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Israel News - Stay Informed, Pray Informed
This is part two of a four-part series on Christian women marrying Muslim men. If you have not done so already, we recommend first reading Married to Mohammed - Part I and Married to Mohammed - Part II
There are those who are not alarmed by the disturbing conclusions about the treatment of women in many Muslim countries. Olga Lykova, 33, has been married to her Egyptian husband Muhammad for the past six years, and never regrets her decision.
"Although we are coming from different backgrounds: he is religious, while I am secular, he respects my choice," she told the magazine. "Of course he would love to see me becoming a devout Muslim, but I made it clear that it's not going to happen. He learned to accept it," she added.
Even though Lykova says her marriage is still strong, she knows of very few instances where interfaith relations worked out. Living in Sharm El Sheikh, a city with no more than 40,000 residents, Lykova says she heard of many love stories that ended in divorce.
The reason for this, according to Lykova, is the clash of cultures. "Egyptians living in resort towns are a bit more open minded because they are constantly exposed to foreign cultures. But at the end of the day they are still pretty traditional when it comes to their view that a woman's sole responsibility is to please her man. This attitude creates a lot of tension within a mixed family, as western women are not used to this kind of treatment," she explained.
"Moreover, Islam seems to be quite permissible when it comes to the rights of a man, allowing him to have four wives. Although not many Egyptians marry more than once, many of them do have numerous love affairs, something that's unacceptable by western women," she added.
Another reason for failed marriages, Lykova says, is that most of them are based on deceit. "Here you can come across Egyptian men in their 20s marrying 80 year olds in a bid to get the woman's money," she said, stressing that the men's behavior is dictated by the strong desire to get out of poverty, as most Egyptians, who live and work in resort towns, belong to the lower classes of society.
"Cases where an Egyptian man takes a foreign woman in addition to his Egyptian wife are also quite common. Usually the two women don't even know about each other. Needless to say, that instances of domestic violence, as well as verbal, sexual, mental and financial abuse are also a common phenomenon," she added.
Addressing the attitude of Egyptian society to interfaith marriages, Lykova said it was largely positive. "In Egypt it's quite unacceptable for a Copt to marry a Muslim. But when it comes to an Egyptian marrying a foreigner from a different faith, most Egyptians would have nothing against it," she explained.
This attitude is primarily explained by the tolerance of the Egyptians as well as the flexible Islamic law, according to which a man is allowed to marry women from other monotheistic religions. In fact, the prophet Mohammed himself was married to an Egyptian Copt (Maria) and a Jewess (Safiyya), both of whom converted to Islam after their marriage.
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Joyce Mitchell denied parole in scathing decision
Convicted prison tailor Joyce Mitchell has been denied release by New York State's Parole Board.
Convicted prison tailor Joyce Mitchell has been denied release by New York State's Parole Board.
Convicted prison tailor Joyce Mitchell has been denied release by New York State's Parole Board.
Mitchell had a parole hearing last week at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in Bedford Hills, New York.
A spokeswoman for the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision released a scathing decision by the parole board Monday morning.
The decision stated that Mitchell should not be released "merely as a reward for good conduct or efficient performance of duties while confined."
Mitchell was sentenced in September 2015 to between 2 1/3 and 7 years after admitting to charges of promoting prison contraband. She received an additional one-year for facilitating criminal activity. Mitchell was also ordered to pay $80,000 in restitution for damage done during the escape.
"It is fair to say that your crimes cost New York millions in response to the escape of inmates (Richard) Matt and (David) Sweat that your actions facilitated," the decision stated. "You allowed your common sense and supervisory duties to be compromised by developing unprofessional relationships with Matt and Sweat."
She admitted to helping convicted murderers Matt and Sweat escape from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora in June 2015. The two were on the run in the North Country for more than three weeks. Matt was shot and killed, Sweat was shot and recaptured.
"You did not tell anyone of escape related requests or plans as events were occurring and offered no reasons for not doing so that neither Judge (Kevin) Ryan nor the board found credible," the decision said. "You present yourself more as a victim than a responsible participant and appear to be emotionally unstable and easily manipulated."
The board said Mitchell's assistance with the investigation consisted of lies and half truths.
"This apparently willful failure to volunteer comprehensive and truthful disclosure of information began during the investigation and continued during your interview with the board," the decision said.
The board said it weighed letters of support written by Mitchell's husband, Lyle, who she said she plotted to have killed after Matt and Sweat's escape.
Mitchell's son and others wrote in her favor, describing "positive qualities."
The parole board said it questioned Mitchell's goal to further her education and work in criminal justice.
"All relevant factors considered, while guided by risk and needs principles, the presumption created in your favor is rebutted by our review of the record and interview that lead us to conclude that if released at this time your release would be incompatible with the welfare of society and that there is a reasonable probability that you would not live and remain at liberty without again violating the law," the decision concluded.
The decision was unanimous.
Mitchell is eligible to reapply for parole after more time served. Her next parole hearing date was scheduled for June.
Mitchell could be released as early as Oct. 8, 2017.

subset: commoncrawl


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With the House farm bill proposal passed, the Senate proposal coming and Congress in recess, USDA head Mike Johanns visited RFD-TV studios in Nashville, Tenn., to again push the Bush administration proposal and jab at alternatives.
Johanns was clearly unimpressed with the House plan and repeatedly said it would reward too many large farms while shorting rural infrastructure needs. Among Johann's Aug. 9 comments:
On House Agriculture Committee chairman Collin Peterson keeping his promise to have a House farm bill proposal prior to the August recess:
"He did get it done. He stuck with his timeline and a lot of people were saying, 'You don't have to go this fast.' But he was committed before the recess and good for him. He stayed the course.
"There were some good things Peterson did in his proposal, some things we actually liked. We liked what they were doing in conservation, by and large, with additional funding. But there were some things we didn't like. We didn't like the tax increase."
On the tax increase being a surprise:
"That was a curveball, I think for everybody. It came from nowhere.
"In fact, I came to the House ag committee markup and they were having a discussion about tax increases. It seemed pretty clear that wasn't on the table.
"It wasn't a couple of days later that not only was it on the table but it was being proposed as part of the farm bill. And it was really historic. The only farm bill we could find that rolled in a tax increase was the 1933 farm bill, the first one — and that was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. So this isn't normal procedure. It was rolled in and we were clear that we couldn't sign a farm bill that increased taxes."
On the dangers of a tax increase proposal when approaching an election year:
"I think (the House was) looking for revenue to balance this thing out and, all of a sudden, this idea came about.
"Here's the problem: it divided the House. This was a farm bill that, as far as I could tell, was moving forward in a very bipartisan way. In fact, at the end of the House ag committee markup, there stood Collin Peterson and Bob Goodlatte — the chairman and ranking member — talking about what they'd done and the merits of the proposal. Boom! The tax increase dropped and that really, really divided the House.
"So all of a sudden, what was a bipartisan effort — as farm bills usually are — became a very divided process. It passed by a number that was unusual because a lot of support dropped off."
What does the tax provision do and why is Johanns opposed to it?
"Throughout the United States, in small towns and big cities, there are many companies that come from other parts of the world. They've established a presence here — maybe a manufacturing facility, whatever. And they create very high-quality jobs.
"In fact, we've done research at the Treasury Department on these jobs and they tend to pay 20 to 30 percent more than the average in that sector.
"Some of these countries have a number of locations in foreign areas. They work to find the most advantageous tax treatment they can find. That's the simplest way of describing it.
"The (proponents of the proposed House tax provision) call that 'closing a loophole.' Those companies said, 'Wait a second, here.'
"In many areas, there are treaties involved. In fact, there are over 50 different treaties involved with countries.
"One of the difficulties is this was a situation where this never got a hearing before the Ways and Means Committee. It never went through the normal process. It was literally walked over and rolled into the rule by which a farm bill was to be debated. And it was passed in the rule-making process.
"The business community, very justifiably, said, 'What is this? We've been surprised, we haven't had a hearing to explain our position.' Needless to say, they were very, very opposed to this.
"It wasn't good process, not a good situation. And the worst thing for agriculture was it took a typically broad base of support, a very bipartisan base of support, and created a situation where a lot of support disappeared and it became a very partisan initiative. It was unfortunate."
While the Bush administration quickly said the House proposal would be vetoed, agricultural organizations like Farm Bureau said nothing.
"If you read the Farm Bureau's written information on tax increases, it's a conservative group. They oppose tax increases. But they didn't here.
"I'll be candid: it put members in a very, very difficult position. You have people out there saying, 'Government is big enough and it spends enough. Let's find savings within government if we're going to spend elsewhere.'
"That puts them in a position of having to give that philosophy up — which isn't fair — or vote for the farm bill. These men and women are conservative people. They don't want to vote for a tax increase.
"I will also tell you, they want to be with our nation's farmers. That's where their heart and passion is. So I thought it put them in an extremely difficult spot.
"Another thing that troubled me about all this: I thought this thing was dead the day it passed. Now, on the Senate side, Chairman Baucus, a Democrat from Montana on the Finance Committee, and ranking member Grassley from Iowa are saying, 'No, we're not going in that direction in the Senate.' In my judgment, this thing was never likely to have any success. Yet, it put our members in a very difficult position."
Johann's farm bill proposal has provisions for updating rural hospitals. Is anything similar in the House version?
"It is not. We had some real initiatives with rural areas in America, rural development. One was creating a low-interest loan program where rural, critical access hospitals could rehabilitate themselves. That got stripped out of the House bill.
"About 85 percent of farm income now comes from off-farm sources. Every time I use that statistic I look at it and say, 'This proves the value of our rural development program, creating jobs in rural areas.' It's a remarkable statistic because it shows how much agriculture and rural America has changed.
"We had a $500 million program we were going to use to rehabilitate sewer and water and bring high-speed Internet to these communities. That was gutted from the (House) bill, (as well)."
An e-mail from Massachusetts asked this: "As a middle class taxpayer in the Northeast, why should my hard-earned tax dollars go to support wealthy farm owners in the South versus feeding the hungry in this nation? What is another example where the government pays welfare to a wealthy American?"
"I don't know I envisioned payment limits getting as much debate as it has," said Johanns, who produced a map showing a red-dotted Park Avenue in New York City. "(This is) some of the ritziest real estate anywhere. The red spots are people in Manhattan that get cash subsidy payments under the farm bill. The bigger dots are getting over $250,000 in subsidy payments annually.
"The House version won't impact this in any meaningful way. It impacts about 7,000 people in the entire United States. They set their payment limits on adjusted gross income of $1 million per year. For a husband and wife (the limit rises) to $2 million per year. So very, very wealthy people will continue to get cash subsidies under the (House proposal).
"(Our proposal's payment limit cutoff is) set at $200,000 AGI. If you look at the number of people in the United States with an AGI of over $200,000, you're still in the wealthiest 2.3 percent (of the population).
"We say there's a point where you graduate from subsidies. And that point should be $200,000. The House version says $2 million for a husband and wife.
"I don't think people want that. I don't think farmers want that. I don't think there's a farmer in America that would argue that's what we should be doing."


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Whispering Aspen Ranch offers a dream setting for family fun, recreation, and quiet seclusion with a stunning handcrafted log home, horse barn, spring fed pond, and magnificent views of Pikes Peak. The land is picture perfect with a combination of mountain meadows and tall timber. The property is accessible year-round, so many uses are possible...39 Acres : $899,000
Whispering Aspen Ranch
Canon City : Fremont Co : CO
Rocky Mountain Ranch & Land


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Married Mother Gets 15 Year In Prison For Raping Her 13-Year-Old Son's Friend!
A mother was sentenced to spend 15 years in jail for sexually abusing her son's teenage friend and she doesn't even seem sorry about the trauma she caused. Amy Blose, 38, was giggling and smiling throughout her sentencing hearing in Cleveland County, Oklahoma on Friday. She was even reprimanded by the judge and criticized by the victim's family and friends for not showing any remorse for her actions.
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Adam, you nailed it my Brother. You know, everything looks like a negative feedback loop to me. Are these your thoughts too? If so, are we going to be able to get ahead of this? It seems that the FED is always late to react, and is this time any different? Everywhere a Predicament so how do you get people to Demand anything when everyone sees the Predicaments?
OT: Your honey is really terrific. What really surprises me is just how long it lasts, its flavors just keep on giving. I have $100 bucks for a worthy cause, and would buy 4 more jars of same. Let me know, whenever.


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Franklin Evans examines the processes of making art—the generation of ideas and materials, their transformation from one to the other, and the many varied states in between. For this exhibition, he will present paintings, sculptures, photographs, and a sound piece in an all-encompassing environment. The wall paintings and collage environments of past installations, such as timecompressionmachine from Greater New York 2010 at MoMA PS1, have been collapsed by the artist and transferred to the surface of large-scale canvases. Mundane materials such as artist's tape that previously played a key role as a barrier, frame, and drawing tool, are carefully recreated as trompe l'oeil representations, as the use of actual tape in the final compositions diminishes.
In the past, Evans has used gallery press releases to create a framing system presented as temporal floor sculpture. This practice has morphed into the usage of visual highlights from the artist's gallery visits, captured online images, text highlights from books read over the past year, and scanned photographs from family albums. The viewer will discover various aspects of Evans, as an artist and a person: his childhood in Nevada, his mixed Mexican heritage, and his gay male identity. By focusing on the myriad visuals referencing the various aspects of Evans' personae, some of these "peripheral" images remain on the periphery, while others become a focal point, as they do for indexicalmeasfocalscreen2012. The archive of hundreds of photographs is threaded to create an "image curtain" that divides the main gallery in two and which occupies an artistic space that builds on the Atlases of Aby Warburg and Gerhard Richter.
Entering this tandem exploration of periphery and focus, the viewer walks into the gallery over Evans' sculptural "library", an elevated floor and installation object in flux. It starts as a representation of the literal, moves to a residue of process, evolves as the ideas are extracted from the represented books, and settles into the sound piece 1967 in the main gallery room. 1967 consists of 350 fragments from his readings in the past year, ranging from Justin Spring's biography of Samuel Steward, Secret Historian, to October Files' Robert Rauschenberg. The text extractions are voiced by five performers and are played on random shuffle. Operating in the slippery non-linearity of memory, 1967 takes us back to Evans' birth year. Eyesontheedge is on view at Sue Scott Gallery in NYC until April 15th, 2012


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Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Okore faces nine-month lay-off
Aston Villa defender Jores Okore is out for up to nine months after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
The 21-year-old Denmark international was signed in the summer for a fee in the region of £4million and now faces a long road back.
Okore limped from the pitch after half an hour of Villa's 2-1 defeat by Newcastle on Saturday and was sent for an MRI scan.
Manager Paul Lambert feared the worst for his new centre-back and that news was confirmed on Monday evening.
A club statement read: "Following clinical examination and the results of an MRI scan, the club can confirm that Jores Okore sustained a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee in the game against Newcastle on Saturday.
"Jores will undergo surgery in due course and he could be sidelined for a period of up to nine months."
Okore's injury occurred during an apparently innocuous collision with Newcastle striker Loic Remy.


text: If I were going to teach a class on Beowulf computing, I would start with the systems perspective and go over various different setups (NOWs, COWs, Beowulfs, and Big Iron computers). Discuss networking possibilities (Gigabit connections, channel bonding and the switch placement algorithms, latency and Bandwidth considerations). I would also focus on diskless clusters some since this (I think) is the way cluster computing is going. In the second section I would get more into parallel programming algorithms and techniques, etc. You've obviously got the background for this. Remember that although Beowulf clusters are getting more and more popular, probably very few of your students will actually work with a "purebred" beowulf cluster and even if they do, many of the tools will be somewhat different by the time they graduate. Teach them to understand why certain practices have become highly used and they will be ahead of the game in any parallel computing environment. Be sure to include links to sources of information, too. Bill Broadley wrote: > > I've been tasked to teach a class in using a beowulf. I've parallelized a > few serial fortan codes to use MPI, so I have the technical side covered, > at least for the 1st quarter. > > Anyone have suggestions for textbooks? Know of existing class > outlines available on the web? Any other pointers? > > I'm considering: Parallel Programming With MPI by Peter Pacheco to > cover the MPI part, but probably need an additional book on parallel > algorithms and programming. > > I suspect it's of interest to the list, so please follow up to the list. > > -- > Bill Broadley > Programmer/Admin > Mathematics/Institute of Theoretical Dynamics > University of California, Davis > > _______________________________________________ > Beowulf mailing list, Beowulf at beowulf.org > To change your subscription (digest mode or unsubscribe) visit http://www.beowulf.org/mailman/listinfo/beowulf -- Jared Hodge Institute for Advanced Technology The University of Texas at Austin 3925 W. Braker Lane, Suite 400 Austin, Texas 78759 Phone: 512-232-4460 FAX: 512-471-9096 Email: Jared_Hodge at iat.utexas.edu


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Fast Tracks
From MeritBadgeDotOrg
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Revision as of 14:07, January 13, 2009
Cubs earn their Tiger, Wolf, Bear, and Webelos Scout ranks by February.
den meeting plans (two den meetings per month) designed to be used in conjunction with the youth handbooks. By following the these plans, active Scouts can earn their Tiger, Wolf, Bear, or Webelos rank by February, usually in time for the Blue & Gold Banquet. After these meetings, Scouts continue to meet to work on other electives, Belt Loops and Pins, and other Cub Scout Awards through the rest of the year. All Cub Scouts must first earn their Bobcat Badge.
Use the Fast Tracks as-is or as a resource for your own meeting plans. MeritBadge.Org offers a wealth of other resources to get you started, Belt Loop and Pin Worksheets and Cub Scout Monthly Themes with Program Helps! Also see the Fast Tracks FAQ.
Fast Tracks Den Meeting plans by rank
- Fast Tracks for Tiger Cub Scouts (1st grade)
- Fast Tracks for Wolf Cub Scouts (2nd grade)
- Fast Tracks for Bear Cub Scouts (3rd grade)
- Fast Tracks for 4th grade Webelos Scouts - Also see: Webelos Scout Program
- Fast Tracks for 5th grade Webelos Scouts - Only for Scouts who completed the 4th grade Fast Track
See also


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3"x8" Subway Tile - 77E Grey
Each piece in our Subway Tile collection is sized and glazed by hand in-studio, giving it unmatched depth, variation, and texture. Use them to frame mosaics, fill the main space in a floor or backsplash, or play with colors and patterns for added character.
About the Tile
Sold by the square foot. 6 pieces per sq ft.
Thickness: 1/4"
Shipping: Shipping costs will be determined by size of order and shipping destination at the time of order placement.
Lead Times: Our tiles are made to order just for you. Please allow at least 4-5 weeks for manufacturing.
Order a Tile sample
We will make and ship a full-size tile sample in your selected pattern and color within 5-10 days.
Please note: for colors that have higher variation, we will send additional pieces of tile on hand to give you a sense of the color.
Need to speak to a human?
Email email@example.com, chat or call us at 1. 612. 236. 1646, M-F 9AM-5PM.
Add 10% for Waste
Due to cuts, breaks and other waste when installing tile, we strongly recommend purchasing an additional 10% of the square footage of your area. This ensures you have enough tile for your project. Remember, this is handmade tile and each batch is unique.
Need help? Email, chat or call us at 1.612.236.1646, or M-F 9AM-5PM. We're here to help. Contact Us
Tile Calculator
Use our tile calculator to figure out the total area of coverage.


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Gwap Boyz 504 - Chevy Dripin Stains[User Submitted]
"The Official Gwap Boyz 504" Yung Skipa, J-Slugg, & $tickman- Chevy drippin stains twitter.com/gwapboyz504 myspace.com/gwapboyz504
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Night city vector
Name: Night city vector
Homepage: Free Vector Graphics,Material,EPS,Ai,File,Image Download
File Type: eps
File Size: 0.00MB
Source: zcool
License: Check the original Web.
This image is a scalable vector graphic and can be scaled to any size without loss of resolution. This image will download as a .eps or ai file. You will need a vector editor to use this file (such as Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW).


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Crocuses naturalise well in grassy areas and February to March is usually the best time to see them. Often planted in great swathes in community parks and church yards, they provide a sea of yellows, purples, creams and mauve to herald the arrival of spring.
Where to see Crocuses
Some of Britains' stately homes and gardens have wonderful displays of crocus and are well worth the visit.
Here are a few open days or places to see Crocuses that we are aware of.
If we have missed any then please get in touch with the details via our contact us form.
Please send us your pictures of your crocus walk, as we are sure there must be many more out there.
If you are a member of the NGS (National Garden Scheme) and open your garden for displays of crocus and spring flowers, then please let us know.
Kew Gardens Crocus Carpet – creates a spectacular show of white and purple between Victoria Gate and King William's Temple in March.
Sky Blue Pasture is lively, safe and vibrant place in the heart of Chelmsford.
University of Leicester Botanic Garden – Leicestershire
Lacock Abbey Gardens – Wiltshire
Temple Newsham Park and Gardens – Leeds
Great Dixter House – Snowdrop and Crocus weekend, East Sussex
The Garden House – Devon
Bitts Park – Carlisle
Many Old churches and graveyards are also the ideal place to see crocuses
Breakthrough Breast Cancer – Crocus Walks – help raise money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. The perfect opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors, meet up with friends and get some exercise – and all in a good cause.


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Park Sessions 2012: Seven Springs
PHOTOS: Aaron Blatt (except when noted)
VIDEO: Tyler Malay and Paul Heran
Park Sessions went east! We packed up, and with an epic crew, made the trek to the right coast for a Park Sessions at Seven Springs in Pennsylvania. Our crew on this trip was Stevie Bell, Austen Sweetin, Austin Hironaka, Kyle Mack, Anto Chamberland, Marie Hucal, and Corinne Pasela. While the crew was super random, it didn't stop them at all from having a great time, and from doing some awesome snowboarding. Check it!
To see more from Seven Springs, pick up our January Issue on newstands now, and available digitally right HERE.


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Republican strategisT Nino Saviano is not who you would expect to find at the helm of a political campaign in Kenya.
But a Kenyan politician was so eager to win a seat in parliament that he brought Saviano, of Savi Political Consulting, to his dusty, rural hometown to craft an American-style, get-out-the-vote push.
There were no voters' lists. Few people had landlines. Door-knocking was tough because houses were often many miles apart. So they held street rallies and collected the cell phone numbers from people who accepted free buttons, hats, and stickers from the campaign.
"You really have to get creative," he said.
Washington may be broken, and politics beyond repair, but American campaign culture may well be our most significant export, especially this year in Kenya.
On Sunday, Kenya held an historic presidential election. If you look hard enough, you can find American fingerprints all over it.
Five years after a disputed presidential race ended with politicians inciting their supporters to terrible acts of violence, Kenya passed a new constitution to make its democracy work better. Instead of concentrating power in a winner-take-all presidency, some power will go to elected governors and local assemblies, just like in the United States.
Even the lingo is adapted from US politics, closely watched in Kenya because of President Obama's heritage. Instead of swing voters, Nairobi pundits speak of "swing tribes" that will determine the outcome in a country that largely votes along ethnic lines.
At the campaign headquarters of presidential candidate Peter Kenneth, the walls are covered in maps and flip charts showing various blocs of voters. Kenneth has read "Audacity to Win," David Plouffe's book about the lessons of the Obama campaign, three times. Kenneth — like another candidate, Martha Karua — uses NationBuilder, a software program developed by a former John Kerry campaign aide that helps politicians rally support through Facebook and Twitter.
And this year, Kenya held its first presidential debate ever. All eight candidates shifted uncomfortably onstage and actually stopped talking when the moderator told them their time was up.
Compare that to the days of Daniel arap Moi, who ruled Kenya for 28 years. His idea of campaigning was nodding to a crowd from a kingly chair on a decorated platform, while women's groups sang to him in traditional garb. Moi rarely subjected himself to the indignity of answering questions on camera, and never to a televised battle of wits.
So is the United States a good influence on Kenyan politics?
Saviano thinks so.
"We tend to make candidates look more appealing," he said, especially to voters outside of their own tribes.
But Western consultants don't always play such a positive role.
Five years ago, Dick Morris, a key political adviser to President Clinton in the mid-1990s, offered his services pro bono to Raila Odinga, a presidential front-runner.
After Odinga lost narrowly in a vote that was widely seen as rigged, he called for street protests which quickly turned violent. Members of his ethnic group clashed with the ethnic groups of his top rivals.
One of those rivals, Uhuru Kenyatta, was indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal, for allegedly orchestrating reprisal attacks. Kenyatta's defense lawyer, Steven Kay, accused Morris of engineering popular protests instead of accepting the election results. Kay told the court that it was "a copycat production" of the unrest that brought another Morris client, Viktor Yushchenko, to power in Ukraine in 2005. Morris was eventually expelled from Kenya.
But those accusations haven't stopped Odinga from becoming a front-runner again this year. Nor has the indictment at the Hague stopped Kenyatta from being a neck-and-neck favorite. To repair his image, Kenyatta hired Ed Staite, a British consultant who specializes in "reputation management."
Karl Rove has nothing on these guys. With front-runners like this, it is easy to get cynical. It's easy to conclude that politics everywhere is about money, power, and ethnic allegiances. If there is any hope that this crazy exercise will result in better governance — in folks at the top being more accountable to folks at the bottom — then it comes from Kenyans like Boniface Mwangi, a photojournalist who documented the political killings back in 2007.
"Kenyans from all tribes are on the same queue to vote," he tweeted. "We should accept the outcome of that vote peacefully."Farah Stockman can be reached at email@example.com. Follow her on Twitter @fstockman.


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Toni C needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 205 designs submitted by 19 freelance designers.
Decoupage Designs by Toni
We are a 7 year old gift line and have a wonderful presence in The New England area of the United States.. Our gift line is hand made, unique, elegant and caters to candle lovers. I am the artist who developed this line and would like to finally have a logo/brand image. My passion is decoupage. I use specialty papers to decorate mostly glass items such as stemmed candle holders, vases, night lights, bowls and pins.
see my website: http://www.decoupagedesignsbytoni.com
Adults -- woman mostly. Anyone buying gifts or home decor for their homes. Great wedding, birthday, anniversary, housewarming, thank you gifts., etc. We do specialize in glass candle holders in different shapes. My line can go in every home based on my various designs.
Candle lovers love my line!
I'm looking for your creativity. I'm very open to a new name (I actually prefer it) so the brand can include a new name or a version of the existing one.
Think : Candles, illumination, lights, elegance, uniqueness, fun, gifts, functional.
I've had thoughts of naming it "Gifts of Light" or something similar. Something that portrays candles/illumination.
I'm open to an "image only" or "name only" logo
It should be preferably one color, two the most (please, no gradients) Also good for black and white printing. It should be scalable to all different sizes, gift tags, banners, brochures, website.
Please include your fonts (I tend to lean towards scripted fonts but I'm open).Please do not use clip art and whatever you submit should be domain available. Artwork in a vector format (adobe photoshop, Illustrator requested.
Well, that's all I'm going to give you. I want to give you as much creative leeway as possible. Go for it. I will be quick to rate and give feedback. Please read my comments before starting as I give feedback along the way.
Thank you so much for considering this design project. Have fun!
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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I'm going to present an overview of an ongoing child sexual molestation case in a bit. First though I need to provide some background to explain why I am interested in this.
I am trying to advance the position that their should be financial redress for child abuse perpetrated by parents. I'm going even further than this, I'm saying that the abuse standard sets the bar too high. I say that their should be redress any time a child is being used. By this I mean any time parents are using a child in order to gain adult identity, social legitimacy, or to keep a marriage together. What is the test for this? I say that it should be simply that there is animosity.
So in doing this I am intentionally attacking the self-reliance ethic. People say things like, "Your parents don't own you anything", "It's their money", and "You have to rely on yourself". I do not agree with any of this. I have had to endure harsh online treatment over this, but I still don't agree. I say that all it amounts to is an exoneration scheme for parents who have themselves acted in Bad Faith.
No, I don't equate this with severe abuse cases, but I still say that it is important that the parents be penalized and the child vindicated. Further, I feel that most of the exploitation of children is legitimated by the self-reliance ethic. So I am opposed to this and opposed to all the ways it plays out in our ethics, economics, and legal system.
I say that children should have rights, and these include rights to economic and social support independent of the family. When someone has used a child as property, even had a child for this reason, then they should be penalized and the child compensated and vindicated.
As such I have been trying to locate Comrades, those who share similar views and are working to advance them. In particular I want to know of attorneys who are trying to find ways of advancing such an agenda.
At a minimum I say that disinheritance should be prohibited. My understanding of this is that in Europe it is this way already. But I don't know this.
Here is a law firm in Vancouver which is working to establish the idea that family dysfunction is cause for litigation.
In an effort to pursue this and learn of works going on, I have interacted with those fighting for justice in the area of Catholic Clergy Sexual Abuse. I have learned of some of the attorneys involved and have talked with activists. As I see it, clergy abuse and family abuse are closely related, as the Catholic Church seems to do little more than promote the Good Family, and this alone constitutes child exploitation. I have found though that the Clergy Abuse activists have little to contribute to what I want to advance, and are made very uncomfortable by the subject.
So I learned of a paternal molestation case on going, where I casually know both parents. Of particular importance to me is the black sheeping of this eldest daughter. I finally got the chance to read the file. First, it is a religious fundamentalist family. Second, the father earns his living as a motivational speaker. Third, I only know about it because the father confided in me. What he told me matches with what it says in the case file.
Their church is something which I find deeply disturbing, a kind of insanity. They also hold motivational events in their church. So just issues one and two are for me cause for concern about the family, and I believe their 5 children should have de-programming services offered to them.
Item three is important because I have had misgivings about investigating something told to me in confidence. But there is an over riding concern here for me. I see myself as an activist, or want to be activist in this area. What the father told me was that all of this is caused by this eldest daughter. He blames her own history of drugs, alcohol, and promiscuity as being the whole reason this case exists. He says that she turned the two younger girls against him. His defense attorneys have submitted big reports trying to disqualify police video recordings of interviews. But they also claim that this daughter hates her father, and that some how this makes their client innocent.
Well, "hates her father" is my turf. That is, I say that animosity is evidence of the child having been used, exploited, and is by itself cause for compensation.
I cannot judge the criminal charges, but I heard the black sheeping myself.
I read this case and I see that it will proceed. It is not clear to me that there ever will be a civil case for the children to claim financial compensation.
I am reading an excellent book by Louise Armstrong, Rocking the Cradle of Sexual Politics, What Happened When Women Said Incest. She shows how most of the responses still blame the victims and she also claims that male incest is still being treated like a prerogative. So she sees the solution as having to involve political action. I agree with her and I am learning.
Let me anticipate one more objection, the claim that I might be intruding in something. Court cases and their files are public information. Anyone in the world who wants to can go to the court house and read the file, and if they wish to, sit in on the trial. I probably won't sit in on the trial because I don't have anything to add to it. But I am interested in their being civil redress. As all of this is a matter of politics, it has to be handled publicly.
So I've finally gotten to read the case file. I know I've been too long on the periphery of the legal system when I recognize the names of all of the police officers, the judge, and the prosecutor. Some of these people I have had personal dealings with. When I go to the court house, I recognize prosecutors and defense attorneys. Some of them must recognize me.
Of particular note in this case is that they used a different police detective to interview each family member. I recognize this kiddie room the police have set up. No, its not the bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling. It has plush carpeting, a sofa and coffee table, and there are lots of stuffed animals and toys.
The lead police detective and principle author of the report is someone I met 20 years ago. I was particularly taken with his abilities in dealing with different sorts of people and sensitive situations. He tried to diffuse racial prejudice and fear of gangs. He extended himself to talk an elderly woman into not accepting back a man who was using her. This had been a man who I also found to be completely unacceptable in some of his doings. I also extended myself to try and persuade the woman not to accept him back. This young officer educated many people in a positive way about police. Since, I've noticed his name on things from time to time. Now I see that he is the lead detective in this molestation case.
So let me lay out some of the parameters. The youngest of the three girls somehow ended up talking to a councilor at some sort of a youth center. Well, in times past they didn't have such youth centers or such councilors. This councilor was just a young intern, someone who probably wouldn't want to extend herself very far.
Well, this 8th grade girl talked about this and that, and said much about what her father had been doing with the eldest daughter.
In times past this would have just been dismissed. Here it was not. This young intern did exactly what the law requires. She wrote it up and faxed it to Police and Child Protective Services.
Things are not as they used to be.
Now this eldest daughter no longer lived with her parents and sisters. She lived in a different city. But soon Police were in contact with her and CPS was making a well being check on the family. What would follow would be the police doing careful interviews of everyone separately, and using different police officers to handle each family member.
So as you can see, so far I am liking this very much!
I'm going now to do my best to present this in as tactful a way as possible. I don't have to be as explicit as the police report is.
Most of this pertains to what the father had been doing with the eldest daughter from when she was age 8 until age 16. At age 16 I think she found someway to get out or something. Not sure.
He was fondling her all over, on a regular basis. Often it was in the context of giving her a massage in her underwear. He also referred to it as the "tickling game". She says this was done many hundreds of times. She did not feel that she could refuse. She would just try to keep her legs together to minimize it.
Once he directed her to change into her swimming suit for a "new game". This new game involved the use of string, beads, feathers, and also a serrated steak knife.
He has admitted to all of this. The mother has admitted to knowledge of this as well.
This guy has manic mood swings. He accepts a psychiatric diagnosis. When he has these swings he is known to often be grabbing at the girls, touching them all places. Sometimes he apologizes the next day.
He is always watching them dress and undress. He says to them, "Hey its okay, I'm your dad."
The youngest girl described him as "creepy".
When the eldest girl was 16 they took to strip searching her. This was led by the father, with the mother standing right there. They were concerned about her smuggling drugs in and out of the house, probably marijuana. This searching also included looking under the sanitary napkin stuck with adhesive to her underpants. This so angered her that she threw her underpants at her father. The mother and father have admitted to this strip searching and have tired to justify it.
When police came for him, he was in his car and had turned the ignition on. Police blocked his car. When they were putting the bracelets on him, the wife lamented that he is their only source of income ( they live quite well ) and speaking of the eldest daughter's upcoming wedding, "Who will walk her down the aisle?"
Police did not have to include these statements of the wife in their report, but I'm glad that they did.
This man has a spotless record. I've checked it myself. His only income is from motivational speaking and from his "coaching" clients.
He has been charged with 6 felonies. These address that fact that the children were in his care, that this was a repeat practice, and that there was some physical coercion involved, and recognition of their young ages. If convicted on all counts the maximum sentence could exceed 50 years.
Since he has been out on $500k bail, and he has paid $25k to an extremely high power law firm which specializes in sex crime defense. They lead their promotionals with talk of child sex abuse cases. They have been extremely busy trying to sink this case before it can get to a jury. They have already been able to delay it for 2 years. Usually case files don't have much except the police report before they go to trial. This law firm writes big inch thick glossy reports saying that the digital video recording evidence is bad. So the file is about 5 inches thick already.
The eldest daughter helped to get the two younger ones removed and then placed into her care. Since a married couple has been designated as their legal guardians.
The mother has been doing the leg work for this law firm. That is, she is the one who serves the DA's office with all the motions for delay and additional discovery.
The replies are written in the name of the elected DA, and authored by a prosecutor who seems specialized in these sorts of issues. The man who will be prosecuting at trial is merciless and experienced in child sex abuse crimes. The judge is someone who will have no sympathy for such a defendant. Neither of them will be intimidated by what to me seem like bullying tactics coming from this law firm.
The wife spends her time painting an elaborate mural on the walls of their church's kiddie room. I know of this case because the father confided it to me.
He blames the eldest daughter and her own problems with sex, drugs, and alcohol. The high power law firm presents pretty much the same narrative.
What I have heard from the church members is that they blame the Police Dept for making a case where there should be none.
Enough for now.
People will be reading this who have grown up in different decades and who live in different countries, where practices may be different. Before I say what my emotional reaction is to all of this, I am interested to hear what others think.
Louise Armstrong
Rocking the Cradle of Sexual Politics, What Happened When Women Said Incest
Views: 241
What follows is a reply to someone on another forum, redacted just a bit to protect that party's privacy.
Thank you for sharing that. I am sorry that such things are in the background of your father and that you have had to be exposed to the enduring aspects of such a legacy.
I don't support the concept of "dysfunctional family", as this is still based on the idea that there is some sort of "normal family" and so it amounts to reification. That is, one is worshiping the Good Family.
Instead I talk about exploitation and Bad Faith. Someone is living in Bad Faith when they have other choices, but decline to admit it. This statement from your paternal grandfather is a prime example of that, "**************************."
FWIW, when I was about 3yo, still not exploring outside the house by myself, my father walked me to a school playground about two blocks away. Then he said, "I could leave you here." I asked him why, and he said, "Because I could." I was terrified. After that I never felt secure around my father again. Even to this day I can still feel that fear of him and a need to please him. As I look back over the decades and into what remained of my childhood, I can see that this rejection from him has shaped all of my interactions with him, and really shaped my entire life.
If a statement like this was just an aberration, reflective of a poor choice of words on his part, or just my own misunderstanding of him, then his real feelings would have been obvious and the misunderstanding corrected. But no, what he said was an accurate expression of how he really felt, and that has never changed.
I could say that such a parent should burn in Hell for all eternity. But the fact is, he already burns during this lifetime. Problem is, he is still able to hurt others along the way, and he does so, and he thinks he is right. I don't see that anything will ever change until their is redress, until parents are held responsible whenever they have used a child.
Some years later he would say that I am his pet. I questioned this, and again he just responded by affirming that it is true. He meant that I was like a dog or a cat.
Now of course this was when my mother was not around. She would not let him say things like that and would not say such herself. But still, what she actually felt was not that much different. For her, having children and keeping up the appearance of a Good Family were obligations.
What I am talking about, and what I read in your share, are children being used, exploited.
My own interest here is in finding ways to seek legal redress. I say that if a child has been used, then the parents are responsible. In practice what this should mean is that they have to pay. That is, they cannot exit with money or assets. They used a child, so they should be pauperized.
The kind of economically and socially isolated family of the age of industrial capitalism is most certainly a strange entity. While some people may think its just fine, if a child has been exploited, and if there is evidence for this in the resulting animosity, then the parents should be made to pay. They did not have to practice the family system. Nothing forced them to do this. So if they did and and there was harm, then they should pay. All sorts of things can be overlooked, but not the exploitation of a child.
I also notice in your story how central is the making of money. For my parents, holding onto money was important. The type of bad faith living I am focused on is a phenomenon of the middle class, that is people who have at least something.
What the Family System seems designed to do is to instill the Self-Reliance Ethic. It instills this, just like a primitive society might use hot coals or sharp stones to make scars.
So of course then, when people have a problem with the family, the usual response is simply to say, "Oh well, now I rely on myself." What this amounts to is exoneration of the parents, giving them a free pass, letting them claim that they did right. Self-Reliance is seen as the moral basis for even being able to make a criticism of one's parents.
Claiming redress on the other hand is much more difficult. One actually has to face the pain. One also has to see all the ways society tries to make such redress impossible.
What I want are lawyers who are trying to find ways to sue over an increasingly broad class of family issues. I want lawyers who are trying to find ways to make the US like many other countries by blocking disinheritance. In trying to find this, the going has been tough. Facing how we have been used is the hardest thing any of us can ever do. It is far easier to seek nirvana or enlightenment and. then to learn to live in the small corner of the world which is left when one has been so violated. The pain is incredible, all the more so when you see how society sanctions this exploitation of children and provides no redress. Rather it exonerates the parents and blames the child.
So what can one do? Well, most people are just like their parents. If they got beat over the head, the first thing they will do is have a child whom they can beat over the head. If tricky games where plaid with them, they will play games with a child of their own. If their parents read books which promoted parenthood, giving them license to use a child, then they will do the same. New books are published every few years. In my day it was Benjamin Spock. Now the new books deal with things like "attachment", "empathy", and "nurturing". Get the lingo down and you are authorized to make a child be responsible for your adult identity!
So the thing to look for is animosity. Sometimes for some reason you find people who have extreme animosity towards their parents. For some reason they are not in denial, and not 100% like their parents. When this is found, it is evidence that the parents have used the child, have lived in Bad Faith. The thing to do then is to sue.
You spoke about Pentecostals. Well what Pentecostalism is is simply a most extreme form of non-denominational Protestantism, where they take the Bible as a prescription. I have noticed that among Pentecostals that the most important aspect of faith is an external pronouncement of loyalty, "Are you a Christian? Are you Saved?" A very high percentage of the congregation will have had a serious history with drugs or alcohol. They tell their stories of Getting Saved.
So to me, the stories sound like the substituting one addiction for another. I am always telling them, "People who have been treated with dignity and respect and given the chance to develop and apply their abilities are not likely to become substance addicts. So I don't go along with this idea that alcoholics and addicts have some special need for redemption."
I have also noticed that in their families they always have a Black Sheep. They say things like, "So I have to wonder, did he/she really get Saved or not?" They even say this after the person has died at a very early age. I find it all to be extremely disturbing.
So what drew me to this molestation case was the strong animosity between this eldest daughter and her father, and the irrefutable confirmation of this in the father's black sheeping of her.
I am still a beginner here, and so I am not sure how I feel about the 50 year plus sentence that the state wants to give him. I just want him to get a smaller sentence, but then I want the money to go to the children.
I don't have anything to contribute to the criminal proceeding. But maybe I could get myself involved by finding a suitable lawyer who will get that money for the children. Maybe I could find some source of deprogramming from Born Again Christianity, and from a lot of other stuff, because these three daughters must be in need of emotional support to follow this through and destroy their father. Maybe this could be a place for me to finally be able to draw blood, and be the beginning of an ever expanding campaign to hold parents responsible for the ways they exploit children.
Vachss, Angela Doe case:
portal page: http://theexploitedunited.onlinewebshop.net
This is a bit of a clarification I wrote for someone. I really want to know what people think about this molestation case.
Here I repeat my attempt to tactfully summarize what it says in the police report:
I'm going now to do my best to present this in as tactful a way as possible. I don't have to be as explicit as the police report is.
Most of this pertains to what the father had been doing with the eldest daughter from when she was age 8 until age 16. At age 16 I think she found someway to get out or something. Not sure.
He was fondling her all over, on a regular basis. Often it was in the context of giving her a massage in her underwear. He also referred to it as the "tickling game". She says this was done many hundreds of times. She did not feel that she could refuse. She would just try to keep her legs together to minimize it.
Once he directed her to change into her swimming suit for a "new game". This new game involved the use of string, beads, feathers, and also a serrated steak knife.
He has admitted to all of this. The mother has admitted to knowledge of this as well.
This guy has manic mood swings. He accepts a psychiatric diagnosis. When he has these swings he is known to often be grabbing at the girls, touching them all places. Sometimes he apologizes the next day.
He is always watching them dress and undress. He says to them, "Hey its okay, I'm your dad."
The youngest girl described him as "creepy".
When the eldest girl was 16 they took to strip searching her. This was led by the father, with the mother standing right there. They were concerned about her smuggling drugs in and out of the house, probably marijuana. This searching also included looking under the sanitary napkin stuck with adhesive to her underpants. This so angered her that she threw her underpants at her father. The mother and father have admitted to this strip searching and have tired to justify it.
So our DA's Office has charged this guy with 6 felonies. These recognize that this was a child he had regular access to and that the practice was being repeated, and that there may have been some physical coercion involved in some aspects of this. If convicted on all counts the maximum sentence he could receive exceeds 50 years.
Is this what you mean by a long sentence? Do you think this is right in this situation? What sentence do you think he should get? This is what I really want to know. I just want to know what other people think, as I am a beginner here, but I am going to get myself into the middle of this.
The police report was more graphic than what I wrote. I did not write it the way they did because I don't want to traffic in such texts, as I don't know how people might read them on the open net and on these sorts of forums. The police wrote it the way they did, because they had to under the circumstances.
I am greatly offended by what this man did. I am also offended by the mother and by their entire church. I am offended by the acts, and also by the attitudes which try to justify and legitimate them.
A curious thing, a few days ago this defendant just happened to sit down across from me at a table in a library. He was using his laptop computer. I spoke to him in a friendly way.
I take great exception to this guy's religion, and to all the attitudes which underlie it. I also take exception to the way he projects this into his occupation of motivational speaking. But beyond that, I have found him and his wife to be nice, though kooky. They extended themselves to come to court for another case which I am concerned with, when they did not need to. If they could impose the judgemental standards of their religion onto other people, then I would consider them dangerous. As it stands now though, they are only dangerous when they can use a parental authority to impose their religion based predjudice.
So I have some reservations about aiding in their destruction, about inserting myself into this matter. But on the other hand, it is something I care about deeply. Also, I heard the guy black sheeping the eldest daughter. He spoke directly to me and did this. He said that the whole case is based on false accusations and that the reason for this is this daughter's own problems with sex, drugs, and alcohol from the age of 16. He said she was even having sex in the bushes in the park. He also blames her for turning the two younger daughters against him. He said that what she has done with them since they were transfered into her custody has been."Pure malice!" By this time he was pacing back and forth and making lots of gestures.
Well sorry guy, you stepped into my territory. At least it is territory I want to advance into. As far as I am concerned that sort of denigration, black sheeping, is by itself cause for redress.
I asked him about the "false accusations", I said, "Do you mean there is no substantial basis to the claims, or do you mean that it is a matter of misinterpretation?"
"It's a matter of misinterpretation."
So its like it says in the police report, he generally admits to what is being claimed. What it seems then is that he just rationalizes this some way as being in some different category than sexual molestation, and as being a parental perrogative. What it comes down to is this is the role he sees himself as authorized by God Almighty to fulfill. This is why he has children and this is why he practices the Family System.
So again, what sentence do you think he should get?
What could be added to what the cops and DA are already doing? What could I possibly do here? First I wish there were some deprogramming resources available. These girls need help in deconstructing all the ideology behind Born Again Christianity, the Good Family, and Motivationalism. Second, looking at this as a beginner I still am not exicted about this guy getting a real long sentence. Rather, I just want the children to get the money. These are the areas where I think it could be possible that I could locate resources which would help.
And yes, I do want to completely pauperize these parents. I think their assets should even be seized before they can be handed over to his high powered Sex Offender Defender. I mean, this is how they do it in Narcotics and Escort Service cases, they deem the assets proceeds of illegality, and they are able to seize them.
Well, these assets are the proceeds of Bourgeois Family Happiness Inc., an enterprise which exploits children. So they should not be able to retain control of those assets and use them to hire a specialist law firm.
Right to Kill (1985)
Foster care reform litigation:
Becoming Other
Exploited Children United, new portal page:
What do people think about the 50 year sentence that this guy faces?
Are there people on this forum who have some feelings about such, maybe even have some experience with child molestation cases?
I still have reservations about getting involved in this because I find our criminal justice system to be excessive. There are other things I am involved in where I am trying to overturn convictions and alert people as to how unfair our criminal justice system is. If I got involved here, among other things, I'd be helping to bring about this high sentence.
I want the guy to be severely penalized, but not really in this way. My agenda is a broader one, not limited to sexual molestation. And of course I see religion as being a central component of this and it is part of my motivation.
BO to Forum, What if I Cannot Act?
I don't mean just in this case, but what if I cannot act in any case?
Then I am a pillow punching recovery movement neurotic. There I am, confessing on the couch, turning it all into personal pathology and disclosing my intentions so that they are neutralized. My therapist is telling me about how horrible the family I grew up in was, and she is instructing me about communications skills, about empathy, about nurturing, and about attachment. She is assuring me that life can be different for me if I can learn the ways of the Good Family. I can be redeemed. She might also suggest verious New Age Churches I might start attending.
I come to accept this, and I begin to denigrate anyone who does not accept this teaching of feel good, who does not disclose everything about themselves in a confessional manner, and who does not learn the concepts which legitimate the Good Family.
I let my therapist lead me in histrionic venting rituals which resemble exorcisms. I project everything back to infancy, and still earlier.
Never do I seek to redress the wrongs done to me, or to anybody else. Never do I seek to make common cause with others and act against people. Rather I seek nirvana and try to avoid conflict.
I become a recovery movement online forum moderator, so that instead of striking against actual perpetrators, those who use children in order to gain for themselves an adult identity, instead I can exercise arbitrary authority over anyone on the online forum who does not accept the premises of the recovery movement and who does not venerate the Good Family. This sort of power is my subsitute for all the devestation and wreckage in my own life.
Becoming Other
Exploited Children United, new portal page: http://theexploitedunited.onlinewebshop.net
Moved Off Of the Fence
What follows is a message sent to someone I knew face to face, who is now living overseas. I present it here in order that there might be original discussion:
Yes, I have moved off of the fence. My last likely chance for conversation with the defendant has passed. Probably he is terrified and doesn't know what to do. He may even be in custody for psychiatric evaluation. This is a guy who went from drugs and alcohol to Born Again Christianity and psychiatric medication. This guy has never dealt with the violence and abuse he grew up with. Instead he has tried to hide behind a parental role. We see how this has gone. Trying to make the Ideal Family means using children, exploiting them.
His main defense is still to say that all 3 girls are liars. This more than anything compels me to act. I have to stand with the children.
His defense lawyer is someone who specializes in child sex abuse and internet kiddie porn cases. He claims to be a civil libertarian, but really he is an arch reactionary. I already have the deepest of hatred for this lawyer. I would like to see him *************************.
The lawyer has got the defendant convinced that because there is some contradictoryness in the statements of the younger girls, that the case should not have been charged.
I our last conversation I explained to the defendant that there is no strict formula. In many criminal investigations there is going to be some contradiction and some culpability in the victims. The DA's Office has to use its best judgment in deciding how to proceed. In the case of family molestation it is likely that victims will not even have the understanding of what has happened. I think this defendant has not really comprehended the implications of the concept that minors cannot be consenting. Think about the ramifications of this, an abusive parent blames what happens on the minor's own agency. It's not just in sex abuse cases but it's for anything. In his published writings he speaks of he and the wife "having trouble with one of their children", and having to have contact with the police. This was the oldest daughter and alcohol, marijuana, and sex. He blames her for all of this!
The police officer who wrote the report for this defendant's case is someone I have met long ago and took most positive notice of. I have a very high opinion of him. This defendant says, "he is a dirty cop".
The case surfaced because the youngest girl, then in the 8th grade, was talking with a youth councilor. She said somethings which alerted the councilor, an intern. So she pressed further. Then she did exactly what the law requires. She wrote it up and faxed it to Police and Child Protective Services. Soon Police were tracking people down and using a different detective to interview each family member.
Many in this guy's church blame the police for making something where there is nothing. Again, they go along with the black sheep interpretation of the eldest daughter. So she, being unsaved, is not to be listened to. She doesn't support the familyism. She has not made the professions which they want.
I think in showing my skepticism I may have helped to pressure him to plead guilty. This would probably mean a shorter sentence. It would mean less money going to the high power sex offender defender. I want the children to sue for all the money. I don't know that they have even considered this as a possibility.
I also told him and the wife that any talk about "The Family" or "Family Values" is always at the expense of children. It is children who pay the cost of this, children who are being used. It amounts to sacrificing children on the altar of the Family System. This probably is why the two of them have vanished, as they don't want to talk to me anymore.
I try not to be unfair in blaming the wife. But truth is, I can't stand to be around her, I can't even look at her. I find myself trying to pretend that she is not there. She has not been charged.
We learn by doing, by engaging with situations and handling the conflict well. We don't learn by confessing to a therapist or by letting a therapist instruct us. We don't learn by histrionic venting either.
Anyway, I have crossed the line, in sending them an email stating my interest in this, trying to sound open minded, and asking if they would be "offended" if I attended some of the trial. At least this way they won't be surprised. They won't feel so much that I have stabbed them in the back. I mean really, this guy has talked about writing a book about it. He seems to have a martyr complex. This message from me could also press him a little harder to plead guilty. The sentence he gets, especially if he does not plead guilty, could be in effect a life sentence.
I am almost done composing a message to publicize the case to journalists and activists. Of course I don't know how they will respond to it, but these are the same people I sat in the court room with during the ********* trial. My message emphasizes the religious fundamentalist aspect of this, trying to show that this is almost built in to the "familyism" of their religion. I talk about how most of the members have serious histories with alcohol and drugs, including this defendant. I talk about how he freaked out when his daughter at 16 started using drugs and alcohol, and how this is also when she got out of the home and when the molestation stoped. My message to these journalists is intended to make the hair on the backs of their necks stand up. I try to make this guy sound like the wacko which he is.
I explain how in their church they talk about the Second Coming and how "there is still time for more people to Get Saved", and how they say that dinosaurs must be mentioned somewhere in the Bible. The first time I ever met him, I felt that he was a wacko. I even told other people this, and cited specifically absurd things he had said.. This was long before I knew anything of this ongoing criminal case.
He is sensitive and intelligent. This is a reason this has been hard for me. But he is blaming his daughter. The lawyer wrote that she "hates her father", and this is supposed to make her a liar and the defendant innocent. I believe that she doesn't think any better of her mother, but the mother is not this lawyer's client. I have to stand with the child, and make this guy pay.
The oldest boy was diagnosed with a psychiatric condition, placed on medication, and also removed at the age of 16. I also see this as a related type of abuse. I want to make the parents pay for this too.
So I have already acted in announcing to him that I will attend the trial, and I am close to sending the message to journalists and activists.
Sometimes plea agreements are only reached on the morning of jury selection. This is what could happen in this case. At the right point I will be contacting the children, addressing my message to all of them. I have already made investigations to figure out how best to contact them. I will tell them that those who never act will forever be subjugated by the same sorts of abuse. There are real people behind it. The purpose of the abuse is to prevent you from being able to strike back. If you decline to ever strike back, then the abusers win. About the family what I always say is, "They break your wings so that you won't try to fly."
Attending the trial will deepen me in every possible way. In moving from passivity to action, I am forced to look harder at my own experience. I am already influencing this in some ways, in having stated my intent to attend to the defendant.
I want to be and need to be Man of Action.
Additional reflections on what it means to be unable to act. http://freedomtoexpress.freeforums.org/speaking-in-tongues-t124.htm...
What Louise Armstrong says is that the problem starts by turning it into personal pathology, an individual experience, and then following the therapeutic model. She also points out how religion and psychotherapy used to be seen as enemies. Now they have become one and the same, and that this is most alarming. http://www.amazon.com/Rocking-Cradle-Sexual-Politics-Happened/dp/B000H2NEAE/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1346374456&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=louise+armstrong%2C+rocking+the+cradel
I also have to credit Deleuze and Guattari here. Writing back in 1972, the sameness of religion and psychotherapy is one of their primary points.
Reading: Childism, confronting prejudice against children, Elisabeth Young-Bruehl
She also maintains: http://whosafraidofsocialdemocracy.com/
Young-Bruehl also emphasizes how the real problem is turning it into personal pathology. Once one does this, then action is impossible. Of course this has always been one of my primary objections to religion as well.
She writes about the large number of youth in detention. I think about this. I think about my own adolescence. I can see now that if I had ended up in some sort of juvenile jail, my parents would have loved it. They would not have admitted it. On the surface they would have been outraged. But they would be outraged at me, not standing with me. They would come to love it because it would exonerate them. They could say that I was defective and destined for such. Its just like this guy, the son getting a psychiatric diagnosis and him and the wife lamenting in their writings that he must be removed from the home. And then the daughter, supposedly "having a problem with sex, drugs, and alcohol", and then blaming her now for turning the two younger ones against them. I must stand with the children.
Again, I think of my own adolescence. There were troubles. Well into my 20's and 30's I completely blamed myself for the grief of my parents. Even now, I don't really understand what happened and why. But I believe that all of it came down to the ways in which I was used. They way I will come to understand more is by standing with children in exactly situations like this, I mean actually helping them get tangible redress. So here in this case I need to tell these children that those who don't learn to fight back will spend their entire lives in avoidance venues, while the same dynamics play out over and over and over.
John Brown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4wCvPwigYw When he was being held in Virginia awaiting execution, he refused consolation from any of the Southern clergy because they believed in the religion of external conformity and support for the status quo. Hence they supported slavery.
The father expected the girls to submit to drug tests and home pregnancy tests. The wife went along with this!
The second son is still loyal to the parents and talks about how the girls had had "trust invested in them", and how he "respects his parents". He stands with the parents and is blaming the girls for being "rebellious".
Christian Fundamentalism is all over this case!
The father installed keystroke tracking software on the girls' computers and he had all their passwords. He was always confiscating cell phones.
Now he doesn't seem to understand why he is on trial!
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Russia's Uralkali has dismantled the world's largest potash cartel in a move that it expects to slash prices by 25 percent, heralding a reshaped industry and pummeling shares of companies that produce the key fertilizer ingredient.
The break-up of the Belarus Potash Company (BPC), a joint venture with Belarussian partner Belaruskali, could cause a price war and leaves North America's Canpotex as the dominant potash export venture.
Continue Reading Below
It could also lead to cancellations of projects by rivals as the industry weighs the effect of lower prices, but may feed through to better deals for farmers and ultimately consumers.
U.S.-listed shares of the Canpotex owners - Potash Corp of Saskatchewan , Mosaic Co and Agrium Inc - plummeted before normal trading hours, cutting their market value by around $14 billion.
BPC and Canpotex had accounted for 70 percent of global trade in potash, and the duopoly had set identical prices in key markets such as China and India.
"In the last few years, BPC and Canpotex ... succeeded by raising potash prices much above their production cost," a senior official at a major Indian potash firm said, asking not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
"It hurt Indian companies, Indian farmers and the Indian government," the official said. "The break-up will limit their power ... Certainly this will bring down potash prices."
Uralkali is pulling out of the venture after reaching "deadlock" over sales and will export potash via its Swiss-based Uralkali Trading, chief executive Vladislav Baumgertner said.
"In the near future we expect (global) competition to become stronger - that will push prices down," Baumgertner said.
The decision to quit BPC may lead to a fall in the global potash price to below $300 per tonne in the second half of 2013, from the current $400, Uralkali said. Lower fertilizer prices could mean rising demand from price-sensitive farmers in Asia.
"It is as if Saudi Arabia decided to leave OPEC - oil prices would fall immediately," said Dmitry Ryzhkov, equity sales trader at Renaissance Capital.
Shares of Uralkali, part-owned by tycoon Suleiman Kerimov, plunged more than 20 percent, prompting the Moscow bourse to suspend trading in the stock.
Shares of Germany's K+S , a rival fertilizer firm, sank by 24.5 percent to a six-year low.
Potash Corp shares were down about 24 percent at around $29, while Mosaic and Agrium fell 26 and 7 percent respectively. Agrium's fall was less steep as it is more focused on nitrogen production than potash.
Uralkali will now look to boost sales to retain its dividend policy. It plans to boost potash sales to 13 million tonnes in 2014 and 14 million tonnes in 2015 from 10.5 million tonnes this year by expanding market share in China, India and Brazil.
It plans to export more than 2.5 million tonnes to China this year, mainly by rail - up from 2 million in 2012.
However, it will be harder to win business in India as companies there have already signed import deals for 4 million tonnes, said a senior official at state-run Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd , declining to be named.
The price fall could cause new potash projects to be delayed or canceled, Raffeisenbank analyst Konstantin Yuminov said.
Miner BHP Billiton has plans for a project in western Canada, which would be the world's largest potash mine if it opens as scheduled in 2017.
BHP is expected to take a decision on the $14 billion Jansen project in its next fiscal year. Rival industry executives have questioned the project's profitability at current price levels.
BHP declined to comment on the impact of Uralkali's move.
Uralkali said it would delay its Polovodovsky mine, which would cost an estimated $2.4 billion to build and increase its capacity by 2.5 million tonnes. Other projects cancelled or delayed include the $6 billion Rio Colorado potash project in Argentina, which Brazilian miner Vale quit this year.
The BPC news came days after Uralkali announced that shareholder Alexander Nesis had sold his 5 percent stake. Uralkali said it would freeze its buyback program due to likely volatility in its stock.
One industry source said Canpotex had been marketing prices aggressively earlier this year, while BPC held back.
"Canpotex ... managed to increase its global market share by 24 percent at the expense of mostly BPC," the source said. "The Russians are now waking up and realizing they need to change their game."
Uralkali, with costs of around $60 per tonne, said global prices were likely to be kept above $200 per tonne, supported by European and North American operators that have higher costs.
Potash is the main export product for Belarus, Russia's staunchest ally among the former Soviet republics whose economy is stagnating after a financial crisis in 2011.
Belaruskali was a partner to Uralkali for eight years in BPC, which held 43 percent of the global potash export market. Uralkali was at one point rumored to be interested in buying a stake in Belaruskali - which now looks unlikely.
Their joint venture started to crumble this year as rumors emerged that both were selling potash outside the partnership. The two firms previously denied those rumors.
Uralkali said it pulled out because Belaruskali had made key fertilizer ingredient deliveries outside the partnership.
The decision came as a surprise for Belaruskali, said a top manager who asked not to be identified. According to Uralkali's CEO, the company had informed Belaruskali verbally on Monday and then formally on Tuesday. Belaruskali and BPC did not comment.
(Additional reporting by Zlata Garasyuta and Victoria Andreeva in Moscow, Andrei Makhovsky in Minsk, Rajendra Jadhav in New Delhi, Clara Ferreira-Marques in London, Niluksi Koswanage in Kuala Lumpur, Henrik Stolen in Oslo, and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; Writing by Polina Devitt and Megan Davies; Editing by Timothy Heritage and Dale Hudson)


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Forum Post: A Day
Posted 5 years ago on Aug. 29, 2013, 11:17 a.m. EST by ZenDogTroll
from South Burlington, VT
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
What the Poet's eye has heard
and ear has seen,
no tongue may utter.
The day soon comes
where all must reap;
as we have sown
so shall we reap; as individuals,
as well as that sown by others, on our behalf.
As with the people,
so too the nations.
All, soon, shall reap.
And great shall be the reaping
upon that day of weeping.
A thunder from the clouds shall be heard
by every eye,
and seen by every ear:
Unto all an equal opportunity:
Of love and compassion for thy brother.
And unto all the fruit of all thy labor is at hand . . .


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[Aerial View of Drawbridge]
Description: Aerial photograph of Pleasure Pier Drawbridge. A large ship has just passed through the bridge and it is still drawn. There are cars waiting for the ship to pass, and the town can be seen on the other side of the river. A stamp on the back of the photograph identifies the photographer as J. C. Watkins.
Date: September 17, 1955
Creator: Watkins, J. C.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Photograph
Partner: Museum of the Gulf Coast


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W--welded steel grating L-- pressure-locked C-- socket-welding
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Cross bar centers:
any greater than 30mm is ok. with 50, 100mm recommended.
Surface treatment:
G - galvanized
P - painted
U - untreated
Grating standard:
China: YB/T4001.1-2007(YB/T4001.1-1998)
Britain: BS4592-1:1995
Austrilia: AS1657-1992
Example: G 325/30/100 WFG
Bearing bar centers at 20mm:
This kind of fine mesh steel gratings have strong load ability and also can prevent the access of sundries of 18mm in diameter. This kind of gratings fit for pedestrian deck, walkway and ditch covers which require high security.
Notes: common welding standard: single-side full welding every 6 bearing bars.
Bearing bar centers at 30mm:
This kind of steel grating is the most commonly used in projects with American, Australian, Japan standards are available. This kind of gratings are featured well by heavy-duty, well resistance of strong impact on surface. Gratings with cross bar centers at 50mm can bear lateral impact well. This kind of steel grating fit for all kind of industrial platforms.
Notes: common welding standard: single-side full welding every 5 bearing bars.
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light grating and very economical. This kind of gratings fit for fixed platforms, walkway, and stair treads and British, German,French and Japanese standards are available. The products most commonly used for Belt corridor, storage shelf,Attic panel, trestle, guardrail, sunshade gate, etc.
Notes: common welding standard: single-side full welding every 4 bearing bars.
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Cliffy's back!!
He's back in the line up! No pressure, Cliff. Just glad to have you back.
And David Wright just gave a superb interview on the SNY pre-show. It's transcript-worthy, if anyone's got the time and energy to type it out. I like how he said the Mets need to take their Sox sweep as motivation to work harder and get the fire going. AND he said some lovely, modest things about Derek Jeter. What a stand up guy that David Wright is.
Haven't decided yet whether to watch the game home or at the bar, but I'm excited! And really, really hoping I get to stay that way! But in any case, at least I get to see my Cliff again.
P.S. Dognabbit. Nady out with a fractured wrist–but we can use Chavez defensively anyway. And Delgado still down with a sore rib cage. We've got Lo Duca DH-ing with a sore thumb, but I like Castro as catcher. Boy can he throw some outs. Still, please get healthy Mets!


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After eight years of legal battle with the entertainment industry, Kaleidescape has found a friend in Hollywood.
Starting Tuesday, the manufacturer of high-end media servers will sell movies and television shows from Warner Bros., a first-of-its-kind deal for the company. Previously, the Kaleidescape system has only let users watch movies that they copy off a DVD or Blu-ray disc.
That function landed the Sunnyvale, Calif., company in trouble when the DVD Copy Control Assn., a consortium of studios and electronics companies that manages the anti-piracy technology on movie discs, sued Kaleidescape in 2004. Litigation questioning the legality of a server that enables people to break copy control on a DVD is still pending on appeal.
During that time, sales of DVDs have plummeted and studios have become more eager to sell their films electronically to prop up home entertainment profits.
"Now the stars and planets are aligned," said Cheena Srinivasan, Kaleidescape's co-founder and executive vice president.
-- Ben Fritz, Los Angeles Times


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Oroville >> A trial date will be set for a Chico man charged with attempted murder for an April 12 shooting on Nord Avenue.
Butte County Superior Court Judge Tamara Mosbarger ruled Wednesday there was probable cause to hold Robert Duane Duggan, 23, for trial on felony counts of attempted murder, aggravated mayhem, being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of cocaine.
During the preliminary hearing, Chico police officer Jared Cumber testified that he responded to the scene of the shooting at Nord Gardens, 1521 Nord Ave., after 3 a.m. on April 12. After Cumber and his partner saw the 29-year-old victim lying on the ground, Cumber provided scene security while his partner tended to the fallen man.
Under questioning by deputy district attorney Joanna Mupanduki, Cumber said he interviewed witnesses who heard the shooting, discovered the victim and called 9-1-1. The officer was then sent to look for a subject on the 500 block of Flying V Street.
As Cumber neared the address, he was told to contact the defendant. When Cumber arrived, he saw an illuminated red tail light on a vehicle with no license plates, but the light was turned off when he pulled into the driveway.
Duggan was in the vehicle and noticed the officer before exiting the car. Cumber asked if Duggan was in a fight and the defendant reportedly said no.
The officer told Duggan he wasn't under arrest, but detained the man for an hour and 45 minutes. Cumber looked around the vehicle and found a plastic bag that contained 0.29 grams of a white substance that later tested positive as cocaine.
Cumber arrested the defendant after receiving word that the victim had identified Duggan in a photo lineup.
During cross-examination by defense attorney Jesus Rodriguez, Cumber said there didn't appear to be signs that Duggan was intoxicated. There also weren't obvious signs of blood on the defendant's clothes. The officer also said he didn't conduct a gunshot residue test on the defendant.
Victim IDs defendant
Chico police detective Dane Gregory testified about interviewing the victim at the hospital. During the first contact following the shooting, the victim appeared alert. The man had lost his right eye in the incident, but could see from the other eye and selected Duggan's photo from a photo lineup of six people.
The man told Gregory that Duggan shot him. In a subsequent interview, the man said he was passed out on the couch when he heard knocking. He said it was Duggan, wearing black gloves and a beanie and wielding a pistol in his left hand.
Duggan reportedly said the man owed him $100, which the man later said wasn't true. The man tried to close the door, but Duggan put his foot in the door and allegedly opened fire.
The man fell backward while Duggan allegedly advanced into the apartment and continued firing. The man was struck several times before falling to the floor near the kitchen where Duggan allegedly shot the man in the back several times.
In addition to losing his right eye, the man suffered a shattered bone in his left arm and multiple wounds to his torso, hips and legs.
Gregory questioned Duggan, who reportedly dodged questions about the shooting. The defendant denied knowing anyone with the victim's name. He said he was at college house parties at the time and wasn't on Nord Avenue.
Rodriguez asked Gregory how certain the man was about Duggan's identity. Gregory said the man was absolutely certain.
During arguments, Mupanduki said Duggan committed premeditated attempted murder. She said the defendant arrived at the scene and demanded money before shooting the victim multiple times. Duggan had time to reflect during the shots.
Rodriguez said identification may be an issue because the victim was in pain following the shooting. He also argued that it couldn't be shown that Duggan deliberately meant to deprive the victim of use of his eye, which is a required element of mayhem.
The defendant remains in custody. Bail was set at $3.5 million for the current case, but Duggan is being held without bail for an alleged violation of probation.
Reach reporter Ryan Olson at facebook.com/NorCalJustice and 896-7763.


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Did Lady Gaga Go Dark on Twitter in Anticipation of 'ARTPOP?'
Lady Gaga's heavily followed Twitter account has gotten a bit of a makeunder.
Her photo has been swapped out to the generic egg default graphic and her bio reads: "This interface has been shut down temporarily. Please check back for updates." Some previous tweets have been deleted and she has not issued a new 140-characters-or-less transmission since June 26.
Given the fact that Gaga has used Twitter so effectively to communicate with little monsters over the years, what gives? See her snoozy page here.
Well, she could be going silent and dark in the social media space in order to ramp up excitement for 'ARTPOP.' When Gaga shuts down and stops communicating, something feels "off" with the Twitterverse. She could be quiet now in order to build anticipation when she starts releasing information about the album and single.
This could be a calculated promotional move, since the rumors suggest that Gaga will be returning to prominence in the pop world with a new single next month.
Her profile page on her Little Monsters social media site is also curiously quiet and without a profile photo.
Given the fact that Gaga's imaging and graphics are a key part of her overall package, this has to be intentional and planned. We can't wait to see what she has up her promotional, leather-studded sleeve. Whatever the case, when she returns to social media in all its (edge of) glory, it will be an epic comeback.


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Filmmaker Ryan Coogler handed in his latest draft of Creed, a movie he aims to make based on the Rocky franchise character Apollo Creed, played by Carl Weathers.Coogler told THR he sent the latest draft of the project to backers MGM upon his arrival in the London -- his first visit to the U.K. -- where he is supporting the screening of Fruitvale Station at this year's Sundance London film and music festival.Coogler said Creed -- which is set to star Fruitvale star Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone, who was Oscar nominated for the first Rocky film -- focuses on the boxer's family and where they are now, years on from Creed's highs and lows in the ring opposite Stallone's Rocky Balboa character.Coogler said: "It brings us up to date with where his family is now."The filmmaker had taken the idea to write a movie based around the Rocky franchise to MGM before Fruitvale Station got up and running.
" It was an idea I came up with. My dad was a big Rocky fan and he and I are very close, so we would watch the films together. We went through something in our relationship, and as part of the venting process, I came up with the story. I never thought it would see the light of day," Ryan said."I met with Stallone about this before we shot Fruitvale, and we ended up talking to the studio about it. "Ryan said Creed has been inspired by Rocky, released in 1976."If you look at the first Rocky, it's on that scale. It's got some of the same things, which I find interesting. I'm excited for it, I just hope everything works out," he said.And the filmmaker admitted he's had to hide his "fanboy" side when speaking with Sly. " Stallone is crazy smart, and he's like this brainy dude who has made 60-odd movies, written screenplays and paints. I can't be a fanboy around him."
As the director of the promising Fruitvale Station, Cooglers advances as a director are particularly exciting. He jumps to a big franchise project with ease, and more importantly maintains humanity and relatability. Some of his long, choreographed tracking shots a fight is practically done in one long shot is thrilling, and none of it is overly polished either. Creed has a Philly grit that lends an air of integrity and authenticity to the need to go the distance. Still, my greatest fear would be Coogler being stuck in a new Creed franchise for several years; hes growing more and more dynamic and seasoned and he feels like a filmmaker with many stories to tell. Yet as much as Creed doesnt break the mold, its definitely a worthwhile entry in the series capturing the spirit of the classic Rocky movies. It might not be particularly unique, but as the best Rocky film since Rocky II, its a likable, sure-to-please commercial winner.


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Sunday, February 21, 2010
Oral Interviews
Please all as you all gather on the weekends with your family don't forget to bring a notebook or a digital recorder. Maybe it is gathering at the dinner table after morning mass or coming together just for a family visit. Maybe they have always had a specific meal on a particular night. You might ask why that is so and who in the family started that tradition. There may be a lovely heirloom and have yet to know whose that once was. It is no time like the present to ask away and just speak of the past as the little stories can lead to big adventures that can be documented. If you are to ask a specific time or event it may be overwhelming but if you sit and listen and let them tell the stories that you can question specifics based on that particular story. Please don't ever forget your grassroots and show thanks to the community as without that background you wouldn't be where you are today. Appreciate those around you and give back to make it a better place for the generations to come.
Posted by Michelle at 3:35 PM No comments:
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