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Vietnam is considered to be the biggest beneficiary country of the 12 countries participating in the TPP. The fact that countries which have large markets like the US, Japan and Canada reducing import tax to 0% for Vietnam goods will create tremendous boost to export of Vietnam. Particularly the textile industry, turnover could increase significantly.
The textile and footwear industries, the agricultural, forestry and fishery goods of Vietnam will have the opportunity to increase export significantly.
Joining TPP will also help Vietnam and other countries to have new opportunities from new supply chain, which will be formed after TPP takes effect. TPP countries currently account for 40% of global GDP and 30% of global trade. Moreover, it includes major markets such as USA, Japan which will certainly open up many opportunities when the new supply chain formed.
Accordingly, a number of corporations and large companies in the world have considered investing inVietnam with the goal of making Vietnam become one of the important bases in their production chain. Joining TPP will help this trend grow stronger, which is an important condition for Vietnam to step on stage to develop new industries with higher technological contents.
The commitments in TPP in service and investment are also expected to have a positive effect in improving the investment environment, contribute to attracting foreign investment. Many studies confirm that foreign investment will increase as TPP takes effect.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that Vietnam enterprises will also can join into the public procurement market in the United States, Japan, Canada… According to the data from the US, the market for public procurement of this country is about 10-12 billion USD each year. This is an attractive distribution channel for export goods from Vietnam.
The completion and strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights will open opportunities to attract investment in sectors with high knowledge content, such as pharmaceutical manufacturing, including bio-medicine and especially vaccine.
TPP will create condition for enhancing growth, creating job and increasing income, contributing to poverty alleviation, improving the quality of human resources and health care for the community.
ANT Consulting is here to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory, management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure efficient business start-up operation. Our services are as following:
We strive to save your cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and carry you through as your business grows. We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.
We could be reached at email: email@example.com or tel: +848 3520 2779 . To learn more about us, please visit www.antconsult.vn


text: Bill Bryce wrote: > Regarding the 'borgification' of MPI on Windows....there is an opening > for them to do this. MPI did not define how you start the tasks when > you launch a parallel job....it left that up to the MPI implementation. > Now most MPIs use something reasonable, like say ssh - or starting a mpd > ring to launch the tasks (and this is all open source), however I > believe that for Microsoft MPI they wrote their own replacement for > 'ssh' and also modified how the tasks are launched to ensure their MPI > fits into Microsoft's security model, here is specific information on > this from Microsoft's site You'll find this is common to all MPI's. What microsoft have done here is no different. I'd argue that ssh is also not reasonable in this day and age so however MS have done this it doesn't need to be very good to be on a par with some Linux setups. > "An important improvement that MS MPI brings to MPICH2 is in how > security is managed during execution of MPI jobs. Each job is run with > the credentials of the user. Credentials are only present while the job > is being executed on the compute nodes and are erased when the job > completes. Individual processes only have access to their logon token, > and do not have access to the credentials (user name and password) that > generated the token or to the credentials used by other processes." This is an implementation detail and on Linux not a very important one, I think the fact it's quoted here says more about expectations of MS security than anything else. It's my impression that security/credentials hasn't been a problem for most people in practice so although there are ways of doing it they aren't widely used. > So this change effectively ties Microsoft MPI to only Microsoft Windows > platforms, and the security changes are closed source. Not all of > Microsoft's partners like MS MPI - when HP ships Microsoft CCS they > remove MS MPI and put in HP MPI - which probably just adds to confusion > on the end user side. This is also common to all closed source MPI's (Including those based on MPICH) and actually in practice common to most open source MPI's as well, it's the age old ABI issue. HP ships their MPI on *all* systems they sell, buy a Quadrics system from HP and you get HP-MPI by default. I don't think it's because their MPI is necessarily any better than our MPI on the particular platform, it's just that it's the HP-MPI and it's a HP platform. Ashley,

subset: commoncrawl


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In an ever changing and challenging environment, the work of Martin vom Stein and The Shopsumer Institute will surely help to increase collaboration between manufacturers and retailers with the joint goal to improve Shopsumer satisfaction
The need to adapt the manufacturers' and retailers' business models to the needs of the Shopsumer in the wake of his increased access to the market through modern technology requires serious restructuring in the Consumer Goods industry. Thanks to their extensive knowledge and insights in this field, The Shopsumer Institute provides both strategic as well as operational help
Without a profound knowledge of the final customer, the Shopsumer, we will not be able to ever develop a prosperous collaboration with retailers for developing categories. The Shopsumer Institute helps us develop that


text: The Seychelles are a group of 115 islands, only a few inhabited, in the Indian Ocean that lie off the coast of East Africa, northeast of Madagascar. The Seychelles were disputed between France and Great Britain during the age of colonialism. The politics of this island group remain in something of a state of flux, although this should not bother the tourist seeking a relaxing beach vacation. The environment is a treasured aspect of Seychelles and there are more than 1,000 recorded species of fish around the islands and Aldabra, just one of the islands, is home to the largest population of giant tortoises in the world.


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This Lladro piece is a porcelain figurine of four adorable ducklings snuggled up to a blue blanket in a wicker basket. A mother duck sits beside gazing a watchful eye over them. The comical expression on each of the ducks faces is highlighted by the pastel hues of blue, yellow and brown in the fine porcelain. An intricate wicker pattern decorates the basket, completing this wonderful piece from Lladro.
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As a personal/business coach, I've worked with many farm and ranch couples to help them figure out how to get what they want from ranch life. This is particularly important when you're over 50 because your peak earning year is likely to be around age 50. After that, your energy starts to drop, interest in what you've been doing starts to wane and you tend to just not work as hard.
There's nothing wrong with that — it's normal. The problem comes when you either don't recognize the "new" conditions, or do but pretend it isn't happening. Depression is likely to follow.
But, if a couple knows what they want in life, talks about it and works toward achieving it, there's far less stress. It can save money, too.
Here's a typical example
Tony and Susan are 52 and 50 years of age, respectively; they've farmed for 30 years. They crop 800 acres and run a 60-head, cow-calf operation. They've managed well and have little debt. Susan is proud to be a homemaker and spends a lot of time in her garden, while Tony is very independent and a man of few words.
Two years ago, Tony fell and broke his right leg. There are many winter days now when his leg pains him.
He hasn't mentioned to Susan that he finds it more difficult to get all the work done. He's always taken great pride in not having to take things to town to get them fixed, but his farm is slowly running down.
Susan would like to spend more time with their only daughter, who's married and lives 500 miles away. Tony is saddened his daughter doesn't come home more often. Susan has explained to him, though, that Linda is busy with her job and money is always tight, as her husband is constantly in and out of jobs.
On the surface, the farm appears to be successful and the couple have reached their goal. The question is, what is their goal?
The way it stands, Tony is likely to become depressed as his "decline" continues, and Susan will become more worried. Without knowing what's bothering Tony, the couple will have less comradeship, and intimacy will decline.
Tony may begin to think his farming life is over and there's nothing left to live for. A heart attack may not be far away.
After just a few changes
Imagine, however, what would happen if they made a few changes.
Tony might admit his problem keeping up with the farm. He and Susan could devise a plan to give them the life they want, once they figured out what that is.
Suppose Tony likes cropping, but is tired of looking after cows. Suppose also that, despite enjoying cropping, he doesn't want to manage all 800 acres any more. In fact, he'd get enough pleasure out of managing 300. They could sell the cows, pay off the remaining debt, and put the rest into safe investments.
Tony could rent part of his farm for cash rent, providing another income stream while cutting his workload. He could crop the remaining land, and have just the amount of work he enjoys.
For sure, they'd get their accountant involved in these decisions so they could minimize the tax burden. They'd still have farm income, along with no debt, and the time to visit their daughter, or even do a little traveling.
Sounds simple doesn't it? They would go from quiet desperation to a fulfilling semi-retirement with just a bit of communication and planning. The fact is, it doesn't really have to be much more complicated than that.
The hard part for many men is talking truthfully with their wives about how things are with them, and what they ideally would like in their lives. I've seen dramatic changes in the lives of men who have done just that.
Edmonton-based Noel McNaughton speaks at conventions and for corporations on "Farming/Ranching at Midlife — Strategies for a Successful Second Age." He is a regular contributor to BEEF magazine. More of his articles are posted under the Ranching Over 50 button on www.americancowman.com. Contact him at 780/432-5492 or e-mail: email@example.com.


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League of Composers/ISCM 2014 Composers' Competition
Enter HERE
Submission due by May 15, 2014
The League of Composers/ISCM US Section is open to all composers with United States citizenship or legal residence. The winner will receive a $500 cash prize and possible performance in New York City. Up to five additional finalists may also be selected. There are no stylistic limitations. Works must be between 5 and 20 minutes in length, although closer to 10 minutes is encouraged, to increase the likelihood that the piece will be programmed on a League/ISCM concert. Submitted works may be for solo instrument, small ensemble, or any combination up to a chamber orchestra, voice, multiple vocalists, chorus, opera and additional media, and/or electronic components. While we will consider works with any instrumentation, please note that we cannot promise performances of works for forces larger than chamber orchestra, 4 or 5 vocalists or equivalent chorus.
The submission deadline for the 2014 World Music Days Festival passed in fall 2012. There is currently no call for scores for the 2015 World Music Days, but when the call for scores is available, we will include works from this competition in the US Section's submission of six works to that Festival.
Any compositions using texts must show proof of all necessary copyright permissions. We can accept up to three pieces per composer. Each piece requires its own upload and PayPal fee of $21.00.
Our submission process is entirely electronic; if the work you wish to submit cannot be submitted in this way, please contact Lisa Freeman for assistance at email@example.com.
The entry page will require you to upload the following to our website:
- One pdf, which includes your bio and CV, including any contact information.
- Another pdf, which is a copy of the full score of the work. Submissions are judged anonymously. You must remove your name everywhere from the score, including in the copyright notice. There is no need for a pseudonym. We apply our own index number.
- One mp3, which includes a recording or midi realization of the work, also with your name omitted.
- A completed PayPal transaction for $21.
Selection Process
The judges will meet and adjudicate during the summer of 2014 and endeavor to complete the process soon thereafter. If they choose more than one winner, the $500 prize will be split between the winners. Subsequent possible performances of the winning works will be arranged over the course of the following year, probably for a concert season later than 2015. If the League is able to arrange a performance, the composer of the winning work must supply a conductor's score and parts at his or her cost. Questions should be addressed to firstname.lastname@example.com.
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Today, a new poll was released by Democracy Corps and the Campaign for America's Future gauging public reaction to the Republican budget expected to pass the House today. What follows is an analysis of that poll from Democracy Corps pollster Stan Greenberg and CAF Co-Director Robert Borosage. For the full poll and related charts, click here.
Date: April 15, 2011
To: Friends of Democracy Corps and Campaign for America's Future
From: Stanley Greenberg and Robert Borosage
Paul Ryan to Seniors: Drop Dead
Congressman Paul Ryan's budget proposal, to be embraced by the House Republican majority today, faces serious obstacles in winning public support, according to a new national survey by Democracy Corps and Campaign for America's Future.
The Republican plan provides Democrats with a strong argument that Republicans have the wrong priorities for America and will break the long-standing agreement the country has with its seniors. The budget opens up a fundamental debate about values that could end up defining Republicans in the public mind and allowing Democrats to draw sharp differences and regain their standing on the economy and spending priorities and advocacy for the middle class. The decision to end Medicare and shift costs to seniors in continuing tough times may be the Republicans' undoing.
Confidence in Washington is at a low. This new survey shows an electorate increasingly doubtful about the economy and country's direction, the performance of the president and particularly the 'Republicans in Congress.' They are also pretty negative about the Democrats in Congress, the Tea Party movement and above all, the 'Tea Party Republicans.'
The Republican deficit reduction plan does not even win majority support, but when voters learn almost anything about it, they turn sharply and intensely against it. They have particularly grave concerns about the plan to end Medicare and slash Medicaid spending, pushing seniors into the private insurance market and costing them thousands of dollars more in out-of-pocket expenses.
The following are some key findings from our recent survey.
The Political Cauldron
The Republican plan has been dropped into a cauldron where voters are increasingly upset with the economy and direction of the country, with the Republicans in Congress and to a lesser extent with the president. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) say that the country is pretty seriously off on the wrong track. This is the worst we have seen since the 2008 election. Independents are particularly troubled, with more than three quarters saying we are off track; a mere 11 percent feel things are moving in the right direction. Two thirds also give negative ratings to the economy, which has not moved for the last six months – as people struggle with prices, declining in-come and meager job growth.
The country does not like what they see with the new Republicans in Congress, with 55 percent disapproving of their performance. That has jumped 9 points since February, and reflects voters' short and waning patience with these new Republicans and with their Tea Party agenda. 'Tea Party Republicans have the lowest thermometer rating of all political actors in the survey, with 47 percent viewing them negatively.
But right now, voters do not have a lot of confidence in Democrats on the economy, jobs, the budget deficit and even retirement issues. That changes dramatically when they hear about the Republican budget, but it is important to note the starting point on the economy and the deficit.
The Democrats trail the Republicans by 16 points on "has the right approach to spending and deficits" (35 to 51 percent) and by 10 points on the economy (38 to 48 percent.) Even on Democrats' core issues—Medicare, Retirement and Social Security, Democrats start from a much weaker position than we would expect. While Democrats begin with an 8-point advantage on Medicare, they begin with just a 2-point advantage on retirement and Social Security.
This survey fielded before the President laid out his agenda and made his case on the Ryan budget, but the negotiated battles of the last months and accompanying gas price rises have not helped him. In this survey, the president's job performance rating fell to 44 percent – after moving over 50 percent earlier in the year. His approval rating was just 32 percent with independents. He is doing better in the Republican-Obama congressional districts, which will be a key battleground in the election and in the budget debate.
The Republican Budget Proposal
Voters are clearly wary about the debate in Washington. Less than half the public initially ap-proves of the Republican House budget proposal — described simply as a "budget for the next 10 years that they say will cut 6.2 trillion dollars from the federal budget." A fifth do not know the plan enough to respond, but it is noteworthy that a budget described only as deficit reduction gets just 48 percent support at the outset.
Even among groups that have been strong on the deficit all year, this budget opens with only moderate support. Just over half (53 percent) of white non-college voters initially favor this plan. The numbers are similarly modest for white seniors (51 percent) and in the rural non-South areas (50 percent). There is stronger initial support among white men (58 percent favor the plan at the outset) but this support erodes as soon the plan is described. When the budget is described — using as much of Paul Ryan's description as possible (see text box below)— support collapses to 36 percent, with just 19 percent strongly supporting the plan. The facts in the budget lose people almost immediately – dropping 12 points. Putting the spotlight on this budget is damning. A large majority of 56 percent oppose it, 42 percent strongly. The impact is much stronger with seniors where support erodes from 48 percent to just 32 per-cent, with 57 percent opposed. Support with independents drops from 55 percent to 43 percent.
The plan cuts 6.2 trillion dollars below the president's budget and reduces the debt as a percentage of the economy. It makes small cuts in defense spending. It cuts spending for domestic programs in the coming year by 72 billion dollars, almost 20 percent, and freezes it for five years. It repeals the new health care bill and the new Wall Street reform law, makes major cuts of almost 800 billion dollars to Medicaid and Medicare for seniors over the next ten years. Starting in 2022, new retirees will no longer get health coverage through Medicare, but instead will get a voucher that will partially pay for insurance they purchase from private health insurance companies. The proposal cuts taxes for corporations and people making over 370 thousand dollars a year.
After we present the arguments on both sides –not only on the budget plan but on economic messages more generally—support moves back to 44 percent — but over 50 percent remain opposed with intense opponents outnumbering intense supporters by 11 points. The fact that Republicans win back some support tells us that although the Republicans' plan loses at the end of the day, Democrats have to take the goal of deficit reduction seriously.
The information and debate on the Republican budget brings new Democratic base voters to life. At the end of the survey, almost 60 percent of young voters and two-thirds of unmarried women and African American and Hispanic voters oppose the plan. Getting these voters back and energized should be a top priority for Democrats heading into the election season. In challenging the budget, Democrats are creating the kind of intensity that made such a difference in the last na-tional elections.
The debate over the budget shifts important swing groups as well and erodes support, though they end up fairly evenly split at the end. Independents are initially supportive of the Republican budget (55 percent), dropping to 43 percent with information and coming back to 50 percent after the debate. Among suburban voters, opposition jumps from 37 percent to 53 percent with bare information about the budget and after the debate of issues, 50 percent remain opposed.
White seniors are very volatile – with opposition rising from 32 percent to amazingly, 54 percent. However, after hearing arguments on Medicare and other budgetary issues, many white seniors return, ending the survey with 48 percent in favor and only 42 percent opposing the budget plan. The same pattern holds for white non-college voters.
Deconstructing the Republican Plan
The strongest specific attacks center on Medicare. Cuts to Medicare raise concerns for nearly two-thirds of respondents. The description of the program—that it would cut Medicare spending overall and replace the existing system with a voucher program and seniors will have to pay more—raises very serious doubts for 40 percent and serious doubts for 66 percent of all respondents and for 68 percent of seniors. In regression analysis, this attack was correlated to movement toward Democrats. The attack is presented below.
(VOUCHER WITH MORE COST) This plan would cut Medicare spending and replace Medicare with a voucher system, which will force seniors to negotiate with private insurance companies, which are free to raise rates and deny coverage. Medicare's guaranteed coverage of care would end, and seniors would have to pay more and more out of pocket.
The attack focusing on cost increases for seniors causes 65 percent of all voters and 67 percent of seniors to doubt this budget plan. It raises very serious doubts for 37 percent of all voters and for 35 percent of seniors.
(SENIOR COSTS) This plan reduces benefits and raises health care costs for seniors. Under this plan, the average 65-year-old beneficiary will be expected to pay 43 percent more than in the current Medicare system, as much as twenty thousand dollars out of pocket annually for premiums to health insurance companies.
Framing the Debate
The Democrats' strongest thematic attack also centers on Medicare. The "Broken Contract" framework gains traction with a striking diversity of voters, including swing groups, base groups, and voters of all ages.
(ENDING MEDICARE BROKEN CONTRACT) This budget shreds the contract that this country has with seniors after a life time of work. We promised seniors that the cost of health care and long-term care would not bankrupt them and their families in their retirement. By ending Medicare, this plan will force seniors to pay more out of pocket and negotiate with private drug and insurance companies. By slashing Medicaid it takes away the last protection for seniors late in life.
This message gains traction with voters of all ages, including 78 percent of young voters under 30 years, 43 percent intensely. Among seniors, 68 percent say it raises serious doubts, 37 percent very serious doubts. It was also significant in regression analysis, correlated to movement toward trusting Democrats more on the economy.
This values-centered broken-contract message moves key swing voters. It raises intense doubts among the swing voters that voted for Barack Obama in 2008 but Republican in 2010 (45 percent very serious doubts and 70 percent serious doubts.) This raises comparable doubts among suburban voters, independents and white non-college voters. Among white seniors, this argument raises doubts for 63 percent. Had this survey focused only on Medicare and retirement issues, the shifts against the Republicans would have been more sweeping.
Given its popularity among swing voters, it is notable that this message is so popular, intensely so, with the base: 82 percent of Democrats say that this message causes them to seriously doubt the Republican budget, 59 percent very seriously. Similarly, 80 percent of minority voters, 82 percent of unmarried women, and 71 percent of all women, say this message causes them to seriously doubt this plan to reduce the deficit.
What is striking about this thematic is that it is grounded on values and on a broken promise. This suggests that the Republican proposal on Medicare/Medicaid raises far broader concerns than simply a policy proposal. This has the potential to help define for people who Republicans really are.
While focusing on Medicare is the strongest approach, it is buttressed by a critique of Republican priorities – prioritizing corporate special interests, not reducing the deficit or helping the country. It says this plan "actually raises taxes for the middle class, while cutting them for the wealthiest." In the end, this budget is wrong-headed because the budget is employed not primarily "for reducing the deficit, but to help the most privileged."
(FOR THE TOP) This plan has the wrong priorities. It is focused on helping corporate special interests and Wall Street, not reducing the deficit or helping the country. It actually raises taxes for the middle class, while cutting them for the wealthiest. It repeals the Wall Street reforms for the big banks. And it abolishes Medicare, cuts funding for education, health care, alternative energy, and job training programs and uses the money not for reducing the deficit, but to help the most privileged.
This message was significant in regression analysis, correlated to movement toward trusting Democrats more on Social Security and retirement. It caused 61 percent of all voters to seriously doubt the Republican budget plan and was powerful for a broad spectrum of voters.
It is important to note here that Republicans also have effective arguments in support of the budget proposal, in particular that their plan will end "the reckless path of over-spending and borrowing" that "leaves our children burdened by debt" and that this plan will help small businesses create jobs. These arguments are particularly resonant with the "deficit hawk" groups we discuss above and Democrats will need to keep the debate centered on the Republicans' wrong priorities and their dismantling of Medicare.
In the end, these Democratic messages shift voters towards Democrats on defining issues—Medicare and Social Security and retirement issues, but most important, handling the deficit.
* Those who believe that Democrats are better than Republicans at handling Social Security and retirement climbed a net 7 points (from net +2 to net +9.)
* Perhaps most important is the shift on having the right approach to the deficit. Trust that Democrats have "the right approach to spending and deficits" rises a net 9 points.
Democrats gain a lot of ground with independents, which suggests that this budget is a winning issue for Democrats and a losing proposition for Republicans (especially those who are legislating under the influence of the Tea Party.)
Democrats need to be heard and gain trust on these key issues. Fighting back hard on this budget is the place to start.
This can be a defining debate that can help settle fixed concepts of two parties in voters' minds. The extended debate—over the budget, debt ceiling, and taxes—should be waged on Democrats turf. In this battle, it must become clear that Republicans insist on breaking the promise to seniors and shifting costs to them, while failing a fundamental test of priorities—fighting for further tax cuts for corporations and the very wealthy rather than cutting the deficits and helping the country. While the immediate proxy war will be waged over this budget, the argument is much bigger than a budget debate, and one that may leave much more indelible images than the dizzying barrage of big numbers for which the public has little patience.


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Hey guys. I'm not going to show Gyspy, but she is an ADBA registered dog, and I wanted to get some opinions on her conformation.
This is a free stack she put herself into while playing fetch yesterday, and I thought her stance looked pretty nice...much better than the actual stack picture I have of her, . She HATES to be shuffled into position.


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South Dakota's Joe Glenn on Montana Loss, South Dakota State Game
There is no such thing as a good loss, but some sting more than others.
After the University of South Dakota dropped a 31-27 decision to Montana at home last Saturday, thanks in part to a late fumble and kickoff return for a touchdown, Head Coach Joe Glenn used words like 'horrible' and 'devastating' to describe the defeat:
USD clung to a 24-17 lead with about seven minutes to play when running back Trevor Bouma, who was having a big day (147 yards rushing), re-entered the game after injuring himself. That injury led to a fumble, which was recovered by former Washington High School standout Matt Hermanson, and returned for a game-tying touchdown:
While there are more than a few question marks on the offensive side of the football for the Coyotes after Saturday's loss, the defense continues to step up, keyed by several big plays, including an Aaron Swift interception return for a touchdown on the Grizzlies' second pass of the day:
That defense will be tested once again this week, when they square off against one of the top rushers in the nation in South Dakota State's Zach Zenner, who ran for 137 yards in last week's win over Indiana State. It was the ninth time this season the junior has topped the 100-yard mark in a game. Last season against the Coyotes, Zenner ran for 164 yards and a touchdown:
When the Jackrabbits throw the ball, they've got the top passing attack in the Missouri Valley Conference, with Austin Sumner throwing for 229 yards per game, and Jason Schneider leading the league in receptions.
But whether SDSU is successful thru the air will be determined by the play up front, where the Jacks have allowed 25 sacks this season (2nd worst in the league), and USD has gotten to the quarterback 20 times in MVC play (2nd best ):
Last year's meeting was no contest, with the Jackrabbits winning 31-8 in Brookings. Coach Glenn knows there's a lot at stake in a big rivalry game like this and he's looking for a healthy dose of determination from his team in the DakotaDome Saturday, in the South Dakota Showdown:
Kickoff is 1:00pm Saturday afternoon in Vermillion.


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|September 1, 2010
"Mind Blowing" Classroom of the Future Opens at SMC
Imagine a classroom that feels something like a CNN studio in which three walls are filled with multiple images and high-definition video clips, students are texting responses to questions which can be projected and even analyzed immediately, and iPads and other devices have replaced pens, notebooks and even laptops.
Welcome to SMC's $250,000 Digital Learning Studio, a "classroom of the future" in the Letters & Science Building that opened Monday, the first day of the fall semester.
Using not only iPads, but also SMART interactive whiteboards and Response clickers, high-definition video, and mobile furniture, a group of SMC professors is embarking on a pilot project designed to engage students – particularly basic skills students – in ways not seen in traditional classrooms.
Funded by a federal Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions Program grant, the new digital studio is modeled after "The Hyperstruction Studio" at the University of California at Riverside.
"It's mind blowing. We're using a fast, visual and exciting means of teaching that seeks to duplicate the way that students communicate today," said Regina Jennings, project manager for the grant.
Ten classes have been scheduled in the 32-seat studio, including basic skills math, intermediate algebra, basic skills English and several communication courses.
The technology, along with the furniture on wheels that allows students to cluster as groups in different configurations, delivers not only content in an interactive way but also stimulates faculty experimentation and creativity.
"The Digital Learning Studio allows the instructors to interact in a fluid way, but also allows students to interact with the lesson plans in individual and collaborative ways," said Al DeSalles, manager of media and reprographic services, who has spearheaded the project with Jennings.
DeSalles said that professors in the classroom have each been given an iPad. In addition, eight iPads have been purchased for students – one for every four. He said the college deliberately purchased only eight so that each group of four students would share one iPad to foster collaborative learning.
Jennings said the goals of the Digital Learning Studio pilot project are to help basic skills students, produce higher levels of student retention rates, and improve the transfer rate for students who need the most academic support.
She said that the purpose of the U.S. Department of Education grant being used for the studio is to strengthen the college, which has been designated an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander serving institution because its enrollment of that population is 15 percent and the federal guideline is at least 10 percent.
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With many NFL teams bypassing the old tradition of going away to training camp, many fans lost their best opportunity to see teams up close.
But the Ravens are going to allow a select few inside the gates of their own facility to get a glimpse of the work. Emphasis on "few."
The team is having a lottery to let "fans in limited numbers," into their behind-closed-doors practices, saying they can host 200 fans when they're at their facility for 13 practices this summer.
Registration for the lottery is available on the team's website for those sessions. Because of space limitations, even one of their three "open" practices (at Stevenson University on Aug. 19) is subject to a lottery as well.
Fans have two weeks to apply, and the Ravens have set up separate pages for PSL owners and non-PSL owners. The skeptic in me has to wonder how good the chances are for the non-paying customers to ever get behind the curtain.


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Management of Privatised Housing: International Policies and Practice / Edition 1 available in Hardcover
- 1405181885
- 9781405181884
- Pub. Date:
- 06/02/2009
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The sale of public and social housing has been a major aspect of housing policies in recent decades. Privatisation and a general retreat by governments from the housing arena have pushed up sales; this has been particularly evident within Eastern European countries and China but is also taking place in many Western European countries and Australia.
Wherever it occurs, such privatisation has lead to new challenges for housing management. Many estates are now a mix of public and private, raising questions about the division of responsibilities between different owners. Legislation to address this is not adequate and public managers are still hampered by the bureaucratic mechanisms within their organisations, while the new owners are not used to their responsibilities for maintenance. Added to this are the limited financial resources for renewal and maintenance among both public and private owners at a time when the need for investments is urgent, especially within the massive housing estates dating from the communist era.
Experts from Australia, France, the Netherlands, UK, Switzerland, China, the Czech Republic, Moldavia, Russia, Serbia and Slovenia present their county's context and the policies and practice for managing privatised housing, together with case studies illustrating the issues described.
How privatised public housing is managed is of international concern, which will benefit from an international exchange of knowledge and best practice. The comparative analysis offered in Management of Privatised Housing: International Policies & Practice makes a significant contribution to the literature on this important topic.
Product Details
|Publication date:
|Real Estate Issues Series , #24
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About the Author
Vincent Gruis is assistant professor of housing at Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Real Estate & Housing. He has a PhD in Housing and conducts research and is a consultant in the area of housing management and urban renewal. Dr. Gruis has published extensively in well-known international and national journals on housing and his teaching includes MSc courses on Urban Development, Housing Management, Housing Policy and Urban Management.
Sasha Tsenkova is professor of international development at the University of Calgary, Canada. She has a PhDs in Architecture and in Planning. Her research and consultancy experience in housing policy and urban development in more than 30 countries in North America, Western and Eastern Europe and South-east Asia. She is a consultant to the World Bank, the United Nations in New York and Geneva, the Canadian International Development Agency and the Council of Europe.
Frederic Bougrain - Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment, France
Limei Chen - City University of Hong Kong, China
Patrick Dogge - Trudo housing association, The Netherlands
Martin Lux - Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic
Vivienne Milligan - Australian Housing & Urban Research Institute, University of Sydney, Australia
Alan Murie - University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Djordje Mojovic - UN Habitat, Serbia
David Ousby - Prospect Row LLP, United Kingdom
Maria Plotnikova - Centre for Public Policy for Regions, University of Strathclyde & University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
Bill Randolph - City Futures Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Australia
Richard Sendi - Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia, Slovenia
Jos Smeets - University of Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Rob Soeterbroek - University of Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Joris E. van Wezemael - University of Zurich, Switzerland
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION: Conceptual Framework.
Part I – CASE STUDIES FROM WESTERN EUROPE AND AUSTRALIA.
England, The Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Australia.
Part II – CASE STUDIES FROM EASTERN EUROPE AND CHINA.
Serbia, The Czech Republic, Slovenia, Russia, Moldova, China.
In order to facilitate cross-national analyses, all chapters are written according to the same general format. This format consists of four sections:.
Section 1: Description of national housing context in country X.
- a description of the national composition of the housing stock according to tenure, size, and dwelling type, supported by statistics;.
- a general description of the housing system: which organisations develop and manage the housing stock; what are government regulations for housing development and management concerning rent setting, allocations, sales, maintenance and renewal, and tenant involvement; how are the landlords supervised (by whom and on what basis); what financial support exists for housing management, renewal and development (exploitation grants, subsidies for renewals, government loans, government guarantees, housing grants)?.
- a general description of the situation on the housing market: shortages and surpluses according region, dwelling type, tenure and price.
- a reflection on the occurrence of housing problems, problematic neighbourhoods, vacancies, etc..
Section 2: Privatisation in country X.
- a reflection on the privatisation policies in the past decades;.
- description on the occurrence of privatisation, supported by statistics of the pace of privatisation (quantities);.
- a description of the conditions under which dwellings were sold: price and the division of management responsibilities between landlords and homeowner;.
- an analysis of the challenges for maintenance and renewal of the partly-privatised estates;.
- an analysis of the institutional, organisational, cultural, social and financial problems of management;.
- policies and (innovative) practices that have been or are being implemented to deal with these problems..
Section 3: Case study.
Describes one or more case studies of partly privatised estates. These cases may be selected on the basis of their representation of common problems and/or solutions in country X and/or on the basis of the innovative 'best practice' approach that has been undertaken to deal with the problems. The section about the case study will consist of:.
- a description the estate (quality, division according to tenure, price, position on the housing market);.
- a reflection on the privatisation process (pace, background, conditions);.
- a description of social, functional and technical problems that occur in the estate and the problems of management, maintenance and renewal;.
- a reflection on to what extent the above problems are caused or increased by the privatisation;.
- a reflection on the initiatives that have been and will be undertaken to cope with the problems and their (expected) success..
Section 4: Conclusion.
Contains a brief summary of the chapter plus an outlook for the future problems/challenges.
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Published by The Freeman Center
The Maccabean Online
Political Analysis and Commentary
By Martin Sherman
JPost. com
17 January, 2013
If integrity is a necessary quality for reputable journalism, Jeffrey Goldberg's recent column is a disgrace to his profession – and an insult to Israelis' intelligence.
E1 area near Jerusalem. Photo: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post
The [E1] construction project is of great significance for Israel's interests. I would like to see the entire neighborhood, encompassing thousands of housing units, completed in order to ensure contiguity between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim. – the late Gideon Ezra, public security minister in Ehud Olmert's government, March 14, 2006
It is unthinkable that we would talk about Ma'aleh Adumim as part of the State of Israel and leave it as an island or isolated enclave. It is absolutely clear that there will be built-up continuity between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim. – Ehud Olmert, then acting prime minister, in a pre-election interview, March 10, 2006
And these are the main changes, not all of them, which we envision and want in the permanent solution: ... First and foremost, united Jerusalem, which will include both Ma'aleh Adumim and Givat Ze'ev – as the capital of Israel, under Israeli sovereignty.– Yitzhak Rabin, in his last address to the Knesset seeking ratification of Oslo II, October 5, 1995
I apologize to my readers if the tone of this column is more abrasive that usual. But Jeffrey Goldberg's column this week (January 14) published by Bloomberg titled "Obama: Israel Doesn't Know What Its Best Interests Are," is so infuriatingly impudent, so deceptively disingenuous, so maliciously misleading, so pretentiously pompous that it strains the bounds of civility to almost impossible limits.
Corrupted discourse
I urge you to read Goldberg's recent rendering of blatantly biased bile, not because of the heights of journalistic standards it attains but for the depths of duplicity and deceit that it plumbs.
In many ways it is a seminal example of how the mainstream media has willfully collaborated in corrupting the discourse on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
An overly harsh accusation? How's this for Exhibit I?
Goldberg (hereafter referred to as JG) alleges that it was Israel's announcement that it would "advance plans to establish a settlement in an area of the West Bank known as E1" that ignited the recent spate of Barack Obama's wrath and despair with regard to Binyamin Netanyahu and his alleged "obstructionism."
According to JG, "A large settlement in E1, an empty zone between Jerusalem and the Jewish settlement city of Ma'aleh Adumim, would make the goal of politically moderate Palestinians – the creation of a geographically contiguous state – much harder to achieve."
Leaving aside for the moment the question of what comprises "politically moderate Palestinians," and who – if anyone – fits the bill, it is more than a little exasperating to read JG's characterization of the E1 area and its alleged political significance.
Even a cursory glance of the map would reveal that not only is E1, in fact, an "empty zone" between Jerusalem and the 50,000-strong city of Ma'aleh Adumin, but also that it is an area of little more than 11.5 sq.km. and that its impact on a "geographically contiguous state" is marginal.
Yet, JG persists in purposely perpetuating the fabricated fiction of it being a crucial impediment to peace, leaving us to wonder whether he is being willfully misleading or merely woefully misinformed.
Another contrived canard?
Can someone as supposedly well-informed as JG really be unaware that the whole question of geographical contiguity is a well-known canard? After all, even The New York Times published a grudgingly half-hearted apology for invoking the contiguity argument in its criticism of the E1 development (December 16, 2012).
But of course the question of territorial contiguity is entirely contrived.
As I pointed out in a recent column, it could be maintained, either by a highway that traverses E1 from north to south connecting Ramallah to Bethlehem, or by laying down a road bypassing Ma'aleh Adumim from the east, rather than from the west, hardly an insurmountable engineering feat.
Indeed, as Al Jazeera (January 23, 2011) reported, the construction of such alternative routes to serve the Palestinians was one of the topics discussed in the much-vaunted Olmert- Abbas talks in 2008, which, we are now told, were a hair's-breadth away from success. And contiguity issues related to E1 were not the sticking point.
Hugely hypocritical
Of course, any claims by two-staters that the E1 development would preclude "geographical contiguity" are hugely hypocritical.
For even if the Palestinians were completely precluded from access to the area, the territory available to them east of Ma'aleh Adumin up to the Jordan River – about 22.5 km. – would still be almost 50 percent wider than territory that Israel would retain in its heavily populated Coastal Plain if the Obama-prescribed 1967 lines were adopted as its frontiers.
Indeed, the Obama template would reduce Israel to a strip just over 14-km. wide near Netanya, totally dominated topographically by the elevated area to the east, earmarked for the Palestinian state.
Strangely – or perhaps not – this precarious geographical proposal elicits no expression of concern over possible problems for Israel's "geographical contiguity" – either from Obama or from his court-journalists of JG's ilk. Hmmm!
Duplicity and double standards
There has not been a single Israeli government that has not considered Ma'aleh Adumin a part of suburban Jerusalem to be connected to the capital and designated to remain under Israeli sovereignty in any permanent settlement.
This has been underscored by Noble Peace laureates Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres. Significantly, the introductory excerpt above from Rabin is taken from his last address to the Knesset, in which he presented his vision of the permanent-status arrangement with the Palestinians. The fact that he advocated precisely the same measures as those declared by Netanyahu, did not bring down upon him the ire and insults that the current prime minister is subjected to.
Likewise, Ehud Barak, who was praised by Bill Clinton for taking "brave steps" in his 2000 Camp David initiative, stressed that his proposal included the annexation of Ma'aleh Adumin to Jerusalem (July 25, 2000), as did Ehud Olmert.
In an interview (March 10, 2006) with TheMarker (part of the far-left Haaretz media group), Olmert was asked: "Will you build in E1, despite American opposition?" He replied: "Of course. Indeed, it is unthinkable that we would talk about Ma'aleh Adumim as part of the State of Israel and leave it as an ...isolated enclave. It is absolutely clear that there will be built-up continuity between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim."
Astonishingly, this statement was made by Olmert while laying out his vision for unilateral withdrawal (aka "convergence") in the "West Bank," underscoring that – even within the framework of his willingness to accept far-reaching compromises – development of E1 and annexation of Ma'aleh Adumin were essential to Israel's interests.
He added: "This is clear to both Palestinians and the Americans. I believe that on this matter there is absolute consensus in Israel. Even Yossi Beilin, with whom I usually disagree with on everything, said that Ma'aleh Adumin must remain in Israel."
So why has JG presented the issue of E1 as such a red flag that has so enraged the Obama administration. Double standards perhaps?
Carefully choreographed crisis?
It is hard to avoid the conclusion that this episode is merely another carefully choreographed anti-Bibi "crisis" – and a "production" in which JG seems a willingly complicit prop.
It is eerily reminiscent of the contrived brouhaha made over the interim planning approval for additional future housing units in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, during the 2010 visit of Vice President Joe Biden in Israel.
How else could we explain the statement condemning Netanyahu's plans by Obama's National Security Council spokesman, conveyed approvingly – or at least uncritically – by JG: "We believe these actions are counterproductive and make it harder to... achieve a twostate solution."
After all, the "actions" for which Netanyahu is reproached are indistinguishable from those strongly endorsed by all his predecessors – who supported a two-state approach. But then again, when it comes to bashing Bibi, truth only has a marginal role to play.
Malicious and mendacious
JG persists in propagating and perpetuating malicious and mendacious myths regarding Netanyahu.
He makes the demonstrably false accusation that Netanyahu adopted a partisan role in November's US presidential elections, claiming that "even this [Obama's] support [for Israel] didn't keep Netanyahu from pulling for Republican candidate Mitt Romney in last year's presidential campaign."
Although Obama, by the undisguised disdain and distaste he displayed toward Israel's prime minister, did much to bolster the attractiveness of any Republican rival for Israel, I would challenge anyone – including JG – to produce documented evidence of Netanyahu "pulling for Republican candidate Mitt Romney." Indeed there is considerable evidence to the contrary.
As I mentioned in last week's column, at the recent Democratic Convention, prominent speakers such as former congressman Robert Wexler and even Sen. John Kerry (Obama's nominee for secretary of state) invoked Netanyahu for endorsing Obama's pro-Israel credentials.
Moreover, in a September 2012 Foreign Policy article, associate editor Uri Friedman wrote: "Netanyahu, for his part, has avoided jumping into the fray."
He noted that when pressed by both CBS's Bob Schieffer and Fox's Chris Wallace on his preference for the outcome of the US elections, Netanyahu remained scrupulously neutral, retorting that he was not "going to get into your field of American politics."
By contrast, it would be difficult to interpret the anti-Bibi tirade by the Obamaphilic JG – coupled with the conspicuous absence of denial from the White House – as anything but blatant intervention in Israel's electoral process.
If integrity is a necessary quality for reputable journalism, it is difficult to avoid feeling that JG's recent column not only insults Israelis' intelligence, but brings discredit to his profession.
Courage or cowardice?
But JG's journalistic transgressions are not confined to what he writes. They extend – arguably even more so – to what he does not.
He conveys, without any dissenting comment – thereby implying tacit agreement: "...Netanyahu is so captive to the settler lobby, and so uninterested in making anything more than the slightest conciliatory gesture toward Palestinian moderates [that] the president seems to view the prime minister as a political coward, an essentially unchallenged leader... unwilling to lead or spend political capital to advance the cause of compromise."
One can only marvel at the fact that people get paid to write such drivel.
On more than one occasion, Netanyahu has gone against the grain of his political base:
• In his (in)famous Bar-Ilan speech, when he (inadvisably, in my view) accepted the idea of establishing a Palestinian state;
• In agreeing (inadvisably, in my view) to an unprecedented 10-month settlement freeze, which elicited no response from the so-called "Palestinian moderates," other than a demand for its extension when it was about to expire;
• In continuing to endorse (inadvisably, in my view) his commitment to the two-state approach in the current election campaign.
Likewise, Netanyahu has (inadvisably, in my view) stood up to the hard core of his constituency on legislative issues regarding judicial appointments and transparency of foreign-funded NGOs.
He has defied strong settler opposition to the removal of settlements and outposts.
Whether these instances reflect courage to stand up to domestic pressures, or cowardice in capitulating to external ones, is a matter of perspective.
But one thing is certain, none of these substantiate the claim that he is "captive to the settler lobby."
What JG – and the Obama administration – appear to have difficulty digesting is that Israel is a democracy. Netanyahu was not elected to pursue a policy of unmitigated appeasement of every Palestinian whim – which seems to be the only way the president, and his journalistic entourage, see themselves able "to advance the cause of compromise."
Accordingly, from JG's uncritical rendering of the White Houses' gripes, one might be led to believe for Netanyahu to demonstrate "courage" he would have to abuse the position of power granted him by the voters and embark on a policy he was elected to eschew.
Articulating interests
Obama has shown that he has no understanding of Middle East realities – unless he hasn't, which is even more worrying.
His Mideast policy is in shambles – unless it isn't, which is even more worrying.
So when he purports that he has a better grasp of Israeli interests than Israelis, we should be wary, very wary.
If Obama – and his JG-like disciples – feel that it would be in Israel's interest to create a situation in which Ma'aleh Adumin, with its 50,000 Jewish residents, becomes an isolated enclave, cut off and surrounded by Palestinians – they should say so.
If they feel that it is in Israel's interests to risk the emergence of a mega-Gaza-like entity overlooking its only international airport, abutting its major national highway, and adjacent to its major population centers – they should say so.
If they feel that it is in Israel's interest to take massive gambles with the security of the nation and the safety of its citizens, on the basis of an agreement with an aging, illegitimate, unrepresentative president, whose authority is unrecognized by significant segments of his people – they should say so.
At least then, the Israeli public will be able to gage whom they should trust to safeguard their interests.
* * * * * * *
Martin Sherman (www.martinsherman.net) is the founder and executive director of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies.


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as everybody can see here there is some movement in the update-issue for pocomail. i appreciate this very much!
my question is now: what is the roadmap for delivering localized versions? will there be finally a localized (in my case german) version of poco 4 (already 15 months after work has started) or do we have to wait again for the major update? and if we would have to wait for localization until poco 5 to be finished, will it be like it was since april 2006: that "soon" is a expandable term?
i would be really happy to hear a few words from slaven...
(nothing against you eric, but we all know that only the master himself can state anything of intrest in this case)


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Online tool that helps depositors determine how the insurance rules and limits apply to a specific group of deposit accounts — what's insured and what portion (if any) exceeds coverage limits at that bank.
Learn if your bank is insured, view locations, track history, and more.
The secure Internet channel for FDIC-insured institutions to conduct business and exchange information with the FDIC.
The inventory of other assets for sale -- including office furniture, fixtures, and equipment.
The FDIC has released a report entitled "The Orderly Liquidation of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Under the Dodd-Frank Act." The report examines how the FDIC could have structured an orderly resolution of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. under the orderly liquidation authority of Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act had that law been in effect in advance of Lehman's failure. The report concludes that the powers provided to the FDIC under the Dodd-Frank Act to act decisively to preserve asset value and structure a transaction to sell Lehman's valuable operations to interested buyers -- which are drawn from those long used by the FDIC in resolving failing banks -- could have promoted systemic stability and made the shareholders and creditors, not taxpayers, bear the losses. The report also concludes that, due to the powers to preserve valuable assets and operations in the Dodd-Frank Act, the FDIC liquidation of Lehman would recover substantially more for creditors than the bankruptcy proceedings -- and at no cost to taxpayers.
The report estimates that given the substantial equity and subordinated debt of Lehman in September 2008 and the power for the FDIC to implement a prompt structured sale while providing short-term liquidity to continue value-adding operations, general unsecured creditors of the parent company could have recovered more than 90 cents on every dollar of claims compared to the approximately 20 cents on claims estimated in the most recent bankruptcy plan of reorganization.
While there remains no doubt that the orderly liquidation of Lehman would have been incredibly complex and difficult, the report concludes that it would have been vastly superior for systemic stability and achieved better recoveries for creditors than the bankruptcy process while protecting taxpayers from any loss.
Lehman's bankruptcy filing on September 15, 2008, was a signal event of the financial crisis. The disorderly and costly nature of the bankruptcy -- the largest financial bankruptcy in U.S. history -- contributed to the massive financial disruption of late 2008. The lengthy bankruptcy proceeding has allocated resources elsewhere that could have otherwise been used to pay creditors. Through February 2011, more than $1.2 billion in fees have been charged by attorneys and other professionals representing the debtors alone.
The FDIC report concludes that Title II of the Dodd-Frank Act could have been used to resolve Lehman by effectuating a rapid, orderly and transparent sale of the company's assets. This sale would have been completed through a competitive bidding process and likely would have incorporated either loss-sharing to encourage higher bids or a form of good firm-bad firm structure in which some troubled assets would be left in the receivership for later disposition. Both approaches would have achieved a seamless transfer and continuity of valuable operations under the powers provided in the Dodd-Frank Act to the benefit of market stability and improved recoveries for creditors. As required by the Dodd-Frank Act, there would be no exposure to taxpayers for losses from Lehman's failure.
The powers provided under the Dodd-Frank Act are critical to these results. Among the critical powers highlighted in the report are the following:
These powers would enable the FDIC to act to preserve the financial stability of the United States and to maximize value for creditors by preserving franchise value and by rapidly moving proceeds into creditors' hands.
Report: The Orderly Liquidation of Lehman Brothers Holdings under the Dodd-Frank Act - PDF (PDF Help)


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For weeks, the Mineral County courthouse has proudly displayed the photographs of local soldiers stationed in Iraq along the stairway at its front entrance. ''We're hometown proud,'' the banner said.
But in the last few days, one photograph was taken down, that of Pfc. Lynndie R. England, whose face has become famous for a painfully different reason.
Private England is perhaps the most prominently displayed person in a series of photographs taken in the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad that show members of the 372nd Military Police Company abusing prisoners.
In one image, Private England is clenching a cigarette between her teeth while giving a thumbs-up in front of naked Iraqi prisoners. In another that became public on Thursday, she is holding a leash attached to a naked prisoner's neck.
The photographs have left her family and friends aghast and searching for answers. They are convinced that she would never have thought up anything so cruel on her own and that she must have been following orders.Continue reading the main story
If that is the case, the family and friends then have to reconcile how the tough, bold and independent young woman they know followed an order that seemed so obviously wrong.
''She's kind of stubborn,'' her mother, Terrie England, said. ''But that doesn't mean she can't follow orders.''
Her family brims with accounts about how strong willed Private England could be. In one, a thunderstorm and tornado blew into town just as her older sister was preparing to graduate from high school, forcing students and their parents to flee the ceremony. While her family huddled in the lowest spot that they could find in their trailer home, Private England wandered into the yard. Ignoring her family's pleas and with the wind howling as loud as a freight train, she tried to photograph the passing funnel.
''You talk about the unusual,'' Mrs. England said. ''That child liked it.''
It was a mother's way of saying her daughter could be impetuous, sometimes to the point of imprudence. It was, perhaps, the same streak that caused Private England to marry a longtime friend when she was 19, only to divorce him within two years. Or to sign up for the Army Reserve while in high school, over her parents' objections.
A friend, Kerry Shoemaker-Davis, said: ''She is straight in your face, tells you how it is. That's why it shocked me. It's so not her. It's not in her nature to do something like that. There's not a malicious bone in her body.''
Like another West Virginia woman whose life was turned upside-down by her experiences in Iraq, Jessica D. Lynch, who enlisted, Private England joined the Army Reserve because she wanted money for college and the chance to see the world outside her small town.
And just as Jessica Lynch's rescue from Iraqi troops became one of the biggest stories of the war, the story of the Abu Ghraib photographs has attracted hordes of news reporters to tiny Fort Ashby, a one-stoplight town in the West Virginia Panhandle that is perhaps best known for its history as an outpost in the French and Indian War.
Exhausted by the stream of reporters knocking on their door, the Englands fled today.
''They needed a vacation,'' Private England's best friend, Destiny Goin, said.''We're not going talk about this today.''
Lynndie Rana England was born in 1982 in Kentucky, where her father worked for a railroad company. The company transferred him to its station in Cumberland, Md., when she was 2. So the family moved to Fort Ashby, 13 miles south.
By all accounts, the family was extremely close. Lynndie and her siblings, an older sister and younger brother, spent much time together hunting, camping, fishing and swimming.
Her parents called her a tomboy, eager to prove that she was as tough and athletic as the guys. She played a mean center field in softball, her father, Kenneth, said on Wednesday in an interview. But she sometimes found it difficult to kill animals when they went hunting.
''I don't think she ever got a deer,'' Mrs. England, 44, said. ''I think she went just because she wanted to be outside, and wanted to be with me.''
In high school, her parents said, she was a good student, though she was not in the honor society, as her friend Destiny was. But she yearned to go to college, wanting to become a ''stormchaser,'' the kind of meteorologist who does not simply study bad weather, but immerses herself in the middle of it.
Her parents say they had enough money to help her pay for college. But Private England, 21, insisted on doing it by herself. So she joined a local unit of the Army Reserve, the 372nd, in Cresaptown, Md., to obtain college benefits from the military.
''I told her I didn't want her to do it,'' Mrs. England said. ''But she said, 'Mom, I'm going to turn 18 in a month, and I'll just sign up anyway.' She could be like that.''
After high school, she worked at a chicken-processing plant and at the nearby IGA supermarket. Then, in March 2002, on what seemed almost like a whim to some of her friends, she married an old friend who worked with her at the supermarket, James L. Fike. The couple were divorced, though they remain on friendly terms, Mrs. England said in interviews this week.
''It was like, one day, she was just married,'' Mrs. Shoemaker-Davis said. ''She walked up to me at the 7-Eleven and said, 'See what I did.' They had just gone to the courthouse and did it.''
While in Iraq, members of the 372nd say, Private England became romantically involved with another man implicated in the abuse scandal, Specialist Charles A. Graner. Military officials say she is pregnant and has been sent to Fort Bragg, N.C.
She has not been charged, as Specialist Graner and five other members of the 372nd have. But military investigators have called her a suspect in the abuse inquiry and continue to question her.
In Fort Ashby, the Englands have kept their yellow ribbons that signify a soldier overseas pinned to their front stoop, though Private England is now in the United States. Inside, a Christmas tree decorated with red, white and blue lights and glass bulbs will remain up until she returns home.
''She called me in January and said, 'Mom, something bad has happened, but don't worry about it,' '' Mrs. England recounted. ''Of course, that only made me worry more. But nothing could have prepared me for this.''
The Englands learned of the photographs in a particularly jarring way. The couple had just returned from a turkey-hunting trip last week when they received a message from a co-worker of Kenneth, that Lynndie's picture had been on ''60 Minutes II'' on CBS-TV.
The next morning, Mrs. England brewed herself a pot of coffee, snapped on CNN and there, playing over and over and over again, were Private England and the Iraqi prisoners. Mrs. England put a hand to her mouth, steadied herself and said aloud, ''Oh my god.''
Mrs. England says she has spoken to her daughter since then, but has learned few details. Private England has not told her that she is pregnant, and she has said the Army has refused to give her a lawyer.
Mrs. England worries that war, Iraq and Abu Ghraib have changed her daughter forever. The girl who ran into thunderstorms ducked for cover when lightning crashed outside her window recently and thought she was hearing mortar fire, her mother said.
''Some times you think you can deal with anything,'' Mrs. England said. ''And then you find you can't deal with what you thought you could. I don't know if everything she once wanted has changed.''Continue reading the main story


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Judge rejects Boston Marathon suspect's request for more time to argue against death penalty
BOSTON – A federal judge on Friday rejected a request from lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to order prosecutors to give the defense more time to prepare their arguments against the death penalty.
Prosecutors have said they plan to make a recommendation to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder by Oct. 31 on whether to seek the death penalty against Tsarnaev.
Twin explosions at the April 15 marathon killed three people and injured more than 260. Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to a 30-count federal indictment, including 17 charges that carry the possibility of the death penalty.
Tsarnaev's lawyers objected to that timetable and asked a judge to order prosecutors to extend an Oct. 24 deadline for the defense to submit its case against the death penalty for inclusion in prosecutors' recommendation to Holder.
Judge George O'Toole Jr. ruled Friday that the Justice Department has an internal protocol and that he will not get involved.
"What the defendant asks is that the court set dates for events occurring not in the course of the judicial proceeding but rather in the course of the (Justice) Department's internal deliberations," O'Toole wrote in his order. "That would be well beyond the scope of any inherent authority to manage judicial business."
During a court hearing last month, prosecutors from the office of U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz argued that Tsarnaev's lawyers have had enough time since the bombing — six months — to prepare their case against the death penalty.
But Tsarnaev's lawyers said they had not yet received key evidence from prosecutors, including interviews or grand jury testimony of Tsarnaev's family.
Judy Clarke, a San Diego lawyer who is representing Tsarnaev, asked O'Toole to extend the deadline for them to make their submission to prosecutors at least until they receive the evidence they are seeking.
Prosecutors have said Tsarnaev and his 26-year-old brother, Tamerlan, built two pressure cooker bombs and placed them near the marathon's finish line. Tamerlan Tsarnaev died following a shootout with police several days later.
According to prosecutors, Tsarnaev, an ethnic Chechen from Russia, wrote about his motivation for the bombing on the inside of a boat he was found hiding in after the shootout with police. "The U.S. Government is killing our innocent civilians" and "We Muslims are one body, you hurt one you hurt us all," he allegedly wrote.
Miriam Conrad, another Tsarnaev lawyer and the chief federal public defender for Massachusetts, did not immediately return a call seeking comment on O'Toole's ruling. A spokeswoman for Ortiz also did not return a call seeking comment.


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