept is very unusual and the angle is very creative.
The first one is very clever. Cool idea! The second is a really good photo.
Will be looking forward to future posts in TPF. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the comments
Great stuff.
Love #1!
What a creative idea
Separate names with a comma.