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Simon Townshend Discusses 'Looking Out, Looking in' Solo Album + Touring With The Who
It's easy to say that guitarist Simon Townshend has spent his whole career making music in the shadows of his brother, Pete Townshend of the Who. Talking with Townshend though, it's clear that having a famous brother hasn't hindered him one iota with what he's sought to achieve through his own musical path of songwriting. Simon's output has taken influence naturally from watching what Pete was doing with the Who, but also, like any other developing creative spirit, he took influence from the music which was all around him.
Since the mid-'90s, Townshend has been a member of the Who, playing second guitar for the band, beginning with their 'Quadrophenia' tour in 1996. But he's also maintained a vibrantly active solo career, recording frequently during his downtime from the group.
Townshend is in the middle of a productive streak, having completed three albums of material within the past two years. The middle album of the three, 'Looking Out, Looking In,' is a wonderfully diverse collection of songs that will be landing in stores in November.
We spoke with Simon to dig inside his rich musical history and the songs from his latest solo album, plus he also gave us a good look at what we can expect from the Who's 'Quadrophenia and More' tour, which kicked off on Nov. 1, in Sunrise, Fla.
Music runs deep in your family. Is that something that you had interest in from an early age? What was your starting point?
Oh, I don't think there was anything else I was interested in. It was when I was about six, I was writing songs on one string on a guitar, that I had started to play properly. I got my dad to get me some lessons when I was about eight. Pete gave me my first guitar, which was built of two guitars that he'd smashed and he had put them together for me. I particularly wanted a Fender Strat neck and a Gibson body, which he did for me.
From there, I mean, it was in my house, but it wasn't only Pete. Because I am quite a lot younger than Pete, [so] he wasn't really in the house much when I was young. But my father was a fantastic jazz musician and my mom was a singer and music was just in the house all of the time. We had a music room with a piano and all of my dad's friends used to come over and jam and it was just a very musical upbringing. I don't think really there was any other place for me to go. Something just put a guitar in my hand as soon as I could pick one up, really.
From a songwriting standpoint, when did it start to feel like you were writing real songs, as opposed to songs that were just songs you were writing as a kid?
Well, I always used to take everything that I did very seriously. Even the songs that I wrote on the one string were important to me. I did a session recording of some of my songs with Pete -- he took me into his home studio and we cut a couple of my songs there and I always used to think they were very important.
Obviously, I think when I got my first record contract with my group On the Air, that was a time that I felt like I had something that could actually make some money. When you realize people are being paid around you, to work with you, that's when you probably realize that it's something that is important and is something that has some weight to it. Because if you're employing people and you're giving people work, then you're doing something good, aren't you?
Oh, absolutely. From an influence standpoint, what sort of musical influences were driving that early songwriting?
When I really got into music [in my] early teens, that was '72 [or] '73. Obviously, when I was nine, I was listening to 'Tommy' because that was the Who's new album. [So] I was obviously hearing a lot of Who music, but there was so much out there. Music was coming at you fast and furious and there was so much good stuff. I just remember loving everything that I heard.
I used to love the singer-songwriters to Hendrix playing guitar and [also] Bob Marley. Bob Marley blew me away [with] his music. I think I just loved music and it doesn't have to be a particular genre, it [just] has to be good music. If it's good, it appeals to me. And what a time to be growing up, during that period!
I ask that, because I love the sounds on this album that you got with these songs and I hear so many different potential influences coming into those songs. Listening to 'Stay,' I hear almost a Peter Frampton-like tone to the sound and the songwriting. Was he an influence at all for you when you were coming up?
Absolutely! I had 'Frampton Comes Alive' like everybody else. We all had that record [and it had] killer songs. That's what it's always been about for me. I can play guitar, but I'm a constant musician. Obviously, over the years, it's something you develop, isn't it? But I never sat down and tried to study guitar to be a guitarist, I see myself as an artist, not a musician, if you like. They're very different. A musician studies scales and knows the technical side of it all, but I'm more into writing words and creating chords and melody and harmony to build a song. This is what it's all about for me. I think it shows in the record. It's quite clear what I'm into. I don't go out to impress people with musicianship.
Do you approach these projects as albums or do you go song-by-song?
Song-by-song. It's interesting, because you do get into a thing, don't you? You do get into a place for recording a record and I still try and think of them as records, as an entire journey or product, because I like to see it have a start, a middle and an end. Today's music industry is sort of cherry picking [one song at a time] but I'm still living that dream of having two sides to a record with a track one and a track five and a track one and a track five on the other side, [creating] a journey. It's a tough one. Nowadays, you just cram all of your best songs at the front of the CD, don't you?
Yeah, that can be the approach, for sure. But at the same time, I think one of the best songs on this new CD is the last song, with 'Make It.'
Yeah, that's right, 'Make It' is a good one, isn't it? And 'Making Waves' [also towards the end of the album] is another really strong song. But that's it, I was trying to keep it to be a journey, to have a story and not just put all of the good ones at the front. I wanted people to just put their headphones on and listen to the CD right through. That's the idea, to keep people's interests.
You handled the string arrangements on that one and you also produced this album. How early did you get into the recording and arranging side of the business?
Well, I always used to record my own demos, but I never trusted myself in terms of making sonic decisions. That was something that only really came to me in the last couple of years. I feel like I started to believe in myself and I could actually say that this actually sounds good and that was a transition -- I don't know where that came from. I just sort of started to believe that I didn't need someone else's ears.
I think having had a few experiences where you're working with people that are supposed to be so good at what they do and then you come away and you think that, this doesn't have, it may sound big, it may sound massive, but it doesn't have [the] character [that I wanted]. I can't even describe it.
The vocal thing, I know that I recorded all of my vocals over the last few years just through an [Shure] SM58 mic, which is a stage microphone. I've heard recently that Bono does the same thing. I don't know what it is, but sometimes, recording with these big Neumann microphones that you can hear every breath and every nuance of the tone, it doesn't help -- it doesn't make it any better.
It just makes it bigger in terms of audio bandwidth, but it's not about that, it's about the performance and the contact and the energy that's recorded ultimately and the vibe. Maybe I just suddenly made some decisions myself where I said, "This is what I want it to sound like. I don't want it to sound like that anymore." I don't want somebody else telling me what I should or shouldn't do -- let me be who I am and then see if they like me or if they like it.
Making those decisions, suddenly people started to say, "This sounds great, I love this," and I realized that that is the key -- just be yourself and put some character down. People like character and they like to listen to music and feel that there is something different about it. That's what I think I got on these CDs.
You got to work with your son Ben, who plays drums on this album. It must be cool getting a chance to collaborate with him in this way.
Playing with Ben is great, because he's got an empathy playing with me that I don't really get, well, I must say that I've just recorded some new stuff with Mark Brzezicki, who used to be in a band called Big Country and he plays with me in my band. Years ago, we had a band together [On the Air] and there's an empathy there as well.
You know, I think it's something that just comes with time or having that spiritual family connection. I have that with Ben, where we just understand each other. Pete has it with me, we understand each other. I think that working with Ben, it was a natural thing for me to do. I wanted drums that were playing the songs, instead of a drummer showing off what he can do. Drummers can be so ... you know, I don't think Keith Moon was like that with the Who.
I think Keith Moon actually played the drums in a way that he actually thought was right for the songs. I thought this through, because he played a lot, a lot for the music, but it was always right. It always fit perfectly. I think that some drummers just try and do too much. They try and fill every beat and they try to show off what they can do and it's the same with other musicians. Musicians sometimes, I hate them, because they just want to show off what they're capable of when really, a song is about a whole group of people putting across good music.
At age nine, you're contributing background vocals for the 'Tommy' album. That album is obviously a classic now. Did you have a sense of what an epic album that would become at the time that it was being recorded?
Yeah, I did. It's funny, isn't it? I was nine years old and I heard 'Pinball Wizard' and I just thought "this is incredible." I appreciated the sound and I can remember loving the sound of the guitars and the voices, most of all. Yeah, I did think it was going to be big, but it didn't take long before Pete had earned a million quid and it was high up in the charts. I did have a sense of it and I don't know why, but I remember thinking how right it was and how perfect it was. Maybe I hadn't had that feeling before?
At nine years old, was it strange to see something like that developing and trying to comprehend, "What does this mean and where is it going?"
Well, my only involvement in the actual development of it was in the studio singing the high vocal parts on 'Smash the Mirror.' I don't think I had an idea or a clue what was going on then. To me, if you take 'Smash the Mirror' as an individual song, it's not really an important song in terms of Pete's body of work, but it's obviously important to 'Tommy,' the whole thing. But for me, the song that just stood out, was 'Pinball Wizard.'
When I heard that, this was a totally unique [song], the structured sound of the guitars and everything had a perfection quality about it. I think the production is awesome for the time as well. I don't know if people really appreciate how brilliant a job they did in the studio back then, with that one. I think really, it was just neat when I actually heard it on the radio. I can't remember where I was, but I remember I was in a room somewhere listening and I was thinking, "God, I hope this is the Who, I hope this is my brother," that is what I remember thinking. Because it just sounded incredible and I loved it and I wasn't sure who it was, to be honest.
At that point, I don't think we had been given a copy of the actual finished record anyway. Or if we had, I hadn't listened to it. I'm a nine-year old kid, I was into music and I was learning to play guitar, but I'm still a young guy, sort of finding my own feet, really. When I heard 'Pinball Wizard,' I think that was a turning point in my life, actually.
You had the chance to revisit that album when you toured with Roger Daltrey last year. What was that like? How do you think the material has grown over the years?
I really enjoyed doing that tour but we kept it very true to the original. It wasn't really updated at all, it was almost true to the original 1969 production. We had this guy [Frank Simes] doing musical direction who was very, very keen to keep it exactly like the record. Roger's U.S. band did that tour with Roger and I.
And [with that] what we're doing is we aren't bringing in the characters of Zak Starkey, Pino Palladino and myself, [where, as the Who, with Roger and Pete onstage] we're going to be more liable to ad-lib and more liable to change things around a little bit. Pete can't be told what to play - you can't say to Pete "you have to do this every night" - it just doesn't work like that. What is on those records is a one-off performance. Things are different every time he plays a song.
So I think with 'Tommy,' the tour was literally a tribute to the record and it was a joy to play. I loved playing and learning all of those parts, especially all of the fast acoustic stuff in the 'Overture' was just wonderful stuff for me to learn. I learned a lot doing that and figuring all of those parts out and playing them live and showing the people that I could actually do all of that stuff, that was great for me. But I don't think it can be taken further forward or progressed without Pete's involvement and the freedom that he would bring to it. Because when it's not set to stage with a musical director, it's almost like a tribute to itself.
You played 'Quadrophenia' previously with the Who in the late '90s. As the band prepares to begin rehearsals for the 'Quadrophenia and More' tour, what's been the thought and discussion as far as how you're going to approach the album this time around?
It's going to be a little bit different. I mean, I don't know what I should give away here. There are some fantastic ideas involving John Entwistle and Keith Moon, using live footage from years ago. It sounds so exciting, the visual aspect of it. I think that Pete's going to be playing a bit more electric guitar on this tour whereas on the last tour, he played a lot of acoustic guitar. I think he's going to be playing a bit more electric, which is good, because I think that people, although they love to watch me play, they want to see Pete play.
He's a great electric guitar player and that's the ticket that they're buying, so that's what they want to see. I think that on the organizational side, we've got the same musical director that did the 'Tommy' tour and things like the vocals, I think will be really, really well organized. Whereas when it was just Pete, Roger, John Entwistle, me, Zak and Rabbit [John Bundrick], the keyboard player at the time, going in and just sort of talking it through and just putting parts together. This [tour will take the approach of] this is what we're going to be doing and giving us parts.
It will, not score it out as such, but everyone will be given a clear idea of what is required of them, to support the original piece. So I think it will be a little better vocally onstage on this tour, a bit stronger, vocally. It's going to be a great tour. It's going to be wonderful, I'm sure.
The last time you toured this record, John Entwistle was still in the band. How have you seen the dynamic change in his absence?
Well, Pino's a very unique player, taking his place. He's not trying to emulate John, he's a unique force in himself. He has his own style and his own approach to playing bass and I think that was the right thing to do. I think trying to replace John [would have been the wrong move]. On [Roger's] 'Tommy' tour, we had someone in who played every note that John played on the original album. It was great -- they got the same strings that he used and the same amp and they copied the sound and it was a true emulation of what was on the album.
But in the Who, Pino is Pino and Pete brought him in because he respects Pino for having his own sound and his own approach and that's what we want. We want unique individuals. John was irreplaceable, really, but Pino's done a great job stepping up to the plate and bringing his identity to it and it does work. He's again, another guy that Pete's been working with for years, that he has an empathy with. That again comes down to this thing that we don't have to say too much, just the right thing happens.
I want to wrap up with a few things here. Going back to you being a kid, you've said that you used to watch the Who onstage and think that Pete was going to die. Can you explain that?
[Laughs] Well yeah, I really did. There was smoke and things being smashed up and when I was very young, I really did think that things were going wrong! There were times when Keith was throwing drums and you think that this could hurt somebody. And with Roger's microphone swinging around and Pete's guitar going through the amplifiers, you don't see people around the back of the amplifiers holding them up, while smoke is coming out and stuff. You think there's going to be an explosion, that's what kids think, isn't it? That's where I was at the time. I always used to dread the smashing up of the gear bit.
Roger's swinging of the microphone bit, I always saw that and thought that I would never stand behind that or anywhere near that!
Well, I got hit. When I did the '94 tour with Roger playing his own hits tour, I got hit by that microphone and he just said "don't you ever stand so close onstage!" I learned my lesson that night. That was about the second or third show in and I realized that you've got to stand clear!
With Pete recently releasing his book, how much did he share about that process when he was putting it together? Did he look for your advice at all as far when it came to family material he was perhaps unsure about including?
No, apart from photos, [which] he came to everyone in the family for contributions and ideas for photos. That was pretty much it. The rest of it has been a long, long wait, really, seeing how it would come out. I've read about five chapters so far. I'm so strapped for time at this minute. I'm looking forward to getting on a plane and I'll finish it off. It's insightful stuff. There's things about the family that I didn't even know to be honest.
Do you have a good Keith Moon story?
Yeah, he didn't like me beating him at backgammon. [Laughs] I think I was about 15 or 16 years and he got into backgammon and he was really pissed off when I beat him. I had never played before and he played all of the time. It was just the luck of the dice. Other than that, he was a great guy. He was a genuinely kind guy and generous and a really nice bloke and I think that people just saw the animal side of him onstage and that was just basically the guy that sort of came out when he had a drink or when he was partying. But he was quite quiet [most of the time] really.


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Worker who set fire to USS Miami submarine sentenced to 17 years
PORTLAND, Maine – A shipyard worker who set fire to rags aboard a nuclear submarine because he wanted to go home was sentenced to a little more than 17 years in federal prison Friday for the blaze that transformed the vessel into a fiery furnace, injured seven people and caused $450 million in damage.
Casey James Fury also was ordered to pay $400 million in restitution.
The judge imposed the sentence under a plea agreement that limited his time in prison to roughly 15 to 19 years for arson.
The 25-year-old Fury, formerly of Portsmouth, N.H., pleaded guilty to setting the May 23 fire while the submarine was undergoing a 20-month dry dock overhaul at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery.
The civilian painter and sand blaster told authorities that he needed to go home because he was suffering from an anxiety attack and had no more vacation or sick leave. He said he never envisioned such extensive damage when he used a lighter to set fire to a plastic bag of rags that he left on a bunk in a state room.
The blaze quickly grew into an inferno spewing superheated smoke that billowed from hatches. It took 12 hours for more than 100 firefighters to save the submarine.
Seven people were hurt, the Navy has said.
Fury, who had been working in the torpedo room, fled to the safety of the pier and watched as firefighters went down hatches and into the burning Los Angeles class-attack submarine, staying inside for only minutes at a time because of the blistering heat.
About three weeks later, Fury set a second fire outside the crippled sub, again because he wanted to go home because of anxiety. That fire caused little damage. He pleaded guilty to two counts of arson in November.
Prosecutors said it was telling that he tried to set a second fire after the extensive damage caused by the first one.
But the defense contends Fury suffered from depression and anxiety and that he never intended to harm anyone.
The first blaze damaged forward compartments including living quarters, a command and control center and the torpedo room. It did not reach the rear of the submarine, where the nuclear propulsion components are located.
The fire's intensity raised concerns about the integrity of the hull, which must withstand intense pressure at extreme underwater depths. Metallurgists who examined the
But its future is now uncertain. Repairs have been postponed under mandatory budget cuts known as sequestration.

subset: commoncrawl


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LAKE FOREST, Ill.--IDEX CORPORATION (NYSE:IEX) announced today that it has scheduled the broadcast of the company's first quarter earnings conference call over the Internet on Thursday, April 20, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. CT. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Silvernail and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, William Grogan will discuss the company's first quarter 2017 financial performance and respond to questions from the financial community.
IDEX invites interested investors to listen to the call and view the presentation slides, which will be available on its website: www.idexcorp.com. To hear the live call, log on to the site several minutes before the discussion begins. After clicking on the presentation icon, follow the instructions to ensure your system is set up for the event, or download the correct applications at no charge. An archive of the webcast will be available through the IDEX website after the call. An audio replay of the call is also available through midnight, May 20, 2017 by dialing 877.660.6853 or (201.612.7415) for international participants using conference code # 13652253
About IDEX
IDEX Corporation is an applied solutions company specializing in fluid and metering technologies, health and science technologies, and fire, safety and other diversified products built to its customers' exacting specifications. Its products are sold in niche markets to a wide range of industries throughout the world. IDEX shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange and Chicago Stock Exchange under the symbol "IEX".


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Gynecologists are medical practitioners, who deal with the health of the women's reproductive organs and hormones in regards to their genitalia (uterus, vagina and ovaries). Almost all modern gynecologists are also obstetricians. Obstetricians are primarily concerned with the health and well-being of pregnant women and their unborn child. A gynecological examination is quite personalized as compared to routine physical exam.
Furthermore, Gynecologists typically do a bimanual examination as well to palpate the cervix, uterus, ovaries and bony pelvis. A gynecologist treats diseases such as UTI and pelvic inflammatory diseases, cancer, premenstrual syndrome, infertility and other vaginal diseases.


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amks152 on Family Tree Circles
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Dexter T Sherrell
I am looking for Henry Sherrell (possibly spelled Sherrill) who served in the civil war. He was out of Tenn. He moved to Georgia and married an indian woman named Lucy Young. They are ancestors of my husband Dexter.
Henry Sherrell/Sherrill(TN)>Jose (Joe) Sherrell(GA)>Wayne Ray Sherrell(GA)> Dexter T Sherrell
My family tree
If anyone is interested in my family tree which consists of Underwood/Moss/Buchanan/North/Ingram. Here is the link to go to.
Amanda Underwood Sherrell
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Angels are pure, created spirits. The name angel means servant or messenger of God. Angels are celestial or heavenly beings, on a higher order than human beings. Angels have no bodies and do not depend on matter for their existence or activity. They are distinct from saints, which men can become. Angels have intellect and will, and are immortal. They are a vast multitude, but each is an individual person. Archangels are one of the nine choirs of angels listed in the Bible. In ascending order, the choirs or classes are 1) Angels, 2) Archangels, 3) Principalities, 4) Powers, 5) Virtues, 6) Dominations, 7) Thrones, 8) Cherubim, and 9) Seraphim.
Uriel, Gabriel, Michael and Raphael are the four archangels mentioned most often in Hebrew, Kabbalistic, Islamic, and Christian traditions. The name Uriel literally means "Fire of God," "Flame of God," "Light of God," or even "Sun of God." http://www.uriel.com/uriel/index.htm
Feast of Michael, Angel of Protection, and Uriel, Angel of Justice.
Old Calendar: Dedication of the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel (Michaelmas Day)
The liturgy celebrates the feast of these three archangels who are venerated in the tradition of the Church. Michael (Who is like God?) was the archangel who fought against Satan and all his evil angels, defending all the friends of God. He is the protector of all humanity from the snares of the devil. Gabriel (Strength of God) announced to Zachariah the forthcoming birth of John the Baptist, and to Mary, the birth of Jesus. His greeting to the Virgin, "Hail, full of grace," is one of the most familiar and frequent prayers of the Christian people. Raphael (Medicine of God) is the archangel who took care of Tobias on his journey.
According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Michael. St. Gabriel is observed on March 24 and St. Raphael on October 24.
• Archangel Raphael -- Guardian of the East and Element of Air. Keeper of the Tree of Life and Healing Powers, Angel of Love, Joy and Laughter.
• Archangel Gabriel -- Guardian of the West and Element of Water. Patron of Messengers, Angel of Resurrection, Mercy and Peace.
• Archangel Uriel -- Guardian of the North and Element of Earth. Keeper of Prophecy, Angel of Nature, Visions and Instruction.
His feast, originally combined with the remembrance of all angels, had been celebrated in Rome from the early centuries on September 29. The Synod of Mainz (813) introduced it into all the countries of the Carolingian Empire and prescribed its celebration as a public holiday. All through medieval times Saint Michael's Day was kept as a great religious feast (in France even up to the last century) and one of the annual holiday seasons as well. The churches of the Greek Rite keep the feast on November 8, and a second festival on September 6. In France the apparition of the Archangel at Mont-Saint-Michel is commemorated on October 16. Another apparition, on Mount Gargano in Apulia, Italy, is honored by a memorial feast in the whole Western Church on May 8.
The feast day of the Archangel Uriel is celebrated July 28. Uriel's influence is believed to peak during the summer months. According to Corinne Heline: "The beautiful Uriel stands guardian over the activities of the summer. The ripening of grain and the floodtide of blossom are under his guidance. He also supervises the Nature Spirits, those fascinating little sprites who inhabit the elements of earth, air, fire and water, and who lend so much to the beautification of all nature. The highest initiatory teachings belonging to the New Age... are under the direction of Uriel." [Corinne Heline. The Blessed Virgin Mary. New Age Press, 1971, p. 110.]
Invocation to the Archangel Uriel
Glory to God and his deeds,
for everything is good and wonderful.
Holy Archangel Uriel,
protect and look after rivers,
their waters we drink,
life springs up from them;
make grass sprout for cattle,
make man yield bread out of the land,
wine to enliven his heart,
oil and food to give him force.
[This beautiful invocation was translated from the original Spanish by Pedro Pablo Parrado of Bogota, Colombia.]
The Anglican intercessional prayer to Saint Uriel the Archangel is as follows;
Oh holy Saint Uriel, intercede for us that our hearts may burn with the fire of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Assist us in co-operating with the graces of our confirmation that the gifts of theHoly Spirit may bear much fruit in our souls.Obtain for us the grace to use the sword of truth to pare away all that is not in conformity to the most adorableWill of God in our lives, that we may fully participate in the army of the ChurchAmen[14]
St. Gabriel's name means "God is my strength". Biblically he appears three times as a messenger. He had been sent to Daniel to explain a vision concerning the Messiah. He appeared to Zachary when he was offering incense in the Temple, to foretell the birth of his son, St. John the Baptist. St. Gabriel is most known as the angel chosen by God to be the messenger of the Annunciation, to announce to mankind the mystery of the Incarnation.
The angel's salutation to our Lady, so simple and yet so full of meaning, Hail Mary, full of grace, has become the constant and familiar prayer of all Christian people.
Patron: Ambassadors; broadcasting; childbirth; clergy; communications; diplomats; messengers; philatelists; postal workers; public relations; radio workers; secular clergy; stamp collectors; telecommunications; Portugal; Archdiocese of Seattle, Washington.
Symbols: Archangel; sceptre and lily; MR or AM shield; lantern; mirror; olive branch; scroll with words Ave Maria Gratia Plena; Resurrection trumpet; shield; spear; lily; symbolic colors, silver or blue.
The Book of Tobit for the story of St. Raphael helping Tobit and Tobias.
Patron: Blind; bodily ills; counselors; druggists; eye problems; guardian angels; happy meetings; healers; health inspectors; health technicians; love; lovers; mental illness; nurses; pharmacists; physicians; shepherds; against sickness; therapists; travellers; young people; young people leaving home for the first time; Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa; Archdiocese of Seattle, Washington.
Symbols: Staff; wallet and fish; staff and gourd; archangel; young man carrying a staff; young man carrying a fish; walking with Tobias; holding a bottle or flask; symbolic colors, gray or yellow.
Raise your vibration Today! Kia Ora Viewers, this video addresses the changes we are undergoing on this planet, in our lives , bodies, minds and souls. Change promotes growth, growth promotes learning, learning promotes understanding, understanding promotes tolerance.... and on it goes. Raise your vibration today.
Much peace, love, joy , and happiness to all .


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Governors Village Real Estate
Governors Village is a pristine neighborhood comprised of midsized contemporary homes. It is nestled in the gently rolling hills spotted with open lands and towering oaks. Houses range from modest ranch homes to palatial contemporary custom homes. The community dates back to the '60s and continues to develop today.
It's home to two parks. The small community Parkview Heights Park features a lush lawn, play structure and basketball hoops. The picturesque Governors Park is home to tranquil duck ponds with picnic tables and benches.
Nearby schools include Oak Ridge High School, Rolling Hills Middle School, Silva Elementary School.
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Coaching search tracker
Gregg Rosenthal provides a one-stop shop for all the latest head-coaching search news. Who are teams targeting? More ...
The New York Jets' rambling search to hire someone for their vacant offensive coordinator position leads them to a familiar face on Monday.
Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports that former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron will interview for the coordinator position. Cameron's offenses in Baltimore weren't terrible, but they also lacked imagination and didn't seem to fully capitalize on the talents in the building.
Jets coach Rex Ryan and Cameron crossed paths for one season as coordinators of the 2008 Ravens team before Ryan got the top job with the Jets. Cameron could wind up replacing Tony Sparano, the same man that once replaced Cameron as the head coach in Miami.
Meanwhile, New York's meandering search for a GM continues. Fox Sports insider and NFL Network contributor Jay Glazer reported on Sunday that the Jets were calling back candidates that already turned them down, asking them to reconsider. SI.com's Peter King reported that the Jets were planning to give David Caldwell an offer than included a $1 million housing allowance, but Caldwell chose to take the GM job in Jacksonville.
We'll withhold judgement on the Jets' searches until they make their hires, but the early signs aren't promising for Jets fans. It doesn't appear like the team had a clear plan of action heading into the offseason.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.


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When he went to Churchill Downs last year, trainer Doug O'Neill said, "I felt like the luckiest guy in the world to be part of the Kentucky Derby." But after he saddled I'll Have Another to win America's famous race, he could scarcely have imagined what the success would be like.
The front page of the New York Times detailed his history of medication infractions, and much of the media cited the reputation that had earned him the sobriquet "Drug" O'Neill. The Humane Society denounced him. The president of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association said his record was inexcusable. Penny Chenery, who owned Secretariat, said the owner of I'll Have Another should be embarrassed to employ such a trainer.
Unfazed, O'Neill is back at Churchill Downs this week with another prime Derby contender, Goldencents, winner of the Santa Anita Derby. Both the trainer and the sport may expect another onslaught of negative publicity because of his presence. Mine may be a lonely voice saying that O'Neill has been maligned.
He rose to prominence in California a decade ago, at a time when "milkshakes" — a baking-soda solution used to enhance horses' performance — were being used illicitly at many tracks. O'Neill claimed the previously undistinguished Lava Man for $50,000 and turned the gelding into one of the country's top stakes horses, winning more than $5 million in purses. It was the kind of miraculous turnaround that makes the racing community believe that a trainer is cheating.
The industry finally adopted a test for milkshaking — it measures the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in a horse's system — and while Lava Man never exceeded the legal limit, other O'Neill horses did so on four occasions. O'Neill said, "I am adamant that we don't milkshake, and we haven't milkshaked," but he carried a shady reputation into last year's Triple Crown.
In the spring of 2012, the New York Times was running a series of articles about abuses in horse racing, particularly the high fatality rates at many U.S. tracks and the connection between drugs and those deaths. When O'Neill stepped into the limelight, the Times had a face to put on these issues. Citing his record of drug violations and the distressing breakdown rate of his horses, the Times wrote: "O'Neill's Derby victory places him — and his troubled record — center stage at a time when thoroughbred racing is facing perhaps its greatest ethical reckoning."
When O'Neill was making headlines last spring, I analyzed the records of his horses over the previous five years, and my findings contradicted his reputation. The hallmark of most cheaters is an outlandish win percentage — sometimes as high as 40 percent — after they have acquired horses from other trainers. O'Neill's win rate with his new acquisitions was a modest 18 percent. When they did win, his horses almost never displayed the sudden, implausible improvement that suggests a trainer is using illegal drugs.
Nor were there suspicious-looking performances in the cases when O'Neill was punished for medication violations or CO2 above the limit. The trainer received a 45-day suspension after Argenta showed a CO2 overage in a 2010 race, a penalty that was cited in virtually every article about O'Neill's nefarious record. But Argenta was a hopeless case who went off at 20-to-1 and finished next-to-last, and it seems inconceivable that the trainer would have been using a milkshake to help her win.
O'Neill acknowledged that his critics were right about the high injury record of his horses. "We had a period when we had a rash of injuries and I had to look in the mirror," he said. " I was running horses too often; I was a little sloppy there. I'm learning to run horses less frequently and being more diligent about that."
He was stung by some of the other criticism, particularly the fallout after he scratched I'll Have Another from the Belmont Stakes because of a tendon injury. The Times suggested that O'Neill had campaigned an infirm animal throughout the Triple Crown series and kept him going with the use of "powerful painkillers." He felt this depiction was a reckless distortion of the facts.
But for the most part, the trainer kept his focus on his work, retained his good humor and didn't shy away from the media. (He agreed to be the subject of a report on "60 Minutes Sports," which will air on Showtime at 9 p.m. Wednesday.) O'Neill said he has been buoyed by the continued support of his owners: "They know we love our horses and take great care of them. The people who were with me [before the controversy] are still with me."
Paul Reddam, I'll Have Another's owner, marveled at his trainer's demeanor. "He went to work with a smile every day," Reddam said. "I was amazed with the resilience he showed."
All of the attention to O'Neill's alleged misdeeds obscured the excellence of his work with I'll Have Another. It's tough for even the best trainers to bring a horse through a series of demanding prep races and then get them to reach peak condition on the first Saturday in May, but O'Neill did so. I'll Have Another's Derby was the best performance of his career to that point, and his Preakness was even better.
The ability that O'Neill displayed in 2012 reinforces Goldencents' status as a principal Derby contender. The modestly bred colt has looked like a top prospect since he won his debut at Del Mar by seven lengths. But when he got involved in a suicidal speed duel and faded to finish fourth in the San Felipe Stakes in March, O"Neill admitted, "We thought the horse might have distance limitations."
O'Neill made some changes to Goldencents' training regimen and gave him one more chance in the Santa Anita Derby. After vying for the lead, the colt pulled away in the stretch and won the fastest of all the major Kentucky Derby prep races. If he can duplicate that performance Saturday, he will put O'Neill's name on a short list of trainers who have won America's greatest race back to back, and perhaps earn him some overdue credit for his skill as a horseman.
For Andrew Beyer's previous columns, go to washingtonpost.com/beyer.


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What's an easy way to ensure good health? Get regular health screenings.
Keeping your children up-to-date on their immunizations will help protect them from many common childhood diseases.
View immunization and screening tests for children
But preventive medicine isn't just for children. It's important for adults to follow prevention screening guidelines as well.
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Why do you need certain health screenings if you feel fine? There are no early warning signs for many diseases, such as high blood pressure or cancer, but early detection saves lives. In fact, some preventive measures can help prevent the onset of the disease altogether.
Breast cancer rates are down because of regular mammograms—an important and effective screening test. Regular mammography is vital, which is why we send our members regular reminders if they've missed this critical screening exam.
In fact, with many conditions, a health screening can detect a concern before it becomes a real problem. For example, cervical cancer has become one of the most curable cancers—all thanks to regular Pap tests, which are very effective in detecting precancerous cells.
Another highly treatable cancer is colon cancer. Screening tests can detect colon polyps, which if left untreated can become cancerous.
Screenings aren't all about physical health, though. One important aspect of staying healthy is your mental and emotional wellbeing. Screening for postpartum depression can help ensure the health of moms and their new babies.


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Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes
(TLC) may help you lower
LDL cholesterol. The lifestyle changes include diet,
exercise, weight loss, and other changes. Your doctor will want you to follow
TLC even if you are taking cholesterol-lowering medicine. And medicine will be
more effective if you have healthy eating and exercise habits.
Other Works ConsultedNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (2005). Your Guide to Lowering Your Cholesterol With TLC (NIH Publication No. 06-5235). Available online: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/chol/chol_tlc.pdf.
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State of the World 2008: Innovations for a Sustainable Economy
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Environmental Action Driving Global Economy
Environmental issues were once regarded as irrelevant to economic activity, but today they are dramatically rewriting the rules for business, investors, and consumers. Around the world, innovative responses to climate change and other environmental problems are affecting more than $100 billion in annual capital flows as pioneering entrepreneurs, organizations, and governments take steps to create the Earth's first "sustainable" global economy.
Learn more or purchase your copy of State of the World 2008
Go beyond the book with additional resources from Worldwatch institute
In State of the World 2008: Innovations for a Sustainable Economy, researchers with the Worldwatch Institute and other leading experts highlight an array of economic innovations that offer new opportunities for long-term prosperity. For example:
- In 2006, an estimated $52 billion was invested in wind power, biofuels, and other renewable energy sources, up 33 percent from 2005. Preliminary estimates indicate that the figure soared as high as $66 billion in 2007.
- Carbon trading is growing even more explosively, reaching an estimated $30 billion in 2006, nearly triple the amount traded in 2005.
- Innovative companies are revolutionizing industrial production while also saving money: for example, chemical giant DuPont cut its greenhouse gas emissions 72 percent below 1991 levels by 2007, saving $3 billion in the process.
Breakthrough Environmental Initiatives
Some of the most powerful players in today's economy have announced breakthrough environmental initiatives in the past two years, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, McKinsey & Company, and Wal-Mart. And many large companies are putting their political muscle where their investment capital is. Twenty-seven major corporations, including Alcoa, Dow Chemical, Duke Energy, General Motors, and Xerox, are actively urging the U.S. Congress to pass legislation regulating greenhouse gas emissions, something that would have been unthinkable two years ago.
Another sign of dramatic change is the 575 environmental and energy hedge funds now in existence, most of them formed in the last few years. "Clean tech" has rapidly grown to be the world's third-largest recipient of venture capital, trailing only the Internet and biotechnology. And 54 banks, representing 85 percent of global private project finance capacity, have endorsed the Equator Principles, a new international standard of sustainability investment.
State of the World 2008 cites recent studies that conclude that the damage from global climate change could equal as much as 8 percent of global economic output by the end of this century. The report also notes that, according to the World Bank, some 39 countries experienced a decline of 5 percent or more in wealth when accounting measures also included environmental losses, such as unsustainable forest harvesting, depletion of non-renewable resources, and damage from carbon emissions. For 10 countries, the decline ranged from 25 to 60 percent.
Reforms Needed
To avoid economic collapse at the global level, the authors of State of the World 2008 call for major reforms of government policy to steer investment away from destructive activities such as the extraction of fossil fuels and toward a new generation of environmentally sustainable industries. Specific recommendations include making prices tell the ecological truth by reducing subsidies and adopting environmental taxes. The report also urges a full assessment and valuation of the "free" services that nature provides to the human economy and describes efforts to create markets to protect biodiversity
"We have the tools today to steer the global economy onto a sustainable path," say project co-directors Gary Gardner and Tom Prugh. "The task now is to bring them together and scale them up so that they become the norm across today's economies."
State of the World 2008 finds growing evidence suggesting that the global economy is now destroying its own ecological base. It quotes former World Bank chief economist Nicholas Stern, author of the acclaimed Stern Review on the economics of climate change, who describes the changes now under way in Earth's atmosphere as "the greatest and widest-ranging market failure ever seen."
"Continued human progress now depends on an economic transformation that is more profound than any seen in the last century," says Worldwatch president Christopher Flavin. "We should be practicing a sustainable approach to economics that takes advantage of the ability of markets to allocate scarce resources while explicitly recognizing that our economy is dependent on the broader ecosystem that contains it."
Praise for State of the World:
"Top-ranked annual book on sustainable development."
—GlobeScan survey of sustainability experts
"Publications from Worldwatch bring a perspective to readers that is unmatched in breadth and depth."
—Craig Rose, former Energy Staff Writer, San Diego Union-Tribune
"Perhaps the most important think tank in the world, Worldwatch has been at the forefront of sustainability policy for more than 30 years."
—Alex Steffen Executive Editor, Worldchanging.com
"Comprehensive, up-todate, and accessible"
—E.O. Wilson, Putlitzer prize winner
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Author Archive
Not every school board is hated
Just the stupid ones…
Ignorance is the lack of information, a curable condition. JEriCHo can cure most in :10
Stupid is when we have the information available and you ignore it and pretend you have no other options.
Life is hard, it's even harder when you are stupid. – John Wayne
Voice how you think the vote went
Write the board add us to the email.
These board members voted to close of ALL our safe, debt free local schools to build a monument.
A debt ridden prison like death trap complete with windowless rooms.
firstname.lastname@example.com Gloria
email@example.com Wentz
email@example.com Larry
firstname.lastname@example.com Andy
firstname.lastname@example.com Steve
Voted againt TAX n BUILD
with the 1000+ survey signers
firstname.lastname@example.com Hal Resh
firstname.lastname@example.com Rocky
Bill Hill
Lori Nothstein
Bond issue warns of failures and fraud
Significant Deficiency 2009-1 (Private Purpose Trust Fund)
Condition: The last three months of transactions were not recorded in any
scholarship account with missing documentation pertaining to deposits,
and a lack of central oversight.
Cause: The condition is a result of not having central oversight of all scholarship
funds and allowing multiple individuals to involve themselves in recording
Effect:: The failure to not properly monitor these funds can cause errors or fraud
to occur without being detected by anyone.
WW School District tells tales of woe – State funding
This email is a follow up to the phone conversation we had today regarding Western Wayne School District's PlanCon process…
It is now March of 2014, three years later and we have not seen any funding. We have been making Bond payments since 2006. At the end of the 13-14 school year we estimate about $1,200,000 is already owed to us from the state for the state's share of our construction program.
Two years ago our Fund Balance was $4,500,000, which is approximately 11% of our $40,000,000 budget. At the beginning of this school year we are down to $2,700,000. In part because we are funding the state's share of our construction project until they find the money to pay us back.
Take care,
Rose E. Emmett, Business Manager
Western Wayne School District
New Email address: email@example.com
If you would like to recieve upadates and notices on meetings please send us an email.
Lori Nothstein Accepts!
Boy, wouldn't that be great news! Smart enough to get the facts, wise enough to use them in a decision.
Cleaver mentions closing Shull-David, Again
More reports of Cleaver comments keep rolling in…
So many that we need to advertise them so others can be prepared.
If you have any email them to us: email@example.com
In a last ditch effort to gain support of his Elementary Center, J J Cleaver, Superintendent of schools mention the possibility of closing Shull-David to parents, AGAIN.
With NO AUTHORITY to do so, Cleaver is just making attempts to bully parents into agreement on an Elementary Center. What will this man do next? Character is often defined as the way one acts when they think no one is watching. Welcome to the Tribe, everyone is watching. Cleaver gets a nice check. He should focus on education where he is strong, and get help from wise businessmen on matters of Asset Management. This way we can build a strong team and strong district. A leader takes directions and leads. In a school district the agenda is set by the town first, they elected a Board to execute it and the board hires an Administrator to see the job gets done. It is not the Architect and the Superintendent that set a TAX and BUILD agenda.
His attempt to divide the taxpayers UNITED has failed. Shull-David, we have your back.
We stand united as we keep ALL our local schools open, safe, well maintained and DEBT free.
Apparently, he leveraged false information that our group was based solely in and around the Franklin school area. He told the parent that our well funded group would have no interest in Shull-David. POPPYCOCK! Lehighton School District is a community of Brave Indians, Strong in all four elementary schools. We surround the Administration from all four districts. At last count we have 746 strong and we are growing fast.
We, as a group, successfully fought to stop Kraky and Krause. Remember when they went on their rampage to close the LAMS with their false tales of woe. We fought EI and the Superintendent's failed attempt after failed attempt. EI Associates pitched plan after plan to TAX and BUILD. The sick TAX and BUILD agenda has been going on battle after battle for 6 years. We stand strong. Often these plans had no firm numbers, had bias facts and no demographic justification. They like the Elementary Center were all just pigs in a poke. Like PT Barnum looking for a fool, EI gets paid to create them one after another. Can't we just TERMINATE this architect yet? Cleaver could be a good Superintendent if EI wasn't whispering sweet nothings in his ear all day.
We fight ignorance on all levels. Our strength is the ability to read, think and offer transparency upon the LASD Administration regime. We have proof that the Administration manipulates and leverages the board. Just not sure how or why some of the board gave away their responsibility to think for the benefit of the district?
When Cleaver first floated this Shull-David trial balloon comment it was also made at the PTO meeting in an attempt to sell the E Center. See earlier posts. At those meetings he offered Franklin an orchestra like band and to Shull-David he talked to the fear of redistricting.
Keep sending us your comments and we'll keep sharing them.


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CBC News http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/04/04/f-vp-stewart-f-35-secrecy.html?cmp=googleeditorspick
Brian Stewart: The F-35 fiasco and Ottawa's culture of secrecy Apr 4, 2012
By Brian Stewart, special to CBC News
The who-knew-what about the real costs of the F-35 fighter jet Canada wants to purchase is worrisome enough. But at the heart of the fiasco is a far more serious concern about what public honesty means to this government.
It's a sad state that few Canadians appear surprised by the auditor general's findings that Parliament was kept in the dark over the real costs of this program and what looks to be a $10-billion overrun.
Many seem to assume that misleading and denying whenever it suits is a government's normal default position. After all, this government seems to have done it for years on Afghanistan and with its other problems in national defence.
In my own attempts to unravel the F-35′s real costs I never once met a single soul outside government and knowledgeable about defence purchases who believed the prime minister's promise that the planes could be delivered for a bargain-rate $75 million each.


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8 Lessons Social Media Practitioners Can Learn from Gymnasts #CSL2012 #CiscoEmp
As a former gymnast, I am an Olympics nut. I'm pretty much going to turn into a couch potato for the next 2+ weeks. I wholeheartedly admire the athletes that represent any country and I believe in the spirit of the Games. Those of you who have competed in or committed to a sport in some shape or form know the discipline, persistence, sacrifices and hard work it takes to perfect a skill or improve your speed.
As I think about gymnastics, inevitably my mind starts drawing parallels between this graceful yet challenging sport and social media. Here are 8 lessons social media practitioners can learn from gymnasts.
1. Dedication: if you're not committed as a gymnast, you will not be able to reach your full potential. This applies to social media too. If you're not dedicated to keeping your channels alive with engaging content, you will not be able to reap all the benefits of social media. Social is not just about campaigns or amplification; it is about delighting your audience with on-going engagement in a conversational manner.
2. Focus: can you imagine performing flight series and multiple aerial elements on the 4-inch wide (10 centimeters) balance beam that is 4.07 feet (124 centimeters) high without staying focused? If the athlete loses her focus, she will wobble or maybe even fall, which will be reflected in her score.
The same concept is true in social media. Know your target audience and stay focused on delivering what matters to THEM. By doing so, you can help them tune out the noise and cut through the clutter. In addition, it will help you stay on budget and efficently use your resources.
3. Conditioning: if you have ever wondered where gymnasts get their bodies from, look no further than conditioning. Conditioning is a system of different exercises that help an athlete build strength, power, endurance, flexibility and agility. It is needed before the gymnast can learn or master a new skill, or perform high-intensity routines lasting up to 90 seconds. As you can imagine, this is an on-going activity and a key part of the training regimen.
In the world of social media, "conditioning" is getting your house in order through gaining buy-in from your executives (blog 1, blog 2), educating your employees on your social media policy, training them on social media how to's and recruiting subject matter experts not only to provide functional expertise to your audience but also to help your company scale its social media efforts.
A quick tip: it is very important to revisit the topics mentioned above and adjust your deliverables on a regular basis. Don't just set things up at the beginning and then walk away.
4. Visualization: is a technique many gymnasts use to "see, say and do"(1) a routine or skill. Without really performing the routine or skill, the gymnast moves his or her body using small arm sets (i.e. "little movements") to feel the movement in the body and says his or her words while visualizing the skill. Essentially the gymnast plans out what he or she is going to do and how, and projects the desired outcome.
This reminds me of the principles of social media planning and aligning your plan to your business objectives. The more thoroughly you plan, the more concise, consistent and powerful outputs you can deliver.
Let's pause here for a second. When I say planning, I mean not only planning your engagement (i.e. talking) but also listening. Lead with listening. (In fact, you should listen twice as much as you speak). This is a common challenge. As eager and enthusiastic you may be to jump in right away, it's highly beneficial to listen first. Listening to (and familiarizing yourself with) your target audience's careabouts, pain points, competitive considerations, etc can help your engagement strategy tremendously.
5. Practice: despite all the visualization, there will be times that you will need to remedy a situation or just go with the flow. That's where practice comes in. Practicing a skill over and over will help you handle unexpected situations. The same is true for social media. The more you practice, the "smoother" your interactions will become, the faster you will recover and the less you will panic.
6. Experiment: gymnasts have a ton of courage and an insatiable drive to learn and improve. Without experimentation, there would be no new skills and the sport would become stagnant. "When [Nadia] Comaneci scored a perfect 10.0 on the uneven bars [at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal], her big skill was a handstand…In the 2008 Olympics, top athletes… performed high-flying release moves, one-handed pirouettes and flipped or twisted two rotations in the dismount. (2)"
I'm sure you can see how this relates to social media. Experimentation should always be encouraged. Besides your own ideas, be sure to look to other companies, individuals, industries, segments, platforms and countries for inspiration. It helps move this discipline forward, push the vendors to deliver the next generation of tools and resources, connect with your customers in unique and meaningful ways, and ultimately differentiate yourself from the competition.
7. Mistakes: mistakes in gymnastics are inevitable. When gymnasts fall off an apparatus, they quickly get up and continue on.
In the corporate world, mistakes are often times looked upon negatively. We want to talk about our successes much more than about our failed attempts because that's what's expected of us. We need to change our way of thinking about mistakes. They will happen. It's our ability to recover as quickly and as gracefully as possible that will make the difference. The lesson to be learned from gymnasts is that if you fail, learn from your mistakes, correct them quickly and try again.
8. Leaves: the definition of a "leave" in gymnastics is "once the gymnast knows the technique for each event it's a matter of working hard enough and leaving everything on the floor in practice and not holding anything back" (3). To do so, they have to put their hearts and souls into the skill or routine they're performing.
Just like you do. Give it everything you've got and be authentic.
These are the key lessons I think gymnasts can teach the world of social media. What's your favorite sport or exercise and what can social media practitioners learn from it? I'd love to hear from you.
(1)Gymnastike, Mental Edge Mondays, Doc Ali on How to Visualize Your Gymnastics
(2)Livestrong, The History of Women's Gymnastics
(3)Livestrong, What Are Leaves in Gymnastics?
In an effort to keep conversations fresh, Cisco Blogs closes comments after 60 days. Please visit the Cisco Blogs hub page for the latest content.
5 Comments
Great insights and analogy, Petra. While I can't speak directly (as a gymnast), I do believe in the importance of a good coach.
As it relates to social media, you might not have a coach (although there are plenty of social media consultants who provide that service), but you'll be more effective if you apply learnings from all the wonderful people you interact with. So keep your eyes wide open and learn from those around you.
Love the comparison between sports and social media; often think of sports as separate from business, but both are just as competitive and require dedication, conditioning and training.
great article and perspective..keep the Olympics related social media articles coming..lots of interest and Cisco has lots to report I'm sure!


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The supreme court has struck down a century-old Montana law limiting corporate campaign spending, dashing hopes of a rethink over a controversial 2010 decision by the justices that allows for vast amounts of private cash being used to influence national elections.
Campaigners had hoped the court would look again at the so-called Citizens United ruling, which paved the way for an unprecedented rise in the money flowing into congressional and presidential campaigns from corporate sources.
But in a 5-4 vote, split along the same conservative-liberal lines as the earlier case, the court's conservative justices said the 2010 judgement also applies to state campaign finance laws.
"The question presented in this case is whether the holding of Citizens United applies to the Montana state law. There can be no serious doubt that it does," the justices ruled.
As such they ruled in favour of three corporations – a political advocacy group called American Tradition Partnership Inc, a non-profit organisation that promotes shooting sports and a small family-owned painting business – that challenged Montana for violating their free-speech rights.
Under the Citizens United rulings, corporations are allowed to spend unlimited money to support or oppose political candidates in federal elections, as long as the finance is independent of the campaigns it is intended to help.
The 2010 judgement cited a company's right to free speech, implying that it would cover state elections as well as federal.
Justice Anthony Kennedy declared in his Citizens United opinion that independent expenditures by corporations "do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption".
But the state of Montana felt differently and sought to defend its 1912 law limiting corporate spending. Montana's supreme court sided with the state defending its state law and said that a history of corruption showed the need for limits.
Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia backed Montana in its bid for stricter regulations on campaign money. They had hoped for a debate on the Citizens United decision which could have led to its reconsideration.
Monday's ruling comes amid growing concern over the power of so-called Super Pacs in the current election cycle.
The fundraising vehicles, a direct product of the Citizens United ruling, have to be run separately from a candidate's official campaign. But critics claim that the lines are blurred to such a degree as to make the distinction meaningless.
Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Stephen Breyer wanted a full hearing in the Montana case, arguing that the Citizens United should come under fresh scrutiny because of concern over its effect on campaign finance.
Ginsberg said in February the case "will give the court an opportunity to consider whether, in light of the huge sums currently deployed to buy candidates' allegiance, Citizens United should continue to hold sway".
James Bopp, lead attorney for the three corporations challenging Montana, had argued in his appeal to the supreme court: "If Montana can ban core political speech because of Montana's unique characteristics, free speech will be seriously harmed. Speakers will be silenced because of corruption by others over a century ago."
The Supreme Court summarily ruled for the corporations in a brief opinion and reversed the ruling of the Montana supreme court.


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If you want your business website to be rendered with an updated look, it is essential to select the apt web development company which would be able to perform this task proficiently. After all, an updated website would be far more beneficial for you, as far as your business is concerned.
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W.H.: No ground troops to Iraq
President Barack Obama is reviewing options for a response to the escalating violence in Iraq, but that does not include U.S. ground troops, the White House said Thursday.
Story Continued Below
"What we've seen over the last couple of days indicates Iraq's going to need more help" from the United States and from the international community, Obama said from the Oval Office, in response to what he described as an "emergency situation." The White House has been working "around the clock" on options for how to respond and, at this point, Obama said, "I don't rule out anything."
But the White House immediately added that Obama did not mean he would put boots on the ground in Iraq and was responding to a question about drones and airstrikes.
"We are not contemplating ground troops," press secretary Jay Carney told reporters, later adding, "We don't believe that that is the approach that we should take in this case."
( Also on POLITICO: DOD: Iraqi insurgents faking claims)
Fighters with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (sometimes called the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) appear to have control of a large swath of territory inside both Syria and Iraq, giving them a strong base from which to launch attacks on the Iraqi government, which has struggled to mount an effective response. The forces have overrun Iraqi security forces in the Mosul and Tikrit and are reportedly advancing toward Baghdad.
The deteriorating situation in Iraq is an awkward moment for Obama as the White House thought it had moved on, having long touted the end of the war there as one of the president's top foreign policy achievements.
Obama's comments Thursday — his first on the escalation — came as official Washington turned its attention to Iraq after two days of intense focus on the surprising primary loss and sudden resignation of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) from his leadership post.
The Senate Armed Services Committee was briefed by administration officials on Thursday morning in the first such briefing for lawmakers as the Iraq situation deteriorated this week. Attendees said the meeting was purely informational and the administration is not yet asking members of Congress to authorize funding or any sort of military action in Iraq.
( Also on POLITICO: Tim Kaine: Where is W.H.'s Iraq plan?)
Congressional Republicans on Thursday accused the White House of being slow to respond to the ISIS threat.
Obama was "taking a nap" rather than planning a response to terrorists' takeover of key cities in Iraq, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said earlier in the day. "The progress made there is clearly in jeopardy," he said, referring to more than a decade of U.S. military presence there.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) charged that the president's entire national security team should be forced out in response to the rise of militants in Iraq. "Everybody in his national security team, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, ought to be replaced," he said before Thursday morning's Armed Services Committee briefing. "It's a colossal failure of American security policy."
The president said his team has long been monitoring the advance of terrorists in Iraq and is focused on formulating the right response because the United States has a "stake in making sure that these jihadists are not getting a permanent foothold in either Iraq or Syria, for that matter."
( Also on POLITICO: GOP on Iraq: We told you so)
There are some "short-term immediate things that need to be done militarily," he said, but U.S. forces are "not going to be able to be everywhere all the time but what we can do is to make sure we are consistently helping to finance and train and advise military forces with partner countries including Iraq."
Strengthening those forces gives the United States "the capacity to extend our reach without sending U.S. troops to play whac-a-mole whenever there ends up to be a problem in particular country," Obama added.


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Clean Out Your Fridge Day
Today is National Clean Out Your Fridge Day! I know, I'm excited, too... mostly because the only things in my fridge are a box of old butter and a half-eaten tube of cookie dough. Still, for those of you who only wish they were so lucky, here are a few handy guidelines:
You might need to clean out your fridge if:
this in your fridge:
Myra T., Eric B., Hillary G., Laura P., Leah C., Rachel P., Sibel D., & Candi S., call me if you find any pudding cups back there. I'll send you my address.


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In a span of less than 24 hours last October, residents of metro New York City were rudely reminded of how very close they live to the water — maybe, it now seems, a little too close for comfort.
Hurricane Sandy, dubbed a "superstorm" for its sheer size and reach in punishing the Northeast, took dead aim on the New York/New Jersey metropolis, merging torrential rains with waters of the Atlantic to flood low-lying boroughs and a broad stretch of coastline on a scale not seen in decades.
Among the many victims in the water's path were emergency back-up power systems in a range of environments — from health-care facilities and data centers to office buildings and residential structures. In the worst cases, some systems were swamped, rendering gen-sets useless or too unpredictable to rely on in a critical hour of need. In others, they were temporarily disabled, leading to mere inconvenience.
Regardless of the venue, the inability of some systems to answer the call — and the problems that followed — has sounded some alarm bells in the industry. New concerns are sprouting that perhaps fundamental assumptions used to design and install back-up power in some applications and locations may be fundamentally flawed.
Challenging assumptions
Fearing that Sandy may foreshadow new weather patterns that could spawn more surprise and possibly unprecedented flooding events, building owners, engineers, gen-set manufacturers, systems designers, government officials, and code authorities may be poised to start revisiting best practices and requirements for back-up power systems.
For Bill Burke, division manager for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the storm's fury and its impact on the electrical power infrastructure was crystallized in a dramatic newsmagazine cover photo showing a largely blacked-out Lower Manhattan in the storm's wake. Remarking on it with colleague Don Bliss, chairman of National Electrical Code (NEC )Code-Making Panel 13, which establishes emergency power system provisions in the NEC, they both agreed it was a stark and telling image.
"Being electrical people, we were struck by the same things in that cover showing a darkened skyline, especially the realization that every one of those buildings probably had some kind of requirement or provision for back-up power, yet many of them apparently hadn't worked," Burke says.
While that photo was revealing, likely hundreds of facilities across the metro area did indeed have emergency power that ultimately worked as designed, even after experiencing temporary glitches in some cases. So, in that sense, the image may have overstated the extent and impact of the actual blackout and its duration.
Nevertheless, Sandy's floodwaters did find vulnerable systems in places that could least afford power interruptions of any duration. Now, four months later, those failures stand as fresh proof that back-up power is ultimately only as good as its ability to stand up to the most extreme circumstances, particularly in mission-critical environments.
Vulnerable venues
Understandably, the Sandy-induced back-up power system failures that captured the most attention for both their real and potential impact were those that plagued a few important hospitals in low-lying parts of New York City.
Problems like those faced at facilities like New York University Langone Medical Center (NYU Langone), Bellevue Hospital Center, and Coney Island Hospital, as well as other buildings scattered across several boroughs, largely shared a common theme. Where back-up power systems failed, most, if not all, apparently succumbed because floodwaters overwhelmed fuel pumps, transfer switches, or other essential equipment housed on lower levels. The problem was many of these units needed to power generators that were sitting on upper floors. Many of the 6,000-patient evacuations from metro area hospitals likely stemmed from power interruptions or losses (see Hospital System Design Debate).
Storm surges of 11 feet in most areas of the city and up to 14 feet in others sent water cascading into the lower levels of buildings. Many were constructed to withstand some water inundation, but generally not at the levels Sandy delivered. Some reports put peak water volumes in some basements upward of 15 million gallons.
Of all the New York-area facilities that suffered back-up power problems, NYU Langone may have received the most attention. Located on the banks of the East River in Manhattan, parts of the NYU Langone medical complex (consisting of four hospitals) experienced flooding, and parts of some buildings lost emergency power provided by on-site generators.
According to one published report quoting the hospital's vice president of facilities operations, in places floodwaters under extremely high pressure overwhelmed protective barriers surrounding pumps that shuttle fuel to multiple emergency generators, causing them to shut down. With fuel supplies cut — and critical power distribution circuits also compromised by exposure to water — some generators were rendered ineffective or operationally suspect, leaving or threatening to leave multiple areas of the complex powerless as the storm bore down.
Some pump operations were quickly restored, but hospital officials decided to take the precautionary step of evacuating patients. Because of flooding in the basement level that made the elevators unsafe to operate, the hospital brought patients down stairwells. Outside, where the storm raged, ambulances queued up to ferry them to other facilities. In all, more than 300 patients were safely evacuated.
Seeking answers
Responding in late January to these early published reports and specific questions from EC&M, NYU Langone appeared to distinguish between generator failure and the failure of pumps and other related components, but did not address the latter.
Specifically, the hospital said in written responses that only one of its eight campus generators actually failed. That unit, the only one below ground level (which provides less than 5% of the campus' generator capacity) did sustain water damage. But since it did not serve any patient care or critical research areas, the hospital said its failure "did not result in significant power outages and did not lead to the evacuation of patients."
Addressing only the center's Tisch Hospital for acute care patients, and no others, NYU Langone said generators serving that facility did not fail and supplied power to "several hospital floors" during the storm.
"Our investigation into the cause of the power outage at Tisch Hospital is ongoing, and it is too early to speculate as to what caused certain floors within the hospital to experience the power outage," the statement read.
While details of what happened at NYU Langone remain unclear, it is certain that on some level the hospital's back-up power system did not perform optimally — and the failures that occurred did so even after work had apparently begun to re-engineer the system to better handle potential flooding.
Fixes weren't enough
Following Hurricane Irene in 2011, the hospital reportedly scaled back and hardened the back-up power system's street-level components. Generators were moved to the rooftop, fuel tanks were repositioned, and ground-level pumps connected to an underground fuel tank were cordoned off in a flood-resistant structure. According to reports, Sandy struck as the hospital was trying to secure funding for the next phase of system improvements aimed at further hardening it against storm-related threats, exposing the inadequacy of the patchwork improvements to the system and its continued vulnerability to flooding.
When questioned about efforts to ensure there would not be a repeat of back-up power problems, NYU Langone told EC&M that a $250-million co-generation natural gas power plant is under construction, and that flood barriers for that building and others are being considered.
That structure, the hospital said, will provide 8MW of additional power generation, enough to "mitigate potential outages and damages sustained from future storms." As an additional precaution, back-up generators and components will operate 20 feet above code requirements.
Factoring floods into future designs
In Sandy, back-up systems failed across the metropolis for various reasons and to varying degrees. But their apparent vulnerability to flooding events, because of either location, design, or both, is worrisome to those who study emergency power systems. Studies, hearings, and investigations into why will likely loom. But the sheer number of apparent failures, combined with the venues in which they occurred, leaves some wondering if a fundamental rethinking is in order for applications where flooding is a risk.
With early indications that emergency power failures were rooted in failures of pumps and other systems that deliver fuel, generators themselves aren't likely to emerge as the culprit. Provided they're maintained, tested, kept in good operational condition, and located on higher ground — shielded from all but the most catastrophic water incursion — gen-sets should perform in typical storm scenarios.
The concern, says Michael Pope, current president of the Electrical Generating Systems Association (EGSA), an
organization that represents gen-set manufacturers, now likely centers on the design and location of enabling components of back-up power systems.
"The positioning of pumps and fuel supplies has to be reconsidered, and part of the problem in New York may be that the building codes don't permit fuel storage on building roofs," Pope figures. "If that's the case, then every installation where fuel is stored below grade probably needs to be reviewed and looked at to determine if water can get in there and, if so, what precautions can be taken to prevent that from happening."
While such an assessment may be an important first step, the looming question is whether Sandy may have been a game-changer. If the flooding it spawned resets the calculation of expected future high-water levels in lower-lying areas, remedial fixes may not be possible for many systems located at street level or lower.
Re-design challenges
With Sandy, and Irene before it, amping up the debate over climate change and the prospect of more powerful and more frequent storms, reasonable gauges of future high water marks might be ratcheted up. If so, as NYU Langone learned with its system improvements, it may not be realistic to think about protecting systems already in place from flooding that could accompany stronger storms.
Consequently, some, like engineers in the New York-based consulting engineering firm Syska-Hennessy Group, Inc., anticipate a fair amount of hand-wringing over how to configure back-up power systems in Sandy's aftermath. In surveying the post-Sandy landscape and working with some clients in the city, among them health-care institutions, vice presidents Keith Fitzpatrick and Marina Dishel see a litany of concerns.
For one, if an expected new flood map of the city raises the 100-year flood mark by three or four feet, Fitzpatrick says, many existing back-up systems will be situated too low for comfort. But, as always is the case in disaster planning, it will come down to a question of how much risk to shoulder.
"Some landlords are replacing systems right where they were destroyed as if nothing happened, and others are thinking about moving everything up, at great cost, a floor or two higher," says Fitzpatrick. "Clients who can't afford that are thinking about constructing bathtubs of sorts around components to seal them off and rely on sump pumps in hopes of minimizing the risk. But for some of the buildings on the waterfront, there's no way that pumps could have pumped as much water out as came in."
Then there's the problem of existing city building codes that dictate rules on emergency power system integration and, more relevantly, where and how much diesel fuel can be stored on-site, says Dishel.
"A lot of buildings will probably be looking to at least elevate pumps above flood level, if possible, but depending on the architecture of the system and the building that can be costly," she says. "We're working on redesigns like that for some clients, and we've also looked into submersible pumps, which don't now look to be an option. Another solution could be dual-fuel (natural gas/oil) generators, but we're not sure if the industry now provides the type of generator that would be needed."
In search of best practices
Indeed, a broad slate of options for improving the reliance of back-up systems will likely be on the table as the Sandy experience is further analyzed. Bliss, the NEC Code-Making Panel 13 chairman and a professional emergency management expert, says revised calculations about flooding risk should probably be factored into assessments of the readiness of systems in flood-prone areas.
"There are some lessons to be learned here about preparedness, and there will be multiple components to study, including code compliance, the performance design/risk assessment process, how systems are designed and installed, specific needs for back-up power, and operational and human factors," says Bliss.
Information on those and other elements of the back-up power experience in Sandy are due to be gathered by NFPA. Panels like Bliss' and others who oversee parts of the NEC covering emergency power systems are keenly interested in understanding just how well such systems in Sandy's path performed.
The mission, according to NFPA's Burke, will be to draft a formal study that could inform efforts to update or change the many parts of the Code addressing back-up power. It's too early to say whether changes to requirements are needed, but Burke says anecdotal information about failures suggest a need to study revisions. If critical systems are deemed more vulnerable to water because of where they're housed or because geography conveys a heightened risk of more frequent and more powerful storms, remedies must be explored, he says.
"There may be better ways to install systems to protect against this sort of thing," says Burke. "We need to find out why so many appear to have failed, try to categorize our findings into some very specific areas, and then take a logical look at maybe doing something better to prevent something like this from happening again."
Zind is a freelance writer based in Lee's Summit, Mo. He can be reached at [email protected].
SIDEBAR: Hospital System Design Debate
Emergency power reliability at health-care facilities has long been a topic of debate. After Hurricane Sandy, that conversation may be heating up even more.
Hospital back-up power is governed by an array of rules, regulations, and guidelines, many rooted in parts of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Location-specific design, testing, and maintenance are addressed in NFPA 99 – Healthcare Facilities; broad guidelines are covered in NFPA 110 – Emergency and Standby Power Systems. The chief hospital accrediting body, The Joint Commission, references both in its requirements for back-up power.
As comprehensive and detailed as these are, there may be gaps. Proclaimed skeptics of hospital readiness point to the flooding of back-up systems in Sandy as evidence. One, Arthur Kellerman, the policy chair at Rand Corp., was quoted by ProPublica as saying it was "remarkable" that the major hospitals still have critical back-up systems located in basements prone to flooding.
George Mills, director of engineering for the Joint Commission, says hospitals have some discretion in how they configure and place back-up systems, though some code wording does opaquely reference flood protection. They must rigorously and routinely test their systems for reliability, but a detailed hazard vulnerability analysis (HVA) typically governs system design and installation.
"Each organization needs to look at the HVA and see how to manage their systems through that," he says. "Hospitals generally have to identify the risks they perceive to the public and then work to mitigate that risk."
Designing for natural disasters, however, can be tricky. Threats vary based on geography, climate, and weather history, Mills says. But unprecedented events, similar to Sandy, can alter risk assessments. Following Hurricane Katrina, the Joint Commission issued an alert of sorts that advised locating back-up systems above expected flooding levels. But hospitals, he says, have to consider risk-benefit scenarios and weigh the costs of relocating systems or designing new ones that may be more costly to install. Post-Sandy, Mills says, some New York-area hospitals did engage in some second-guessing.
"Some said they wished they had maybe done a more thorough job looking at HVA assumptions," he says. "But the theorem we go by here is that organizations appear to pay attention to the most recent events. If they haven't experienced flooding, that's low on their radar."


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Hi ladies,
I am pretty down this cycle. Seems I'm not responding at all like last cycle where I had 10 eggs and ended up with 4 really good blasts on day 5. RE brought up an option to cancel and do IUI instead today. We don't know what to do. But DH is leaning towards the IVF since RE said IUI would be 5-10% success rates and IVF significantly higher IF we had two good embies to transfer on day 3. If we do the IUI, we could afford another IVF cycle in a couple of months but there's no guarantee I'll have any better response then.
On the right side I have 4 follies as follows, 16,16,16,12 and on the left I've got two 14 and 11. RE said I will be ready to trigger tomorrow. I've never had a mature egg in a follicle less than 16 mm. We are doing ICSI and have had good fertilization rates with that. Once fertilized, I also have lost very few embryos. 1st IVF, I had 4 fertilize and ended up with 3 embies with no fragmentation. Transferred two and the third one made it to blast and was frozen. My second IVF... the one I got pregnant and m/c at 12 wks I had 7 eggs, 4 mature, and 3 fertilized. I transferred all 3. Two of those had a bit of fragmentation and the third one wasn't so good.
Anyone over 35 years old have success with only 3-4 eggs retrieved?
What would you do in my situation?