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The invention of the microprocessor started a revolution in computing. The Intel 4004, the first commercial single chip microprocessor, was very basic in its design and architecture with very modest instruction and data rates. These rates matched well with the memory technology of the day, and very useable and balanced systems could be constructed by directly connecting the processor to memory. A system bus served as the interconnect mechanism and carried the data between the memory subsystem and the processor.
The architecture of the microprocessor evolved over time and the clock rates increased manyfold with improvements in the micro-architecture and advancements in silicon technology. This increase in computing power required greater data rates from memory, but corresponding improvements were made in DRAM technology and the requirements for data were readily met by the memory systems of the day. The technology of signaling also improved and the data rate of the interface kept up with the rest of the system.
Things changed in the 1980s with the advent of more sophisticated, pipelined architectures of microprocessors, such as the 80486. The DRAMs could no longer keep pace with the data rates required and cache memory was introduced. This high speed memory is built with fast SRAM technology. It has low latency and the high data rates required to keep the processor operating without stalling while waiting for data from the relatively slower DRAMs. However, cache memory has to be small in order to provide the greater speed required of it. As a result, the caches store a small portion of the data in the main system memory. They rely on the fact that typical programs are composed of small sequences of straight line code that loop back to repeatedly execute the same code many times, and that programs tend to operate on the same set of data entities for a while before moving on to next set of data.
The cache exploits these characteristics to provide a significant reduction in latency and high data throughput. It does so by fetching sequences of data from system memory beyond that which is immediately requested by the processor and storing it for fast access when it is needed. The system interconnect evolved to serve as the interface between the cache and the system memory and typically carries sequential bursts of data called cache lines. A cache line can be anywhere from 16 to 128 bytes of sequentially addressed data depending upon the design of the cache. The DRAMs of the system memory are well suited to provide such a burst of data at high speed from an open page. The signaling technology of the interconnect also evolved to run at higher data rates, keeping up with the needs of the faster processors.
The next change in computers and interconnect systems occurred in the early 1990s with the introduction of multiprocessor systems. Two or more processors were connected to a common, shared memory system over the system interconnect. These processors operated in concert to share the overall workload and provided higher performance over a single processor. The system interconnect had to evolve yet again to efficiently handle requests from all the processor systems in the system. This was achieved by fairly handling requests between all the processors and pipelining their requests to memory to use the interface efficiently. The signaling technology was updated to handle the electrical loads of multiple processors on a single bus at high transfer rates. The system interconnect was also enhanced to properly share the data in the caches in the processors.
The Intel Pentium Pro microprocessor was the first Intel architecture microprocessor to provide a system interconnect, the Front Side Bus (also abbreviated as the FSB), which supported symmetric multiprocessing. The Front Side Bus can connect up to four processors, a memory controller, and an I/O controller. The FSB can pipeline up to eight transactions for high throughput. GTL signaling is used to operate at clock rates of 400 MHz and data transfer rates of up to 1.6 Gigatransfers per second. The FSB also provides mechanisms to ensure that all the processors' caches share data from system memory properly and do not use stale data that has been modified in another processor's cache. Sharing data coherently between caches is a very key capability required in any high performance interconnect and we will delve into it in detail.
The Front Side Bus served the needs of the Pentium Pro family of processors and was then enhanced to meet the needs of Pentium 4 processors that followed. The improvements in bandwidth were achieved by increasing the data transfer rates up to 1.6 gigabytes per second. This was achieved by reducing the number of processors connected to a single bus down to two and eventually to one. Thus a four-processor system required four Front Side Busses to connect the four processors to a single central memory controller. This proved to be a very expensive solution in that the memory controller required over a thousand pins just to accommodate the four Front Side Busses and more to handle the interface to memory. Moreover the single memory controller became a severe bottleneck in the system and limited both the memory size and bandwidth that could be built into a system.
The Intel QuickPath Interconnect starts by taking a fresh look at the architecture of the entire system and provides a complete solution to address these limitations. It is a very high performance fabric that is at the heart of very scalable and high performance systems with low system and silicon cost. The Intel QuickPath Interconnect architecture has been designed for the future generations of Intel processors and provides plenty of headroom for growth in performance and features. The Intel QuickPath Interconnect achieves these goals through the use of a narrow, high speed point-to-point links that require less than half the number of signals of the Front Side Bus for lower cost and yet provide fifty percent more bandwidth for higher performance. The Intel QuickPath Interconnect is also far more flexible and allows one to build very scalable systems around multiple processors, memory controllers, and I/O controllers. Systems based on Intel QPI can choose to integrate the memory controller and I/O controllers on to the same die with the processor and create a very scalable system that can be upgraded in a modular fashion. Every processor added to a system will bring additional memory bandwidth and capacity with its integrated memory controller and providing a very cost effective upgrade that offers a well balanced system. The Intel QuickPath Interconnect also provides efficient means to resolve cache coherence between multiple processors.
Let us look at the issues created by multiple caches in a system and the ways to keep them coherent so that all processors get the most up-to-date information. We will then describe the high performance cache coherence mechanisms in the Intel QuickPath Interconnect and how they can handle from two to as many as 128 or more caches in a system.
Solving the Cache Coherency Problem
Whenever multiple processors, each with its own cache, cooperate to access and modify data in a shared memory system, they run the risk of accessing stale or outdated data that may have been modified by one of the other processors. This cache coherency problem can be best illustrated by an example from the real world.
Let us say that Mary, an attorney in a law firm, has to draw up a legal contract. She pulls together a team of experts, Robert, Janice, Patty, and Tom, who will all help to create the final document. Mary starts with boilerplate for the contract and creates a table of contents assigning page numbers to each section. She shares this with her team. She then prints out the boilerplate document and places it in a central location accessible to the entire team.
Robert decides he needs to study pages 7 through 10 and makes copies of those pages and take them to his office for his own use. Similarly Janice decides he needs pages 8 through 10 and copies and takes them. Similarly Patty and Tom make copies of pages that are of interest to them and all four team members have pages in their respective caches. Multiple copies of any page can exist and each individual can refer to his or her own copy.
If Robert decides that he has no further use for page 9 he can destroy his copy of that page. This ability to cache copies of pages works well as long as no member makes any changes to the pages in his or her office. However if Robert decides to change the contents of page 10 then he must take steps to ensure that Janice is not working with obsolete information on her copy of that page. If Janice too decides to update page 10 she makes the problem even worse. This is the basis of the problem of cache coherency.
The team must institute a set of rules on how to handle updates to ensure that they have a graceful way of collaborating to produce a coherent document. This set of rules can range from something very simple but restrictive and with much overhead to one that is more sophisticated and lets each team member to work much more autonomously. Let us look at two ways of keeping the caches coherent.
Write-Through Caching. The team can follow a simple set of rules whenever anyone decides to update a page. In our example above when Robert is ready to update page 10 he tells the other team members that he is doing so, giving them the page number. They all check to see if they have copies of the pages and if so destroy their copies. Robert then makes the change to page 10 and places it at the central location and can choose to keep a copy for himself, if he desires. If Janice now decides to make a change to the same page she must go the central location for the latest copy as she destroyed her copy of the page when Robert announced his intention to update page 10. She too must announce to all that she is about to change page 10 and they all, including Robert, must destroy their copies of that page. Once she makes her update she too must place a copy of the updated page in the central location. In case both Robert and Janice decided to make the change simultaneously they can toss a coin to decide who goes first. The other will then have to fetch the updated copy from the central location to merge in his or her updates. This mechanism, referred to as write-through caching, is the simplest form of a cache coherence mechanism for handling updates. A simple and efficient mechanism is required to announce which page is being changed. Each team member must always take the time to put the most up-to-date copy of the page in the central location after every update, for all the others to use.
Write-Back Caching. The team members decide that this is unnecessary overhead and should be able to keep the pages they have modified as they are likely to make several more updates to them again. However they would forward it to other members when requested. This is write-back caching and is the cache coherence mechanism used on modern microprocessors.
Let us see how our legal team would work under the rules of write-back caching. Robert starts by getting copies of pages 7 through 10. He announces to all the others that he has done so. Next Janice get pages 8 through 10 and announces to all members that she has done so. Robert, Patty, and Tom check their copies of pages to see if they have any one of the ones Janice has fetched. Robert sees that he does and makes a notation on his copies of pages 8 through 10 that they are shared and he also lets Janice know that he has copies of those pages. Janice now marks her copies of pages 8 through 10 as shared with someone else. Note that Robert is the only one with a copy of page 7 and it exclusively in his cache as long as no one else fetches a copy.
When Robert is ready to make his updates and starts with page 10 he sees that it is shared with someone else. So he announces his intention to modify the page and looks for a response from the rest of the team. All the others check their copies of the pages and destroy their copies as none of them has made any changes to their copy. So Janice throws away her copy of page 10. Robert now makes the change to page 10 and keeps it with him. At this point he has the only copy of the most up-to-date contents of that page so he marks it as such, as having been modified. When Janice is ready to make a change to page 10 she goes to the central location to get a copy but also announces to all her desire to change it. Robert, seeing that he has the most up-to-date copy he modified informs Janice of this. He then gives her the page he modified leaving him without a copy. Now Janice has the only copy and she can update it or store it in her cache. However she must not destroy it as this is the only copy of that page that is up-to-date. If Robert and Janice had both decide to update the page simultaneously then one of them would have gone first and then handed the modified page to the other for further updates.
Recapping each team member can hold copies of pages as long as they keep track of the state of the page in the system. The page can be:
- Shared with one or more members of the team. The team member can destroy this page at any time if he or she no longer needs it and does not need to inform anyone of that action.
- Exclusive in only one cache. This exclusive copy of the page has not been updated but can be updated by the owner of that page without informing anyone else of the change. The owner can destroy her copy if she no longer needs it as this page is up to date in the central location.
- Modified. This page can exist in only one cache. The owner can make further changes to it at will without informing the other team members. The owner must forward the page to anyone else who needs it. If the owner no longer needs the page then she or he must put it back in the central location as it is the only up to date copy.
The team members must communicate with each other to properly share the pages of their document. All of the communication for this purpose is termed coherence traffic. However, the team members may also send messages to each other for other purposes. For example, if Janice decides to take a coffee break and invites Robert to join her, messages between them about breaking for coffee would have no bearing on the shared document and would be termed as non-coherent traffic in computer parlance.
Tying It All Together
Multiple processor systems operate under very similar rules for sharing data described in our example above. The caches, represented by the team members above, can hold multiple entities of data called cache lines. Each cache line is typically composed of 64 bytes of data and is the smallest entity handled and tracked by the cache-akin to the page in our example. The cache controller tracks the state of each cache line and marks it as Shared, Exclusive, or Modified and responds accordingly. If a cache line is no longer up to date in a cache the controller marks it as Invalid. These, taken together, are referred to by their initials as the MESI states. The central memory in a computer system is the common repository of the document in our example above. A typical computer system has at least one memory controller that interfaces with the banks of DRAM memory.


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An image sensor is a device that converts a visual image to an electric signal, which is used mostly in digital cameras and other imaging devices. It is a set of charge-coupled device (CCD) or active-pixel sensors (APS) like CMOS sensors. The pixel responds to the light by accumulating charges - the more light, the more charge. Thereby the optical signal is transformed into an electric signal, which gets converted into digial information. Compared to CCD, CMOS sensors are faster, smaller, and cheaper as they are more integrated, which makes them also more power efficient.
Originally image sensors were assembled in ceramic packages with glass cover and wire bonding. The key motivation of wafer-level chip-scale-packaging (WL-CSP) is to improve assembly yield, reduce manufacturing cost, and realize a smaller form factor. WL-CSP technology is a mixture of front-end technologies (photolithography, etching, sputtering, silicon-to-glass bonding, etc.) and back-end technologies (via hole laser drill, electroplating, redistribution, solder bumping, etc.). Electrical connection from image sensor pad to Si backside bump is one of the key techniques, where TSV is becoming the industry standard.
Based on well established double side mask alignment systems, EV Group offers a product portfolio which covers all essential process steps for the back-end lithography, such as wafer bumping, creation of redistribution layer (RDL) and via etching masks, via bottom opening processes as well as lithography performed on thin or temporary bonded wafers. Such wafers may be aligned based on alignment keys on a wafer backside or placed in the (temporary) bond interface, where mask aligners with backside microscopes, transmissive or reflective infrared alignment capability are applied. Such systems can be configured in semi-automated configurations for process development and manufacturing as well as fully-automated system configurations running cassette-to-cassette processes for high-volume manufacturing. Please see our related products EVG®620, EVG®6200, IQ Aligner® and EVG®40NT for detailed information.
Tessera's latest MVP packaging. Courtesy of Tessera.
EV Group Partners with NSI to Enable First Wafer-Level Heterogeneous Integration of GaAs on Silicon for RF Front-End Module Manufacturing
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subset: commoncrawl


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Carol A. Del Nero of Mountainhome passed away peacefully after a brief illness on Jan. 2, 2013.
Born on Aug. 16, 1941, in Hugenot Park, Staten Island, N.Y., she was the daughter of William A. and Cecelia E. (Sleight) Houseman.
Carol was retired from Chartwells Food Service and was also food service director of Pocono Mountain School District. She was also known as the friendly face of the Pocono Playhouse as box office manager for many years. Carol owned Delwood Lodge in Mountainhome during the 1970s and 1980s. She was lovingly known as "Ms. D" by those who frequented Delwood Lodge. Most recently, Carol had worked at Callie's Candy Kitchen.
Carol has a zest for life and enjoyed many interest and hobbies, including her love of Walt Disney World, where she frequently traveled. She also followed and loved the New York Yankees.
Carol is survived by sons, Ted Carves, and his wife, Marcie, of Billerica, Mass., and Frank Del Nero Jr. and his wife, Lori, of Mountainhome; granddaughters, Maegan Carves of Woolwich, Maine, Jennifer Carves of Woolwich, Maine, and Jessica Carves of Bath, Maine; three step-children, Robert Del Nero, Carolyn McKeown and Jimmy Del Nero; as well as nieces and nephews. Also surviving is Carol's loyal dog companion, Sammy, who brought her much happiness and love.
There will be a viewing from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 6, at Bolock Funeral Home, 6148 Paradise Valley Road, Cresco. Cremation is entrusted to Bolock Funeral Home Crematory.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly request donations in Carol's memory to AWSOM-Animal Welfare Society of Monroe, PO Box 13, Stroudsburg, PA 18360, or to the VNA/Hospice of Monroe County, 502 VNA Road, East Stroudsburg, PA 18301.
Bolock Funeral Home & Crematory
6148 Paradise Valley Road, Cresco
Carol A. Del Nero
Carol A. Del Nero of Mountainhome passed away peacefully after a brief illness on Jan. 2, 2013.


text: I'm having problems getting all the memory detected on my nodes. Scyld is only detecting 64MB of RAM (they each have 512). Here is my kernelcommandline option in /etc/beowulf/config kernelcommandline "apm=power-off mem=512M" I've since rewritten the kernel image on the slaves with beoboot-install and rebooted the slaves, but no joy. What am I missing? Thanks -- Jarrod A. Smith Research Asst. Professor, Biochemistry Asst. Director, Center for Structural Biology Computation and Molecular Graphics Vanderbilt University jsmith at structbio.vanderbilt.edu


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U.S. stocks declined on Monday, with the Dow and S&P 500 retreating after an eight-week winning stretch, as investors took a cautious stance ahead of Friday's jobs report while considering a mixed start to the holiday shopping season and an upbeat gauge of manufacturing.
"We were kind of expecting a down week after eight weeks of being up. There is not a whole lot of incentive to put capital at risk, especially with the jobs report on Friday," said Ian Kerrigan, a Seattle-based investment specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, referring to the nonfarm payrolls report for November.
"We've had such a strong year, if the market wants to take a break in December, it's well deserved," Kerrigan added of year-to-date gains that have the Dow up 22 percent, the S&P 500 ahead more than 26 percent and the Nasdaq up 34 percent.


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Chris Boar needed a new banner ad design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 51 designs submitted by 11 freelance designers.
CB Photography, http://www.chrisboar.com
Wedding photographer. I offer custom designed wedding storybooks to my clients. Each is as unique as their wedding day.
These are high-end fine art storybooks, solid pages, fantastic range of leather covers.
Mid 20's Facebook adoptee's. Young couples just married.
I want a marketing brochure to show off my wedding storybook options.
The brochure will be 8.5x11, tri-folded, and printed on both sides, so a 'both side' design is needed.
The tri-fold is of the box type.
The brochure will explain my album design process, as well as show the leather cover options, and sample images of albums. I've also provided the text to be incorporated.
Text :-
I want the brochure to contain images of the albums. Download at
& images of the cover options, download at
Maybe the images faded into the text?
I'm thinking album design info/samples inside the tri-fold brochure, and the
the cover options on the back 2 sides (images included in PDF files, but will need to significantly reduced in size, not sure how practical this will be?).
Completely open to the design. I've also attached my new logo :-
which I'd like on the front page of the tri-fold, which needs to be some sort of intro to the contents.


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HIV Frontlines: In Newark, N.J., an HIV/AIDS Advocate Finds New Ways to Reach LGBT African Americans
A Conversation With Gary Paul Wright
October 18, 2010
Welcome. My name is Kellee Terrell and I'm the news editor for TheBody.com. This HIV Frontlines interview is with Gary Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the African American Office of Gay Concerns (AAOGC) in Newark, N.J. Hello, Gary. Thank you for joining us today.
Thank you for having me.
Of course. Can you tell me how the African American Office of Gay Concerns came about? And how long has it been in existence?
Well, let's see. We just celebrated, this past spring, eight years. We've been here eight years. We actually started because a couple of friends of mine had attended an MSM [men who have sex with men] of color conference in Philadelphia -- we're talking like '98, '99 -- and what we learned was that there was no organization, or nobody in the state of New Jersey that was actually addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic for African-American men, black men, especially gay black men.
You said even in 1998, 1999?
Yeah, even at that time. I mean, there was no specific stuff happening. And of course, I'd been with GMHC [Gay Men's Health Crisis, a prominent HIV/AIDS organization] many, many years. So there were things going on, but there was no one really dedicated that we knew of [who was] specifically addressing the situation.
So we said, "Well, we can change that. We can start our own organization." I should have stopped right then and there, because, you know, they say be careful what you ask for because you might get it. But we did. We proceeded, and we put together a little board. We met in my kitchen, Peter [Wright's partner of 20 years] and I and eight of our friends, and we said, "Let's do this."
We got some funding, locally, through the Department of Health and Senior Services down in Trenton. They gave us some technical assistance. And they said, "If you're serious about doing this, we'll throw in some seed money for you." And about a year and a half later we got our 501(c)(3), we found an office, and voila! We opened up on Broad and William Street, here in Newark.
What had you been doing in the HIV community prior to founding the office?
Well, let's see. I started way, way, way back in the mid to late '80s; I was a volunteer at Gay Men's Health Crisis. I'd just moved from Los Angeles. And that was about '84, '85, when the epidemic was really, really starting to make its mark. And of course, back in those days, it was called GRID, which is gay-related immunodeficiency disease, or whatever. And when I got to New York, GMHC was the first and foremost in helping people with HIV and AIDS. It wasn't even called HIV then.
I volunteered for them, and I did work with the [New York City] education department. I did workshops, safer sex workshops, and things like that. I was a little upset because there was not a lot of black participation in some of their programs, so I wrote a letter to Richard Dunn [a New York City reporter], way back then, and he sent it to the education department. And they, well, they hired me. So that shut me up, didn't it?
I started doing work with them, and I founded the House of Latex way back when.
Oh, wow.
Yeah, how about that? I'm the great-great-great-grandfather of the House of Latex. A lot of people don't know that. When we started out, we were just there with condoms and pins and buttons and brochures. We had our little -- like the old cigarette girls of the '30s -- we had these trays that we made out of tops of Xerox boxes. And we handed out condoms. And we just wanted to fit into the ballroom scene, because it was thriving around that time, in the very, very early '90s. Since then, the House of Latex really grew, and grew, and grew, and then they started walking the balls, and taking it to newer heights. And now they're celebrating 20 years. In fact, next week, they're celebrating 20 years.
Oh, my goodness.
House of Latex, yeah. So they're going to dust me off and wheel me out again.
Can you briefly describe some of the programs that the African American Office of Gay Concerns has?
Well, our main focus is still HIV prevention. We do the EBI (effective behavioral intervention) Many Men, Many Voices. Before that, we were doing Partners in Prevention. And we're still investigating some new stuff for men of color -- black gay men of color -- that are supposedly coming down the block.
We don't want something that's, like, just blackface. We don't want something that, you know, they'd say, "Well, this is designed for African-American men." We really want something that's going to work. And Many Men, Many Voices is good, and it's filling a void right now. But I think we can still do better.
So we do that. And then we have our transgender outreach --
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Census UK
The popularity of television programs such as Who Do You Think You Are and Heir Hunters has seen a growth of people trying to retrace their family history in the hope of discovering any possible hidden secrets which might lie in their family's past. The National Trust has recently reported that tracing a family's history has become a very popular and enjoyable pastime, with over 56% of Britons taking part in their poll say they have researched their family history.
For many people the idea of retracing your entire family history can seem a daunting task at first, with many people unsure as to where to begin. There is a variety of family tree software available today for people to use; however, purchasing the necessary software is not always useful. Often using the available national census records and following a simple step by step guide is an easy alternative to software and can make tracing your family history an exciting and fun experience.
Within this website you will find an explanation of what the national census is, how to use the census and more importantly, help and advice for those trying to retrace their family history.


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Aura FLV Player - Number List Showcase
Aura FLV Player is a standalone application that can play YouTube videos and all FLV videos. The FLV player can play FLV videos from URLs. It can convert all kinds of videos to FLV format and create online videos with playlist for publishing and sharing your videos.
Here we present some flash template showcases of Aura FLV Player. In this page you see the Number List template.
All flash templates showcases of Aura FLV Player
Platform: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 File Size: 17.6 MB


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When most wrestling fans think of the Junkyard Dog, they think of the smiling, howling character who danced in the ring with children after his WWF matches. �
What many fans don't realize is that JYD was a pioneer and legend in New Orleans, where he blazed a trail as the first black star in a predominantly white -- and often racist -- business. �
In the new book The King of New Orleans: How the Junkyard Dog Became Professional Wrestling's First Black Superstar (ECW Press), author Greg Klein writes: "The Junkyard Dog is a forgotten hero, both in New Orleans where he was once king, and throughout the Deep South where his superhero push defied conventional wisdom and perhaps even common sense. His decline in wrestling after leaving Mid South in 1984 and his untimely death in a 1998 car accident have taken him away from us, not just in body, but in spirit too."
Klein's biography aims to restore the Junkyard Dog's rightful place in history by shedding light on his memorable feuds, his rise to superstardom, and his life outside the ring. The King of New Orleans tells the fascinating tale of how the Deep South -- a hotbed of racial intolerance -- became the home of wrestling's most adored African-American idol in the '80s.
"New Orleans was once one of the hottest cities for pro wrestling because of one man -- Sylvester Ritter, better known as the Junkyard Dog. JYD became a legend in the Big Easy, drawing huge crowds to the Superdome, a feat no other wrestler ever came close to," writes Klein. "In 1980, he managed to break one of the final color barriers in the sport by becoming the first black wrestler to be made the undisputed top star of his promotion."
In the introduction, Klein tells the backstory of New Orleans as one of the biggest hubs of the slave trade of the 17th and 18th centuries, with its share of Jim Crow-era abuses which included hangings, lynchings and Ku Klux Klan atrocities. From the civil rights marches and protests of the '50 and '60s to racial issues around black American Football League (AFL) players, Klein provides context before delving into the indelible impact that wrestling promoter "Cowboy" Bill Watts made on the career of the Junkyard Dog.
"In many ways, it was the success of black athletes in football and other sports that convinced Watts that he needed black wrestling stars," writes Klein. "Pro wrestling always had a code of protecting the business -- a code sometimes called kayfabe�-- and promoters and wrestlers went to great lengths to make sure fans believed the sport was real. Watts, with his own football background, took this effort to greater lengths than most.
"Because black athletes were excelling in all the other sports, Watts felt it would expose the business as being fake if no big wrestling stars were black. There had been black wrestling stars up to that point, but none had ever been the star in a promotion, and none excited Watts."
In early chapters, Klein writes about the near 300-pound Ritter as a standout college football player, who tried out with the Green Bay Packers before transitioning from the gridiron to the squared circle in the mid-'70s. Using several different ring names, such as "Big" Daddy Ritter, while working for territories in Tennessee and Stu Hart's famed Stampede Wrestling, Ritter was eventually christened the Junkyard Dog by Watts.
Klein also sheds light on the origins of the Junkyard Dog's trademark dog collar and chain: "At first, JYD came to the ring with a wheelbarrow full of junk, a wrestling version of the television show Sanford and Son. That gimmick didn't stick. However, another one did stick: a dog collar around JYD's neck that was attached to a steel chain. In fact, the gimmick would be used for the JYD's specialty grudge matches, called Dog Collar matches and would be with him for the rest of his wrestling career.
"Music played a big role in JYD's success, too. Before music videos and before most wrestlers had theme songs, Queen's Another One Bites the Dust would shake and groove to announce JYD's entrance."
Indeed, villains like Ted DiBiase, Butch Reed, and The Fabulous Freebirds would all bite the dust in heated rivalries with the Junkyard Dog. JYD would also amass numerous reigns as Mid South North American Champion and Mid South Tag Team Champion.
In chapters packed with names like Ernie Ladd, Leroy McGuirk, Grizzly Smith, Buzz Sawyer, Terry Taylor, Steve "Dr. Death" Williams
and Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Klein describes in depth how the Junkyard Dog became the most popular wrestler in Mid South, drawing thousands of �black fans weekly to the Downtown Municipal Auditorium, nicknamed "The Dog's Yard."
Klein writes, "Wrestling served as a great melting pot in the South in much the same way sports did. Everyone could come together and cheer for the Junkyard Dog."
The chapter Race, Rasslin', and Nola is especially insightful, comparing ethnic heroes like Pedro Morales, Mil Mascaras and Bobo Brazil to ethnic villains like Ivan Koloff, The Iron Sheik and Kamala. "Pro wrestling critics often base their disapproval on stereotypes and xenophobia in the sport," writes Klein. "On one point, at least, critics and supporters agree: wrestling does, in fact, exploit nationality and ethnic stereotypes to create drama. The only difference between the two groups is that wrestling supporters seem to enjoy the use of character."
In many ways, the book is a historical ethnography of the Mid South territory, not merely a biography of the Junkyard Dog. It isn't until late in the book -- chapter 8 of 10 -- that Klein takes us to the WWF of 1984, where JYD would skyrocket to international fame.
Klein describes JYD's meteoric rise and the mid-'80s landscape of the WWF -- from The Wrestling Classic to Saturday Night's Main Event to WrestleMania -- and of Bill Watts' numerous attempts to manufacture the next black superhero in the floundering Mid South, from "Hacksaw" Butch Reed to "Master Gee" George Wells to Eddie Crawford (The Snowman).
Klein takes the final chapters of the book to describe brief feuds like Junkyard Dog's rivalry with Ric Flair over the World Championship, upon returning to the NWA (later WCW), before retiring in 1993.
JYD's battles with drug addiction and the toll his life on the road took on his family are also chronicled. "JYD had been a notorious user, even in his Mid South days," writes Klein. "Now, he was making three or four times as much money, with most of it still going up his nose."
Although Klein's research and storytelling are admirable for most of the book, there are some odd inclusions that seem at odds with the facts. In Chapter 9, for instance, Klein exaggerates the Junkyard Dog's weight during his run in the WWF, stating "he ballooned even further, to the point where he was probably closer to 400 pounds." Many fans would argue the Junkyard Dog was never more than 300 pounds before he left the WWF in 1988.
Sadly, the Junkyard Dog's life was tragically cut short in 1998, while driving home from his daughter LaToya's high school graduation in North Carolina. Ritter was involved in a single-car accident on a Mississippi highway that claimed his life at the age of 45.
In the epilogue The Forgotten Hero, Klein laments: "Still, dying in a car wreck is no better than an overdose or suicide in wrestling or any other walk of life. Whatever the details, Sylvester Ritter was gone, and after wrestling and the world at large had moved on, many of his friends had not. Many indicated their hopes for him to kick his addictions, or for a never-realized comeback. Others saluted his never-ending generosity, and how, even when he was down and out, he would always help someone in need."
The book concludes with Klein questioning why the Junkyard Dog has not been inducted into the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in Amsterdam, New York,�which in recent years has inducted Ted DiBiase (2008) and Bobo Brazil (2009). "So far, the only wrestling hall to induct the Junkyard Dog is the one with the least objective standards, the WWE Hall of Fame," writes Klein. "This hall of fame is widely regarded as less of a reflection of the history of professional wrestling than as a reflection of the history of professional wrestling when viewed through the filter of the bias of the WWWF, the WWF, and WWE."
Earlier in May, Junkyard Dog entered the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame as a part of the Class of 2012. Written before the honor, Klein was optimistic that JYD would someday find his rightful place in the Hall of Fame in Amsterdam.
Writes Klein: "(JYD) was the first African-American wrestler to be made the top star of an entire wrestling territory, a feat more remarkable given the history of racial unrest in the Deep South, as well as the backlash during the civil rights era."
The King of New Orleans is remarkable in its own right -- a compelling and long-overdue tale of a man who deserves to be remembered as a pioneer and inspiration to many.
Marshall Ward is a visual artist and music writer for Rock Cellar Magazine.


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Ready Pac Foods Introduces Disney Themed Salads and Meals
Ready Pac Foods, Irwindale, Calif., in conjunction with Disney Consumer Products, introduces a line of Disney-themed Ready Pak Mini-Meals and Salads formulated specifically for kids 6-12 under the popular Ready Pac Cool Cuts brand. Great taste combinations are sure to make the new items a hit with kids, and balanced nutrition will make parents happy. The packaging is perfect for lunchboxes and backpacks, offering durability and portability.
At a time when kids' nutrition, both at and away from home, is in the spotlight, Ready Pac provides a selection of foods that meet the strict Disney nutrition guidelines and encourage kids to eat better by making nutritional foods fun and appealing. Compared with other similarly targeted kids' products in the market, the Disney-themed Ready Pac Cool Cuts have up to four times fewer calories and 12 times less fat per serving. They are also a value when compared to lunches and snacks purchased at restaurants for kids.
Building on its landmark nutrition guidelines established in 2006, Walt Disney Co. recently renewed its' commitment to children's health and wellness this June 5, with new standards for food advertising on programming targeting kids and families. Disney's Nutritional Guidelines are intended to give parents and kids more nutritious eating options. The guidelines are derived from U.S. government-recommended dietary guidelines with the input of top child health experts.
All Disney-themed Cool Cuts products meet these strict guidelines. A Disney character was matched to each item based on the character's personality, and inside kids will find a "fun factor" that matches the Disney character on the label, such as a sticker or temporary tattoo.
Salad varieties include: Pizza Salad (featuring characters from Phineas and Ferb as well as romaine lettuce, pizza ranch dressing, reduced fat mozzarella cheese, pizza flatbread chips and mini turkey pepperoni), Taco Salad (featuring characters from Disney Pixar's Cars plus romaine lettuce, salsa ranch dressing, chili lime chicken breast, fire-roasted corn, black beans, tri-color tortilla strips and shredded carrots), Caesar Salad (featuring stars from Shake iT Up with romaine lettuce, yogurt caesar dressing, roasted chicken breast, dried fruit blend, parmesan style cheese and multigrain croutons) and Harvest Salad (featuring characters from Phineas and Ferb plus iceberg and romaine lettuces, fat free ranch dressing, smoked turkey breast, fresh apples, pretzels and carrots).
Mini-Meals include: Apples, Ham & Yogurt (featuring characters from Disney Princess), red & green apples, smoked ham, vanilla flavored yogurt, string cheese bites; Pizza Bites (featuring characters from Disney Pixar's Cars), mini flat bread, pizza sauce, dried tart cherries, mini turkey pepperoni, reduced fat mozzarella cheese; Turkey, Crackers & Cheese (featuring characters from Mickey Mouse & Friends), smoked turkey breast, carrots, grapes, wheat crackers, Colby jack cheese; and Veggies, Chicken & Pretzels (featuring characters from Phineas and Ferb), carrots, chicken nuggets, ranch dip, broccoli florets, pretzels.
"We knew we needed to think beyond taking existing product, resizing it and giving it a kid-friendly label," says Tristan Simpson, director of marketing for Ready Pac Foods Inc. "Our research and development process included developing flavor profiles and utilizing ingredients specifically targeted to a younger palate. Combining these innovative products with the beloved Disney brand brings real innovation to this category, and we believe that kids will love our new line."
Suggested retail price for the salads is $3.99, and $2.99 for the mini-meals.


text: On Saturday 09 December 2006 10:36, samit wrote: > hello list, > > i am looking for a application (most preferably, but not necessarily OSS or > free software) and that can create distributed, reliable, fault tolerant, > decentralized, high preformance file server. I've looked at few P2P file > storing solutions that store multiple copies of file in different server > for data reliability but i havent found any solution that would help me > access a file as flexibly like the local file with high preformance. Cross > platform solution would be even better as i want to aovoid the SMB overhead > if its just a linux based solution! > > PLEASE RECOMENT ME SOMETHING!? feel free to suggest any solutions that even > qualifies half of this criteria! Have you considered G-FARM? http://datafarm.apgrid.org OpenSource Grid filesystem by the Japanese researchers. I did a proof-of-concept for my customer a year ago. There was also a talk on G-FARM by Osamu Tatebe at SC2006... GFARM (Grid File System) stores metadata on an LDAP server and is able to replicate files on multiple data/file servers. They recommend you "bring" the compute job to the host containing (probably) large files rather than staging files in and out. Regards Anand > > -bipin -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Regards, Anand Vaidya


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The 2012 St. Patrick's Junior Miss Pageant will be held Sunday, March 11, at the Emmetsburg High School Auditorium, begining at 3 p.m.
Again this year, the pageant will be divided into three categories: Little Miss Shamrock (ages 5-8), Little Lassie (ages 9-12), and Irish Miss (ages 13-16). The contest is limited to eight entries in each age group. Contestants entering the Little Miss Shamrock must be age 5 by March 11, 2012, no exceptions. One winner will be crowned in each age group.
Entry forms are available at St. Patrick's Headquarters, downtown Emmetsburg, or download the entry form at www.emmetsburgirishgifts.com. Only residents in Palo Alto County and contiguous counties will be eligible to participate in the pageants. Previous year's Junior Pageant winners are not eligible to take part in the competition.
Entries will only be accepted the week of Monday, Jan. 23, through 12 noon Saturday, Jan. 28. Any early or late entries will be rejected. Phone call entries will not be accepted. Deliver entry forms to St. Pat's Headquarters, 1001 Broadway, or e-mail entries to email@example.com. Entries can be mailed, but must be received at St. Pat's Headquarters by the Jan. 28 deadline.
Eight contestants will be drawn from all entries submitted in each category. Should a drawing be needed, it will be held on Monday, Jan. 30, at St. Pat's Headquarters. Entries drawn will be notified on Tuesday, Jan. 31.
During the pageants, contestants will be judged in the following areas: pre-pageant interview, talent, overall presentation and appearance. Contestants that are chosen as queen will also need to be able to participate in all activities and parades during the summer and throughout the year that are prearranged by the St. Patrick's Association. Some of the parades that St. Pat's participate in include Spencer Flagfest, Spirit Lake Days, Bully Bullhead Weekend and Graettinger Labor Day. This is only a partial preview of the parades that the St. Pat's Association attends. A complete list will be given to the winners in each group.
Stop in at St. Pat's and pick up an entry form. St. Pat's hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Headquarters office is closed Sunday.


text:
Comic books browse by: Shop category:
Artist MarvanoAvailable series in store category "Comic books"
Marvano (AKA Mark van Oppen) in the COMICLOPEDIA
" Mark van Oppen, alias Marvano, studied interior architecture before choosing a career as illustrator. His first drawings appear in the Dutch science fiction magazine Orbit, which he signed with Marvano. He continued making illustrations in the science fiction genre for the..." [ Read more ]


text:
How Joey (Lieberman) Lost His Groove And Couldn't Get It Back
This edition of Political Junkie: The rise (and long fall) of Joe Lieberman ... a farewell to Sargent Shriver ... additional 2010 obits ... former Rep. Jay Rhodes (R-Ariz.) has died ... this week's Junkie segment on TOTN (and the trivia question)... the latest podcast ... and the return of ScuttleButton!
Quite a busy week, with the announcement by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) that he's not going to run for re-election, the death of Sargent Shriver, and the debate on the House floor over a health care repeal. And I certainly can't omit what may have been the most eyebrow-raising incident of the week, the interview Sen. Harry Reid had on Tuesday with Nevada journalist Jon Ralston, in which the majority leader called Chinese President Hu Jintao "a dictator." Given the timing — Wednesday night was an official state dinner at the White House thrown by President Obama in Hu's honor — it seemed pretty, well, odd.
All I can say is thank goodness we didn't have that wacky Sharron Angle in the Senate. You know how she always says outlandish things.
Lots of things to talk about on this Friday, but I'm going to start with the decision of Lieberman, announced on Wednesday, not to seek a fifth term in Connecticut.
I admit I was taken aback by the news. Yes, it would have been a tough race, as he acknowledged at his Stamford event, but all along he kept sounding like a candidate. Plus, as he also said, he's been in tough races before, like 1988 when he was not supposed to unseat GOP Sen. Lowell Weicker, or in 2006, when he lost the Democratic primary to Ned Lamont but went on to win as an independent in November.
But something seems to have changed in Lieberman since that 2006 primary defeat, where he was abandoned by many of his longtime allies primarily because of his support for President Bush's Iraq war policy. By winning that year, he became the first senator in at least a half-century to be denied renomination and yet keep his seat (the second, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, did so as a write-in candidate last year).
It would probably be fair to say that his disillusionment with his own party came before his 2006 rejection. Remember, he was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2000 — the first Jew to be on a major-party ticket — a ticket that won the popular vote. But Lieberman, as many vice-presidential nominees do, felt that the logical next step would be to seek the brass ring itself, and in 2004 he announced his candidacy for the White House. He was reportedly deeply hurt when Al Gore, his 2000 ticket mate, decided instead to endorse Howard Dean, the anti-war former governor of Vermont, for the nomination. Lieberman saw it as a betrayal. But Gore was not about to endorse a candidate who supported the war.
As it was, Lieberman's bid went nowhere; he was out of the race by Feb. 3.
In many ways, Lieberman was a true independent. And that's what Americans and the media say they want, right? We keep hearing they want more of their politicians to work across party lines. However, they just never liked Lieberman's approach. Or maybe they simply didn't like Lieberman. (I suspect that there is more tolerance in this country, at least in the media, for Republicans who often vote with Democrats than the opposite.)
The truth is, he most often voted with the Democrats, the party he stayed a part of, especially on domestic issues. Rumors that he was considering switching to the GOP were totally baseless. But his position on the war, followed by his endorsement of Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his denunciation of Democratic nominee Barack Obama at the 2008 GOP convention, were simply too much for Connecticut Democrats. He became their most despised person.
Of course, Democratic divisions about Lieberman go back to at least 1998, when he gave an impassioned denunciation of President Clinton on the Senate floor over his dalliance with Monica Lewinsky. Some saw it as principled; others saw it as sanctimonious. Whatever, it was probably one of the reasons Gore selected him as his running mate in 2000: to illustrate he (Gore) could be his own man, declaring his independence from Clinton.
And what about the Republicans? In 2006, they voted overwhelmingly for Lieberman. Back then, the inept GOP candidate, Alan Schlesinger, received less than ten percent of the vote. But that was a long time ago. Now, there is no indication of any GOP love for Lieberman at all, especially in the wake of his health care vote and successful pushing for the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."
So perhaps he just got sick of it all. The joy in his face, the impish sense of humor ... much of that was gone in the past several years. It was, in some respects, time to go.
(Note: Regarding this week's title. I'm not calling Lieberman "Joey" out of disrespect, or to be cutesy. In his speech announcing his retirement, several times Lieberman referred to conversations with his wife, who called him "Joey." Just in case someone might think I was being disrespectful. I wasn't.)
Lieberman's departure makes him the third senator to bid farewell in the past two weeks. The decision by Texas Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison to retire is similar to that of Lieberman's; the odds are that the incumbent party will keep those seats. The more interesting retirement is that of Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), which now moves that seat into the "lean Republican" category. The Hutchison and Conrad retirements were reviewed in Tuesday's Political Junkie column.
It's too soon to handicap the Connecticut race, but my early guess for Democratic frontrunner is Rep. Chris Murphy (D-5th CD), who knocked off then-GOP Rep. Nancy Johnson in 2006. Susan Bysiewicz, the former secretary of state, jumped into the race on Wednesday, and some say Rep. Joe Courtney (D-2nd) might get in too. I'm sticking with Murphy as the eventual Dem nominee.
On the Republican side, former wrestling executive Linda McMahon, who lost last year's Senate race to Richard Blumenthal (D) after spending some $50 million of her own money, says she's looking at another run. Others mentioned include former Rep. Rob Simmons, who lost the nomination to McMahon, and Tom Foley, who ran a strong race for governor in 2010.
From the Archives: "What Happens If Lieberman Wins?" (Political Junkie, Aug. 23, 2006); "Lamont Pulls Off Upset; What's Next for Lieberman?" (PJ, Aug. 9, 2006); Lieberman and Lamont appear on the TOTN Junkie segment (Aug. 2, 2006); "Can Lieberman Survive the Primary?" (PJ, July 5, 2006); "Lieberman, Lamont and the War" (PJ, June 28, 2006); "Lieberman for Veep: Surprise, Surprise" (Junkie column at washingtonpost.com, Aug. 11, 2000)
Sargent Shriver dies. Shriver, the first director of the Peace Corps, died Tuesday at age 95; he had long been suffering from Alzheimer's. A Kennedy brother-in-law — he married JFK's sister, Eunice — Sargent Shriver was a pretty amazing guy, with tons of energy that lasted late into his life. And yet, for all he accomplished — in addition to the Peace Corps, he headed up President Johnson's "War on Poverty" program as director of the Office of Economic Opportunity and later served as LBJ's ambassador to France — he was never successful in his own political career.
His hopes of seeking the Illinois governorship in 1960 were dashed when Joseph Kennedy, the family patriarch, told him he couldn't run because he needed to help with John Kennedy's presidential effort. He was on the vice presidential short list in both 1964 (for Lyndon Johnson) and 1968 (for Hubert Humphrey), but the call never came. He also briefly was a candidate for governor of Maryland in 1970.
The running mate phone call did come, in 1972, but under very odd (and for Democrats, painful) circumstances. Sen. George McGovern (D-S.D.), the Democrats' presidential nominee, selected Sen. Tom Eagleton of Missouri as his running mate. But after the news leaked of his past psychiatric treatment for depression, Eagleton was forced off the ticket on July 31. Five days later, after a slew of Senate Democrats — Hubert Humphrey, Ted Kennedy, Abe Ribicoff and Ed Muskie — had turned him down, McGovern decided to pick Shriver. On Aug. 8, at a special meeting of the Democratic National Committee in the Sheraton Park hotel in Washington, it was made official.
(He got 2,936 delegate votes out of a total of 3,013. Missouri Gov. Warren Hearnes, angered by what he considered the unfair treatment of Eagleton, cast his state's 73 votes for Eagleton. And four of Oregon's votes went to former Sen. Wayne Morse, who was campaigning that year to reclaim his seat.)
Nobody was going to defeat President Nixon that year, certainly not George McGovern. As it was, the McGovern-Shriver ticket lost 49 states in a landslide blowout, but Shriver got good reviews for his candidacy. And that led him to start thinking about four years down the road.
With Ted Kennedy staying out of the '76 campaign, Shriver decided to run for president, laying claim to the "Kennedy legacy." But, as with many candidates with Kennedy connections — Ted Sorensen, Kenneth O'Donnell and Pierre Salinger come to mind — Shriver learned that the Kennedy mystique was not transferable. And voters saw him as a Kennedy relative without the Kennedy charisma. One of the last Democrats to get in the race, Shriver finished fifth in the Iowa caucuses, fifth in the New Hampshire primary and sixth in Massachusetts, and that was pretty much the end of his political career.
The Washington Post's obituary made it clear that Shriver's political ambitions "were as much propelled as they were frustrated by his connection to his in-laws, the powerful political dynasty from Massachusetts":
When the family received word in 1964 that President Lyndon B. Johnson was considering Mr. Shriver as a running mate, Eunice balked. "No," she reportedly said, and then invoked her brother Robert's name. "It's Bob's turn."
Kennedy aide Ken O'Donnell was more straightforward, telling Mr. Shriver that if any of the inner circle were to run, it would be Bobby - not "half a Kennedy."
The obit also included this wonderful vignette from the '72 election:
Despite his people skills, Mr. Shriver made a huge gaffe on the campaign trail while visiting a bar near a steel mill in Youngstown, Ohio. Locals ordered Pabsts, Schlitzes or Buds. Mr. Shriver called out, "Make mine a Courvoisier!"
The Shrivers had five children, including Mark Shriver, a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates who lost a close bid for Congress in the 2002 Democratic primary to Chris Van Hollen; and Maria Shriver, the former NBC journalist who is married to ex-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver died in August 2009.
More Obits: In my extensive listing of those in the political world who passed away in 2010, I acknowledged that the list is obviously not complete and asked for reader input on those I missed. Here are some of them:
Howard Zinn, 87, a civil rights activist, historian and left-wing ideologue who was the author of "A People's History of the United States." (Jan. 27)
Ben Westlund, 60, the state Treasurer of Oregon since 2008. A Republican state representative, Westlund left the GOP in 2006 and briefly mounted an independent campaign for governor before switching to the Democrats later in the year. (March 7)
Fred Heineman, 80, who upset Rep. David Price (D-N.C.) in the GOP sweep of 1994 only to lose his bid for re-election to Price two years later, and who prior to his term in Congress was the head of the Raleigh police department. (March 20)
Louis Henkin, 92, a Columbia Law School professor and an expert in the field of human rights law. (Oct. 14)
Tom Vandergriff, 84, the former mayor of Arlington, Texas, who won an open congressional seat in 1982 as a Democrat but who was ousted two years later by Dick Armey (R). After his defeat he resurfaced as a Republican and was elected as a judge in Tarrant County. As mayor, he played a major role in luring the Washington Senators baseball team to Arlington in 1972, where they became the Texas Rangers. Tragically, the Rangers defeated the New York Yankees in the 2010 playoffs. (Dec. 29)
Roger Milliken, 95, a billionaire textile magnate who was instrumental in turning South Carolina into a Republican bastion. (Dec. 29)
John Wheeler, 66, who as chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund in the 1980s worked to ensure the memorial to be built. (Dec. 31)
Hat Tip to Liz Toy, John Hiestand, Matthew Bray, Karen Long and Kevin Dessy.
Jay Rhodes is gone. Word came in yesterday afternoon from my good friend, ex-Rep. Jack Buechner (R-Mo.), that a former colleague of his, Arizona's John Rhodes III — known to everyone as Jay — has died. Rhodes, the son of former House Minority Leader John Rhodes, was elected to the House in 1986, replacing John McCain in the 1st District. A landslide winner three times, Rhodes was blindsided in 1992 by Democrat Sam Coppersmith and lost his seat.
I got to know Rhodes quite well in recent years when he was president of the Association of Former Members of Congress. He was not a fan of the media, and was often quite cranky. But he had a wry sense of humor and was always good to me, and would often tell me some great stories about the time when his dad went to President Nixon, along with other members of Congress, in the last days before Nixon's resignation during the Watergate scandal. All of our conversations were off the record, but Jay promised me he would get them all into a book ... which he apparently never did. My observation was that Rhodes was not a natural campaigner, nor a natural politician. But he was a good guy, and I mourn his passing.
Breaking News: Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the chairman of the House Budget Committee, will give the Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday.
Talk of the Nation: This week's Political Junkie segment, which focused on the new Senate openings in Connecticut, North Dakota and Texas, can be heard here. Join host Neal Conan and me every Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET for the Junkie segment on TOTN, where you can often, but not always, find interesting conversation, useless trivia questions and sparkling jokes. And you can win a Political Junkie T-shirt!
And speaking of trivia, here was this week's question:
Sen. Joe Lieberman, who announced his retirement today, was of course the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2000. Four years later, he sought the presidency himself. Before Lieberman, who was the last Democrat who ran for, but was never elected, vice president, and who also ran for president four years later? (Answer below.)
It's All Politics: The new episode of our weekly podcast, focusing on President Obama's upcoming State of the Union address, new RNC chair Reince Priebus, the three Senate retirements, and the passing of Sargent Shriver, is up and can be heard here:
Jan. 20 podcast
The podcast, which is recorded every Thursday, is completely archived. Click here to hear previous episodes.
Trivia Answer: Sargent Shriver.
This Day In Political History: Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia upsets Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts for Kennedy's job as Senate majority whip. The vote is 31-24. There had been much criticism of Kennedy's performance as whip, with some saying he wasn't focused on the job, whereas Byrd was well regarded for his knowledge of Senate procedure. There was also some speculation that Kennedy's role in the Chappaquiddick incident — where a female companion in the car Kennedy was driving, Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned when the car went over a bridge in July 1969 — was a factor as well. Key to Byrd's decision to run: the proxy from Ga. Sen. Richard Russell, who was dying in a Washington hospital (Russell, in fact, died less than five hours after the Senate vote.) The result is thought to seriously damage the prospects of Kennedy seeking the presidency in 1972 (Jan. 21, 1971).
Coming later today: ScuttleButton!
Got a question? Ask Ken Rudin: firstname.lastname@example.com


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NIXON Sentry SS - Watch for Men - Green
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Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Redknapp unsure over Odemwingie deal
Harry Redknapp thinks Peter Odemwingie's Twitter rant was ill-advised after West Brom revealed they had turned down a second bid from QPR for the wantaway striker.
Odemwingie took to Twitter over the weekend to hit out at West Brom and their fans, who had criticised him for requesting to leave the Hawthorns amid interest from Redknapp's Rangers.
And speaking after West Brom announced they had turned down a second bid for the Nigeria international, Redknapp told a press conference: "I don't know (whether the transfer will go ahead). It's a bit of a difficult situation for West Brom. It's not worked out in an ideal way. The whole situation has become a bit too public really hasn't it?"
He continued: "I am sure West Brom are not too happy with the way it's gone. We made an enquiry. The enquiry leaked out and obviously the player decided he wanted to come to London and that's how it has worked out.
"I think too many people get involved in Twitter."
Rangers had an initial £2million bid turned down at the start of the January window, and it was confirmed by the midlands club on Monday that a second offer has also been rejected.
West Brom's sporting and technical director (designate) Richard Garlick said in a statement: "QPR have made a second, improved offer for Peter, which we have turned down.
"As we have repeatedly stated, we have no need or desire to sell our core players.
"Since we turned down Peter's transfer request, he has made his position clear in a statement to the media and via his personal Twitter account.
"This matter will be dealt with internally."


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3 Day Canadian Experience Multi-Adventure
- Duração: 3 Dias
- Código de produto: Canadian - Multi
One of the "Best Winter Packages in Canada" - Canadian Tourism Commission
This exciting "mini-vacation" is a great way to discover the forests of Algonquin Park area. It is also an exhilarating introduction to several winter sports - all at an affordable price! Dog sledding, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing. We stay in the cozy comforts of the remote wilderness Algonquin Eco-Lodge. It's right out in the bush, but it comes complete with an outdoor hot tub and wood-fired sauna! Perfect for relaxing after a hard day of having fun in the snow! It is run with alternative energy created from our own waterfall, so you don't need to worry about sleeping in a tent and being cold at night. Unless you'd like to try your hand at building a "Quinzee" (a traditional snow hut) and sleep there for the night. Knowing that there is a warm room nearby always makes this idea more appealing!
For those requesting transportation, we begin our trip at Finch Subway station on Friday morning and start our journey up north. We will travel through scenic farm land and picturesque "cottage country". When combined with the bright winter sun and a blanket of crisp white snow, the views can be breathtaking.
We arrive at the Eco-Lodge, on the southern border of Algonquin Park, by early afternoon. It is here that we meet up with our dog sled teams. Following an introduction to the dogs and instruction on how to handle the sleds we set off for a 2 hour dog sled ride. This is always an exciting experience - the dogs barking and pulling at the dogsleds, the trees whipping past us, and the breeze in our faces. We dogsled into the majestic forests surrounding Algonquin Park along private trails. There is also a good chance that we may see some wildlife like moose or even a lone wolf!
Our second day's activity is Cross Country Skiing. We strap on our cross country skis and follow the groomed ski trails through Algonquin Park. Our trail will lead us through hardwood bush - an excellent place to see moose or their tracks in the snow at the very least. We will stop for a trail lunch in a quaint prospectors' tent for a chance to rest and warm up by a roaring fire.
We trade in our skis for Snowshoes on our third day. Again we voyage into the forests of Algonquin Park, but today we make our own trails! As we snowshoe our way through the crisp and untouched snow we should keep an eye out for the ever present signs of wildlife. This is how much of Canada was travelled - you can almost imagine yourself as a seasoned explorer!
Trip includes:
- ½ day of Dog Sledding
- 1 day of Cross Country Skiing
- ½ day of Snowshoeing
- Carbon-neutral Hot Tub & Wood-fired outdoor Sauna
- Polar Bear Dip (if you're brave enough!)
- Accommodations, Equipment, Guides, Meals (dinner first day to lunch on last day)


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Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman sees the Cowboys making changes.
But he doesn't necessarily see the Cowboys improving because of them.
"I haven't seen anything up to this point that's been done that makes me believe that this team is going to be better based on the changes that have happened within staff," Aikman said on 1310 The Ticket, via the Dallas Morning News.
Like the rest of us, Aikman sees owner Jerry Jones rattling his saber, and coach Jason Garrett standing there smiling and nodding, while his power (the ability to call plays and employ his brother) have been gradually taken away.
Jones tried to spin it as a good thing for Garrett, but Aikman's not buying that.
"That's essentially what happened, or at least that's the way it looks," Aikman said. "Jerry comes out and says there are going to be a lot of changes this off-season and everyone's going to be uncomfortable, I didn't hear a comment from Jason Garrett with regards to that. I didn't hear him say that during his post-game press conference or postseason press conference.
"So yeah, it's got the look and feel as though Jerry's making these decisions and I don't know that that's necessarily good. When you're making staff changes and whether Jason's on board with that or not on board with that I really have no idea.
"I think the difficult things is that this was a team the last two years that played in the last game of the season and went into Week 17 with a chance to win a division. If they win the last game of the year, they win the division. I just wonder if they had won one or both of those games if we would be looking at this team differently. And I think that we would, even if they didn't win in the postseason."
Aikman said he didn't think a Bill Callahan-called offense would look drastically different, which makes you ask why change things other than to tweak Garrett. And if that was the only goal, then simply replacing him might have been easier.


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Meet Report!
by, April 7th, 2013 at 06:52 PM (1314 Views)
Well, here are my meet results!
500 free 5:49
200 back 2:17.8
50 free split 25.3
50 back 29.5
50 free split 25.3
100 back 1:02.6
50 free 25.3
50 fly split 28.3
Here are the full results:
Commentary: 500 free
I'm really glad I swam this. It felt pretty good, which is probably why it wasn't super fast. At about the 75, I thought, now I see why people train for this. After the swim, I decided i would definately swim this from time to time. However, I don't feel compelled to train for it at all. That would be hours of work to drop 20 seconds. I'll take the 20 seconds and spend those hours doing sprinty stuff.
200 back
Swim-o-the-meet! This may end up being my best contender in top tens! A very strong swim. Still need to get out faster!
50 free split #1:
I think I am stuck in a rut. A time warp of 25.3's. I felt peppy but no strength. And it felt LONG, like that one extra second just takes it out of me. I'm sure I haven't done enough strength training and hours of sitting on the pool deck talking about my training.
50 back: Holly cow I can hardly believe I actually swam 4 events in one day. I was just trying not to SIT UP in the race I was pretty tired!
200 free? No way! Time for another split request! I decided to tweak my stroke and went with a total 80's stroke. It felt so good, like an old friend. I was quite tired but tried to go fast anyway.
100 back: This one I wanted to do a good time. I started to really die at the end, but I was abl to gut, grunt, and just go to the end. A very solid time and definately a top tener.
50 free: This was fun to swim against my friend Laura Zook, formerly Glass, maiden name Holt. Kept the 80's crossover kick since I didn't have the strength to kick straight legs.
50 fly split: Ok! At this point I was going to bail, but with SO MANY scratches, yours truly was purely on a medal haul. Did the split, and it was not a natural swim at all. I haven't done much fly this year, since it still is a bit uncomforable in my belly button. I think he sewed me up funny. My belly button inside folds don't look the same anymore either. This I can tell when I clean out my belly button! But, back to the swim - oh yeah, so notice my splits that I scurried home in the last 50 free, thinking it may come down to that for a 1st place medal!
TOTAL HAUL: 7 gold medals and a 4th place in the 100 free (50 free split).
I think i've had a good time and did some great backstroking. But, i'll very likely go back to the 4 x 50's, as the base events.
I will now watch whatever I saved on DVR and eat an entire Godiva solid chocolate easter bunny, potato chips and dip, and coconut water. Tomorrow: INSANITY!!!!


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Coffee comes home: How the cappuccino conquered South Africa
Not so long ago, if you ordered a cup of coffee in South Africa you needed to specify "filter" to avoid getting instant.
A decade ago, there was no cafe culture, nowhere to go for a flat white and certainly no expectation of locally roasted beans.
Those days are gone. Specialist coffee shops did nearly four times the business here in 2012 as in 2007.
The epicenter of the country's coffee revolution is Cape Town, whose population has a reputation for being trendy and aspirational.
These days, to-go cups from the right coffee shop are displayed like choice accessories.
A few companies are willing to take the credit for spearheading the trend, though it's more likely the combined result of several that had the foresight to anticipate interest in better coffee and the ability to interpret it for a local audience.
From bad to good to great
Coffee expectations, till recently, have been very low. Instant coffee, often cut with chicory, was a vehicle for lots of milk and sugar to warm the body and provide a minor buzz.
Capetonians who used to drink instant coffee, tea or no hot beverage at all, have since discovered the cappuccino.
Wimpy, KFC, BP Garage and other chains offer cheap and cheerful versions for the masses.
"They've got these coffee machines. But you don't smell coffee," says Anthony Swarz of Anthony's Golden Cup. "I don't know if it's instant. But it's not the same as if people walk into my shop, as if they've been pulled by the nose."
Swarz links the end of apartheid to the demand for better quality coffee.
"Now that all races can travel, wherever they go, they get good coffee," says Swarz. When they return, he says, their expectations are higher, and they seek out local roasters.
Swarz is old school. His small shop has tiny tables for two and is decorated with an assortment of flags (both for coffee and soccer countries, he says) and antique coffee makers from various cultures.
Swarz, who is in his 70s and drinks several full-strength cups daily, prepares the drinks himself, serving them in zebra-striped mugs.
"Sometimes they take all the fun out of making coffee with those little coffee pods. When you start grinding your own coffee, it's fun."
Swarz listens to the coffee beans to decide when they're done.
"Different coffees have a different cackle," he says. "You know exactly when to let it out, to get the best aroma, the best taste. These days people roast by computer."
It's not about the caffeine, it's about the experience
Vida e Caffe is the most visible of the new breed of cafes, with 65 shops and an aggressive expansion plan taking them from Cape Town into Johannesburg and beyond.
Grant Dutton, Vida's managing director, says they're against the globalization and Americanization of coffee, with no massive venti offerings a la Starbucks.
Until now they've eschewed flavored syrups, though he says they might try vanilla.
There's a high see-and-be-seen factor associated with Vida cafes, which strategically selects locations in affluent shopping areas.
Vida is a twist of Afrioptimism (workers chant their thanks to customers who tip) and Angolan colonialism (menus are in Portuguese), served up in shiny red and white stores with an artsy in-house magazine and strong ties to other aspirational brands -- a mini Lindt bar comes with a beverage.
The vibe is high-energy, a bit loud, but friendly and happy.
"It wakes you up," says Dutton about the Vida experience. "It's African, genuine, fun, sincere. We like our guys to use their personality, to have fun and be themselves."
Vida's beans are all roasted in the basement below their Cape Town headquarters.
Detractors say that Vida is less about the coffee and more about the experience.
By contrast, Origins is dark and cool, a cave-cum-cafe even on a hot day.
It's an urban scene with its painted brick, exposed pipes, oversized sacks of beans and monster of a grinder.
Long, communal tables are shared by laptop commuters and chatting friends. There's a continuous stream of people coming in for a cup to go.
Bernisha Moses, wearing a T-shirt that says, "Some like it BLACK," is one of the few women working behind a counter. She can readily identify with her customers' shifting palates, as she's been educating her own while working here.
"Some people come in and ask for a 'normal coffee,'" she says. "So we have to ask questions to figure out what they mean by that -- maybe a filter coffee with milk on the side."
Origins has led the way as an artisanal roaster. Although it has just one cafe, it supplies beans and barista trainings to independent venues all over the city.
Owner Joel Singer estimates that Origins has trained 800-1,000 baristas. Many of the other roasting company owners and employees were trained at Origins.
Beans for Africa
Coffee beans are one of Africa's premium export products.
"Coffee has a long life of about a year," says José Vilandy, who won the country's 2008 barista competition, and who now works for Truth, one of the city's new boutique roasters.
"But once it's been roasted, it only lasts four or five weeks."
In other words, buying coffee roasted in Europe means paying premium prices for stale coffee.
Customers have a keen interest in beans from Africa.
Just as chocolate is often associated with Switzerland rather than Ghana and Madagascar where cacao beans are actually grown, coffee has long been synonymous with European culture -- even though no coffee beans grow in Italy or France.
There's been a shift away from this Eurocentric perspective.
"People are starting to recognize that Africa is the mother of coffee," says Vilandy. "That's something that people appreciate a lot."
Up next
Cape Town remains a city deeply divided by race and class and the new cafes have opened up almost entirely in middle class and wealthy areas.
One promising new cafe recently opened up in Khayelitsha, the city's largest township. The Department of Coffee bills itself as the only place to get a cappuccino in Khayelitsha.
Located near a train station, the DOC has plenty of passersby, though on a recent summer day, only the occasional person stopped for a cold fruit drink at midday.
In traditional African culture, hot coffee is seen as a winter drink, and for adults only.
"People say, 'No, it's hot, I can't drink it," says Wongama Baleni, who jokingly refers to himself as the Department's Minister.
Baleni and his partners Vusumzi Mamile and Vuyile Msaku are three young entrepreneurs who were looking for a business idea in the neighborhood where they grew up, but where they wouldn't have any direct competition. Earlier ideas were a car wash and laundromat.
They did their market research on foot, scoping out available spaces and proposing the idea of a takeaway cafe to potential customers.
Responses were positive; many people who live in Khayelitsha work downtown and have turned on to the coffee scene, but have no options close to home. And many others are espresso virgins.
"We're bringing coffee culture to black people," says Baleni. "We give them a taste. It smells nice. We brought it to the mall, explaining that we will come to you in the morning with coffee."
Mornings start early and are busy, with a set list of repeat customers who have their morning drinks delivered in stylish orange and white cups to their workplaces.
Singer says coffee culture has just started in South Africa.
Roasteries haven't been opening up all over Johannesburg and Durban with the same intensity, although the wave is clearly moving north.
In the next five years, Singer expects people will ask more questions, get very fussy, and generally be excited about fine-grain coffee details.
"First people discovered cappuccino. Then they discovered well-made cappuccino," he says. "Now people want to start exploring subtle issues."
Cape Town cafes
Anthony's Golden Cup
Anthony offers flavored coffees, such as amarula, largely in response to customers who have traveled overseas and requested them. If you're looking for American-style syrup flavors, this is the closest you'll find in Cape Town.
59 Loop St., Cape Town; +27 21 426 1268; goldencup.co.za
Bean There Coffee Company
The first Cape Town branch of the Johannesburg cafe that emphasizes fair-trade coffee.
58 Wale St., Cape Town; +27 87 943 2228; www.beanthere.co.za
Department of Coffee
At R8.50 (US$1) for a top-notch cappuccino, theirs is definitely the best bargain in town.
158 Ntlazane St., Khayelitsha (corner of Ntlazane street and Khwezi crescent, near Khayelitsha train station); +27 73 300 9519/+27 78 086 0093/+27 78 316 2918; www.facebook.com/pages/Department-of-Coffee
Origin Coffee Roasting
Origin offers coffee appreciation courses -- not unlike Wine Tasting 101.
28 Hudson St., Cape Town; +27 21 421 1000; www.originroasting.co.za
Exacting standards at a location ideal for walking tours.
36 Buitenkant St., Cape Town; +27 21 200 0440; www.truthcoffee.com
Vida e Caffe
Popular local chain in various locations around the city.


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Although writer John Steinbeck died 45 years ago, we continue to visit Salinas, Calif. — his birthplace — and surrounding Monterey County in search of the characters and settings found in his classics "The Pastures of Heaven," "East of Eden," "Cannery Row" and "Tortilla Flat." Although we can't find Doc, Junius Maltby or Lee Chong's grocery store, the essence of the Salinas Valley lingers in the blend of cultures, overcast skies, farming communities and locals who combine a passion for their work with a penchant for libations.
The bed
There isn't much to choose from in Salinas except chain hotels and motels, so make the 18-mile drive to Stage Coach Lodge in Monterey (1111 10th St., Monterey; [877] 899-6609, http://www.montereystagecoachlodge.com. Rooms from about $135 a night). The 26 rooms feature air conditioning, microwaves, refrigerators, 42-inch televisions and Wi-Fi, are in a residential neighborhood and are about one-tenth of a mile from Highway 1, giving visitors easy access to the surrounding region. Guests are also within walking distance of Lake El Estero and a 21/2-mile jaunt to Cannery Row.
The meal
Is the Haute Enchilada Café & Galerias an art gallery with exquisite food or a fun restaurant with an impeccable aesthetic? Answer: Both. The eatery, in a former antique store, serves a Latin fusion-inspired menu featuring mole enchiladas, salmon Quimixto, sand dabs, vegetarian risotto and beer-battered artichoke hearts in a festive dining room with paintings by co-owner Luis Solano and local artists. By the time you leave, you'll wonder which is better — the food or the ambience. (7902A Moss Landing Road, Moss Landing; [831] 633-5843, http://www.hauteenchilada.com). No single item more than $26.)
The find
Lost Spirits Distillery (Salinas; [831] 235-9400, http://www.lostspirits.net) makes whiskey on site and offers two 90-minute tours on Saturdays (by reservation only, $20 a person) ending with a slide show and tasting. You'll learn about peat and its importance in creating the beverage and how Lost Spirits is only one of two whiskey distilleries in the world using a wooden still, but that information becomes secondary to you after you hang out with co-owners Bryan Davis and Joanne Haruta, who leave visitors feeling as if they've made new friends. The two are highly knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their boutique single-malt house, but it's their willingness to let guests grab a bar stool and have a sample or three that makes the event feel more like a dinner party and less like a tour. Or maybe it's the 140-pound German shepherd named Goliath that poses for pictures and never says no to treats.
The lesson learned
A trip to the National Steinbeck Center (1 Main St., Salinas; [831] 775-4721, http://www.steinbeck.org. $14.95 for adults; $8.95 for seniors, teachers, students and military; $7.95 for youths ages 13-17; $5.95 ages 6-12 and free for children 5 and younger) is essential to learning about Salinas. On display is the author's camper used in "Travels With Charley: In Search of America," family belongings and journals and letters used as inspiration for "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Of Mice and Men." For die-hard fans, the Steinbeck House (132 Central Ave., Salinas; [831] 424-2735, http://www.steinbeckhouse.com. No single item more than $14) is an 1897 Queen Anne Victorian residence where the family moved in 1900. Today, the home is a restaurant with seasonal menus (lunch only) and a gift shop and is available for tours and private parties.
Hitting Reno with a child in tow


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Health-care issue emerges in races
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are the marquee names in this year's partisan fight over health care, but the undercard is pretty compelling, too.
In House and Senate races across the country, from New York to Wisconsin to Montana, the president's health care law is re-emerging as a central issue in the fight for control in Congress. It already helped Mark Critz knock off fellow Democratic Rep. Jason Altmire in a western Pennsylvania primary last month. No matter what the Supreme Court decides, the aftermath promises only to add to the stakes.
Story Continued Below
Here are five races in which the politics of health care figure to be pivotal:
Pennsylvania 12: Rep. Mark Critz (D) vs. Keith Rothfus (R)
Critz has to turn a quick pivot from a primary in which he and his union allies hammered Altmire for voting against the health care law.
He's tried a nuanced approach. "The system we had [before the new law] was not working. Is the health care bill the answer? Does it solve all the issues? Well, no. It needs a lot of work," Critz said at a debate, according to PoliticsPA. He also insisted that "I voted every time to support the bill in its current form and worked to improve it."
National Republicans are eager to remind voters of Critz's record of voting against their repeal efforts. The National Republican Congressional Committee started airing an ad to that effect Wednesday, and they believe Altmire's defeat gives them a cleaner shot at winning a seat that was formed by combining two Democratic districts.
After the primary, the Cook Political Report updated the race from "lean Democratic" to "tossup." Democrats plan to tie Rothfus to Rep. Paul Ryan's budget, which would turn Medicare into a system in which seniors would get capped subsidies to buy insurance, as a way to blunt the GOP's health care attacks.
Like much of Pennsylvania, the district — a hammerhead-shaped territory stretching from east of Johnstown to the Ohio border — is home to many seniors, and the fight over who pays and who benefits in the nation's health care system promises to be a defining battle in the race.
"It's not often you're given a second chance in politics, but Mark Critz has passed up 20 opportunities to express his disapproval for Obamacare," said Paul Lindsay, a spokesman for the NRCC. Critz spokesman Mike Mikus said Critz thinks "the best approach is to keep the good things and to reform the things that need to be reformed."
Wisconsin Senate: Former Gov. Tommy Thompson (R) vs. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D)
For most Republicans running this year, their position on Obama's health care law is cut and dried: It was a bad idea. But that's a tougher sell for Thompson, the former Health and Human Services secretary, who in 2009, advocated for a national overhaul, saying "failure to reach an agreement on health reform this year is not an acceptable option."
He even posed for a picture, now on the White House website, after meeting with administration officials and others to discuss how to implement the law.
Since then, Thompson has tried to distance himself from the health law by vowing to vote for its repeal if he is elected. He released a video last year that says American prosperity "starts by taking the burden of Obamacare off our backs."
If Thompson can win the primary — he's up against Republicans who are more than happy to remind voters of Thompson's health care record — he'll take on a strong advocate of the law.


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#10 from 2012: Technology Drives Citizen Participation and Feedback in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Our Top Ten Blog Posts by Readership in 2012
Originally published on May 29, 2012
A common theme in the field of open government refers to the use of technologies as a means to foster citizen engagement. A closer examination, however, shows that most initiatives facilitated by information and communication technologies (ICT) have been characterized by low levels of citizen engagement.
In Brazil, the state of Rio Grande do Sul stands out as an exception. For instance, in a recent web-based policy crowdsourcing initiative supported by the ICT4Gov Program of the World Bank Institute (WBI) and the Open Development Technology Alliance (ODTA), "Governador Pergunta" ("The Governor Asks"), citizens were invited to co-design solutions to address health challenges in the state. The process has generated over 1,300 proposals, with more than 120,000 votes cast on the prioritization of the different proposals.


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Israel News - Stay Informed, Pray Informed
An Israeli college will soon be established in the African nation of Tanzania, whose population is 35 percent Muslim.
The Atid Network, the largest privately-owned educational network in Israel, has signed an agreement with the government of Tanzania to establish the new college in Dar es Salaam, the former capital and Tanzania's largest city.
It's first year of operation will see 700 students study at the college, with facilities expanded to accommodate up to 4,000 students within two years.
Atid Network official recently departed for Tanzania to recruit and train professional teachers and lecturers and to organize the equipment and facilities required to operate the college.
Typical courses at the college will last six months and provide students with a trade skill and a certificate of graduation from the Tanzanian Ministry of Education.
Atid Networks currently operates smaller colleges and training centers in other parts of Africa, such as Nigeria, where it provides students with professional training to take part in their country's oil industry.
Atid CEO Amiad Gurevich said there are positive efforts to expand the educational network across Africa and bring professional training to a growing number of people there.
In Israel, Atid operates 11 colleges and 40 high schools, and recently won a tender to establish a new program aimed designed for high school students who have failed to integrate into conventional educational settings.
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Today, at the IUCN World Conservation Congress, IUCN awarded its two highest medals to outstanding individuals of the conservation world, and eleven other conservation greats were granted honorary membership of IUCN.
Sir David Attenborough was honoured with IUCN's highest conservation award, the John C. Phillips Memorial Medal, which has been presented at every General Assembly and Congress since 1963. Awarded in memory of the life and work of Dr John C. Phillips, a pioneer of the conservation movement and specialist in species classification and genetics, it is in recognition of outstanding service in international conservation. Former recipients of this medal include Indira Gandhi, Professor E. O. Wilson and Dr Luc Hoffmann.
A British naturalist and broadcaster, Sir David has reached the masses with his captivating programmes on natural history, creating awareness of the natural world and its vulnerability, and, over the course of the last fifty years, inspiring generations to protect and conserve our planet.
"IUCN is an organisation of enormous importance for all of us who care about the natural world. There is no other international organization quite like it, none which is quite so scientifically based, none whose compliments I would value more highly", says Sir David in a video message to the IUCN Congress.
The winner of the Harold Jefferson Coolidge Memorial Medal for outstanding contributions to conservation of nature and natural resources was Dr. Wolfgang E. Burhenne of Germany, the Executive Governor of the International Council on Environmental Law. Established at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Bangkok in 2004, this is the second time that the Coolidge Memorial Medal has been awarded.
IUCN owes a great deal of its global leadership in environmental law to Dr. Burhenne. The award recognizes his very significant contributions to international environmental treaties and specifically to IUCN as Chair and Deputy Chair of IUCN's Commission on Environmental Law (1960-1990), Legal Adviser to the Union (1990-1994), long standing member of the IUCN Council and a constant source of support to the Secretariat at every General Assembly and Congress since 1950. In the true spirit of Harold Coolidge, Dr. Burhenne has also provided inspiration and encouragement to many individuals throughout his career who have gone on to become leading figures in the field of environmental law.
Honorary Membership of IUCN, which recognizes outstanding services to the conservation of nature and natural resources, is presented by the World Conservation Congress, on the recommendation of the IUCN Council, to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to furthering the goals of the Union. Today, eleven such individuals were honoured:
• Dr Abdulaziz Abuzinada, Saudi Arabia
• Ms Angela Cropper, Trinidad and Tobago
• Dr Aila Keto, Australia
• His Excellency, The State President, Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama, Botswana
• Mr Veit Koester, Denmark
• Dr Russell Mittermeier, USA
• Dr Ian Player, South Africa
• Professor Nicholas Robinson, USA
• Dr Marina Silva, Brazil
• Mr Achim Steiner, Germany
• Professor Randolph Robert Thaman, Fiji


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Afro: Fela Kuti - Swegbe And Pako | Mp3 Download
Views: 485
Artiste: Fela Kuti
Year: 2018
Added: , (2018-03-18 )
Year: 2018
Added: , (2018-03-18 )
free mp3 download Fela Kuti Swegbe And Pako
Fela Anikulapo Kuti (15 October 1938 ŌĆō 2 August 1997), also professionally known as Fela Kuti, or simply Fela, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, musician, composer, pioneer of the Afrobeat music genre, human rights activist, and political maverick.[1][2] He has been called "superstar, singer, musician, Panafricanist, polygamist, mystic, legend."[3] During the height of his popularity, he was often hailed as one of Africa's most "challenging and charismatic music performers.
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