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Kim Dotcom and John Banks have quite different stories about their relationship. It might matter an awful lot who is telling the truth.
Politics costs money. Anyone who has had anything to do with any sort of campaign - be it to pressure the Council to fix the potholes in your street, or to get the leader of a political party elected as Prime Minister of New Zealand - knows this.
So to pay for political activity, those who are wanting to engage in it must have money. They may have it themselves - think Colin Craig and his ability to bankroll the nascent Conservative Party. Or, they may not have it themselves (or not want to spend their own money). In which case, they have to get it from other people.
Which then starts to raise questions. If a person is just giving money to some politically active individual or organisation because they think the individual or organisation has the right answers, then that's one thing. We might still have concerns about how much a donor ought to be able to help out others in the contest for political power, but in general it is a good thing that people put their money where their mouths are.
However, what about cases where we suspect a donation is motivated less by ideological sympathy and more in an effort to curry favour with those who may hold future public decision making power? Or, to put it crudely, there's a fear someone has tried to buy a politician?
Well, one way we might try and put such fears to bed is to say to candidates (and the organisations behind them) that they have to tell us who are the big funders of their campaigns. The glib rationale for such rules is that "sunshine is the best disinfectant"; if everyone can see potential links between a donation and a future policy outcome, then it's a lot harder to create the sorts of corrupt relationships that otherwise may flourish.
Which is why today's New Zealand Herald story about Mr Kim Dotcom's claimed donation to Mr John Bank's Auckland mayoral campaign back in 2010 matters. Not so much because Mr Dotcom was in fact trying to buy any influence, or that Mr Banks in fact intended to sell anything. But rather because unless we can see exactly who is giving what to whom, then we cannot be sure what sorts of deals may be getting struck behind the scenes.
Here's Dotcom's account of the donation (as related by the Herald):
"He mentioned the elections were coming up [and] he was raising money for his campaign," Dotcom said. "He said it was hard to raise money in New Zealand, the mayoral campaign was coming up and he's trying to raise funds for that.
"I kind of liked the guy. I said, 'I'm happy to help.' I told Wayne to write a cheque for $50,000.
"His [Mr Banks'] eyes got a little bit bigger at that moment."
Mr Tempero asked the chief financial officer to come into the room to write the cheque.
"John said, 'Wait a minute'," Dotcom recalled last night. "'It would be good if you could split it up into two payments of 25 [thousand dollars], then I don't declare publicly who made it'."
Dotcom said one cheque was made out in his own name, or the name of his company Megastuff Ltd, and the other in Mr Tempero's name.
"He [Mr Banks] called me a few days after the cheques entered his bank account and he thanked me personally."
Now, as I say, this is just Mr Dotcom's account. But I can't see why he'd have an interest in making up a story like this about Banks - unless he's very, very bored on home detention, or feels that Banks has screwed him over in some way, or the like. And given that Mr Dotcom names others who were present at the meeting, you'd think there's ways of checking how accurate his recollection of it is that make fabrication a futile business.
But against those reasons for believing Mr Dotcom is his claim that: "John said, 'Wait a minute. It would be good if you could split it up into two payments of 25 [thousand dollars], then I don't declare publicly who made it'." This seems a bit odd, on its face. Splitting a donation of $50,000 into two donations of $25,000 has no effect whatsoever on the requirement to disclose it under the Local Electoral Act 2001.
Under s.109(1), a candidate must disclose within 55 days of the election the source of all "electoral donations" made to her or his campaign that exceed $1000. So it makes no difference to the requirement to disclose if the donation comes in one $50,000 amount or two $25,000 payments - both have to be declared.
Assuming Mr Dotcom's account is accurate (which is, I reiterate, simply an assumption at the moment and in no way a certainty), it would appear that Mr Banks either did not know the law in this area, or perhaps was concerned that a single donation of $50,000 would raise questions that two $25,000 donations would not. Which is, if not unlawful in itself, certainly in tension with the spirit of the law.
But so far all we've looked at is what Mr Dotcom says happened. What does Mr Banks have to say about Mr Dotcom's claims? Again, the Herald tells us that:
Last night, Mr Banks said there would be nothing wrong with his telling people how to give anonymously.
"If someone says to me, 'How can I put money into your campaign?' what would be wrong with telling them that - if that was that case?
"I could say, 'Firstly, you should talk to people who are raising money for me. But if you want to put money into my campaign, you can put it in two ways. You can put it in anonymously or you can put it in and have it declared.' It's quite legitimate.
"If Kim Dotcom wants to put money into my campaign anonymously he is quite entitled to do it. Whether it is 1000, 5000, 50,000 or 500,000 [dollars], he is quite entitled to do it under the act.
"Nothing to hide, nothing to fear. If Mr Kim Dotcom put money into my mayoral campaign, you should tell him I'm grateful and thank you very much."
Technically, this is true. The Local Electoral Act 2001, s.109(1)(c) says that "electoral donations" of more than $1000 that are made "anonymously" simply need to be reported in the candidate's election expenses return as coming from an "anonymous" source. And s.5 defines "anonymous" as: "in relation to an electoral donation ... , means a donation that is made in such a way that the candidate concerned does not know who made the donation."
So a local body candidate legally can meet with a potential donor, tell that donor "here's what to do if you want to avoid having your name appear in my return of election expenses" and then go off and leave the donor to deal with those who are in charge of the campaign's financial affairs. And even if the candidate subsequently learns a large "anonymous" donation was made to her or his campaign in the days after the conversation, the candidate can claim not to "know" who it came from. And then that donation only needs to be reported to the public as being "anonymous" in nature. Which, you might think, is a pretty silly rule to have if the concern is revealing to the world who is paying the bills for elected officials (and thus may expect favourable treatment thereafter).
(Note also that the disclosure rules for local elections are different (in the sense of much looser) than those that apply at national elections - as David Farrar explains here.)
However, Mr Banks' account of the conversation with Mr Dotcom - actually, he doesn't acknowledge talking to Mr Dotcom at all, so his generic account of theoretical conversations with potential donors - diverges significantly from what Mr Dotcom says happened. For one thing, it sounds from Mr Dotcom's account like the cheques were given directly to Mr Banks. And in any case, Mr Dotcom claims Mr Banks rang him to thank him for the donation.
If either of these claims are true, Mr Banks cannot possibly claim not to "know" the source of the donations. And so they cannot qualify as "anonymous" in nature. And so if they were reported as such in his return of election expenses, rather than as coming from Mr Dotcom (or his company) and Mr Tempero, then that return was false. And returning a false return of electoral expenses is an offence.
Now, here I'm stacking assumption upon assumption, but if it turns out Mr Dotcom's account is the accurate one (and this seems eminently checkable through witness statements and phone records) and Mr Banks is charged with an offence, what then? Well, it depends on Mr Banks' state of knowledge with regards the expenses return.
If he knew the return was "false in any material particular" - by conciously treating Mr Dotcom's donations as anonymous when he knew the donor's identity - then he's in real trouble. Because under the Electoral Act 1993, s 55(1)(d), a conviction for this offence automatically results in his seat in Parliament becoming "vacant" (i.e. he gets kicked out of Parliament). It doesn't matter what sentence he receives - it's the very fact of a conviction that matters.
Of course, even in this worst-case scenario, Mr Banks could stand again in the resultant by-election. And even if he doesn't win it, National's candidate certainly would. Which would mean that the numbers in Parliament wouldn't change appreciably - but it certainly wouldn't be something the Government would appreciate happening.
However, if he didn't know of the false return (i.e. it can be shown that it was someone in his campaign that wrongly reported the donation as anonymous and he didn't realise the mistake was made), then at most Mr Banks may be in line for a small fine. And if he can prove he did all he could to avoid such errors, then not even this.
So - as I say, there's a lot of assumptions that have to be proven true before we even get to this point. But who knew that letting a fat German ex-hacker with a questionable internet business model into the country would lead to such interesting times?


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Our goal: Zero Teen Fatalities
Some people believe reaching zero fatalities on Utah roads is an impossible goal. But when you think of your friends and family, how many is it acceptable to lose? We hope zero. And that's why we've made it our goal in Utah. The Don't Drive Stupid program strives to put an end to traffic-related teen deaths by educating young drivers about the importance of being safe behind the wheel. We invite you to join the cause and start saving lives.
Teen Lives Lost on Utah's Roads
2007-2016 Utah Traffic Fatalities

subset: commoncrawl


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Double loan deal boosts Yeovil
Yeovil have boosted their squad ahead of Tuesday's clash with Swindon by signing two Championship players on one-month loans.
Last Updated: 19/03/13 12:24am
Yeovil have boosted their squad ahead of Tuesday's clash with Swindon by signing two Championship players on one-month loans.
Latvia international Vitalijs Maksimenko has joined from Brighton along with Charlton striker Jordan Cook until April 17.
The versatile Maksimenko, who can play anywhere down the left flank, moved to the Amex from Skonto Riga in the January transfer window after impressing during a spell training with the Seagulls last year.
""He's a strong lad. He's quick, he's left-footed and he's got himself in the Latvia national team," boss Gary Johnson told the Western Gazette.
Cook, who has made nine Addicks appearances this season, began his career with Sunderland and spent loan spells with Darlington, Walsall and Carlisle before signing for the Black Cats back in July.
"Our scouting system identified him (Cook) as a player," Johnson explained. "We were going to take him on loan with a view (to sign permanently) but obviously Charlton took him.
"It's nice for us to have him now, it's certainly cheaper, it's doing the lad a favour, Charlton a favour and hopefully us a favour."
The pair are available for the match with the Robins on Tuesday.


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New South Wales Tourism welcomes to Accommodation Springfield Lakes Australia, we offer superb holiday accommodation with our professional team, locate your provider today from our extensive range of listings below.
Address: 7/1 Springfield Lakes Boulevard, Springfield Lakes QLD 4300
copyright © 2019 New South Wales Tourism . All rights reserved.


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Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Its lake buying time!
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Bobcat badge
From MeritBadgeDotOrg
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|name= Bobcat Rank
|name= Bobcat Rank
|image= .
|caption= Bobcat Badge
|caption= Bobcat Badge
|age_group = All new Cub Scouts
|age_group = All new Cub Scouts
Revision as of 09:42, March 12, 2008
|Bobcat Rank
Bobcat Badge
The Bobcat Tracks
To earn the Bobcat badge the boy must complete these eight tracks of Akela:
1. Learn and say the Cub Scout Promise and complete the Honesty Character Connection.
- The Cub Scout Promise
- I ____(name)____ promise to do my best
- To do my duty to God and my country,
- To help other people, and
- To obey the Law of the Pack.
- The Honesty Character Connection
- Know: Discuss these questions with your family. What is a promise? What does it mean to "keep your word?" What does honesty mean? What does it mean to "do your best?"
- Commit: Discuss these questions with your family. Why is a promise important? Why is it important for people to trust you when you give your word? When might it be difficult to keep your word? List examples.
- Practice: Discuss with family members why it is important to be trustworthy and honest and how can you do your best to be honest when you are doing the activities in Cub Scouting.
2. Say the Law of the Pack. Tell what it means.
- The Cub Scout follows Akela.
- The Cub Scout helps the pack go.
- The pack helps the Cub Scout Grow.
- The Cub Scout gives goodwill.
3. Tell what Webelos means.
- WE'll BE LOyal Scouts
4. Show the Cub Scout sign. Tell what it means.
5. Show the Cub Scout handshake. Tell what it means.
6. Say the Cub Scout motto. A motto is a guiding principle.
- Do Your Best.
7. Give the Cub Scout salute. Tell what it means.
8. With your adult partner, complete the exercises in the parent's guide, "How to Protect Your Children from Child Abuse."


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Sep 4, 2018
"empire records, open till midnight"
Chris Mac and Sarah Gandy delve deep into the iconic '95 film Empire Records one minute at a time. This podcast humbly joins the ranks of many great movie minute podcasts based on Star Wars Minute by Alex Robinson and Pete The Retailer. Damn The Man, Save the Empire.
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LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Halloween lovers hoping to create the perfect jack-o-lantern might want to shop carefully this year because of a pumpkin fungus that has put a dent in some crops.
Two types of fungus or rot have affected crops from the Midwest to New England, causing pumpkins to develop mold in some spots and then begin decomposing, said Daniel Egel, a Purdue University Extension plant pathologist. The entire inside of the pumpkin eventually rots until the shell falls apart.
A combination of high temperatures and record rain in August has helped the fungi flourish, Egel said.
Nina Kent, co-owner of Kent's Cucurbits in White County, said one variety of her pumpkins has about 85 percent loss because of the rot.
"We really didn't know until we went out and started picking around the 17th of September," she said. "It's as if they're rotting from the inside out."
The rot has also hit Purdue University's Meigs Farm in Lafayette. Karen Rane, a plant disease diagnostician, turned over a pumpkin and the underside collapsed in her hands.
"It's sporadic across the state," she said.
The pumpkin problems may mean more shopping for Halloween lovers like Lafayette resident Dave Gray. Gray decorates his home each year and said he buys as many pumpkins as possible to create jack-o-lanterns.
"As a kid, I liked it better than Christmas because you get to dress up," Gray said.
At D&R Market in Lafayette, for example, jumbo pumpkins are not being sold this year. Tad Ritchie, a produce worker at the market, said the store had to stop selling the larger varieties because its supplier had none healthy enough to pick.
The market is selling normal size pumpkins, but Ritchie fears that supply could run out before Halloween.
"My grower told me he's only getting about a 40 percent yield," Ritchie said. "It'll be bad for anybody that doesn't get one by about the 15th of October."
Shoppers should look for bright orange pumpkins with strong, green stems, which indicate the fruit was picked recently while the vine was healthy, Egel said. Consumers should also check for moldy areas or soft spots, especially on the bottom of the pumpkins, he said. Pumpkins should be stored in dry, shady areas until carving.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Read the original story here in The Oregonian.
Portland State University is offering free tai chi classes to the general public Mondays and Wednesdays in public spaces downtown.
The idea is to promote Chinese culture, said Meiru Liu, co-director of the Confucius Institute at PSU, while offering low-key exercise for those who need a break from work or study.
Tai chi involves slow, steady motions. The martial art promotes balance in the body and gently stretches muscles, said Mingqiang Gao, the other co-director. Some of the movements mimic animals, such as cranes or grasshoppers, he said.
The university will offer free tai chi classes Mondays from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. in front of the PSU library, and Wednesdays from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. in Pioneer Courthouse Square. Everyone is welcome, and attendees can stop by at any time during the hour.
-- Melissa Binder


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Method 1 - Using an Image inside the Header
This method simple involves putting your logo in a heading tag, and giving it relevant alt and title attributes. It works well with simple logos, but if you want cool rollovers etc, you will need a different method.
(X)HTML Code

Suits - Simple logos with an alt tag, and possibly a link
Pros - Alt text should remain visible with images off, logo visible when CSS disabled
Cons - No css rollovers, you must resort to Javascript
Method 2 - Modified Phark Method
This method involved using a CSS background image to show the logo. If CSS is disabled you still see the heading text, however with images off and CSS on the logo is hidden, which is a shame.It works by indenting the text out of sight, and showing the background image. I use this one when I have a transparent logo, e.g. A transparent png, since other methods (like Gilder/Levin below) show the heading text underneath the image.
(X)HTML Code

   Site name

CSS Code
h1 a span { height:164px; width:219px; background: url('logo.png') no-repeat; text-indent: -5000px; } h1 a:hover span { height:164px; width:219px; background: url('logoHover.png') no-repeat; text-indent: -5000px; }
Suits - Headings when you want a link, and your logo is transparent.
Pros - Text displayed when images off, transparent images work, css rollovers work.
Cons - Breaks with images off and CSS on.
Method 3 - Modified Gilder/Levin Method
This method is good when using opaque images. It works by hiding the text with a background image via CSS, it does however need some un-semantic markup; but thats a small price to pay. The span is basically positioned to cover up the header text, thats the reason it needs to be opaque. And remember; the width and height must match the image!
(X)HTML Code

 Site name

CSS Code
h1#header { margin:0; padding:0; position:relative; width:316px; height:29px; overflow:hidden; } h1#header span { display:block; position:absolute; width:316px; height:29px; margin:0; padding:0; background:url(logo.gif) top left no-repeat; }
Suits - Headings when you want a link, and your logo is opaque.
Pros - Text displayed when images off and also when CSS off.
Cons - Cannot use a transparent image.
Method 4 - Hide words, Use Background
This method is the one I use the most, personally. It involves putting the text in a span tag and making the span invisible and giving the header a background image. Remember to resize the header so that it is tall enough for the background.
(X)HTML Code

 Hello World

CSS Code
h1 { background-image:url(hello_world.gif); background-repeat:no-repeat; height:35px; /*Height of the image being used as the background. You can also set width if you don't want to position the background or set to no-repeat.*/ } h1 span { display:none; -or- (either works and doesnt make much difference between screen readers) visibility:hidden; }
Suits - Most Headers or any block level element with text.
Pros - Works well in any occasion where CSS is off.
Cons - Doesn't work is CSS is on and images are off.


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The Hamburg travel blogger Caroline Lohrmann, Shavethewhales.net, writes with a keen sense about her adventures around the globe. Her texts are profound and offer an open, humorous look at foreign countries and cultures. Her photos are evidence of her eye for style and beauty. A Tamron 10-24mm ultra wide angle zoom is always part of the luggage. We asked Caroline what she has learnt about photography on her tours.
Sarah Schmid and Philipp Johann are two young photographers from Cologne. With the stage name Sallyhateswing, both of them always cause a stir with their creative photo actions. For a beauty shooting, the duo now took advantage of the Tamron SP 90mm F/2.8 Di VC USD Macro objective and they were impressed by the sharpness in the details.
Ines Thomsen has turned her passion into a profession - the trigger for this was a serious turning point in her life
1/2" 15-510mm F/3.0 zoom lens (Model: M12ZG34X15IRPF)
"In 2011, I never thought that I would be holding my own book in my own hands just three years later." I have lost count of how many times I've already written this sentence in some form or another. But it's true now and will forever remain so. "Anyone can vegan" is Nadine's and my debut book and which we will always remember with a certain astonishment.


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Picture of Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos - The Alcazar of the Christian Kings Gardens, Cordoba, Andaluisa, Spain.
In the interior of the palace there are remarkable Arabian baths, Roman mosaics and a sarcophagus of of marble from 3rd century.
The extensive gardens are reminiscent of the Moorish style laid out with a series of rectangular ponds and fountains amongst orange trees and topiary.


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The camera comes with a 2 m (6.6 ft.) network cable and is powered using Power over Ethernet (IEEE 802.3af).
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After installing fiber optic, the city of São Pedro invested in 430 Axis IP cameras and license plate reading technology, starting down the road to becoming a "smart city"Read the full story
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text: Egads! Hard to believe the holiday season is already upon us (and even harder to believe I just used the term "egads"). Anyway, the holidays tend to be a time for planning and shopping and cooking and shopping and cleaning and shopping … in no particular order. The next thing you know, you're tired, stressed […] Read More »


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Drew Brees did what Drew Brees does against the Raiders in the first half.
To make matters worse, virtually every potential problem area showed up in a big way for the Raiders as they trail 23-7 at halftime at the Superdome.
Brees was 14 of 18 for 202 yards and a touchdown as New Orleans got points on every drive. Meanwhile, Matt Flynn was pressured heavily _ and sacked five times _ before directing an 82-yard end-of-half drive when the Saints backed off and played coverage. Flynn was 12 of 16 for 124 yards and an 18-yard touchdown pass to Denarius Moore.
The pass blocking was horrendous, and left tackle Alex Barron got worked over but good by Cameron Jordan. But he was hardly the only culprit up front. To make matters worse, David Ausberry (shoulder) and Tracy Porter (groin) both left the game with injuries.


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Scotland 21-17 South Africa, Murrayfield, November 20
Scots end Springboks' Grand Slam dream
ESPNscrum Staff
November 20, 2010
Jean De Villiers takes on the Scotland defence
© Getty Images
Scotland ended South Africa's hopes of a first successful Grand Slam tour in 50 years with a gritty 21-17 triumph at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Andy Robinson's men underlined their battling qualities by succeeding where Ireland and Wales failed in recent weeks, bouncing back from last weekend's 49-3 hammering at the hands of New Zealand with a gutsy display in atrocious conditions.
Dan Parks kicked all of the home side's points with six penalties and a drop goal, eclipsing Willem Alberts' late try and 12 points from fly-half Morne Steyn to ensure that Avril Malan's 1960-61 tourists remain the last South African side to complete a clean sweep against the Home Unions.
A difficult week for South Africa, headlined by Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bjorn Basson's failed drugs tests and a broken hand for Bryan Habana, ended on a massive low as they were outfought for the vast majority of the afternoon, their power game ineffective against a Scottish side willing to match them blow for blow.
Scotland were led by scrum-half Rory Lawson for the first time following an injury to Mike Blair, while Northampton centre Joe Ansbro was lively after being drafted in for a surprise debut in place of Max Evans.
Steyn slotted a simple penalty to get the scoring underway after two minutes but both he and his namesake, centre Frans, failed to convert further chances from the tee in an error-riddled opening 10 minutes.
The Springboks extended their lead with another shot form Steyn on 12 minutes, having generated some much-needed momentum with a typically effective lineout maul just inside the Scottish half. Gio Aplon then injected some quality into proceedings with a lightning dart along the touchline but Graeme Morrison's timely intervention saved the home side.
Parks knocked over his first attempt at goal to halve the South African lead on 16 minutes and the Cardiff Blues fly-half levelled things up with a wonky drop-goal after Sean Lamont had pierced the Springbok line with a powerful surge off an inside ball. The home side's purple patch continued with a fine five minutes from their front-row. An Allan Jacobsen turnover won territory before Parks' cross-kick to Lamont resulted in a South African knock-on, the Scottish pack winning a scrum penalty that was sent between the posts for a three-point lead on 23 minutes.
Parks continued to grow in stature, shredding the South African rush defence with a well-judged kick to set Morrison galloping into space and further extending the Scottish lead with another penalty after some over-eagerness from the visitors saw them pinged for offside.
Steyn responded with his third penalty on 36 minutes but Scotland ended the half in confident fashion. After Parks had been flattened while lining up another drop-goal, Ansbro set off on a mazy run through the South African defence only for the opportunity to go begging with a knock-on from Jacobsen.
The second-half spluttered into life with further mistakes from both sides, although Steyn did keep his composure to level the scores after 46 minutes. Parks put Lamont under major pressure on his own line with an unsympathetic pass but after some sterling defensive work from Lawson Scotland were soon on the front foot and ahead on the scoreboard. A rare flutter from the South African lineout gifted the ball to John Barclay, whose snaffling job was followed up by a thrilling break from Richie Vernon. The replacement No.8 was halted by a shoulder-charge from Zane Kirchner but Scotland recycled the ball before a shrill blast from referee Stuart Dickinson's whistle saw Parks calling for the tee.
With Scotland 15-12 up South Africa continued to put themselves under pressure by making regular errors, their lineout coming under inreased pressure as the rain teemed down. A penalty against Jannie du Plessis for slipping his bind at a scrum allowed Parks another shot at the posts and he duly accepted, opening up a six point lead just after the hour mark.
South Africa became increasingly frustrated with the referee as the half wore on and flanker Juan Smith was left particularly aggrieved when pinged for going off his feet in the shadow of the posts. Parks stepped up to open up a nine point lead, one that was cut very soon after to four as the Springboks struck for the game's first try.
Another brutish maul took them to within inches of the Scottish line and while they were held up, the home side had infringed in the build-up. The resulting penalty went to corner and off the back of the lineout, Alberts swivelled and crashed across the whitewash. A boos rang out from the crowd, replacement fly-half Lambie missed his conversion to leave Scotland a decisive two scores ahead. The final moments saw Scotland play close-quarters rugby to great effect, with Lawson conducting things from the base before smashing the ball into the stands to the delight of the home faithful.
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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Throughout the successful 25-year history of the Texas Plant Protection Association, drought has been a common topic during presentations and research.
Dr. Travis Miller, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agronomist and associate department head for soil and crop sciences at Texas A&M University, said the drought of 2011 was unforgettable.
"It was utter devastation," Miller said. "Everywhere you went there was nothing green. I'll never forget the sight of the livestock auction sales and the number of cattle going through."
Dry weather and expectations of extended periods without rainfall have become a predictable aspect of production agriculture for Texas farmers and ranchers the past two decades. According to John Nielsen-Gammon, state climatologist at Texas A&M University in College Station, there's hope for that trend to reverse in the future.
"The past 25 years have been the warmest on record for Texas," he said. "The recent trend has been hotter and drier weather, but much of that has been influenced by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), which switched from a positive to negative phase during the past 25 years. Over the next 25 years, I would expect PDO to again reverse itself. In combination with global climate change, this would mean stable or slightly warming temperature over the next 25 years and increasing precipitation."
If you are enjoying reading this article, please check out Southwest Farm Press Daily and receive the latest news right to your inbox.
Five major statewide droughts have decimated Texas agriculture since the mid-1990s. Nielsen-Gammon said that major droughts took place in 1996, 1999-2000, 2005-2006, and 2008-2009 in addition to the present one which started in late 2010. Less severe droughts in recent decades were in 1988, 1989-1990 and 1998.
The total economic losses to Texas agriculture due to drought since 1998 equal a staggering $20.7 billion, according to AgriLife Extension Service data. Drought has been so severe it's reshaped the number of cattle in the Lone Star State. Texas has 22 percent fewer beef cows over the past three years, a reduction of 1 million head due to drought. Overall, the U.S. has the smallest cow herd in 60 years.
"You see meat processing plants continue to close simply because there are not enough cattle to justify keeping them open," Miller said. "We've recently seen a downturn on corn prices, which should impact the cost of feeding cattle, but the numbers of cattle is short going in."
While cattle producers and farmers understand the risk associated with production agriculture and are all too familiar with potential drought, the average consumer may not totally understand how devastating the past 20 years of drought have been to Texas agriculture, Miller said.
"It goes far beyond farmers and ranchers," Miller said. "It's the folks that process the commodities, the suppliers that sell the inputs and equipment needed to help make a crop along with processors and storage facilities such as gins, warehouses and elevators. Those dollars are turned over in small communities, in some cases where that's the sole generator of revenue. You see a decline and that cascades across the economic arena in a particularly small community."
Editor's note: The following is a list of economic drought losses from 1998-2011 as compiled by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service economists:
- 2011-$7.62 billion
- 2009 - $3.6 billion
- 2008 - $1.4 billion
- 2006 - $4.1 billion
- 2002 - $316 million
- 2000 - $1.1 billion
- 1999 - $223 million
- 1998 - $2.4 billion


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Since the French intervention against terrorist insurgents in Mali began Jan. 11, France has spent €205 million ($267 million) on Operation Serval, including €91 million for strategic transport, €55 million for personnel and €59 million for miscellaneous costs associated with the effort.
France budgeted €630 million for overseas operations costs in 2013, but the funding represents a roughly 25% reduction in annual spending for OCO initiatives compared to previous years: Spending in 2012 totaled €870 million, while 2011 spiked to €1.246 billion, including €368 million for Operation Harmattan, France's contribution to Libya.
In Mali, where some 3,850 French troops continue to battle insurgents, the air force has conducted 130 sorties with 40 fighter jets, 35 support missions or backup missions and 55 transport missions.
By July, when the Malian government is expected to hold elections, Le Drian says he will reduce troop levels to 2,000. France will be involved with U.N. peacekeeping efforts and will retain 1,000 troops in the country for the foreseeable future. But while the military's exceptional charges associated with Mali might drop materially in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2013, costs will continue to accumulate. With almost 30% of the external operations budget consumed in the first quarter of this year alone, it is doubtful France can stick to the €630 million budgeted.


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CANBERRA Critical & Creative Thinking Workshop
Teach your students to think for themselves.
These schools have already made the jump
See all the schools - in part or in full - who have participated in Minds Wide Open training and/or are actively using the Minds Wide Open Program and classroom resources.
Click the pins to reveal schools!
Book now. Pay after event
We understand it's a time-consuming process to get approval (and the boss doesn't always say "yes") which is why our policy for teachers is BOOK NOW to secure a place, PAY AFTER THE EVENT to avoid complications and NO CANCELLATION FEES if life happens!
Learn on the day, start teaching the next!
Premium custom made classroom resources by James Phelps, designed to make teaching easier and students instantly engaged. All these and more included complimentary in the registration price!
A light lunch is provided on the day.
Critical and Creative Thinking Across the Curriculum (K-8)
ACT Teacher Quality Institute (TQI)
Completing the Minds Wide Open: Critical & Creative Thinking Across the Curriculum course will contribute 5 hours of TQI Registered PD addressing 3.3.2, 5.1.2 and 6.2.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in the ACT.
NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA)
Completing the Minds Wide Open: Critical & Creative Thinking Across the Curriculum course will contribute 5 hours of NESA Registered PD addressing 3.3.2, 5.1.2 and 6.2.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.
NESA Course Code: C24126
Click here for NESA course details.
How can busy teachers build their capacity to develop critical and creative thinking skills in their students? This course will provide classroom teachers and school leaders with the impetus to integrate critical and creative thinking into their programs plus the means to do so with specific programming and assessment tools, as well as evidence-based curriculum-linked learning activities that are engaging for K-8 students.
Teachers will gain an array of tools and resources that enable them to equip their students to use Critical & Creative Thinking (CCT) to solve problems and design and produce products (3.3.2).
Teachers will learn that CCT can not only be taught but it can be measured. Teachers will take away a range of CCT programming and assessment tools (5.1.2).
Many schools have included Critical & Creative Thinking as a priority in their school planning or Strategic Directions. The information in this course will give staff the means and methods to accomplish this in their school (6.2.2)
"Critical and creative thinking are fundamental to students becoming successful learners" (Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians, 2008).
"Critical and creative thinking are integral to activities that require students to think broadly and deeply using skills, behaviours and dispositions such as reason, logic, resourcefulness, imagination and innovation in all learning areas at school."
(The Australian Curriculum)
"... the twenty-first century with its complex environmental, social and economic pressures requires young people to be creative, innovative, enterprising and adaptable, with the motivation, confidence and skills to use critical and creative thinking."
(The Australian Curriculum)
"Today's world looks different. Work is project-based and performance is measured by the impact of ideas and the team's ability to execute those ideas. Education systems should refocus on engaging students in this kind of work where ideal outcomes are students' capacities to connect with others, create innovative products/solutions and to implement them."
(Towards a New End: New Pedagogies for Deep Learning, Fullan & Langworthy, 2013)
Creativity levels in children have been declining since 1990
The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) was developed in 1966 and re-normed five times (in 1974, 1984, 1990, 1998, and 2008). The total sample for all six normative samples included 272,599 from kindergarteners through to 12th grade students. Firstly, analysis of the normative data by Dr Kyung Hee Kim in 2011 showed that creative thinking scores in a child's life generally decrease, starting at fourth grade. (See further studies by Land and Jarman, 1998, confirming this). Results also indicated that since 1990, even as IQ scores have risen, creative thinking scores have significantly decreased in children. (The Creativity Crisis: The Decrease in Creative Thinking Scores on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, by Dr Kyung Hee Kim) Source: The Creativity Journal
Creativity can be taught, nurtured and measured
James C. Kauman, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology at California State University, directs the Learning Research Institute. Kaufman is an international leader in the field of creativity, known for his research in such areas as everyday creativity, creativity assessment, creativity and fairness, and creativity and mental health. Research funded by the USA National Center for Educational Statistics. http://www.creativitypost.com/advisors/bio/james_c._kaufman
Being creative inside and outside the classroom, Baer, J., & Kaufman, J. C. The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
The neuroscience of creativity. Bristol, A. B., Kaufman, J. C. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Cultivating Creativity in the Classroom. Beghetto, R.A. & Kaufman, J.C. (2010). Cambridge University Press, UK
Rex Jung, Ph.D. Neuropsychologist, brain imaging researcher, and assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of New Mexico. Jung's research focuses on identifying the brain regions, cognitive functions, and behaviours associated with the creative process. Research funded by the John Templeton Foundation.
Thinking skills can and should be taught explicitly
Philip Abrami analysed 117 studies about teaching critical thinking to children (Abrami et al, 2008). "The teaching approach with the strongest empirical support was explicit instruction. In studies where teachers asked students to solve problems without giving them explicit instruction students experienced little improvement" (Dewar, 2009).
Mark A Runco, Ph.D. Professor of Child and Adolescent Studies at California State University, He is founder and continuing editor of the Creativity Research Journal. His comprehensive and definitive book Creativity: Theories and Themes: Research, Development, and Practice is an overview of creativity theory and research and is one of few publications expounding on theory and practice of teaching creativity in schools.
Problem Finding, Problem Solving, and Creativity, Mark A. Runco and Roni Reiter-Palmon. Faculty Books and Monographs. Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1994.
Dispositions are essential pre-requisites for learning
Shari Tishman and David Perkins (Harvard University) have explored the practicality of using thinking routines as classroom learning tools and developed a framework for pursuing cultural transformation in classrooms and schools. This work has spanned elementary through university settings, included both public and independent schools, and involved schools in the United States, the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, and Australia. http://pz.harvard.edu
Visible Thinking, Shari Tishman and Patricia Palmer, "Visible Thinking," Leadership Compass 2, no. 4 (Summer 2005).
The Thinking Classroom: Teaching and learning in a Culture of ThinkingShari Tishman, David N. Perkins, Eileen Jay, (Needham, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1995).
'Scaffolding' greatly assists students to organise their thinking so they can independently and effectively solve problems
There are proven critical and creative thinking tools (eg Treffinger's CPS Method and IDEO's Design Thinking) that can be taught to students to empower them to solve problems creatively and independently.
Scaffolding in Teacher-Student Interaction: A Decade of Research, Monique Volman et al, From Educational Psychology Review September 2010, Volume 22, Issue 3, pp 271-296.
Promoting teacher scaffolding in small-group work: A contingency perspective. Volman, M. & Beishuizen, J. (2012). Teaching and Teacher Education, 28 (2), 193-205. Using Scaffolded Instruction to Optimize Learning, Martha Larkin, 2002.
http://www.cpsb.com/research/fellows/treffingerD.html; http://www.creativelearning.com/about-us/leadership-team; http://www.vtaide.com/png/ERIC/Scaffolding


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50 previously unpublished poems by Rudyard Kipling will be included in a massive three-volume collection of his complete poetry, soon to be published by Cambridge University Press. (Complete, of course, until someone discovers another unpublished poem. The energetic man wrote over 1,300 and gave many brief forgotten lines away as gifts.)
We all owe thanks to the scholar responsible for this new collection, Thomas Pinney, who has for years been scrupulously editing authoritative collections of Kipling's assorted letters, prose, and poetry, and has personally hunted across the country for many of these new poems.
You can read the press release here, though for added value Alison Flood at the Guardian has scooped a few lines from the new poems, and included in her post a terrific complete poem called "The Press", which no doubt draws on his contempt for American journalists. The American press hated Kipling for his taciturnity, but he hated them more. Here's an excerpt of a magnificent passage from his little-known PJ O'Rourke-style work, American Notes, where he speaks his mind to a Chicago reporter who crashes funerals to interview the widows and overturns wreaths to see who sent them.
HE (with his note-book ready)—…How do you regard it?
I—It makes me regard your interesting nation with the same shuddering curiosity that I should bestow on a Pappan cannibal chewing the scalp off his mother's skull. Does that convey any idea to your mind? It makes me regard the whole pack of you as heathens—real heathens—not the sort you send missions to—creatures of another flesh and blood. You ought to have been shot, not dead, but through the stomach, for your share in the scandalous business, and the thing you call your newspaper ought to have been sacked by the mob, and the managing proprietor hanged.
Alison Flood gets wrong Kipling's lines from his "Epitaphs of the War", "If any question why we died / Tell them, because our fathers lied." She attributes them to his regret at his enthusiasm for the war, but that's wrong. George Simmers at an excellent little blog, Great War Fiction, has this to say:
Alison Flood is giving it the interpretation that modern futility-of-war critics would like it to have. But the lies that Kipling was decrying before the War were those of politicians who were in denial about the need to finance Britain's defences. This is from a speech given in the year before the War:
"…we have no security within our borders; that is why we tell each other lies to cover our own fears and yet know all the time our lies are useless.
"In this matter we must take refuge behind no self-paid member of Parliament. The power to change this wasteful state of affairs lies in the hands of the people of England. The responsibility is ours and the punishment if we persist in our folly, in our fraud, and in our make-believe – the punishment will fall not only upon us, but upon the third and fourth generation of those that have betrayed their country."
Which seems to me to be making exactly the same point as the 'Epitaph' – but before the fact.
I don't think that Alison Flood would have got her notion about the poem from Thomas Pinney's book. She's just reproducing the version of Kipling that has been standard since "My Boy Jack."Some people can't understand that Kipling might have been personally devastated by the loss of his son, and that it might have made him even more aware of the cost of the War, but that it would not have deflected him from the belief that the War, terible [sic] as it was, must be fought to the end.
It's typical of the literary class to be embarrassed about Kipling's imperialism and occasional cruelty. Before he's read, he has to be cleansed with the solemn words of absolution, "he was a genius full of contradictions." Mary O'Toole, for instance, writes in the Dictionary of Literary Biography: "He had enormous sympathy for the lower classes … yet distrusted all forms of democratic government." It's hard on a man to expect him to reject the political spirit of his time in favor of the spirit of a century later. Or to expect him to have arrived at the moral consensus of Sassoon and Owen that the war was futile. Kipling was 48 when the war began. Sassoon was 27. Kipling, of course, might have understood better had he fought in the trenches, but that didn't stop him from writing in "The Children":
That flesh we had nursed from the first in all cleanness was given
To corruption unveiled and assailed by the malice of Heaven –
By the heart-shaking jests of Decay where it lolled on the wires
To be blanched or gay-painted by fumes – to be cindered by fires –
To be senselessly tossed and retossed in stale mutilation
From crater to crater. For this we shall take expiation.
But who shall return us our children ?
Kipling grieved, but never seems to have suffered the moral crisis of the younger Great War generation, of which Rod Dreher wrote a few days ago. Perhaps he was protected from the most painful self-searching by an already healthy sense of irony.
George Orwell comments in a 1942 essay on Kipling that he is best understood as a good bad poet. "He is as a poet as Harriet Beecher Stowe was as a novelist." His poetry is on the order of, for example, Bret Harte's "Dickens in Camp" or Charles Kingsley's "When all the World is Young, Lad." According to Orwell, it says something of our age that this work which keeps being seen as vulgar and yet continues to be read. The comparisons are good; to them I would add Chesterton's Ballad of the White Horse and A.E. Housman. But the explanation is wrong.
Something in the lively but predictable meter, and the modest, pious stoicism is difficult to accept even for the sympathetic critic, who looks for art to overturn expectations, or to raise men's imagination from their lowly station. But there is a mercy in poetry that speaks to vulgar men in their own language made beautiful, and hence blesses them, and the rhythm, sound, and thought of their own language.
That sort of rhetoric opens up the verse to possibilities barred to more refined speech. Compare the two bits of poetry, the first from Wordsworth, the second from Kipling, on the same subject of taking risks in the game of life:
Wordsworth, from "Character of the Happy Warrior":
'Tis, finally, the Man, who, lifted high,
Conspicuous object in a Nation's eye,
Or left unthought-of in obscurity,—
Who, with a toward or untoward lot,
Prosperous or adverse, to his wish or not,
Plays, in the many games of life, that one
Where what he most doth value must be won.
Kipling, from "If":
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
Wordsworth uses gambling as an abstruse metaphor for the development of character. Kipling uses actual gambling as an indicator of character, and improves on Wordsworth's abstraction. You might call Wordsworth a bad good poet. But Kipling is unrefined—no one educated the impurities out of him. A poet for an organic age.
[I originally attributed the Orwell quotes to an editor of Kipling's verse named RT Jones. This is now corrected.—MT]


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Hello Every one,
I wanted to build my career in Java Programming/Development but never got a chance to do so. Now, I am very serious to get into Java development as I think with the time passing my chances are getting less and less.
I have Software Engineering degree (2005) (2.1) and have achieved SCJP certification (2004). I worked as a J2EE developer for about 10 months after my graduation but since then I have worked as a PHP Developer. I am currently working as a Senior PHP Developer and mainly develop in Object Oriented PHP and I am familiar with OOP concepts. I want to now get into Java Development and seek your advice.
I tried applying for few jobs recently but didn't have any luck as I do not have any recent Java experience. Can any one please guide me what would be the best path which would lead to the Java Development job or do I need to approach employers differently?
I am planning to do Sun Certified Web Component Developer and wondering if that will help?
Any advice will be highly appreciated.


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Home > News & Events > Wayland Press Release Archives > 2004 News Releases > April 2004 > WBU professor earns writing award, grant
WBU professor earns writing award, grant
PLAINVIEW - Dr. Kevin Sweeney, assistant professor of history at Wayland Baptist University, received the Percy Jones Best Article Award from the West Texas Historical Association Yearbook for an article on drought, and earned a research grant for West Texas History.
Sweeney's article, titled "Pandora's Drought: Aridity and the Brazos and Clear Fork Indian Reserves," was selected by a committee as the best from their journal for the past year. The award comes with a cash award.
Sweeney also received the William Curry Holden Grant for research on West Texas history from the WTHA. He plans to use the $1,000 grant this summer to travel to Austin and Waco and do archival searches on information about the drought of 1854-65 in the southern plains and near southwest (most of present-day Texas and Oklahoma). Sweeney is investigating the drought's impact on the Indian Wars, the Indian Reserves, outmigration from the Texas frontier, the Five Civilized Tribes alliance with the Confederacy and the Civil War.


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Differences between Work Groups and Teams
Teams definitely are forms of work groups, but not all work groups are teams. In fact, plain work groups are much more numerous than teams.
Work groups function on three levels:
- Dependent level
- Independent level
- Interdependent level
Here's the breakdown.
Dependent-level work groups
Dependent-level work groups are the traditional work unit or department groups with a supervisor who plays a strong role as the boss. Almost everyone has had some experience with this work setup, especially in a first job.
Each person in a dependent-level work group has his or her own job and works under the close supervision of the boss. The boss is in charge and tells the employees the do's and don'ts in their jobs. Helping each other and covering for one another do not occur often and do so mostly under the direction of the supervisor. In fact, most problem solving, work assignments, and other decisions affecting the group come from the supervisor.
A dependent-level work group can perform well in the short term. But for the long run, because group members operate separately and mostly at the direction of the supervisor, such work groups don't seem to go anywhere. Maintaining the status quo and keeping operations under control are what they do best. Creating improvements, increasing productivity, and leveraging resources to support one another are quite uncommon with dependent-level work groups.
Independent-level work groups
Independent-level work groups are the most common form of work groups on the business scene. Like a dependent-level work group, each person is responsible for his or her own main area. But unlike the dependent level, the supervisor or manager tends not to function like the controlling boss. Instead, staff members work on their own assignments with general direction and minimal supervision.
Sales representatives, research scientists, accountants, lawyers, police officers, librarians, and teachers are among the professionals who tend to work in this fashion. People in those occupations come together in one department because they serve a common overall function, but almost everyone in the group works fairly independently.
If members of an independent-level work group receive the managerial guidance and support they need on the job, such a work group can perform quite well.
Interdependent-level work groups
Members of an interdependent-level work group rely on each other to get the work done. Sometimes members have their own roles and at other times they share responsibilities. Yet, in either case, they coordinate with one another to produce an overall product or set of outcomes. When this interdependence exists, you have a team. And by capitalizing on interdependence, the team demonstrates the truth of the old saying: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
An independent work group can often be brought up to speed faster than an interdependent group. It simply takes more time to get a group of individuals to work as a team than to set a group of individuals off on their independent assignments. Yet when teams move into a high-functioning and high-producing state, where they capitalize on interdependence, they can outperform all other types of work groups. So, if you want a quick fix, don't look to teams: but if you want to see strong results for the long term, do look to teams.
To call a group a team does not make them a team: wishing for them to work as a team doesn't work either. For a snapshot of the main differences between work groups and teams, take a look at Table 1. As you can see, work groups have a strong individual focus and teams have a strong collective focus. The individual is not lost on a team, but that person's work is coordinated to fit in with the greater good. Team concerns are much more focused on the outcomes of the overall unit rather than an individual's accomplishments.
Table 1: Difference Between Work Groups and Teams
Work Groups
Individual accountability
Individual and mutual accountability
Come together to share information and perspectives
Frequently come together for discussion, decision making, problem solving, and planning.
Focus on individual goals
Focus on team goals
Produce individual work products
Produce collective work products
Define individual roles, responsibilities, and tasks
Define individual roles, responsibilities, and tasks to help team do its work; often share and rotate them
Concern with one's own outcome and challenges
Concern with outcomes of everyone and challenges the team faces
Purpose, goals, approach to work shaped by manager
Purpose, goals, approach to work shaped by team leader with team members
Table 1 also indicates that teams meet more often than traditional work groups. Work groups may meet periodically, based on the manager's style, primarily to hear and share information. Teams, by comparison, do much more than communicate when they meet. Team meetings are forums for planning work, solving work problems, making decisions about work, and reviewing progress. In short, meetings are vital to a team's existence.
The last item in Table 1 is crucial: Team leadership is participatory, in contrast to the primarily manager-driven nature of regular work groups. On a team, the manager or team leader frequently involves team members in helping shape the goals and plans for getting the group's work done — may as well get them involved, they've got to do the work! But in other kinds of work groups, managers more commonly work with staff individually to set goals and determine assignments. Of course, in many cases, managers just assign work with little discussion or collaboration with the staff members. And staff are then left to figure out what's expected and how best to get it done.


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Sephardim enjoy these confections on special occasions, especially Rosh Hashannah and Passover. Almost any fruit can be used in this process, but hard fruits require cooking and dried ones soaking. Although fruit is naturally sweet, the sugar in this recipe contributes additional sweetness and also intensifies the flavors, contributes body (so that the paste can be cut into shapes), and acts as a preservative.
- Yield
- Makes about twenty-nine 1-inch candies
- About 4 cups fruit pulp (see Variations below)
- About 4 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Confectioners' or granulated sugar for coating (optional)
- 1. Measure the fruit pulp and place in a heavy medium nonreactive saucepan (do not use iron, copper, or brass). Add 1 cup sugar for each cup of pulp. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens and sputters, 30 to 50 minutes. Add the lemon juice and cook, stirring for 2 minutes.
- 2. Spread the fruit paste over a greased 13-by-9-inch baking pan or on a baking sheet to a 1-inch thickness. Let cool, then cut into squares or diamonds. Or form the warm fruit paste into 1-inch balls and, if desired, press a walnut half or blanched almond into each ball. Cover with waxed paper and let stand at room temperature overnight. If desired, dredge the candies in confectioners' or granulated sugar to coat. This helps to keep the candies from sticking together. Store between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Fruit and Almond Candies:
- Scatter 1 cup ground blanched almonds in a 13-by-9-inch baking pan or on a baking sheet, spread the fruit paste on top, and sprinkle another 1 cup ground almonds over the fruit paste.
- Dulce de Mansana (Sephardic Apple Candies):
- Cook 3 pounds (10 to 12 medium) coarsely chopped tart apples in 1 1/2 cups apple cider or water over medium heat until tender, 20 to 40 minutes. Drain and let cool. Press through a food mill or strainer. Or use 4 cups unsweetened applesauce.
- Dulce de Cayeci (Sephardic Apricot Candies):
- Soak 1 pound (about 3 1/4 cups) dried apricots in water to cover for at least 2 hours or overnight. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the soaking liquid. In a food processor or food mill, purée the apricots. Add the reserved soaking liquid.
- Dulce de Moras (Sephardic Berry Candies):
- Purée and strain 2 pounds (about 7 cups) stemmed blackberries, mulberries, or raspberries. Add 1 cup water.
- Amsath (Indian Mango Candies):
- This Indian adaptation of the Middle Eastern confection is called kamrooden in Calcutta. Use 4 cups strained mango pulp (about 4 pounds or 8 medium mangoes).
- Dulce de Shiftili (Sephardic Peach Candies):
- Halve and pit 2 pounds fresh peaches or apricots. Poach in boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain, peel, and purée. If desired, stir 1 teaspoon almond extract into the thickened paste.
- Dulce de Peras (Sephardic Pear Candies):
- Cook 3 pounds peeled, cored, and chopped pears in 1 1/2 cups water over medium heat until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and let cool. In a food processor or food mill, purée the pulp.
- Dulce do Bimbriyo (Sephardic Quince Candies):
- Among Greek, Syrian, and Iraqi communities, quince preserves (kylthoni glyko) and candied quinces are served on Rosh Hashannah and Passover. Peel and slice 3 pounds (about 8 medium) hard and slightly unripe quinces. Cook in 1 1/2 cups water over medium heat until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and let cool. Mash the pulp and press through a strainer.
- Dulce de Bimbriyo y Mansana (Sephardic Quince and Apple Candies):
- Cook 2 pounds peeled and chopped quinces and 1 pound peeled, cored, and chopped apples in 1 1/2 cups water over medium heat until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and let cool. In a food processor or food mill, purée the pulp.
Reprinted with permission from The World of Jewish Desserts by Gil Marks. © 2000 Simon & Schuster
Related Video
Nutritional Info
- Calories170
- Carbohydrates44 g(15%)
- Fat0 g(0%)
- Protein0 g(0%)
- Saturated Fat0 g(0%)
- Sodium2 mg(0%)
- Polyunsaturated Fat0 g
- Fiber0 g(2%)
- Monounsaturated Fat0 g


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Thread: Ruger P95 Review
11/29/2011 1:19am, #1
- Join Date
- Apr 2010
- Location
- Posts
- 11,127
- Style
- BJJ/Judo/MT
Ruger P95 Review
Ruger P-95
... because the price was right.
So, I was at the gun show, this weekend, and was eyeing sub-$400 pistols. I recently got my Kel-Tec PF-9 as a regular carry piece, but now I want something more range-friendly. From dozens of dealers, only a handful of mid/full-frame 9x19 pistols were in the sub-$400 price range: Hi-Point C9 at $130, the S&W Sigma, and the P-95. The Sigma and the P95 both ranged from $300-$350 depending on who was selling it.
Ruger P95 and H&K USP Compact 45
Ruger P95 and H&K USP Compact 45
Now, Ruger has a reputation or two. First, Ruger holds a position that I understand to be the de-facto gun for Olympic marksmanship. Second, it's the "anti-gun," gun company - a title rightfully earned, but (imho) unfairly applied. Bill Ruger is dead, but his company is producing both hi-capacity and hi-powered arms for civilians, LE, and military. If his ideas about limited gun ownership didn't die with the company's profits during the late 90's and early 2000's, they certainly died with him. I believe that this perceived anti-gun stance is promulgated in part by competition (and, rightfully so), but I tried to turn a deaf ear when it comes to objective evaluation.
In the box you get - a manual, some other papers that I failed to look at, a factory-fired round in a sealed envelope, two 15-round magazines, a load assist tool (I don't know if I would go so far as to call it a speed loader, but it definitely shortens the process), and a padlock with two keys.
The P-95 is a solid platform. As I understand it, the receiver contains no embedded steel - quite an accomplishment in manufacturing. This is part of the reason for the lower price point of this weapon - the manufacturing process has been significantly refined over the competition. This doesn't translate into a lighter weapon, just a better manufactured one. The Sigma, in comparison, uses a polymer frame with embedded steel for the slide rail; the Sigma is noticeably lighter overall, yet it feels fragile, to me. H&K, Glock, and I think pretty much every other manufacturer uses steel within their polymer / composite receivers (please correct me if this is incorrect).
Within the myriad Browning/1911 variants, there are leaders and there are copycats. Ironically (considering Ruger's formation), Ruger has some novel "features." I'm not certain if I like them or not, but they are worth noting.
First is the seemingly ambidextrous trigger safe, which is mounted on the rear upper slide. While this looks ambidextrous in design, in the early days of a new pistol, I think you'll find it's easier to actually use one finger on each side simultaneously to operate the safety.
When in safe position, the trigger is decoupled from the hammer, and the firing pin assembly is retracted within the slide. This makes a little sense, from the operator's perspective, as the safe doubles as a de-cock in exactly the opposite way from expected. There are two positions: safe and fire. If the hammer is back in fire, the firing pin assembly will retract and the hammer will subsquently drop full-force when you move the safety switch to safe. This alone is a good reason to read the manual and spend some quality time with a gun before ever bringing a live round near it. I skipped the manual, went right into "figure it out mode." I was surprised. Surprise is not a good word when talking about firearms.
Innie (safe mode).
Outie (fire mode).
You can carry this gun condition 1 - cocked and locked.
There is a trick to override the decock, and that is to slightly push the slide backwards - maybe 1/8 inch - as you move the safety between safe and fire positions. I'm sure that this is undocumented. If I get around to reading the manual, I'll let you know for sure. Since there is a barbed hammer, you can decock this gun "old school style," though I don't recommend it.
The visible indications of the safety position are a little difficult to read, at night. While there are a white dot, a red dot, and an engraved "S", tactile indications are the way to go, here. You can feel if the safe switch is parallel to the barrel (fire mode) or diagonal (safe mode). If the hammer is cocked, you can feel if the firing pin's anvil is exposed (fire mode) or not. Also, the slide will be just a hair removed from flush with the front of the receiver if the safe is on but the hammer is cocked.
The recoil is a standard 2-spring design, though it looks as though cooling vanes have been cut into the guide rod. This must be functional design, as you would normally never see the guide rod unless you field-stripped the gun.
The mag follower supports the slide lock function. The follower is read via a notch in the left side of the magazine, which seems like it won't ever wear out - in other words, you should not ever see your slide fail to lock back on an empty magazine. The mag release button, on the other hand, is a little disappointing. It's a simple spring-loaded push-forward design made of plastic; prone to wearing out, though this will probably be the first and only piece of this gun you ever replace. You must push forward on both sides simultaneously - again, ambidextrous in appearance, not design.
Also pretty when empty...
Aesthetically, I think this is a very pretty gun. Words I would use are "balanced, comfortable, refined." Even the Batman-looking rear sight is surprisingly functional and unobtrusive from the business end.
The accessory rail is a newer addition to the P-95; if you're buying a used one, you may or may not have the rail.
I get the impression that there's not a lot of profit margin for dealers in this gun. I had one guy flat up refuse to lower his price even though, visibly, the guy right behind him was selling the same gun for $50 less. I bought the one for $50 less, duh.
OK, so, operation. My first rack of the slide, I was in love. The spring resists up until a point, then the whole assembly rocks back with a very pleasing "clack." Let go, and the "chink," moving forward is just as fulfilling. This gun is DA/SA, and the first pull is a bitch if you decocked after chambering a round. I didn't measure, but google-fu says it's on the order of 22 pounds. It's a full pull, and the break point is somewhere back in 1988. Forget surprise break, I was surprised that it ever broke! Considering that law enforcement is a key constituency for this weapon, that's understandable.
Successive rounds, you have only about 1/4 inch of travel and you could probably use your tongue to do it - even if you've been single for a while :P. The trigger face is smooth, and there is no reset to contend with. I could shoot this gun all day long. The kick is very manageable - best comparison I can offer is that I shoot a buddy's Glock 26 now and then; it's noticeably less than that. It was easy to pair rounds into a tight group at 5 yards.
Field stripping brings a new twist, for me. Count this among the novel features, above - I had to go to the manual for this. Once you safe the gun, you have to lock the slide back and depress a mechanism inside in order to release the slide. Then, you can ease the slide forward to remove the slide lock lever, and then you can complete the strip. Once apart, you have standard chunks to work with. The slide lock lever is very tight on a new weapon, and finding its sweet spot requires patience - both for assembly and disassembly.
Press here for detachment syndrome...
Guts are guts...
Overall, this is a great full-sized 9mm for 3 benjamins. I was a little trepid about buying this gun because of the reputation #2, above; now, I'm eager to try other models. Don't buy into the hate; this is a quality weapon at a very affordable price.R.I.P. Internet. 2015-2017
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11/29/2011 4:05pm, #2
I've got a P97 that I like. It is rugged, reliable, and the controls are big and easy to operate. I say this in spite of practically everyone pooh poohing it.
The P95, for the same price, sounds even awesomer.Lone Wolf McQuade Final Fight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmrDe_mYUXg
12/04/2011 12:07am, #3
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I once owned a Ruger P90 circa 1995ish.
It was a loose gun, the thing rattled when you shook it.
The trigger on it was ****, it was gritty and had a **** ton of travel as well as being awfully heavy in DA mode.
It was reliable and cheap but not well put together when compared with a say a Beretta.
Would you say they have made progress in terms of the fit/finish and the trigger as compared to what I wrote above?
I'm looking to reaquire a hand gun and am curious as to wether Rugers have gotten better.
12/04/2011 8:54am, #4
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This is my first Ruger, so I can't speak to older models. I can tell you that these look and feel well made. It's even more refined looking in the stainless version, but I just prefer a blued gun.
The FNH FNP-9 is another similar gun, coming in at around $450; my estimation was this Ruger was better put together than the FNH, as well.
12/05/2011 3:36am, #5
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Maybe they got better but my experience with ruger autos haven't been that great. Funny thing is, 2 out of 3 handguns I own are Ruger. What can I say. Only guns that "fit the bill" even though I don't like it that much.www.pdsrifles.com Add us on facebook!
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12/05/2011 12:04pm, #6
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Own a handful of Rugers and zero complaints on any of them. Had the P95 back a few years ago and found it to be a very nice, sturdy 9mm. Enjoyed shooting it, but when the agency went to Glock, it was traded in. Have not heard much bad about those guns. Good luck with it!


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For Facebook to live up to its larger-than-life public image, it will have to withstand a broader stock market where the overwhelming pressure is heading downward.
The Facebook bet then — at least for investors willing to take a stab at the company whose initial public offeringgoes online Friday — is that the shares can rise even if the market falls, and perhaps even create its own momentum that lifts all of Wall Street.
Overnight trading indicated that stocks could open positive tomorrow, but futures are volatile and could change on any murmur out of Europe.
"The trading on Facebook is going to be isolated. It's going to be exclusive between the people who use Facebook and feel it's going to be the second coming, and the people who've been waiting to get some liquidity out of it so they can sell it," says Keith Springer, president of Springer Financial Advisory in Sacramento, Calif. "It's basically an ecosystem unto itself."
An ability to bifurcate itself from the broader market pressures would be crucial at a time when stocks face an array of headwinds coming both from Greece and at home.
The 10-year Treasury yield — a benchmark both for borrowing rates and economic growth — is trading near record lows.
Overseas, Greece is edging ever-closer to a messy divorce from the European Union, while 16 Spanish banks were downgraded late Thursday, raising worries that the debt problem is ready to go from a nuisance to a full-blown global crisis.
"The real question is, should Facebook even be going public with everything that's happening right now?" said Todd Schoenberger, managing director at BlackBay Group. "They're going to do well (Friday). It's going to pop, but if things were better, Facebook would do two or three times that much or better."
While Schoenberger thinks Facebook can turn in a positive performance without an accompanying gain in the major indexes, he doesn't expect the stock to be much help to the broader selling trend.
"You're not going to have a halo effect like you would with an Apple," he said. "You're not going to see Exxon trade higher just because of Facebook."
The Facebook IPO price at the open will briefly be $38, which is at the high end of the expected range the company indicated to the Securities Exchange Commission.
The price from there will be subject to a variety of factors, not least that market correlation, or the tendency of stocks and other asset classes to move in the same direction, has returned after plunging in the first quarter.
"If any stock can buck the overall downtrend, it could be Facebook," said Ryan Detrick, senior analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati. "But that's a dangerous game to be in because everything has been so correlated."
Still, it will be hard for a market, even one that's under as much pressure as this, to resist the momentum that a $100 billion company will provide on its first day.
"My gut would be we get some little bounce and then selling comes in, because now people have had their heads handed to them and they're realizing little old Greece could trigger a lot of stuff," said Kathy Boyle, president of Chapin Hill Advisors in New York. "If QE3 (the third leg of the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing) isn't happening, there's no saving this market."


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To decrease hazard to motorists from avalanches, and to reduce highway closure time caused by avalanches and avalanche hazard.
An avalanche is a snow slide. A simple explanation is that the snow on a slope will slide (avalanche) when the snow strength can no longer support its own weight.
Active avalanche control is the intentional triggering of slides. This control work is done to minimize the chance of natural avalanches into traffic. Avalanche control work is done all over the world; by highway departments, ski resorts, railroads, mining operations, utility companies, and other activities threatened by avalanches.
WSDOT does avalanche control to force snow to avalanche while traffic is clear of the hazardous area and snow removal equipment is on hand. This work is most likely to occur during times of heavy snowfall, when traffic is already presented with traction related challenges. To be effective avalanche control must usually be done when the snow is somewhat unstable, or just before the snow will avalanche naturally. This pre-emptive triggering of avalanches produces more frequent and smaller avalanches that will take less total time to clear than larger or natural avalanches.
Thousands of avalanches fall in the mountains of Washington every winter. In a big winter over a hundred avalanches can affect the highway over Snoqualmie Pass. These can be big or small. Even a small avalanche into traffic is a potential for accidents and/or delays. Weather and snow pack conditions are continually monitored throughout the winter months to evaluate avalanche potential.


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LG KT610 Pictures
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Every Friday at Bar Mash, Jeff Wilson hosts a collaboration of some of Charleston's best Funk, Rock and Soul Musicians. From 9:30 on you can enjoy some of the most entertaining and talented musicians Charleston has to offer, all the while enjoying some of the best drinks available in the Lowcountry!
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| State of New Jersey
Department Of The Public Advocate
240 West State St.
P.O. Box 851
Trenton, NJ 08625-0851
Phone: (609) 826-5090 Fax: (609) 984-4747
For Immediate Release:
April 18, 2007
Public Advocate
For Further Information
Nancy Parello:
Robyn Roberts
(Rate Counsel)
Tel: 973-648-2290
Public Advocate Files Complaint Against Effort to Eliminate Electric Power Market Monitor
Move Could Drive Up Electric Rates
Newark, N.J.— In a joint complaint filed April 17, 2007, at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC ), Public Advocate Ronald K. Chen, along with a host of consumer advocacy groups, called on the FERC to ensure that the monitoring unit established to help prevent abuse in New Jersey's regional electric energy market is not dismantled or hindered.
"With electric commodity rates up approximately 80 percent in the last three years, I am deeply troubled by a move to eliminate the independence and effectiveness of the monitor that oversees most of the region's electricity markets," Chen said. "This latest action to hamper oversight of the electric power market is totally unacceptable and we will fight it with all of our agency's resources."
The concern arises from recent statements from Joseph Bowring, head of PJM Interconnection's Market Monitoring Unit, which oversees the nation's largest electricity market.
Bowring recently told the FERC that PJM management is considering replacing the current internal monitor's oversight with an outside monitor. He also said the unit has been obstructed from gathering and producing information about the electric markets in a timely manner.
The monitoring unit is vital to protecting ratepayers from any one utility gaining too much market power. PJM, the country's biggest electricity system operator, is responsible for almost all electricity supplied to New Jersey. PJM tariffs are approved by the FERC.
"We must have monitors of the region's electricity markets in place who can act independently," Chen said. "Stringent oversight demands timely access to information. They must also be able to prevent any entity from exercising undue market power, which was one of my chief concerns during the recent proposed merger of PSE&G and Exelon."
Bowring said the unit was obstructed by PJM management in providing information for a report issued last month on the "state of electric markets."
PJM coordinates and directs the operation of electric power systems serving 51 million people in New Jersey, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
The complaint calls for the FERC to assure there are no structural modifications to the monitoring unit until an independent investigation is completed by PJM's Board of Directors into Bowring's allegations and until a final decision on the structure of the unit is made through the stakeholder process.
Chen said the complaint also states that PJM may not be providing the market monitoring unit with the appropriate staffing and resources to carryout its duties.
The complaint seeks assurances that PJM's unit has enough personnel and resources to meet its obligations of market monitoring .Without that, consumers can be hurt with unreasonable rate increases, the complaint said.
Chen said he has directed Rate Counsel to pursue all options to ensure maintenance of an independent and effective Market Monitoring Unit.
Chen filed the complaint along with the Allegheny Electric Cooperative, Inc., the District of Columbia Office of the People's Counsel, Illinois Citizens Utility Board, Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counsel, Maryland Office of People's Counsel, Office of the Attorney General of Virginia/Division of Consumer Counsel, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate, PJM Industrial Customer Coalition, Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, Inc. Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, City and towns of Hagerstown, Thurmont and Williamsport, Maryland and the State of Delaware/Division of the Public Advocate.
The Division of Rate Counsel is a division within the Department of the Public Advocate and represents the interests of consumers of electric, natural gas, water/sewer telecommunications, cable TV service and insurance (residential, small business, commercial and industrial customers). Additional information on this and other utility matters can be found at the Division's website at http://www.rpa.state.nj.us. The Department of the Public Advocate website is http://www.state.nj.us/publicadvocate.


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The question requires some definitions that I have listed below for your convenience. They can be found in Chapter VI, pages 297-298 of Bredon's Introduction to Compact Transformation Groups.
On a topological space $X$ a functional structure $F_{X}$ is an assingment defined on the collection of open sets $U\subset X$ taking $U\mapsto F_{X}(U)$ such that:
$F_{X}(U)$ is a subalgebra of the algebra of continuous real valued functions on $U$ and contains all constant functions.
If $V$ is open, $V\subset U$ and $f\in F_{X}(U)$ then $f|_{V}\in F_{X}(V)$.
If $\{U_{i}\}$ is a collection of open sets and $f|_{U_{i}}\in F_{X}(U_{i})$ for all $i$ then $f\in F_{X}(\bigcup_{i}U_{i})$.
The pair $(X,F_{X})$ is called a functionally structured space. E.g. $(\mathbb{R}^{n},C^{\infty})$, where $\mathbb{R^{n}}$ has the usual topology and $C^{\infty}(U)=\text{all $C^{\infty}$ functions on $U$.}$
If $(X,F_{X})$ is a functionally structured space and $U\subset X$ is open then for $V\subset U$ open we define $F_{U}(V)=F_{X}(V)$ so that $(U,F_{U})$ is a functionally structured space.
A morphism of functionally structured spaces $(X, F_{X})$ and $(Y,F_{Y})$ is a continuous map $\varphi:X\rightarrow Y$ such that for any open set $V\subset Y$ and $f\in F_{Y}(V)$ we have $f\circ \varphi\in F_{X}(\varphi^{-1}(V))$. A morphism $\varphi$ is an isomorphism if $\varphi^{-1}$ exists as a morphism. We then say that $(X,F_{X})\simeq (Y,F_{Y})$.
An $n$-dimensional differentiable manifold is a second countable functionally structured Hausdorff space $(M,F)$ with the property that each point in $M$ has an open neighborhood $U$ such that $(U,F_{U})\simeq(V,C^{\infty}_{V})$ for some open set $V\subset \mathbb{R}^{n}$.
Question: Let $(X,F_{X})$ be a functionally structured space with the following property. Each point in $X$ has a neighborhood $U$ such that there are functions $f_{1},\ldots ,f_{n}\in F_{X}(U)$ verifying: A real valued function $g$ on $U$ is in $F_{X}(U)$ iff there exits a smooth real valued function $h$ of $n$ real variables such that $g(p)=h(f_{1}(p),\ldots,f_{n}(p))$ for all $p\in U$.
Does it follow that $\mathbf{(X,F_{X})}$ is an $\mathbf{n}$-dimensional differentiable manifold? (In the sense of the definition given above).
Edit: Sheaves are new to me, but after reading the comments I wanted to point out this and this MSE posts, and the wikipedia page and subwiki page where sheaves are used to define differentiable manifolds.
Edit: Sheaves my be used to define differentiable manifolds: Roughtly speaking, a differentiable manifold is a second countable Hausdorff topological space equipped with a subsheaf of the sheaf of continuous real valued function that is locally isomorphic to the sheaf of smooth real valued functions on some $\mathbb{R}^{n}$.


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This never happened. The idea that honeybees were in peril is fiction. There has never been a shortage of honeybees. I know no one inj need of pollination who hasn't gotten bees. I know no one who has ever wanted to buy bees who couldn't get them because of shortages or extinction.
On the other hand, were it not for commercial beekeepers queens for selling and beehives for pollination would not be readily available when needed. Moving bees thousands of miles, or simply hundreds of miles, keeps fresh, well developed fruits and vegetable in produce aisles of grocery stores across the Nation. That's what good such work does.
You as what kind of customer? You don't buy bees from commercial beekeepers, so that can't be it. Do you mean as a consumer of foods grown from pollinated crops?
As far as diseases and pests are concerned, if no commercial migratory beekeepers existed those pests and diseases would still exist and get around. No commercial beekeeper brought varroa jacobsinii to North America.
Sergey, you may not know about The American Beekeeping Federation and the American Honey Producers Association. Google them and see what they are about. Those two associations, primarily but not exclusively commercial beekeepers, support grad students and research done on bees and problems that honeybees have.
They hold annual conferences with huge agendas covering many aspects of beekeeping w/ speakers and presenters not found at your State Level Association Meetings. A huge list of speakers, people from all walks of beekeeping life. From beekeepers to international researchers and everything you can think of in between.
"Preserving the species'? Yes, we make new colonies and queens every year to replace those lost and to sell to others. Our goal is to see bees and beekeeping survive and thrive on into the future.
You are a Scientist. You want documentation and impirical studys. You really should go to
Bee-L, bee-L.com. Sure, there are folks who could sight studys and papers for you. That's not me. I'm a hands on guy, not a computer wiz or the reader of Papers. I subscribe to American Bee Journal, mostly for the pictures. (a little American humor) There are very few scientific papers I have read in ABJ. My mind goes numb. I'm sure you can understand.
We have exchanged PMs. I have no problem w/ you. You bring up interesting things to think about.