text:
Nancy Pelosi�s infamous summation of Obamacare seems surreal: We have to pass the bill to find out what�s in it.
By LINDA HOPKINS
On Sept. 12, 2012, I came across an article on Breitbart.com entitled �Obamacare Redefines �Full-Time� Employment as 30 Hours a Week.� I then imagined the possible consequences of that IRS regulation related to Obamacare:
1) Folks working part time 39 hours a week will be working 29 hours a week.
2) Folks will have to get TWO part-time jobs in order to make ends meet.
3) Folks working full time will be bumped down to part time.
4) More folks will lose their homes or they�ll get evicted from their rentals.
5) Union workers will demand time-and-a-half for any hours over 30 hours a week.
I was very surprised when there was no response in the news to this new regulation until Oct. 7, 2012. Darden Restaurants (Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse) announced that it would keep employees� hours anywhere from 28 to 29� hours a week. One real consequence of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), or Obamacare, is that we will become a part-time nation.
Betsy McCaughey, who wrote �Beating Obamacare: Your Handbook for Surviving the New Health Care Law,� says that Obamacare adds $1.79 per hour for each hour of each employee. Based on a full-time worker working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, that $1.79 an hour totals $3,723.20 in one year. Multiply that by 50 employees, and the total is $186,160 a year.
The IRS announced that under Obamacare the cheapest health insurance plan available in 2016 for a family of four will be $20,000 a year. Obamacare was supposed to bring down costs of health insurance premiums. Weren�t we promised we could keep our doctor, and if we liked our plan we could keep it?
The Congressional Budget Office(CBO) reports that 8 million Americans by 2016, and 12 million by 2019, will lose their employer-based health care plan. Some employers will pay the fine instead of paying for health care plans. And some employers will whittle their number of employees down below 50, or have part-time employees so that they will not be required to offer health insurance plans.
The unions that championed Obamacare for President Obama are now facing the reality of skyrocketing health care costs. They�ve asked Congress if they can be exempt. If Obamacare is so absolutely wonderful, why would anyone want to be exempt from it? It is perhaps the height of irony � the very namesake of this law is exempt from it, just like Congress, other government officials and other special interests. Good enough for thee, but definitely NOT good enough for me?
Academia also wholeheartedly supported Obamacare. Here is the American Federation of Teachers� endorsement of President Obama:
�... Barack Obama is the only candidate running for president who understands that economic growth depends upon economic fairness, and who has articulated an agenda focused on rebuilding and expanding the middle class.�
Colleges and universities across the nation, like unions, are addressing reality. Hours are being cut to below the 30 mark. Pennsylvania Community College of Allegheny County has dwindled the hours of 400 adjunct instructors, support staff, and part-time teachers. Those with master�s degrees and doctoral degrees who are also on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) and other forms of welfare have more than tripled between 2007 and 2010. Many colleges and universities are even moving full-time employees down to a part-time classification to avoid the PPACA expense. Economic fairness and middle class expansion, indeed.
States have now begun to follow unions, colleges and universities. Virginia is now limiting its part-time employees to 29 hours a week due to the $110 million annual cost of their health insurance. Many folks will be on their own to acquire health insurance. The very law that is supposed to cover EVERYONE seems to be moving in the direction of covering as few as possible through employers. This will make the subsidies in the health care marketplaces (exchanges) much higher than originally anticipated � which could easily increase the cost of Obamacare far above any previous prediction.
Nancy Pelosi�s infamous summation of Obamacare seems surreal: We have to pass the bill to find out what�s in it. Even though 43 percent of Congress are lawyers, they signed the bill without reading it. Which means Obamacare will be offering surprises for years to come. Like 28-hour work weeks.


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As much as I love macaroni and cheese, it's not the best summer dish. Who wants to fire up the oven when there are so many fresh fruits and vegetables around?
But now that autumn is officially here, mac and cheese started to sound good again. Unfortunately, when I pulled up an old post about The Best Homemade Mac And Cheese EVER, I realized that I never actually published the recipe, instead noting modifications upon modifications to a recipe for kid-friendly mac and cheese from Food Blogga. D'oh.
So, here, in one place, is the recipe for The Best Homemade Mac And Cheese EVER. Since the sauce contains cauliflower, there is no need for a side vegetable. However, this version of macaroni and cheese is especially good with (or followed by) fresh apple slices.
1 bunch cauliflower (if you can find it, orange cauliflower boosts the color)
8 ounces pasta (I like spirals, twists, or campanelle)
2 1/2 cups skim milk, divided
1 tablespoon butter, plus butter to coat a 9 x 13 inch baking dish
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
About 2.5 ounces gruyére, grated
dash grated nutmeg (optional)
salt and pepper to taste (I add more pepper than salt, since the cheese already contains a decent amount of salt)
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish and set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to boil.
Wash the cauliflower and cut into small pieces.
When the water is boiling, add the cauliflower and cook until tender (10-15 minutes).
Strain the cauliflower from the hot water and set aside.
Add pasta to the pot of hot water and cook per package instructions.
When the cauliflower has cooled, place it in a food processor along with 1/2 cup milk, and process until smooth. Set aside.
When the pasta is cooked, drain it and set aside.
Return the pot to the burner, and melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir until the flour absorbs the butter and turns golden brown.
Create a white sauce by adding the remaining 2 cups of milk to the flour mixture, about 1/3 cup at a time. Each time milk is added, whisk until the mixture is smooth and begins to thicken and simmer, then add more milk.
When all the milk has been used, add a generous amount of black pepper and a dash of nutmeg to the sauce, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer about 5 minutes.
Remove the pot from heat and gently add the puréed cauliflower and grated cheese to the white sauce, stirring until smooth.
Add salt (and additional pepper) to taste.
Mix the pasta into the sauce and stir until coated.
Pour the pasta and sauce into the buttered baking dish, and sprinkle panko on top.
Bake at 375 F for 45 minutes.
Let the mac and cheese sit for about 5 minutes, then serve.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
The Best Homemade Mac And Cheese EVER (Recipe Included)
3 comments:
- Veggie Belly said...
just today i had mac and cheese outside and thought, 'i need to find a good mac and cheese recipe'. you read my mind! love the cauliflower and gruyer!
- September 27, 2009 at 10:06 PM
- Dana said...
I made that recipe last fall and thought it was terrific. Thanks for reminding me about it!
- September 28, 2009 at 8:52 PM
- Jes said...
That mac and cheese looks super craveable! I used to love love love Gruyere!
- September 29, 2009 at 8:24 PM
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Approximately 40,000 people throughout San Mateo County attend one of the three Colleges of the San Mateo County Community College District: Cañada College in Redwood City, College of San Mateo, and Skyline College in San Bruno. Although the boundaries of the San Mateo County Community College District are the same as those of the County, the District Board of Trustees is independent of County government. The five-member Board of Trustees is elected at large by County voters every four years, and governs one of the largest two-year college systems in California.
The academic and vocational programs offered by the Colleges are designed to meet the educational needs of the community. Anyone who is a high school graduate or 18 years of age or older can select from thousands of courses offered at convenient times on the campuses and at a number of off-campus locations.


text:
(Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2013)
It was truly the Royal Flush backstage at Dolce & Gabbana and I can't get enough how amazing the show was! I love the deconstructed beehive up-do, the Sophia Lorain cat eye liner and crimson lips and the velvety complexion with a hint of pink blush. These Italians really know what's flattering on their girls!
source: style.com


text:
The Dolphins are only six weeks away from a potential countywide referendum regarding increased local hotel taxes to help fund renovations to Sun Life Stadium. For now, the biggest problem isn't the current national mood against the use of taxpayer money for sports arenas (in the absence of relocation leverage) but the fact that no agreement has been reached between the Dolphins and the politicians.
According to the Miami Herald, the city has yet to strike a deal with the team (let's hope the open meetings laws are respected), and the county commission is contemplating a special session to schedule the vote.
"We've got a lot of work to do," Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Gimenez said. "It's hard, but it's doable."
With a mandatory 30-day notice period before the planned May 14 referendum, the "doable" window is quickly shrinking.
The project also requires state-level approval. On Wednesday, the proposal picked up a positive vote from the House Economic Affairs Committee, one of various hurdles that must be overcome in the legislature. The funding bill is more likely to become a law because the citizens ultimately will have a chance to vote yes or no on the plan.
In the end, that's the biggest question. Who will be more motivated to arrive at the ballot box — those who believe public support for a sports venue that can attract Super Bowls and other major events is necessary, or those who oppose welfare for billionaires in any form?


text:
Doing Missions When Dying Is Gain
From Gospel Translations
By John Piper
About Missions
Part of the series Wheaton College
(The following is an edited transcript of the audio.)
My mission statement in life and my church's mission statement is,
We exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples.
I love that mission statement for a lot of reasons. One is because I know it cannot fail. I know it cannot fail because it's a promise. Matthew 24:14, "This gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come." (And I hope that you know that "nations" doesn't mean political states. It means something like people groups, ethnic-linguistic groupings.) We may be absolutely certain that every one of them will be penetrated by the gospel to the degree that you can say that a witness, an understandable self-propagating witness, is there.
Now let me give you some reasons why we can bank on that.
The Promise Is Sure
The promise is sure for several reasons.
1. Jesus never lies. "Heaven and earth may pass away, but my word will never pass away." And it was Jesus who said Matthew 24:14, not me.
So this mission that we're on together is going to finish. It's going to be done, and you can either get on board and enjoy the triumph or you can cop-out and waist your life. You have only those two choices, because there is no middle option like, "Maybe it won't happen, and I can be on the best side by not jumping on board." That won't happen.
2. The ransom has already been paid for those people among all the nations. According to Revelation 5:9-10, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." They're paid for, and God will not go back on his Son's payment.
I love the story of the Moravians. In northern Germany two of them were getting on a boat, ready to sell themselves into slavery in the West Indies, never to come back again. And as the boat drifts out into the harbor they lift their hands and say, "May the Lamb receive the reward of his suffering." What they meant was that Christ had already bought those people. And they were going to find them by indiscriminately preaching the gospel, through which the Holy Spirit would call them to himself.
So I know this can't abort, because the debt has been paid for each of God's people everywhere in the world. Those lost sheep, as Jesus called them, that are scattered throughout the world will come in as the Father calls them through the preaching of the gospel.
3. The glory of God is at stake. There are oodles of texts about this. Let me just pick one. Romans 15:8-9, "Christ became a servant to the circumcised in order to confirm the truthfulness of God, so that he might make strong [or sure or reliable] the promises made to the patriarchs, and in order that the nations might glorify God for his mercy." The whole purpose of the Incarnation was to bring glory to the Father through the manifestation of his mercy to the nations.
The glory of God is at stake in the Great Commission. Back in 1983 at Bethlehem Baptist Church, me and Tom Steller—my sidekick now of 17 years—were both met by God in amazing ways. Tom, in the middle of the night, couldn't sleep, so he got up, put on a John Michael Talbot song, laid down on the couch, and he heard our theology translated into missions. (We are a God-glory oriented people, but we had not yet made sense of missions like we ought.) John Michael Talbot was singing about the glory of God filling the earth the way the waters cover the sea, and Tom wept for an hour. At the same time God was moving in on me and Noel to ask, "What can we do to make this place a launching pad for missions?" And everything came together to make an electric moment in the life of our church, and it all flowed from a passion for the glory of God.
4. God is sovereign. God is sovereign! A few weeks ago, as I'm preaching through Hebrews, we arrived at Hebrews 6. As you know, this is a very difficult text about whether these people are Christians or not when they fall away. And in verses 1-3 there is this amazing statement (which is just a tiny piece of the massive biblical evidence for why I'm a Calvinist!) that says, "Let us press on to maturity, leaving behind the former things ... and this we will do if God permits." When we looked at this, there fell across my congregation the most unbelievable silence, because we heard the implications. "You mean God might not permit a body of believers to press on to maturity?"
God is sovereign! He is sovereign in the church, and he is sovereign among the nations! One testimony to this is in the article in Christianity Today that came out a few weeks ago retelling of the story of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Pete Flemming, Roger Youderian, and Ed McCully. Steve Saint tells the story of his dad getting speared by Auca Indians in Ecuador. He tells it after having learned new details of intrigue in the Auca tribe that were responsible for this killing when it shouldn't have happened, and seemingly wouldn't have and couldn't have. Yet it did happen. And having discovered the intrigue he wrote this article.
I want to read one sentence that absolutely blew me out of my living room chair. He said,
As [the natives] described their recollections, it occurred to me how incredibly unlikely it was that the palm beach killing took place at all. It is an anomaly that I cannot explain outside of divine intervention.
"I can only explain the spearing of my dad by virtue of divine intervention." Do you hear what this son is saying? "God killed my dad." He believes that, and I believe that.
According to Revelation 6:11, when you have a glimpse of the throne room and the martyrs who shed their blood for the gospel saying "How long O Lord? How long till you vindicate our blood?," the answer comes back, "Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren should be complete who were to be killed as they themselves had been." God says, "Rest until the number that I have appointed is complete." He's got a number of martyrs. When it is complete then the end will come.
The Price Is Suffering
The price is suffering, and the volatility in the world today against the church is not decreasing. It is increasing, especially among the groups that need the gospel. There is no such thing as a closed country. It's a foreign notion. It has no root or warrant in the Bible, and it would have been unintelligible to the apostle Paul who laid down his life in every city he went to. Therefore, there are martyrs in this room.
Statistically it's easy to predict. One Sunday recently there was a focus on the suffering church, and many of you were involved in it. This World Missions Fellowship was involved in it, and you all saw videos or heard stories about places like Sudan where the Muslim regime is systematically ostracizing, positioning, and starving Christians so that there are about 500 martyrs a day there.
I get very tired of people coming to look at staff positions in my church, which is in downtown Minneapolis. We all live in the inner city, and one of the first questions they ask is, "Will my children be safe?" And I want to say, "Would you ask that question tenth and not first?" I'm just tired of hearing that. I'm tired of American priorities. Whoever said that your children will be safe in the call of God?
YWAM (Youth With A Mission) is a wild-eyed radical group that I love. I got an email on September 1st,
One hundred and fifty men armed with machetes surrounded the premises occupied by the YWAM team in India. The mob had been incited by other religious groups in an effort to chase them off. As the mob pressed in someone in a key moment spoke up on the team's behalf and they decided to give them 30 days to leave. The team feels they should not leave and that their ministry work in the city is at stake. Much fruit has been seen in a previously unreached region and there is great potential for more. In the past when violence has broken out between rival religious groups people have lost their lives. Please pray for them to have wisdom.
Now this is exactly the opposite of what I hear mainly in America as people decide where to live, for example. I don't hear people saying, "I don't want to leave, because this is where I'm called to and this is where there's need." Would you please join me in reversing American evangelical priorities? It seems to be woven into the very fabric of our consumer culture that we move toward comfort, toward security, toward ease, toward safety, away from stress, away from trouble, and away from danger. It ought to be exactly the opposite! "He who would come after me let him take up his cross and die!"
So I just don't get it! It's the absorption of a consumer, comfort, ease culture that is permeating the church. And it creates little ministries and churches in which safe, secure, nice things are done for each other. And little safe excursions are made to help save some others. But, O we won't live there, and O we won't stay there, not even in America, not to mention Saudi Arabia!
I was in Amsterdam a couple weeks ago talking to another wild-eyed wonderful missions group, Frontiers, led by Greg Livingstone. What a great group. Five hundred people sitting in front of me who risk there lives everyday among Muslim peoples. And to listen to them! During the conference they were getting emails, which they would stand up and read, saying "Please pray for X. He was stabbed in the chest three times yesterday, and the worst thing is his children were watching him. He's in the hospital in critical condition." Then they say, "This is a missionary in the Muslim world, let's pray for him," and we would go to prayer. Next day another email comes, and this time six Christian brothers in Morocco have been arrested. "Let's pray for them," so we did. And so it was throughout the conference. And at the end of it the missionaries were ready to go back.
Do you think I'm going to come back to America and be the same? Do you think I'm going to stand up in front of my church and say, "Let's have nice, comfortable, easy services. Let's just be comfortable and secure." Golgotha is not a suburb of Jerusalem. "Let us go with him outside the gate and suffer with him and bear reproach" (Hebrews 13:13).
Suffering is Also the Means
But in saying that there will be martyrs and there must be suffering I haven't yet said the main thing about the price of getting the job done. That's because suffering is the means and not just the price. It's the means.
Now here's what I have in my mind: I'm going to read a verse for you that's very important, that is, Colossians 1:24. A few years ago its meaning just came crashing in on me. I'll show you how I got it.
"Now I rejoice," Paul says, "in my sufferings." He was a very strange person. "I rejoice in my sufferings" is very counter-cultural, very un-American, very counter-human. "I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of his Body [that is, the ingathering of God's elect] in filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ." Now that's on the brink of blasphemy. What does he mean by "filling up what is lacking" in the afflictions of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ?
He does not mean that he improves upon the merit and the atoning worth of Jesus' blood. That's not what he means. Well then, what does he mean?
I typed into my computer Bible program the Greek word for "fill up" (or "complete") and the word for "what is lacking" and found only one other place in Scripture where both of these occur together. That's in Philippians 2:30.
The situation is that Epaphroditus was sent from the Philippian church over to Paul in Rome. He risks his life to get there, and Paul extols him for risking his life. He tells the Philippians that they should receive such a one with honor, because he was sick unto death and risked his neck to complete their ministry to him. Here's the key parallel verse:
Because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.
This is the only other place where these two words come into conjunction: "to complete what was lacking in your service to me." I opened up my 100 year old Vincent's commentary on Philippians and read an explanation of that verse which I think is a perfect interpretation of Colossians 1:24. Vincent says,
The gift to Paul from the Philippians was a gift of the church as a body. It was a sacrificial offering of love. What was lacking was the church's presentation of this offering in person. This was impossible, and Paul represents Epaphroditus as supplying this lack by his affectionate, zealous ministry.
So the picture is of a church that wants to communicate love in the form of money over to Rome, and they can't do it. There's too many of them. And it's too far away. So they say, "Epaphroditus, represent us and complete what is lacking in our love. There's nothing lacking in our love except the expression of our love in person there. Take it and communicate it to Paul."
Now that's exactly what I think Colossians 1:24 means. Jesus dies and he suffers for people all over the world in every nation. Then he is buried and, according to the Scriptures, raised on the third day. Then he ascends into heaven where he reigns over the world. And he leaves a work to be done.
Paul's self understanding of his mission is that there is one thing lacking in the sufferings of Jesus. The love offering of Christ is to be presented in person through missionaries to the peoples for whom he died. And Paul says, "I do this in my sufferings. In my sufferings I complete what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ." Which means that Christ intends for the Great Commission to be a presentation to the nations of the sufferings of his cross through the sufferings of his people. That's the way it will be finished. If you sign up for the Great Commission, that's what you sign up for.
About three years ago I was working on Let the Nations Be Glad, and I hid away at Trinity Seminary in Deerfield, IL. I hid because I didn't want anybody to know that I was there, so that they wouldn't bother me. My wife and kids were at home, and I was working 18 hours a day.
Then I got word that J. Oswald Sanders was going to be in chapel. Eighty-nine years old. Veteran. Great missions leader. And I said to myself, "Shall I go public and risk having to talk to a lot of people and getting dinner engagements and all this stuff and not getting anything done?" But I wanted to hear him, so I snuck into the back of chapel and listened to him. And this 89-year-old man stood up there, and I was just oozing with admiration and desire to be like this when I'm 89. And he told a story that so embodies Colossians 1:24.
He said there was once an evangelist in India who tromped across the roads to various villages preaching the gospel. He was a simple man, no education, loved Jesus with all his heart, and was ready to lay his life down. And he came to a village that didn't have the gospel. It was late in the day and he was very tired. But he goes into the village and lifts up his voice and shares the gospel with those gathered in the square. They mock him, deride him, and drive him out of town. And he was so tired—no emotional resources left—that he lies down under a tree, utterly discouraged. He goes to sleep not knowing if he'll ever wake up. They might come kill him, for all he knows.
And suddenly, just after dusk, he is startled and wakes up. The whole town seems to be around him looking at him. He thinks he's a goner. He starts to tremble, and one of the big men in the village says, "We came out to see what kind of man you were, and when we saw your blistered feet we knew you were a holy man. We want you to tell us why you got blistered feet to come talk to us." So he preached the gospel and, according to J. Oswald Sanders, the whole village believed. That's what Paul means by "I complete in my sufferings what is lacking in the afflictions of Jesus."
Now I have one other little parenthesis about J. Oswald Sanders. At 89 years old he said, "I've written a book a year since I was 70." Eighteen books after 70! There are people in my church and all over America quitting on life at 65 and dying on the golf course in Nevada, when they ought to be laying their lives down among the Muslims like Raymond Lull.
Raymond Lull, 12th century oriental scholar and Muslim missionary, retires and comes back to Italy. He does his oriental language thing for a while but eventually quits and begins to ask, "What am I doing? I'm going to die here in Italy. Why not die in Algeria across the Mediterranean?" And so, knowing that's what it will cost him to preach publicly, he gets on a boat at 80-something years of age and crosses the Mediterranean. He stays underground a while encouraging the church, and then he decides this as good a time as any. So he stands up and preaches, and they kill him. What a way to go!
Listen, you 60-year-old folks, I'm 50. I'm almost there. I'm getting letters from the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), and they're trying to get me on their lists so I can get discounts on trains and airplanes. I'm almost there, so I'm talking to myself here (and my church has heard me say this and they're going to hold me to the fire) when I say that when you're old you not only don't have anything to loose in martyrdom, you get discount fares.
Why should we think that putting in our 40 or 50 years on the job should mean that we should play for the last 15 years before we meet the King? I don't get it. It's American lies is all it is. We're strong at 65 and we're strong at 70. My dad is 77. I can remember when my mom was killed, and he was almost killed, in a bus accident in Israel. And I picked him up 10 days later with her body and him in the ambulance, and all the way home from Atlanta to Greenville he laid there with his back wide open, because the wounds were so bad they couldn't stitch them. And he kept saying, "God must have a purpose for me, God must have a purpose for me!"
And here we are 22 years later, and his life has exploded with ministry! He's working harder today at 77 for the nations than ever before. He prepares lessons from Easley, South Carolina, including some tapes. And they're in 60 nations with about 10,000 people believing in Jesus every year because God spared my dad and caused him not to believe in retirement.
The Prize is Satisfying
Now last point: How do you love like that? Where are you going to get this? Are you feeling ready for this? Do you think you have it within you to be able to endure this?
Read Stephen Neill's A History of Christian Missions. On page 161 he describes what happened in Japan when the gospel came there in the 1500's. The emperor began to believe that the incursion of the Christian faith into their religious sphere was so threatening that they must end it. And he did end it, with absolutely incredible brutality! It was over for the church in Japan. And I don't doubt that the hardness and difficulty of Japan today is largely owing to the massive (though short-term) triumph of the devil in the early 1600's.
Twenty-seven Jesuits, fifteen friars, and five secular clergy did manage to evade the order of banishment. It was not until April 1617 that the first martyrdoms of Europeans took place, a Jesuit and a Franciscan being beheaded at Omura at that time, and a Dominican and an Augustinian a little later in the same area. Every kind of cruelty was practiced on the pitiable victims of the persecution. Crucifixion was the method usually employed in the case of Japanese Christians. On one occasion 70 Japanese at Yedo were crucified upside down at low water and were drowned as the tide came in.
I cried 3 days ago when I read that, because I've got a good enough imagination to picture the lapping water with your wife on one side and your sixteen-year-old on the other.
Are you ready? You think you got that within you? You don't. No way does anybody have that kind of resourcefulness within them. Where are you going to get it? That's what I want to close with.
You're going to get it by believing the promises of God. Hebrews 10:32-34 is my favorite text about where you get the resources to live like this.
Recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and affliction and sometimes being partners with those so treated.
Now let me stop there and give you the situation as I read it. In the early days of the church persecution arose. Some of them suffered outright and publicly, and others had compassion on them. You'll see in the next verse that some of them were imprisoned and some of them went to visit them. So they were forced into a decision. Those who were in prison in those days probably depended on others for food and water and any kind of physical care that they would need, but that meant that their friends and neighbors had to go public and identify with them. That's risky business when someone's been put in jail because they're a Christian. So those who were still free went underground for a few hours and asked, "What are we going to do?" And somebody said "Psalm 63:3 says, 'The steadfast love of the Lord is better than life.' It's better then life. Let's go!"
And if Martin Luther would have been there he would have said,
Let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also.
The body they may kill,
God's truth abideth still.
His kingdom is forever.
Let's go!
And that's exactly what they did. Let's read the rest of it. Verse 34, "You had compassion on the prisoners and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property."
Now here's what happened. It doesn't take any imagination. I don't know all the details precisely, but here's what happened: They had compassion on the prisoners, which means they went to them. And their property—house, chariot, horses, mules, carpentry stools, chairs, whatever—was set on fire by mob or maybe just ransacked and thrown to the streets by people with big knives. And when they looked over their shoulder to see what was happening back there they rejoiced.
Now if you're not like this—when somebody bashes your computer when you're trying to minister to them, or you drive downtown to minister and they smash your windshield, get your radio, or slash your tires—if you're not like this, you're not going to be a very good candidate for martyrdom either. So the question is, "How are you going to be like this?" I want to be like this. That's why I love this text! I want to be like this.
I make no claim to be a perfect embodiment of this; but I want to be like this, so that when a rock comes sailing through my kitchen window—like it has done twice in the last couple of months—and smashes the glass and my wife and children hit the floor not knowing if it's a bullet or a grenade, I want to be able to say, "Isn't this a great neighborhood to live in." This is where the needs are. You see those 5 teenage kids that just rode by? They need Jesus. If I move out of here, who's going to tell them about Jesus?
When your little boy gets pushed off his bicycle and they take it and run, I want to be able to take him by the neck while he's crying and say "Barnabas, this is like being a missionary. It's like getting ready for the mission field! This is great!"
I gave a message on Colossians 1:24 in Pensacola, Florida two years ago. I had my 16-year-old Abraham with me, and he heard me say much of what I'm saying here, this kind of heavy-duty suffering stuff. And we got in the car to go home, and my wife said to Abraham, "Well, what do you think God was doing in there?" He said, "I'm going to buy a one-way ticket to the hardest country in the world." That's all he said. I bumped my head on the ceiling. Whew! This is great! Thank you Lord for Abraham and what you're doing in his life.
Now I haven't gotten to the main point of the text yet. How did they have the wherewithal to rejoice at the plundering of their property and the risking of their lives? Now we get it: "Since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one." This is what I call faith in future grace.
If you are a Christian, God is holding out to you indescribably wonderful promises. "'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' Therefore, you can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:5-6) Well, actually, man can kill you. But that is no defeat, because you know what Romans 8:36-39 says:
We are counted as sheep to be slaughtered all day long...Yet I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation can separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore, nothing ultimately can harm you. Remember what Jesus said in Luke 21:12-19? "Some of you they will kill and some of you they will throw into prison...Yet not a hair of your head will perish." "Some of you they will kill...yet not a hair of your head will perish." It's just Romans 8. Everything, including death, works together for your good. When you die you don't perish. To die is gain.
Doing missions when death is gain is the greatest life in the world.
So I pray that you will come along and leave behind the American way of security and ease and comfort and retreat and withdrawal and emptiness. Leave it behind and join this incredibly powerful movement. There are students all over the world—like in South Korea—ready to stand up and lay down their lives for Christ. I invite you to do it too.


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http://www.dolittler.com/2009/05/02/Blo ... e-CBC.html
"You want $99 to test his blood before his dentistry? Seriously? I'm thinking maybe we'll skip the whole dental thing. The anesthesia freaks me out, anyway."
That's not usually how it goes where I work. Clients tend to be more polite, at least. But dentistry is one of those wellness services that suffers in a slumping economy. At our place, it's clear that, despite their respectful receptiveness, fewer clients are making it back for the actual procedure. About 25% less over this time last year.
Luckily, the expense of the necessary pre-anesthetic blood work is NOT standing in the way of my clients' dentals. That service is still holding strong––likely because we bundle it with basic annual visits so that nearly every pet gets their blood tested annually. But hospitals who don't take this step are seeing an even bigger slump in their dental care and other wellness services that require blood work.
And I think I know why: Because pet owners need to be educated to understand the value of what they're buying. Adding in comprehensive blood work with the annual physical and fecal test (with or without vaccines) adds REAL value to a pet's healthcare regimen. Nonetheless, its PERCEIVED value is negligible unless an owner is informed of how incredibly useful this information can be.
In other words, pet owners like you will NOT buy blood work (and, most importantly, your pets won't get it) if you have no idea what it's all about. Here's a short list of common misperceptions I encounter on this front:
1-Some pet owners assume that blood work for their pet means the heartworm test only.
They sometimes arrive at my hospital fresh from elsewhere informing me that we don't need to draw their pet's blood because it was just done a month or two earlier. The faxed-over records indicate a heartworm test every year...but nothing more.
2-Blood work is all the same, everywhere.
A corollary to #1, this common misconception assumes that comprehensive blood work is the same the world around. In Miami, for example, complete blood work may be different from that in Minnesota, Montreal, London, Tel Aviv or California. (e.g., Here in South Florida, we tend to include heartworm and tick disease tests for dogs; feline leukemia, FIV and heartworm antibody tests for cats.)
3-Evaluating blood work is a procedure that's acceptably performed every few years.
Consider that your pet's lifespan is much shorter than ours. Pets approaching their geriatric years are best served by semi-annual blood work. Pets without major concerns shouldn't go more than a year without it. Any animal undergoing an anesthetic procedure should ideally have current (within a month) blood work. And sick pets may need it monthly, weekly, daily or hourly, depending on their condition and its severity.
Beyond the common misperceptions lingers the question of what this all means and why it's considered so critical. Here's an explanation:
The most commonly accepted comprehensive "blood work" for pre-anesthetic evaluation includes a minimum of two tests, the "CBC" (stands for "complete blood count") and "chemistry" (or "chemical panel"). Think of it as one test for the cells in the blood (CBC) and another for the components of the fluid part of the blood (chemistry).
The CBC (blood cell analysis)...
1) looks at the red blood cells, counts them and takes some measures about how they're shaped.
It checks the total number of red blood cells and the hemoglobin level (the oxygen carrying molecule in the blood, which is found inside the red blood cells). The red blood cell count and hemoglobin levels tell us whether your pet might be anemic (low red blood cell count, low hemoglobin level) or polycythemic (too many red blood cells, which may indicate dehydration and other disorders) and tells us quite a bit about the health of these cells and what might be happening in your pet's bone marrow, spleen or kidneys.
You might also want to know what the "hematocrit" is (also called the PCV or "packed cell volume"). This very commonly mentioned part of the CBC is a measure of the percentage of red blood cells in the total volume of blood. A high hematocrit percentage (over 45%) can indicate dehydration or an absolute excess of red blood cells (polycythemia). A low count usually assists in your diagnosis of anemia.
2) It also counts the total amount of and different kinds of white blood cells.
This paints a picture that explains which kind of white cells are in greatest abundance, along with their total numbers. This is crucial for an investigation of your pet's infection or inflammation status. We wouldn't want to do surgery––unless we HAD to––if these cells were elevated or significantly out of whack.
Neutrophils are the most abundant white blood cell type. When these are elevated we tend to worry about bacterial infections. With viruses, the total white blood cell count is commonly depleted. But these are simplifications. Try not to take them as absolutes.
3) Finally, it tells us about your pet's platelets.
These tiny bits of clotting proteins are crucial. Low platelet levels can be scary when it comes time to stop bleeding. You wouldn't want your pet to undergo surgery if these were low. Not only could she bleed to death, the low levels of platelets could indicate life-threatening diseases or serious infections (such as those spread by ticks).
4) The CBC may help identify, confirm or support common diseases or disorders.
Here's a brief list of these:
autoimmune diseases (like autoimmune hemolytic anemia)
blood cancers (certain lymphomas, for example)
kidney disease (as with chronic renal failure)
tick-borne diseases (like Ehrlichia or Lyme)
bacterial infections
viral infections (like Parvo or Panleukopenia)
bone marrow diseases
parasitic diseases (like hemobartonella in cats)
poisoning (Tylenol or onion toxicity, for example)
Here's a cool pic outlining these above components:
http://www.dolittler.com/2009/05/03/Blo ... istry.html
Turns out this topic is gathering some steam here on Dolittler––as it is in veterinary minds across the spectrum of companion animal medicine. That's why this topic requires a two-post treatment to properly address.
Though blood work is an increasingly common component of every pet's medical care, not every veterinarian will draw your pet's blood automatically. That's why you need to understand why we do so and what we hope to learn by gathering this kind of [sometimes expensive] evidence.
For your better understanding, here are the typical reasons we'll go so far as to poke your pet and recover their "red gold":
Because he's sick and we're unsure why or need more information about how his body is responding to a certain disease or process.
Because her disease is worsening or improving in ways we need to measure so that we can adjust our treatments (medications, etc.).
Because we're considering a treatment regimen for your pet that requires long-term medications that can do damage to pets with certain risk factors (such as pain relievers for osteoarthritis in pets with pre-existing liver or kidney disease).
Because your pet needs an anesthetic procedure and we want her to be as safe as possible throughout this process. Some diseases or disorders require that we change our protocols or defer anesthesia should they be present.
Because we like to keep an annual record of your pet's basic bodily functions and blood work is one way to objectively measure these. Keeping track of how these change is often crucial to how we optimize your pet's care.
That said, let me first reiterate: The most common kinds of blood work are aimed at comprehensively testing the body's functions and searching for signs of disease and disorder. They include the CBC (see yesterday's post) and blood chemistry (AKA, "chemistry" or "chem").
If the CBC (complete blood count) tests the blood cells themselves, the blood chemistry is all about testing the fluid the blood cells utilize to course through a pet's body. This fluid's components reflect the chemical elements utilized, filtered or produced by certain organs, thereby offering up information on their basic health and potential "dis-ease."
Makes sense, right?
More specifically, here are the "chemicals" we like to measure most commonly and why:
These elements indicate, in a general way, how well a pet's liver is functioning.
alkaline phosphatase ("alk phos," SAP or ALP)
Liver injury, drugs, bone injury, skeletal diseases, cancer, pregnancy and normal growth can all elevate this enzyme's level. Gastrointestinal diseases and endocrine diseases (like Cushing's) can also raise its levels. Too low? Protein and vitamin deficiency (and severe, end-stage liver disease) can deplete it.
alanine transaminase (alanine aminotransferase, ALT)
Toxins, drugs, liver damage and kidney infections can all raise it. Decreased bile flow can drop it (as when a liver is "congested"). Mild elevations don't stress us (in the absence of symptoms), but follow-up blood work is always necessary in these cases.
bilirubin total (T Bili)
Toxicity (poisoning), some forms of anemia and liver disease can all raise this measure of bile pigment (produced by the liver). Certain kinds of malnutrition, too-fatty diets and an end-stage, diseased liver may be accompanied by its low levels.
This protein is produced by the liver. As such, its depletion tells us something might be up with this organ. But malnutrition can do it, too. Fever, infection, burns, swelling and low calcium levels are also likely to drop albumin levels. While rarely elevated, severe dehydration may sometimes raise it a bit.
When we say we're testing your pet's kidney function with blood work, these are the most common tests we look at.
blood urea nitrogen (BUN)
Kidney damage is what we think of first when the BUN (usually pronounced "B.U.N.", not "bun") is up. But certain drugs, intestinal bleeding, excessive protein intake, dehydration and extreme exercise can raise it. When it's low, we tend to think poor nutrition, poor gastrointestinal absorption or even liver damage in some cases.
Because the kidneys are supposed to filter out this chemical, its elevation always points us in the direction of kidney damage or dehydration. Muscle breakdown (as with extreme exercise) can also flood the body with creatinine while certain drugs can impair the kidney's filtration of it. Confusingly, low levels may indicate kidney damage, protein starvation, liver disease, or pregnancy.
creatine kinase (CK, CPK)
This enzyme usually indicates either kidney trouble, dehydration or muscle breakdown, as with extreme stress, injury or exercise.
These individual elements are measured to determine the interaction of a myriad of complex processes. They may go along with certain illnesses or disorders and knowing their true value helps us guide our treatment options, especially when it comes to fluid therapy.
The pancreas is a sensitive gastrointestinal and endocrine (hormone-producing) organ that's easily insulted. Pets with high levels of the following two enzymes may be experiencing acute (sudden-onset) or chronic (long-standing) pancreatitis.
Got diabetes? Stressed? Depleted your blood sugar with seizures? Has your tiny-breed puppy suddenly collapsed? Has she perhaps eaten some poisons (like Xylitol)? Glucose is the go-to test for so many troubles it's impossible to list them all here. In any case, this "blood sugar" molecule, whether too high or too low, is a common indicator of mild and serious problems, alike.
total protein
Vomiting, diarrhea, liver disease, poor nutritional gastrointestinal malabsorption, dehydration will all raise it. Lupus, liver disease, chronic infections and leukemia will all drop it.
That's my summary. But don't be fooled: the complex interaction of components in the blood, coupled with other processes as they invariably are, may make interpreting these findings not-so straightforward (and that's an understatement). When one goes up, another may come down––and vice-versa.
That's why an understanding of these test results is a necessarily "holistic" process in which we take our individual patients' findings (on physical, CBC, other lab tests, X-rays and/or more sophisticated imaging) and put them all together. Even then, it's nowhere like it is on Star Trek.
Sigh...if I only had a Tricorder...


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Swimming Pool Blog
by Sean Griffin, May 31, 2009
It's not uncommon for pool owners to notice that water seems to be leaking out of their pool after opening it for the year. But where is the leak coming from? Let's take a look and see how to find and repair swimming pool leaks.
2. Swimming pool shell leaks
3. Normal evaporation or excessive splash
In order to determine whether or not the leak in the pool is in the plumbing or in the shell of the pool, you would isolate the plumbing. This means to plug all the holes in the pool. Plug the skimmer and the return fittings, cleaner fittings, vacuum lines, main drain (if possible) with expandable freeze plugs or threaded plugs.
- Bare spots on the plaster. Use a plaster mix to repair. Pool Plaster is waterproof, gunite is not.
- Underwater light fixtures. What leaks is not the fixture itself, but the conduit running from the light niche to the junction box. Use a cord stopper to repair.
- Leaks at wall return fittings. With pump turned off, again dye test for leaks.
If you have a vinyl lined pool, small holes can leak a lot of water. They are usually not too hard to find however. To locate a leak in a vinyl liner pool:
- Turn off pump and dye test around skimmer plate, and all wall fittings, underwater lights and drop in step, seat or spa sections.
- Inspect closely the corners of the pool, especially where the liner fits tightly. Look for dark spots or leaf debris stuck to the liner.
- Inspect any ladders to make sure ladder bumpers are in place and the ladder has not cut a hole through the pool liner.
- Look for areas of the sand which appear to have washed away or eroded.
- Look for slight staining on the walls, which may indicate rust through.
When you find the leak in a vinyl liner, make a good repair. If you can lower the water to the point of repair you will get a better bond. Use a patch that is rounded, and is several times larger than the hole itself. Clean and dry the area if possible and apply light pressure for 1 minute after patching, then keep fussing with the edges to keep them from curling up. Use Flexible Sealer to repair. Or you can use a vinyl patch kit. The clear patch material is easy to work with, but these tend to yellow over time, so a matching piece of your own vinyl is better, if you are fortunate enough to have kept the pieces they cut out for the skimmer and the returns, or have a sample piece.
Finally, we turn to pool leaks that are actually not leaks at all, but splash out and backwash water.
Backwashing....can't avoid it. Just don't overdo it so that you have to add water again. Some communities are now outlawing backwashing, instead requiring cartridge filters to be installed on all new pools. Of course water is used to clean cartridges as well, but maybe not as much as backwashing a sand or DE filter.
Splashout! No more cannonballs! OK, have fun, enjoy the summer and remember to be safe, and all you pool guys "Shut the Gate!"
Phoenix Pool Leak Squad Florida Pool Leak Busters Dallas / Fort Worh All Pro Leak Detection


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Potomac River Bass Fishing Reports and River Conditions - reports include tournament series and club results.
Share snakehead reports and questions.
Almost a new IGFA WORLD...
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Students seeking for job assistance will find here how to conduct a job search, references on resumes, cover letters and job interviews techniques.
Select below or in the left menu the the information you need:
Job Search - Guides you through the steps to the job search process. Links to LCC library materials and Internet links for researching businesses.
Job Postings - Frequently Asked Questions about student-employment, General and International Job Boards, E-mail Agents and Internships.
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You can also find here, specific job openings in your field of interest:
Also, don't forget to check CES NEWS for more information about news, events, job fairs and CES calendar.
TRIO Student Support Services can also be a good alternative if you are a first-generation college student.
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Commission rules out new law enforcement databases - but seeks more data for Europol
A communication from the European Commission published last Saturday states that the exchange of information amongst Europe's law enforcement agencies "generally works well" and that "no new EU-level law enforcement databases or information exchange instruments are therefore needed at this stage," [1] providing some relief to critics of what seemed to be an almost-endless expansion of European law enforcement database and computer networking projects.
However, whilst it puts a stop to the development of any new projects - including the European Police Records Index System, which would have given Member States' police forces the ability to search each other's records - [2] the Commission's communication is strident about the need for greater sharing of national data with Europol: "the time has come within the EU for a more coherent approach, one giving the Europol channel a central role."
With the revision of Europol's legal basis due next year, all the signs seem to point towards a significant expansion of the agency's ability to collect, retain and analyse vast amounts of data from across Europe and beyond.
Better implementation of information exchange instruments required
The communication examines a number of instruments used to ease the cross-border transfer of information: the Swedish Initiative, based on Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA and aimed at ensuring uniformity of treatment for all EU Member State police force requests for data; the Prüm Decision, which mandates the networking of national fingerprint, DNA and vehicle registration databases (a project currently seriously behind schedule); [3] Europol, the European police office whose work centres on the collection and analysis of vast amounts of information and intelligence; and the Schengen Information System (SIS), soon to be-replaced by SIS II. [4]
The communication also mentions the Customs Information System, Financial Intelligence Units, Cybercrime Alert Platforms, the Visa information System, EURODAC, and the proposed mass border surveillance system EUROSUR, although it neglects to mention the European Criminal Records Information System [5] and the forthcoming European Criminal Records Information System for Third-Country Nationals. [6]
Eschewing the need for new databases or instruments, the Commission says that "existing instruments need to be implemented," referring in particular to the fact that although the deadline for Prüm implementation was 26 August 2011, a significant number of Member States are not yet part of the national database networking project.
Similarly, the Swedish Initiative - a legislative framework rather than an information system - has "not yet reached its full potential." Although the majority of Member States have implemented national legislation that reflects the Swedish Initiative's principles (only Belgium, Estonia, Italy and Luxembourg have yet to do so), "it is in practice still not widely used. Reasons given include that alternatives are considered to be inadequate and that the request form is cumbersome (even in its 2010 simplified version)."
These calls echo those made in April this year in Council Conclusions on enhancing information exchange amongst law enforcement authorities [7] and give the impression of growing frustration within the EU institutions at the failure of Member States to implement tools regarded as indispensable to the creation of the EU's 'Area of Freedom, Security and Justice'.
"Convergence towards a single shared approach"
A diversity of "channels" are available to law enforcement authorities for information exchange, and the permissive legal framework surrounding them has provided the Commission with the opportunity to make recommendations that would see Europol's computer systems absorbing even more data from national authorities.
The main channels used by law enforcement authorities are: SIRENE (Supplementary Information Request at the National Entry) Bureaux, 24/7 offices used to provide further information via the SISNET network following successful searches in the SIS; Europol National Units, located in every Member State for the purpose of exchanging information with Europol or on a bilateral basis via SIENA (Secure Information Exchange Network Application); and the Interpol National Central Bureaux's I-24/7 network.
The channel used by law enforcement authorities for information exchange is "partly regulated by EU: SIS requests for post-hit supplementary information must be via SIRENE Bureaux, and information exchange with Europol via ENUs. Otherwise the choice is up to Member States."
This leaves the Commission free to suggest that the Europol channel should have a "central role". This would mean that "the Europol channel using the SIENA tool should become the default channel unless there are specific reasons to use another. Thus, for example, police cooperation requests currently made using SISNET (which will close when SIS II goes live) should in future be made using SIENA."
The Commission "disagrees" with Member States who "favour an approach that leaves wide flexibility to use different channels." Rather, "the development by all Member States of national rules on the choice of channel and their convergence towards a single shared approach would be better than the current dispersed approach."
Default use of the Europol channel is "justified by its advantages." For example:
"Europol Liaison Officers can be asked to intervene where necessary. SIENA [the tool used for exchange via the "Europol channel"] can be used for direct bilateral exchanges, but also facilitates sharing of information with Europol SIENA messages are structured, can handle large data volumes and are exchanged with a high level of data security. Data protection is enhanced by exchanging information in a structured format... The suggested approach is fully in line with the Commission's forthcoming proposal for Europol reform and with the European Council's strategic guidelines in the Stockholm Programme, which state that 'Europol should become a hub for information exchange between the law enforcement authorities of the Member States, a service provider and a platform for law enforcement services'."
Member States are invited to implement these suggestions, although the Commission's communication has no binding force. Suggestions involving information exchange with Europol seem likely to be included in next year's new Europol Regulation, while other proposals - for example, for all Member States to establish "a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) covering all main channels, available 24/7, bringing together all law enforcement authorities and with access to national databases - may require more legislation if all Member States are to meet the Commission's demands.
The Commission: enthusiasts for Europol
Europol staff have no coercive powers and the agency's strengths lie in its ability to collect and analyse vast amounts of information and intelligence - what could be called 'informational superiority' - and then make the results available to Member States' authorities for the purpose of joint policing operations.
The push by the Commission for greater sharing of data by Member States with Europol comes at the end of a year in which debates have been ongoing as to what scope and tasks the agency should be given in a new Regulation, which is due to be published by the Commission early in 2013.
Article 4 of the current Europol Council Decision, dating from 2009, sets out Europol's competences - "organised crime, terrorism and other forms of serious crime [including smuggling and trafficking of human and drugs, motor vehicle crime, forgery, computer crime, corruption, and far more] affecting two or more Member States in such a way as to require a common approach by the Member States owing to the scale, significance and consequences of the offences." [8]
Related offences - those committed in order to "procure the means", "facilitate or carry out" or to "ensure the impunity of acts in respect of which Europol is competent" - are also within the agency's remit. [9]
At a discussion in the Council's Standing Committee on operational cooperation on internal security (COSI) in March this year, "most of the delegations" were against suggestions by the Danish Presidency of the Council that Europol's competences could be widened. Instead they preferred "a deepening of the current competences." [10]
It was noted that Article 10(4) of the 2009 Council Decision "authorises [Europol] to receive and store for six months any contribution, even in the absence of any tangible link to a known form of crime. Thus, activities relating to e.g. environmental crime or offences against public health could be increasingly taken into account by Europol."
As for the possibility of creating a legally binding requirement for Member States to share cross-border information exchanges with Europol, "delegations did not see a need" for such a provision. Rather, they "preferred to explore how the information exchange could be improved within the existing legal framework." [11]
Undeterred by Member States' lukewarm reception of its ideas, two weeks later the Commission issued a paper to COSI pushing again for greater data collection powers for Europol. This time it suggested that "direct contact [between Europol National Units and] national competent authorities could be enshrined in the future Regulation," that "the future Regulation could also prescribe that ENUs must have access to relevant national law enforcement databases," and that "access by Europol to private-sector held information could notably facilitate the work of the Cybercrime Centre." [12]
April also saw the issuing of Council Conclusions on "further enhancing efficient cross-border exchange of law enforcement information" which invited Member States to "implement and fully apply all existing legal instruments for the exchange of law enforcement information", to establish Single Points of Contact, and "to further enhance the use of EUROPOL as channel for exchanging information." [13]
The EU's "criminal information hub"
The Commission's push to find ways to have more information passed from Member States to Europol is complemented by work undertaken by the agency over the past year, and work planned for next year, when it will spend over 3.5 million on new or improved information systems. [14]
These enhanced systems will be boosted by information obtained through "automatic data-loaders" which are currently used by thirteen countries [15], as well as a growing number of third states from which Europol can obtain information and intelligence. At the beginning of November, four new countries were added to "the list of third States and organisations with which Europol shall conclude agreements": Brazil, Georgia, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates. [16]
The agency is also hoping to conclude an agreement with Russia in 2013, a country where the police "shoot, beat and torture civilians, confiscate business and take hostages," [17] and where over the last two decades the security services "have acquired so much power they can neither control themselves nor be controlled" [18] Russia's lack of compliance with international data protection standards is currently holding back finalisation of the agreement.
In 2011, Europol, Member States and "external partners" received 222,135 messages via the SIENA system, an increase of 34% on the previous year. 200,000 "objects" were listed in the Europol Information System at the end of October 2011. [19] The Commission's suggestions made during the past year indicate that it is hoping to increase these numbers.
The communication was not published in time for a full debate on law enforcement information exchange at last week's meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council, which was "briefed by the Presidency about the implementation measures undertaken to simplify the exchange of information between law enforcement authorities." [20] More extensive discussions will continue next year within the Council.
Previous coverage
- 'Plans emerge for the collection of personal data outside European borders to obtain "comprehensive situational awareness and intelligence support"', Statewatch News Online, 30 October 2012
- '"Ambitious, yet realistic": Europol seeks to further increase its role in European policing', Statewatch News Online, 14 September 2012
- 'UK influence over EU internal security policy-making is "remarkable", says Europol chief', Statewatch News Online, 11 June 2012
- 'Europol boosts its reach, scope and information-gathering', Statewatch News Online, 1 June 2012
- Statewatch analysis: 'Europol: The final step in the creation of an "Investigative and Operational" European Police Force', January 2007
[1] European Commission,'Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: Strengthening law enforcement cooperation in the EU: the European Information Exchange Model (EIXM)', 7 December 2012
[2] Statewatch Observatory, 'IT Systems and Information Exchange for Police and Judicial Cooperation in the European Union Bookmark and Share'
[3] The communication notes of the Prüm systems that "implementation is seriously lagging"; See also: Statewatch Analysis: '"Complex, technologically fraught and expensive" - the problematic implementation of the Prüm Decision'
[4] See 'Small steps to big brother: The development of the Visa Information System and the Schengen Information System II is back on track', Statewatch News Online, August 2011; and Statewatch Analysis: 'From the Schengen Information System to SIS II and the Visa Information System (VIS): the proposals explained'
[5] Statewatch Analysis: 'Implementing the "principle of availibility"'
[6] 'Another EU database for migrants: the European Criminal Records Information System on Third-Country Nationals', Statewatch News Online, November 2011
[7] 'Draft Council Conclusions on further enhancing efficient cross-border exchange of law enforcement information', 4 April 2012
[8] Council Decision of 6 April 2009 establishing the European Police Office (Europol) (2009/371/JHA)
[9] Annex to Council Decision of 6 April 2009.
[10] 'Summary of debate on possible future user requirements for Europol', 12 March 2012
[11] Ibid.
[12] 'Revision of Europol's legal basis', 29 March 2012
[13] Ibid. at 7.
[14] '"Ambitious, yet realistic": Europol seeks to further increase its role in European policing', Statewatch News Online, 14 September 2012
[15] 'Europol boosts its reach, scope and information-gathering', Statewatch News Online, 1 June 2012
[16] 'Draft Council Decision amending the list of third States and organisations with which Europol shall conclude agreements', 12 November 2012
[17] 'Cops for hire', The Economist, 18 May 2010
[18] Susan Richards, 'Russia's security services: back in charge, out of control', OpenDemocracy, 27 December 2010
[19] 'Report on the annual accounts of the European Police Office for the financial year 2011 together with the Office's replies', 4 December 2012
[20] '3207th Council meeting, Justice and Home Affairs', 6-7 December 2012
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July 3, 2016, 10:43 pm
Deron Williams and the Mavs have agreed on a one-year, $10 million deal to keep him in Dallas.
We thought Williams would be seeking more years at the tail-end of his career but either nobody bit (likely) or he just wanted to start for a playoff contender one more time before his leverage is sapped. The one-year deal gives Dallas the flexibility to look elsewhere if they decide to rebuild, and it's a lot better than the three years and $12 million per year we thought he'd get. Williams might not be able to play more than 60 games and they'll have to manage his minutes, but he gives them a credible low-end option in the playoffs if they can get there.
Fantasy News
July 19, 2019, 9:59 pmLuke KornetPF-C, Chicago Bulls
The Bulls have officially announced the signings of Luke Kornet and Shaquille Harrison.
Kornet can provide threes and blocks as a backup big for the Bulls. He is currently behind Lauri Markkanen, Thaddeus Young and Wendell Carter Jr. but may be able to carve out some minutes for deep-league owners. Harrison will be fighting for minutes with the Bulls' plethora of point guards at the moment. If he can find some minutes during the season, he can be a source of steals as a player to stream or for deep leagues.
Source: Bulls.com
July 19, 2019, 9:24 pmRondae Hollis-JeffersonSF, Toronto Raptors
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Raptors.
Hollis-Jefferson's deal was originally reported as a minimum contract however it is now a $2.5 million contract which comes out of the Raptors' non-taxpayer mid-level. He will likely play some minutes behind Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka. He is capable of defending multiple positions and might be able to provide some deep-league value in rebounds, steals and blocks.
Source: Jeff Siegel on Twitter
July 19, 2019, 8:54 pmMike MuscalaPF, Oklahoma City Thunder
Mike Muscala has signed with the Thunder on a two-year, $4.31 million deal with a player option.
Muscala could step in with the Thunder to be their stretch four behind Danilo Gallinari or back up Steven Adams. He could potentially earn some minutes especially with Jeremi Grant no longer on the team. He averaged around 20 mpg in his last two seasons with the Lakers and Hawks, providing threes and blocks that were useful to deep-league owners.
Source: OKC Thunder Wire
July 19, 2019, 8:27 pmRussell WestbrookPG, Houston Rockets
Mike D'Antoni "would be disappointed" if Russell Westbrook didn't improve his 3-point percentage this season.
D'Antoni added, "I think we can do that. I think that just by knowing that that's kind of how we play and him having the green light to (shoot) and not worry about it." Westbrook shot just 29.0 percent from deep last season and has been under 30.0 percent in four of his last five campaigns, so there is definite room for improvement. It's possible that Westbrook will find more catch-and-shoot looks available next to James Harden, and moving away from pull-up threes could help him improve his efficiency, but we won't be able to tell for sure until we see the duo take the court in preseason. Improving his deep shooting would definitely help, but there are serious questions about the rest of Westbrook's stat set. Rebounds and assists may not be as available in a system that isn't specifically tailored to him, and free throws and turnovers still look like problem areas. It's not a bad on-court fit but Westbrook seems unlikely to return to his former top-30 glory.
Source: Salman Ali on Twitter
July 19, 2019, 8:14 pmJ.J. BareaPG, Dallas Mavericks
J.J. Barea (torn right Achilles) will be cautious in his recovery and will not play for Puerto Rico at the upcoming FIBA World Cup.
Barea expects to be ready for September's training camp but has decided that rushing back to play high-level international hoops would be a step too far. The tournament opens less than eight months after Barea sustained the injury, and he will instead focus his attention on getting ready for another season in Dallas. With the additions of Delon Wright and Seth Curry, it's unlikely that Barea plays enough to be worth your time in fantasy.
Source: Tim MacMahon on Twitter
July 19, 2019, 8:02 pmMatt ThomasPG, Toronto Raptors
The Raptors have officially signed shooting guard Matt Thomas.
Thomas will join the Raptors on a three-year deal after emerging as one of Europe's top shooters with Valencia last season. The Iowa State product hit 48.5 percent of his 3-pointers last season and is at a clean 47 percent in his two seasons in Spain. He should factor into the shooting guard rotation with Danny Green gone and is someone to monitor in deeper formats for his 3-point potential.
Source: Toronto Raptors
July 19, 2019, 7:56 pmTyson ChandlerC, Houston Rockets
The Rockets have announced the signing of Tyson Chandler.
Chandler is looking like the backup to Clint Capela and could be called on more in certain matchups, though he doesn't figure to play enough to support any worthwhile fantasy value. It's possible that Chandler holds appeal in deeper leagues as a rebounding specialist but that should be about it.
Source: Houston Rockets
July 19, 2019, 5:52 pmKostas AntetokounmpoPF, Dallas Mavericks
The Raptors are planning to claim Kostas Antetokounmpo off waivers, per Eurohoops' Nikos Varlas.
Blake Murphy of The Athletic reports that the Raptors were interested in adding Antetokounmpo last season, but had their plans dashed when Dallas took Antetokounmpo with the final pick in the draft. He's incredibly raw still, but has the physical build that the Raptors seem to love in their developmental projects.
Source: Nikos Varlas on Twitter
July 19, 2019, 5:38 pmB.J. JohnsonPF, Sacramento Kings
The Kings have waived B.J. Johnson.
Johnson had a decent showing in Summer League but never seemed likely to last in Sacramento given the team's depth at forward. After making seven appearances on a pair of 10-day contracts with the Hawks last season, Johnson will look to find more concrete footing in the league this season.
Source: Jason Jones on Twitter
July 19, 2019, 5:07 pmKostas AntetokounmpoPF, Dallas Mavericks
The Mavs have waived Kostas Antetokounmpo, per Shams Charania.
The youngest Antetokounmpo was Mr. Irrelevant in the 2018 draft but only appeared in two games with the Mavs last season. Dallas opens up a two-way contract slot and will likely find a more NBA-ready player on the market, while Antetokounmpo will look to latch on with another team for camp. Perhaps the 21-year-old can make it a family affair, with both of his older brothers playing in Milwaukee.
Source: Shams Charania on Twitter


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Vice President for Library & Information Technology
219 Bertrand Library
Param Bedi is the Vice President for Library and Information Technology at Bucknell University. He joined Bucknell in January 2008. Param is the chief strategist and visionary for comprehensive library/information technology planning and implementation in support of the University's mission. He provides leadership in creating an environment that energizes and extends library and technology support for the learning, teaching, scholarly and administrative needs of students, faculty and staff. He advises on all policy and investment decisions related to technology and library, working in close collaboration with the President, administration, faculty, students and University departments. He leads an 85 staff member organization at Bucknell.
Param serves on the editorial board for the Bucknell University Press. He also serves on the board of Keystone Initiative for Network Based Education and Research, KINBER. KINBER is a non-profit coalition of Pennsylvania's education, research, healthcare, economic development and other non-profit based communities. KINBER is lighting the way for new and innovative partnerships for its anchor institutions and members in the realms of digital resources, regional peering, telemedicine, high performance computing and network-centric information technology applications. Members will benefit from enhanced access to regional, national, and global research and educational networks with "built-in" opportunities for collaborations between members.
Prior to joining Bucknell University, Param served as Vice President for Technology and Library and chief information officer at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pa., near Philadelphia since 1999. At Arcadia, he also taught courses in finance, management information systems, math, and educational technology as an adjunct faculty member. He received his MBA in Finance and an M.S. in Management Information Systems from Temple University.


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Let Boy Scouts Make Own Decision
The Boy Scouts have helped millions of boys – gay and straight – during its more than 100-year history.
These are rocky times for the organization, however, as it finds itself the latest battleground between national liberals and national conservatives over the scouts' policies regarding gay scouts and scoutmasters. The scouts are considering opening membership to gay scouts and scoutmasters, with a decision expected in May.
The Boy Scouts have a much tougher road to travel than the Girl Scouts, whose official policies state the organization doesn't discriminate or recruit based on race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, national origin or physical or developmental disability. Official Girl Scout literature avoids any references to homosexuality and the organization does not allow advocacy or promotion of certain lifestyles.
Because the Girl Scouts' policy has been in place for decades, it will never have to face the political rancor the Boy Scouts is dealing with right now.
As Boy Scouts officials deal with pressure from the left and the right, several unflattering options to handle the diversity issue have been suggested – none of them very good.
The creation of an alternative scouting for gay youth, an idea gaining traction nationally, isn't an answer. History has proven that separate but equal accommodations such as those used prior to the 1960s is a bad option. Separate but equal as much an abomination now as it was then – and creating separate accommodations for gay scouts is a dangerous precedent to set.
Another option discussed is the national organization simply letting the local councils make their own determination about admission of gays. This option would be too divisive to be practical. It would put local scouting officials in an impossible situation of deciding admission policies and make scout activities involving multiple jurisdictions a circus, much like sports leagues in the 1960s in which some Southern teams refused to play opponents that had too many black players.
The Boy Scouts' have a right, as a private nonprofit organization, to adopt and enforce its own rules. The U.S. Supreme reinforced that right recently, in 2000, when it upheld the organization's dismissal of an openly gay scout volunteer. The right of private groups to set their own membership parameters has been upheld by the Supreme Court for decades – and that shouldn't change.
There is no middle road for the Boy Scouts. The national organization's choice will disappoint someone.
That is a choice for the organization, and no one else, to make.


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OSC AnswersI tell my writing students that every character is the hero of his own story,
and that's what I proved. At first Bean was refreshing an old series for me, but by
the time I was finished with the book he had a complete life of his own. The goal
was to write something that was more like Ender's Game than the sequels had
been to satisfy audience demand. I would have gotten someone else to write
within the Ender universe if the numbers had worked out. But because the
Ender's Game movie hasn't been made yet, we couldn't afford the kind of write
that I wanted. We could, however, afford me. I have to say that going back and
doing the parallel novel was an artistic challenge. I've learned a few things since
1985, so I was hoping that I would write a better book than Ender's Game. I think
I did.
OSC AnswersTo children, life is real. They don't think of themselves as cute or sweet. I
translate their thoughts from the language available to children into the language
available to adults. Every fear or terror that a child feels is more important, more
real than it is to an adult, and children are every bit as complex. Childhood cries
out for a certain amount of suffering. Whatever misfortunes and negatives are
available become very important and dark. One of the reasons the story of
Ender's Game resonates so much with children is that it's the kind of life they
already think they lead. The adults don't take them seriously, that's all.
OSC AnswersI hate black and white representations of good versus evil, that's so boring.
When a character comes upon a case of right and wrong and chooses to do wrong,
that shows you he's the kind of jerk who'd do that. My characters wrestle with
real moral dilemmas where all the choices have steep prices. If they make the
selfish choice, then I show the consequences. I'm not trying to teach that lesson,
though it underlies everything I write.
OSC AnswersI show my characters having a religious life when appropriate. One of the
great deceptions of contemporary media is that nobody talks or thinks about God
when in the real world most people do. In the Shadow books I have a character
who's a nun because that's mildly interesting and she fills a role. She talks about
religion with Bean, and he doesn't buy it. The banter between them amused me
and seemed truthful.
OSC AnswersIf I wish to have my books placed at the same quantity, SF is where I have
to write. I do write books out of genre that don't get placed the same way, so
apparently that's not by sole motive. The truth is, SF is the most powerful genre
available right now. Mainstream literature is so stultifyingly rigid. I just don't
want to talk to people who believed everything their English teachers told them. I
want to reach people who read books for the sheer pleasure of it, because those are
the people who are open to having their lives changed by what they read.


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It's beginning to look like there's an economic shipwreck dead ahead. That plunging stock market is the wealthy passengers, trampling the children as they rush headlong toward the lifeboats. The nation's capital, the bridge of our ship of state, lies abandoned.
The officers have gone to their quarters, the wheel's left unattended, and nobody's trying to turn the ship around. If you're not sounding the alarm, you aren't paying attention. And it looks like a lot of people aren't paying attention.
Rough seas
Sure, this month's jobs report is slightly better than the last couple of months, but that just means the drowning passengers are a couple of inches closer to the surface. That's not much comfort to them, since they're still drowning, but it seems to cheer up the ship's officers. Now that Congress has concluded its debt-ceiling deal they've all gone home.
The President's economic advisor, Austan Goolsbee, is plaintively whispering the words "unemployment insurance" to their receding backs, but it wasn't important enough to be included in the deal. And the "bipartisan" mantra forced Goolsbee to mention two free-trade deals in the same breath. That's like throwing a brick to a drowning sailor, rather than a life preserver.
Of course, the jobs figures would be heartening if they meant that things were moving in the right direction. But there's no reason to believe they are. Real unemployment, as opposed to the official number, is still devastating. Today's improved numbers aren't nearly enough to make up for increases in the work force, much less to make a dent in real unemployment. And the misguided debt deal is about to cost us millions more jobs.
The illusion of good news is actually a problem, since it relieves our leaders of the political pressure that's needed before they stir themselves into anything resembling action.
Scrambling for the lifeboats
The rest of our little ship's in equally lousy shape. We had the worst run of stock prices since the worst of the crisis in 2008. It has looked perilously like a new disaster several times during the course of the week. And we're not in the clear yet. The market rebounded slightly, but it's still way down. The waves are crashing over the stern, and European instability could bring on another crisis at any time.
Investors understand that the debt-ceiling deal makes new spending on jobs and growth more difficult, and yet doesn't do much to stabilize the government's finances, so they're convinced things are going to be grim for the foreseeable future. In fact, it's gotten so ugly that high-dollar corporate investors are hoarding cash rather than investing the money. That's putting a strain on banks, who have to insure their deposits. One bank has already started charging its clients for keeping large amounts of cash in their bank accounts.
What's next – a 2% surcharge for paying cash rather than using a credit card? (Ssshh. Don't give them any ideas.)
Investors aren't convinced that the government has solved its own deficit problems. And it hasn't. The best way to stabilize the government's finances is by taxing the wealthy at more normal levels, investing in growth, and then addressing spending issues once people are back at work and a) paying taxes and b) not in need of government help.
Down in the fo'c'sle
The real misery isn't in the captain's quarters, of course. It's down in the fo'c'sle, that forward part of the ship where the ordinary sailors live and work. That's also the part of the ship that hits an iceberg first. That's where unemployment is deep and ongoing, where middle class families have lost most of their wealth, and where those in need are about to face devastating cuts.
What can be done? The Federal Reserve could step in right now and make more cash available. It could create a fund to be used for specific types of lending. The Fed did a lot of unconventional things in 2008, after all, including a quick legal maneuver that allowed Goldman Sachs to be treated as a bank. Where there's a political will, there's a way.
So why can't the Fed do some new unconventional things in order to meet its other mandate — the one that says it needs to keep unemployment low? Or it could act more conventionally, as Dean Baker suggests, by raising inflation and easing some of the crushing debt faced by homeowners. Why doesn't it do any of these things? Because the reverse is also true: Where there's no political way, there's no way. Remember that when the talking heads tell you that Ben Bernanke's hands are tied. It's not true.
Thar she blows!
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said it more plainly than anyone else. He patronizingly told the country that he explained to his tiny daughter that financial crises are something that happens every five to seven years – and, he no doubt added, "only to other people.' Their lifeboat is secure and ready. How's yours?
Five-to-seven year cycles are pretty much the norm in under-regulated banking economies like the one Dimon and others are successfully fighting to retain. On our economic ship, most of us are merely ballast. And since the last crisis was three years ago, wwe're likely to be deep in the middle of this ongoing jobs and housing crisis when the next wave hits. And instability around the world is making it seem as if that next crisis could come earlier than expected – perhaps much earlier.
We should have all hands on deck right now, repairing this economic wreck and fortifying ourselves for the coming threat. But the government has turned the wheel into the storm, gone below decks for a drink, and decided to hope for the best. We're headed into the teeth of a disaster, and the soft murmurs of the political class are nothing more than the sound of the orchestra playing "Nearer My God to Thee."


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MIDWEST (Illinois, Kentucky) / CALIFORNIA EXPORT LILACS AND LACE STUNS ASHLAND FIELD AT 48-1 – Lilacs and Lace, dismissed at odds of 48-1 despite stakes success in Northern California, led most of the way and held off Wyomia in the stretch to score a major upset in Keeneland's 74th running of the $400,000 Central Bank Ashland Stakes (Grade I) and earned a start in Churchill Downs' $1 million Kentucky Oaks (GI).
Favored Kathmanblu, the favorite in this year's Kentucky Oaks Future Wager, finished third before 23,155 fans.
Owned by James Covello, Judy Hicks and Kathryn Nikkel and trained by John Terranova, the daughter of Flower Alley won by a length under jockey Javier Castellano and covered 1 1/16 miles on the synthetic Polytrack course in 1:42.73.
"We talked about it before the race that if she broke well, to take it from there," said Castellano. "She had a perfect trip."
Lilacs and Lace won the Jan. 1 California Oaks at Northern California's Golden Gate Fields for trainer Duane Offield, but she was turned over to Terranova after Covello purchased a majority interest in the filly. She finished fourth to runaway winner Summer Soiree in Turfway's Bourbonette Oaks (GIII) in her debut for her new barn.
Trainer Ken McPeek blamed a wide journey for Kathmanblu's loss, which snapped a string of three straight stakes wins.
"She just got hung too wide to beat the winner," he said. "She just never had the chance to get inside and save ground."
Bouquet Booth finished fourth, and was followed by Grand Style, Draw It, Delightful Mary, Excited and second betting choice Dancinginherdreams. The John Ward Jr.-trained Dancinginherdreams, the winner of last fall's Pocahontas (GII) at Churchill Downs, lost for the third time in as many races in 2011.
SOUTH (Arkansas, Louisiana) / JOYFUL VICTORY ROLLS AGAIN IN FANTASY – On the far turn, Sunday's $300,000 Fantasy Stakes (GII) at Oaklawn Park looked like a match race between unbeaten Arienza and Honeybee (GIII) winner Joyful Victory, but it didn't take long to see that Arienza, and maybe no 3-year-old filly, is a match for Joyful Victory.
Mike Smith urged the Fox Hill Farm filly past Arienza in upper stretch and easily pulled away to seven-length victory in the 1 1/16-mile prep for the Kentucky Oaks. The gray daughter of Tapit, who won the Honeybee by 8 ¾ lengths for trainer J. Larry Jones, finished the Fantasy's 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.74. Holy Heavens was third in the small field of four fillies.
Joyful Victory could become the third straight Fantasy winner to win the Kentucky Oaks, following Blind Luck (2010) and Rachel Alexandra (2009). Fox Hill's ill-fated Kentucky Derby (GI) runner-up Eight Belles won the 2008 Fantasy.
EAST (Maryland, New York) – HOT SUMMER SURPRISES IN COMELY – Harold Queen's Florida-based Hot Summer rallied from just off the pace and rolled to a 2 ¾-length victory in the $150,000 Comely (GIII) at Aqueduct.
The David Fawkes-trained Malibu Moon filly waited patiently before bursting through an opening in upper stretch and rushed clear under Jockey Luis Saez for her third win in five career races. Hot Summer, a nominee to the Kentucky Oaks who is coming off a fifth-place finish in the Davona Dale (GII) at Gulfstream Park, pushed her career earnings to $158,000.
Her Smile finished second, favored Ava K. was third and R Holiday Mood finished fourth.


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Van Gogh Oil Colors have been developed for artists who are searching for quality and exceptional value. These paints are particularly easy to mix and work with because all colors in the range have virtually the same degree of gloss and viscosity.
Color Swatches created using heavy application/medium application/50% tint and were applied on acrylic primed canvas (7 oz) material.
polychlorinated copper(II) phthalocyanine
C32H3Cl13CuN8 to C32HCl15CuN8 or C32H16CuN8Cl15 (PG7) or C32Br6Cl10CuN8 (PG36)
Phthalo Green is a transparent, cool, bright, high intensity color used in oil and acrylics. It comes from a Phthalocyanine Blue pigment where most of the hydrogen atoms have been replaced with chlorine, forming highly stable molecules. It has similar pigment properties and permanence to Phthalo Blue. It is slow drying and an excellent base color for mixing a range of bright greens. Phthalo Green is considered a very good alternative to Viridian because it is intense and mixes well and can be used to emphasize mineral colors in various tints. However, its tinting strength is very high, so it can overpower other colors. This pigment most closely resembles the discontinued and toxic Verdigris.
Phthalo Greens are completely lightfast and resistant to alkali, acids, solvents, heat, and ultraviolet radiation. They are currently used in inks, coatings, and many plastics due to their stability and are considered a standard pigment in printing ink and the packaging industry.
Phthalo Green has no significant hazards, but it contained PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) until 1982.
This bright blue-green was developed in 1935 and has been in use since 1938.
Bocour Green, Cyan Green, Intense Green, Monastral Green, Phthalocyanine Green, Rembrandt Green, Thalo Green, Winsor Green.
iron(III)-oxide, partly hydrated
Fe2O3(• H2O)
Brown Ochre provides artists with earthtones from cream to brown and is a dull, dark variety of Yellow Ochre. Its transparency varies widely from opaque shades to more transparent ones, which are valued for their use as glazes. It has good hiding power, produces a quick drying paint, and can be safely mixed with other pigments. The highest quality Brown Ochre comes from Cyprus, where it is yellow in its raw form and is roasted to get the deeper brown-red varieties that result when water is removed. (See Yellow Ochre, PY42/43.)
Brown Ochre has excellent permanence.
Brown Ochre is non-toxic.
Ochre comes from the Greek word ochros, meaning pale yellow. It has been used since prehistoric times, and evidence of its use has been found in some of the earliest known cave paintings in Lascaux, France. It has also been called Goethite, after the German philosopher and mineralogist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832).
Goethite, Yellow Ochre.
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James Clark
James Clark's Details
James Clark's Likes
I like to work-out and keep my body in shape.Inovating, trusting my wild side ,sometimes dominant . I introduce myself as a genuine man.
My Fantasies
I'm an open minded person! I like interactive sex and using the imagination the feel pleasure and be connected to you! Don't like fake things or fake persons!
My Obsessions & Desires
My fetishes are lot of is hard to chosse what i like mostly,Sometimes i like simply fetishes or mix bewteen different fetishes
Additional Info
I fantasize a lot, mostly about public places - the idea that somebody can catch me is such a turn on for me!
Special Info
All my shows are a something unique. I'd love to dance and strip for you!
My Fetishes
Anal, Cock Teasing, Domination, Feet, Leather, Muscle Worship, Role Play/Costumes, Rope Play, Training
Role-Playing Scenarios
Bad Cop/Good Cop, Dirty Talk, Master / Slave, Pirate/Captive
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Hi all,
Hoping that someone is able to provide some information about my watch. I bought it a couple of years' ago, for me to eventually give to my son when he's a little older (but for me to enjoy for a little while yet given he's only 3 now!).
There are no markings on the outside of the case, but the inside and the movement are marked (per the photos). After a service after I initially bought it, it keeps perfect time so I'm very happy.
I'm not asking for an understanding of the value, would just like to know a little more of the history and era of the watch.
Thanks to anyone who can provide any information.