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This week's US attempt to kill a radical Islamic cleric in Yemen, via a drone attack, indicates that the Obama administration is capitalizing on political unrest there to extract intelligence about the terrorist group Al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula.
The drone strikes on Thursday, aimed at American-born Anwar al-Awlaki, missed their intended target but killed two brothers affiliated with the Islamist terrorist group, after Mr. Awlaki and a traveling companion switched vehicles with them. The US has been targeting Awlaki since the 2009 "Christmas Day underwear bomber" plot, one of the attempted attacks on the US in which officials say he had a role.
Unlike the attack in Pakistan earlier in the week that killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the US strikes in Yemen were conducted with the full knowledge and cooperation of the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Indeed, the Yemeni government is asserting that it provided the US with key intelligence about Awlaki.
RELATED: Top 5 attacks linked to Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki
"The Yemeni government gave the US authorities vital details of Awlaki's whereabouts … days ago," a senior Yemeni security official told The Wall Street Journal.
The burst of cooperation appears to be a bid from the Saleh government for greater US support as it struggles to hold onto power. Yemen is among the Arab states that have seen mass protests this year from citizens demanding greater freedom – and an end to decades of rule by autocratic leaders. Mr. Saleh, who has led Yemen since a military coup in 1978, now finds himself clinging to office.
A US official told the Journal that information about Awlaki has indeed been more forthcoming since the domestic uprising began – and that Saleh has sought to win greater US political support in return. The US has backed a proposal by Gulf Arab mediators to ease Saleh out of power within a month – a deal that Saleh himself now appears to be resisting.
If Awlaki has become a pawn in Saleh's bid to stay in power, it's not clear what the US would do for Yemen's president in return. The US has expressed concern that Yemen, already overseen by a weak government, could become even more of a haven for Al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which the Obama administration now considers to be the most active terrorist organization.
The Saleh government is emphasizing that risk. A local Yemeni security official told AFP that Al Qaeda fighters in south Yemen on Saturday raided a farm owned by the president. One jihadist was killed and two wounded in the ensuing firefight, the official said. He said armed men had also launched a mortar attack on a riot police post, an army camp, and a telecommunications building in Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan Province, but caused no casualties.
Still, the US would be taking a risk, too, to stick with Saleh in the face of the popular uprising, in which some 150 people have died since January. The Monitor's Erik Stier reported this week that "with Saleh's regime's pushed to the brink of collapse, Yemen is in a poor position to rein in extremist activity – including the sort of retaliatory attacks against which the US is seeking to guard its citizens."
Whatever the long-term political outcome of Saleh's newly robust cooperation with US forces in seeking out AQAP, the US acted quickly after obtaining information about Awlaki's whereabouts. According to The Wall Street Journal account, on Thursday "the U.S. launched two separate attacks within 45 minutes aimed at Mr. Awlaki in the southern province of Shebwa."
The three rockets in the first strike missed the pickup truck in which Awlaki and a Saudi were traveling, the report said. Two Yemeni brothers known to harbor militants rushed to the scene, and Awlaki switched vehicles with them, leaving the brothers in the pickup. A single drone then hit the pickup truck, killing the brothers, and Awlaki and the Saudi escaped in the other vehicle, according to the report.
The US is not known to have attacked AQAP inside Yemen since last May.
Awlaki, born in New Mexico, is believed to have been living in Yemen since 2004. Though he is an American citizen, the Obama administration has taken the unusual step of adding him to the CIA target list, saying he is tied to several terrorist attempts, including the Fort Hood mass shooting in Texas in November 2009, the Christmas Day airline bomb plot in 2009, and the Times Square car bomb plot in May 2010. He is said to be a senior, but not a top, AQAP leader. American operatives see him as an inspirational figure who recruits English-speaking militants to attack US interests at home and abroad. He disseminates his sermons and anti-American views widely on the Internet, where he has a large following.
RELATED: Top 5 attacks linked to Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki


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Testimony given by Arthur Fried, SSA General Counsel, from the 10/27/1999 Hearing on the "Federal Agency Complience Act".
This hearing was held before the House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Administrative and Commercial Law
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
I am pleased to be here to discuss the Social Security Administration's views on H.R. 1924, the "Federal Agency Compliance Act." At the outset, we want to make two important points. First, we want to assure you that no legislation is needed in this area with respect to the Social Security Administration (SSA) because SSA follows circuit court holdings that conflict with the Agency's interpretation of the Social Security Act (the Act) or regulations unless we decide to relitigate and publish a notice in the Federal Register as provided in our regulations. Second, this legislation would harm Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claimants and programs because it would result in inconsistent decisionmaking by SSA adjudicators.
On the first point, when a U.S. Court of Appeals issues a decision on a claim for Social Security benefits, or SSI payments, and SSA determines that the holding in the decision conflicts with its interpretation of the statute or regulations, it either issues an Acquiescence Ruling, changes its national rules or seeks further judicial review. SSA's regulations require it to quickly issue Acquiescence Rulings and identify the cases of other claimants who may be affected by the ruling. Partially through the urging of this committee, SSA has continuously been improving this process. Last year, the Agency issued regulations with the goal of publishing Acquiescence Rulings within 120 days and we have been complying with these regulations.
On the second point, the legislation under consideration, would allow SSA's 32,000 decisionmakers to interpret Circuit Court decisions as soon as those decisions are issued without waiting for an Acquiescence Ruling. Court decisions are frequently broad in nature with little guidance as to how they should be applied to any fact situation other than the facts at issue in the case. On the other hand, Acquiescence Rulings provide specific guidance as to how a Circuit Court decision should be applied to a myriad set of fact situations in the circuit involved. Therefore, Acquiescence Rulings ensure consistency among the Agency adjudicators. For these reasons, in H.R. 1924, the last sentence of sec. 2(a) adding sec. 707(a), "All officers and employees of an agency, including administrative law judges, shall adhere to such precedent," should be deleted.
Below is a description of SSA's appeals process, its acquiescence regulations, and the Social Security Administration's views on H.R. 1924.
A person who is dissatisfied with an initial determination, may pursue an appeal through SSA's administrative appeals process and the Federal courts. The Act requires the Commissioner to provide a claimant the opportunity for a hearing, and allows for filing of a civil action in Federal court after the Commissioner's final decision. SSA's regulations also provide an opportunity for final review after the hearing by SSA's Appeals Council.
The administrative appeals process provides a de novo hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ) who can call on medical or vocational experts, if needed, to help evaluate the evidence. Usually the claimant obtains legal representation at this point. Frequently, new evidence is introduced by the claimant and his or her representative, often at the hearing itself. Claimants are allowed to appear before the ALJ and to call witnesses.
The final administrative appeal is before the Appeals Council which may grant, deny, or dismiss a request for review of the ALJ decision. It will grant review if the ALJ decision contains an error of law, is not supported by substantial evidence, involves a broad policy issue, or if there appears to be an abuse of discretion by the ALJ. After an Appeals Council action, if the claimant is still dissatisfied, the next step is filing a civil action in Federal court.
Only a small number of the cases affirmed by district courts are appealed to the circuit courts. In the overwhelming majority of the 521 circuit court decisions rendered in FY 1998 on Social Security cases, either SSA received an affirmation of its position (384 cases, 74 percent) or the claimant's case was dismissed (52 cases, 10 percent). Circuit courts remanded 73 cases (14 percent) for further action. When the circuit court does not uphold the Agency's decision, it is usually based on a finding that the evidence does not support the decision or that our decisionmakers failed to follow or incorrectly applied our national rules.
Rarely, on average three or four times a year, do the courts of appeals issue a decision with a holding that conflicts with SSA's interpretation of the statute or regulations. When such a conflict occurs, SSA generally issues an Acquiescence Ruling. In rare cases, it seeks further judicial review. This has been the Agency's practice since 1985. The formal codification of this practice in regulations in 1990 essentially ended criticism by the courts of SSA's practice regarding failure to follow holdings of courts of appeals. This change in position by the courts is evidence that the legislation under consideration is not necessary.
Acquiescence Rulings explain how SSA will apply the decisions of courts of appeals that it determines contain a holding that conflicts with its national rules for adjudicating claims. SSA applies the Court of Appeals holding, as explained in the ruling, to other cases involving the issue at all levels of adjudication in the same circuit unless the holding, by its nature, applies only at certain levels of adjudication. Acquiescence Rulings are published in the Federal Register and are effective upon publication. They are binding on all SSA components unless superseded, rescinded, or modified by another published ruling.
Last year, SSA issued revised regulations to ensure that Acquiescence Rulings are developed and issued promptly and that pending claims which might be affected by an Acquiescence Ruling are identified as soon as possible. These final regulations were published in the Federal Register on May 6, 1998 and supplemented longstanding rules and practice of appropriately applying the holdings of the Court of Appeals. The regulations fully protect the interests of claimants sought to be protected by H.R. 1924, by providing for:
• Early identification by SSA of claims potentially affected by a Court of Appeals' holding;
• Self-identification of claims or cases by claimants or their representatives as being potentially affected by a Court of Appeals decision;
• Expeditious issuance of an Acquiescence Ruling (with a goal to publish an AR in the Federal Register within 120 days after receipt by SSA of the Court of Appeals decision);
• Individual notification by SSA to previously identified claimants that an Acquiescence Ruling has been issued and that they have a right to request re-adjudication under the Acquiescence Ruling;
• Limits on when SSA will re-litigate an issue after publishing an Acquiescence Ruling; and
• Consistent application of SSA's rules because all adjudicators will receive the same guidance on how to apply the holding.
H.R. 1924, the Federal Agency Compliance Act, is not needed to mandate that SSA follow Court of Appeals decisions because SSA already does.
SSA opposes the provision in H.R. 1924 that represents a fundamental shift in the role of the Commissioner in administrative jurisdiction. A core concept of administrative law is that Congress and the Commissioner set the Agency's rules and adjudicators find the facts and apply the established rules to those facts. By requiring each of the more than 32,000 individuals who rule on SSA claims (including, but not limited to, ALJs) to individually apply their own interpretation of Court of Appeals decisions without guidance from the Commissioner, would greatly undermine fairness and consistency in our decisionmaking process.
If each of SSA's thousands of decisionmakers were responsible for interpreting circuit court holdings, it could result in conflicting decisions by different decisionmakers, even within the same office. SSA would have no way to ensure uniform application of eligibility standards as required by law, leading to further litigation. Indeed, SSA would have no mechanism to ensure that Agency rules are consistently applied since, under this approach, it would be each adjudicator's role to interpret circuit court decisions for him or herself. SSA, the claimants, and the courts might not even know what adjudicatory standard was applied.
Such a requirement would also greatly confuse claimants. One person's claim could be decided one way, while a neighbor's identical claim could be decided a different way; i.e., a different interpretation of law might be applied to the same or a similar set of facts and could result in different outcomes. Not only would this be unfair, it would undermine public confidence in the decisionmaking process and lead to an increase in the number of cases appealed at all levels of review. It could also increase administrative costs and processing times. In contrast, SSA's timely issuance of ARs ensures that all adjudicators apply the same rules fairly and consistently.
SSA's current regulations ensure the consistent application of Agency rules. Claims that could be affected by adverse Court of Appeals holdings are identified as soon as possible. The interpretation of the circuit court's holding and its consistency with SSA's interpretation of the statute and regulations is appropriately determined after careful scrutiny by SSA officials who have a broad understanding of the national program. All this is within the framework of our regulatory goal of publishing an Acquiescence Ruling in the Federal Register within 120 days after receipt of the Court of Appeals decision. In addition, after a Court of Appeals issues a decision, the Agency has 45 days to petition for rehearing, and 90 days to seek certiorari after the decision (or after the denial of rehearing). SSA's timeframe for issuing acquiescence rulings, therefore, corresponds with the time that is taken in deciding whether to seek further judicial review in court.
Additionally, we oppose the provision in H.R. 1924 which would require government officers to ensure that the United States not engage in "unnecessarily repetitive litigation" by continuing to litigate an issue of law that has been resolved against the government by three or more Courts of Appeals. SSA must be able to appeal a decision which it determines conflicts with the Social Security Act or its own regulations. Moreover, the Supreme Court has recognized the propriety and salutary effects of the government's continuing to litigate decisions previously decided against it by other Courts of Appeals.
In nearly every court term, the Supreme Court has issued a decision rejecting rulings of three or more Courts of Appeals. Since the Supreme Court has demonstrated this willingness to revisit issues on which the Courts of Appeals are largely in agreement, SSA should continue to have the discretion to seek further review when such issues are involved. Experience shows that Federal Agencies and the Department of Justice act with restraint in the exercise of this discretion. Limiting SSA's ability to continue to litigate issues in the manner stated in H.R. 1924 unduly restricts the Commissioner's ability to determine Agency rules. Another major concern is accurately determining when three circuits have litigated an issue of law. The facts and scope of judicial review in similar cases are seldom identical and can be subject to disparate interpretations.
SSA strongly supports the adjudicator's responsibility to impartially find the facts, apply Agency rules to them, and issue a decision. Nonetheless, it remains the responsibility of Congress and the Commissioner to decide what the eligibility standards and rules are. The Commissioner's duties also include interpreting the statute as well as deciding whether a circuit court holding conflicts with SSA's national rules and, if so, how that holding should be applied in deciding other claims within the applicable circuit. This is vital in order to maintain decisional consistency not only within a particular adjudicatory level, but across levels as well—which is a key goal in our efforts to obtain similar results in similar cases at all levels of SSA adjudication. Allowing the Commissioner to state the Agency's rules via the timely issuance of Acquiescence Rulings is the best way to ensure that Constitutional and statutory requirements are properly and consistently applied and that the Agency can be held accountable for any failure to do so.
In closing, we are proud of SSA's current record in applying circuit court decisions. SSA's regulations for issuing Acquiescence Rulings constitute a successful and balanced exercise of our responsibility to administer the vast and complex Social Security benefit programs in a manner that is least burdensome to our claimants and preserves our ability to maintain national uniformity in program administration and adjudication. SSA strongly believes that H.R. 1924 is not only unnecessary, but its provisions would undermine the consistent and fair administration of complex programs that are vital to so many people.

subset: commoncrawl


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A Natural Approach to Erectile Dysfunction that Improves Vascular HealthNovember 2009
By Robert Haas, MS
Aging individuals become very enthusiastic when they discover something that produces an immediate result.
Life Extension® members often send us samples of dietary supplements they claim have enhanced their sexual performance. These members are elated that a purported "natural" product produces such striking erection-inducing benefits and want us to inform other members.
When we try these products, we find most of them do indeed work! After we assay these products, we disappointingly find out why they are so effective.
It turns out that unscrupulous supplement makers are spiking herbal preparations with prescription drug ingredients found in Viagra®, Levitra®, or Cialis®.
What you need to know
So when we started getting calls about another "natural" male sex product, we were skeptical. We were impressed that five different clinical studies documented the efficacy of the nutrient combination, but we wondered, is this just another drug-spiked product pretending to be a dietary supplement?
As expected, we observed the same remarkable benefits reported in the clinical studies. What amazed us, however, was that our assays did not detect any prescription drug residue in this supplement.
Based on its underlying mechanisms of action—backed by solid scientific data—it would appear that this nutrient combination not only produces a rapid improvement in male sexual function, but may also confer significant benefit to the vascular system as well.
Erectile dysfunction is often associated with coronary artery disease.1
A nutrient formula that improves male erectile capability may very well protect against heart attack and stroke as well. This article describes the science behind this drug-free male sex enhancer.
Erectile Dysfunction Associated with Vascular Disease
Mainstream doctors generally resort to one of three FDA-approved prescription drugs (Viagra®, Cialis®, or Levitra®) to treat patients suffering from mild erectile dysfunction (ED)—with mixed results. As Mayo Clinic professor of urology Dr. Ajay Nehra recently told the New York Times, "the medications do not work for about half of the men with ED."2
Although these drugs may help some men with ED to achieve temporary erections sufficient for sexual activity, they do nothing to treat chronic endothelial dysfunction, one of ED's stealth causes.
The unfortunate reality is that many aging men remain unaware of the link between ED and vascular disease. They go to their doctors seeking help for sexual dysfunction, get a prescription, and leave with no idea of the creeping health dangers that may lie in store for them.
These dangers are real. "Erectile problems may show up about three years before a cardiovascular event such as a heart attack or stroke," Dr. Ira Sharlip reported in the same New York Times article.2
Prescription drugs for ED can cost as much as $15 per pill.2 They are often accompanied by an array of side effects ranging from indigestion,3 flushing,4 blurred vision,5-7 hearing loss,8,9 congestion,10 and headache11 to more serious health problems, from neurologic disorders12 to heart attacks.3,13
These drugs provide short-term relief to ED sufferers by relaxing the smooth muscles that line the arteries, thus increasing blood flow into arteries that supply the penis. In those instances when ED is the result of plaque buildup in penile arteries, these drugs offer no long-term benefit.
For men interested in achieving optimal health—including dynamic sexual health—a better option is now available.
A Unique Strategy to Support Endothelial Health—and Restore Potency
Researchers have developed a unique natural strategy for management of erectile dysfunction that includes a blend of Pycnogenol® (French maritime pine bark extract) and L-arginine aspartate, an amino acid chelate; combined with icariin, a flavonoid compound used in Chinese herbal medicine.
The interaction of these three ingredients creates a unique strategy that promises to tackle erectile dysfunction from multiple angles.
The nutrients' underlying mechanisms of action are innovative yet elegantly simple. Here's how it works: to get an erection, you need adequate blood flow. This requires the relaxation of the smooth muscle in the arteries of the penis. The chemical compound nitric oxide triggers this process of relaxation, increasing the blood flow to the penis required for an erection.
Endothelial cells are responsible for nitric oxide production. They release nitric oxide synthase, an enzyme that catalyzes the production of nitric oxide from L-arginine. This process is essential to maintaining an erection. Dysfunctional endothelial cells, disabled by plaque buildup, can no longer produce enough of this enzyme.30
Pycnogenol® stimulates endothelial nitric oxide synthase to produce nitric oxide in the artery linings from the amino acid L-arginine, yielding sufficient bioactive nitric oxide to maintain an erection.31 At the same time, icariin acts to block the enzyme responsible for causing erections to subside, known as phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5).32
Interestingly, these nutrients not only promote erections, but also enhance male fertility and endo-thelial health. In other words, numerous distinct modes of action work together to produce a broad array of clinically proven health benefits. Meanwhile, prescription erectile dysfunction drugs such as
Viagra® support penile erection primarily by blocking the action of PDE5, without delivering any other benefit.
Pycnogenol® and L-arginine Aspartate: A Clinically Proven, Long-Term Alternative to ED Drugs
The efficacy of Pycnogenol® and L-arginine aspartate has been tested in five independent clinical studies. All of these studies showed that male sexual function was restored during supplementation with these ingredients.33-37 Patients also reported an increase in sexual dreams and fantasies and more frequent morning erections. Their partners noted higher sexual interest and enhanced sexual performance.38
The first clinical trial to report successful treatment of erectile dysfunction with Pycnogenol® and L-arginine aspartate involved 40 men between 25 and 45 years of age suffering from mild ED. After treatment with arginyl aspartate (which provided the equivalent of 1.7 g L-arginine per day) for one month, only 2 patients (5% of all patients) experienced normal erections. During a second month of treatment, 80 mg Pycnogenol® per day was added to the arginine regimen and yielded a significant improvement, with 32 patients (80%) enjoying normal erections. A third month's treatment with L-arginine, together with an increased amount of Pycnogenol® (120 mg per day), further increased the number of patients with restored normal erectile function. At the end of the trial, 37 patients, equivalent to 92.5% of all participants, achieved normal erectile function.35
A second clinical study examined 50 middle-aged men with low testosterone levels who suffered from ED as well as from poor fertility due to impaired sperm motility and morphology.36 Men were given 3 g L-arginine aspartate and 120 mg Pycnogenol® plus 120 mg testosterone undecanoate over a period of 11 months. A statistically significant 76% of men achieved normal sexual function and this effect was sustained during the entire treatment period. The researchers found that this treatment improved sperm quality and quantity at the end of the 1-year treatment and an astounding 40% (20 of 50 patients) achieved fertilization.
A third study—this one a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study—evaluated the effects of Pycnogenol® and L-arginine aspartate on spermatozoa parameters in 50 middle-aged men diagnosed with infertility.37 Investigators found improvement of sperm quality in all participants, with better results in younger men. Study results confirmed that this treatment improved sperm parameters in men with infertility.
A fourth clinical study, which used a randomly allocated, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design, examined 50 middle-aged men with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction who were treated for one month with placebo or with Pycnogenol® and L-arginine aspartate.33 Study participants recorded their sexual function/dysfunction in diaries. Investigators monitored testosterone levels and endothelial nitric oxide synthase levels along with routine clinical chemistry. Treatment with Pycnogenol® and L-arginine aspartate for one month restored erectile function to normal, and intercourse frequency doubled. Investigators found that endothelial nitric oxide synthase in spermatozoa and testosterone levels in blood increased significantly, while blood cholesterol levels and blood pressure were lowered.
The fifth clinical study used a randomly allocated, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.34 It examined 50 infertile men who were treated for one month with placebo or Pycnogenol® and L-arginine aspartate. Investigators tested semen samples at four-week intervals and found that treatment with this formula significantly increased semen volume, concentration of spermatozoa, percentage of motile spermatozoa, and percentage of spermatozoa with normal morphology compared with placebo treatment. Intake of Pycnogenol® and L-arginine aspartate for one month restored the fertility index to normal values. After treatment, the fertility index decreased again to infertile status. No adverse events were reported.
Researchers believe that improving the quality of spermatozoa from infertile status to a normal fertility index could be caused by two mechanisms: the first is that Pycnogenol® in combination with L-arginine aspartate inhibits the peroxidation of the lipid membrane of spermatozoa, thereby improving the morphology and motility of spermatozoa. The second action could be that these ingredients enhance sperm motility and function by stimulating the activity of endothelial nitric oxide synthase. Both mechanisms, perhaps acting simultaneously, have been shown to improve the quality of spermatozoa.


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The new law, the last bit of which was signed into law this past week, is a clamp down on freedom of independent speech by a right-wing government that has a better than two-thirds majority in Parliament. As a critical editorial in the Washington Post explains, the law:
"creates a powerful Media Council with the authority to regulate newspapers, television, radio and the Internet. The council may issue decrees and impose heavy fines - up to $950,000 - for news coverage it considers "unbalanced" or offensive to "human dignity."
It will also require bloggers and websites to be officially registered. I'm not sure what will be the repercussions of this part of the law. For instance, will bloggers who offend the government risk having their registrations revoked? Even if they aren't, the law stands to create a climate of self-censorship among those who should be speaking truth to power, as underscored by the OSCE.
As far as I can tell, this won't affect me, as it takes specific aim at electronic publishers in Hungarian language. I may write about Hungarian matters, but mainly in English language, which I reckon gets me off the hook. To be honest, it kind of feels like a snub, although I don't take it personally. It seems the government doesn't care much about the English language media or criticism from abroad. At any rate, with the law coming into effect on January 1, we'll soon see what sort of government oppression I'll be missing out on.


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If this new poll from the Associated Press is any indication, Republicans have mixed feelings about the presidential race. On one hand, 60 percent of Republican say that they are satisfied with the people running for the nomination, which is down from the 66 percent in October. This isn't a great number, but it isn't a sign of widespread disappointment, and it dovetails with polls from Gallup that show a broad preference for sticking with candidates that are in the race, rather than reaching for someone new.
That said, only 40 percent of Republicans say they have any interest in the race, which is down from 48 percent in December. Some of this comes from election fatigue—constant coverage can result in people losing interest. What's more, the race has stabilized considerably since January, and has probably lost some of its excitement. The general election should energize Republicans, since they'll have a nominee and a direct competitor, in the form of President Obama. Even still, the low level of excitement must concern GOP activists—the closer Republican turnout is to 2008 levels, the more likely it is that Democrats hold the White House.
The AP poll also had a note on Rick Santorum, who has been the center of political attention for the last several weeks. According to the survey, 70 percent of Republicans have a favorable impression of the former Pennsylvania senator. There is a gender gap, but it runs in the other direction—75 percent of Republican women have a positive view of Santorum, compared to 66 percent of Republican men. This is a sign, perhaps, that Santorum's anti-contraceptive rhetoric won't be as big a liability with conservative women as once thought.
Of course, this poll was taken before the Romney campaign set its guns on Santorum, so it will be a little while before we know how he has withstood the onslaught.


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I went on Saturday to the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival & it was fantastic, but Sunday was the day that I will remember for all my days. My sister & I arrived early in the morning to make sure we had a good seat at the stage where the Avett Brothers would play later that evening. They were the ones we wished to see most of all, but we were eager to see everything that the festival had to offer.
When the Felice Brothers came on, expectations were low. I'd heard of the band from New York in passing, but was not sure of what they had to offer. What they had to offer was a brilliant collection of songs that came across as a hybrid of Bob Dylan, The Band & Tom Waits. We marveled at their presence & we enjoyed them without reservation.
Then came on Moon Alice & we were less enthusiastic about their performance. They were from a bygone generation of Dead Heads that didn't appeal to my or her generation*. They spoke of doing hallucinogenic drugs & of playing with the Grateful Dead throughout the world. I must put this out there that I have a strong distaste towards the Grateful Dead & Jam bands in particular. It's great if you're on acid, but if stoned or drunk it does nothing but wear on one's patience. Since I've never tried any psychedelic drugs (unless you consider pot as such) I couldn't relate.
*My sister & I are 15 years apart, but oftentimes, if not at all times, she is the voice of reason.
Boodge (what my sister will be heretofore referred to as) & I decided to eat lunch. The sun came out for a spell & we basked in its glory, however short lived & we were asked by a young hippie what we were eating & where we could get it. Whole Foods, that corporate conglomerate that brilliantly markets itself to nonconformists was the answer & she brimmed with near luminescence at the suggestion that we didn't propagate one of the other corporate establishments such as: Safeway, Raley's or Lucky's. As if this corporation was better than the others because it had a better global strategy to make more money by being the organic food headquarters, by being morally just to follow laws about fair trade & by not being afraid to hire those, nay encourage their employees (male or female) to have dreadlocks & beards. A brilliant corporate strategy & one not lost on those that have the power of literacy.
I, however, could care less about any of that. While being a concerned global citizen, my main objective is selfish to be true. I want the best price I can find for my buck. Sure I can get a cup of coffee for a buck & Winchell's**, but Starbuck's offers the facilities to sit & write this diatribe for $1.95 so I'm getting more for my money. That, my friends, is economics.
**That is assuming I'm not dating myself & Winchell's is still around.
After we consumed our hummus & flatbread thing with Spinach we left our blanket & ice chest at our little spot & headed off to wander to the various booths of food & merch before going to see Randy Newman. Randy Newman was uproariously funny. Cracking jokes in-between songs & we laughed as if seated in a comedy club. It was half way through the set that I became distracted by a curious Groundhog, named Gunther by Boodge. He would come up eat a little grass, peer out over the crowd & scurry back into his hole. Shy, but not overly so it didn't take him to long to become comfortable with me & eat leaves right from my hand.
After Randy Newman's set, which included scattered boos for playing "I Love L.A." we headed off to see Elvis Costello, one of the larger draws of the show. We got a spot on a hill about a mile away, which was great for about five minutes until the sheer masses of people began to crowd around us & the young Boodge's claustrophobia got the better of her. Five songs & we headed off to the Avett Brothers stage. Declan MacMannus would have to wait for another day.
As we walked over, Boodge felt a desire to apologize for her ailments. How heartless must one be to want to subject someone they care about to such deplorable a condition as thousands of people pushing against you & making you terribly uncomfortable. Apologies weren't necessary as I was none to happy to subject her or myself to something thoroughly unenjoyable.
We caught the Yonder Mountain String Band & they made us dance with a joy that is usually reserved for weddings, funerals & bar mitzvahs. Banjos, fiddles & an accordion ruled the hour as we lost all inhibition to what others may think. We had never heard their music before, but it didn't stop us from enjoying them as if they were our hometown band making a trip through one last time.
After they finished we anxiously awaited the band we wanted to see most of all. Boodge wanted them to play "Colorshow" more than anything & wouldn't you know they came out & led with it. The tempo was set & we lost ourselves in the music. They played songs from their newest album, their older albums & a cover of Doc Watson's "Blue Ridge Mountains". The throngs of people made it even better as we belted out the lyrics as though we'd written them ourselves. We sang with reckless abandon as well all peered out over the haze of fog & marijuana smoke that permeated the festival atmosphere.
As if on cue when "Salina" came on we danced like Native Americans dancing for rain & when the lyric "The rain it fell, the story went on. The rain it fell & we got gone" came we all screamed it as a steady drizzle fell in the valley of trees where the stage was situated. Epic is a word that I throw around, sometimes too often, but that is what the scene was in a word. The energy put into that set left us speechless. After an hour & a half of singing & playing their hearts out the boys from North Carolina left the stage to pure love & affection.
In that moment, where we all sang "I & Love & You" & the Avetts left the stage we genuinely felt it. It was nothing but admiration, thankfulness & love for giving us an experience. There are things that have stuck with me in my life, the births of my sisters, niece & nephew, my father's passing, the first time I saw Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney & Bad Religion. This was one of those moments where time stood still & 100, 000 voices on the ground, in the trees, on hills sang in unison to the heavens. No violence, no strife as the free festival carried through three days of peace due to the benevolence & generosity of Warren Hellman.
As we left the excitement was palpable & life was good. We were throughly exhausted, but it was the good kind. The kind that makes you know that the thing you just witnessed was magical & will be a story that never grows old. We were there, like it was Monterey '67 or Woodstock '69. We watched these artists give us joy & in turn we gave them love & admiration. Our lives were forever changed by music & why shouldn't it be music that changes lives. Why must life always be changed by negative things? Why can't that those moments of joy stay locked in our cranial cavities like money in a safe only coming out when we feel the need to share. It was a glorious day!


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Get Noticed for Your YOUnitedTM Fighting Spirit
Order personalized event shirts - and more - to show off your amazing team. Proceeds are donated to the American Cancer Society.Shop Strides Gear
The American Cancer Society would not be successful without the help of our generous donors and volunteers. Because of you, we've been able to fund life-saving breast cancer research studies, crucial patient care programs, and education and prevention initiatives that have helped thousands of people across the globe. That's why it's so important to participate in your Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event and fundraise - because when you do, you help save lives from breast cancer.
Team Leaders
Team leaders can help make Making Strides events successful. The first thing to do is recruit friends, family and anyone you want to spend a day with to be team members. Then just set fundraising goals, organize fundraising activities, and, on the day of the event, lead your team through a fun walk day.
If you don't want to lead your own team, you can join an existing team, join as an individual or volunteer at the event. However you choose to become involved, we'd love to see you there.
Our Making Strides Against Breast Cancer events depend on volunteers to be successful. Share your time so that no one has to face a breast cancer diagnosis alone. As a volunteer, you may help with check-in, water stations, information, and much more. To learn about volunteer opportunities in your area, sign up now or call 1-800-227-2345. If you want to help us save lives from breast cancer, volunteer.
Survivors and Caregivers
Survivors are the heart of Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. And thanks to our partner, Zeta Tau Alpha, the survivor experience at our events is more exciting than ever. From recognizing and honoring survivors to coordinating special activities, the love of ZTA and our Making Strides staff shines through, creating an amazing day for everyone.
All survivors are welcome to join in the activities, even if they don't want to join a team!
The American Cancer Society wouldn't be able to act on its mission without generous people like you. If you'd like to make an independent donation, here's how:
You can make a meaningful contribution to the American Cancer Society as a local Making Strides Against Breast Cancer sponsor. Supporting a local event sends a message that you care about your community. If you or your employer is interested in sponsoring an event, please send us your information by completing the form below.
American Cancer Society Partners Against Cancer is a comprehensive employee engagement program that recognizes an organization's level of investment in our signature events through team fundraising, sponsorship, matching funds, cause marketing, and in-kind donations.
Get Noticed for Your YOUnitedTM Fighting Spirit
Order personalized event shirts - and more - to show off your amazing team. Proceeds are donated to the American Cancer Society.Shop Strides Gear
This isn't what I wanted.
Welcome to our Team Page. We've formed a team because this cause is important to us. We want to help. And walking and raising money in our local American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event is the best way we can do that. We all have different reasons for participating but we share a determination to help save lives from breast cancer.
There are so many ways that the money our team raises helps. It's helping fund innovative research. It's providing free information for people dealing with the disease. It's providing rides to treatment and places to stay for people who have to seek treatment far from home. In short, our money is helping save lives. Consider donating to our team and helping advance the cause.
How We Support the American Cancer Society
Of course we walk in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event. And we solicit donations from family, friends, and other supporters. But we also schedule fundraisers in lead-up to the big event. Bake-sales, car washes, and countless other types of events. And we promote those on social media, through Facebook and Twitter, by word of mouth, and through flyers at work and around the neighborhood. The success of fundraising events depends on two things - hard work and getting the word out. And we're out to do both. Keep an eye out for our fundraising events.
Join us. Donate today. Or walk with us.
This tool allows event managers to edit sections of the event website. Here's how:
It's that easy! Throughout the year, we'll unlock more sections and add features to this tool in order to improve your ability to manage your event website.
Visit helpme2.cancer.org/event-support/msabc.html for website management resources.


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How do I get rid of shiny skin with Lightroom? - Photography Stack Exchange most recent 30 from photo.stackexchange.com 2019-09-20T02:46:42Z https://photo.stackexchange.com/feeds/question/3141 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/rdf https://photo.stackexchange.com/q/3141 12 How do I get rid of shiny skin with Lightroom? Wilka https://photo.stackexchange.com/users/40 2010-09-07T22:28:03Z 2015-09-16T08:19:18Z
For photos taken with my Point & Shoot camera, the flash often leave people in the photo with a 'shiny skin' effect. Other than not using the flash (or at least moving the flash off the lens-axis), what's the best way to reduce the shiny skin effect with Lightroom?
 https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/3141/-/3144#3144 1 Answer by jrista for How do I get rid of shiny skin with Lightroom? jrista https://photo.stackexchange.com/users/124 2010-09-08T00:09:41Z 2010-09-08T00:09:41Z
Intriguing question. Only way I know how to solve this "well" is with a circular polarizer filter attached to the lens, however I am not sure if this is possible with a P&S.

If you wish to try fixing the problem somewhat with Lightroom, I would try using the selective editing brush (the last tool on the right under the histogram). With this tool, you can essentially "paint on" a variety of color and tone settings. You could try painting on "Highlight Recovery" just in the areas where you need it, leaving the rest of the image unaffected. I am not sure if this will solve the problem, and you might need to tweak some other settings such as color temperature and/or saturation, as recovery has the tendency to shift colors when a single primary (such as reds/yellows in skin tones) dominate.
 https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/3141/-/3145#3145 4 Answer by Nick Bedford for How do I get rid of shiny skin with Lightroom? Nick Bedford https://photo.stackexchange.com/users/609 2010-09-08T00:25:17Z 2010-09-08T20:52:44Z
For this photo of my brother and his girlfriend, I used the brush with brightness set to about -10 or -20 (very subtle) with a large feather and the clarity at about -35%. This smoothed out any little specular bumps on their skin and brought down the shininess of the highlight themselves. I'm sure there might be better ways but I ended up with something that I think looks much better.

This was taken on a Canon 50D with the 18-55mm kit lens using the in-built flash.

Here's the original.

 https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/3141/-/3148#3148 4 Answer by mouviciel for How do I get rid of shiny skin with Lightroom? mouviciel https://photo.stackexchange.com/users/1296 2010-09-08T08:21:21Z 2010-09-08T08:21:21Z
The old way of solving this problem, I mean before digital post-processing, was to apply foundation cosmetics on the model face. This is still used for TV shows.
 https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/3141/-/3168#3168 3 Answer by Davy Landman for How do I get rid of shiny skin with Lightroom? Davy Landman https://photo.stackexchange.com/users/245 2010-09-08T21:53:09Z 2010-09-08T21:53:09Z
Although you could fix this problem in lightroom with reasonable results, you can fix it when taking the picture.

The flash is too hard and overexposes certain parts of the face (and reflects in the eyes), a easy fix is to diffuse the intensity of the light, sometimes this is possible by tweaking the flash intensity but what always works is just put a piece of thin paper in front of your flash. I've advised this to some friends with a P&S and the results are very noticeable and some of them now have a white paper taped in front of the flash.

You should check that the warmth produced does not burn your paper, and if you have a popup flash, you could try the DIY diffuser using a old film canister idea.


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Despite the fact that Millennials are coming of age in one of the most difficult economic climates in the past 100 years, a recent Nielsen global online study found that they continue to be most willing to pay extra for sustainable offerings—almost three-out-of-four respondents in the latest findings, up from approximately half in 2014.
The rise in the percentage of respondents aged 15 - 20, also known as Generation Z, who are willing to pay more for products and services that come from companies who are committed to positive social and environmental impact was also strong—up from 55% in 2014 to 72% in 2015.
"Brands that establish a reputation for environmental stewardship among today's youngest consumers have an opportunity to not only grow market share but build loyalty among the power-spending Millennials of tomorrow, too," says Grace Farraj, SVP, Public Development & Sustainability, Nielsen.
But younger generations aren't the only ones who say they care, so don't abandon Baby Boomers in the quest for Millennials. Fifty-one percent of Boomers (50-64) surveyed are willing to pay extra, an increase of seven percentage points since last year. This segment will remain a substantial and viable market in the coming decade for select products and services from sustainable brands.
Among global respondents willing to pay more, statements about product sustainability purchase drivers were 10 to 13 percentage points higher than the global average percentages for these statements. Attributes such as a company being environmentally friendly (+13 pp), a company being known for its commitment to social value (+13 pp) and a product being made from fresh, natural and/or organic ingredients (+12 pp) ranked the highest in the comparison. Statements about price-driving product attributes like sales and coupons didn't even make the top five among those willing to pay more. For those willing to spend more, the findings show that personal values are more important than personal benefits, such as cost or convenience.
"When it comes down to financial commitment, a sustainable sentiment shifts to one of increased social awareness and responsibility," said Farraj. "Marketers need to connect messaging with the causes that matter most to consumers and that also align with their brand."
Other findings from the report include:
For more detail and insight, download Nielsen's Global Corporate Sustainability Report.
The Nielsen Global Survey of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability was conducted Feb. 23 - March 13, 2015 and polled more than 30,000 online consumers in 60 countries throughout Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East/Africa and North America. The sample includes Internet users who agreed to participate in this survey and has quotas based on age and sex for each country. It is weighted to be representative of Internet consumers by country. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. However, a probability sample of equivalent size would have a margin of error of ±0.6% at the global level. This Nielsen survey is based only on the behavior of respondents with online access. Internet penetration rates vary by country. Nielsen uses a minimum reporting standard of 60% Internet penetration or an online population of 10 million for survey inclusion. The Nielsen Global Survey, which includes the Global Consumer Confidence Index, was established in 2005.


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You are Here: Home » Store Home » ACCESSORIES » TERMINAL ADAPTOR KITS
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Aspects of the Kibo network are patented, patent-pending, or patent-applied-for.


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February 16, 2012
My Worst Date
Total People in Discussion: 4
Categories: Current Affairs
I promised to share the story of My Worst Date. As it happens, I published it more than 20 years ago in a column that ran only in selected editions of the paper, then repeated an abridged version 12 years ago to encourage readers to report on their own worst dates.
Here's my story:
Junior Prom.
Are there two more chilling words in the English language?
Twenty-one springs after my junior prom, the grim memories still rush back for me every year when trees, flowers and wrist corsages begin blooming around the Lehigh Valley. The greasy tuxedo, the torn gown, the tin foil walls, The Sweat Glands From Hell. The $5,000 cuff links.
Misty water-colored memories of the worst night of my life.
My tuxedo was robin-egg blue, with a matching ruffled shirt that made me look like a member of Paul Revere and the Raiders. My shirt came without cuff links, so my father offered me a pair of his, noting in passing that they were studded with diamonds and worth $5,000. Numb with nervousness, I accepted them without considering the consequences.
Somehow, during the drive to my date's house, I got automobile grease all over one sleeve of my tuxedo. I have no idea what happened; maybe I blacked out and rotated the tires.
My date, Sharon, was an attractive sophomore with a Southern drawl and a tan like a golf pro. I had just moved into town that year, and we essentially had never met -- through friends, she let it be known she would be willing to attend with me, and I asked her in a brief encounter at a local hangout.
We had nothing in common, and since I was a conversationalist on the order of Frankenstein, it quickly became apparent that we were not going to hit it off. It was a brutally hot night, and by the time we arrived at the high school, my nervousness and the heat left me looking like someone had thrown me in a swimming pool.
The cafeteria walls were covered with Reynolds Wrap, suitable for cook- ing us like baked potatoes. A glittery sign announced the theme: The Impossible Dream.
I stammered an invitation to dance, but as we began shuffling around the floor, I somehow stepped on her gown and tore it, sending her to the bathroom near tears.
Sharon kept disappearing throughout the night, presumably to re-pin her dress, but also, I suspected, to escape the tense silence and the prospect of tripping the light fantastic again with a partner who was more Munster than Astaire. At some point, we posed for a photo that my parents thoughtlessly framed and displayed for years to come, a nagging reminder of disaster.
We attended a party afterward, but the change of surroundings was no help. My mind was like a computer tape wiped clean by a magnet, and she finally blurted out, "Why won't you talk to me?" I took her home in mute disgrace, consoled only by the knowledge that it was over.
But a final disaster awaited me, as I discovered when I peeled off my perspiration-soaked tuxedo. One of the $5,000 cuff links was missing.
I frantically searched the lawn and car for the $2,500 missing link, without success, until retreating to my bed in utter despondency. I curled up in a fetal position later popularized by Jim Bakker and tried to sleep, but it was hopeless. I hid in bed until dinner time the next day, tortured by thoughts of my father's likely reaction and of my social ruin.
When I stumbled to the dinner table and made my confession, he surprised me by chuckling. He was just kidding about those cheap cuff links being valuable, he said.
Heh, heh. What a card.
That evening, as my friends and I gathered to play basketball, we compared prom experiences, and I discovered that The Impossible Dream had been a nightmare for them, too. Comforted by these partners in misery, I found my depression lifting.
The following spring, we made our own plans. On the night our classmates gathered for the senior prom, my friends and I gathered to play Risk, the game of world conquest. As the confident ruler of most of the Southern Hemisphere, I found myself chuckling at the petty problems that had paralyzed me a year before.
And when my armies finally encircled the globe, I issued my first decree as King of the World:
No more junior proms.
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Current Comments
We substituted an all night poker game, but RISK is a viable alternative.
Posted By: DON | Feb 18, 2012 5:02:46 AM
All night poker would do it.
Posted By: bill white | Feb 18, 2012 12:25:18 PM
I can hear Bill laughing about the cuff links!
Posted By: Ellen | Feb 21, 2012 3:04:36 PM
Ellen, until he read the article, I think he had no idea what he had put me through!
Posted By: bill white | Feb 21, 2012 3:26:37 PM
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This just seems to be a sad week for all Visual-Kei music fans. Today, Sophia of Blood Stain Child has announced on her Ameblo that she will be departing from Blood Stain Child. Her announcement is below.
It's been almost two years since I joined BSC.
I can't say time passed that quickly.
Those two years, including almost one year of preparations, were full of work, creativity, constantly moving from place to place with countless airplanes, trains, buses along with my beloved suitcase and my best friend: myself.
It felt like going back to school. I studied hard indeed and I learnt many important lessons. No cheating, no copying from the person sitting next to you.
Always with honesty and truth being my guides. It might sound like the most difficult way to choose in this industry, but I see it as the only way for me.
This is why I came to the decision to leave the band, which I believe is for the best interest of both BSC and me.
There's been a lot of inevitable changes, which were beyond anyone's control, but which I believe were the catalyst that brought me to another level, both as a person and subsequently as an artist.
It was a challenge that I gladly accepted, in order to go to the next step.
I remember in the beginning, when I was asked to join the band, I was a closet musician who had never played with a band or gone on stage before.
Although I was scared of failure, somewhere deep inside I knew I would make it in the end.
Of course I had to push my limits every day and fight my personal demons one by one, but I believe that in the end I passed the exams.
This might have never happened, though, if it wasn't for everyone who believed and trusted me: the band, my friends and of course each and every one of you.
I met lots of amazing people during this fantastic journey, I made many new and precious friends, together with everyone I created lots of unforgettable memories and I saw many places and lots of colourful, smiling faces. I honestly feel grateful, for all those memories, whether they involved smiles or tears. I believe everything happens for the best and evolution is the ultimate goal, in the end of the day.
The end…which is a new beginning, dressed as sadness sometimes. Let this be temporary, because bright days lie ahead!
I'm sure all the members of BSC will never stop chasing their dream and nor will I.
Lastly, I would like to say sorry to all the fans and everyone involved for this sudden turn of events, but all of you who've been following me along the way, know that I'm not a person who gives up halfway through, or before I've done everything within my power. We shall meet again soon.
Thank you from the bottom of my alien heart.
Sending you lots of love and light
No information has been released on whether or not there will be a farewell concert/tour or when her official departure will occur. We will keep you updated with any further information.
Source: Ameblo, Facebook
Tags: BLOOD STAIN CHILD


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We've all misread a few trends in life, some of which evolved into forces that drastically changed lives and entire industries.
Thirty years ago, who would have thought that the roughest, most mismanaged, cedar-infested grassland in the Flint Hills of Kansas would bring as much or more at auction than well-managed parcels? A lot of this market pressure results from the spillover of disposable income from urbanites looking for recreational ground, combined with some pretty reasonable interest rates.
And what about the increasing effect of energy costs on agricultural production? We used to just shake our heads at the cost of fuel, but now we're witnessing the effects of society's need for SUVs competing with our need to feed livestock (ethanol).
Why do I ramble about these things in a column on cattle health? It's because I see just as dramatic a change in store for how your cattle will be valued.
Health-based marketing
Programs linking cattle buyers and sellers on the basis of health are our future. More than just a way to add a few dollars per head, health status is about to tip over to a dominant factor in selling cattle to stockers, backgrounders, and feeders.
I'm talking about more than a preconditioning program or using the right vaccines in cattle. It's about producing cattle that can maintain health in the face of production pressure.
Just because your calves stayed healthy on the ranch during a preconditioning period, doesn't mean they can maintain that health during a more intense feeding period. Sure, we can mess things up in the feedlot with the wrong feed program, commingling, inadequate facilities and bad weather, but what about the cattle that still maintain their health in the face of such challenges?
Historically, our industry has focused on health in the form of production loss and treatment costs. It's been demonstrated that being treated for respiratory disease can knock an average of 0.2 lb./day off of gain; and it's easier than ever to get lots of money tied up in treating cattle. Treating sick cattle also requires labor, which we all know is expensive and hard to find these days.
But, more importantly, the factor that will really tip the issue of calf health into a dominant factor is that health will dictate the ability of cattle to fit into production programs where the consumer (actually the marketer) has dictated that certain disease-control or treatment practices are unacceptable. Do you think these programs will remain a small portion of the industry, or that different forms of these programs won't evolve?
Another factor is the attempt at legislation that seeks to limit our ability to treat ill animals by drastically reducing our choices for antibiotic therapy. We've watched these bills course around Congress the last few years as if we were perched high on a safe ledge watching the wolves below. History shows we can get run over if we assume that logic and science will dictate the actions of Congress.
This column's take-home message is that paying attention to how your cattle stay healthy after they leave your place will prepare you for the next generation of the cattle industry.
Selecting for health
What about adding evaluation of health history (both direct and of progeny) to your breeding stock selection criteria? I've watched people dismiss the health data from bull tests as: "Oh, they just happened to get sick." Well, why did they get sick when others didn't? Is that heifer that survived a severe case of scours or respiratory disease really the one you want to keep in your herd, regardless of her other genetic attributes? Can you ask about health history when purchasing replacements?
Buyers are looking for more than cattle that are apparently healthy at the time of sale; they're looking for cattle that stay healthy the entire feeding period. Preconditioning programs are just the beginning. Don't live under the illusion we now have the vaccines and antibiotics to make all cattle equal, and that cattle buyers aren't keeping track of health by source. The ability to link origin and health performance is rapidly evolving.
I predict that the gap between cattle with demonstrated health performance and the "others" will dramatically increase over the coming years. Think back to when you first heard about these trends through comments like:
"Did you hear what that scrub ground brought at auction?"
"Did you see the new gasohol pump at the Handymart?"
"Look at what the cattle brought at the preconditioned sale."
Don't miss this one.
Mike Apley, DVM, PhD, is an associate professor in clinical sciences at Kansas State University in Manhattan.


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Self-help law center
County resources
Directory of self-help legal resources in Wisconsin counties
Circuit court sites
Municipal court sites
Clerks of circuit court directory - Arranged by county. Find addresses and phone/fax numbers.
How court staff can help
The Wisconsin State Law Library maintains a site of additional county-related information.


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A Weekday Morning Hot Air Balloon Flight & Champagne Toast is a luxury experience and a must for anyone who dreams of flying! Reach heights of up to 3,000 feet and toast the occasion afterwards!
First of all you will meet your pilot and be briefed for safety aboard your balloon. You will then help to inflate the balloon with the other flyers then it's off, up and away to experience the sights of the surrounding area from a whole new perspective. Upon landing you will help to pack the balloon away and toast your journey with a glass of champagne! Then it's back to the launch site to receive your certificate to commemorate this extra special day.


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Alexander Ivanovich Medvedev (Russian: Александр Иванович Медведев; Aleksandr Ivanovich Medvedev) (born 14 August 1955 in Shakhtyorsk, Sakhalin Oblast) is the current Deputy Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Russian energy company Gazprom, president of the Kontinental Hockey League, and the Director-General of Gazprom's export arm Gazprom Export. He is a member of the Coordination Committee of RosUkrEnergo and a member of the shareholders' committee of Nord Stream AG.
In 1978, he graduated from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. From 1978 to 1989 he worked at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations. In 1989–1991 he was a director of the Soviet owned Donau Bank AG in Vienna and a managing director of bank's subsidiary company Inter Trade Consult GmbH. There are speculations that he had an undercover KGB job because he worked at Donau Bank at the same time as Andrei Akimov, another KGB officer and now Gazprombank's chief.
From 1991 to 1996 and from 1998 to 2002 he was director of the Austrian IMAG Investment Management & Advisory Group GmbH. Between 1997 and 1998 he was a vice president of the Eastern oil company (Восточная нефтяная компания) in Moscow. Since August 2002, Alexander Medvedev is the Director-General of Gazprom Export (former Gazeksport) and the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Gazprom.


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Review: Purex Complete 3-in-1
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Now that I've shared my kitchen with you, let me share my laundry with you:
As you can see, I had tons of laundry earlier this week! I always have no less than 3 loads of laundry a week, and I need all the help I can get in making this household duty less time-consuming!
Last week, I discovered I was one of 200 people to be selected to try Purex Complete 3-in-1! I'm ecstatic! Purex sent me some of these sheets to try and I've been using them all week!
I first read the instructions for this product, and couldn't believe you can use the same sheet for washing AND drying! This sheet cleans, softens, and provides anti-static.
These are all of the products I normally use for Laundry:
So, as you can see, it's kind of time-consuming to add the laundry soap, the Spray n Wash, and then the Downy ball filled with softener. Then when the laundry is done washing, I put it into the dryer and add 2-3 dryer sheets!
Now all I have to do is use this:
For my first load, I threw in the sheet and let the washing machine fill up. I was also surprised at the amount of soap this tiny little sheet provided. Check it out for yourself:
Here's with the clothes in:
Here's one of my loads of laundry finished:
My thoughts:
My clothes came out smelling clean, soft, and smelled great! I definitely will keep using this product!
For you at home that want to try it, it will be hitting stores in a week. Until then, view the site: Purex Insiders to see the countdown!
Thanks, Purex, for selecting me to be a Purex Insider!


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Is It Always Safe To Drive Too Slowly? Must Check Adverse Effects Of Slow Driving
December 4, 2016
Find here, a detailed account of the adverse effects of slow driving and how it can lead to accidents on the roads. You can find expert opinion that clears the air that slow driving is as bad as fast driving. This hints that drivers should be alert and maintain speed limits without being too fast […]
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To the EDN:
The Emmet County Chapter of the Izaak Walton League would like to take this opportunity to thank Randy Colsrud of ServPro of Estherville for a job well done - and his wonderful gift to the club.
A few weeks ago, members discovered a leak in the clubhouse roof. Randy brought in his equipment, protective clothing, breathing apparatus and chemicals so members could help him with cleanup. When it was time to get paid, he refused payment.
We just can't thank Randy enough for what he's done. And we are thankful for an area business person that's willing to help us out.
We hope that whenever any members of the public need any cleaning jobs done that they think first of community-minded people like Randy Colsrud and ServPro.
Emmet County Izaak Walton & Chapter members


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Penn Political Science Workshops
The intent of the workshops is to bring energetic scholars engaged in substantively interesting and methodologically varied projects in the field of comparative politics, American politics, political theory and international politics to a Penn audience. While the workshop has occasionally brought speakers to present previously published work, for the most part we target research in progress. Thus, the workshop serves the function of providing the Political Science community at Penn with a glimpse of scholarly endeavors at different stages of the research process, while at the same time offering our visitors feedback in the form of often vigorous exchanges on the presented work.
Christopher H. Browne Center for International Politics
The Browne Center was established at the University of Pennsylvania in 1997 in order to promote interdisciplinary research and teaching across the University community on issues of international relations, international security, and international political economy. Founded with support of Penn alumnus Christopher H. Browne, C' 69, the Center sponsors a regular schedule of visiting speakers, awards research grants to Penn faculty and graduate students, organizes occasional conferences, and hosts a post-doctoral fellow, as well as distinguished visiting scholars.
Center for Advanced Study of India
The Center's key goals are to nurture a new generation of scholars across disciplines and to provide a forum for dialogue among the academic, business, and foreign policy communities. Founded in 1992, the Center for the Advanced Study of India at the University of Pennsylvania is the only research institution in the United States dedicated to the study of contemporary India. A national resource, it fills an urgent need for objective knowledge of India's politics and society, rapidly changing economy, and transformation as both an ancient civilization and major contemporary power. Through its collaborative research initiatives, seminars, conferences, publications, and outreach, the Center provides in-depth, policy-relevant analysis of the most pressing issues facing India and the Indo-US relationship today.
Center for the Study of Ethnicity, Race, and Immigration
The Center for the Study of Ethnicity, Race, and Immigration (CSERI) gathers together faculty, visiting researchers, and students from across disciplines to address common interests in the study of race, ethnicity, and immigration. The Center's goal is to support cutting edge research and encourage the formation of collaborative research networks at Penn and beyond. Among its activities, CSERI hosts post-doctoral fellows and visiting scholars, offers funding for graduate student research, and supports workshops led by the Center's affiliates.
Center for the Study of Contemporary China
The Center for the Study of Contemporary China (CSCC) was established in 2012 at the University of Pennsylvania to advance Penn's leadership in programs, research, and scholarship about the political, legal, economic, and social factors shaping China and its role in the world today. The Center will sustain and extend the University's work on and partnerships in China, providing an institutional home for campus-wide collaboration among departments, programs, institutes, faculty and students at Penn engaged in work pertaining to contemporary China. Activities will include conferences, roundtables, and a speaker series. The Center will also provide support for faculty and graduate student research and serve as host for visiting international scholars and prominent public leaders. The new website for the CSCC can be accessed here.
Fels Institute of Government
Penn's Fels Institute of Government has been educating students committed to making a difference in the world for almost 75 years. Its approach is distinctive--its small size and unique setting make the Fels program incredibly personal, and its practice-focused curriculum, taught by practitioners and some of Penn's most distinguished faculty, keeps us closely focused on real world results. Fels also practices what it teaches through its Research and Consulting Group, which brings students together with seasoned researchers and consultants to partner with government agencies, nonprofit organizations, civic groups and other Penn departments to bring the academic resources of the University to bear on the challenges and opportunities facing the public sector.
Middle East Center
In the summer of 1965 the University of Pennsylvania set up a center for the study of the modern Near East. Today, the Center's mission remains raising awareness of the unique circumstances of the region through research and instructional programs. The MEC has adopted an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the Middle East, and it offers a wide range of educational opportunities to support this endeavor.
Penn Program on Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism
The Penn Program on Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism (the DCC Program) has been established with the aid of a $2.5 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to the School of Arts and Sciences. Both the University and SAS have designated "democracy and constitutionalism" as a central theme for Penn research and teaching. Because most people experience "constitutionalism and democracy" chiefly through the forms of citizenship that constitutional democracies create, SAS Dean Rebecca Bushnell authorized the DCC Program as a key element in promoting scholarship at all levels on these topics.
Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies
The Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies (PORES) is a new undergraduate research program committed to conducting high-quality social research in the public interest on issues of national and international importance. PORES aims to develop a data-driven approach to understanding political outcomes in the United States through public opinion survey research and poll analysis. The program provides Penn undergraduate students valuable training in public opinion theory and research through specialized courses, mentoring and hands-on instruction with leading industry organizations. Founded by John Lapinski, associate professor of politics, PORES sponsors visiting speakers, hosts leading scholars and grants fellowships to Penn undergraduate students.
Penn-Temple European Studies Colloquium
PTESC was founded in 2005 to promote the study of Europe in the Delaware Valley. PTESC aims to build an active scholarly community in the region with regular opportunities for the exchange of ideas and research. PTESC welcomes and encourages the participation of scholars from all post-secondary institutions in the Delaware Valley.
Robert A. Fox Leadership Program
Founded in 1999 through the generosity and vision of Penn Alumnus Robert A. Fox (C'52), the mission of the Robert A. Fox Leadership Program is to enrich the 21st century Penn undergraduate educational experience in ways that excite and equip students for present and future leadership roles in whatever realms of human excellence and endeavor may call them.
Social Science and Policy Forum
The Penn Social Science and Policy Forum is the university hub for scholarly research on key social, economic, legal, and policy problems confronting the United States and the world, fostering cutting edge scholarship across the social sciences. It serves as a conduit to disseminate knowledge to diverse audiences through workshops, public lectures, annual conferences, working papers, and scholarly articles, and books (through a partnership with the University of Pennsylvania Press). The Forum embodies Penn's commitment to integrating knowledge across the university and Penn's long history of supporting engaged scholarship in the public interest.
Penn in Washington
Penn in Washington supports and encourages students who are interested in pursuing public policy internships and careers in the nation's capital. PIW maintains an extensive database of opportunities in Washington and has enlisted more than 500 alumni in the Washington area who meet with students throughout the year. Participants in the four credit semester program are taught by active policy professionals, meet in small groups with dozens of policy leaders, and are challenged by some of the best internships available. During the summer PIW arranges several events a week for all Penn students spending the summer in Washington. More information is available on the PIW site and via their weekly newsletter.


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A Universe From Nothing
Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing
Paperback, 202 pages, Simon & Schuster, List Price: $15 |purchase
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Book Summary
Theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss presents his observations on why the universe came into being.
NPR stories about A Universe From Nothing
Note: Book excerpts are provided by the publisher and may contain language some find offensive.
Excerpt: A Universe From Nothing
Dream or nightmare, we have to live our experience as it is, and we have to live it awake. We live in a world which is penetrated through and through by science and which is both whole and real. We cannot turn it into a game simply by taking sides.
In the interests of full disclosure right at the outset I must admit that I am not sympathetic to the conviction that creation requires a creator, which is at the basis of all of the world's religions. Every day beautiful and miraculous objects suddenly appear, from snowflakes on a cold winter morning to vibrant rainbows after a late-afternoon summer shower. Yet no one but the most ardent fundamentalists would suggest that each and every such object is lovingly and painstakingly and, most important, purposefully created by a divine intelligence. In fact, many laypeople as well as scientists revel in our ability to explain how snowflakes and rainbows can spontaneously appear, based on simple, elegant laws of physics.
Of course, one can ask, and many do, "Where do the laws of physics come from?" as well as more suggestively, "Who created these laws?" Even if one can answer this first query, the petitioner will then often ask, "But where did that come from?" or "Who created that?" and so on.
Ultimately, many thoughtful people are driven to the apparent need for First Cause, as Plato, Aquinas, or the modern Roman Catholic Church might put it, and thereby to suppose some divine being: a creator of all that there is, and all that there ever will be, someone or something eternal and everywhere.
Nevertheless, the declaration of a First Cause still leaves open the question, "Who created the creator?" After all, what is the difference between arguing in favor of an eternally existing creator versus an eternally existing universe without one?
These arguments always remind me of the famous story of an expert giving a lecture on the origins of the universe (sometimes identified as Bertrand Russell and sometimes William James), who is challenged by a woman who believes that the world is held up by a gigantic turtle, who is then held up by another turtle, and then another . . . with further turtles "all the way down!" An infinite regress of some creative force that begets itself, even some imagined force that is greater than turtles, doesn't get us any closer to what it is that gives rise to the universe. Nonetheless, this metaphor of an infinite regression may actually be closer to the real process by which the universe came to be than a single creator would explain.
Defining away the question by arguing that the buck stops with God may seem to obviate the issue of infinite regression, but here I invoke my mantra: The universe is the way it is, whether we like it or not. The existence or nonexistence of a creator is independent of our desires. A world without God or purpose may seem harsh or pointless, but that alone doesn't require God to actually exist.
Similarly, our minds may not be able to easily comprehend infinities (although mathematics, a product of our minds, deals with them rather nicely), but that doesn't tell us that infinities don't exist. Our universe could be infinite in spatial or temporal extent. Or, as Richard Feynman once put it, the laws of physics could be like an infinitely layered onion, with new laws becoming operational as we probe new scales. We simply don't know!
For more than two thousand years, the question, "Why is there something rather than nothing?" has been presented as a challenge to the proposition that our universe—which contains the vast complex of stars, galaxies, humans, and who knows what else—might have arisen without design, intent, or purpose. While this is usually framed as a philosophical or religious question, it is first and foremost a question about the natural world, and so the appropriate place to try and resolve it, first and foremost, is with science.
The purpose of this book is simple. I want to show how modern science, in various guises, can address and is addressing the question of why there is something rather than nothing: The answers that have been obtained—from staggeringly beautiful experimental observations, as well as from the theories that underlie much of modern physics—all suggest that getting something from nothing is not a problem. Indeed, something from nothing may have been required for the universe to come into being. Moreover, all signs suggest that this is how our universe could have arisen.
I stress the word could here, because we may never have enough empirical information to resolve this question unambiguously. But the fact that a universe from nothing is even plausible is certainly significant, at least to me.
Before going further, I want to devote a few words to the notion of "nothing"—a topic that I will return to at some length later. For I have learned that, when discussing this question in public forums, nothing upsets the philosophers and theologians who disagree with me more than the notion that I, as a scientist, do not truly understand "nothing." (I am tempted to retort here that theologians are experts at nothing.)
"Nothing," they insist, is not any of the things I discuss. Nothing is "nonbeing," in some vague and ill-defined sense. This reminds me of my own efforts to define "intelligent design" when I first began debating with creationists, of which, it became clear, there is no clear definition, except to say what it isn't. "Intelligent design" is simply a unifying umbrella for opposing evolution. Similarly, some philosophers and many theologians define and redefine "nothing" as not being any of the versions of nothing that scientists currently describe.
But therein, in my opinion, lies the intellectual bankruptcy of much of theology and some of modern philosophy. For surely "nothing" is every bit as physical as "something," especially if it is to be defined as the "absence of something." It then behooves us to understand precisely the physical nature of both these quantities. And without science, any definition is just words.
A century ago, had one described "nothing" as referring to purely empty space, possessing no real material entity, this might have received little argument. But the results of the past century have taught us that empty space is in fact far from the inviolate nothingness that we presupposed before we learned more about how nature works. Now, I am told by religious critics that I cannot refer to empty space as "nothing," but rather as a "quantum vacuum," to distinguish it from the philosopher's or theologian's idealized "nothing."
So be it. But what if we are then willing to describe "nothing" as the absence of space and time itself? Is this sufficient? Again, I suspect it would have been . . . at one time. But, as I shall describe, we have learned that space and time can themselves spontaneously appear, so now we are told that even this "nothing" is not really the nothing that matters. And we're told that the escape from the "real" nothing requires divinity, with "nothing" thus defined by fiat to be "that from which only God can create something."
It has also been suggested by various individuals with whom I have debated the issue that, if there is the "potential" to create something, then that is not a state of true nothingness. And surely having laws of nature that give such potential takes us away from the true realm of nonbeing. But then, if I argue that perhaps the laws themselves also arose spontaneously, as I shall describe might be the case, then that too is not good enough, because whatever system in which the laws may have arisen is not true nothingness.
Turtles all the way down? I don't believe so. But the turtles are appealing because science is changing the playing field in ways that make people uncomfortable. Of course, that is one of the purposes of science (one might have said "natural philosophy" in Socratic times). Lack of comfort means we are on the threshold of new insights. Surely, invoking "God" to avoid difficult questions of "how" is merely intellectually lazy. After all, if there were no potential for creation, then God couldn't have created anything. It would be semantic hocus-pocus to assert that the potentially infinite regression is avoided because God exists outside nature and, therefore, the "potential" for existence itself is not a part of the nothingness from which existence arose.
My real purpose here is to demonstrate that in fact science has changed the playing field, so that these abstract and useless debates about the nature of nothingness have been replaced by useful, operational efforts to describe how our universe might actually have originated. I will also explain the possible implications of this for our present and future.
This reflects a very important fact. When it comes to understanding how our universe evolves, religion and theology have been at best irrelevant. They often muddy the waters, for example, by focusing on questions of nothingness without providing any definition of the term based on empirical evidence. While we do not yet fully understand the origin of our universe, there is no reason to expect things to change in this regard. Moreover, I expect that ultimately the same will be true for our understanding of areas that religion now considers its own territory, such as human morality.
Science has been effective at furthering our understanding of nature because the scientific ethos is based on three key principles: (1) follow the evidence wherever it leads; (2) if one has a theory, one needs to be willing to try to prove it wrong as much as one tries to prove that it is right; (3) the ultimate arbiter of truth is experiment, not the comfort one derives from one's a priori beliefs, nor the beauty or elegance one ascribes to one's theoretical models.
The results of experiments that I will describe here are not only timely, they are also unexpected. The tapestry that science weaves in describing the evolution of our universe is far richer and far more fascinating than any revelatory images or imaginative stories that humans have concocted. Nature comes up with surprises that far exceed those that the human imagination can generate.
Over the past two decades, an exciting series of developments in cosmology, particle theory, and gravitation have completely changed the way we view the universe, with startling and profound implications for our understanding of its origins as well as its future. Nothing could therefore not be more interesting to write about, if you can forgive the pun.
The true inspiration for this book comes not so much from a desire to dispel myths or attack beliefs, as from my desire to celebrate knowledge and, along with it, the absolutely surprising and fascinating universe that ours has turned out to be.
Our search will take us on a whirlwind tour to the farthest reaches of our expanding universe, from the earliest moments of the Big Bang to the far future, and will include perhaps the most surprising discovery in physics in the past century.
Indeed, the immediate motivation for writing this book now is a profound discovery about the universe that has driven my own scientific research for most of the past three decades and that has resulted in the startling conclusion that most of the energy in the universe resides in some mysterious, now inexplicable form permeating all of empty space. It is not an understatement to say that this discovery has changed the playing field of modern cosmology.
For one thing, this discovery has produced remarkable new support for the idea that our universe arose from precisely nothing. It has also provoked us to rethink both a host of assumptions about the processes that might govern its evolution and, ultimately, the question of whether the very laws of nature are truly fundamental. Each of these, in its own turn, now tends to make the question of why there is something rather than nothing appear less imposing, if not completely facile, as I hope to describe.
The direct genesis of this book hearkens back to October of 2009, when I delivered a lecture in Los Angeles with the same title. Much to my surprise, the YouTube video of the lecture, made available by the Richard Dawkins Foundation, has since become something of a sensation, with nearly a million viewings as of this writing, and numerous copies of parts of it being used by both the atheist and theist communities in their debates.
Because of the clear interest in this subject, and also as a result of some of the confusing commentary on the web and in various media following my lecture, I thought it worth producing a more complete rendition of the ideas that I had expressed there in this book. Here I can also take the opportunity to add to the arguments I presented at the time, which focused almost completely on the recent revolutions in cosmology that have changed our picture of the universe, associated with the discovery of the energy and geometry of space, and which I discuss in the first two-thirds of this book.
In the intervening period, I have thought a lot more about the many antecedents and ideas constituting my argument; I've discussed it with others who reacted with a kind of enthusiasm that was infectious; and I've explored in more depth the impact of developments in particle physics, in particular, on the issue of the origin and nature of our universe. And finally, I have exposed some of my arguments to those who vehemently oppose them, and in so doing have gained some insights that have helped me develop my arguments further.
While fleshing out the ideas I have ultimately tried to describe here, I benefitted tremendously from discussions with some of my most thoughtful physics colleagues. In particular I wanted to thank Alan Guth and Frank Wilczek for taking the time to have extended discussions and correspondence with me, resolving some confusions in my own mind and in certain cases helping reinforce my own interpretations.
Emboldened by the interest of Leslie Meredith and Dominick Anfuso at Free Press, Simon & Schuster, in the possibility of a book on this subject, I then contacted my friend Christopher Hitchens, who, besides being one of the most literate and brilliant individuals I know, had himself been able to use some of the arguments from my lecture in his remarkable series of debates on science and religion. Christopher, in spite of his ill health, kindly, generously, and bravely agreed to write a foreword. For that act of friendship and trust, I will be eternally grateful. Unfortunately, Christopher's illness eventually overwhelmed him to the extent that completing the foreword became impossible, in spite of his best efforts. Nevertheless, in an embarrassment of riches, my eloquent, brilliant friend, the renowned scientist and writer Richard Dawkins, had earlier agreed to write an afterword. After my first draft was completed, he then proceeded to produce something in short order whose beauty and clarity was astounding, and at the same time humbling. I remain in awe. To Christopher, Richard, then, and all of those above, I issue my thanks for their support and encouragement, and for motivating me to once again return to my computer and write.
© 2012 Lawrence M. Krauss


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via press release:
SECRET LIFE OF MONEY premieres at 9 PM E/P on Saturday, March 30 on Discovery Channel
(Los Angeles, Calif.) – Money is everywhere. We use it, we love it and we all want more of it. But what is cash? And what if it suddenly disappeared?
SECRET LIFE OF MONEY, premiering at 9 PM E/P on Saturday, March 30 on Discovery Channel, will look at the systems that design, produce, protect, distribute and manage America's money. The one-hour special features insight from NPR's Planet Money team, author David Wolman and artist J.S.G. Boggs who each explore the mysteries of money – something we use nearly every day but rarely stop to think about.
"We are all wired to love this stuff from a very young age," said David Wolman, author of the book The End of Money. "That first gift from granny, or the tooth fairy, all of it. You know cash has its hooks in us. It's cast a spell over us. Who doesn't want a big pile of Benjamins?"
Behind each note is a complex world of process and design — from minting and printing to distribution to protecting its value in the world market to meeting the demands of our nation's banks. Discovery Channel goes behind the scenes to places few ever see such as the Bureau of Engraving and Printing where bills are born; the US Mint, which turns giant coils of metal into the coins we use every day; the Secret Service, where the nation's top counterfeit experts try to put an end to bogus bills; The Federal Reserve, the heart of the American monetary system; and Dunbar armored cars, whose rolling fortresses help make sure that flow of currency never stops despite the dangers involved.
SECRET LIFE OF MONEY will take viewers through the lifecycle of currency and looks to answer the ultimate question – What is money all about, anyway?
SECRET LIFE OF MONEY is produced for Discovery Channel by Partisan Pictures. Brian Dean served as executive producer for Discovery. Don Campbell and Peter Schnall served as executive producers and Erica Sashin served as writer/director for Partisan Pictures. To learn more, go to www.discovery.com, on Facebook at Facebook.com/discovery and on Twitter @Discovery.
About Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is dedicated to creating the highest quality non-fiction content that informs and entertains its consumers about the world in all its wonder, diversity and amazement. The network, which is distributed to 100.8 million U.S. homes, can be seen in 210 countries and territories, offering a signature mix of compelling, high-end production values and vivid cinematography across genres including, science and technology, exploration, adventure, history and in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpses at the people, places and organizations that shape and share our world. For more information, please visit www.discovery.com.
About Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world's #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.8 billion cumulative subscribers in 209 countries and territories. Discovery is dedicated to satisfying curiosity through 149 worldwide television networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science and Investigation Discovery, as well as U.S. joint venture networks OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, The Hub and 3net, the first 24-hour 3D network. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools and owns and operates a diversified portfolio of digital media services, including Revision3. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.


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Limbaugh misrepresented Senator Byrd's opposition to "Bush doctrine of preemption"
The day after Senator Robert C. Byrd's (D-WV) July 18 interview on NBC's Meet the Press, during which he responded to a question about Iraq by saying that "the [President George W.] Bush doctrine of preemptive attack ... [is] a dangerous doctrine," radio host Rush Limbaugh suggested that Byrd would not have supported a preemptive strike on Afghanistan even "[i]f we'd had intelligence that ... they're going to blow us up on 9-11, and we learned this on 9-10 or 9-9."
From the July 19 edition of The Rush Limbaugh Show:
LIMBAUGH: The question is, Senator Byrd, would you, and your fellow senators, have supported a war in Afghanistan five seconds before we were attacked on 9-11. That would be preemption. If we'd had intelligence that training missions had taken place in Afghanistan, Al Qaeda had trained, they're going to blow us up on 9-11, and we learned this on 9-10 or 9-9, and Bush says, "We are going to Afghanistan." Would you have supported it, senator? I think not. Because you opposed it. ... So if we find out we're going to stop it, will you support us in stopping it? Or it's going to happen? I doubt -- don't think you would, senator. So this is a baseless, worthless argument.
Byrd, who supported the war in Afghanistan, has defined "the doctrine of preemption" on the floor of the Senate as "the idea that the United States or any other nation can legitimately attack a nation that is not imminently threatening but may be threatening in the future" and denounced it as "a radical new twist on the traditional idea of self defense." At no point has Byrd suggested that he would have opposed a preemptive strike against Afghanistan if it could have prevented the attacks of 9/11.