text:
Sec 101--Revision of Title I (cont'd)
`(a) IMPROVED DATA COLLECTION-
`(1) DEVELOPMENT OF UNIFORM METHODOLOGY- The Secretary shall direct the Commissioner of Education Statistics to convene a series of forums to develop nationally consistent methodologies for reporting costs incurred by postsecondary institutions in providing postsecondary education.
`(2) REDESIGN OF DATA SYSTEMS- On the basis of the methodologies developed pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall redesign relevant parts of the postsecondary education data systems to improve the usefulness and timeliness of the data collected by such systems.
`(3) INFORMATION TO INSTITUTIONS- The Commissioner of Education Statistics shall--
`(A) develop a standard definition for the following data elements:
`(i) tuition and fees for a full-time undergraduate student;
`(ii) cost of attendance for a full-time undergraduate student, consistent with the provisions of section 472;
`(iii) average amount of financial assistance received by an undergraduate student who attends an institution of higher education, including--
`(I) each type of assistance or benefit described in section 428(a)(2)(C)(i);
`(II) fellowships; and
`(III) institutional and other assistance; and
`(iv) number of students receiving financial assistance described in each of subclauses (I), (II), and (III) of clause (iii);
`(B) not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, report the definitions to each institution of higher education and within a reasonable period of time thereafter inform the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives of those definitions; and
`(C) collect information regarding the data elements described in subparagraph (A) with respect to at least all institutions of higher education participating in programs under title IV, beginning with the information from academic year 2000-2001 and annually thereafter.
`(b) DATA DISSEMINATION- The Secretary shall make available the data collected pursuant to subsection (a). Such data shall be available in a form that permits the review and comparison of the data submissions of individual institutions of higher education. Such data shall be presented in a form that is easily understandable and allows parents and students to make informed decisions based on the costs for typical full-time undergraduate students.
`(c) STUDY-
`(1) IN GENERAL- The Commissioner of Education Statistics shall conduct a national study of expenditures at institutions of higher education. Such study shall include information with respect to--
`(A) the change in tuition and fees compared with the consumer price index and other appropriate measures of inflation;
`(B) faculty salaries and benefits;
`(C) administrative salaries, benefits and expenses;
`(D) academic support services;
`(E) research;
`(F) operations and maintenance; and
`(G) institutional expenditures for construction and technology and the potential cost of replacing instructional buildings and equipment.
`(2) EVALUATION- The study shall include an evaluation of--
`(A) changes over time in the expenditures identified in paragraph (1);
`(B) the relationship of the expenditures identified in paragraph (1) to college costs; and
`(C) the extent to which increases in institutional financial aid and tuition discounting practices affect tuition increases, including the demographics of students receiving such discounts, the extent to which financial aid is provided to students with limited need in order to attract a student to a particular institution, and the extent to which Federal financial aid, including loan aid, has been used to offset the costs of such practices.
`(3) FINAL REPORT- The Commissioner of Education Statistics shall submit a report regarding the findings of the study required by paragraph (1) to the appropriate committees of Congress not later than September 30, 2002.
`(4) HIGHER EDUCATION MARKET BASKET- The Bureau of Labor Statistics, in consultation with the Commissioner of Education Statistics, shall develop a higher education market basket that identifies the items that comprise the costs of higher education. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shall provide a report on the market basket to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives not later than September 30, 2002.
`(5) FINES- In addition to actions authorized in section 487(c), the Secretary may impose a fine in an amount not to exceed $25,000 on an institution of higher education for failing to provide the information described in paragraph (1) in a timely and accurate manner, or for failing to otherwise cooperate with the National Center for Education Statistics regarding efforts to obtain data on the cost of higher education under this section and pursuant to the program participation agreement entered into under section 487.
`(d) STUDENT AID RECIPIENT SURVEY-
Secretary shall survey student aid recipients on a regular cycle, but not less than once every 3 years--
`(A) to identify the population of students receiving Federal student aid;
`(B) to determine the income distribution and other socioeconomic characteristics of federally aided students;
`(C) to describe the combinations of aid from State, Federal, and private sources received by students from all income groups;
`(D) to describe the debt burden of loan recipients and their capacity to repay their education debts; and
`(E) to disseminate such information in both published and machine readable form.
`(2) The survey shall be representative of full-time and part-time, undergraduate, graduate, and professional and current and former students in all types of institutions, and should be designed and administered in consultation with the Congress and the postsecondary education community.
|Table of Contents


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The Veritas router plane is an invaluable tool for work on stopped or through dadoes and grooves, or for any work that requires an area cut to a precise depth. The blade depth is regulated by a fine screw feed that travels 1/32" per turn for precise adjustment, with the resulting depth of cut controlled by a locking depth stop. Unique to the Veritas router plane is a spring-loaded blade-clamping collar that holds the blade in position when the collar is loosened. It provides tactile feedback, allowing controlled blade adjustment to a depth of 1". The collar can also be set to fully release for quick and easy blade removal, for repositioning in front of the post for general work, behind the post for bullnose applications, or laterally (left or right) for work on hinge
Made to the same high standards as our other planes, the ductile cast iron body has been accurately machined and ground flat. Weight is 2 lb. The large wooden knobs are positioned to provide both comfort and excellent control. If you would like to customize a pair of handles, a hardware kit that includes two turned brass connectors, two hanger bolts, a hex bolt, and a mandrel for lathe mounting is available separately.
The plane includes two high-carbon steel cutters: a two-piece 1/2"
straight blade, and a two-piece 1/2" spear-point blade (for final smoothing). A blade sharpening jig is also included. The optional fence made of stainless steel and aluminum) can be positioned on either side of the plane and will work on both straight and curved pieces. In addition to using for dadoes or grooves, our router plane is the perfect tool for inlay or intarsia work, or for cleaning out areas for hardware installation, where fine control is critical.
Made in Canada (except for blades). Patented.
An inlay cutter head, sold separately, lets you score a shallow groove to accept inlaid purfling, banding or stringing. It holds a pair of included single-bevel slicing blades that score crisply defined groove outlines across, with or diagonal to the grain.
Click here for more information or to purchase the cutter head.


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mkmcgrath23 needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 53 designs submitted by 18 freelance designers.
We are looking for a logo that integrates our name Couch Munky (yes, it's spelled like that)! Use your creativity please. Have fun with this. We will have more work shortly as well once the site is launch in the next 2 weeks.
Couch Munky
CouchMunky.com is a blog focused on males and our lifestyles. Use your creativity when you are creating the logo as we seek something unique that stands out and can be brandable. Something clean. Using a monkey and couch could be an option or you can go another route if you feel so. We're looking for ideas so let us know what you have!
- The name Couch Munky must be included.
- We'd like a short tagline somewhere. Please just use dummy text "Living the couch dream" for now as we haven't decided what we'll use yet.
- Colors are open at this point but greens, oranges, blacks, grays and blues could possibly work. Use the color scheme you prefer and we can always alter.
- We need source files (PSD or AI) and EPS would be great as well as .jpg or .gif. Not sure what background this will sit on yet so something that can sit on any background will work.
- Not too large, not too small. Preferably we'd be able to alter the size if needed.
- The idea of a monkey on a couch is appealing so you might want to mess with this. Maybe include a laptop on his lap or remote control or whatever you feel while he's kicked back on the couch.
- Remember, this is primarily for guys so keep that in mind but there will be some sections for females.
Can't think of anything right now.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — History buffs interested in archaeology have an opportunity this winter to assist Dr. Neill De Paoli processing recently discovered artifacts dating as far back as the mid-1600s.
An archaeology "lab" for washing, reconstructing, and identifying artifacts will be held at the Counting House Museum on Saturday afternoons from noon to 3:30 p.m. throughout the winter. Volunteers are needed and will be trained on the job; no prior experience is needed.
"This is an opportunity for a hands-on encounter with historical household objects, tools and building materials used hundreds of years ago," said De Paoli. "You'll get a closer look than is ever possible when looking at a museum exhibit. Your assistance in processing these artifacts will also help us get a better understanding of the age, purpose, and identity of the structures we have uncovered on the Old Fields dig site, so we will be very grateful to participants for their assistance."
Those interested in participating may contact DePaoli for further information at 603-766-0561 or email@example.com.
DePaoli, who has devoted most of his career to the study of English settlement and Anglo-Indian and English-French relations in early northern New England, has spent the past two summers overseeing excavations and the Old Berwick Historical Society's archaeological field school in South Berwick.
The Old Fields dig is named for a neighborhood of South Berwick that 330 years ago was a small hamlet of several homes, a tavern, meetinghouse, burial ground, town wharf, and expansive hay fields, De Paoli explained. Historical documents suggest this locale was a fortified garrison during the conflict ridden 1690s and early 1700s. In 1690 and 1691, Wabanaki war parties attacked the Old Fields garrison and two men working in a nearby field, on two separate occasions.
The dig site is the former dwelling and tavern of Humphrey and Mary Spencer who occupied it from c. 1696 until 1727. De Paoli and his team and members of an archaeological field school (2012) uncovered the first evidence of an early structure that appears to be the Spencer home and tavern along with an array of items including glass wine bottles, stoneware jugs and drinking tankards, and clay smoking pipes. They have also unearthed part of a nearby blacksmith shop that was owned by Captain Ichabod Goodwin and his son General Ichabod Goodwin who lived on the property from 1740 until 1829.
Dr. De Paoli will be continuing his search for more evidence of the Spencer home, and tavern along with the as yet elusive garrison (c. 1690-1720) this coming summer with the assistance of his crew of volunteers and an archaeological field school.
De Paoli has 35 years of experience as a historical archaeologist, having directed archaeological projects in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. He is an adjunct professor at Southern Maine Community College.
More information about the Old Fields Archaeology Project is available at www.oldberwick.org


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Introducing Matrox M-Series - graphics cards for stretched desktop applications powered by industry's first true QuadHead GPU
New M-Series has more memory and cross-platform flexibility to drive multiple-monitor business applications with exceptional performance.
Montreal, Canada, June 25 /PRNewswire —Matrox Graphics announces the availability of its M-Series multi-monitor graphics cards. These quad-capable display cards offer 512MB of memory, native PCIe x16 performance, and support for independent or stretched mode on up to four monitors simultaneously.
"Many applications require the ability to drive multiple monitors—from two to eight displays per seat—especially in high-end corporate, government, and industrial environments," states Alan Vandenbussche, VP Sales and Marketing, Matrox Graphics. "The M-Series represents next-generation Matrox graphics technology specifically designed for these display-hungry professionals."
The M-Series cards are WHQL-certified on both Microsoft® Windows® XP and Windows Vista®, and ship with unified drivers for easy deployment across a wide variety of systems.
Matrox M-Series Highlights
Multi-Monitor Features:
- Native digital quad-monitor support with PCIe x16 performance (M9140)
- Dual digital output cards offer low-cost instant upgrade to quad analog output via external cable (M9120 Plus)
- Drive up to two monitors per card at maximum resolutions of 2560 x 1600 (M9125 - digital) or 2048 x 1536 (M9120 - analog) per display
- Pristine image quality for the highest resolution monitors
Advanced Multi-Monitor Desktop Management:
- Support up to four widescreen monitors (DVI or analog) in portrait and landscape simultaneously as one large desktop or with independent resolutions
- Matrox PowerDesk software for configuring and managing program windows on multiple monitors
Passive Cooling:
- Fanless design eliminates noise and increases product reliability.
Availability and Pricing
The Matrox M-Series graphics cards will be available in Q3/08.
- M9120 PCIe x16 $259 USD
- M9125 PCIe x16 $399 USD
- M9120 Plus LP PCIe x16 $329 USD
- M9120 Plus LP PCIe x1 $329 USD
- M9140 LP PCIe x16 $599 USD
- Quad analog upgrade cable $99 USD


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Can America Make It?
Vol. 22 No. 10
December 2011
Special Report
Back from China?Manufacturing once gave the U.S. its middle-class majority. Can it do it again?
The Cost of Free TradeEvery president asserts that the next trade treaty will turn America into an export powerhouse, but that's just not true.


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So has anyone heard any more about whether or not we're going to see figures up to #32 or up to #40?We know people have found some of the figures that come in the "Wave 3" assortments but from what I've been told, the stock rooms in the back are mostly Waves 1 & 2 of both collections.
Hasbro has updated today with an Episode III Toy Catalogue with pictures. This also requires Adobe Acrobat to view the file.
YES! I can't wait until August for Commander Bacara to come out!
Page created in 0.12 seconds with 18 queries.


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Caroline DeLany
|Frederick, Md.
|High School:
|Behavorial Science
2012: Ran in six of the seven races this year in addition to Regionals at the end of the season … placed 7th at the Achtzehn Classic out of 61 competitors with a time of 25:31 … captured all-conference accolades as she placed 4th at the CAC Championships with a time of 24:27 … continued that quality to Regionals by placing 47th out of 346 runners with a time of 24 minutes flat.
2011: Competed in five out of seven races … posted a 19:19 at the Piper Cross Country Challenge … She was also able to lock up the 25th spot in the CAC Championships out of 89 total runners with a time of 27:48.
Personal: Is a behavioral science major ... is the daughter of George and Susan DeLany ... born on November 20, 1992 ... high school accolades include garnering first-team all-area cross country honors as a senior.


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Department of Revenue News Release
October 01, 2010Department of Revenue Retools Correspondence with Citizens
JEFFERSON CITY - Smarter. Leaner. Savvier. These three words describe how the Missouri Department of Revenue communicates with Missouri citizens.
Following Gov. Jay Nixon's call for a smarter, more efficient state government, the Missouri Department of Revenue has reviewed every form it produces, and cut the size of some; changed how others are mailed; and converted others to an entirely digital format. These moves will save taxpayers almost $700,000 this year.
"Gov. Nixon ordered state government to work smarter, and that's exactly what the employees of the Department of Revenue are doing," said Alana M. Barragán-Scott, director of the Missouri Department of Revenue. "Our employees do a tremendous job for the people of Missouri, and their creativity is making our government more efficient. Under Gov. Nixon's leadership, we will continue to look for every opportunity to streamline operations and make government smarter."
Under this new initiative, the Department took several concrete steps to make corresponding with citizens more efficient and less costly. The steps included:
- Records that had been sent by certified mail - even though there was not statutory requirement to do so - are now being sent through regular first-class mail;
- Other forms have been converted to post-card size, saving thousands of dollars in postage costs;
- Other documents, such as the application for a boat title or application for a disabled driver placard, have been discontinued in paper form and are now available exclusively online
In total, these changes will save the taxpayers about $696,000.
"We have an obligation to manage every taxpayer dollar as strategically and wisely as possible," Barragán-Scott said. "By cutting costs on printing and postage, we're saving money for the taxpayers and making government smarter. These efforts are just one example of the many steps we're taking to make our operations more efficient."
The Missouri Department of Revenue is now on Twitter! To follow the Department on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/MoRevenue.


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MARSHALL, Texas
Wiley College
Find More information about MARSHALL, Texas at wikipedia
All Related CommentsAll related comments for properties in MARSHALL, Texas
Charlseeta could you call me at 281-620-9592 or Equla Brightman at 903-263-7931See this property: 1005 TALLEY ST, MARSHALL, TX
Timothy Morrison Fri Apr 27, 18 13:36:37
need the owners name to contact concerning a dead tree leaning toward a rental property where i live. The tree is indangering my home and would like to contact personallySee this property: 408 W WRIGHT ST, MARSHALL, TX
sharolyn Bartlett Wed Nov 14, 12 22:11:35
Interested in property. need info if for saleSee this property: 1005 TALLEY ST, MARSHALL, TX
charlesetta williams Sun Aug 12, 12 09:47:59


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I have to admit a little disappointment, when I report that my XO-1 — barely six months old — seems to be suffering from a case of the stuck keys.
In my case it's the CTRL key, which seems to be occasionally stuck in the down position, making typing a rather random exercise. The cursor bounces from right to left, dialogues spring open at a whim — you can probably imagine. And it's happening in Sugar, in Debian or in Arch.
The only good news about the whole issue is that it seems lessened by repeatedly pressing the key from left to right — "rocking" it, if I can use that term. After a few seconds of that, I can buy myself back a few minutes of normal behavior.
Of course, my disappointment is that an almost-new computer, which is targeted at a terrifically vulnerable demographic, could have an issue (even a minor one like this) so soon in its life span.
I rarely use my machine, aside from occasionally accessing the Internet or listening to streaming audio. I can't imagine the wear and tear another machine might need to withstand, and if mine is suffering from a fault this early, one with regular use. …
Well, I think you see where I'm going. I'm not unhappy with the machine, but I would be lying if I didn't say I expected better.


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When was the last time you, or someone you know, uttered those fateful words, "Oh, it's just a bug," then proceeded to spray, swat or stomp to smithereens some unfortunate member of Class Insecta?
It's true, insects' generally small sizes make them seem insignificant. The cecropia moth, which happens to be the largest insect native to Illinois, seems miniscule when compared to, say, an African Goliath beetle larva, which can weigh as much as a Quarter Pounder. But even a Double Quarter Pounder with cheese is small and inconsequential when compared to a mighty human being. (Now, a mighty hungry human being would beg to differ, but we're not going there right now.)
Something I like to call The Yow Factor plays a role, too, when it comes to public perception of insects. We tend to think that two legged creatures are "like us," while four leggeds are at the very least "familiar" – all the more so if we can work them, eat them or keep them as pets.
But when the leg-count total starts to creep higher, so too do people's heebie jeebies. Six legs can cause uneasiness; eight legs, unrest; and when the number hits 10 or more, a primal "Yow!" often results. I can't help but remember the day a giant desert centipede, Scolopendra heros, appeared rather suddenly in the bookstore at Carlbad Caverns in New Mexico. "Yow!" doesn't begin to describe the sounds tourists and staff alike uttered as the eight-inch creature scuttled its way cross the floor and beneath a bookcase.
I know it's asking too much for everyone, everywhere, to appreciate all arthropods, all the time. But if we dial back the number of legs to six, and focus – for today – on just one family, we may find the Yow factor changing to Wow, as in "Wow, insects are amazingly important. In the future I will consider putting down my spray/swatter/shoe away and allow these fascinating animals to perform the job to which they have been assigned."
Meet "Sandy," an extraordinary beetle that literally dropped into our lives here in the naturalist department one sunny day last week.
Native Illinois, our natural history program for third-graders, was winding down out in the Hickory Knolls Natural Area, when one of our instructors, Kim Haag, happened to look down. Hooked onto her leg was not, thankfully, a third-grader, but rather an insect that measured about an inch long – big enough to notice, yet not so large as to elicit a "Yow!"
Mostly brown, with a black pronotum, its coloring was attractive but not remarkable. Its antennae, though, were nothing short of spectacular. Wow!
Jeanette Joy, who had been playing the role of a Potawatomi Native in the program, came over and agreed that the beetle was unlike any she had seen before. Although surrounded by artifacts that dated back hundreds of years, she also had a smartphone, and proceeded to snap several pictures of the decidedly unique critter.
From there, the race was on to identify the little bugger.
Thanks once again to our favorite online field guide, BugGuide.net, it wasn't too hard to track down the beetle's family, Rhipiceridae, the cedar beetles. As beetle families go, this one's pretty small, with only one genus, Sandalus, and five species occurring in North America.
I'm hesitant to try to identify this insect down to species, since very little is known about the family. But to me, the exact name doesn't matter as much as its ecological niche or job is.
Sandalus beetles parasitize cicada nymphs. Female beetles are gifted with the ability to track down the slits in tree branches where female cicadas laid their eggs. The female beetles lay their eggs in or near the same location, and when the eggs hatch the little larvae – which, astoundingly, have legs, but only until they advance to their next stage of development – dig down and latch onto the young cicadas.
Sandalus larvae go through what is known as hypermetamorphosis. Whereas most baby beetles spend much of their juvenile lives as lumpy grubs, young Sandalus larvae start out as triungulins – silverfish-like creatures with well-developed legs, which they use to get them where they need to go – down, down underground, to where the cicada nymphs are feeding, on tree roots.
Nobody really knows what happens after that, but the presumption is that the beetle larvae feeds and molts several times, then pupates and emerges as an adult. Then it's the common adult insect drill of mate-and-die. No feeding is necessary, as nutrient needs were met by the cicada nymph.
Besides, at least in our area, there really isn't time for food.
Adult Sandalus beetles conduct their business late in the year – October is typical – and there are some reports of mating activity even after snow has fallen. The beetles are known for congregating on tree trunks, probably near where they emerged from the ground. Males fly about, relying on those fantastic antennae to detect female chemical cues.
Once mating occurs, it's all over for the adults. It's up to their progeny to carry on the important work of helping to control cicada populations.
The next time you, or someone you know, is tempted to whack a bug (or spider, or centipede, or ...) stop for just a second to consider just why that creature exists here on Earth. You'll soon see, there's really no such thing as "just a bug."
If you're a fan of things like cicada parasite beetles, you may be interested in meeting others who share that special sort of enthusiasm.
If so, mark your calendars for this coming week. The coordinating partners of Kane County Certified Naturalists, a year-long, adult-level nature education program, are ramping up for another fun-filled session that will begin in January.
We will be holding KCCN information meetings at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and again at 10 a.m. Nov. 16 at the Hickory Knolls Discovery Center located within the James O. Breen Community Park at the corner of Peck and Campton Hills roads in St. Charles. I'll be there; hope you will too!
• Pam Otto is the manager of nature programs and interpretive services at the Hickory Knolls Discovery Center, a facility of the St. Charles Park District. She can be reached at 630-513-4346 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Oct. 14, 2010 -- Many people who are at high risk for the flu -- including health care workers -- say they won't be getting a flu shot this year, a Consumer Reports survey shows.
This year's vaccine protects against the seasonal and H1N1 swine flu. The CDC now recommends flu vaccines for everyone older than 6 months. But the survey of 1,500 adults aged 18 or older shows that many don't plan on heeding this advice.
The findings echo those of a series of surveys by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, which showed that 43% of Americans won't get the flu shot this year, and that one-third of moms won't vaccinate their kids.
In the new poll, 28% of health care workers said they didn't plan on getting the flu vaccine this year. Just 45% of people who were considered at risk for the flu said they would get vaccinated this year, meaning a majority of people with diseases that place them at high risk for the flu and flu-related complications won't get a flu shot.
People aged 65 and older are considered at high risk for flu based on their age, but just 51% said they plan on getting the flu vaccine this year.
Why Some People Aren't Getting Flu Shots
When asked why they were skipping the flu vaccine, 45% of people polled cited that the swine flu epidemic was overblown last year, 44% said they were concerned about the side effects of the flu vaccine, 41% were concerned about its safety, and close to 30% felt the flu vaccine doesn't work anyway.
"I thought that a considerably higher number of people would want to get the flu vaccine," says Marvin Lipman, MD, chief medical adviser for Consumer Reports. "There are varied excuses and a lot has to do with the confusion and publicity that had everyone running to get swine flu vaccines last year," he says. "A lot of people felt that last year's publicity about the swine flu was overblown and therefore are not going to get the flu shot this year," he tells WebMD.
Lipman says the survey shows other reasons may include "flu invincibility" -- the attitude that "I never get the flu, so why would I need a flu shot?" Flu invincibility was more common among men than women, the survey shows.
But this attitude does more harm than good. Each year, the flu puts about 200,000 people in the hospital, and people with underlying health conditions, young children, and the elderly are at risk. The health care workers who care for these individuals are also on the front lines when it comes to spreading the flu.
"All health care workers should really be vaccinated against the flu," Lipman says.
"There is a lot of concern that health care professionals could pass influenza on to patients, many of whom have compromised immune systems," says CDC spokesman Glen Nowak, PhD. "You are not avoiding risk by not getting the flu shot, you are just taking a different set of risks and those may be greater."
Best Time to Get Vaccinated
The ideal time to get the flu vaccine is in late September or October, Lipman says. "It takes about three weeks for the protective antibodies to build up, and they persist for months. If you get the flu shot in late September or October, your state of protection lasts six to eight months, right through flu season."
Neil Schachter, MD, a professor of pulmonary medicine and medical director of the respiratory care department at Mount Sinai Center in New York City, says that he is often met with resistance when counseling patients about getting the flu shot.
"Everybody has their own prejudices, and sometimes you can't get around what their mother told them about the flu shot or what they have seen on TV," he says. "The flu vaccine is the safest way to approach the flu epidemic and we certainly encourage those people at high risk for themselves or to transmit the flu to others to get the vaccine."
As far as what will happen this year with the flu or the flu vaccine, he thinks it may be too early to tell. "It is a little early to cry fire, but if you want to hedge your bets and have a safe and pleasant winter, I would bet on the flu shot," he tells WebMD.


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- Home
- Anime
- Girls Bravo
- Koko ni Iru kara... - Because You're Here...
Koko ni Iru kara...
|Original / Romaji Lyrics
|English Translation
nante minna waratte ita kedo
ima kanjiteru itami ha tashikana mono dakara
kigatsuite watashi ha itsudemo anata de kagayaite iru kara
Although that's what everybody, while laughing tells me
The pain that I am feeling now... is something real
The me who noticed is always shining... because of you
omoi suguni todoketai hohoenda sono kuchibiru ni
I want these feelings to immediately reach you, my smile to reach your lips.
toki wo tomete senobi shite sotto kiss shita-i
I want to stop time, stand on tiptoe to gently kiss you.
moshimo asa mezame tara anata ga ite
"ohayou" nante waratteitte nara
kitto karadajuu torokete hakanai awa ni naru
surechigau tada sono isshun de kokyuu ga tomari souni naru no
If you're here in the mornings when I wake up
Smiling and wishing me "Good Morning"
Surely my insides will melt into fleeting bubbles
Just the moment of our chance meeting takes my breath away.
anata no me ni watashi dake utsushidasu hi ga kimasu youni
The day that only I am reflected in your eyes.
haruka tooku ano hoshi ni negai kaketa
The distant stars which hold our wishes.
sakenteru koe ni naranai kotoba wo
mou HAGUre nai youni...
The words they send that couldn't be voiced.
They won't ever be lost.
kanjiteru? kanjitenai?
omoi suguni todoketai hohoenda sono kuchibiru ni
Can you feel it? Can you not feel it?
I want these feelings to immediately reach you, my smile to reach your lips.
toki wo tomete senobi shite sotto kiss shita-i
I want to stop time, stand on tiptoe to gently kiss you.
shinjiteru? shinjitenai?
ATSUI omoi afuredasu kokoro made oboreru kurai
Do you believe it? Do you not believe it?
I'm almost drowning from these hot feelings overflowing from my heart.
kanau no nara eien no ai wo chikau no
So that it'll come true, this promise of eternal love.
Transliterated by guuchan
Translated by ubill
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Small earthquake in Chile
Has there ever been a time when UK small firms *weren't* complaining about taxes?
The Federation of Small Business has found that its members would happily take on more staff if they weren't groaning under the financial burden of keeping the British government ticking over. The organisation also predicted a rise in unemployment, giving its members even more reason to rail against the taxes they will have to …
I run a small IT company. Just to put your comment into context. for every £1 I put into my own pocket, I pay £7 to the Tax man or costs incurred due to tax/government complience.
As well as the standard taxes; VAT/Corporation Tax, PAYE, NI, bookkeeper fees, accountant fees, company house fees, health and safey costs etc etc.... there are all the hidden costs, try and phone your tax office to ask a question? Well best to plan a morning to get that done as you'll get passed from pillar to post before you get to speak to someone.. then they'll tell you to write a letter to them and they'll reply in non-understandable terms within the nexst few weeks.
Just the cost of Health and Safety complience and NI costs would allow us to employ one more person!
My guess, by your flippant comment, you have the luxury of being employed, maybe you should try and start your own company and I think you'd get an eye-opener.
PAYE,ie your employees' income tax, VAT, Corporation tax, NI, accountant/book-keepers' fees, are a cost of doing business. If you can't figure that into your business plan, or your electricity bill, or rent, or insurance, or equipment/software purchasing, do you have the nous to be in be=usines in the first place?
Alambritis and his acolytes at the FSB (he's not mentioned in the article - retired?) have been banging on about this for decades. And he's been wrong every time, since the FSB is just an arm arm of the Tory party, and always has been.
they are probably paying themselves very little.
As a member of the FSB (motto: "we whine for British Biz") I pay myself a very small remittance for the actual job I do for my company. I also pay my wife very little for being the company secretary, even though she has a new car every other year. My daughter is the office secretary, and gets a minor wage...plus another car...Oh, and I'm also a director (along with my wife) but that is self employed so it doesn't count.
I prefer not to mention the company pension...since various govs made it difficult for the company to pay it for me. I had to consult with the accountant to work-out how to get around that....and no...I do not intend to pay the smurfs a pension (workforce)...I had to consult with a pension company when that stake(steak)holders thing came out....offered it to the smurfs but none took it up...they should have enough to pay into it...I pay them £6.17/hour...but no...
It's not as if I'm getting rich...even though I sell the scrap for cash to the local dids...(I only get a few thousand a year from it so it don't really count).
All this safety gear costs me a fortune...but I had a wage-rise-free year last year to pay for it.
The FSB are worth their weight...not in gold, but shit.
But taxes on small business aren't really that bad. Tax revenue from the private sector has fallen and fallen. But government expenditure hasn't fallen in pace with it. Instead, the shortfall is made up by borrowing (both on the books and more sneaky ways). increasing taxation on people (income tax, NI, council tax, etc.) and to a lesser extent, small businesses. The reason for the shortfall? There are fewer small businesses nowadays and the big boys have now discovered they can use the global economy to threaten national governments. Cost us too much and we'll offshore our manufacturing or move our HQ and bank accounts abroad. Newscorp has a revenue in the billions and pays taxes in the thousands. This is the hidden issue that neither Conservatives nor Labour are willing to even raise. They just pretend money is tight for no reason and find new ways to squeeze it out of the public and those smaller business that can't move. And the smaller businesses are getting rarer and rarer. Those local shops? They're all chains now. Where once profits would return to the local community, they get sucked straight down to London or abroad. The country is being bled dry. Small businesses aren't too badly off compared to the general public. But it's the big companies that are responsible.
Taxes, inflation, increasing cost of services and petrol etc, weak GBP, banks unwilliness to create positive agreements (unless they get the benefit), etc.
We are just in the early stages of 'recovery' at the moment, and eventually we will get to what was the pre boom norm of 6 or 7 years ago – a natural point of economic stability. Those companies which were formed, over the last 5 years, with a boom business plan will have great difficulties unless they restructure.
I can't see many of the newer start-ups taking on additional staff in the short term. Better to use contractors who should be undercutting rivals at the moment – I remember I did during the last recession and, after setting up my own business, taking on the cheapest competent contractors I could find (checked them out myself rather than useing agencies – usually level headed grads and hobbyists) - cheap and desperate!
The general public pays it anyway. It isn't like the costs don't get passed on to the buyer leaving them with "less money to spend" which is one reason why demand goes down when prices go up. Look up "deadweight loss" as it pertains to economics and you'll see that taxes mean less for business and less for the consumer. The only "winner" is government.
When they say that they are taking on more staff, presumably this is to cope with all the HR / Security / Health & Safety regulations that the EU and Government believes are absolutely critical to impose during a recession. I work for a small business and the amount of time we are spend on this stuff is just laughable. Its a wonder any small businesses survive at all.
@ iMlite said "Better to use contractors who should be undercutting rivals at the moment – I remember I did during the last recession and, after setting up my own business, taking on the cheapest competent contractors I could find ..." " - cheap and desperate!
Are you serious? Because if you are this is exactly what's wrong with the IT "profession" at the moment, and shows the workers vs management disconnect (dare I say mutual contempt) is alive and kicking. Didn't it occur to you to not take advantage of these "cheap and desperate" contractors and rather build a mutual beneficial long term business relationship, you provided a decent hourly rate, and the contractors provided high quality code, which could be trusted to work. Perhaps then the contractors might be willing to go back and do further work. It would have served you right if the moment the "cheap and desperate" contractors got a better rate they upped sticks and left you up sh*t creek.
As a contractor I have more than once shovelled up after "cheap" contractors brought in to do a job cheaply (who were discovered to be not up to the job). Usually the company's bad attitude has shone through, and after the contract has finished, with the company desperate to renew, I've told them where to stick their extension. It cuts both ways.
As a contractor trying to earn a living I'm totally fed-up with managers "getting off on" treating people like sh*t. No way to run a country and proves most managers are w*nkers.
not by choice, but thats all I can afford to pay myself. I work on 47.5% of everything I make is taxed, whats left pays bills.
Then the gov wonders why there's such high unemployment. Losing the 10% tax break made a difference.
The irony is I could be a binman and earn double the salary for less hours and less stress.
Of course the big question is what the fuck are they doing with all our money?
Or put another way... What have the Romans ever done for us?
Apart from...
The CCTV.
The endless new crimes.
The perpetual attacks on personal transport.
The monitoring and databasing of all of our personal information.
The dumbing down of our schoolchildren so that they won't have too high expectations.
The protection that they are "giving" us when we want to use an aeroplane (aka the war on terrorism).
The pursuit of illegal wars in support of some weird concept they call "democracy".
The endless pursuit of people who want to be free to stick something into their bodies that make them feel different.
The provision of a national ill-health scheme and its subsequent rationing and threats to anyone that doesn't behave according to current dictum.
The re-jigging of our energy provision which will ensure that within ten years, most people won't be able to afford heat, light or fuel for transport.
The pursuit of the Malthusian concept that if we don't increase taxes to 100% we will all burn in hell as a result of climate change.
Boy! Did I get out of bed on the wrong side this morning!
However, my point is valid, what exactly is the point of government which is effectively out of control, like ours?
The further point of course is how the fuck do we get them under control?
The problem is not the amount the business has to pay in tax (20% small business corporation tax is not unreasonable, VAT is paid by the customer in the end and NI is manageable or zero depending on how you remunerate people). The problem is the amount of time and effort it takes to pay it and the barrier that makes to growing from a few directors to anything bigger. The chap saying he pays £7 in tax administration per £1 profit is probably about probably right once you include opportunity cost, lawyers and accountants.
A couple of examples:
1. Corporation tax:
Excluding day to day record keeping, it took two directors and an accountant 2 weeks to finalise our company accounts last year. That was just going from accurate up to date electronic accounts in 2008 format to the same thing in a format acceptable to the HMRC in 2009.
10 days x (£500 per day + £800 per day + 8 x £200 per hour) = £29,000
1 new starter I won't be employing.
It took a director and a lawyer to check all our new contracts for IR35 compliance and negotiate any changes required with the customers. Roughly a day of the directors time for each customer (excluding travel expenses) and an average of 3 hours of a contract lawyer.
Cost: 10 new clients x ( 1 x £800 per day + 3 x £200 per hour) = £14,000
Another half a new starter I won't be employing.
I have plenty of profitable work for an extra member of staff and would love to stop working weekends but I'm unwilling to do so because I would also have to pay for extra accountancy, lawyering and a clerical assistant (all of whom are pure cost) to handle the tax and other admin involved. I haven't included time for training and mentoring on the downside as I secretly quite enjoy that bit. However, I would have to spend a bunch of my time sorting out H&S policies, employment contracts, pensions et al. At a point when the directors are the main contributors to the company profits that is problematic.
But the biggest factor by far is that I do IT because I enjoy creating systems and getting a team of very bright people to build something we are proud of and that does what the customer wanted. I don't do it because I enjoy paperwork.
There are some taxes which can't be avoided, i.e., you pay someone and become liable to pay their income tax and their NI, then on top you have to pay employers NI (payroll tax) for every employee. The value of the job provided is the TOTAL of those payments, which is why the employe often thinks they are getting a bit less than they deserve.
When you observe what was done out of sight of H&S, then it is no surprise to see new rules being applied regularly. One thing which brought all this about is the demise of apprenticeships in UK industry. If you have the right man with the right training and attitude doing the job, then he has a natural sense of safety built in. However, to save loads of money, companies started to use 'unskilled' labour to run machinery. The net result was an increase in accidents, largely due to lack of attention by the worker to the job in hand! Blame both employer AND the unskilled worker for allowing this to come about.
I have run my own company for more than thirty years and we get through recessions just like we get through the better times. Concentrate on the job in hand. Do it to your best capability and make sure that it is delivered on time. Of course, I trample on what some might call 'workers rights'. For instance, I don't allow newspaper in the working areas. Read them in tea breaks, but not on 'my time'. Of course you can take/make a personal call (if it seems important), but that doesn't include chatting to your friends. Of course you can have time off to bury your mother, but, hey, this is the third mother you've buried!! Not on my time !!
I do my best to run an honest and decent company. The spread of income from the top (me) to the bottom is a factor of three. I get three times as much as the guy at the bottom. BUT, it was my savings which started the company, my house which was used to secure the loans from the bank and I signed all the guarantees, and came up with the business ideas. The next guy down from me gets ten percent less than I do. I hope that my company is run fairly. The prices we charge are based on proper costings which INCLUDE all those factors which the FBS seem to think are so iniquitous, but are simply some of the costs of running a company.
Of course, if your business is so poor that you struggle to get customers through the door, then you are going to bleat about it being everyones' fault except yours ! The solution is to improve what you do to make it more desirable. One last comment from my own observations of many who could well be members of the SBF, taking cash without receipt suggests that you pocket some without paying tax on it. That drives up tax for everyone!
Get your business model right, get your costings right, get your prices right BASED on your costings, employ the right people with the right work ethic and you will not have to worry too much about the government asking for its share. If you don't know how to run a business then get some education BEFORE YOU START IT !!!
I spend my life working with ambitious owner managers helping them create the future they want for their business and for them. In my view, they are the unsung heroes of the economy and indeed of society - they build businesses, create jobs, which in turn enable families to live and give the people who do those jobs a sense of purpose and self-worth, and ultimately, they drive the UK economy. It's only by people taking control of their own destiny and making things happen that anything ever changes. So, it will be ambitious owner managers who lead us to recovery and it will be ambitious owner managers who create and build the businesses which make Britain great again.
Having said that, I personally do not feel that ambitious owner managers are well-served by the FSB who constantly appear to "whine for British biz" as another contributor so eloquently put it.
This latest FSB survey tells us little that isn't pretty apparent. While owner managers are remarkable people and achieve extraordinary things, if you ask an owner manager whether he/she feels that they pay too much tax, then they are going to answer that in exactly the same way as most other people. They'd rather pay less!
At the same time, outside the realms of the FSB, those with the inventiveness and vision, the strength and the courage, the gritty determination and fierce resolve, will simply get on with running good businesses. And, as Anonymous Coward says, if you've got a good business with good people and some distinctive benefits that customers are prepared to pay for, then you won't have to worry too much about taxes. And, if you have to worry so much about the taxman and the government, then there may well be some fundamental problems with the business. In which case, you might need some help .... and that's what we do!
I work for a small business (25 staff) - the two bosses had siphoned off most of the profits towards their (imminent) pension fund by buying an 'investment property' with it and then making the company pay rent to it to use as a warehouse.
When the downturn hit, they were left with not enough cash, so are slowly going bust despite having sacked 1/3 of the staff (and reduced any staff freebies - er, like the lunchtime sandwiches people get given to compensate for being expected not to take their lunch break).
Despite taking a large wad home each month (salary plus 'bonus') and living in huge sprawling houses, their wives and kids are still too poor to pay for things like iPhones, cars, petrol etc. - so that all comes out of the company (and the profits we make for them with our labour).
Before I feel sorry for smallbiz in Britain, I'd like to know whether the above is the exception - or the norm...


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An elderly Muslim cleric in South Florida has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for his conviction on charges of funneling tens of thousands of dollars to the Pakistani Taliban.
U.S. District Judge Robert Scola imposed the sentence Friday on 78-year-old Hafiz Khan, who was convicted in March of four terror support-related charges. Federal prosecutors recommended a 15-year sentence and Khan faced a maximum of 60 years.
"He is shocked at the fact that he will be dying in jail," said his attorney Khurrum Wahid.
Trial evidence showed Khan arranged to send about $50,000 over a three-year period to Pakistan. Prosecutors argued the money helped finance violent attacks against both U.S. and Pakistani targets. Khan told the judge Friday the money was for family, friends and a religious school he founded.
Khan was imam at a Miami mosque before his 2011 arrest.
"We are very disappointed because I think 25 years is a lot for something he didn't do, and I know this because I was somebody who was charged in the case here," said his son Irfan Khan.
Irfan Khan and his brother Izhar were initially charged with their father, but their charges were later dropped.
Attorneys representing the government did not comment after the sentence.
Khan even spoke on his own behalf, saying he is sick and he is against terrorism.
"I think it both helped him at some point and it hurt him in some points," said Wahid about whether the testimony may have hurt him. "Clearly as to the sentencing, it hurt him."


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Brooklyn Decker's Workout Playlist
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I use my iPhone for lots of aspects of my work out. When in a new city, I will use the map to run from attraction to attraction; iTunes music keeps me motivated; and the camera lets me Instagram photos of the homemade ice cream that will have me working out the next day.
Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur, WireImage


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Covered California Faces Criticism Over Plan To Partner With Wal-Mart
Covered California -- the state's health insurance exchange -- is facing criticism over a plan to allow Wal-Mart to enroll individuals in the health plans offered through the new insurance marketplace, the Los Angeles Times reports (Terhune, Los Angeles Times, 3/7).
The Affordable Care Act requires states to launch online insurance marketplaces by 2014. California's exchange primarily will serve individuals and small businesses.
Supporters hope that the exchange will function similar to websites like Amazon and Expedia so that users will be able to choose between various health plans through an easily navigable online store.
The exchange is expected to open for registration in October (California Healthline, 3/6).
Criticisms of Plan
Covered California officials want employees at Wal-Mart and other retailers to help individuals learn about and purchase health plans offered through the state health insurance exchange.
However, labor unions and consumer advocates oppose the idea, arguing that Wal-Mart and similar retailers should not advise others on health coverage when many of their workers do not qualify for employer-sponsored health insurance and instead receive benefits through Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program.
James Araby -- executive director of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union's Western States Council -- said, "We are appalled and offended that the exchange would contemplate partnering with Wal-Mart and other retailers notorious for failing to provide health benefits to many of their workers and providing substandard benefits to the workers who do qualify."
Sara Flocks -- public policy coordinator at the California Labor Federation -- said, "Wal-Mart is one of the problems health reform is trying to fix," adding that the company "is the driving force behind taking insurance away from Californians."
In response to criticisms, Wal-Mart defended its employee health benefits and said that they exceed what many retailers typically offer their workers. A spokesperson for Wal-Mart said that it is too early to discuss a partnership with the exchange.
Moving Forward
On Wednesday, labor leaders met with Covered California officials with a goal of developing requirements for retailers that partner with the exchange to ensure they are providing comprehensive health benefits for workers.
Union leaders said they will pursue legislation if they cannot reach an agreement with exchange officials.
Peter Lee -- executive director of Covered California -- said, "We are not changing our overall retail strategy, and it would be a distraction to have legislation about setting different standards for who the exchange can work with."Lee added that the ACA "will put penalties on large employers that don't provide adequate coverage" and that "[i]t is not the job of Covered California to be the enforcement mechanism for that" (Los Angeles Times, 3/7). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.


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EyeOfTheTiger needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 25 designs submitted by 15 freelance designers.
Logo required for SaveOrDonate.com a cashback and charity giving website.
Desired Color Scheme:
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Web 2.0 style, smooth, young and funky
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Colours: Open
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Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Swimming Pool Blog
by Guest Blogger Chris Miles, February 08, 2011
Above ground swimming pool installation tips
Preparing To Install An Above Ground Swimming Pool:
Installing an above ground swimming pool is a relatively easy task to do. Depending on the size (Pools can range from 8 ft to 32 ft or more in size) you can even assemble one on your own, although the assembly process is far easier if you have a mate or two to help you. Be sure to check with local codes to verify that a building permit is not needed, and to comply with any pool safety regulations that may be in place.
In general above ground pools are made up of galvanized panels that are simply bolted together and a plastic liner is then installed inside it. This type of simple construction means that the competent DIY person should already have most of the tools needed to carry out the task.
Before starting to install your swimming pool, you need to think carefully about its location as you may need a substantial area that is perfectly flat and level to place your pool on. Indeed if you do not have such an area, then leveling up such an area may take longer than building the pool! But you must insure that you do not skimp on this task, as if the surface the pool sits on is not perfectly level, you could find your pool collapsed due to an uneven water load.
Always remove the turf from the area that the pool will be sitting on, and if at all possible when leveling your site do not build it up to make it level, it is always far better to dig down to level the soil. If you build up the site with soil to level it then there is a very good chance that with the heavy weight of the water, that the above ground swimming pool will cause the ground to slump in the area that you have built up. Fill dirt settles, and what was perfectly level before adding water can become lopsided.
It is also advisable to put down a two-inch layer of sand to lay the pool on, as this will remove any remaining defects from the soil. Be sure to use graded sand that has no small pebbles in it. Alternatively, one could use a liner pad on the floor to cover imperfections, or to help protect the sand from divots caused by jumping in feet first.
Once this is done (And checked again to make sure it is all level) then you can begin to install your above ground pool.
Installing An Above Ground Swimming Pool:
Whilst you can install an above ground swimming pool on your own, it is far easier and faster if you have a couple of blokes to help you out, and preferably 3 to 4 helpers for the process of dropping and setting the liner.
First of all - you will need to ensure that the proposed location for your above ground swimming pool is perfectly flat and level. Do not underestimate the amount of time this can take, and do not skimp on this task as failure to have a perfectly level surface can result in an un-natural load on the swimming pool result in catastrophic wall failure. This can result in several tons of water literally exploding out through the side of your pool, so take this task seriously.
Liberally sprinkle the ground with weed killer such as Spectracide or Roundup, and then add a two-inch layer of builders sand over your proposed location as this will even out any surface irregularities. Once this is done you can begin to lay the track that the wall panels will sit in. This large ring or oval track connects together easily every 8ft. If you have weak soil, it may be advisable to sink a level cinder block into the ground at each connection, under which each upright will stand. After bolting together the panels it is a good idea to put duck tape over the nuts and bolts thus making them safer.
When all of your panels are assembled and upright (This is most definitely easier done with the help of a friend or two), then check that everything is square and level, paying particular attention to the supporting posts or uprights. If in any doubt about the level, even go so far as disassembling the whole pool. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for everything to be level.
Once you are happy that everything is looking how it should be - then you can begin to install the swimming pool liner. You should try and eradicate as many of the creases in it as possible, paying particular attention to removing the "Fold over" creases. Whilst in an ideal World you would eliminate all of the creases in reality you should expect some inevitable creasing. Using a shopvac or powerful vacuum like the Mighty Vac, you can suck the liner tight against the walls as you fill the pool. In absence of a vac, pull the liner tight over the wall (on Overlap type liners). For beaded liners, measure the distance from the floor to the track, to make sure that the distance is not less than the height of the liner!
Once you are satisfied about the drape of the liner, and most of the wrinkles are worked out, add a hose to fill the pool. Check on the liner every 6" or so, to make sure new creases have not formed. If you see some slippage and creasing, pull up on the vinyl and/or use a pool brush or push broom to try and work them toward the side. Do this from outside the pool so as not to put footprints in the floor. If you must get in the pool, use a large piece of plastic to stand on, to distribute your weight - to prevent footprints.
When the pool is full, screw on the faceplates for the skimmer and return(s). Then connect your pump and filter hoses, and cut out the vinyl inside of the faceplate. Plug in the pump and check and balance your water chemistry.
Following these tips should see you well on your way to enjoying a dip in your new above ground swimming pool.
Thanks to our Guest Blogger Chris Miles!
Chris Miles is the Director at Splash and Relax, the leading supplier of swimming pools products in the UK.
Splash and Relax specialise in Above Ground Swimming Pools from major brands world wide.


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Thor Industries Inc. today (Feb. 18) announced an expansion of production capacity for its motorhomes through an agreement to purchase a 220,000-square-foot facility located in Elkhart, Ind., formerly used to produce Monaco towable recreational vehicles and owned by Allied Specialty Vehicles Inc.
According to a press release, the additional production capacity will be used to meet continued strong demand for products produced by the company's Thor Motor Coach (TMC) subsidiary.
TMC will operate the plant with plans to begin production in the new facility during the second half of the Thor's fiscal year. On Feb. 4, Thor announced that sales of motorized RVs increased by 43.8% to $339.3 million for the first six months ended Jan. 31.
"We are pleased to once again have the opportunity to expand our motorized operations in Elkhart County," said Bob Martin, Thor president and CEO. "With the recovery of the motorized RV market gaining strength over the past year, we have pursued opportunistic expansion of our motorized production capacity, first with the acquisition of the Wakarusa complex and now with this plant on the south side of Elkhart. We view this expansion as an important step to meet both our immediate production needs and long-term strategic goals for our motorized business."
Jeff Kime, president of Thor Motor Coach, noted, "This facility presents us with the ability to expand our capacity while maintaining the flexibility to meet emerging demands for our products in the market. In addition, the increased capacity will allow us to reduce overtime and the current stress on our existing plants and better align our production volumes with higher demand for our products. We have begun operations on two production lines at our Wakarusa plant purchased last year, but that additional capacity isn't sufficient to meet the growth of our markets. As a result, when the opportunity to set up operations in this facility presented itself, we jumped at the chance to expand production for what is shaping up to be another strong year of growth."


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Take something quite dark, quite vampy and add a coat of a light sheer (and a tiny bit bland) pink, and what do you get? Perhaps the most perfect blue-mauve, ever!
See the swatch….
Everyone raves about Turkish Delight by Nars – I think its a bit of a boring lip gloss in comparison with some of the other gorgeous glosses Nars has, BUT – its rather nice on top of other (even pretty dark) lip colours.
It's quite a Megan Fox toned mauve lip – looks good on me (warm toned) but would look great on cool toned girls too. Is a nude lip without being too pale or draining to the face too.
What do you think of this lip combo?


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Environment Waikato not involved in Gold project
Environment Waikato says it has not considered any involvement in dredging the Coromandel harbour for residues of gold.
Community » What's Happening » News » Media releases - archived
You can access our archive of media releases since 2000 by using the filter by date range search on the left hand side. Once you have made your date selections, click the filter button.
This archive does not include the recent media releases.
Environment Waikato says it has not considered any involvement in dredging the Coromandel harbour for residues of gold.
Environment Waikato has granted resource consent for earthworks and vegetation clearance associated with a proposed new subdivision at Lake Taupo.
A growing number of Beachcare groups are increasing people's understanding of the natural processes on beaches, this week's Environment Waikato Environment Committee heard.
Environment Waikato is concerned about the additional financial burden on Regional ratepayers and the damage the proposed Foreshore and Seabed Bill could have on its relationships with tangata whenua.
Environment Waikato is increasing control on ragwort in Maramarua from next year after requests from landowners.
Environment Waikato has a 10 year plan to limit the spread of pest fish koi carp and brown bullhead catfish through the Region.
Environment Waikato wants MAF to reconsider using Regional Pest Management Strategies to manage a pig disease infecting New Zealand piggeries.
The corporate winners of Environment Waikato's Great E-Scape adventure through the Region got out of their suits and into their gumboots last week to plant the proceeds of their $1500 first prize on banks of the Little Waipa stream near Arapuni.


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Last updated: May 2013
Every Windows product has a lifecycle. The lifecycle begins when a product is released and ends when it's no longer supported or sold. Knowing key dates in this lifecycle helps you make informed decisions about when to upgrade or make other changes to your software.
Here are the rights and limits of the Windows lifecycle.
End of support refers to the date when Microsoft no longer provides automatic fixes, updates, or online technical assistance.
This is the time to make sure you have the latest available service pack installed.
Without Microsoft support, you will no longer receive security updates that can help protect your PC from harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software that can steal your personal information. For more information go to Microsoft Support Lifecycle.
What is end of support?
After 12 years, support for Windows XP ended April 8, 2014. There will be no more security updates or technical support for the Windows XP operating system. It is very important that customers and partners migrate to a modern operating system such as Windows 8.1. Customers moving to a modern operating system will benefit from dramatically enhanced security, broad device choice for a mobile workforce, higher user productivity, and a lower total cost of ownership through improved management capabilities.
Support for Office 2003 also ended on April 8, 2014.
What does this mean?
It means you should take action. After April 8, 2014, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates or technical support for Windows XP. Security updates patch vulnerabilities that may be exploited by malware and help keep users and their data safer. PCs running Windows XP after April 8, 2014, should not be considered to be protected, and it is important that you migrate to a current supported operating system – such as Windows 8.1 – so you can receive regular security updates to protect their computer from malicious attacks.
Read the Windows lifecycle fact sheet to learn more.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windo...f-support.aspx <= Click Here
|Windows XP
|Service Pack 3
|April 14, 2009
|April 8, 2014
|Windows Vista
|Service Pack 2
|April 10, 2012
|April 11, 2017
|Windows 7 *
|Service Pack 1
|January 13, 2015
|January 14, 2020
|Windows 8
|Not yet available
|January 9, 2018
|January 10, 2023
|Is the Windows XP operating system still supported by ZoneAlarm products?
ZoneAlarm products will continue to be supported on Windows XP SP3.
At this time there are no plans to end-of-life product support for Windows XP.
The most current version of ZoneAlarm is 13.3.052.000
You can always find and download the latest released versions HERE.
How do I migrate off Windows XP?


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Obama's stadium stumble
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Democratic National Convention got off to a rousing, carefully scripted start — then hit its first big bump Wednesday when officials scuttled plans for President Barack Obama to deliver his acceptance speech in a large, open-air stadium.
The decision to move the speech from Bank of America Stadium to the smaller indoor arena where the first two days of the convention is taking place immediately sparked a round of second-guessing about why the campaign selected the large, outdoor venue in the first place. The last-minute reshuffle also gave the Republicans fresh ammunition to claim that voters have lost enthusiasm for their president.
Story Continued Below
It's hard to see how the abrupt change in venue will have a dramatic impact on the broad arc of the presidential campaign. But voiding the 65,000 speech tickets handed out to area residents prompted a sharply negative reaction from some prominent voices in this state, which Obama carried in 2008 and is battling to put in his column again in November.
Given that evening thunderstorms aren't unusual for North Carolina in late summer, the decision raised questions about why Obama's advisers were so determined to stage the convention's closing night outdoors.
"What did organizers think the chance of rain would be on a September evening in Charlotte when they decided to put the Obama event at the stadium in the first place? Zero?" Charlotte Observer Editorial Page Editor Taylor Batten wrote on the paper's blog.
"[I]t's a simple question. … if you had a #Panthers game, Concert or Soccer match with a 20% chance of storms would you cancel 24 hrs prior?" WCNC-TV meteorologist Brad Panovich wrote on Twitter. "Severe threat is almost zero Thursday night & chance of rain is 20%."
Until Wednesday morning, convention officials had insisted that Obama's speech at Bank of America Stadium would go forward "rain or shine." But meteorologists said the forecast was actually improving when convention officials pulled the plug and shifted the event to the Time Warner Cable Arena, which holds only about 15,000 people in its convention layout.
"My only beef is it's not like this threat has changed much in the past week. If anything, the weather situation has gotten marginally better the closer we have gotten to tomorrow night," Panovich told POLITICO, who added he didn't object to the decision to nix the event in the interest of safety.
"Here in NC, you just don't mess with Ma Nature and thunderstorms. This state ranks in the top 5, each year, in lightning related deaths. So, you won't find me suggesting the move inside was a bad one," another meteorologist, Jeff Crum of News 14 Carolina, wrote in an email.
Republicans claimed the talk of weather was just an excuse and that waning enthusiasm for Obama meant organizers faced the possibility of thousands of empty seats.


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goddess200sx on Family Tree Circles
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"Looking for BENNETT relatives in Sydney & England"
I am looking for relatives of Mr & Mrs Percy & Alice Bennett (maiden name was Laidler before immigrating to Australia) & any relatives of my deceased father Sidney Ernest Bennett (son of Percy & Alice) who lived in Peakhurst, Sydney, Australia. I would also like to find any photos or memorabilia on my father who was a boxer in his late teens/early 20's. He would be 69 this year if still alive. I am the youngest grandchild at 31 & his youngest daughter.
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"Never, ever, think about something else when you should be thinking about the power of incentives."
-- Charlie Munger
Maybe you've heard this popular myth: A major cause of the financial crisis was boneheaded Wall Street compensation packages unaligned with shareholder interests.
Before I can tell you why that story is so misleading, please ask yourself this:
Am I an investor, or am I a speculator?
During his recent visit to Fool HQ, business legend John Bogle argued that this is the very first question you must ask yourself.
The distinction is simple but powerful: Investors buy shares of businesses and prosper over time as the company grows profits. Speculators, on the other hand, trade wiggles on a stock chart, in hopes of selling shares at a higher price to other speculators within a few quarters.
Back to the myth
Sadly, shortsighted compensation plans and business strategies are aligned with the time horizons of the vast majority of shareholders. After all, at year-end 2007 (the most recent statistical set), some 80% of all shares were held by financial institutions. And the evidence shows that financial institutions are, by and large, speculators.
Given the explosion of mutual funds, 401(k)s, endowments, and the like, it makes sense that institutional ownership has steadily risen over the years. As institutional ownership has grown, however, the average holding period of stocks has shrunk:
NYSE Turnover
Holding Period
2009 (year-to-date)
9 months
14 months
26 months
33 months
63 months
100 months
Source: NYSE Group Factbook. Turnover = number of shares traded as a percentage of total shares outstanding.
It gets even worse when we look at the overall stock market, according to Bogle. Inclusive of exchange-traded funds, the overall market turned over at 284% in 2007. That means the average holding period for stocks and ETFs was four months!
OK, but how does this speculative frenzy affect you?
Wall Street's very dirty secret
Simply put, when institutional shareholders have a time horizon of four months, they should want management to pull out the stops right now to hit quarterly earnings targets. If they're not going to own the stock in five years, why would they concern themselves with the long-term effects of today's business decisions?
Consider the average holding period of these stocks in 2007 -- the year before the volatility-inducing financial meltdown:
Holding Period
Bank of America
9.4 months
9.3 months
5.8 months
Morgan Stanley
5.0 months
Lehman Brothers
2.5 months
Sources: Yahoo! Finance; Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's; and author's calculations. Turnover calculated as total yearly volume divided by average shares outstanding.
One appalling example
From 2000 until its collapse, former Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld received approximately $350 million in total compensation. In part, he was rewarded for growing the company's earnings at an annual rate of 18% over that time frame ... except that those returns were produced using 30-to-1 leverage on top of a shoddy asset base.
Since it would take only a roughly 3% decline in the value of Lehman's assets to render the company insolvent, it seems as if Lehman operated with temporary gains in mind, but no thoughtful strategy for how to avoid blowing up. And on Sept. 14, 2008, it did blow up, in the largest bankruptcy ever.
The shock of Lehman's failure froze credit markets, caused huge derivatives losses, and set off bank runs around the world. In just one month, the TED spread shot up to an all-time high. AIG needed to be rescued by taxpayers because of the billions it lost because of Lehman's collapse.
The run on Washington Mutual, which began the day of Lehman's collapse, led to the largest bank failure in U.S. history in mere weeks. One Wells Fargo senior economist estimated the employment fallout from Lehman's bankruptcy at 2 million job losses. Even strong companies unrelated to the financial industry are suffering from the economic fallout of this crisis -- Coach
No one disputes that the outrageous risks taken at Lehman Brothers and similar institutions have had terrible effects on our economy. But consider this: Despite Lehman's epic collapse, it's probable that most shareholders benefited from Lehman's rise of more than 200% over eight years. Refer back to the chart above -- the average holding period of Lehman stocks was less than three months!
Frankly, this upsets me. And I can't blame you if it makes you mad, too. The fact that a majority of business owners' interests are unaligned with the health of their own businesses runs completely counter to the well-being of our economy and the basic tenets of capitalism.
If capitalism is going to work, this ridiculousness needs to change.
Here's my plan
One market-oriented mechanism would be a tax increase on speculation, combined with a tax decrease on investing. If it became less profitable for institutional shareholders to speculate on short-term price movements, and more profitable to invest for the long term, their holding periods might increase, and they'd probably care more about the financial health and compensation structures of the businesses they own.
This could take the form of a graduated 60% speculation tax on stocks and equity-based derivatives held for less than one year, which tapered down to, say, 5% after a few years.
I'm not the only investor who has thought of such a plan. Warren Buffett (perhaps facetiously) once suggested a 100% short-term capital gains tax, while John Bogle has advocated a 50% rate. Just this month, Buffett, Bogle, and former Goldman Sachs
Such a move to align institutional shareholders with the long-term health of the companies they own is a necessary step to preventing the next financial time bomb. Without such a shift in incentives, they would have limited reason to demand responsible management, and a crisis like this one would be more likely to happen again.
The silver lining
To be fair, not every corporation fits the Lehman mold. Berkshire Hathaway's shareholders are owners for more than 30 years on average; they must be happy with Buffett's relatively meager compensation, large stock ownership, and long-term focus.
Just as we saw a number of disasters in the past year, I expect -- and history confirms -- that we will begin to see other companies benefit from their missteps. With stocks so cheap, making money now becomes a matter of examining every facet of a company -- including the competence of its management team, rewards and incentives, business strategy, and market environment.
These are just some of the factors we examine at Motley Fool Inside Value to identify the best bargains in this market. Click here if you're interested in reading more about our favorite stock ideas, free for the next 30 days.
Already a subscriber to Inside Value? Log in at the top of this page.
This article was originally published under the headline "Why You Should Love Higher Taxes" on April 17, 2009. It has been updated.
Ilan Moscovitz owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway, which, along with Best Buy and Coach, is a Stock Advisor pick. Berkshire and Best Buy are also Inside Value recommendations. Duke Energy is an Income Investor selection. The Fool owns shares of Berkshire. The Motley Fool is investors writing for investors.


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Ric Esther Bienstock is an Emmy Award-winning Canadian filmmaker best known for her groundbreaking investigative documentaries. Her films have screened at over 60 international festivals and have aired on networks in over 50 countries. Her most recent feature length documentary, Tales From the Organ Trade, tackles the international black market trade in human organs. Narrated by David Cronenberg, the film was produced for HBO in the U.S. and Shaw Media and Canal D in Canada. The film has screened at over 40 film festivals around the world, and garnered 14 awards including the prestigious Edward R. Murrow award, the Amnesty International Award and the Scripps Howard Award. The film has also been nominated for two US Emmy Awards (winners to be announced September 2014).
She has produced, written and directed a diverse range of acclaimed films including Sex Slaves (aka The Real Sex Traffic) in which Bienstock went under-cover to produce an expose into the trafficking of women from the former Soviet bloc into the global sex trade. Other films include the 3-part series Penn & Teller's Magic and Mystery Tour, which takes the Vegas magician-comedians on a wild and unpredictable adventure to Egypt, India and China, The Money Shot (from the Series "The Sexual Century) a revealing romp through the hard-core pornography industry and how it is penetrating mainstream culture. She also produced and directed an unprecedented behind the scenes look inside the world of professional boxing with Boxing: In and Out of the Ring, the highly acclaimed Ebola: Inside an Outbreak (aka The Plague Fighters) a thorough ground-zero investigation of an Ebola outbreak in Zaire for which she was honored with a Dupont-Columbia Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism and Ms. Conceptions, an entertaining look at single mothers by choice and the sperm industry which screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York as part of a film series.
Bienstock also produced numerous one hour documentaries and series including The Age of Anxiety (CBC), Faces of the Bible(National Geographic U.S. & International, VisionTV), Impact of Terror (CNN, CBC), Finding Atlantis (National Geographic U.S. & International, Discovery Canada), Beasts of the Bible (Animal Planet U.S., VisionTV), Science of the Soul (History U.S. and VisionTV), The Lost Tomb of Jesus (Discovery U.S., Channel 4, VisionTV) and Deadly Currents (BBC, Discovery Channel, CBC) among others. She also served as location director for the Emmy-winning The Plague Monkeys (A&E, Channel 4, CBC).
Her work has garnered numerous awards including a U.S. Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Journalism, two Edward R. Murrow Awards, a Dupont-Columbia University Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism, a British Broadcast Award for Best Documentary, a Royal Television Society Award, a nomination for a British Academy Award (BAFTA), two HOT DOCS Awards, twoGemini Awards, a Genie, a Cable Ace Award, two Gold Hugos from the Chicago Film Festival, two Cine Golden Eagles, a Distinguished Documentary Achievement Award from the IDA in Los Angeles, a Gracie Award for Outstanding Documentary, 3 Gold World Medals from the New York Festivals, the Grand Prix at the Nyon International Film Festival in Switzerland and two Overseas Press Club of America Awards for her investigative documentaries.
She speaks three languages, none of which her children listen to.


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SuicideGirl of the Day — Rumi [PICS]
Meet Rumi, a SuicideGirl who is a professional ranter, loves flavored coffee and organizes messy spaces as a hobby.
Name: Rumi
Location: Ohio
Occupation: Professional ranter.
Body mods: Lip and nose piercing, some tats and more to come.
Gets me hot: Liberal boys in fitted jeans.
Most humbling moment: Falling down the bleachers at a high school football game.
I lost my virginity: In my college dorm room.
Cigarettes: Nope.
My diet: Vegetarian.
Alcohol: Occasionally.
My kink factor: Talk dirty to me.
My politics: Bleeding-heart Liberal.
Pot: Occasionally.
My idea of a good time: A long, slow, late dinner with friends.
Into: Feminism, politics, open-minded people, animals, grass-root efforts, education, eating, women and sex.
Not into: Closed-minded people, those who don't recycle, ignorance and men oozing with machismo.
Makes me happy: Laughing with my friends and family, my cats, flavored coffee, social justice, nature, hugs and kissing.
Makes me sad: When the people and animals I love are hurt.
Hobbies: Poetry, running and organizing messy spaces.
5 things I can't live without: Birth control, high heels, tofurky, education and breathable air.
Vices: Red Zinfandel
I spend most of my free time: Running.
SuicideGirls is a community that celebrates alternative beauty and alternative culture from all over the world. Since 2001, tens of thousands of models have submitted millions of photos to their website hoping to become SuicideGirls.


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I can think of no better way to follow up the post about Madeleine L'Engle than to link to this one from a friend. I'll just give you a little teaser, you need to read the whole post with comments
"Tell God your stories. After all, God is the inventor of our stories- and it's why the Devil can't ever quite get the best of God.
Then, when you meet the Devil- woo him, my girl. Woo him with a story and run."
It reminded me of something I haven't thought about for a long time. One of my favorite singer/songwriters is Ken Medema. Long ago and far away, he wrote a childrens' musical entitled "StoryTellin' Man. It was about Jesus and his parables. The favorite songs around our house were "Let's have a party," "Are you a loser," and "Beaten up on the highway." Surely children in some church somewhere are still getting joy of singing Ken's songs.


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Bradley looks the part on big league mound
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Archie Bradley era for the D-backs began in earnest on Monday night against the Rockies at Salt River Fields, and the first returns were, well, electrifying.
Bradley struck out the first two batters he faced on seven pitches on the way to six whiffs in the three innings he pitched. He walked two and allowed a hit, all in the second inning, and pitched out of a bases-loaded jam to boot.View Full Game Coverage
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Archie Bradley era for the D-backs began in earnest on Monday night against the Rockies at Salt River Fields, and the first returns were, well, electrifying.
Bradley struck out the first two batters he faced on seven pitches on the way to six whiffs in the three innings he pitched. He walked two and allowed a hit, all in the second inning, and pitched out of a bases-loaded jam to boot.View Full Game Coverage
It was an auspicious debut for Bradley, making his first start in a Sedona Red D-backs uniform. Arizona won, 5-0, and Bradley earned his first win.
Bradley said he was nervous, but he surely didn't show it.
"Were there nerves? Oh, definitely, but I get nervous before any game," Bradley said. "You're not human if you don't. But it's not until I get that first pitch over do I really settle down and get into it. It was a good way to start. It's good to start out with a strike because then you can expand and do some different things. I liked the way the first inning went, and I was able to build off it."
Actually, Bradley threw his first four pitches over the plate, with Drew Stubbs opening the game by facing three blazing fastballs for called strikes. Michael Cuddyer didn't fare much better, taking a called first strike and ultimately swinging and missing on a 1-2 count.
"He was pretty much in control out there," D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said about Bradley. "We all know what his capabilities are, what he's accomplished in the Minor Leagues, what he's projected to accomplish up here. It's good to see him go out and execute that way. We just want to keep him headed in the right direction. He's somebody who can be very important to our team this year."
The D-backs and many of their fans had been anxious to see Bradley, who was 14-5 with a 1.84 ERA and 162 strikeouts last season at two Minor League levels, including 12-5 with a 1.97 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 21 starts for Double-A Mobile.
Bradley turned out to be as poised in an interview session as he was on the mound, smiling for the microphones and cameras. He's 21 and a golly-gee kid from in Muskogee, Okla. Clean cut, as friendly and genuine as they come.
"I had a lot of fun out there," Bradley said. "It was fun to finally face someone without a Diamondbacks jersey on. It felt really good to be on this side, in big league camp. Obviously, you couldn't ask for a better debut. I got the adrenaline going, I got to compete, and it felt good."
The Rockies put an "A" lineup out there in what was the back end of a split-squad, day-night doubleheader for both clubs: Stubbs, Cuddyer, Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki were the first four Major League batters Bradley faced.
The seventh pick overall by the D-backs in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, Bradley is only three years removed from pitching for Broken Arrow High School, where he was 12-1 as a senior and led his team to an Oklahoma state championship. With his pro experience limited to the lower levels of Arizona's Minor League organization, it's safe to say the lineup Colorado put out there Monday night is the best ever pitted against him.
"It was very challenging and fun. It was very exciting, too," Bradley said. "I've watched those guys for a couple of years now, and to finally be on the mound looking at them in a game and to get them out, that was very exciting and fun, too.
"You look out there and there are Gold Glovers, Tulo, Cuddyer ... I didn't really study them for this start. It was a spring start. I don't know them that well. But at some point, I'm going to face them again, whether it's this year, next year or whenever it is."
And when that may be is the real question.
Bradley was a candidate to come out of camp in the big league starting rotation. But that possibility started to dim when the D-backs signed free agent Bronson Arroyo late in the offseason to a two-year deal, guaranteeing him $23.5 million. Barring injury, Arizona's rotation should be Patrick Corbin, Brandon McCarthy, Wade Miley, Trevor Cahill and Arroyo, who was scratched from a start against the Padres on Tuesday because of a sore lower back.
But how are you going to keep Bradley down on the farm after he's whiffed CarGo?
"I don't know about that," Bradley said. "It's up to Gibby and the people who make that decision. I'm just trying to prepare myself, and tonight was a good start."
Will Bradley be disappointed if the has to go back to the Minors to start the season?
"No, not at all," Bradley said. "I understand it's a process. The only thing I can do is pitch and be ready when it happens."
Gibson said on Monday that no decisions have been made yet on the 25-man roster for March 31 against the Giants at Chase Field. He didn't discount Bradley being there, but he didn't give the possibility much credence.
"We look far beyond that," Gibson said. "You guys know that. We've talked about that. We're going to keep him healthy, keep him on the right track, developing, so at any time this year we need him, he could be an asset to us."
Gibson said this past weekend that Bradley has "something most guys don't have, and we'd like to see him use it." Bradley complied by throwing about 95 percent hard fastballs, with a few breaking pitches. He didn't even attempt using the changeup.
It may have been a spring game, in a Minor League-sized stadium, but Bradley rose to the occasion.
"You can only put so much on bullpens or live BPs," Bradley said. "But once you step out on the mound and things actually matter, the results count, that's when you can really see where your stuff is and really evaluate yourself."
Barry M. Bloom is a national reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog, Boomskie on Baseball. Follow @boomskie on Twitter.


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Done in arresting, tailored shapes, the basics can still stun.
Name: Cynthia
Jacket: Cynthia Rowley (shop similar: Diesel Black Gold or Sofia Cashmere)
Leggings: Theory (shop similar: Theory or Splendid)
Boots: Ralph Lauren (shop similar: Frye or Via Spiga)
Sunglasses: Tom Ford (shop similar: Ray-Ban or Diane von Furstenberg)
Want to see more street style? Check out our Tumblr and Pinterest!


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With apologies, this week's edition is going to be super-short; I'm just a bit too busy with the work they actually pay me for, but I'm stealing a few minutes because I don't want to let a week go by unnoticed.
The Second Circuit heard arguments this week in an ACLU suit opposing FBI National Security Letters and the gag orders placed on recipients of those letters.
Following the close of the Beijing Olympics, human rights groups are criticizing China's failure to keep promises of free speech and civil liberties protection, and are petitioning the IOC to require better free-speech assurances from future Olympic hosts.
The ACLU is suing the chief of police of Flint, Michigan (you may remember him for his opposition to baggy pants) over his order preventing Flint police from speaking with the media.
As the Democratic National Convention plays out this week, including a number of arrests of demonstrators, the mayor of Denver says he has worked to make his city as accessible as possible to protest groups.
Three journalists from New York, in Minneapolis ahead of the Republican Convention to document police conduct this week say they were arrested, searched without their consent, and had their property confiscated and held for two days. The Deputy Chief of Police says the group was suspected of trespassing in a rail yard (a felony) and gave "evasive answers" to officers.
The ACLU of Delaware has filed a suit against Wilmington police, who do not have a record as big fans of the constitution, for roughing up and arresting a 68 year-old filmmaker who attempted to document a traffic accident outside his home in 2006. Other onlookers were allowed to stay and watch while Mark Marquisee, who was about 20 feet from the accident scene and emergency responders, was tackled, handcuffed, and left to suffer in a hot patrol car in the August heat.
That's it for now – next week I'll be back with pretty pictures and misguided attempts at humor. I promise.
Chris in Philly


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I really do love all things coconut. Coconut oil, coconut milk, Banana boat... but I may have to draw the line at baking with coconut flour.
This morning I tried coconut flour pancakes and while the kids gobbled them up I thought they texture was all wrong. So sad especially when the web site mentioned them tasting like donuts. sigh.
So please send me coconut flour recipe that you have tried and love!