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Inspired by conversations on the FOOD52 Hotline, we're sharing tips and tricks that make navigating all of our kitchens easier and more fun. Today, we go back to the pantry-staple basics with a classic standby: rice.
You must think we've lost all of our faith in your cooking. Every last drop.
First, we accused you of not knowing the basics of pasta. Now rice? In terms of the chronology of your culinary education, rice may have even beat pasta to the stove.
We swear we still trust you know your basics, and that if you invited us to dinner, we would come, gladly and in anticipation, even if rice was on the menu. Today, we're just revisiting another staple. We've got rinsing, soaking, steaming, and fluffing to worry about, and that's to say nothing of the myriad of different types. It's enough to make us crazy -- or, in the world of Food52, it's enough to make two unnamed staffers painstakingly dissect mixed rice blends for a photo shoot. And then write you a column.
There's a Reason You Were Put Through Algebra And it was so that you could accurately calculate your rice varietals. Long grain classifies rice grains that are at least three times long as they are wide, and everything less than this is medium grain. Short grain rice, though usually combined into the medium grain category, has grains that are less than twice as long as they are wide. Good news: even if you didn't pass math with flying colors, the package will usually do the work for you.
White When it comes to rice, this is your workhorse -- it's a standby all-purpose dish for soaking up stews, stir-fries, and for stocking the sides of plates. If you don't have a bag in your pantry already, you'll recognize it by its distinct, long grains and mild flavor. When using the absorption method (cooking rice with a set amount of water until that water is absorbed) with a 2:1 ratio, cooking time will run you about 15-20 minutes. Which is just enough time to whip up this hearty main.
Short Grain White Another popular starchy blank slate, this rice is in many ways the same old friend to your stews, just with a shorter grain and a slightly denser, stickier texture.
Brown Brown rice is like the crunchy, hippie version of white rice. It's how white rice begins, as the original unrefined whole grain, before the bran and the germ are removed. Because of this, it retains a lot more nutrients and a pleasantly nutty flavor, but also a much longer cooking time. Leave it to its devices on the stove for a full 40 minutes, and then use it to soak up your gumbo.
Short Grain Brown The main difference here is texture: short-grain is much chewier than its longer sibling. For both, since the whole grain is left intact, it has a much shorter shelf life than all other rices. Instead of 1 to 3 years, brown rice can spoil in as little as 6 months -- store it in the refrigerator to help stall this process.
Sushi Of all the rices, sushi rice might be the most by-the-book. It's got rules, hard and fast ones -- but they're worth following. The short grain rice should always be rinsed for best results (until the water runs clear!), and after cooking, it meets a traditional mixture of sugar, salt, and rice vinegar for seasoning. The most noticeable difference? It's extremely sticky from its high starch content.
Black Forbidden Doesn't its name make you want to steam it that much more? Before you do, we're giving you a quick history lesson: legend has it that this rice was grown for the emperors of China. So, really, steam this, and you'll be eating like a king. Who knew royalty had a thing for unmilled whole grains? Its nutty flavor works especially well in rice puddings, but it can take up to 60 minutes to cook. Soak it to cut the cooking time in half, and be sure to refrigerate all unused grains.
Bomba Rice Other than having a festive name, Bomba rice has another thing going for it: unlike other rice that expands in width, when it absorbs liquid it expands lengthwise. It can also absorb up to three times its volume in liquid, which makes it perfect for -- you guessed it -- paella. Most use the rice exclusively for paella, but we'll let you in on another secret: since it can absorb so much liquid, it's really hard to overcook. We just found a new dinner party food for you.
Rice for Risotto (Arborio, Carnaroli, or Vialone Nano) When this medium grain rice is stirred (and stirred and stirred) into liquid, it releases its starches to create a thickened sauce. (You know this sauce best by its broth, wine, and healthy dose of Parmesan cheese.) 25 minutes will usually release the grains' starches and cook them to al dente. Use your leftovers for dessert -- risotto rice makes a mean rice pudding.
Jasmine Jasmine rice, found in both white and brown varieties, is a long grain rice from Thailand that has a distinct, floral aroma. When cooked (about 20 minutes will do the trick), rice kernels stick together, making it a great choice for bulking up stir fries or lentil dishes. Always be sure to rinse this variety before cooking to remove the extra starch.
Basmati In Sanskrit, Basmati means "fragrant one" -- cook using the absorption method for 20 minutes, and you'll see why. These long grains have a slightly sweeter aroma and taste than your standard white rice. It comes in both brown and white, and is sometimes sold under the name Texmati. Fun fact: the best Basmatis are aged (some up to 2 years!) to concentrate their flavors. Aged, dehyrdated rices like these expand more during the cooking process, creating a longer, fluffier end product. Some swear by soaking this rice first -- let it sit for 2 hours in cold water, and cut the cooking time in half.
The Wild Ones Those beautiful, multi-colored, long grains of rice you love to pepper your pilafs with? Yeah, those aren't actually rice at all. (How'd they sneak in here?) Wild rice refers to the seeds of marsh grass, which have a nutty flavor and distinctively split open when cooked. Be warned, it plays hard to get (though from its name, we wouldn't expect anything else). Normally, it takes around an hour to cook. Set the table, check the rest of your meal, pour yourself a glass of wine -- by the time you're done, it will be too.
Stay tuned for next week, when we'll break down cooking methods for your precious grains.
See what other Food52 readers are saying.


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Edelway SA is a Swiss IT Services company with over 200 consultants on assignment in Switzerland and Europe. We are now looking for a Junior Change/Communication consultant to join our international team at our global clients in Suisse Romande (Geneva/Lausanne). Fluency in English is required. French or German will be a plus.
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Antoine Dodson Appears in Court to Face Weed & Speeding Charges! "I Dont Deserve To Be Here. I Never Got In Trouble For Nothing In My Life"
Antoine Dodson appeared in a Huntsville, Alabama court
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text: Warning: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead in ..../includes/class_bootstrap.php(430) : eval()'d code on line 110 Show Groups - OAUG Configurator SIG Advanced Search Register or Login Login to Your Account Remember Me? Register What's New? Forum Forum Home FAQ Calendar Forum Actions Mark Forums Read Quick Links View Site Leaders Show Groups This forum is open only for registered and approved members of Configurator SIG. Please Log in in to view and update discussion threads. Please use your FirstName.LastName format for registering your username and email the registration form as well to complete the registration process. http://configsig.oaug.org/Membership.php?page=Membership Show Groups Administrators adnan.anwar Location Charlotte, NC Brion.Schweers karen.fontaine Site.Administrator Site.Administrator1 Location Austin, TX tarun.sharma Location San Francisco / Bay Area Vinay.Kruttiventi Super Moderators Location Charlotte, NC Brion.Schweers Location Austin, TX tarun.sharma Location San Francisco / Bay Area Vinay.Kruttiventi Quick Navigation Show Groups Top Site Areas Settings Private Messages Subscriptions Who's Online Search Forums Forums Home Forums OAUG Configurator SIG Discussion Forum General Announcements & Upcoming SIG Events Functional Threads Technical Threads Performance Threads FCE Related Questions and Threads porno izle sex hikayeleri xnxx izle porno oral seks anal seks porn porn About us What is Configurator SIG? The Oracle Configurator SIG is open to all users of the Oracle Configurator software. This special interest group is composed entirely of volunteers, charges no membership dues and is constantly seeking new members. We hope you will plan to attend one of our SIG Meetings to meet other SIG members and share your knowledge and concerns. The SIG is centered around both OAUG and Oracle OpenWorld along with monthly Best Practice conference calls. The group consists of all different types of users, those with much experience and those who have not yet begun implementing Oracle Configurator. It's a forum for Oracle Configurator users so that they can share "lessons learned" and their successful implementations. Our motto is Users Helping Users. We have tried to provide information that will benefit both Functional End Users of Oracle Configurator as well as Technical Administrators. We will make every attempt to provide you with timely and updated information. If you have comments about this site please email firstname.lastname@example.com Links configsig.oaug.org -- Default Style -- Style_ConfigSIG -- Metro -- Metro Fluid -- Default Mobile Style Contact Us | Archive | Top All times are GMT -8. The time now is 01:56 AM. Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.2 Copyright © 2020 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved. Forum and Site sponsored by Config Consultants Corp vBulletin Metro Theme by PixelGoose Studio


text: marioman 44 Posted July 13, 2010 (edited) Defqon is coming up so we need a hardstyle thread! we got the hard trance thread, theres hiphop house electro and rnb threads so i figured we need all us spastic kids to have one for us. Post up your favorites, great hits and whatever your rocking too atm! im just loving this at the moment, when zany dropped this in melbourne so f**king hard the other month it was amazing love that aggresive shit! Edited July 13, 2010 by marioman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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Promoting trusted and responsible cloud cofor government
SafeGov.org is a forum for IT providers and leading industry experts dedicated to promoting trusted and responsible cloud computing solutions for the public sector. By fostering a more comprehensive understanding of cloud technologies, including their benefits, capabilities and limitations, SafeGov.org works to empower government users to make well-informed procurement choices from the growing universe of marketplace offerings.
SafeGov.org will:
- Propose solutions, best practices and guidance to ensure that public sector customers can seize the advantages of new cloud offerings while mitigating risk.
- Provide detailed information that governments need to make complex decisions about shifting enterprise services to the cloud.
- Provide a comprehensive platform for leading experts and analysts to discuss issues affecting the broader cloud sector.
- Help foster healthy discussions of innovations and advancements in cloud computing by tracking policy developments, news coverage, and expert analysis and research.
- Promote open competition and safe, secure, and responsible IT practices.
- Data storage and integrity: Government users have the right to know how and where their data is stored and that it is stored without compromising data integrity.
- Cloud architecture choice: The right for government customers to choose a cloud architecture that best meets their needs.
- Accurate vendor representations: The commitment of vendors to clearly and accurately represent their capabilities, costs and ability to conform to government standards.
- Security and privacy: The top priorities for any cloud solution should be to provide maximum security and well-defined privacy policies that reflect the interests of government customers.
- Level playing field: The need for open competition based on well-defined implementation and procurement policies.
What's At StakeYOUR DATA
The adoption of cloud computing in the public sector promises lower costs and more efficient use of computing resources. As with all technology paradigm shifts, however, hurdles to its broad-scale adoption and implementation remain. Today, illegal incursions into government systems are a real threat to sensitive, confidential information. Everyone -- from the U.S. military and law enforcement agencies, Medicare and Social Security recipients, and students and school personnel - is at risk if cloud computing solutions fail to adhere to the highest standards of safety and security. The perception of this elevated risk only heightens security concerns associated with the decision to implement cloud technologies. Furthermore, while political mandates like "Cloud First" the need for the gradual movement of government IT services towards the cloud, the enactment of such policy is threatened by budget cutbacks and the departure of key personnel.
Still, recent estimates from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget underscore the considerable financial impact of cloud implementation in the Federal government. Of a total of $80 billion in federal IT spending, $20 billion will likely move to the cloud. OMB assessments predict that the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of the Treasury will employ cloud computing on the largest scale, with nearly $2.4 billion in spending forecasted in each agency.
When cloud computing is done correctly, there is the potential for governments to get more value out of tax dollars.
The importance of identifying the right approach to implementing these technologies is paramount. When cloud solutions are not done correctly, they cost more than the current infrastructure and introduce security and compliance headaches that jeopardize the ability of government entities to meet their IT goals. Government users must exercise discipline and demand greater transparency in vendor privacy and security practices before trusting them with sensitive information. With an unprecedented amount of private data from consumers going into the cloud, the stakes for government agencies and the taxpayers they represent are tremendous.


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Individual innovators thrive in Sri Lanka
[COLOMBO] Sri Lanka's innovators need state recognition and funding to foster an innovation culture, a meeting has heard.
"Our inventors need state recognition, society's appreciation and funding to commercialise their ideas," Tissa Vitharana, Sri Lanka's senior minister for science, said at a ceremony to award the country's innovators last month (17 Oct) in Colombo.
Despite limited government support to build a culture of innovation, Sri Lanka has recorded several successes through individual initiatives, the meeting heard.
For example, to build a prototype of his design for a safer, more efficient coir extraction machin, innovator Dhammika Rathnayake had to sell away his personal possessions.
While Rathnayake has recouped his losses, other Sri Lankan innovators have generally failed to find the funding needed to develop and commercialise their prototypes.
Rathnayake was one of six contenders for the 'Ray Award' for innovations by Sri Lankans, launched this year and named for the engineer, aviator and innovator Ray Wijewardene.
The prize went to Indresri Karunathilaka for his 'waveless' boat design. He hopes to use the prize money to launch a fleet of eco-friendly passenger boats that can ply on Sri Lanka's ecologically fragile waterways.
"Most of the inventors here developed on their own," said Shantha Lenadora, whose pneumatic retractor limits tissue damage in abdominal surgeries. The device bagged a gold medal at the 40th international exhibition of inventions in Geneva, in 2011.
Lenadora told SciDev.Net that he felt hamstrung by a lack of marketing skills and funds to pay for expensive patents to tap the US and other big markets.
Malik Ranasinghe, chairman of the Ray Wijewardene Trust, said inventors need centres where they can "incubate" ideas, develop them into working prototypes and chalk out smart business plans.
"The only organisation that is legally entitled to set up incubators in the government sector is the Sri Lanka Inventors Commission (SLIC)," said Ranasinghe. "They are not really playing that role."
"I didn't have any support from the government or third party in building prototype of my coir extractor," said Rathnayake at the award function. "I sold my vehicle, my land and even my wife's jewellery."
Commercial banks, Ranasinghe said, were disinclined to support "risky ventures". The Ray award carries prize money worth 1 million Sri Lankan rupees (US$7,680), besides offering technical advice and guidance from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.
Deepal Sooriyaarachchi, SLIC chairman, told SciDev.Net that his organisation was narrowing its role to one of playing catalyst. In September SLIC mounted the first ever national exhibition for inventors. SLIC's new website facilitates funders and innovators to team up and also helps corporations present their technical problems to innovators so that solutions can be developed.


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Article published in the June 25 Paulding County Progress:
By JOE SHOUSE
Progress Staff Writer
PAULDING — Within the past few weeks, the future for wind energy in Paulding County and neighboring Van Wert County has most likely taken on a new look. Two recent changes from Columbus may reverse the future countryside scenery for several proposed #windfarms in Paulding County.
However, more important than the change of scenery will be the financial impact and potential loss of income. Wind farm revenue has been responsible for benefiting schools as well as several county and township entities.
On Friday, June 13, Senate Bill 310 was signed into law by Ohio Gov. John Kasich, putting a two-year hiatus on renewable-energy standards in the state. Then Monday, June 16, Kasich put his signature on House Bill 483 without using a line item which would have eliminated stiffer requirements for setbacks of wind turbines from property lines.
EDP Renewables, which operates the Timber Road II Wind Farm, will be forced to shelve their next two phases for clean renewable energy.
"We have two projects we want to build but will need to shelve for now," said Erin Bowser, director of Project Management. "Our permits are approved by the siting board and we have everything we need to proceed. What we don't have is a contract with a utility to buy the power. And with the two-year freeze we won't have a contract due to the standard changes."
Timber Road II is Ohio's first industrial scale wind farm consisting of 55 wind turbines producing 99 mega watts of clean renewable energy. In 2013, Timber Road II provided approximately $1.3 million. With the passage of Senate Bill 310 and House Bill 483, the county could lose $2.6 in projected new income.
"With the freeze and changes taking place, it basically takes away from us the ability to market our product," said Bowser.
State Representative Tony Burkley, supporter of the wind farms said, "The thought was that a review be made concerning the previous standards and how they are being met. I certainly would have preferred not to go with the two-year moratorium. This is certainly not going to benefit Paulding or Van Wert county," he concluded.
While no official announcement has been made concerning the future of locally constructed wind farms by Iberdrola Renewables, Project Developer Dan Litchfield said on Tuesday, June 17, "We are disappointed with the two recent changes in Ohio's energy policy, both their substance and the process by which the setback requirements were changed. The setback provision specifically had no opportunity for public comment or input."
Iberdrola Renewables has 37 turbines in Paulding County with a total of 152 within the entire Blue Creek wind farm project.
"This is the fourth attempt in three years to make changes and get this particular bill passed. The setback change was done a little sneaky. The budget bill was a 1,200-page document and the setback provision was stuck on the last page. There was no opportunity for testimony or comment," said Litchfield.
Ohio law says turbines had to be 1,250 feet away from the nearest inhabited residence. The new revision of House Bill 483 now states turbines must be 1,250 from the nearest property line.
The new setbacks will make any new wind farm difficult to design. Of the 150 turbines at Blue Creek Wind Farm, only 12 would adhere to the new law. But even with the new setback distances in force, Ohio State Senator Cliff Hite stated that property owners could still proceed if a waiver was signed.
"If somebody wants to waive that stipulation, they may. (You would only lose that many turbines) only if nobody waives their rights," Hite pointed out.
Hite voted in favor of both measures.
Litchfield said, "We are currently assessing our options for future investment in Ohio, but there's no question that more investment in Ohio just became a much riskier proposition. We've made no decisions on Ohio. We are discussing and evaluating our options. It's frustrating but it appears that for Ohio everything looks almost impossible."
A statement directly from the American Wind Energy Association was harsher in tone, quoting AWEA CEO Tom Kiernan as saying that Kasich and the legislature "are creating an unfriendly business environment in Ohio."
Kiernan went on to say, "Legislators rammed through restrictive rules without due process, and millions of dollars already invested based on the previous set of rules may now be lost without any public debate. This will force clean energy developers and manufacturers to move to neighboring states with similar resources and friendlier business climates."
Sen. Hite, a wind energy-backer, explained that with changes in the marketplace, perhaps having 25 percent of the state's energy coming from renewable energy by 2025 needed to be reexamined.
"It was time to have another look at exactly what we were doing with our in-state standards and making sure that the average Ohioan is getting the best bang for their buck," Hite shared.
"That was the purpose of this. Things have changed since we set up those standards. We didn't know about natural gas and the supply that exists today. That has kind of changed the game a little bit as far as what does give the best bang for your buck. It's a competitive game and a it's market game and we have to look at it and try to find out what is the best we can do for Ohioans. So to have a pause for a couple of years is not a bad thing."
Hite noted that Blue Creek will be grandfathered in to the new rules. Actually, any wind farm approved by the Ohio Power Siting Board currently qualifies to be built. Any changes to the specifics of the development cannot be changed without being brought under the new measurements for setbacks.
Hite concluded simply, "I'm not as optimistic for new projects as I was a year or two ago."
"This is an Ohio job killer, pure and simple," wrote Mark Goodwin, president of Apex Clean Energy. With the setback requirement, he wrote, Apex "will have no choice but to take its investment and its business elsewhere. Given the need to find new carbon-free sources of electricity in Ohio, we cannot imagine a worse time to send wind energy companies packing."
Whether Iberdrola comes to the same conclusion remains to be seen. In a statement, the AWEA said, "The American wind industry has generated major economic benefits for Ohio, which ranks first in the nation for the number of wind energy manufacturing facilities with more than 60 in the state.
"Yet there was no opportunity for the regulators at the Ohio Power Siting Board, nor a single wind company operating or developing in Ohio, to comment or provide testimony on this matter during its short one-week consideration in the General Assembly…
"Gov. John Kasich and the Legislature abandoned $2.5 billion in current wind energy projects, which now face cancellation along with jobs, leases, payments to local governments, and orders for factories, over a needlessly restrictive setback requirement that Kasich signed into law."
– Additional reporting by Ed Gebert, DHI Media


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The 35-year-old is regarded as the best spinner in all three formats of the game, and was instrumental in Pakistan's rout of the world's then best Test team England in the United Arab Emirates last year.
He said the Saeed Ajmal International Cricket Academy, in the eastern Pakistani city of Faisalabad, will be free of charge to budding cricketers.
"I want to groom the enormous talent in the country and no fee will be charged in my academy because I don't want the players to suffer the ordeal I did in coming to this stage," Ajmal said at the launch.
The academy, spread over eight acres (3.2 hectares) at Faisalabad's Agriculture University, will cost around 70 million rupees ($720,000) to set up, with an initial 30 million rupees provided by Ajmal himself.
The Pakistan government has also donated 10 million rupees.
"I am thankful to the prime minister for his financial help and hope that the government and affluent people of the country will help me more," Ajmal said. "I will also go house-to-house for donations."
Ajmal has so far taken 122 Test and 117 one-day wickets, and is also the highest wicket-taker in Twenty20 cricket with 71.
Pakistan is rich in natural cricketing talent but hundreds of young people fail to make the grade due to lack of facilities in a country marred by poor governance and Islamist militant attacks.
The Pakistan Cricket Board lauched its own cricket academy in 2000 in the eastern city of Lahore and also has regional academies in the cities of Karachi, Rawalpindi and Peshawar. (AFP)


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Home > Eyeglasses > Nike > NIKE 7090 (320)
NIKE 7090 is available in 8 additional attractive styles
Size and availability
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French Permanent Polish Pink Barbie 15 ml
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It can also be used as a regular polish to get a nice opaque color (between a base layer and a topcoat layer).
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S k a t e L o g F o r u m
Inline Skating and Quad Roller Skating
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|Inline Artistic Discussions about artistic skating on inline figure skates.
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|June 6th, 2017, 03:47 AM
Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 1
New to Snow White skates
Hello Everyone,
I recently purchased snow white skates and I love them. Originally I started artistic skating on urban rollerblades. My question is when will I get used to using the toe pick in jumps as simple as the waltz jump for example? How should I incorporate the toe pick and what height should to toe pick be at? Thank you for your input.
|August 9th, 2017, 04:23 PM
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 29
Just seeing this post but congrats on the new skates. I started in urban rollerblades and then went to the Pic Skate. It was a bit too squirrely for me and I final settled on the Atlas Inline plate (which isn't made any more). It's similar to the snow white frame but a bit more chunky/hefty in size.
It didn't take me too long to get used to the toe pick. Jumps like the waltz jump, salchow, and loop really won't use much of the toe pick at all. You can pretty much skate the edge of the wheels to get the spring you need. I would use the toe pic of course for the toe loops, flip and lutz. The toe pick can be used to assist with that last bit of umph for the axel but I'm used to quad skate axels so I don't really use mine at all on my inlines.
That being said just take your time and walk through everything slowly until you get the confidence, strength and speed when learning a new technique. My coach always told me one thing at a time and break it into as many pieces as you need until it gets easy.
BTW I think I saw you on Youtube on you urban inlines (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_6...kpfzYmZdr3KCEA). Got any videos of your new skates yet?
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Say hello to Adele's doppelganger.
Some fans may have been seeing double when the singer allowed a superfan to take the stage at her concert in Birmingham, England, Tuesday evening.
It all began before showtime when Emily Bamforth caught the attention of many fans around the arena. After strangers began asking the 27-year-old if she was Adele, her fiancé Tom took to Twitter in hopes of grabbing Adele's attention.
U.S. & World
Stories that affect your life across the U.S. and around the world.
"Everyone thinks my girlfriend is you!" Tom wrote on social media. "She's been asked 10 times now!"
He continued, "4 rows from the front and people won't stop saying my fiancé looks like Adele!"
As it turns out, all the posts paid off because the singer ultimately wanted to see what the fuss was about. After a brief introduction and a huge hug on stage, the pair was able to snap a selfie to the delight of many fans.
"@Adele made my fiancés day, month, year!" Tom wrote, sharing a picture many fans could only dream of. "Thank you for the massive amount of brownie points!"
He added, "Not bad for a girl from northampton hey!"
To say Adele's worldwide tour has been filled with surprises may just be the understatement of the year. Whether helping couples propose or twerking for a few lucky fans, the "Someone Like You" singer has been keeping fans entertained nonstop.
As for her devoted fans in the states, your time is coming soon. Her North American tour dates begin July 5 in St. Paul, Minneapolis.
PHOTOS: Singers performing live and in concert


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I just upgraded from Ubuntu 11.10 to 12.04 on an HP Mini netbook, and I have quite an annoying problem: there is no mouse cursor. On the login screen, I can see the cursor, but I cannot move it (neither with the USB mouse, nor with the touchpad). After I login, the cursor disappears.
I also installed on a virtual machine, on a different computer, and there everything works fine.
Does anyone else experience this?
Or do you know how I could fix this?


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The world is full of good used LP's and CD's. Old farts keep dying or moving into care homes and their families ditch "Grandpa's crap" at the Sally Anne thrift store, or at a yard sale. Today I got 31 mint jazz CD's at the Sally Anne for $2 each, minus a 10% senior's discount. Two days ago I got 15 mint classical CD's at a yard sale at 5 for $12. I gave the seller my contact info in case her 80 year old husband wants to sell more. The fun of such foraging is that you never know what you'll find. You take a $2 flyer on an unfamiliar artist and might be surprised. I say keep our musical heritage out of the landfill - buy used records and CD's!
Start Making Sense
Long before that, the market for physical mediamusic, movies, books, publicationswill have shrunk to a size you could drown in a bathtub. Yes, oldsters and a smattering of hipsters will keep the faith, because we like to hold stuff in our hands. But long before that, everyone else will have jumped ship. It's already happeninga lot of kids use YouTube as their primary source of music. Pandora has 75 million "active" listeners, though only a small portion of them are paying customers. And at only $10/month, those folks are still spending a lot more on music than does the average person.
Those metrics are hard to swallow. I buy four or five new CDs/LPs a month, and lots more used albums. That may be a little more than the average audiophile spends on music, but most of my non-audiophile pals haven't bought music in a very long time. Ask your friends and relatives about their buying habits, then see if they use music-streaming services, podcasts, YouTube, or Internet radio.
And it's not just "civilians" who are moving on. A recording-engineer friend recently confessed that he's now a Spotify subscriber and, to reduce clutter, is selling off his entire collection of LPs and CDs. When he swore he'd never buy another album, I at first thought he was just trying to get a rise out of me. He was dead serious. He's tired of the gamehe just wants to enjoy music without it being the central focus of his life. He's checked out.
I won't follow his example. I love having a large collection of LPs, CDs, SACDs, and DVD-Audio discs, and the memories that arise every time I play one of them. They've been a constant in my life, some for more than 50 years, and I can't imagine why I'd ever cut them loose. I have free subscriptions to Spotify and Pandora, but they don't do a lot for me. I find new music by hanging out in record stores and listening to podcasts, such as WNYC's New Sounds and NPR's All Songs Considered.
When I find music I like, I buy it. Sometimes, I make a bad call. Boo-hoothat's the way it goes. Not every expensive restaurant meal satisfies, and sometimes you're going to see a movie or show that sucks. I'm willing to keep buying music, because I want to help support musicians when I can. Maybe, just maybe, if more folks did that, more bands would squeeze out albums faster than at today's pace of one every three or four years.
Yet I have to admit that Geiger's presentation alerted me to the very real possibility of a paradigm shift. He thinks that, in the long run, Google or Apple will crush Spotify, Pandora, and Beats Music in the streaming game. A couple of giants calling the shots in the music world is a scary thought, but Geiger projects one, two, even three billion users worldwide in 10 years. Even with "only" a half-billion streaming customers paying $10/month, that's $60 billion a year from streamed music.
Ten years is not so far away. Yes, some portion of the subscriber base will opt for free services supported by advertising, but even sowhen the streaming services have hundreds of millions of users, the ad income will be substantial. It's still very early in the streaming gamethe big changes and corporate moves are still at least a few years away.
Stereophile readers tend to have large music collections, but there's no reason we can't take advantage of what the streaming services will offer. It's hard to resist the temptations of 10 or 20 million tracks at your beck and call. Geiger didn't mention high-resolution streaming, but I'd expect that premium-price subscription rates will provide additional incomeit's bound to happen. In France, Qobuz.com already offers 16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC streaming, and bona-fide hi-rez streams can't be too far away. Would you pay $30$40/month for access to a vast library of hi-rez recordings? To download a few hi-rez albums, that price might be really compelling.
In the near future, there may come a day when some of your favorite music won't be offered on physical formats or as downloads: If you want to hear what's new, you'll have to subscribe. That's not so different from how it works with some TV shows today: If you want to see House of Cards or Orange Is the New Black when they are new, you have to pony up for a Netflix subscription.
And the future of vinyl? Before I give up my LPs, Marc Geiger will to have to pry them from my cold, dead fingers. But I don't think it will come to that. From the vantage point of mid-2014, it's looking as if the LP will be the last surviving physical format. It's the one you can't get for "free." Of course, Geiger's forecasts may turn out to be wildly off the mark. The worst-case scenario is that we'd be back to the status quo. I could live with that.Steve Guttenberg
I don't believe streaming or digital compete with vinyl - I think vinyl is competing with all forms of media/digital entertainment - TV, YouTube, podcasts, movies, DVRs, even selfies are all competing for an audience. I have some great gear and don't want to distract from the topic by reviewing it, BUT... try to get family, friends, party goers to sit down while you place a profound musical event on your turntable - sound stage, air, depth... how long does their attention span last? No crashes, flashes, jokes, close calls, explosions - literally nothing to see - yet the recreation of a musical event is occurring right in front of them -- if you are old enough (quite) - ask yourself (or a grand/parent) when the last time was they/you listened to a sitcom or play on your radio, rather than TV? If they did not experience this during those formative years then how will this be a profound or intimate event for them? The music is always the most important part, yet a great song can be heard through any piece of equipment and be enjoyed. Periodically though, I do get a chance to play some great music for someone, a daughter's boyfriend or a bored guest and see their interest and face light up when they hear a song they like with a near live performance quality. Trouble is where do you tell them to go to purchase or replicate the equipment? Truthfully there are not as many independent audio retailers as we need to carry on this obsession -- everything must be visual, verbal, and guided now -- never be a wine (audio) snob and say you taste(hear) something they cannot (Ugh!) --lamenting change will not keep us going, we must fill the showrooms - everyone growing up had an uncle or neighbor who had totally cool stereo gear, even if it was a Magnavox Console (or Bose 901s?!) and as a child you were pretty much forbidden from touching it, yet ... if you were able to put on a record or roll the volume, as well as the treble and base knobs, it was nearly as profound as that first time you drove a car.
So, my recommendation, if you want to see an analog format in ten years, the next time you get an opportunity to demo a record, let the friend or guest pick the record, and (gulp!) place it on your turntable, lower the arm and... play - ownership of the experience is the key I think. All the best to everyone in your audio pursuits.
I think the article should be qualified to say that the big money will be in streaming, and/or the media attention will shift to streaming, etc. etc. But, no matter how many times the analysts and pundits repeat the mantra of "the Cloud" or "streaming on demand", the fact is that audiophiles will want playback that's uninterrupted and completely clean, if not perfect fidelity. For me, clean and uninterrupted are a very high priority, and streaming will never achieve that no matter how much subscription money you throw at it. I suppose you could stream your music into a storage unit of some kind for later playback, like those boxes that record subscription TV programs for later playback, but audiophiles would want more assurance than "It should play back uninterrupted later, and it should be fairly clean...."
Oh this Changing World .
As a High-End Audio ( Analog ) retailer back in the 1980's I cringed at the new CD 16/44.1 , now , Today , the DACs are better than my best Koetsu / VPI Edison Player's very best performances , thank goodness .
I suppose I'm slower to change now as these "newer" internet-based concepts present themselves , grand promises from pleasant introductory voices of reason .
My Hard Copies are priceless , they all seem to improve with advances in DAC technology i.e. MSB analog Dac as an example of astonishing levels of revealed Musical renderings never before realized , on 16/44.1 no less , who needs 24/192 ?
I think that I need my iTunes library in lossless , it organizes and remembers . There is no way possible for me to remember all the great 4 and 5 Star music I now have at my fingertips , even when I'm off-the-Grid somewhere .
However , I will subscribe , IF I can download and Hard Copy to a Hard Disc CD for my long term storage in the event of a Computer Hard Drive Failure ( again ) .
All my music stored is my Treasure Chest of delights , I pledge that I will never abandon the Actual Hard Copies , especially in favor of a collection compiled by a DJ service prone to go out of business or modified by the Bean Counters .
You did well to reveal the temptations of a possible Billions of Dollars Industry that drives the Futurists to con jour an access to a very large Slice of that percieved "Gold Mine" . Extrapolating out the possible Future of the Music Industry is a timely exercise of the Science Fictionists among us . All industries have these futurists making predictions , the Second Generation Google Car is a good example of this .
Now as a personal note ; I wrote to Tyll this morning , thanking him for his insights into this Headphone concept , I would like to now thank You as well . Both you and Tyll in the Frozen North represent the rarest of all types : those that say what they mean and mean what they say ! I have made numerous purchased based on your recommendations , all these investments proved successful , not a single dud , no buyer remorse ever set in , a phenomenal 100% Track Record .
I don't do Audio Shows anymore , ( I have done many a CES in my day and don't miss them at all ) , the point is that I can absorb your suggestions , contemplate the investment and act , relying on your wisdoms to be much better informed than I could possibly arrive at from an impulse purchase from a momentary impression at a Show Booth . Both of you have proved to be 5 Star Consultants in the Musical Reproduction World ( even though I've been in the Audio Business since the 1960s selling Fisher Tube Stuff , oh my , so long ago ) .
Thank You for being there , thank you for sharing your wisdoms , thank you for taking the time and thank you for being realistic in your appraisals , I check your site every day and admire your Compass heading .
Tony Kaz in Michigan
First we had tubed FM receivers and vinyl records, which, whatever their faults, at least preserved some semblance of musical harmonics, the color of sound, the unique signature of every instrument and voice.
Then we had solid state, in which there was significant loss of harmonics, all in the name of an aseptic sterility.
Then we had CD's, in which harmonics were stripped to practically nil; but we got, in exchange, pitch stability, frequency extension and dynamic range. It was like trading in the family sedan for an extremely uncomfortable hot rod, with no room anymore for the family dog.
Then came streaming, MP3, in which even the advantages of CD's were gone. The sound rivaled old AM in how bad it was.
Ah, progress.
PS. I've been subscribing to "streaming" for years. It's called satellite radio and iTunes. Ever hear of them? Ever hear how bad the sound is?
What this guy said! Enough of this downgrading of audio quality.
I have examined the download/streaming movement. I have assessed if its offerings meet my needs. I have found that these offerings do not meet my needs. I suspect that other music enthusiasts, particularly those with deep collections of selected repertoire, most likely in the jazz and classical genres, have found the same lack of depth in the on-line music media of streaming and downloads.
Most music found on the various downloading and streaming sources tends to be from a mainstream of the various musical genres (jazz, country, classical, etc.). Or as I found when sampling Pandora, non-mainstream works tend to be copies of CD era recordings, many of which are not known for being remarkable performances.
Go to arkivmusic; go to amazon.com. Go to these sites with your 1,600 page Penguin Guides to Classical CDs, with an open mind for new releases in the classical genre, or looking for an obscure classic rendition of a work, and you will find what you will not find in the various streaming/download sites: choice, choice and more choice.
Existing repertoire in less than mainstream classical works is limited outside of the CD catalog. Go to a download site. Tell me how many recordings of Rachmaninov's Etudes Tableaux that you find (I'll bet you may not even find one). Tell me how many complete sets of Hadyn Piano Sonatas you'll find for download; tell me how you program a streaming service to get all of these works played for you in succession the way you would out of a box set of CDs.
Labels like Pentatone, Channel Classics, and BIS are bringing on exiting new artists, and previously unknown works at an impressive rate. The SACD quality of such labels' works are impressive enough for me (I won't get into the debate of how much better they might sound, with the attendant jumble of apparatus, and risk of hard-disc crashing, that one gets through downloads). In any event these works aren't to be had through these new media.
Downloads and Streaming are promising new technologies. They will work just fine for many, if not most, listeners; for this reason they may dominate "music sold." I'll even stream to a DAC from sites like ORF, Radio Nacional de Espana, and the BBC at times.
These technologies will, however, have to sweat through the work and details of building a credible and thoughtful repertoire to match what is available (new and used) in the CD medium.
Technology has changed much, but it can't meticulously build these repertoires overnight; I'd bet that many of them don't want to build these repertoires; they'd just prefer to stay on the safe ground of issuing yet another Beethoven symphony, which the devoted collector already has in life-time supply on his/her shelves.
The only good thing about streaming audio is to fill the gaps between truly great audio experiences...just wait until these people who have liquidated their solid state media have a financial hardship, they'll have nothing to listen to.
115 million people in the US have no access to broadband internet. Only mp3 at low rate is then possible. Everywhere one can get a CD and maybe a vinyl version but decent downloads speeds for lossless streaming is only easy in affluent urban areas. Also a very costly idea for wireless internet and more and more music will be "consumed" through mobile devices. So first the record producer have to convince the service providers.
I am also wondering who came up with the idea of the death of the CD. It was pronounced by magazines (including Stereophile) and equipment manufactures but there is so much more music available on CD than on any other medium. Streaming may be the future of mass market music consumption but not for access to more selective listening.
It would be good to see an article about CD-transports these days in Stereophile!
While most of the above comments are perfectly valid no one has mentioned of the most grievous faults of the new download: lack of technical information. Even the lowly CD at least informs us of the musician lineup, producer and recording venue. My expensive DSD downloads may offer a PDF on the side but this is hardly useful unless it is printed to read along while listening.
I treasure my good vinyl (there are millions of crappy ones as well); I enjoy my good Cd's (ditto comment earlier) and I now do DSD which (mostly) sounds excellent, but you can't beat the feel of, and useful information on, a good Vinyl cover.
There's no way to say this without being a jerk so I might just as well be a jerk. There is no way my favorite music is ever going to be online. I like the classical performances on old punk classical labels. Those will never go up. I like the sound of 45rpm 1958-1963 rock and roll. Those will never go up, in the original sound. I like Doo-Wop from the master tapes. Those will never go up. Even Rhino completely screwed -that- up.
There's a lot of wisdom in that. To really get that '58 to '63 sound right, the "remaster" guys would need to actually listen to the songs as they transfer them. But who will take the time to do that? Even the music itself is automated more and more today. Pop music that is.
Don't you see the irony? Here we are, bemoaning the demise of antiquated technologies, on the internet! (Print's obviously making the jump.)
There have always been poor recordings of good music, regardless the media, and the masses remain unfazed. There are also many excellent recordings; you just have to put in the time to find them. There are enough audiophile web sites, and hi-res on-line retailers to see me well into my doddering years, which are much closer than I'd prefer.
Audiophile's always been niche, and will remain so. It's not going away, it's just undergoing a digital metamorphosis along with the rest of the world. And when it's done, you probably won't recognize it. It certainly won't be as you remember it, and you may not even like it.
Ah - the good old days! I remember them well. Playing those 78's on the old Victrola.
Streamers enjoy hearing nearly everything ever recorded as they walk or ride home. It is somewhere inside their phone or car radio hard drive. But if they miss a couple payments due to mishap or lack of funds. Their money is gone and they have nothing.
But LPs will always be here; since 1890. If I have no cash on my card or my phone malfunctions, I still can enjoy what is mine at no cost. I am under 40 though I love that classic feeling of owning the music
I will stream soon though it is only for when I am lazy or run out of LPs and CDs. When will Audio Research and Luxman stop making hi-end CD players?
If you haven't followed the link to the excellent Youtube presentation by Marc Geiger, it is certainly worth having a listen. Contrary to Steve's claim that downloads are 'still increasing', Marc makes the very clear point that the age of the download is already over ... downloads are ALREADY in decline, and have been dropping at about 10% per year since late 2012.
Music basically falls into 2 categories: DISPOSABLE and COLLECTABLE.
If you just want to sample something, or it's the fun track of the day, then most people will listen to it for free on spotify or youtube or the radio. But if it defines your sense of who you are, … you buy it, because you like it and want it.
That is presumably why Marc Geiger advocates that:
* Streaming will continue to grow: it caters beautifully for the Disposable market
* Physical media (CD, SACD, Blu-ray etc) will continue as well: it caters for the Collectable market.
In particular, Marc makes the point that physical media excels in the premium value-added sector, which is all about cool packaging, higher resolution formats like SACD and Blu-ray, special editions and the like.
What is interesting, though, is that DOWNLOADS do not fit into either category: they are not Disposable, and they are not Collectable (and they have zero resale value) ... which helps explain why they have become the 21st C equivalent of the dodo.
Looking at a list on paper is easier than looking at it on a screen. Maybe our eyes can simply scan it faster.
It's the same when looking through rows of physical media vs looking at what iTunes holds.
All of that helps keep the music in our consciousness, even at the risk of sometimes not making room for new music. I like Spotify but dread the idea of making lists in the hopes of collecting what I like. Otherwise, yes you will forget about it.
The poster above who advocated the now-seemingly impossible scenario of instituting a listening session with unsuspecting friends and family is on to something old, new and subversive. None of whatever we prefer related to physical media can survive without that experience. I "stream" songs and "LPs" from iTunes over to the stereo all the time but it's not the same experience, and you can't divorce music from its "experience" too far before it loses importance ... and relevancy.


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CEED Becomes First Public School to Use Passivhaus Technology in the U.S.
The Center of Energy Efficient Design in Rocky Mount, Va., is the first public school to use the energy-efficient Passivhaus technology, which has enabled it to use 68 percent less energy than conventional schools.
Passivhaus technology came about when Professors Bo Adamson of Sweden and Wolfgang Feist of Germany reviewed the U.S. building methods of the 1970s and saw energy efficiency could be achieved in simpler ways.
"What Passivhaus technology is, is basically a building-physics methodology for modeling the energy performance of buildings very accurately and fairly easily," said Adam Cohen, co-founder of Structures Design Build and a certified Passivhaus planner in North America and Europe.
Passivhaus primarily consists of high levels of insulation and air-tightness in the fabric used in buildings, according to Building Research Establishment.
In CEED's first year, the 3,503-square-foot building consumed 10,050 kilowatt-hours of energy — 5.9 percent more efficient than predicted when the building opened in November 2010. A typical code building of its size would have consumed 33,852 kilowatt-hours of energy.
"We knew Passivhaus technology would deliver on results, but it's always gratifying to get a year's worth of data to see how accurate the predictions turn out," Cohen said. "It's clear this relatively new technology is here to stay."
CEED was designed as a demonstration school to show students and future developers Passivhaus' impact on design when it comes to sustainability and cost-saving results.
"The idea is that the CEED building will be a central piece of the teaching in this county," Cohen said. "The other piece of this that's really cool is that the teachers are going to take all the lesson plans from the CEED and put it on the Web for any teacher, anywhere in the world to access. They can use the real-time data of the building, in terms of energy saved and water conserved, in their lessons."
Spreading the Word
Although the U.S. has only a little more than 100 buildings with Passivhaus technology, the method has been internationally praise and is now recognized as a green building standard in Europe. More than 30,000 residential, educational and commercial buildings there use Passivhaus.
"A few years after these buildings are being built and they start performing, people look at it and go, oh, golly maybe those things really do work," Cohen said. "We're starting to get data back and see that yes, we are seeing 70 percent energy savings, then what happens in almost every country is you have this tremendous growth in interest and implementation of Passivhaus. People can't get enough of it after they realize that it actually works."
Energy-Efficient Installations
Passivhaus supports energy-efficient installations, Cohen said, but usually at a smaller scale that results in higher energy savings and lower installation costs than typical energy-efficient buildings have.
"Typically, on most of the Passivhaus projects — at the very least we're using is a passive geothermal loop," Cohen said. "The geothermal loop consists of a geothermal pipe buried underground that uses natural ground air instead of a typical heat pump."
Passivhaus leads to high indoor air quality, low energy use and, in most cases, energy savings of 70 percent more than a standard building method.
The idea is spreading in the U.S. to more than just CEED. Cohen is also in the process of completing the Malcolm Rosenberg Hillel at Virginia Tech.
The Rosenberg Hillel is set to open in the spring or summer of 2012 and will host activities, classes and prayer.
"Pretty much every building that I've done so far I've had to introduce people to the idea and convince them that it's a good idea," Cohen said. "But I feel like that's changing because people are starting to get the idea and I'm starting to get calls from people around the country who are doing larger projects and I'm consulting on those."


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Freedom in the World
You are here
2012 Scores
Freedom Rating (1 = best, 7 = worst)
Civil Liberties (1 = best, 7 = worst)
Political Rights (1 = best, 7 = worst)
The Australian government continued in 2011 to struggle with an influx of asylum seekers, mostly from South Asia, and violent outbreaks at detention centers. In August, the High Court ruled against a controversial plan to exchange asylum seekers in Australia for refugees in Malaysia. In late 2011, parliament passed a controversial package of bills that would introduce a tax on some carbon dioxide emissions.
The British colonies in Australia, first settled in 1788, were organized as a federative commonwealth in 1901, and gradually gained full independence from Britain. Since World War II, political power has alternated between the center-left Labor Party and a conservative coalition of the Liberal Party and the smaller National Party. Labor emerged from the 2007 elections with 83 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives and 32 in the 76-seat Senate, allowing party leader Kevin Rudd to replace John Howard of the Liberal Party as prime minister.
The Rudd government reversed a number of its predecessor's positions, including issuing a formal apology for past laws and policies that had "inflicted profound grief, suffering, and loss" on the country's Aborigines. It also closed detention centers in Nauru and Papua New Guinea that the Howard government had created in response to an influx of asylum seekers from South Asia, and pledged to resolve asylum claims within a year. However, by the end of 2008, the government was forced to open a new detention center on Christmas Island to receive an increasing number of migrants; by the first week of December 2010, 82 boats with nearly 4,000 asylum seekers were stopped, or 1,000 more than the total for 2009. Public sentiment on both sides of the issue intensified as asylum seekers set fire to their boats, went on hunger strikes, committed suicide, or took other extreme measures to demand entry into Australia.
Rudd resigned as party leader and prime minister in June 2010, having been buffeted by the asylum crisis, a national home-insulation scheme that was linked to four deaths and many fires, a controversial proposal for a "super tax" on the booming coal and iron-ore industries, and a failed effort to adopt carbon-emissions trading. Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard was chosen to replace Rudd, making her the country's first female prime minister. She called snap elections for August, and the campaign centered on issues including the economy, health care, the national debt, and immigration. The number of Labor Party seats fell to 72 in the House, compared with a total of 73 seats for the conservative parties. The Greens took one seat, and four seats went to independents. After two weeks of intense negotiations, Labor secured support from the Greens' member and three independents, and Gillard announced a new cabinet in September.
In response to the continuing issue of asylum seekers, the new Labor government negotiated an agreement with Afghanistan in January 2011 for the involuntary repatriation of Afghans who fail to meet refugee criteria; however, the government had yet to carry out any such repatriations by year's end. Six months later, the Australian government announced an agreement to send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia in exchange for receiving 4,000 refugees from Malaysia for permanent resettlement over the next four years. While authorities said the plan was intended to deter the smuggling of asylum seekers to Australia, the High Court ruled in August that it was unlawful on the grounds that Malaysia does not offer adequate refugee protection. The government dropped the plan in October. Also in 2011, asylum seekers at the Christmas Island detention facility turned to violence, suicide, and hunger strikes to voice their discontent with living conditions at the center and the pace of processing their applications. In March and July, asylum seekers on Christmas Island clashed with security personnel and burned buildings.
In October and November, the House and the Senate, respectively, passed a controversial package of bills that would introduce a tax on some carbon dioxide emissions, in an effort to reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions. Under the bills, Australia's top 500 carbon emitters—including companies in the lucrative energy and mining sectors—would be hit by the tax starting on July 1, 2012. In 2015, the tax would be replaced with an emissions permit trading system. The bills drew strong protests from industry, the Liberal Party, and the public due to concerns about its effect on the economy and jobs.
Australia is an electoral democracy. A governor general, who is appointed on the recommendation of the prime minister, represents the British monarch as head of state. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party or coalition in Parliament.
Voting is compulsory, and citizens participate in free and fair multiparty elections to choose representatives for the bicameral Parliament. The Senate, the upper house, has 76 seats, with 12 senators from each of the six states and two from each of the two mainland territories. Half of the state members, who serve six-year terms, are up for election every three years; all territory members are elected every three years. The House of Representatives, the lower house, has 150 seats. All members are elected by popular preferential voting to serve three-year terms, and no state can have fewer than five representatives.
The Labor and Liberal parties are the two major parties. Minor parties represented in the parliament are the left-leaning Green Party and three right-leaning factions (the Liberal National Party of Queensland, the National Party, and the Country Liberal Party).
Australia is regarded as one of the least corrupt societies in the world, ranking 8 out of 183 countries surveyed in Transparency International's 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index.
There are no constitutional protections for freedom of speech and the press, but citizens and the media freely criticize the government without reprisal. Some laws restrict publication and dissemination of material that promotes or incites terrorist acts. There are numerous public and private television and radio broadcasters, but ownership of private print media is highly concentrated. In September 2011, the government announced an inquiry to determine whether the media used illegal means to collect protected information in the wake of a phone-hacking scandal in the United Kingdom involving News Ltd., which controls some two-thirds of Australia's newspaper market.
Freedom of religion is respected, as is academic freedom. Under antiterrorism laws, mosques and Islamic schools are barred from disseminating anti-Australian messages.
Freedoms of assembly and association are not codified in law, but the government respects these rights in practice. Workers can organize and bargain collectively.
The judiciary is independent, and prison conditions generally meet international standards. Antiterrorism legislation enacted in 2005, with a 10-year sunset clause, includes police powers to detain suspects without charge, "shoot to kill" provisions, the criminalization of violence against the public and Australian troops overseas, and authorization for the limited use of soldiers to meet terrorist threats on domestic soil.
Some 40 people have been arrested on terrorism charges since 2000. Five men of Libyan, Bangladeshi, and Lebanese origin arrested in 2005 were sentenced in February 2010 to prison terms ranging from 23 to 28 years for conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism. Australian immigration has been expanding use of electronic biometric captures of fingerprints and facial images for visitors since 2011, with emphasis on those from countries deemed a high risk for Islamic extremism, such as Yemen and Somalia.
Since the beginning of 2011, the military has been embroiled in a series of scandals involving rape, homophobia, bullying, and sexual predation. More than 1,000 allegations were registered by late August. In September, a navy male cadet was convicted of raping a female cadet; in December, a navy commander was found guilty of abusing a female subordinate by spanking her. In November, the Human Rights Commissioner released an initial review stating that culture change is needed. Meanwhile, in September the government lifted a ban on women in combat roles.
Racial tensions involving South Asian and other immigrant groups have grown in recent years, especially in Melbourne, where the bulk of interracial violence has occurred in recent years. The number of South Asian applications to universities in Australia fell for two consecutive years in the 2010 and 2011 academic years, which run from mid-January to mid-December.
Aborigines, who comprise about 2 percent of the population, are underrepresented at all levels of political leadership and lag far behind other groups in key social and economic indicators, including life expectancy and employment. Aborigines are reportedly routinely mistreated by police and prison officials, and they experience higher rates of incarceration and levels of violence, including homicide and child abuse.
Women enjoy equal rights and have attained greater parity in pay and promotion in public and private sector jobs. In September 2011, the government announced that women in the military could serve in combat positions. Violence against women remains a serious problem, particularly within the Aboriginal population. Homosexuals can serve in the military, and federal law grants legal residence to foreign same-sex partners of Australian citizens. However, there is no federal ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation, and a 2004 amendment to the Federal Marriage Act defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. A 2010 law allows prosecution of Australians for sex crimes committed overseas and imposes prison terms of up to 25 years for sex crimes against children. In July 2011, New South Wales gave new powers to the police to order women to remove burqas and other face coverings if they are suspected of a crime; those who refuse to remove the coverings could face one year in jail or be fined A$5,500 (US$5,384).


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The Degree Requirements team in the Office of the Registrar can now offer academic units access to early degree audits for their spring term undergraduate degree applicants.
Batch degree audits are prepared which include an assessment of both current winter term and in-progress spring term registration. We electronically send the "problem" audit files (i.e. those with graduation deficiencies) to a designated departmental advising/staff person for review. This enables the advising staff to outreach to students to resolve issues while there is still time to rearrange schedules, add courses and complete appropriate substitutions and exceptions.
Timing is everything. The goal is to run the batch audits after the Senior registration window for spring term has been open for several days so that the student's spring term courses will be part of the audit. Identifying problems such as missing courses, too few total hours or upper division hours within this early time frame is an enormous benefit. It helps avoid the upsetting and difficult situation of finding out about these problems after spring term has started when it is too late to resolve. As part of a limited, pilot project, we have been providing early audits to a few departments for several terms. They report excellent results in helping students identify things they simply were not aware of and in helping them take action to resolve. Allowing students to graduate as planned, without the heartache and inconvenience of having to stay around for an extra term is well worth the effort.
We are very pleased to be able to now offer this service in a timely way to all departments who request it. This term we have already provided batch audits for over 130 majors, minors and certificates.
If your department has not yet participated and is interested in using these reports for spring term, it is not too late to get on the list. Once your department is on the list, we will continue providing the same service for other terms, with the batched audits being delivered sometime in week 8 or 9 of the term prior to the graduation term.
To add your department to the list, please provide the following information via email to Cindy Baccar at email@example.com.
- a list of UG major, minor and certificates for which you want the batched audits
- the name and email of the person to whom you want the reports sent (the reports will be sent via email with an embedded link)
- indicate whether you want degree audits for all applicants, or ONLY those with "problems"


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The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
0nce there were four girls who shared a pair of pants. The girls were all different sizes and shapes, and yet the pants fit each of them.
You may think this is a suburban myth. But I know it's true, because I am one of them-one of the sisters of the Traveling Pants.
We discovered their magic last summer, purely by accident. The four of us were splitting up for the first time in our lives. Carmen had gotten them from a second-hand place without even bothering to try them on. She was going to throw them away, but by chance, Tibby spotted them. First Tibby tried them; then me, Lena; then Bridget; then Carmen.
By the time Carmen pulled them on, we knew something extraordinary was happening. If the same pants fit-and I mean really fit-the four of us, they, aren't ordinary. They don't belong completely to the' world of things you can see and touch. My sister, Effie, claims I don't believe in magic, and maybe I didn't then. But after the first summer of the Traveling Pants, I do.
The Traveling Pants are not only the most beautiful pair of jeans that ever existed, they are kind, comforting, and wise. And also they make you look really good.
We, the members of the Sisterhood, were friends before the Traveling Pants. We've known each other since before we were born. Our mothers were all in the same pregnancy aerobics class, all due in early September. I feel this explains something about us. We all have in common that we got bounced on our fetal heads too much.
We were all born within seventeen days of each other, first me, a little early, in the end of August, and last Carmen, a little late, in the middle of September. You know how people make a big deal about which twin was born three minutes before the other one? Like it matters? Well, we're like that. We draw great significance from the fact that I'm the oldest-the most mature, the most maternal -and Carmen is the baby.
Our mothers started out being close. We had a group play date running at least three days a week until we started kindergarten. They called themselves the Septembers and eventually passed that name down to us. Our mothers would gab in whoever's yard it was, drinking iced tea and eating cherry tomatoes. We would play and play and play and occasionally fight. Honestly, I remember my friends' mothers almost as well as my own from that time.
We four, the daughters, reminisce about it sometimes- we look back on that period as a golden age., Gradually, as we grew, our mothers' friendship disintegrated. Then Bee's mother died. A giant hole was left, and none of them knew how to bridge it. Or maybe they just didn't have the courage.
The word friends doesn't seem to stretch big enough to describe how we feel about each other. We forget where one of us starts and the other one stops. When Tibby sits next to me in the movies, she bangs her heel against my shin during the funny or scary parts. Usually I don't even notice until the bruise blooms the next day. In history class Carmen absently grabs the loose, pinchy skin at my elbow. Bee rests her chin on my shoulder when I'm trying to show her something on the computer, clacking her tee& together when I turn to explain something. We step on, each other's feet a lot. (And, okay, I do have large feet.)
Before the Traveling, Pants we didn't know how to e~, together when we were apart. We didn't realize that we, are bigger and stronger and longer than the time we spend together. We learned that the first summer.
And all year long-, we waited and wondered what the second summer would bring. We learned to drive. We tried to care about our schoolwork and our PSATs. Effie fell in love (several times), and I tried to fall out of it. Brian became a regular fixture at Tibby's house, and she, wanted to talk about Bailey less and less. Carmen and Paul evolved from stepsiblings to friends. We all kept ue nervous, loving eyes on Bee.
While we did our thing, the Pants lived quietly in the top of Carmen's closet. They were summer Pants -that's what we had all agreed on. We had always marked our lives by summers. Besides, with the no-washing rule, we didn't want to overuse them. But not a day of fall, winter, or spring went by when I didn't think about them, curled up in Carmen's closet, safely gathering their magic for when we needed them again.
This summer began differently than the last. Except for Tibby, who'd be going to her film program at a college in Virginia, we thought we'd be staying home. We were all excited to see how the Pants worked when they weren't traveling.
But Bee never met a plan she didn't like to change. So from the start, our summer did not go the way we expected.
Excerpted from THE SECOND SUMMER OF THE SISTERHOOD © Copyright 2003 by Ann Brashares. Reprinted with permission by Delacorte Books for Young Readers, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
- Genres: Fiction
- hardcover: 400 pages
- Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers


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Black Conservatives Lean To Obama
Moderate Republican Edward Brooke, who blazed his own trail in Massachusetts in 1966 as the first black popularly elected U.S. senator, said he is "extremely proud and confident and joyful" to see Obama ascend. Obama sent Brooke a signed copy of his book, inscribed, "Thank you for paving the way," and Brooke sent his own signed book to Obama, calling the presumed Democratic nominee "a worthy bearer of the torch."
[Elections 2008]
Black conservative talk show host Armstrong Williams has never voted for a Democrat for president. That could change this year with Barack Obama as the Democratic Party's nominee.
"I don't necessarily like his policies; I don't like much that he advocates, but for the first time in my life, history thrusts me to really seriously think about it," Williams said. "I can honestly say I have no idea who I'm going to pull that lever for in November. And to me, that's incredible."
Just as Obama has touched black Democratic voters, he has engendered conflicting emotions among black Republicans. They revel over the possibility of a black president but wrestle with the thought that the Illinois senator doesn't sit beside them ideologically.
"Among black conservatives," Williams said, "they tell me privately, it would be very hard to vote against him in November."
Perhaps sensing the possibility of such a shift, Republican presidential candidate John McCain has made some efforts to lure black voters. He recently told Essence magazine that he would attend the NAACP's annual convention next month, and he noted that he recently traveled to Selma, Ala., scene of seminal voting rights protests in the 1960s, and "talked about the need to include 'forgotten Americans.'"
Still, the Arizona senator has a tall order in winning black votes, no doubt made taller by running against a black opponent. In 2004, blacks chose Democrat John Kerry over President Bush by an 88 percent to 11 percent margin, according to exit polls.
J.C. Watts, a former Oklahoma congressman who once was part of the GOP House leadership, said he's thinking of voting for Obama. Watts said he's still a Republican, but he criticizes his party for neglecting the black community. Black Republicans, he said, have to concede that while they might not agree with Democrats on issues, at least that party reaches out to them.
"And Obama highlights that even more," Watts said, adding that he expects Obama to take on issues such as poverty and urban policy. "Republicans often seem indifferent to those things."
Likewise, retired Gen. Colin Powell, who became the country's first black secretary of state under President George W. Bush, said both candidates are qualified and that he will not necessarily vote for the Republican.
"I will vote for the individual I think that brings the best set of tools to the problems of 21st-century America and the 21st-century world regardless of party, regardless of anything else other than the most qualified candidate," Powell said Thursday in Vancouver in comments reported by The Globe and Mail in Toronto.
Writer and actor Joseph C. Phillips got so excited about Obama earlier this year that he started calling himself an "Obamacan" _ Obama Republican. Phillips, who appeared on "The Cosby Show" as Denise Huxtable's husband, Navy Lt. Martin Kendall, said he has wavered since, but he is still thinking about voting for Obama.
"I am wondering if this is the time where we get over the hump, where an Obama victory will finally, at long last, move us beyond some of the old conversations about race," Phillips said. "That possibly, just possibly, this great country can finally be forgiven for its original sin, or find some absolution."
Yet Phillips, author of the book "He Talk Like a White Boy," realizes the irony of voting for a candidate based on race to get beyond race.
"We have to not judge him based on his race, but on his desirability as a political candidate," he said. "And based on that, I have a lot of disagreements with him on a lot of issues. I go back and forth."
Michael Steele, the Republican former lieutenant governor of Maryland who lost a Senate race there in 2006, said he is proud of Obama as a black man, but that "come November, I will do everything in my power to defeat him." Electing Obama, he said, would not automatically solve the woes of the black community.
"I think people who try to put this sort of messianic mantle on Barack's nomination are a little bit misguided," he said.
John McWhorter, a self-described political moderate who is a senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute and a New York Sun columnist, said Obama's Democratic Party victory "proves that while there still is some racism in the United States, there is not enough to matter in any serious manner. This is a watershed moment."
"Obama is probably more to the left than I would prefer on a lot of issues," he adds. "But this issue of getting past race for real is such a wedge issue for me. And he is so intelligent, and I think he would be a perfectly competent president, that I'm for him. I want him to get in because, in a way, it will put me out of a job."
James T. Harris, a Milwaukee radio talk show host and public speaker, said he opposes Obama "with love in my heart."
"We are of the same generation. He's African American and I'm an American of African descent. We both have lovely wives and beautiful children," Harris said. "Other than that, we've got nothing in common. I hope he loses every state."
Moderate Republican Edward Brooke, who blazed his own trail in Massachusetts in 1966 as the first black popularly elected U.S. senator, said he is "extremely proud and confident and joyful" to see Obama ascend. Obama sent Brooke a signed copy of his book, inscribed, "Thank you for paving the way," and Brooke sent his own signed book to Obama, calling the presumed Democratic nominee "a worthy bearer of the torch."
Brooke, who now lives in Florida, won't say which candidate will get his endorsement, but he does say that race won't be a factor in his decision.
"This is the most important election in our history," Brooke said. "And with the world in the condition that it is, I think we've got to get the best person we can get."
Williams, the commentator, says his 82-year-old mother, who also hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate, has already made up her mind.
"She is so proud of Senator Barack Obama, and she has made it clear to all of us that she's voting for him in November," Williams relates. "That is historic. Every time I call her, she asks, 'How's Obama doing?' They feel as if they are a part of this. Because she said, given the history of this country, she never thought she'd ever live to see this moment."
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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A Joint Resolution of Congress in 1971 designated August 26th of each year as Women's Equality Day and requested the President to issue a proclamation annually to commemorate that day. That Joint Resolution resulted in this 1972 Proclamation issued by President Richard Nixon.
The Proclamation was later presented to Roxcy O'Neal Bolton, the driving force behind the designation of August 26 as Women's Equality Day.
A long-time Coral Gables resident and a 1984 inductee in the Florida Women's Hall of Fame, Bolton is known in Florida for gaining access for women to the previously all-male lunchrooms at Burdines and Jordan Marsh department stores; for helping to end the practice of naming hurricanes only for women; and for opening the influential Tiger Bay political club to women.
Bolton was inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt's stances on civil rights and was profoundly affected by her address at the 1956 Democratic National Convention, hearing her call to "help all of our people to a better life" as a personal call to action.
Roosevelt, who was a strong proponent of gender equality and supporter of working women, had her own sources of inspiration, including from Floridians. She met Mary McLeod Bethune at an education conference in 1927, gaining from her an understanding of racial issues and becoming a close friend of Bethune's.
Tags: Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary McLeod Bethune, Roxcy Bolton, Women's Equality Day


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The parents of a juvenile delinquent allegedly beaten by guards in a Sangamon County youth jail are taking their case to court, but official records of the incident remain out of public reach.
On July 6, 16-year-old Dalton McDermott of Springfield was allegedly beaten by two guards while an inmate at the Sangamon Juvenile Center, 2201 South Dirksen Parkway, according to his parents, Barb Howell of Springfield and Jeff McDermott of Champaign. The detention center holds young prisoners in custody while the county court system decides what to do with them. Dalton was incarcerated at the juvenile center while awaiting sentencing for a spray-painting incident, Howell says.
Jeff McDermott says the beating apparently resulted from a misunderstanding about a commonly-used slang term in the Juvenile Center. Dalton apparently said he and his classmates in the detention center were going to "gun," or make fun of, a teacher, and he was given the equivalent of a time-out. He then "mouthed off" to the guards who were to escort him to his cell, McDermott says.
"They grabbed him by the back of his neck while he was walking out of the classroom and slammed him into the wall," McDermott says. "He was handcuffed, and they kneed him while he was on the ground. He had marks on both ankles and his throat."
As a result of the beating, Dalton received a concussion, a fractured neck and internal bleeding, according to medical records and photographs provided by his parents. He is now in the state detention center in St. Charles, awaiting assignment to another state detention center.
Springfield attorney Dan Fultz, who represented Dalton in his criminal trial, says the youth was never violent toward him, but he did know of incidents in which Dalton had fought with other juvenile inmates and with guards.
Jeff McDermott says this isn't the first time his son has had trouble with the guards at the Sangamon County Juvenile Center. When Dalton first arrived at the detention center, he was allegedly beaten inside his cell during a run-in with the same two guards, McDermott says.
"He had marks on him, but I figured he was just mouthy, and they might have just wrestled with him a bit," McDermott says. "These are the two guys that, whenever a kid is acting up, they send these two guys to rough them up."
It's also not the first time Dalton has had trouble with the law. He had previously been sent to drug rehab after throwing milk at or toward a police officer, Barb Howell says, but he left rehab and was on the run for four months before turning himself in.
Barb Howell and Jeff McDermott say they would like the Sangamon Juvenile Center to fire the two guards allegedly involved in Dalton's beating.
"I don't care if my kid has a smart mouth or he does have a problem," McDermott says. "[The guards] are supposed to be trained not to handle kids this way. For the well-being of the kids in there, you cannot have these guys pushing the envelope and hurting kids."
The case also highlights a quirk in Illinois law that allows information on incidents like this to be withheld from the public. Sangamon County Court Services, which oversees the Sangamon County Juvenile Center, denied an Illinois Times request for evidence related to the alleged beating. As the agency is a part of the judiciary, Court Services claims exemption from the state's Freedom of Information Act because of past court cases that seem to allow courts to avoid public review. Court Services also categorizes evidence of the incident as probation records, which would further exempt them from FOIA. Sangamon County Court Services Department director Michael Torchia declined to comment until Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan rules on the Freedom of Information Act review.
McDermott and Howell say they will seek restitution through a lawsuit. Springfield attorney Sara Mayo is representing the family in the civil suit, though Mayo said she could not speak to the facts in the case because she has yet to receive any evidence from the Sangamon County Juvenile Center.
Contact Patrick Yeagle at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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CLEVELAND – The Buffalo Bills showed their star power goes deeper than their two elite running backs Sunday.
The Bills were in need of some prime-time plays after running back C.J. Spiller joined Fred Jackson on the injury shelf late in the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns.
They got them from each member of their defensive front four, their passing combination of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Stevie Johnson and from unheralded backup Tashard Choice.
It all added up to a workmanlike, 24-14 victory that improved the Bills to 2-1.
"You've got to be able to come back from ups and downs," said defensive end Mario Williams. "For us to go out and play ball with adversity striking, whether it is injuries or them scoring, you still got to be able to put your foot down, especially when it really counts."
The injury to Spiller was the kind of adversity the Bills didn't need. Their speedy back had staked them to a 14-0 lead with a touchdown catch 9:56 into the game. But two minutes later he went to the locker room for good with a shoulder injury after getting tackled hard to the ground.
With Jackson already down with a sprained knee suffered in the season opener, the Bills turned to Choice, the fifth-year pro who played for Gailey at Georgia Tech.
Choice can't replicate Spiller's breakaway speed and he's not as physical as Jackson. But he's a smart, assignment-sound back with some quickness. He rushed for 91 yards on 20 carries – a healthy 4.6-yard average – and allowed the Bills to keep balance in their offense.
That proved critical with the Bills clinging to a 17-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Fitzpatrick drove the Bills 68 yards in 10 plays to a touchdown that put Buffalo in command.
"We knew we had to put our foot on the gas," Fitzpatrick said. "There was a lot of energy in the huddle. The guys were really revved up and ready to go. Our offensive line wanted us to get after those guys a little bit, run the ball and mix it up, and we did."
Choice started the march with a 22-yard run off left guard, following a big lead block by Kraig Urbik on middle linebacker D'Qwell Jackson to get to the Browns' 46.
Eight plays later, Fitzpatrick had the Bills on the Cleveland 9 and went to his favorite target.
"Fitz said in the huddle, 'Alright Stevie, if it's Cover 1 or Cover 0, you get open,' " Johnson said, referring to man-to-man coverages with either one safety over the top or none.
The Bills lined up with an empty backfield, with Johnson inside of Donald Jones on the right side of the formation. Jones ran to the corner of the end zone, which left Johnson to work the middle of the field against cornerback Dimitri Patterson. Johnson gave him a shimmy-shake move to the outside and cut wide open over the middle to catch an easy scoring pass.
"It was 100 percent Stevie," Fitzpatrick said. "That's why Stevie makes the big bucks. We count on him to do things like that in a game. To beat the guy like he did, that's special. We think Stevie's a special receiver, and that play shows why. … We had a good feeling that's the defense they were gonna be in, and we knew Stevie'd be able to beat him."
The Bills' offense put a lot of pressure on a Browns secondary that was missing its best player, Joe Haden, by frequently using bunch formations with their wideouts.
Buffalo's first touchdown resulted from a traffic problem on a play from the Browns' 9. Tight end Scott Chandler and rookie T.J. Graham were lined up to the right. At the snap, Spiller broke out of the backfield to the right flat, while Chandler cut toward the right sideline. Graham ran a post pattern to the middle of the field, but his defender, cornerback Buster Skrine, ran smack into Jackson, who was running over to cover Spiller.
"It was a good play for the defense we were in," Skrine said. "We all got picked. One of my teammates picked me."
"We got 'em outflanked out there at times," Chandler said. "We were able to bring Donald in and run out of (the formation). You can't say enough about our coaches. They had us prepared."
The Bills' second drive ended with a perfectly executed screen pass to Spiller, who took it 32 yards for a score. Buffalo caught the Browns in a blitz, and the coverage was man-to-man across the field with one safety deep. Chandler sensed a big play was about to happen.
"I was to the slot side all by myself over there and I'm just running to go block the deep safety," he said. "So I thought if C.J.'s guy gets caught up, it's gonna be a touchdown. The guy guarding me was the only guy, and that's what it ended up being. The O-line did a great job getting out on that."
The Bills' defense closed out the victory with two interceptions and a sack in the final nine minutes.
Leodis McKelvin and Bryan Scott got the pickoffs. Each of Buffalo's starting defensive linemen, Williams, Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus and Mark Anderson, were involved in a sack.
But the most impressive aspect of the Bills' defense was the run front. Buffalo held Cleveland's main weapon, rookie running back Trent Richardson, to 51 yards on 18 touches, including just 2.3 yards per rushing attempt.
"That sounds like a good day," said Bills middle linebacker Kelvin Sheppard. "It started up front. I give most of the credit to the defensive line. They really controlled the line of scrimmage today and it made it easy for the 'backers to scrape and make tackles."
"You don't want him getting north and south," Sheppard said of Richardson. "You fill the gaps and build what we call the gate and make him go east and west."
A crowd of 69,353, which included thousands of Bills fans, saw the Browns fall to 0-3.
The Bills set their sights on next week's home game against New England. They won't have Spiller (he's out a week or several) and might not have Jackson.
Asked about the Pats, Gailey said: "Let me enjoy this for 24 hours."
email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Former Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger has a drug problem. The drug? The power of being governor.
Fuck love! Iran bans production of all Valentine's Day gifts.
Ricky Gervais hit the ball out of the park with his snide satire hosting the Golden Globes.
Protests and civil unrest are ripping Tunisia apart.
WikiLeaks strikes again; Julian Assange to release the tax info of 2,000 very wealthy people.
Dick Cheney says Obama has "learned from experience" that the Bush policies were right. I've "learned from experience" that Cheney is still an idiot.
Holy Jurassic Park! A team of scientists are trying to clone and bring back the extinct mammoth.
TV personality Regis Philbin is finally calling it quits at age 79.
The Supreme Court rejects an appeal from opponents of D.C.'s same-sex marriage law.
Chihuahua vs. Owl: The Battle for World Domination.
A California city considers posting drunk drivers' mug shots on Facebook.