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GOP senators to Cheney: We like Mike
Republican senators are nearly united in their response to Liz Cheney's challenge to their low-key Wyoming colleague: We like Mike.
That is Mike Enzi, the three-term senator from the Cowboy State who was otherwise on a glide path to reelection until the daughter of the former vice president recently announced she will challenge him in the 2014 GOP primary.
Story Continued Below
Despite the clout of the Cheney name in Washington, nearly the entire Senate establishment is backing Enzi — moderates, conservatives and the Senate GOP leadership team. And that unity could help Enzi surmount a very bloody fight next year.
( PHOTOS: Senators up for election in 2014)
Enzi's Senate fan club describes the incumbent as a rock-ribbed conservative who's left no daylight to his right for a challenge, a dogged worker behind closed doors and an effective legislator.
The support from Senate Republicans is just fine with Cheney, who indicated she doesn't believe Capitol Hill opposition will hurt her aspirations.
"Wyoming voters know very well that the Washington establishment is the problem," Cheney told POLITICO.
Enzi's warm embrace from his GOP colleagues isn't necessarily a surprise — but also wasn't a lock. In past elections, former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) — who now runs The Heritage Foundation and started the Senate Conservatives Fund, which hasn't endorsed in the Wyoming race — pushed his conservative agenda by backing insurgent candidates in prominent open Senate primaries. DeMint avoided endorsing primary challengers over Senate incumbents.
Still, dozens of deep-pocketed Republicans will be a boon to the senator, who's admitted in interviews that fundraising is not his strong suit and had $488,000 on hand as of the beginning of July, among the smallest war chests of any senator running for reelection. Cheney has yet to file any fundraising reports, though she is beginning to beef up her campaign staff, naming her leadership team last Thursday.
Enzi's low-profile demeanor belies his effectiveness as former chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and high-ranking member of the Finance Committee, allies say. And though he is not an especially visible figure at the Capitol, Cheney's challenge has certainly elevated his profile nationally, complementing his strong initial polling numbers in a contest sure to prove bruising.
Enzi said he appreciates his colleagues' backing — but is most happy with his reputation back home.
( QUIZ: Do you know Liz Cheney?)
"My favorite people supporting me are the people of Wyoming, and they're the only ones that get to vote," Enzi said. "There have been a couple of polls that have come out recently, and I'm grateful to the people of Wyoming that recognize the work that I've put in."
Working in Enzi's favor is the fact that former Vice President Dick Cheney's Capitol Hill connections appear to have weakened after nearly five years out of office, according to interviews with more than a dozen Republican senators. Despite claiming long-standing ties and friendships with the former vice president, members said they now rarely speak with him. At this point, they don't know of anything he has done to promote his daughter's candidacy.
"I respect Dick Cheney, but Dick Cheney's not running," said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), who served in the House alongside Cheney.
"I don't know why in the world she's doing this," Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said of Liz Cheney. Hatch calls Dick Cheney one of his best friends, though they speak rarely now. Enzi is "honest and decent, hard-working; he's got very important positions in the Senate. He's highly respected. And these are all things that would cause anybody to say: 'Why would anybody run against him?'"
Liz Cheney "knows how hard this potentially is," said Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina. "It may be she's looking down the road, and this is in preparation for something."
"[Dick Cheney] has a lot of friends, and I'm one of them," said Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, a member of GOP leadership. "Who knows how this would work if it's an open seat. But it's not."
"It's no aspersions on Liz Cheney, and I like her too. And at some point, I think she'll have an opportunity to serve," said John Cornyn of Texas, the Senate's No. 2 Republican and a former leader of the Senate GOP's campaign arm. "This is about getting the majority in the Senate. And we have to support our friends and people who have done a good job."


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Later this week, Amelia Rose Earhart will try to do what her namesake could not.
Despite recently discovering she's not related to the more famous Amelia Earhart (for years she'd believed she was), the 31-year-old pilot will attempt to become the youngest woman to navigate around the world in a single-engine aircraft.
CNN spoke with Earhart about her forthcoming record attempt.
CNN: Did your name spark your interest in aviation?
Amelia Rose Earhart: Getting asked questions day in and day out about my name has always been a part of my life.
People would say to me, "Are you a pilot? Do you think you can ever fly around the world?"
And for a long time, I said, "No, I'm not a pilot but I always thought about flying around the world."
It was always in the back of my mind just as an ultimate goal.
So I took my very first discovery flight, which is basically the first flight that every pilot goes through.
After that first discovery flight, I was totally hooked.
CNN: What was your reaction when you discovered that you weren't related to Amelia Earhart?
Earhart: It was a blow because, for 30 years, I thought that I was related to Amelia in some distant way.
But it really wasn't why I started flying, I wanted to fly because it's a lot of fun.
So at this point, I'm almost glad that the distant relationship isn't there because it shows that you don't have to be named after somebody famous to do something great.
CNN: Why recreate her flight?
Earhart: As pilots, whenever we fly, we have a flight plan. We open that flight plan, and then when we return safely, we close that flight plan.
Unfortunately, when Amelia disappeared in 1937, she never got a chance to close her flight plan and that's what we all, as pilots, hope to do.
I started thinking, "What if I could symbolically close Amelia's flight plan for her?"
CNN: When is the takeoff date and where will you start and end the flight?
Earhart: We start and stop the flight in Oakland, California.
When you look at the departure date, we've got a three-day window from June 23 to 26.
The reason for that is we're doing installations on the plane: additional fuel tanks and also a satellite communications system that will allow us to livestream from the cockpit.
CNN: How long will the entire trip take and how much will it cost?
Earhart: The whole trip will take two and a half weeks.
We've got 17 stops in 14 countries.
Over the past year and a half, I would say close to $2 million is probably the total value of the trip.
CNN: Are you nervous about embarking on such a major endeavor?
Earhart: My biggest fear is that the trip will just fly by and the two and a half weeks will be over before I know it.
I've spent years planning this and it is my passion project. I don't have a lot fear around what if something goes wrong with the aircraft.
That's not a concern of mine at all.
I do have realistic expectations if something happens weather-wise.
Flying around the inter-tropical convergent zone is particularly tough for pilots so I'm paying close attention to the weather patterns there.
CNN: Does the legend of your namesake worry you at all?
Earhart: Not at all. Amelia's disappearance unfortunately came at a time when the technology just wasn't there to track her.
But when you think about how far that's come in the last 77 years, we're looking at whole different world.
I'm flying the Pilatus PC12 which is a single-engine turboprop and it's one of most technologically advanced planes out there.
We've got dual GPS systems on the aircraft.
We've got navigation that shows us exactly where we are and exactly what point in space.
We want to show people that ... even small planes can be very manageable over long trips like this.
CNN: How do you pack for this kind of trip?
Earhart: That is the ultimate question because you have to be very cognizant of the weight aboard the aircraft.
Packing-wise, I have to keep everything very limited.
So we'll pack a certain amount of nutritional products.
Beauty products, I have to keep to a bare minimum, unfortunately.
CNN: What do you do when you're not flying?
Earhart: I'm really close with my girlfriends here in Denver. We will go running together, do stuff outside together.
Trips or getting out of town, that's pretty much to a minimum.
I did just have a chance to go to Geneva, Switzerland, for an aviation conference.
That was a chance to relax even though we were working the whole time.
Things like that, where you're working and playing, I like to blur those lines as much possible.
When I'm always playing and always working, that's when I'm happiest.
Ashley Pham is a freelance journalist based in Nebraska.
™ & © 2014 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

subset: commoncrawl


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(Beta vulgaris) An Old World crop known to the Romans, but not cultivated for roots until much later. Beets aren't just red—be sure to try other types of beetroot as well!Make successive sowings of beetroot seeds for harvests all season, starting 2-4 weeks before last frost in spring, and continuing until a month before first frost in fall. (Sowings in intense mid-summer heat may not germinate satisfactorily.) Sow where the plants are to grow, 1/2 inch deep, 4-6 inches apart, in full sun on a neutral (non-acid) soil. Most "seeds" are really capsules containing multiple seeds, so thinning to single plants is necessary. If the young, growing beetroot plants are thinned gradually, the thinnings can be enjoyed as greens. Keep soil evenly moist. When mature, lift and store in the refrigerator or root cellar. Late crops can be left in the ground, mulched deeply, and dug as needed right through the winter months.
COOK IT! Beet Recipes HERE
GROW IT! Beet Growing Tips HERE


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ENGM 181: Marketing
Cannot be used to satisfy any A.B. degree requirements
This course introduces the role of marketing within business firms. Case studies drawn from a wide variety of consumer and industrial products and services provide an opportunity for students to apply concepts and techniques developed in assigned readings. Specific topics include customer analysis, market research, market segmentation, distribution channel policy, product policy and strategy, pricing, advertising, and sales force management. The course stresses oral and written expression and makes use of several computer exercises, spreadsheet analysis, and management simulations.


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Source Naturals 7-Keto DHEA Metabolite is a natural hormone responsible for many vital funcions in the body. DHEA, the most abundant steroid in the blood of adult humans, peaks in early adulthood and declines with age. Animal research indicates that 7-Keto, a natural metabolite of DHEA, is a more active inducer of thermogenic enzymes than DHEA. Research on humans has shown that supplementation with 7-Keto is well tolerated. It is not converted to estrogens or androgens, a point of concern for many people.
The global population is aging at an alarming rate and causing an explosion in health care costs, insurance premiums, cosmetic surgery and more. In the U.S. alone, more than one million baby boomers are expected to live to 100 years of age or older. This increased life expectancy presents a whole new set of health concerns that the medical community has not had time to address, since there is a greater need to care for age-related health problems in this ever-growing elderly population.
Aging and the Decline in Vital Nutrients
We all grow old at the same rate but people age at different rates. Aging is a process of gradual changes that occur to varying degrees in each of us. Interestingly, the aging process is composed of different components and interactions, some of which can be impacted. One such component is the declining level of essential biological compounds, which causes our bodily functions to slow and become dysfunctional. Our organs don't work efficiently, our immune system becomes lazy, we lack energy, our metabolism drops and we gain weight easily. 7-oxo DHEA (7-Keto) is a naturally occurring compound that declines with age. Replacing this key metabolite helps promote a healthy immune system and maintains resting metabolic rate at levels that accelerate weight loss during standard weight reduction programs.
Aging and a Healthy Immune System
Numerous changes occur in the immune system with advancing age, probably contributing to decreased immune responsiveness. Although all segments of the immune system are affected, investigators have most consistently identified declines in cellular or T-cell mediated immune function in the elderly. The decline in T-cell immune function is generally associated with an increased susceptibility to foreign organisms. For example, individuals with age-related declines in cellular immunity have an impaired response to vaccinations, making them more susceptible to health imbalances even though they have had their shots. In a clinical study presented at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology meeting in April 2004, the effect of 7-Keto on elderly immune function was evaluated. Healthy elderly adults were given 7-Keto orally twice daily over a period of one month. The study revealed that 7-Keto augmented several key T-cell mediated immune function parameters compared to placebo administration.4
Age-Related Weight Gain
Age-related weight gain and obesity are approaching epidemic proportions in our country.5 Weight gain is a disorder of energy balance involving energy intake and/or expenditure. Low energy expenditure, a drop in resting metabolic rate (RMR), is a challenge during most weight loss attempts due to age, calorie restriction, lack of physical activity or a combination of factors. RMR represents 60% of total daily energy expenditure.
Maintaining a higher RMR as we age and during weight reduction programs helps us achieve and maintain a normal weight. Furthermore, compounds with the thermogenic potential to achieve even minimal increases in daily energy expenditure of 2-3% may have clinical relevance in preventing the decline in RMR with calorie restricted diets or weight loss, and in decreasing the risk of regaining weight. 7-Keto, a non-stimulant thermogenic compound, has been shown to significantly increase energy expenditure in humans.
A recently completed clinical study, also presented at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology 2004 meeting, revealed that administration of 7-Keto to overweight adults in conjunction with a calorie restricted diet effectively reversed the decline in RMR normally associated with dieting. Obese participants following a calorie-restricted diet demonstrated a 5.4% increase in daily RMR with 7-Keto.
The magnitude of the increase in RMR by 7-Keto is clinically relevant, and represents a promising agent for enhancing thermogenesis and weight loss in obese individuals on calorie-restricted diets. Additionally, 7-Keto has been shown in two confirmatory published clinical studies to result in three times more weight loss compared to diet and exercise alone. It has a favorable side effect profile and is easy and convenient to take.
Our life expectancies will likely be longer than those of our parents, and our quality of life during those years will depend on how well we take care of our bodies now. Undoubtedly, the science of aging will give rise to new and exciting technologies to help us age more gracefully and healthfully. Maintenance of healthy immune function is keenly needed for improved quality of life in the elderly. Dietary manipulation and supplementation has been identified as a method of immune system renewal, and supplements such as 7-Keto may play an important future role as immune system modulators.
Moreover, the addition of 7-Keto to any weight loss program will offer vital support of energy expenditure and help with the attainment of a manageable and healthy weight into our older years.
About Source Naturals
Source Naturals' comprehensive Bio-Aligned Formulas help bring the power of alignment to your body. When formulating, Source Naturals evaluates the underlying causes of system imbalances, and then provides targeted nutrition to interdependent body systems. Source Naturals' line of more than 600 products also includes well-researched, single entity nutrients in their highest quality and most bioavailable forms. Source Naturals nutritional supplements are at the leading edge of today's Wellness Revolution.
This transformation in health consciousness also includes new perspectives in diet, lifestyle, emotional and spiritual development, and complementary health care. Source Naturals Strategy for Wellness is to provide education that empowers individuals to take responsibility for their health, rather than relying solely on outside medical authority. The result is people who are more productive and fulfilled, and a world that is stronger and healthier.


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Both are correct.
Student or Learner
Which one is correct?
It is written correctly. OR It is correctly written.
I'll be thankful to get some help.
Thank you.
Both are correct.
Thank you very much for your help.
Your thanks are appreciated, coldplay, but you don't need to send them in a separate post.
We are all happy to accept a simple click on the Like button as your acknowledgement of our help.


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Errors within your online store can mean the loss of a sale - not good business practice in any instance. It's better to know about any issues and resolve them before substantial damage is caused. Shopping Cart Diagnostics is a web service that helps to trouble shoot any errors that effect online stores. The system identifies an error, sends a notification and provides a productive solution to the problem. The Shopping Cart Diagnostics API provides access to this helpful data.
Some of the useful features include:
- No software installation as all the error analysis is performed online
- Website monitoring to keep track of security, server environment, store configurations and more
- User experience monitoring
- Content check up
- Website SEO analysis
- Instant email error notifications
- Tips on how to fix problems effectively
- Available from any location worldwide
Current supported carts include Magento, PrestaShop, VirtueMart, CS-Cart, osCommerce, Zen Cart, X-Cart, Loaded Commerce and CubeCart, with the list constantly growing. Users can start testing their stores and get a basic report by simply typing in the store's URL address; no registrations or payments required. For more detailed reporting, users can register an account on the Shopping Cart Diagnostics website.
Customers' Shopping Cart Diagnostics account data can be accessed via an API. Public documentation is not available.


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DUBLIN, Ireland — Irish voters rejected a government plan to abolish the country's much-criticized Senate, a surprise result Saturday that dealt a blow to Prime Minister Enda Kenny.
Kenny had personally campaigned for the proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate Ireland's upper house of parliament, arguing the Senate was undemocratic, politically toothless and expensive in an era of brutal budget cuts. All opinion polls during the monthlong campaign had pointed to easy passage.
Instead, voters rejected Friday's referendum question on abolishing the Senate with a 51.7% "no" vote. Turnout was just 39%, a typically weak figure for Irish referendums, when anti-government voters often come out in droves.
Still, the rejection was widespread across Ireland's constituencies. It suggested a nationwide failure by Kenny's Fine Gael party to win the trust of voters, who had strongly backed his party when he rose to power in 2011 following Ireland's international bailout.
Analysts particularly faulted him for refusing to debate the measure on national television. Instead, Fine Gael staged informal media events and plastered Ireland with posters arguing a "yes" vote would mean "fewer politicians" and annual taxpayer savings of 20 million euros ($27 million). Many analysts branded the figure an exaggeration and insignificant, given Ireland's 138 billion-euro ($187 billion) national debt.
"Sometimes in politics you get a wallop," Kenny told reporters.
Asked why he hadn't agreed to a TV debate, Kenny said he had wanted to avoid "a shouting match with political leaders."
Supporters of keeping the Senate argued the government now must strengthen the institution. They called for the Senate to gain the power to block legislation, not merely debate and on rare occasions delay it. Only the powerful lower house of parliament, the Dail, is directly elected and can reject government legislation.
"The moral pressure for reform is now absolutely overwhelming," said Dr. John Crown, an independent senator.
Any amendments to Ireland's 1937 constitution require majority voter support in referendums. The Irish have demonstrated a tendency to say "yes" to pollsters, but then vote no in private, with anti-government sentiment invariably higher than surveys suggest.
This time, unusually, both the conservative Fine Gael and most left-wing parties backed the idea of ending the Senate, with the nationalist Sinn Fein and hard-left socialists both decrying its air of privilege. Only the parties of the previous disgraced government, Fianna Fail and the Greens, opposed the measure.
Paul Murphy, an Irish Socialist Party member of European Parliament, said the result reflects "deep distrust of the government and shows that people have a desire to check and hold back the pro-austerity political establishment."
Kenny's government enjoys the biggest parliamentary majority in Irish history and doesn't have to face re-election until 2016. But it is publicly divided over the scope of the next austerity budget due to be published Oct. 15.
The Associated Press


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The Texas Association of Campground Owners (TACO) launched its annual Spring Convention and Tradeshow Sunday with a keynote address by Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA) President and CEO Jim Rogers, who provided park owners with statistics indicating that Texas is experiencing the strongest campground business in the country.
"Texas is doing better than everybody else," Rogers said, citing KOA statistics, which showed Texas parks experiencing a 4.7% increase in camper nights and a 1.3% increase in revenue in 2011, compared to the previous year.
According to a news release, the only other area in the country to experience overall increases in business in the KOA system last year was New England, which saw a 2.7% increase in camper nights and a 4.8% increase in revenue, Rogers said, noting that KOAs in the rest of the country experienced modest declines.
With roughly 475 parks across the United States and Canada, KOA statistics provide a powerful indicator of business trends in the campground business and are closely followed by park operators across the country.
But while Texas was clearly in the lead in terms of the overall strength of its campground business last year, Rogers said parks across the Lone Star State also mimic trends that are being observed elsewhere in the country. For example, he said, 59% of the business Texas parks receive is generated by Texas residents as opposed to people coming from other states.
That's a trend that's happening across the country, Rogers said. "Our traveler is changing," Rogers said, noting that people are camping closer to home in response to rising fuel costs and increasing time constraints from work schedules and children's sports activities.
Texas parks are also seeing rising demand for park models and other rental accommodations, Rogers said, adding that KOAs will continue to add more rental units to the KOA system because they are a great way to introduce people to camping who haven't camped before. He added that deluxe cabins or park models in the KOA system typically pay for themselves in 3.5 years.
Rogers also told Texas park operators that the future is bright for the campground business, not only in Texas but across the country, citing a recent joint study by KOA, The Coleman Company and The Outdoor Foundation, which estimated that only 15% of Americans camp.
That statistic alone means there is tremendous opportunities for growth in the campground business, Rogers said, adding that the opportunities are even greater when one considers America's changing demographics and the very small numbers of African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanics who currently camp.
TACO's Spring Convention and Tradeshow is being held from May 5-8 at the Guadalupe River RV Resort in Kerrville, Texas.


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It's a good thing golf doesn't have a reputation as being an elitist sport featuring out-of-touch, rich players. Wait... Hunter Mahan is a 26 year old professional golfer from Orange, California who will likely be a member of the Ryder Cup team. In a wide-ranging critique of the Ryder Cup, Mahan's analogies became a bit strained. Now Golf Magazine reports on his critique.
"And from what I've heard the whole week is extremely long. You've got dinners every night — not little dinners, but huge, massive dinners. I know, as players, that's the last thing we want to do. We want to prepare ourselves. That's part of the whole thing: you're just a slave that week.
Yes, yes, exactly right. The Emancipation Proclamation was such a big deal because too many slaves were being forced to attend huge, massive dinners after playing sports all day. How did the textbooks miss this? Liberals, that's why.
Somewhere Harriet Tubman is crying.
Players used as 'slaves' in Ryder Cup, claims Mahan [Golf Magazine]


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John Brown
Brown, John (American abolitionist)
John Brown, 1800–1859, American abolitionist, b. Torrington, Conn. He spent his boyhood in Ohio. Before he became prominent in the 1850s, his life had been a succession of business failures in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York. An ardent abolitionist (he once kept a station on the Underground Railroad at Richmond, Pa.) and a believer in the equality of the races, he consecrated (1837) his life to the destruction of slavery. Brown settled (1855) with five of his sons in Kansas to help secure the territory's entry as a free state. He became
of the colony on the Osawatomie River. The success of the proslavery forces in violent attacks on antislavery leaders, and particularly in their sack of Lawrence, aroused Brown, and in order
"to cause a restraining fear"
in 1856 he, with four of his sons, a son-in-law, and two other men, savagely murdered five proslavery men living on the banks of the Pottawatomie Creek. In this he asserted he was an instrument in the hand of God. His exploits as a leader of an antislavery band received wide publicity, especially in abolitionist journals, and as
"Old Brown of Osawatomie"
he became nationally known.
Late in 1857 he began to enlist men for a project that he apparently had considered for some time and that took definite form at a convention of his followers held at Chatham, Ont., the next spring. He planned to liberate the slaves through armed intervention by establishing a stronghold in the Southern mountains to which the slaves and free blacks could flee and from which further insurrections could be stirred up. Early in 1859, Brown rented a farm near Harpers Ferry, Va. (now W.Va.), and there collected his followers and a cache of arms.
On the night of Oct. 16 he, two of his sons, and 19 other followers crossed the Potomac and without much resistance captured the U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry, made the inhabitants prisoners, and took general possession of the town. Strangely enough, he then merely settled down, while the aroused local militia blocked his escape. That night a company of U.S. marines, commanded by Col. Robert E. Lee, arrived, and in the morning they assaulted the engine house of the armory into which Brown's force had retired. In the resulting battle, 10 of Brown's men were killed, and Brown himself was wounded. News of the raid aroused wild fears in the South and came as a great shock to the North. On Dec. 2, 1859, Brown was hanged at Charles Town. His dignified conduct and the sincerity of his calm defense during the trial won him sympathy in the North and led him to be widely regarded as a hero and a martyr. The Civil War broke out just over a year after the raid.
The standard contemporary account is contained in The Life, Trial and Execution of Captain John Brown (1859, repr. 1969). See also biographies by O. G. Villard (rev. ed. 1965), S. B. Oakes (1970), J. Abels (1971), and D. S. Reynolds (2005); A. Keller, Thunder at Harper's Ferry (1958); J. C. Malin, John Brown and the Legend of Fifty-Six (1942, repr. 1970); R. O. Boyer, The Legend of John Brown (1973); J. Stauffer, The Black Hearts of Men (2002); F. Nudelman, John Brown's Body (2004); B. McGinty, John Brown's Trial (2009); R. E. McGlone, John Brown's War against Slavery (2009); T. Horwitz, Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War (2011); J. Stauffer and Z. Trodd, ed., The Tribunal: Responses to John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid (2012).


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A group of scuba divers has submerged in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary to sculpt jack-o-lanterns during the annual Underwater Pumpkin Carving Contest.
Working against the pumpkins' natural buoyancy, artistic divers dove 30 feet to the sea bottom Saturday with knives to pare classic, fun-loving facial features. The contest was staged about five miles off Key Largo.
Jana Vandelaar was the overall winner with a pumpkin showcasing a retainer-wearing smile. The Key Largo resident said her creation was inspired by her daughter's braces.
The offbeat contest organized by the Amoray Dive Resort attracted more than 30 divers from as far away as Tucson, Ariz.
More on NBC6.com:
- Mistakenly Released Inmates Held Without Bond
- Community Seeking Justice in Infant's Death
- Woman Pushes Ex-Girlfriend Out of Moving Car: Deputies


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Songkran 2010: Northern turmoil boosts Phuket
PHUKET: With red shirts now rallying in provinces across Thailand's North and Northeast, Phuket is an increasingly attractive destination for tourists over the upcoming Songkran holiday.
Members of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) are gathering in 17 northern provinces to support their fellow protesters in Bangkok, Interior Minister Chaovarat Chanweerakul said earlier today.
"Although protests are sprouting up, there are no reports of any danger," he said, claiming the authorities have control of the situation.
Provincial governors are under instructions to enforce maximum security measures at government installations in their provinces, he said.
Security forces have been tasked with guarding provincial halls (sala klaang) but ordered not to clash with protesters if they stage raids. Security cameras would record incidents for future prosecutions, he said.
Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop told a press conference last Friday that anyone attempting to illegally occupy Phuket Provincial Hall would face prosecution.
The province has an extensive network of CCTV cameras to identify protest leaders who incite violence or other criminal behavior, he said.
"I believe the Phuket people understand the situation and would never do a terrible thing like that… It doesn't matter what color shirts they wear – yellow, red, pink or green – anyone caught committing acts of violence will be prosecuted," he said.
"It's good for Thai people to express their opinions, but they should do so in a non-violent way," he said.
Gov Wichai said he heard the tourism industry in Chiang Mai had been crippled, with rooms that would normally go for 1,000 baht a night being offered at just 399 baht. The northern province is famous for its Songkran celebrations.
"It's unbelievable…the protesters may have fun, but businesses will suffer," he said.
"As for the Songkran Festival, Phuket is relatively free of the political turmoil which has beset other parts of the country… Both Thai and foreign tourists are likely to flock here in record numbers over for the Songkran Festival," he said.
The grounds of Phuket Provincial Hall were last occupied by political protesters in September 2008, when yellow-shirted People's Alliance of Democracy (PAD) members set up camp during the premiership of the late Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.
Although there was no violence, PAD members restricted parking lot access to then-governor Niran Kalayanamit and other high-ranking civil servants. They also conducted body searches of members of the public entering the building to do business.
The protest ended after a few days. Officials at Phuket Provincial Hall allowed PAD members to use the building's electricity to power their public address system and broadcast PAD protests in Bangkok.
— Atchaa Khamlo & The Nation
Phuket police arrest meth dealer, discover drugs valued at 15 million baht
PHOTO: Newshawk Phuket
Drugs valued at 15 million baht have been seized in a drug crackdown in Phuket. On October 22, Phuket police, along with Phuket Governor Pakkapong Tawipat, reported to the media about a drug crackdown that ended up with a total seizure valued around 15 million baht.
Earlier, the police received a report from an undercover agent that a woman named 'Ying' or 'Suthicha Thirawut' was a local drug dealer trading drugs in Phuket area, so police planned to purchase drugs from the woman. They contacted Ying through another woman named 'Noina', Ying's close friend. Around 10pm on October 20, police bought 1 gram of crystal methamphetamine from Noina before arresting Ying and another man, Thanet Thongtan, at the Naka Condominium.
The two confessed that they receive the drug from a man who they weren't able to name, in order to sell in Phuket. They were paid 40,000 – 50,000 baht per time and admitted to police that they have done this for the man three times already. This time, the drugs hadn't been sold to customers as they were arrested before being able to make a sale.
Apart from 2.4 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, valued around 4.8 million baht, the police also discovered 76,800 methamphetamine pills, worth around 11 million baht.
The three are now assisting Phuket police with their enquires related to the case.
SOURCE: Newshawk Phuket
30 dolphins greet visitors to Similan Islands
Tourists were treated to the sight of a school of dolphins in the Similan Islands off the Phang Nga coast on Sunday.
Tour organisers said that around 30 dolphins swam close to the boat six or seven miles offshore, creating excitement for passengers. It was the first time dolphins had been seen in the vicinity since October 15.
The Similan Islands National Park director said they were bottlenose dolphins and were among several species now returning to the area following a five-year closure of the park for environmental rehabilitation. Food is again plentiful there for them, he said.
Tourists are forbidden to feed wildlife lest the free handouts alter the animals' natural behaviour, and the park's waters are also very sensitive to contamination from human disease and marine debris, according to the director.
SOURCE: nationthailand.com
Phuket hotels slashing the price of rooms
by Sophie Deviller
Hotels on Thailand's most popular holiday island are being forced to slash prices, with rooms left vacant and beaches sparse as Thailand's tourism chiefs struggle with a plunge in Chinese visitors caused by the US trade war and a stronger baht. Phuket was the most visited destination in the country last year, after Bangkok, and a good gauge of the state of its crucial travel industry.
Tourism accounts for 18% of Thailand's gross domestic product and Chinese holidaymakers make up more than a quarter of total arrivals. But while 2.2 million people from the country visited in 2018, according to official figures, the numbers for January-September were down almost 20% year on year.
Claude de Crissey, the French Honorary Consul in Phuket and owner of about 40 rooms in the Patong Beach area, says Chinese tourists are usually present even during the current low season.
"That was not the case this year," he said, adding he had to lower his prices by as much as 50%.
The problem is not only in Phuket, with hotels also struggling to fill rooms in the seaside resort of Pattaya on the mainland and on Koh Samui.
Trade tensions with the US have already made some Chinese reluctant to take holidays owing to uncertainty back home, while the Thai baht has risen about 10% against the yuan this year.
A boating disaster off Phuket's coast that killed 47 Chinese holidaymakers in July 2018 also scared some off.
"We are worried," said an industry insider, declining to be named due to the sensitivity of the topic in a country where tourism provides tens of thousands of jobs. Adding to the headache is the fact that more than 3,000 new hotel rooms are being constructed on the island, raising the question of who will fill them.
"In terms of business, it's not good," said Kongsak Khoopongsakorn, vice-president of the association of hotels in Thailand and director of Vijitt Resort.
"Because … we have more hotels, more rooms to sell, we have more restaurants, more coffee shops."
Still, tourism authority chairman Yuthasak Supasorn said he remained "optimistic."
"We should reach our goal of 39.8 million foreign visitors."
However, that is only up from 38.2 million in 2018, much less than the jump seen from the previous year's total of 35.6 million.
Counting on India
Now hoteliers and tour package operators are targeting visitors from elsewhere, particularly India, which experts see as a huge untapped market.
A rapid expansion of the middle class in India, increased direct flights and visa-free travel have prompted Thailand to revise forecasts upwards.
It now expects two million Indian tourists this year, after an increase of nearly 25% on-year in the first seven months. But for now, the lower arrivals is evident on the streets of Phuket.
"I've never seen anything as bad as what it is at the moment," said Paul Scott from Australia, who said he has been coming to Thailand for 15 years.
He mainly blamed the stronger baht for the drop-off but also the fact that Thailand wasn't the untouched vacation paradise it once was. "Now it's not so new … and it's not cheap," he said.
The Thaiger Newsletter
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สรุปดราม่า "หนังน้องเดียว ลูกทุ่งวัฒนธรรม" เล่นหนังตะลุง "ด่าพระสงฆ์"
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ตรวจหวย 16/10/62 รางวัลที่ 1 เลขท้าย 2 ตัว 3 ตัว เลขหน้า 3 ตัว และรางวัลอื่น ๆ
ตรวจหวย 16 ตุลาคม 2562 ผลสลากกินแบ่งรัฐบาล 16/10/62
ถ่ายทอดสด "สลากกินแบ่งรัฐบาล" 16 ตุลาคม 2562 ลุ้นรางวัลที่ 1 สด ๆ
หนุ่มแท็กซี่ฉาว ท้าต่อยเจ้าของธุรกิจเต๊นท์ กลางงานสนามหลวง
ไทยแชมป์วอลเลย์บอลอาเซียนกรังด์ปรีซ์สนาม 2 รางวัลรายบุคคล
ตรวจหวย1ตุลาคม2562 ผลรางวัลที่ 1 เลขท้าย 2 ตัว 3 ตัว เลขหน้า 3 ตัว และรางวัลอื่น ๆ
ถ่ายทอดสดหวย 1 ตุลาคม 2562 ลุ้นรางวัลที่ 1 สลากกินแบ่งรัฐบาล
สีจิ้นผิงกล่าวสุนทรพจน์ ครบรอบ 70 ปีก่อตั้งสาธารณรัฐประชาชนจีน -ลิงก์ถ่ายทอดสด
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The best (and the tackiest) Christmas jumpers for 2017
Planning a Christmas jumper party, or fancy donning some festive knit this Christmas? Whether you'd prefer to blend in with an understated, cosy knit or go all out with an all-singing, all-dancing garment bedecked with baubles and lights, we've found a Christmas jumper for you.
Here's our guide to the best Christmas jumpers for men, women and children.
WEEKEND by John Lewis Stripe & Star Intarsia Jumper (£49, John Lewis)
We're starry-eyed for this festive take on the classic Breton stripe tee.
'Good Tonics We Bring' Christmas Jumper by Of Life and Lemons (£32, notonthehighstreet.com)
A December wardrobe staple for gin lovers.
Yumi Daschhund Christmas Jumper (£45, House of Fraser)
Love sausage dogs? This Christmas jumper is for you.
ASOS Christmas Jumper With Fluffy Snowmen (£30.00, Asos)
Get noticed in a fluffy snowman knit.
Adults Christmas Elf Jumper by Instajunction (£30, notonthehighstreet.com)
The perfect jumper if you've ever fancied yourself as one of Santa's little helpers.
3D Christmas Jumper with baubles (£24.99 - £34.99, Amazon)
This Chrismas jumper from Amazon Fashion features actual baubles.
Little Dickins and Jones Girls Sequin Deer Jumper (£22, House of Fraser)
This design is super sparkly and it's machine washable, too.
Star print jumper for age 3-14 years (£16-£22, Marks and Spencer)
A ribbed teal, bejewelled jumper for all occasions.
John Lewis Boys' Christmas Character Knit Jumper (£22-£24, John Lewis)
A stylish jumper featuring polar bears and penguins is sure to be a hit.
Cotton rich Christmas house print jumper (£16-£18, Marks and Spencer)
Get into the festive spirit with this fun Christmas jumper.
John Lewis Baby Polar Friends Jumper (£16 - £17, John Lewis)
Made from pure, soft cotton, this festive knit has long sleeves with ribbed cuffs, finished with a chilly polar bear and friends scene to the front.
The Telegraph makes a small amount of money by adding affiliate links to products mentioned in this article. All products are picked independently by our journalists.


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Okay, if you are a big fan of Nickelodeon, you should already know what Planet Sheen is. If you are a fan of Nickelodeon but you never heard of the new show Planet Sheen, you are in for a big surprise. It is an animated cartoon series that will be airing on a regular basis. I have already submitted a couple of characters from the series, and today I will be teaching you "how to draw Aseefa", step by step. Now this blue colored gal is a Glimmorian, which is also a yodeler. She sports a braided ponytail, but remains a tomboy no matter what. She sort of reminds me of a caricature because of her large shaped head, and her small petite looking body. Not only is she a tough cookie, she is also the object of Sheen's attention. Yes I know that Sheen is from earth and she is an alien. But for some reason that doesn't bother him much. Aseefa also likes him as well, but the problem is, he is too shy to even make his move. I like her gladiator style, and the way she acts. I had a real fun time with this tutorial on "how to draw Aseefa" because she was incredibly fun to create. Her bright blue colored skin, meshed with her yellow colored clothes makes her one attractive, colorful gal that is bold, cute, and she makes an awesome addition to the character list. Have fun with this lesson folks as you make your very own Glimmorian. Adios peeps!
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[Verse 1: Joell Ortiz]
How many times I gotta tell y'all I'm second to none?
No magazine's top ten cause I'm negative one
So I don't pay attention to them dumb folk
Cause I'mma always be in first like the clutch broke
I'm from where the cut-throats cut coke
Cause school ain't cut it, they cut out to puff smoke
And guess what? That's who I hang with
So when you speak Industry, I don't know the language
But play a beat and I'll show you why I'm head honcho
Y'all gettin' away with murder like the white Bronco
Bunch of trash in-between hooks
Bars too cute to be gettin' all these mean looks
Put the hottest rappers all on one stage together
See who'll hold they arm up like Che Guevera
I rhyme hotter and I say it better
I'mma win the Cold War: I'mma product of the Reagan Era
Dave Dinkins of the page inkin''
My 16s free y'all, I'm Hip-Hop's Abe Lincoln
Fam I don't know what they thinkin'
These niggas got me fucked up like I spent all day drinkin'
I'm a boss, not a loss yet
You're little lemons in a race with a souped-up Corvette
I'm so hot I could stand still and pour sweat
In the North Pole, fully naked with my balls wet
I'm a monster - these other niggas small pets
Claim they sick, but they get cured by your dog's vet
I'm thorough from my Yank' to my Gore-Tex
You're bluffin', I play poker - I'm callin' all bets
Local boy, when's the last time you all left?
I don't even know where the fuck I'm goin' on tour next
Last month Canada, before that? Europe
I had waffles out in Belguim, you ain't had syrup
Every time I write, it's another flight
Another whore with my kids on her underbite
Another "YAOWA!" I chant when I touch the mic
Another magazine spread, yeah you fuckin' right
I'm on my grind like a pair of in-line skates
Get on tracks and go bananas like a primate
Baboon, gorilla, chimpanzee, a wild ape
King Kong when he escape, I'm 'bout to skyscrape
But the sky ain't the limit
I could teleport through my mind any minute
Take you to a place where the lions go "ribbit"
All the frogs "roar" and the fire is frigid
I'm outta this world, don't belong here
What good is heiring the throne if I taught you from a small chair?
Family, you niggas got it twisted
Flow out of the box, yours chicken and a biscuit
Give me Chicken Pox when I listen, I be itchin'
To cripple your career like a ligament is missin'
Dawg I'm on a mission like an intimate position
When I swing it's knockouts I ain't gettin' a decision
From here on, it's locked: y'all a prisoner to spittin'
Can't escape my bars: no visitors permitted
Welcome to Hell where Joell holds a pitchfork
And you burn in eternal flames for your bitch-talk
Dick in my hand: I'm pissed off
But I ain't bucklin', everyday I'm hustlin': Rick Ross
One day the whole globe will know that I'm Clark Kent
Underneath the shades on a project park bench
Superman when I grip the mic
The only way I'm slowin' down is if I blow a pound of Kryptonite
From now on I'm a bully, I'mma pick the fight
Let them pick you up off the ground when I chip ya bite
You'll become a little memory: gigabyte
Me and these beats got married, I'm Mr. Right
Little man, you spit it aight
I'm on fire, you got a little buzz: Miller Lite
Man there's so many words runnin' 'round my brain
If I don't put them on a track I would go insane
Maybe that's why everything I say is crazy
And everyday I wake up, with a naked lady
With a V.I.P. band on my right wrist
Pants on the floor, J.D. with a slight sip left in the bottle
'Telly key on the nightstand
I go to the bathroom to pee, and then I scram
I live the life of a rock star
They ain't wanna let me through, so I became a cop car
Put the sirens on every time I touch a pen
Everybody move like dope: that's a fuckin' '10'
My peers know I'm gonna win
This music's like my first crush, for years I wanted in
I'm here. Oh boy will you taste the wrath
I'mma make it ugly like what's underneath Jason's mask
I listen to a lot of mixtapes and laugh
All y'all niggas do is whine like Jamaican ass
Every night I celebrate, we take a glass of champagne to the brain
Sometimes we take a bath
Victory feels far better
Than defeat; you niggas weak: Solar's Letter
I'm harder than the Fonz' leather
My worst rhyme's 30 times rougher than your hottest bars ever
I could front like a car fender
Cause everything I'm on, DJs pull up like the bartenders
New York I'm the answer to your prayers
Head-nod music, leave the dancin' over there
Project shit, ain't no mansion over here
Just murder on the strings, Charles Manson on the snare
I'm hungry; the game's like a food court
I just gave y'all a loose hundred: Newports
[Outro: Joell Ortiz]
Joell Ortiz
Who feel they, who feel they better?
A 100 bars' long track.
Produced by Just Blaze


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If the President really is to rebut House Republican budget chairman Paul Ryan's plan, he's going to have to say something completely new in today's speech. He's going to have to say that reducing the deficit is as important as creating jobs, but that there's not necessarily a tradeoff. And he'll have to reassure his liberal base (what's left of it?) that the way you avoid that tradeoff is to take the polar opposite strategy of Ryan–which is not to not reduce the deficit (which, I'm sorry, "fearmonger" that I am, really will ultimately hurt all of us, rich or poor), but to reduce the deficit through better tax policy. (Example: a Brookings paper I wrote on just such an approach over four years ago which reads amazingly like it was written yesterday.) The President can't go on merely empathizing with his liberal base by complaining about the heartless, clueless Republican approach to deficit reduction, which is to drastically slash government spending programs in favor of tax cuts all the time for any reason, while at the same time basically embracing the bulk of the Republicans' tax-cutting approach. (The extension of the Bush/Obama tax cuts still accounts for more than 100 percent of the cost of the President's budget proposals.) Huh?
Ruth Marcus has also been puzzling over the President's strategy on the deficit issue; in today's Washington Post she tries on a sports analogy (emphasis added):
I'm no sports nut but I've spent enough time at kids' soccer games to understand that it's impossible to score if you're playing on the wrong side of the field.
Which is why I have found the White House strategy for dealing with Republicans on the deficit so befuddling…
The fight over spending this fiscal year is a case in point. The prospect of a Republican takeover of the House was evident well before the election. The inevitable result was going to be more draconian cuts than would have been required if the spending bills were passed beforehand.
In the aftermath of the Democrats' losses, the entire debate played out in terms they were destined to lose. If the argument is framed solely in terms of budget cuts, Republicans always win: They are willing to out-cut Democrats. That inescapable tilt was exacerbated by the virtual absence of a White House message about the impact of a shutdown or the cuts themselves…
A second, maddening example of the White House allowing the other side to frame the debate involves the longer-term fiscal picture. The president convened a commission on the topic and then abandoned it. First, he did not lift a finger to help his co-chairs, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, assemble the 14 votes necessary to get the commission's plan a congressional vote. Then, when the plan was released, the president pointedly declined to express a view. He stuck to the vagueness strategy in his State of the Union address and his 2012 budget proposal.
In the meantime, the void was filled — and the playing field was shifted even further rightward — by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. The Wisconsin Republican unveiled a plan that makes the centrist Simpson-Bowles proposal look as if it were written by Nancy Pelosi and Howard Dean.
If the White House had weighed in on Simpson-Bowles before Ryan released his plan, it could have staked out an argument that the framework — a combination of spending cuts and tax increases — was correct but that some specifics (the precise mix of the two, the details of the Social Security fix) went too far in the conservative direction. Now the "reasonable" compromise would [seem to] be between Simpson-Bowles on the leftward side and Ryan on the right…
[T]he administration [has been insisting that] coming forward with a plan of its own would be counterproductive. The history of budget deals, officials argued, was that public presidential proposals get shot down (George W. Bush on Social Security in 2005, for example); successful outcomes are crafted behind the scenes.
Indeed, this was happening in the form of the so-called Gang of Six, the bipartisan group of senators working to write the Simpson-Bowles framework into law. Just as the gang was nearing agreement, the Ryan plan came along, and the White House, rattled by its reception, decided it needed to get into the game…
[But] if the White House was going to support the Simpson-Bowles framework all along, why not do it earlier and take advantage of the momentum?
Back to the sports metaphor, it makes you wonder: Can't anybody here play this game?
Ruth seems to suggest the President has just accidentally stumbled onto the "wrong side of the field" (that would be the conservatives' side), but I don't think that's so accidental after all. If he intended to play at all for the "other team" (that would be the liberals), he wouldn't keep intentionally passing the then-Bush-now-Obama-tax-cuts ball to the conservatives. If the President intended to play on the liberals' team (for at least part of the time anyway), he'd launch a strong offense that would propose a deficit-reduction plan based largely (mostly?) on raising revenue by reducing tax expenditures (a la Simpson-Bowles, although I'd suggest it would then be more "a la Bowles-Simpson"), and he would go further on the revenue-leaning side in order to provide a more adequate counter to the Ryan plan (which is all spending-side cuts). The President would say: hey, Ryan's approach to reduce the deficit would virtually eliminate government programs outside of the entitlement programs–hey, that's crazy! And he'd push back with his own approach to reduce the deficit by broadening the tax base and allowing revenues to rise as a share of our economy to levels even above the Bowles-Simpson ceiling of 21 percent, while explaining that he doesn't like that ceiling because the "right" level of revenues has nothing to do with historical averages or any other arbitrary target but instead with what's needed to adequately finance the government spending we as a society desire and deem "worth it." (And the "right" size of government is the size we desire even when we have to fully pay for it–and by the way, isn't necessarily properly measured by spending or revenues as a share of GDP!)
In my wildest fantasies, in his speech today the President would make these declarations about embracing the fiscal commission's general tax reform strategy, underscoring the point by adding that "you know, let's face it, the Bush tax cuts sucked, and I'm finally going to replace them with something better." (Or something like that.)
But somehow I don't think we've come any farther with the President on tax policy than a year ago (i.e., before the President got any ideas from his commission) when I wrote this open letter to him, concluding with:
I know you made an unfortunate campaign promise on tax policy that you feel bound to–to not raise taxes on any households with income under $250,000. But isn't it more important to keep your greater (at least implicit) promise to the American people on keeping our economy strong, putting us on a better path ("changing" course), and leaving the nation in decent shape for our kids? You can't keep both promises, and to me as an economist and as a mom–and I hope to you as our leader and a dad–it's obvious which one you should abandon.
Happy Tax Day!
Mr. President, please pleasantly surprise me today! Seize control of that ball and start charging in the right direction! (And yes, I know you play the "court" more than the "field" Ruth was talking about.)
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One Kidney, Three Bodies: After Failed Transplant, Kidney Gives New Life
(CHICAGO) -- In a medical first, a transplanted kidney rejected by one patient was successfully transplanted into another patient, according to doctors at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
Twelve years ago, Ray Fearing, 27, of Arlington Heights, Ill., was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a rare disease characterized by the buildup of scar tissue on the kidney. Most often found in young adults, the disease prevents harmful chemicals in the blood from filtering through the kidney.
When his disease worsened in April 2011, he was placed on the kidney transplant waiting list. His wait would not be long, just two months, after his younger sister, Cera, 21, stepped up right away to try to save her big brother.
"Before I even asked her she was ready to volunteer" her kidney, Ray Fearing said.
"It was very exciting," he said. "I'd been looking forward to it for a long time."
During routine kidney transplants, the new organ that is placed in the recipient rarely shows signs of recurring disease. But in patients with FSGS, there is a 50-percent chance that the transplanted kidney will also develop the disease.
Fearing was on the wrong side of those odds. Within two weeks of the transplant, surgeons removed his new kidney.
"I was making all these plans for the future because I would have a new kidney," said Fearing. "I was distraught and very wounded by the whole experience."
But instead of discarding the kidney -- which is routine in the event of a failed transplant -- Northwestern Memorial Hospital surgeons, with Cera Fearing's consent, decided to give the kidney another chance.
For the first time, doctors successfully re-implanted the so-called damaged kidney in another patient. Once the kidney was removed from Ray Fearing, it began to show signs of recovery from damage caused by its short-lived exposure to FSGS.
Within a few weeks, the kidney restored itself and was fully functioning in the new recipient, 67-year-old surgeon and father of five, Erwin Gomez.
"We proved for the first time that the disease is reversible in an organ once it's taken out of the body," said Dr. Lorenzo Collon, a transplant nephrologist and medical director of the kidney transplant program Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
This procedure challenges the idea that surgeons can only attempt to transplant an organ once, said Collon, whose findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Instead of removing the organ and throwing it away, if you have a good surgical background to reconstruct the vessels, you can put the kidney in someone else and it can work," said Collon.
More than 92,000 Americans are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant, and nearly 3,000 new patients are added to the list each month, according to the National Kidney Foundation. In 2011, nearly 17,000 Americans underwent a kidney transplant.
Although transplants take place when a match is found between a donor and recipient, in some cases -- as in Fearing's -- there's still a chance the transplant may not be successful, Collon said. But recycling the transplanted kidney will give more recipients a shot within an already-limited donor pool, he said.
"It will increase the donor pool, which needs to be increased anyhow," said Collon.
Fearing was put back on dialysis and will have to wait at least a year before another transplant attempt can be made.
"I'm excited to be a part of this, even though it didn't work for me," said Fearing.
The road ahead for Fearing is complicated by the fact that the chance of his disease damaging another new kidney is even higher than 50 percent, Still, Fearing says he remains optimistic.
"I'm convinced that I should be hopeful," he said.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio


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Would You Bring Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Larry Jacobsen (?!) To Super Bowl XLV?
October 14, 2010: How important is the Super Bowl to fans and consumers in America? Very important, according to a new survey from Visa, which shows that more than 70% of respondents would miss their own birthday party and nearly 10% would miss the birth of their own child.
The survey comes as Visa has launched creative to support its "Super Bowl Trip for Life Sweepstakes," offering one grand prize winner and a guest airfare, accommodations and tickets to the Super Bowl for life. The prize package would kick in with Super Bowl XLV in North Texas on Feb. 6, 2011.
According to the survey, 54% of respondents would be willing to miss or postpone events in their life in order to attend the Super Bowl. Of those people, 77% said they would miss work or class, 71% would miss their own birthday party and 46% would postpone their vacation. In addition, 17% said they would postpone their wedding date and 9% would miss the birth of their child (given, of course, that they were not in the last stages of labor, of course).
Visa also found that 28% of respondents would choose to go to the Super Bowl every year for the rest of their life over any other annual sporting event in the U.S., ahead of the World Series (16%) and the NBA Finals (14%). And if given the opportunity to take a guest, 22% said they would invite President Obama, followed followed by Sandra Bullock (21%) and George Clooney (15%).
According to Visa, the survey was conducted from Sept. 24-27, 2010, by Infogroup/Opinion Research via phone interviews with 1,013 adults (509 men, 504 women, all 18 or older).
Visa, the exclusive payment services sponsor of the NFL and a league partner since 1995, its featuring its Super Bowl Trip for Life Sweepstakes in two spots starring the Never Miss a Super Bowl Club, a group of four men who have attended every Super Bowl since the 1967 AFL-NFL championship (later renamed Super Bowl I). The sweepstakes is also getting print, online and POP support, including a dedicated Visa's NFL Go Fans Facebook page. Lead agency is TBWA\Chiat\Day.
In one spot, "Meet the Never Miss a Super Bowl Club," Tom Henschel (Tampa, Fla.), Don Crisman (Kennebunk, Maine), Robert Cook (Brown Deer, Wis.) and Larry Jacobsen (San Francisco) share their thoughts and emotions of having attended every single Super Bowl over the past 43 years. In "50 Super Bowls," they share they common goal to reach the half-century mark in attendance. The site of the historic Super Bowl L, scheduled for February 2016, will not be decided by the NFL until May 2012.
After Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium, the next games will be Super Bowl XLVI in 2012 at Lucas Oil Field, Indianapolis; Super Bowl XLVII in 2013 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans; Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014 at the New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey; and Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, the site of which will be decided in May 2011.
Visa's Super Bowl For Life Sweepstakes runs now through Dec. 31, 2010. (Full details here.)
"The 'Never Miss a Super Bowl Club' represents the fervor that NFL fans have for the Super Bowl," Antonio Lucio,CMO for Visa Inc., said in a statement. "Their unique experiences and stories bring our campaign to life," said "Fans see the Super Bowl as the pinnacle of U.S. sporting events and would go to extraordinary lengths to attend the game. We're excited to offer Visa card holders with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that truly lasts a lifetime and speaks directly to their passion."
In addition to being the exclusive payment services sponsor of the NFL, Visa has become the exclusive payment services sponsor of 13 NFL teams: first-year deals with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans adding to Visa's roster that already includes the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers. For the second consecutive year, San Francisco-based Visa is also the sponsor of the 49ers' practice jersey.
Visa: Why Have One Super Bowl When You Can Have Them All?


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Insights and ideas from Bill Sienkiewicz, Adobe® Photoshop® user
Illustrator, comic artist, authorVisit this innovator's website
Reinventing an artistic genre
Bill Sienkiewicz is best known for his painterly, expressionistic style of comics. In the mid 1980s, he illustrated Elektra Assassin, an eight-issue series for Marvel that used a fine art approach to transform the way people perceived comics. His career blossomed to include the graphic novel Stray Toasters and sensational movie promotional art for The Dark Knight, The Grinch, Unforgiven, and the hit video game Resident Evil. Photoshop.com sat down with Sienkiewicz to discuss how he became a multi-faceted artist and attained a devoted and growing international following.
Photoshop.com: Your illustrations have been credited for revamping modern comics. Can you tell us about your unique style?
Bill Sienkiewicz: I remember the days when adults viewed comic book art with bemused contempt. It had to be drawn images, and it was seen as being only for kids. At that time, comic artists relied almost solely on line art and stayed away from fine art techniques, which ultimately could touch readers in more visceral ways. I believed that creating comics with a fine art touch would help better express the emotion of characters. When I started using oil painting, collages, mimeographs, and other techniques, it helped move the perception of comics to be a more serious artistic endeavor and a viable medium for emotive storytelling on par with novels and film. I'm thrilled about the evolution.
Photoshop.com: How does your fine art approach visually contribute to what a character is experiencing in the storyline?
Bill Sienkiewicz: Let's say Elektra is thinking of herself as a little girl. Rather than illustrating it as a sequence of events, the idea would be to create one scene very simply, as if a five-year-old girl actually drew it. I might use a quill pen and light strokes so Elektra looks airy and elegant, or do the same portrait with a slab of charcoal. But by changing up the approach to drawing the character, I can better convey what is on the character's mind in a subconscious way.
Photoshop.com: You are involved in a variety of creative endeavors—comics, film productions, graphic novels, and more. What is your biggest passion and why?
Bill Sienkiewicz: Comics are my first love. I went to art school and studied all the basic art essentials: painting, art history, composition, drawing, sculpture, played with airbrushing and mixed media, etc., so I had a broad palette to draw upon. But before art school, I drew, painted, and studied all through childhood and high school, so I'd consider myself self-taught. I spent a lot of time alone as a kid and comics let me create worlds where I was in control. I would draw things for my friends. The thing I love most about cartooning is that, through distortions and simplifications, you can reveal more of the truth. It's basically limitless in terms of creativity and can be a lot more fun and dynamic than trying to capture absolute reality.
Photoshop.com: What role does Adobe Photoshop software play in your artistic process?
Bill Sienkiewicz: I can't imagine life without Photoshop. It gives me more creative freedom and latitude and I use it from start to finish in various capacities. For example, in the early exploratory stages of an assignment, I work out various sketches on paper as I need that connection to materials, but Photoshop frees me up to explore possibilities I might not have thought of initially. I can take one sketch and turn it into a dozen value sketches in the span of a few minutes. I create value sketches—the initial sketch phase—before the color sketches, and I organize the lights, darks, and gray tones into an effective composition and a pleasing abstract design, and then I start pushing for a refined composition that conveys the emotion and intent of the piece. Lighter values feel more airy and emotionally bright; darker values might suggest turbulence or difficult emotions. The grayscale values have to be just right up front; otherwise, the colored version will not work, regardless of the beauty of the specific colors. I've discovered a synergy: somehow using Photoshop improves my drawing and artwork and vice versa. I access Photoshop through my Adobe Creative Cloud membership so I don't have to worry about software updates and I am always using the latest version.
Photoshop.com: Do you use any other Adobe products in your creative process?
Bill Sienkiewicz: It's amazing what can be done on the iPad, and I sometimes use Adobe Photoshop Touch to experiment to see how an idea might come together. I like to warp surfaces, or experiment with curves and adjust levels. I often use the tools for quick investigation and to play with an idea, especially when I'm on the go. With Photoshop Touch, I have another great arrow in my quiver.
Photoshop.com: Describe a favorite illustration or comic you've created, what grabs you about it, and how you created the result in the image.
Bill Sienkiewicz: The title of this piece is Are these the Lips I remember? The piece is part of a campaign for MTV Network that ran in Rolling Stone magazine. It's a 40"x46" mixed-media piece. This is a favorite for several reasons. First, it was entirely mine; both writing and illustration. I usually work with different writers on projects, so this was a treat. There were different artists and writers who were asked to be a part of the campaign—Robert Crumb and Stephen King, among others.
Second, it allowed me to embrace and combine two of my favorite art forms: comics and illustration. Third, I was able to approach the piece with a variety of techniques, such as collage, distorted xerography, and acetate overlays. I used an early digital color copier to achieve certain effects and distortions in the various "lips" panels. I painted one original version of the lips and modified it throughout.
Initially, I did a black-and-white layout and story idea for approval.
Each panel is roughly 7"x9", and each was done individually on Vellum Bristol in various media and set in place with a paper adhesive on a large piece of white gator foam board—a rigid but lightweight support surface, similar to foam core, but harder and less prone to warping. I also used additional art media including airbrush, acrylic, inks, watercolor, and colored pencil, with layers in between of gloss spray fixative.
Photoshop.com: What artists or comic illustrators do you admire?
Bill Sienkiewicz: Neal Adams set the bar high in terms of realism and a unique illustrative approach. I love the work of Alex Toth, who did Saturday morning cartoons with such a perfect grasp of saying the most with the absolute least with simple lines. In general, I gravitate toward artists who mix it up in terms of media and who have a personal vision—where I get a connection to the creator's worldview and their story. To name a few favorites and committing the grievous sin of omission of others who will come to mind later, I admire Kyle Baker, Frank Miller, Mark Silvestri, Mike Mignola, David Mack, Brian Haberlin, Wendy Farrow, and Amanda Conner.
Photoshop.com: You've won virtually all the major comics industry awards and have two Emmy nominations. Is there another specific award you'd love to achieve?
Bill Sienkiewicz: I don't know the precise quote, but I believe Arthur Miller once said something like he didn't choose playwriting; playwriting chose him. Creating art is the essence of who I am—it is not optional. If I win more awards, then that of course would be wonderful, but my main goal is to connect with the audience, be it one person or ten thousand.
Ramped up Contrast & Brightness Adjustment Action


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the next big thing in computing...
Cloud Computing is the next big thing in computing...
Cloud computing replaces buying, licensing, running and maintaining computing assets on your premises with buying necessary computing services as you need them. These services are provided via the cloud over the Internet.
Cloud computing services are ideal for managing IT in an economic recession. According to researchers of IT trends, cloud computing is going to be one of the fastest growing IT areas in coming years.
**Check out MonadCloud, New England's First Regional Cloud Storage Provider
Taking Steps Into The Cloud...
(excerpted from New Hampshire Business Journal, April, 2011)
My journey to cloud computing began with a single step. Early in 2009, it dawned on me that cloud computing, which I had been paying attention to off and on, was going to fundamentally change the delivery model of information services. I committed myself to reading about, researching and evaluating various cloud computing services. What I was learning became so compelling that I decided to retool my consultancy around cloud computing.
I saw how cloud computing could offer my clients reduced capital expenditures, lower application costs and the ability to move quickly with new business initiatives. I developed a "starter kit" of cloud services that covers a baseline of IT services most customers require in one form or another.
Some Clients Step Into The Cloud...
One client I assisted was an organization facing a license renewal for an on-premises anti-virus and anti-malware program they were not particularly fond of using. They switched to a cloud-based alternative, which allowed the network manager to deploy and manage the application using the cloud while taking advantage of the "collective intelligence" of systems using the service. This proved so successful they renewed the subscription.
Another client was already leaning towards the cloud. He believed locating the organization's IT services in the cloud would improve business operations with fewer IT headaches. The company's cloud makeover affected most of its IT services, including messaging, collaboration (file synchronization), project management, Internet security, IT asset management and backup disaster recovery. Although this was a big bite out of the cloud, he can see that moving these functions to the cloud has improved their business operations.
Several principals of a professional accounting firm, my third example, attended a conference that looked at the use of a cloud-based tax preparation application. When they returned home they contacted me for a consultation. After some initial meetings they decided to update their aging IT systems and network first, so the network "plumbing" and most of the PCs were replaced.
And ... just as I helped businesses navigate the early days of PC technology and then helped them grow into powerful PC networks, I am now positioned to help you take the next evolutionary step in your technology -- the cloud.
Look back at Tim Wessels' work


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The O'Neill family welcomes you and your family to the Hay Creek Valley
Campground and Old Western Saloon. We invite you to sit back and relax, enjoy the beauty of Hay Creek Valley and most importantly,
have a great time!
2019 Calendar is updated and posted!
Weekly specials are available along with our delicious menu!


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There's always been debate around where common foods are stored and now online healthy food retailer, MuscleFood.com have stepped in with their definitive guide on what should go where.
They've looked into the debate, and settled it by revealing where you should really keep fruit, veg, bread, confectionary and condiments. Darren Beale from MuscleFood.com said "Much of it comes down to personal preference and what we've picked up from parents and other family members. But believe it or not, there is a right and a wrong place to store kitchen essentials. By getting it right, you can preserve the taste and quality of the food for longer – so it's worth taking the time and effort to find out where's best."


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Dear friends, we would like to introduce you BMW 320 2009.
This brand is a real legend and it is one of the best car manufacturers from Germany. The company was founded in 1916 and produced engines for the planes in those times. Then the situation had changed seriously and today BMW AG is a well known manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, engines and bicycles. The cars under BMW production always have an excellent interior and exterior design. They are appreciated all over the world. It's a great pleasure to own one of those BMW cars.
The model BMW 320 2009 combines comfortable chassis, good steering and an efficient motor. This car is really one of the best products. BMW 320 2009 is reliable and easy to drive.
Video review BMW 320 2009
Originally posted 2015-11-01 22:04:42.


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U.S. to Move Troops to Allies Near Russia as Tensions Flare in Eastern Ukraine
Pentagon Seeks to Reassure NATO Allies as Kiev Accuses Pro-Russian Forces of Killings
Hundreds of U.S. troops are headed for maneuvers in Eastern Europe through year's end, the Pentagon announced, new deployments intended to reassure allies on Russia's borders as violence took a sinister turn Tuesday in embattled Ukraine.
Vice President Joe Biden, in a visit to Kiev, warned Russia to pull back its troops and abide by last week's international agreement or face the certainty of swift new sanctions. Mr. Biden also urged Ukraine's leaders to adhere to democratic principles and respect cultural differences, reassuring...


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Smart TV Apps selection is solid for the price
Good picture quality, Relatively slim design
Highly accurate color and very good bright-room performance
Inexpensive for its size, Very bright, Built-in Wi-fi
Naturally sharp and dimensional HD images
Lots of options for image-tweakers
Relatively deep black levels, a uniform screen
Affordable price, Nice-looking design, Strong set of Smart TV apps, Deep black levels
Solid TV with great picture quality
Smart, supports a 1080p native resolution
Good for sports viewing, High-def
The set has a more compact, sleeker look than competitors.
ReviewGist helps you find the best products to buy by making sense of online reviews.
We are currently aggregating 376,500 reviews
covering over 29,474 products.
© 2019 ReviewGist.com. All Rights Reserved.


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Q-STEP has been instituted on the Rutgers-Camden campus so as to increase the numbers of successful graduates in the sciences and mathematics and to enhance the level of their quantitative skills. A fundamental activity of the Q-STEP program is the creation of a community of scholars in the quantitative sciences. The community will provide a supportive social network, increased chances for group study and problem-solving, peer tutoring, and opportunities for early and consistent involvement in research. Two distinct groups will be targeted. Q-STEP Scholars will be entering freshmen, while Q-STEP Mentors will be more advanced students (in their junior year).
Q-STEP is a program to enhance the education of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students at Rutgers-Camden. This program is supported through the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP) of the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Rutgers-Camden program, called Q-STEP, emphasizes the development of quantitative skills.
Q-STEP Scholars
Freshmen interested in majoring in Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics or Physics at Rutgers-Camden are invited to apply to become Q-STEP Scholars. Q-STEP Scholars will receive several benefits:
- Membership in a supportive learning community which will help you throughout your Rutgers-Camden education
- Access to a separate Q-STEP space for meetings, study and socializing
- Opportunities for group study and problem-solving
- Mentoring and tutoring by a select group of upper-level students (the Q-STEP Mentors)
- Chances to be selected for summer research support
In turn, the Q-STEP Scholars will agree to participate in weekly problem-solving sessions and other required Q-STEP activities.
There are a limited number of openings for the Q-STEP Scholars each year. When you apply, you will be asked to provide information which will be used to track you through the program. However, your answers to these questions will not affect your chances of getting into the program. All Rutgers-Camden freshmen who plan on majoring in Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics or Physics will have an equal chance to be admitted to the Q-STEP Scholars program.
To apply, go to: Scholar Application Form
Q-STEP Mentors
A limited number of positions are available for highly-qualified upperclassmen to tutor the Q-STEP Scholars. These individuals wil become part of the Q-STEP community and guide weekly review sessions for courses they have successfully completed at Rutgers-Camden
To apply, go to the Mentor Application Form.
Applications will be accepted immediately and continue until this year's openings are filled.
Steering Committee
Joseph V. Martin
Q-STEP Principal Investigator
Benedetto Piccoli
Program Director, Rutgers Center for Computational & Integrative Biology
Alex Roche
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Sunil Shende
Associate Professor of Computer Science
Contact Information
Joseph V. Martin, Ph.D.
Department of Biology
Rutgers University
Camden, NJ 08102
Telephone: (856) 225-6165
Fax: (856) 225-6312
Janet Caruso
Department of Biology
Rutgers University
Camden, NJ 08102
Room 108
Telephone: (856) 225-6235


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President Obama rejected criticism Friday of his handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster, saying, "This has been our highest priority since this crisis occurred."
It has been more than five weeks since an oil rig leased by BP exploded and sank in the Gulf, and only now does there appear to be progress in plugging the massive leak. Speaking in a more than hour-long press conference in the East Room, Mr. Obama defended his administration's performance and said he was "angry and frustrated" by the spill.
"This notion that somehow the federal government is sitting on the sidelines and for the last three or four or five weeks we've just been letting BP make a whole bunch of decisions is simply not true," Obama said.
IN PICTURES: Louisiana oil spill
At the Obama press conference, the president said that the US government is in charge of making sure the response is "appropriate" and that BP bears financial responsibility. Obama also announced an additional six-month moratorium on exploratory deepwater drilling, suspension of planned exploration of two locations off Alaska's coast, and the cancellation of oil-lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and off Virginia's coast.
Obama acknowledged the political dimension of the disaster – then said, "but that's not what I care about right now."
Still, it has been lost on no one in political Washington that the public has grown increasingly impatient with the ongoing disaster and that it is taking a toll on the administration. A Gallup Poll released Thursday found that 53 percent of Americans rate Obama's performance on the oil spill as "poor" or "very poor." The federal government came out worse at 60 percent. And worse still was BP, at 73 percent "poor" or "very poor."
Earlier this week, the White House announced that Obama will visit the Gulf region Friday, his second such visit since the spill began. But Obama continues to face criticism, including from within his own party, that he has seemed disengaged on the matter, even as photos and video of oil-soaked Louisiana marshland and wildlife horrify the public.
The early Republican criticism that this could become Obama's "Katrina," referring to the perception that President Bush was slow in responding to hurricane Katrina in 2005, has started to gain wider traction.
No less a Democratic ally than James Carville, now living in his native Louisiana, bashed Obama Wednesday for what he called the "political stupidity" of his response to the Gulf crisis. "I have no idea of why their attitude was so hands off here," Mr. Carville said Wednesday on ABC's "Good Morning America."
Obama's press conference – his first long, solo East Room appearance before the press corps since last July – seemed almost a direct response to Carville. In response to the 10th and final question of the afternoon, the president cast his reaction in personal terms, speaking of his native Hawaii.
"My job right now is just to make sure that everybody in the Gulf understands this is what I wake up to in the morning and this is what I go to bed at night thinking about – the spill," he said.
On Thursday morning, he said, when he was shaving, his daughter Malia peeked her head into the bathroom and said, "Did you plug the hole yet, Daddy?"
"I think everybody understands that, you know, when we are fouling the earth like this, it has concrete complications not just for this generation but for future generations.
"I grew up in Hawaii, where the ocean is sacred. And when you see birds flying around with – with oil all over their feathers and turtles dying and – ... that doesn't just speak to the immediate economic consequences of this. This speaks to, you know, how are we caring for this incredible bounty that we have?"
IN PICTURES: Louisiana oil spill


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Global Classic Cleaver
Easy, hassle-free returns online and in-store for eligible items.Learn More
Earn 2x Rewards6 That's 10% back in rewards when you use your Williams Sonoma Credit Card at Williams Sonoma 10/24 - 10/27.Apply Now Learn More
- Summary
Chefs praise this beautifully crafted Japanese cleaver for its performance and ease of use. Designed for chopping through bone and slicing meats and poultry, it's also great for cutting hard fruits and vegetables like watermelon and winter squash.
- Stamped blade is made of exceptionally hard Cromova 18 high-carbon stainless steel, ice tempered and hardened to resist corrosion.
- Prominent 1/4" edge is visible to the naked eye and ground straight to a point rather than beveled resulting in impressive sharpness and edge retention.
- Cuts effortlessly through joints, tendons and bones.
- After prepping food, use the wide blade to scoop ingredients into your pot or mixing bowl.
- Stainless-steel handle is seamlessly constructed and textured for a good grip.
- Crafted to professional standards, this knife is lightweight yet perfectly balanced.
- Dimensions & More Info
- 6 1/2"-long blade.
- 5 1/2"-long handle.
- 15.5 oz.
- Made in Japan.
- Use & Care
- Always use caution when handling sharp objects.
- Avoid cutting on hard surfaces such as stone, metal or glass.
- It is not advisable to use any knife but a meat cleaver to cut through bone or frozen food, as the blade can be easily damaged.
- Hand-wash with warm water and a mild detergent. Rinse and dry immediately.
- Use the honing steel only when you feel the knife has lost some of its original sharpness, usually no sooner than six months after its first use. As you continue to use your Global knife, it will require more frequent honing. If you need to hone your knife more than once every two weeks, it is time to have it sharpened.
- Sharpen your knife at home using a whetstone or knife sharpener, or have it sharpened by a professional.
- Store knife in a safe place to protect its edge and prevent injury.
- Shipping
Shipping Information
UPS can deliver most in-stock items within 3–5 business days. UPS is unable to deliver to P.O. boxes.
Shipping Rates
The shipping rate varies depending on your order total and shipping destination. View Shipping Options and Charges.
Next Day Delivery
For an additional charge of $26 per address, we can expedite delivery to most destinations. This service is not available for some oversize items, items shipped directly from the supplier (including perishable and custom-manufactured items), out-of-stock items and items to be shipped outside the contiguous 48 states.
Orders received by 9:00 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday will arrive the next business day; orders placed Friday through Sunday will arrive on the following Tuesday.
Return Policy
At Williams Sonoma, we take great pride in the quality and craftsmanship of our products. Attention to design, materials, safety and construction are our priority. Upon receipt, please inspect your purchase and notify us of any damage; we will arrange for a prompt replacement.
If within 30 days, you are dissatisfied for any reason, you may return your purchase for a refund of the merchandise value. An original receipt or gift receipt is required for all returns and exchanges. Returns with a gift receipt will be refunded in the form of a Merchandise Credit for the amount indicated on the gift receipt. Returns with original receipt will be refunded in the original form of payment, cash and check refunds over $100 will be issued as a company check (may take 14 business days from time of request).
For all cutlery returns (knife sets, single knives, cutting boards, knife sharpeners and knife storage), please contact us at 888.922.4108 to initiate the return.
We cannot accept returns on monogrammed, personalized, special-order items, custom upholstery, food, items shipped direct from the vendor or on items damaged through normal wear and tear. Final sale items ending in .97 or .99 cannot be returned.
Made to Order and Final Sale Furniture items are non-returnable and cannot be cancelled once the order is placed.
For returns of items purchased from your Williams Sonoma Gift Registry, we will gladly provide a refund or exchange for the merchandise within 90 days of your event or within 90 days of purchase, whichever date is later. View Full Returns Policy.
- Free Knife Sharpening in Stores
Working with a sharp knife is safer, more effective and much less tiring than trying to cut and slice with a dull one. To ensure top performance, bring your favorite knife into your local store and one of our cutlery experts will give it a fresh, new edge using our precision equipment. The first knife is free; each additional knife is just $5.
Our stores also offer knife demonstrations to teach you the correct grip, positioning and basic knife techniques and can help you find the perfect cutlery for your needs – just ask a store associate for assistance.
- Price Match Guarantee
Williams Sonoma Price Match Guarantee
At Williams Sonoma, we're committed to bringing you the best quality at the best prices.
If you find a lower price on any of our products, we'll match it—guaranteed. Click here for details.
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Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
Rated 3 out of 5 by Judge321 from Not what I expected This cleaver has good weight and is useful for cutting up poultry. The edge is not near as sharp as I expected (having had many good experiences with Global knives) and is not well adapted for dicing or mincingDate published: 2015-05-31Rated 5 out of 5 by Ellendy from A Great Investment I had been eyeing this cleaver for about six months, and received it as a gift about a month ago. I researched all the cleavers and found that this was the best rated, even by Cook's Illustrated (no paid ads, no conflicts of interest). It makes short work of chicken backs, which will yield a super rich broth, provided your cleaver is up to the task of thoroughly whacking them. I love the one-piece design, which makes it super easy to clean. It is perfectly balanced and feels good in the hand. I have been keeping the edge honed with the Global Mino-sharp III. I don't think that I will ever have to replace this cleaver.Date published: 2013-03-19


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December 19, 2008
Breaking: Caylee Anthony's Remains Officially, Positively Identified
* UPDATE: Casey Anthony Sentenced to 4 Years Minus Time Served: Jurors Felt Sick Over Verdict Little Caylee Anthony's remains have been positively, officially identified. Dr. Jan Garavaglia of the Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner's Office ( "Dr. G") made the announcement, saying: "With regret I am here to inform you that the remains found on December […]Read More..>>


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Larry rounds up all the decent (and some not-so-decent) thrash releases for the headbang-happy year of 2017.
Tag Archives: Lich King
Jonathan's Top 50 of 2017
The diverse spectrum that encompasses metal music's many sub-genres could be likened to various mythical races united under two opposing banners, staring each other down as they make ready to charge and turn the field red with the other's blood. From one year to the next, the advantage may tip from one side to the other, but in the grand scheme of their eternal conflict, the forces of light and darkness have tended to be equally matched. 2017 saw the forces of melody and order take the advantage in the eyes of the reclusive bard that tells this end of the year tale, though naturally his is not the final word on such things, and other codices in the grand archives of metallic exploits deserve your consideration. Still, these are the 50 acts of heroism that defined the year, because too much has occurred to settle for a mere 30.


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Custom Brewing Company // 1 Aluminum Sign // Indoor or Outdoor // 12" x 16"
Custom Rustic Metal Signs:
CUSTOM DETAILS: Please list your design requests in your cart by clicking "Add a note to your order". A proof will be sent and will require your approval before the sign is made.
Item Description: Designed with a vintage rustic feel. This Original artwork is printed on high-quality *Vinyl, with top-of-the-line water-based curable *HP Latex Inks, and then mounted to *aluminum, which can be cut to most any size.
Item Size: Item size is listed in the product title.
Custom Sizes: Please message me if you would like a different size. I can make a custom listing to cover the price difference.
Ships with recycled wrap and cardboard for protection.
Material Details:
*Aluminum: all signs are made with a lightweight, rust resistant, coated aluminum.
*HP Latex Ink: UL ECOLOGO, UL GREENGUARD GOLD Certified Inks. Prints meetAgBB criteria. This scratch and scuff resistant high-density inks provide superior fade resistance and durability for signs that last.
*Vinyl: all designs are printed on a permanent self-adhesive waterproof outdoor vinyl
*** Outdoor signs should be mounted against a flat surface using all four pre-drilled holes.