text:
Now that the George Zimmerman murder trial is over, let's hope we've heard the last of the awkward term "white Hispanic." For the most part, it is a media concoction that has only served to stir resentment from both whites and Hispanics.
Now that the George Zimmerman murder trial is over, let's hope we've heard the last of the awkward term "white Hispanic." For the most part, it is a media concoction that has only served to stir resentment from both whites and Hispanics.
Whites think the media were intent on telling a tragic tale in terms of a white villain and a black victim, and so that's why they tacked on the modifier "white" before "Hispanic." Hispanics are just as cynical. They believe that a half-white, half-Hispanic person who wins the Nobel Peace Prize will likely be referred to as "white" but one who kills an unarmed black youth and becomes a reviled member of society will always be called "Hispanic."
Welcome to multicultural America, circa 2013, where you can't tell the players without a program.
The confusion started just a few days after the Feb. 26, 2012, shooting when Robert Zimmerman Sr. insisted that his son George couldn't be racist because, well, after all, he's Hispanic. Soon thereafter, Robert Jr. seconded the motion, telling reporters that his brother identified himself as "Hispanic."
I'm sure the Zimmermans meant well, but they tried to defend George based on the faulty assumption that Hispanics couldn't be racist. That would mean Hispanics couldn't be human.
We may never be sure just how authentically "Hispanic" George Zimmerman really is or how much he relates to the language, food and culture of his mother, who was born in Peru. Like many people with mixed cultural backgrounds, the 29-year-old was able to choose, I suspect, whether to identify more with his mother or his father, who is white and of German descent.
In any case, since the verdict, when liberals feel like slamming Zimmerman, a lot of them forget the "white" part and take the express train right to "Hispanic."
Exhibit A is Nancy Grace, the talk-show host, who was upset over comments from Zimmerman defense attorney Mark O'Mara about how his client should be given back his life.
"Give Zimmerman back his life?" she questioned on her show. "He's out on bond driving through Taco Bell every night, having a churro. You know, long story short, he's got his life. Who is going to give life back to Trayvon Martin? I find that, at the very least, a very poor choice of words."
Grace's word choice was worse. Not only are her comments racist, they're also inaccurate. Zimmerman isn't Mexican. He's half-Peruvian. Guess what? Tacos and churros are not big in Peru. I don't know whether to wash out Grace's mouth or hand her an atlas.
From the beginning of this story, the media haven't known what to do with Zimmerman, or where to put him in America's racial and ethnic spectrum.
Media reports say that Zimmerman's voter registration record lists him as "Hispanic," and that's good enough for me. For better or worse, he's one of ours. However, this doesn't mean that Hispanics are cutting him much slack for the mess he helped create by playing cop and ignoring the admonition of a 911 operator not to pursue Martin.
According to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, Hispanics disapprove of his acquittal by a 2-to-1 margin, and 60 percent of Hispanics say that nonwhites do not receive equal treatment in the criminal justice system.
Maybe that's one reason the national organizations that are supposed to defend Hispanics have, for the past year and a half, shown no interest in defending Zimmerman. A more likely reason is that groups such as the National Council of La Raza have strong relations with their African-American equivalents, and they'd like to keep it that way.
Still, it's shameful that these organizations can't even muster the courage to condemn what seems to be a rash of anti-Hispanic hate crimes in cities such as Baltimore and Houston after the verdict. Besides raising money, and putting on conferences, what are these groups good for?
Given that the dominant media narrative in the Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman saga is largely drawn in black and white, and that most of the commentators who were booked on cable television during the trial were either black or white, you might have thought it would be difficult for Hispanics to find an entry point into this story.
No such luck. The nation's largest minority couldn't have avoided this difficult national conversation if it wanted to. And now, unfortunately, we're right in the middle of it.
Contact Washington Post Writers Group columnist Ruben Navarrette at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Get 15% off the Best Available Rate + 200 bonus points,
simply for booking in advance.*
Life's busy and planning ahead isn't always part of the plan. That's why we're making it easy, and rewarding, to book that next vacation or business trip right here and now at any participating Wyndham Rewards hotel.
How can I get this rate?
1. Enter your destination right here on this page.
2. Once you've chosen your hotel, choose the "Pay Now, Get 200 Points" rate.
3. Book as often as you wish and enjoy the savings and bonus points every time.
Not a Wyndham Rewards member? No problem. You can join during our easy checkout process.
*Terms & Conditions
The Book In Advance and Save 15% and Get Wyndham Rewards Bonus Points rate("Rate") is available to Wyndham Rewards Members at participating Baymont Inn & Suites®, Days Inn®, Dolce Hotels and Resorts®, Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham®, Howard Johnson®, Knights Inn®, Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham®, Ramada®, Super 8®, Travelodge®, TRYP by Wyndham®, Wingate by Wyndham® and Wyndham® Hotels & Resorts hotels. Reservation must be booked 7 or 21 days in advance of arrival date, depending on brand. New bookings only; not applicable to group bookings. Reservation must be pre-paid with a valid credit card and is non-cancellable and non-refundable. In the event of cancellation or modification, guest will forfeit total room charge plus taxes for the entire reservation. Savings are discounted from property's Best Available Rate excluding taxes, resort/service fees, incidentals, gratuities, or additional per room, per night charges that may be imposed. "Best Available Rate" is defined as the best, non-qualified, unrestricted, publicly available rate on the brand sites for the hotel, date and accommodations requested. Rooms at the discount are limited and subject to availability. Blackout dates, room type exclusions, and other restrictions may apply and vary by individual hotel. Please inquire at time of reservation.
To receive bonus points, you must be a Wyndham Rewards Member. U.S. residents who are not yet Wyndham Rewards Members will be automatically enrolled in the Wyndham Rewards Program upon completion of reservation; to void enrollment and award of bonus points, call Wyndham Rewards member services at 1-866-996-7937. Non-U.S. residents who are not yet Wyndham Rewards Members will be provided an option to enroll in the Wyndham Rewards Program at time of reservation to receive bonus points. Members should allow six to eight weeks after completion of the stay for points to be credited to their account. One stay includes all consecutive nights at the same hotel regardless of check-ins or check-outs. Wyndham Rewards Members who have elected to earn airline miles or rail points rather than Wyndham Rewards points will receive their base earning in airline miles or rail points and will receive the 200 bonus points in Wyndham Rewards points.
The Rate and its terms and conditions are subject to cancellation or change at any time. Room discount cannot be combined with any other special rates, discounts, coupons, sales promotion, or other offers. Visit www.wyndhamrewards.com for details on Wyndham Rewards Program.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Monday, 18 March 2013
Beames Advert
A photo showing Beames when the shop stood on George Street.This was before the motorway cut through Hyde and George Street disappeared.
Thanks to Nick C. for use of the photo. :)
Much appreciated.
3 comments:
Didn't they also have a timber warehouse on the opposite side of the road, where they would cut timber to size for the customer ?.
D. Hamilton.
- Monday, 18 March, 2013
- jay johnson said...
Hello..my husband Brian has been looking at the photo of george st, next to Alfred Beames was Sam thomas's chip shop. Acoording to Brian it was the best chippie ever. Didn't cook chippie every day, each day was different, and they made their own steak puddings. The hairdresser Irene Cotton started off on george st.
- Tuesday, 19 March, 2013
Hi Jay- I agree with your husband about Sammy's chippie.Did he have meals in the cafe at the back of the shop? I have happy memories of eating my lunches there whilst working at a nearby shop during school holidays. The large old black-leaded range with glowing fire, usually with a large home-made potato pie in the oven, and apple pie and custard- delicious- all cooked and served up by Sammy's hard working wife!
- Saturday, 23 March, 2013


text:
NEW CASTLE, Pa. (AP) — A 15-year-old western Pennsylvania boy who killed his father's pregnant fiancee and her unborn child when he was 11 will be moved to a juvenile detention facility closer to his father's home.
Wampum native Jordan Brown was held following the 2009 shooting death of 26-year-old Kenzie Houk (howk), whose unborn son died from a lack of oxygen. Brown previously was found delinquent, the juvenile court equivalent of a guilty verdict. He was at an undisclosed detention center.
Houk's parents, Debbie and Jack Houk, say a Lawrence County judge on Friday granted a defense request to move Brown to George Junior Republic in Grove City.
Brown's attorney says the outcome of the closed-door hearing attended by the Houks was supposed to remain secret.
Brown is under court supervision until he's 21. His status is reviewed every six months.


text:
Jimquisition: You Should Be Mad at Diablo III's Always Online DRM
Pages PREV 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 NEXT
Not when you complain about something you already knew you were buying. At that point... common sense went out the window already.
ofcourse you did, everyone did, blizzard warned everyone they would.
Nope, you can buy something and not like everything about it.
I'm going to assume the main reason those of us who didn't buy the game are mad and have the right to be mad is this:
You know goddamn well that what Blizzard has done with this previously awesome franchise is evil and wrong in every way, but you fucking validated it with your disposable income. They don't have to fix it. They don't have to make it up to you for failing everybody. They probably don't even have to make another game for one more decade. You will all continue pouring your money into their prefect pockets. Other developers will see this and may follow suit. The quality and playability of our games will continue to decline.
I'd tell you to hang your heads in shame, but despite the buyers remorse you know you feel, you'll stubbornly give us a shit eating grin and continue enforcing bad behavior from the people we pay to entertain our brains.
On the Skyrim topic: I know more than a few people who would have done anything to get their hands on it asap so if it had been delayed it would have caused even more controversy. especially among console fanboys, had the ps3 version been delayed while xbox and pc versions were released, the fallout would have been awful. now i know this statement reeks of the eat shit and like it rant Jim gifted us with but id rather enjoy a somewhat laggy Skyrim (I was lucky and had virtually no problems in this regard, my game ran smooth but i'm aware that many suffered) than a late Skyrim. Therein lies the problem, people wait five to ten years for sequels the developer is aware of this and knows it can push the boundaries cos the fans wont even allow complaints to be heard nor will they be able to resist buying it even though they may be aware of severe faults. So until we gamers can restrain ourselves the publishers will never learn.
A friendly hint to all the good boys and girls who bought Diablo III:
Crack it.
"Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as cooperation with good"
Spot-fucking-on Jim! I agree completely, DIII's DRM is absolute flying cow shit and at this point I have resigned myself to no longer take place in future of gaming if this is the way games are going to end up. Fuck blizzard, the weak knee'd pussies they are and fuck craptivision who no doubt contributed to this shit-storm of horrid DRM.
And yet, buying something KNOWING of a feature and then COMPLAINING about that EXACTLY feature you KNEW was there WAY before you payed UP FRONT for it, is just plain stupid...
Jim, you made a good point and I liked the way you presented it. It would have been a much better idea to have an offline mode and I chuckle every time when I think about Jay Wilson's statement "Online is the best way to play the game, so why wouldn't you want to play online?"*
However, because it was announced months beforehand that they were going to need an internet connection, the consumers should have made a much bigger statement before paying for it.
So, you are 100% satisfied with everything you ever bought?
Jim is completely correct of course. But I don't think it will change Blizzard's position. Sadly enough, it may very well be the financially correct decision for the company, even if it DOES lose them some sales. Because sadly enough, making the servers do all the work (and contain almost all of the single player game) is potentially one of the only possible functional DRM mechanisms. Even though even this may not work 100%, because, of course, look at WoW...
But I will say this. Every time I see shit like this, I feel instantly thankful to CD Projekt. I also made sure to purchase the GOG version, precisely because it didn't have DRM.
The online DRM is always a pain, that much is for sure.
But you knew it was there. If you didn't like it, why did you buy it?
You arent good at this whole consumer thing...
You can know that an item has a downside, but you can decide that the good outweighs the bad and buy the product, that doesn't mean you have to like the bad parts as well.
Also removing the always online feature (or not adding it in the first place) from D3 would not have taken any great effort from Blizzard. Skyrim came out 7 months ago and is STILL getting bug fixes.
I've never understood this 'always online' system they're trying to implement in order to keep from being pirated.
Do they honestly think that their fanbase will be so vindictive to them that they'd pirate this game that they've been waiting several years for? If it's gonna get pirated, it's probably by people that aren't their audience that are simply curious about the whole thing. I'm pretty damn sure that the entire Blizzard community is mature enough to give Blizzard their pay.
This is just ridiculous. Blizzard's just being paranoid due to recent 'piracy issues' that, imo, have been pretty hugely exaggerated in the past few months.
One question: In ten years time, if Blizzard decide to take down the servers for Diablo 3 because they're costing them money and isn't making any, are we going to be able to play it? Is it possible that we will theoretically be able to play Diablo 1&2 for the next 100 years, but not 3, despite buying it fairly?
There needs to be a 'Satisfaction' Guarantee. I work in a grocery store and if the slightest problem occurs with a persons order, they are allowed a refund, regardless of what that problem might be. So long as the item was from OUR store and the customer was KNOWN to have bought it, they can return it, no questions asked.
Video games? Fuck, you pay for it, you never see your money back, unless you trade in a hard copy of a console game. PC gamers? Hell, so far, only Valve has given me money back when i asked for it, and that was for a broken game (Breach) and it was a paltry 10 bucks. If i had wanted to return my preoder of Dead Island (which i tried to do) I would have been scorned and shunned (which i was). It was probably because it was a store bought copy, but still; gamestop didn't give me my money back. Stardock didn't give me my money back.
So, i ask you this: Who the hell is accountable for customer satisfaction?
Cuz from here, it seems like they can push a completely broken product, and still never have to give money back to people who paid for it.
Where did they warn about it? It's not on the box, it's not in the trailer, it's not in the TV spot and it's probably not even on that huge ass user agreement that no one reads.
It says on the front of the box in really small print "Internet Connection Required".
It should say "You must be connected to the internet at all times to play this game". Internet connection required could mean anything. It could mean to download patches, it could mean that there is online activation and it could mean you need an always on connection. I'll bet they choose to keep it vague for dishonest reasons. Why else wouldn't they be more specific?
They can, the software industry in general is very abusive to customers because they know you have little recourse.
This guy is full of shit, and all the whiney self-entitled children are flat out wrong.
You are not paying for the right to play the game whenever you want. What you are paying for the ability to connect to the blizzard servers. That is it, and that is all it ever will be. If you don't like it, don't buy it. Simple.
This is not a situation where the rug was pulled out from under you. From the very beginning they laid out exactly how the game was going to be run. On their severs. They never gave you the impression it would be run locally. They never said their system would be infallible, handle 6 million connections, never have lag, etc. If you have a shit connection, that's your fault.
They designed the game the way they wanted too. You didn't have to purchase it, you don't get to complain about it. You don't like the way it is? Don't buy it. Simple, that is how capitalism works, that is how economics works, that is how quality control works.
That is all there is to it.
The one thing I find truly despicable is that if any other company tried this they'd be raked over the coals and tarred and feathered. They would take a loss or barely break even, maybe if it was bad enough possibly (unlikely though it most likely would be) go under.
Not Blizzard, nope, they get to tell consumers what to do, when to do it, and they get paid to do so. They're going to make a mint off this it doesn't matter, and the implications for the industry will be detrimental. Blizzard might as well be snorting coke in front of a cop, while insulting your mom, and dropping a deuce in the brownie bowl for all the freaking impunity they tout.
You are all heart, buddy.
Blizzard does not need your protection. The fact that Blizzard explained from the start how the game would work doesn't change or excuse the fact that what they did pull the rug from under many a gamer's feet. Not everyone can afford a connection that can match and work with the one that Blizzard's servers are supporting.
I am not paying to play the game whenever I like ? Umm, funny, that's how the concept of video gaming has been for the past 30 years or so. The ability to connect to Blizz's servers is via Battle.net accounts. If you like your wallet getting bent over, laggish dungeons, RMAH that next to noone asked for to begin with and are happy that Blizzard just made their problems yours, that's fine. Stop considering yourself supperior or harassing people due to their consumer choices cause you are one of the many that decided to cave in and fork over money.
And while on the subject, the DRM wasn't for quality control. Oh no, its' main purpose is to protect the real money auction house. The game has already been copied and anyone with a bolstered connection can play. So yeah, if DRM was indeed to help shield against pirates, it pretty much worked like crap. The game isn't cracked yet but when it will be via a server emulator, all of THIS, will have been for nothing.
And you just happen to know how a person thinks after waiting 10 years for this, am I right ? You sound like a people person. Let's see if you will think the same next time Blizzard decides to perform maintenance during your playtime. Or the time after that. Or the time after that.
yeah, I've been flipping over some of the boxes I have at work and it really doesn't make any mention of 'permanent' Internet connection required, unlike say Ubisofts Splinter Cell of Assassins creed 2.
Even the Amazon page doesn't even mention that it needs to connection at all.
That's not shady as all fuck, is it?
I'm not mad about it. I expect bullshit and piss-taking from businesses.
I just didn't buy it. There are always other options, Blizzard, a couple of which are due to release soon, as it happens.
The login problems were damn annoying. Blizzard could do what every new launch might be wise to do.
Servers are expensive. You don't want to spec for peak load or you'll be bleeding money, SIGNIFICANT money, at normal load. To handle peak load, rent server space. It's out there, LOADS of it, and you can afford it. The goodwill and astonishment a successful, non-bogged launch provides alone is worth it, not to mention the money you saved on not speccing for peak load.
But there's complaining and there's complaining. Blizz not providing the service we paid for is completely and totally complain-worthy, but the decision to make the game always-online removes a much larger amount of complexity from the system as a whole than most people realize. On the sadder yet unfortunately still relevant other side of the argument, it hits a lot of money-words for the people who put dollar signs on everything, and having those people nervous makes very bad work environments happen for the creative people.
Tl;dr: I don't mind always-on requirement, but I require that the service be available for me.
I'd like to bring up another point that MAY have been mentioned in the thread already: I fear for the future of this generation of games. I mean, I love blowing the dust off an old console and play one of my good old games that I used to love. Sometimes the nostalgia trip dies horribly, but often I have a grand time. THIS generation of games will in large part not be playable in 10-15 years, because servers the game hits up in order to play will no longer be around. SOME companies might free their games from these restrictions, but many will not. I recently played Duke Nukem 3D again, and it was a fun time to frag a friend for a while. I also remember playing Bad Company 2, I think it was... can you multiplay that at all anymore? If you still can... sooner or later you won't be able to. The game, with whatever good and bad it ever offered, is essentially dead forever. At the very least the upgrade systems and shit will no longer apply, as no server records your progress and gives you new toys. Will this generation's games, at least a fairly large part of them, be lost to the ages?
It is simply astounding how many people are ready to jump to blizzards defense. I guess the taste of guano has special meaning for these people.
"You knew what you were paying for, dont complain" ...yeah thats right, it says right there on D3's box art "This game will not be playble at launch and gameplay in general will be shit because our servers are powered by a handicapped hamster"
Seriously are these guys getting paid by Blizzard or are they just that deep in denial? You pay money, you get what you were descriped having in exchange for your money. Especially since PC gaming these days means you wont get refunds unless the game is completely broken. How is this difficult?
The always online thing is mostly to protect their newest source of income, the Real Money Auction House.
I don't give a shit about Blizzard.
I do however give a shit about people like you and all the other whiney self-entitled jackasses. What's wrong with the game industry? people like YOU.
The ones who will buy the exact same thing they decide to have a moral uprising over. You don't like the always online DRM? Don't fucking buy the game. You weren't cheated, you made the informed choice to play a game that was always online. If asshole kids like you didn't exist, companies like EA and Activision wouldn't exist, because no one would buy their products. No, you feel like you can just purchase all the games you want anyways, and then spend your time complaining on the internet. No one cares what you think, because you have no conviction. You just buy the game and expect everyone to bend to your wishes. DRM isn't the quality control, self sacrafice is. You didn't have to buy it, but you did.
You don't have the right to complain, and only get that right back when you get a refund.
And as an aside: You're full of shit too. The RMAH exists specificly because of all the real-money transactions that exited in Diablo II (most of which are scams). The market existed with or without the RMAH, Blizzard just made their own system.
what the hell does it matter how long its been in development for? If the game lacks polish i dont care if its a AAA publisher with 10 years to make or an indie studio with 2...
stop making excuses for sub standard games!
Classy. You should look up the definition of whining since you like using it so much.
After 2 installmens that had both offline and online gameplay, after so much fandom appeal and wait for D3, people woke up to a game that required them to be online 24/7. Wasn't cheated ? Do a bit of digging to see how many gamers actually have a connection. Not even a good one. Just a connection.
One of the reasons one should complain after buying a title is criticism. If one can't take that, he shouldn't be in the business. That's one you don't get. Solid reasons for which a game doesn't live up to your expectations (some people say the rune system is a bit...meh) or technical difficultes you come across and hinder your game after you buy it, are criticisms if presented correctly.
Since Blizzard commited to a full online game, one should expect that they have nailed down the connections. For every good comment I read, there are 2 that complain about lag. And it makes sense. Especially in Europe.
If my money was spent on something I expected more from but I was led to believe otherwise, it's my goddamn right to complain.
Nobody asked for the RMAH. People's gameplay is getting the shaft cause of something NOBODY asked for in the first place. You think I am the one who is full of shit ? Blizzard decided to lag everybody's game in order to protect their wallets.
P.S. You assume too much. I haven't bought the game. What I have done though is report you.
I'm well aware of what it means
World of Warcraft was the exact same way, and they always made that very clear. If you don't like it, don't buy or play it.
Once again, those are YOUR expectations. This isn't the story or late game/hidden mechanics that can be criticzed, this is basic stuff. You don't get to complain because Starcraft is a RTS when you wanted it to be a turn based strategy. You don't get to complain when there aren't skill points, only runes. Just because you thought the game would work one way, counter to how they sold it, doesn't give you any rights. That is how it is, that is how it was designed, and THAT is how they advertised it.
That is a straight out lie, and the thousands of websites selling characters, items and gold is proof enough. Just because the market exists, doesn't mean you are allowed to stick your head in the sand. It is going to happen, without the RMAH, and it is in the safest method to just integrate it into battle.net anyways.
I assume nothing, I am replying to you, but talking to everyone on the internet.
Go for it, I used big mean words.
Ah, nerd rage. Deep and abiding nerd rage.
Here's reality: servers going down sucks.
Here's another reality: servers are going to go down sometimes unless you are Google or Microsoft.
Here's a third reality: always being online, and all characters having to be multiplayer characters, is a good thing for the publisher, the game, and the end consumer.
Put these three together, and we see reality: sometimes, making a game better will have some negative side effects that are outweighed by the good.
The truth is that your nerd rage is misplaced. Is it right to whine about the Diablo III servers being down? Sure.
Is it right to whine about having no single player in Diablo III? No.
Why is this so? The answer is very simple: the fact that all characters are automatically multiplayer has large positive consequences. It makes playing multiplayer much easier, and it prevents a lot of computer-side hacking (or at least, greatly complicates it). In many games, you could just have single and multiplayer be basically the same thing, but in Diablo type games, you can't. The reason is that the game is ultimately about farming items and nothing else. People will cheat this system in single player, which is fine, but if you then bring a cheaty single player character into a multiplayer environment everything goes to shit.
People hate cheaters more than they hate everything else, and cheaters ruin game experiences like these. It also ruins the in-game economy and overall makes the game worse.
Likewise, people being unable to play the character they've been working on for so long by themselves with their friends later on down the line is also terrible, and can make people quit playing the game.
Thus, ultimately, you are put in the situation where the optimal solution is the always-on multiplayer of Diablo III. It has the downside of the servers going down means the game is unplayable, but it has the upside of people being able to more easily play the game with their friends. Ultimately, from both the standpoint of Blizzard and the vast majority of consumers, the cost (the servers going down, which will presumably be quite rare) is greatly outweighed by the benefits (less cheating, people always being able to play with their friends).
I have not had issues with lag, either in release week or otherwise. Are you running other things, like steam downloading games, while you're playing? Because frankly, the only time I've even seen a little bit of lag was when I was downloading all the Thief games simultaneously on Steam.
Being angry about bad things is alright, but being angry about good things - good things you are unable to understand - is bad, and makes them think (well, know really) that most people are just incurable nerd ragaholics who are utterly unable to try and think beyond the immediate.
Servers being down sucks, and I agree that it is bad, especially on launch day (which, not coincidentally, is when it is most likely to happen) but the idea that the always online thing is some sort of evil devil out to shove shit down your throat is just an example of why companies cannot take most of their customers seriously - because they don't know the first thing about what they're talking about.
Maybe it would be better to stand back, take a deep breath, and consider WHY they're doing something (and not try to come up with nefarious conspiracies, but why real people would do it - people who are not drooling morons) rather than creating a ranty video or raging online. If, after careful and through consideration, you think that it is still wrong, then yeah, post about it. But it is clear that most of you, including the maker of this video, did not do so.
Here's the thing, I, and many, many other I know, did not buy D3 for the multiplayer. I wanted the single player, just as I did in D2. And to many people, making single player mode online seems to be a step back.
The optimal solution to me would be to allow an offline single player mode, which cannot be transferred online, in conjunction with the online single player mode.
|Pages PREV 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 NEXT


text:
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — At least publicly, Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas said he wasn't looking at his team's trip to the USA Rink at the Whitehead Lake Placid Olympic Center, site of the "Miracle on Ice," as a source of inspiration to keep beating the Montreal Canadiens.
"It's hard to say. We'll see on Thursday," said Thomas about the chance he might be re-energized by the visit to the Adirondacks today and tomorrow. "Really, already the main focus is switching to Thursday and then playing in Montreal. This isn't the Olympics. It wouldn't be a miracle if we were able to win Thursday. So it's a totally different situation."
Boston would've needed a miracle had they lost Monday's Game 3 at the Bell Centre. Instead they pulled off a 4-2 win, buoyed by Thomas' 34 saves, to cut the Canadiens' lead in the series to two games to one. Most of Boston's players took today as an off day. The team is scheduled to practice Wednesday morning on the ice sheet that witnessed the Americans' dramatic win over the USSR in the 1980 Olympics en route to the gold-medal triumph.
While chatting with the media in Locker Room 5, the room the U.S. team allegedly used during its "Miracle" run, Thomas recalled today how he was 5 years old when watched the U.S win gold on television back at his home in Flint, Mich.
"I already had some inkling that I wanted to be a goalie, but those Olympics and Jim Craig sealed the deal," said Thomas. "That's why I became a goalie. And my goal was, at age 5 until really until probably 20, was to play in the Olympics. Not that I didn't want to play in the NHL, but the main goal was the Olympics."
The Bruins can be thankful that Thomas decided to stay in the crease for his career and that he didn't give up on the NHL dream even when he was thriving in Europe with scant attention from the scouts back home.
On the verge of winning a second Vezina Trophy in three years, Thomas has become a cornerstone of Boston's franchise turnaround. Once out of the playoffs two years in a row out of the lockout, the Bruins have qualified for the postseason four straight years and won two division titles. Thomas has been their starter for three of those seasons.
Some would even say that Thomas' career has been a miracle, considering how long it took him to establish himself as a regular at the game's highest level. In that way, the "Miracle" has already made its impact on Thomas.
He summed up the U.S. 1980 win and his team's current visit to its site better than anyone else really could.
"It's more inspirational to life though than this one upcoming game in Montreal."


text:
Trend to Collect: Graphic Realism
Artsy Specialist
Emerging on the street art scene of New York under the name REAS when he was 17 years old, Todd James creates acrylic paintings on canvas that retain the graphic nature of his early graffiti work. Distinguished by their hard-edged blocks of Day-Glo and neon colors that congeal into figurative compositions, James's work ranges from the sexual—nude and scantily clad women—to the more political—gun-toting figures in tropical environs. Such subjects retain a sense of lightness through the artist's buoyant use of color. His work draws from his diverse set of experiences; it demonstrates affinities with his former collaborators Steve Powers and Barry McGee, while its offbeat pop sensibility aligns it with musicians such as the Beastie Boys and Miley Cyrus and reflects his background in making puppets for a comedy series.
American, b. 1969, New York, New York
Trend to Collect: Graphic Realism
Artsy Specialist
Somali Pirates and Ditzy Sunbathers in the Tragicomic Paintings of Todd James
Artsy Editorial


text:
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, April 25 (UPI) -- Viewing sexually explicit material via the Internet, videos and magazines may affect teen and adult sex behavior but less than thought, Danish researchers say.
Gert Martin Hald of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and colleagues conducted an online survey of 4,600 people ages 15-25, who lived in The Netherlands.
The survey revealed 88 percent of males and 45 percent of females said they watched sexually explicit material via the Internet, magazines, videos, television or other media in the previous 12 months.
There was a direct association between watching sexually explicit media and a variety of sexual behaviors -- in particular adventurous sex and sex that involves the exchange of money -- even when a number of other factors were taken into account.
However, this association was modest -- between 0.3 percent and 4 percent of differences in sexual behaviors. The findings indicate watching sexually explicit media is one of a number of factors that may shape the sexual behaviors of young individuals, but it may not be as directly linked as previously thought, Hald said.
"Our data suggest that other factors such as personal dispositions -- specifically sexual sensation seeking -- rather than consumption of sexually explicit material may play a more important role in a range of sexual behaviors of adolescents and young adults, and that the effects of sexually explicit media on sexual behaviors in reality need to be considered in conjunction with such factors," Hald said in a statement.
The study was published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.


text:
Tens of thousands of computers in the United States are still infected with DNSChanger and, if you haven't checked, yours could be one of them.
And if your computer is infected, you could be effectively cut off from the Internet on July 9. Fortunately, checking for an infection is easy and a fix is available — if users will take the time to find out.
"Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility, and each of us has a role to play," Rand Beers, undersecretary for the Homeland Security Department's National Protection and Programs Directorate, writes in a recent DHS blog post. His point is that, for all the work the FBI and DNSChanger Working Group has put into cleaning up the botnet and running substitute servers to protect users, the last chapter in this story falls to the individual.
Related coverage:
Poor follow-up left public vulnerable after FBI's DNSChanger bust
FBI, working group reboot effort to rid computers of DNSChanger
Users can test for a DNSChanger infection at the working group's website. "In fact, I just tested my computer at home," Beers writes, "the process was simple, straightforward, and only took a few minutes."
And Beers' time frame of a "few minutes" must include going to the site, reading the clearly written instructions, and then clicking on the link to check for infection. Because once you get to the page for detecting an infection and click on the link, the results come back instantaneously.
It's a small step for people to ensure they don't lose the ability to navigate the Internet come July 9.
DNSChanger was used in an Estonia-based clickjacking scheme that infected as many as 4 million computers around the world during its four years of operation. The malware redirected Domain Name System queries through servers run by the clickjacking group, manipulating advertising and sometimes disabling security software so that it was not detected and removed.
In all, the scheme generated more than $14 million in illicit fees for directing traffic to targeted sites between 2007 and November 2011, when the FBI busted the ring.
If the FBI had shut down the servers when they arrested the ring, those millions of infected computers would have been effectively shut off from the Internet, because their DNS queries would have been directed to servers that were no longer working. So the FBI received a court order to operate clean replacement servers using the IP addresses of the rogue servers, and named the nonprofit Internet Systems Consortium to run them.
The original court order covered 120 days and was set to expire March 8. But with millions of computers still infected as that deadline approached, the FBI got an extension until July 9. After that? The replacement servers get shut down and anyone with an infected machine could have their Internet browsing wind up at a dead end.
DNSChanger has largely been scrubbed from computers in government, industry and among individual users, but as of April 10, more than 84,000 computers in the United States, and several hundred thousand worldwide, were still infected.
That's why Beers and DHS joined the FBI, and the DNSChanger Working Group is banging the drum to get people to check their computers. It is, as he said, a simple, straightforward process and well worth the effort, just to be sure.
In addition to the working group's website, you can get additional information on DNSChanger at an FBI site dedicated to the subject.
About the Author
Kevin McCaney is a former editor of Defense Systems and GCN.
E-Mail this page
Printable Format
Instructions:1. Follow the link in the article2. Click "Detect"3. Click on the link on that pageGreen Background = OKRed Background = ProblemsI think even the non-techies can handle this one. :)If you had just followed the link in the article, you would have been done in less time than it took to ask. :)
Editor's note: The DNS Working Group website http://www.dcwg.org/ has step-by-step instructions for checking manually, or you can do an easy, one-click check. Click on "Detect" on the home page and the instructions will walk you through it. Or, the easiest thing to do is paste this URL into your browser: http://www.dns-ok.us/ If it comes up green, you're good (and it will tell you so). No software is downloaded when you take the test.
Is it possible to get a step by step on how to check the DNS Changer on any PC? It may be elementary to techies, but we non-techies shall be at a loss comes July 2012. Thanks
I haven't seen anything about this on local TV or news media. Other than this site there hasn't been any mention of the DNS Changer in months. Mr. Beers isn't doing a very good job of directing people to the site vis a vi the general public.
Advanced Search
8251 Greensboro Drive, Suite 510
McLean, VA 22102
© 2018 1105 Media, Inc.
8251 Greensboro Drive, Suite 510
McLean, VA 22102703-876-5100 © 1996-2017 1105 Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Mass. man accused of blackmail after sexual tryst with Salem manBy JAMES A. KIMBLE
Union Leader Correspondent
September 11. 2013 9:16PM
BRENTWOOD — A Springfield, Mass., man accused of blackmailing a married Salem man he met for a sexual tryst is now facing extortion and harassment charges.
William Gray, 48, was indicted by a grand jury on single counts of attempted theft by extortion and harassment, according to prosecutors. He faces up to 7 ½ to 15 years in prison if convicted by a jury on the attempted-theft charge, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors say Gray forced the victim to pay $3,000 for furniture at a Bob's Furniture store after the two had met through Craigslist for a sexual encounter. Gray allegedly threatened to tell the man's wife that he had a sexual encounter with him, according to investigators.
Gray was seeking another $2,400 more from him when the victim turned to Salem police for help on April 17, according to prosecutors.
Gray was arrested by Salem police on May 9.
Gray's lawyers have argued that the victim was not being entirely honest with police about the incident.
During two phone calls monitored by Salem police, Gray never explicitly said he was going to tell the alleged victim's wife about the sexual encounter, according to public defenders.
Salem police Detective Michael White testified at a court hearing in May that the two men decided to meet at a Friendly's restaurant prior to their sexual encounter.
After, Gray wanted a ride back to the restaurant, White said.
While riding as a passenger in the victim's car, Gray "began to make statements that their encounter was recorded and he would disclose the encounter to his wife," White testified. "He also began to recite personal information that the alleged victim did not give him."
Gray, who claimed his first name was "David," recited the alleged victim's home address and the name of his wife and daughter, according to White.
Police said Gray threatened the man again on April 17, telling him that he was calling from a nearby Salem motel and he was going "to go to (the victim's) house with his boys and tell wife about his encounter," if the man refused to pay the money, White testified.
Gray will be arraigned on the charges later this month in Rockingham County Superior Court.


text:
Bit chilly out, isn't it? If you're still running about in flip-flops and short sleeves then a) You're mental and b) take a look at the calendar, it's the middle of October!
Global warming may be jumbling up the seasons like a misguided game of drunken Twister, but winter's definitely kicking in now. If the change in weather has caught you by surprise, have no fear! We've put together a round up of our favourite trophy jumpers for the season, meaning you'll be able to make a statement with your knitwear while saving the pennies keeping the immersion heater switched off.
Scroll down to check out our picks!
Shades of Grey Jumper with Fairisle Print - £150
And if you want something classic and stylish try this jumper selection.


text:
Event has passed
Widespread PanicFriday, April 26th, 2013Seating Chart« view all past events
Nashville, TN After a yearlong hiatus, Widespread Panic has announced dates for their much-anticipated 2013 Spring Tour. The tour marks the first time the legendary sextet will tour featuring their full electric set up since 2011. To help celebrate the long-awaited return to the road, Widespread Panic will include intimate, fan favorite venues at select stops this spring.
The tour begins with two nights at the Peabody Opera House in St. Louis, MO on April 9 & 10 and wraps with two nights in Nashville, TN at The Woods at Fontanel on May 3 & 4. Other cities include Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis and Louisville.
Fans recently had a taste of what they have been missing when Widespread Panic played a rousing sold-out New Years Eve show at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC. The prior evening, the band wowed the crowd during their annual Tunes For Tots benefit. To date, Tunes for Tots has raised over $900,000. for music programs in Georgia public schools.
In early 2012, Widespread Panic embarked on their first-ever fully acoustic Wood Tour. The tour featured select, small venue performances in four cities over 11-dates. In October of 2012, the band released Wood, a special edition 3LP boxed set and double live CD, featuring selections from the special tour. Wood was very well received in the press and the fan reaction was overwhelming.
After 27 years, Widespread Panic (John Bell, Dave Schools, Todd Nance, John Jojo Hermann, Domingo Sunny Ortiz and Jimmy Herring) is as strong as ever as they continue to break attendance records at major venues throughout the U.S. Stay tuned for more dates.
This is a food drive event.
Please note that tickets in the Orchestra & Pit sections are paperless. Please visit www.ticketmaster.com/paperless for more info. Patrons who purchase in the 100 sections and lawn will receive printed tickets.
More Info: http://www.widespreadpanic.com


text:
ECE News Story
Maryland Team to Compete in ACM "Battle of the Brains" World Finals
The University of Maryland is one of only 21 universities in the U.S. to participate in the 33rd annual World Finals of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC), also known as the "Battle of the Brains," sponsored by IBM.
The world's brightest computer programming talent will compete in the contest, which will be held at KTH-The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden on April 18-22, 2009. More than 7,100 teams representing 1,838 universities went head to head this past fall during the Regionals portion of the competition, all vying for a top spot to qualify for the World Finals. A total of 100 universities worldwide will compete in April.
Teams of three students will be challenged to use their programming prowess and mental endurance to solve complex, real-world problems – a semester's worth of curriculum – in just five hours. Programmers will tackle challenges from a variety of industries, such as developing a routing program to ensure secure business transactions over the internet, optimizing traffic flows, constructing a racecourse, plotting the most efficient route for a hospital helicopter and designing a Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation program. This contest gives collegiate computer programmers the opportunity to hone their problem-solving skills, using open standards such as Linux and Eclipse, which are being adopted by industries around the world. The team that solves the most problems correctly in the least time will emerge as World Champions, earning scholarships, bragging rights and prizes from IBM.
Additionally, as part of the week's events, finalists will hear from top IBM experts and analysts about IBM's bleeding-edge research on cloud computing, green IT and gaming technologies, some of the most popular and exciting realms of human and computer interaction and communication.
The faculty coach of the Maryland team is Computer Science Professor Amol Deshpande. The three student contestants are: Alan Jackoway, Mitchell Katz, and Richard Matthew McCutchen.
For more information, visit the ACM-ICPC website.
March 14, 2009
Prev Next


text:
The conservative approach to criminal justice: fighting crime, supporting victims, and protecting taxpayers.
Batman Forever is not exactly a widely beloved entry in the Batman filmography. After the intensely grim Batman Returns — which is the best live-action Batman film — the studio decided to turn things around and get goofy. Taking inspiration from the 1966television series , Batman Forever became a '90s update of the vibrant and campy take on the Caped Crusader.
While this did lead to many fans not vibing with the shift in tone, Batman Forever has an incredibly important place in superhero history. And that's its status as the first major superhero film to attempt to discuss homosexuality and bisexuality.
Now, it's worth noting that Batman Forever isn't explicitly bringing up gay/bisexual relationships. In 1995, general audiences wouldn't have been too keen on such overtly queer characters in their superhero movie. However, director Joel Schumacher took the reins after Tim Burton's departure and Schumacher has been an openly gay artist for the majority of his career. He used hisbig-budget franchise moment to sneak in a lot about gay/bisexual relationships.
So, while this article is going to be a deep dive into how gay Batman Forever is, it's important to note that all of this is just beneath the surface of what you see in the movie. There are easy heterosexual reads of the film that would ignore all of the movie's subtext.But, there is plenty to digest and analyze. And you don't have to dig too deep. So, let's get started.
It's clear that Schumacher wanted to explore the gay undertones of the relationship between Batman and Robin . Now, this suggestion has often been the butt of a lot of poor-taste jokes. But, it's important to know that it gained popularity in the 1954 book Seduction of the Innocent by Dr. Fredric Wertham. Wertham's book was a scathing indictment of comic books and their supposed influence on children. He asserted that the relationship between Batman and Robin was "a wish dream of two homosexuals living together" and that "the Batman type of story may stimulate children to homosexual fantasies." Of course, this was presented in a negative tone and helped to stigmatize the idea of Batman and Robin as homosexual partners.
Such bolts from the blue seem to hit when weariness or ill fortune have plowed through the ground of reason, breaking it up so magic can take root. What follows is so perfect that to call it accidental defies belief. Diana Archer is an absolutely—mathematically!—average woman, living an unremarkable life, when destiny reaches her. Without quite knowing how or why, she finds herself leaving everything familiar and moving into a world where miracles are commonplace, where her supposed flaws become her salvation, and where each person's story is everyone's.
In this exuberant allegory, bestselling memoir and self-help author Martha Beck takes readers into the wild parts of the world and the human psyche. The story of helps every reader chart a course for awakening to greater joy, adventure, and purpose.
It feels almost magical to Diana Archer—out-of-work store clerk, former foster child, and bearer of multiple psychological diagnoses—when she's pulled into the orbit of world-famous life coach and reality TV star Roy Richards. Together, Diana and Roy embark on the latest in his series of "conquests," surviving a month in California's trackless Sierras Oscuras National Forest.
It's in the forest that their quest devolves into disaster—and the real magic begins. Lost, alone, and dying, Diana is taken under the trotter of a benevolent spirit animal (or is it a projection of her perennially troubled mind?) who promises to take her home. But "home" proves to be a place much more mysterious than Los Angeles. Awakening is the goal, Diana learns, and bewilderment is the method.
As the first volume of the three-part "Bewilderment Chronicles" proceeds, Diana will undergo a transformation that will change her irrevocably, and just possibly save the world. Let the enchantment begin.
"This book is everything. It's a romp, a fable, a myth, an inspiration, a teachable moment, a true hero's journey, a cautionary tale, and a fairy tale for an entirely new (or rather, ANCIENT) species of fairies. It's rare that so much wisdom can be found wrapped up in such comedy, such kindness, such lightness of touch. It's a perfect book. I want every woman I know to read it. This is storytelling at its very best, and also at its most important."— ELIZABETH GILBERT , bestselling author of and
"What I love about this book is that you think you're reading a grand adventure story, but by the end of the book you realize you've been abducted by the genius Martha Beck who has given you a soul transfusion—you're more awake, more inspired, deepened, broadened, uplifted. I was amazed that a book can be so funny and so enlightening at the same time. Now I have to read it again, because I know that hiding within the book's oddest twists and turns, there is even more spiritual gold to be mined. Martha Beck has written for our times, but this time, the story comes with instructions on how each one of us can find our way home. — ELIZABETH LESSER , Cofounder of Omega Institute, author of the bestseller, and
"Even though this book is fiction and not self-help or memoir, Martha does not hold back her clear instructions for living with greater peace. I devouredin the span of a few days; I daresay it is the most powerful book I've ever read for furthering my own personal and spiritual growth." — CHRISTINE CARTER, Ph.D ., Author of
is available in the US and Internationally for purchase online—both digitally and in print—at the following locations. Please also check your local independent bookseller for a copy of Can't find it there? Then join in our "Request Herself" campaign to request the book at your local library, school, or bookstore. See details below.
Enjoy a sweet discount on a 5-pack offor your book club or all your holiday shopping needs.
"Once in a triple blue moon, a book comes along that combines riveting narrative, delightful characters, and timeless spiritual wisdom: In , Martha Beck has written such a story. Beck takes readers on an unforgettable, magical journey filled with deep truths that resonate, above all, in the heart. Who knew enlightenment could be so much fun?"— SUSAN CASEY , author of , , and
Maria Shriver: Architects of Change Series —Enjoy thisconversation betweenMaria Shriver and Martha Beck, as they discuss Martha'snew self-published book, and first work of fiction,.Shriver began the conversation by asking Beck, "Who is Diana, Herself?" Watch the video above to learn more about the book that the life coachcalls her best work of self help yet.
In this series of short videos, Author and Life Coach Martha Beck shares insight into her latest book, "Diana, Herself: An Allegory of Awakening" to help you understand how this is her truest and best self-help book yet!
Hear Martha explain how the locations of Diana, Herself – Los Angeles, the forest, the cave – are part of the host of characters that make this book so magical.
Martha describes the character of Devin (derived from the Hindi word for angel). Watch for a preview of what's to come later in the Bewilderment Chronicles trilogy!
Hear Martha describe the backstory of Cloyd, a character who proves incredibly useful to Diana on her journey towards awakening.
Martha takes us through the character of Diana in her new book, showing us how this "little human, who feels so unimportant, is actually holding the universe."
Martha talks about how her latest book, Diana, Herself: An Allegory of Awakening, uses symbols to describe the process of awakening.
Martha explains how her latest book, Diana, Herself, is full of symbols that represent you… and tells you how to create magic in your life!
Meet Herself, Martha's favorite of all the characters she's ever created. Find out the fascinating backstory for this delightful, hilarious and magical centerpiece of Martha Beck's incredible new book, Diana, Herself.
Want to learn more about theSeven Tasks covered in Martha's latest book? Enjoy a series of short articles written by Martha, Herself to discover the steps to Awakening.
Task Two: Don't Swallow Poison
Task Three: Let Yourself Be Moved
Task Four: Demolish Your Definition of Self
Anywear Womens Anywearlx Health Care and Food Service Shoe White 58o1R1AO0o
Guide to Bewilderment (A printable version from the book!)
Download and print one of our super fun "Request Herself" forms and take it or mail it to your library, school, or bookstore to request "Herself" for their shelves. The form includes details on how to order the bookeasily, plus you get the privilege of introducing your community to your favorite author in a memorable way.
We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.
You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings .
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
You can adjust all of your cookie settings by navigating the tabs on the left hand side.
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.


text:
Deroy Murdock: The Obama administration has become the Obama regimeDEROY MURDOCK
August 25. 2013 9:23PM
Slowly at first, then all of a sudden, the Obama administration has devolved into the Obama regime. Those pesky impediments on his predecessors — namely, the separation of powers, federal law and the Constitution — have proved as tough as tissue paper in containing Obama's ambition to impose statism on America. From Obamacare to unions to telephones, it's basically another day, another decree.
"I have to figure out what I can do outside of Congress through executive actions," Obama told the Congressional Black Caucus, Politico.com reported. In Jacksonville last month, Obama announced, "Where I can act on my own, I'm going to act on my own. I won't wait for Congress."
Obamacare's internal contradictions threaten to tear it apart, like a crippled satellite re-entering Earth's atmosphere. Even committed collectivists like Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa Jr. and former Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean are fleeing.
But Obama still tries to keep Obamacare in orbit — by fiat. Obama gave employers another year to offer health insurance to their payrolls of 50 or more employees.
But nothing in Obamacare, aka the Affordable Care Act, empowers Obama to waive this mandate. Section 1513(d) clearly declares: "The amendments made by this section shall apply to months beginning after December 31, 2013."
When congressional Democrats screamed that Obamacare's costs might prompt staff resignations, Obama decided to extend the program's subsidies to members and their employees. Thus, Obama will bail out legislators who make $174,000 annually and aides whose 2012 earnings averaged $81,419 in the House alone, Legistorm.com estimates.
While taxpayers may weep for America's brave Hill staffers and their selfless bosses, Obama and the Office of Personnel Management rescued them illegally. As the Wall Street Journal noted, "OPM has no authority to pay for insurance plans that lack (Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan) contracts …."
Consequently, any Democrat or Republican who accepts this lawless perk will be guilty of receiving stolen goods.
Obama made three recess appointments to the five-member National Labor Relations Board on Jan. 4, 2012, even though the Senate was not in recess; it technically held pro-forma sessions during a break. Hence, the D.C. Circuit Court concluded last Jan. 25 that those nominations were "constitutionally invalid." Without those members, the NLRB lacked a quorum. That rendered bogus its decisions during the previous year. Regardless, the NLRB issued 112 rulings after the D.C. Circuit delegitimized those three members. Last May 16 and July 17, respectively, the Third and Fourth Circuit Courts of Appeal backed the D.C. Circuit's opinion. The Senate on July 30 confirmed fresh NLRB appointees, who now compose a proper quorum. They are sifting through 18 months of board decisions that the Fourth Circuit vacated as illegal.
By June 15, 2012, Congress had failed to adopt the so-called Dream Act. So what? Without legislative approval, Obama that day brazenly abandoned his duty to enforce existing law and instead shielded from deportation illegal aliens up to age 30 whose parents brought them here before age 16.
Just this month, Obama unveiled a new $6 billion cellphone tax to fund high-speed Internet links for government schools. Rather than support legislation for this tax, Obama expects his appointees to the Federal Communications Commission to impose it by edict. As White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said, "Unfortunately, we haven't seen a lot of action in Congress, so the President has advocated an administrative, unilateral action to get this done."
There is a way to get things done in Washington, and this is not it. Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, a reliably liberal jurist, put it well: "There is no provision in the Constitution that authorizes the President to enact, to amend, or to repeal statutes."
Obama sees things differently. For him, the Constitution is for chumps, and the law is for losers. In "History of the World: Part I," Mel Brooks observed: "It's good to be the king." Yes, but it's better to be Obama.
Deroy Murdock is a Manhattan-based Fox News contributor, a nationally syndicated columnist with the Scripps Howard News Service, and a media fellow with the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University.


text:
A cellphone ban: Ignoring inconvenient dataEDITORIAL
April 19. 2014 8:13PM
State senators voted Thursday to ban all handheld cellphone "use" by drivers - even while stopped. If the bill becomes law and you are stuck in traffic and need to call home, but cannot afford a Bluetooth headset, that will be a $100 fine for a first offense, $500 for a third. Call it the Make Poor People Pull Over Bill. No wonder they passed it on a voice vote, with no roll call recorded so there is no record of who voted for it.
Manchester Democratic Sen. Lou D'Allesandro said "The data is quite clear. This is worth doing because it saves lives." But the data are not clear at all.
Last August, researchers from the Rand Corp. and the Colorado School of Mines Division of Economics and Business studied California traffic accidents before and after that state's 2008 cellphone ban and concluded "we find no evidence of a reduction in accidents state-wide due to the ban."
Only a few weeks ago, University of Chicago economist Casey Mulligan wrote in The New York Times of a new study of accident data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Texas A&M researcher Cheng Cheng "finds no evidence that bans on texting affect accidents," Mulligan wrote, and "his data 'suggests that handheld bans might not reduce accidents.'" Mulligan concludes "perhaps lawmakers overestimated the benefits of regulating this sort of driver behavior."
We could go on, but what would be the point? Some studies suggest cellphone bans are helpful, some not. Legislators clearly are ignoring the science and doing what they think is politically beneficial.
This legislation probably will have little if any impact on accidents. But it definitely will outlaw checking your map app while stopped at a light or calling your spouse when stuck in traffic. It would even be illegal under this bill to use a traffic or emergency alert app to find your way out of a traffic jam.
If legislators are intent on banning handheld cell-phone use while driving - even though studies suggest that hands-free phone use is just as distracting - the very least they could do is change the bill's definition of "driving" to match the state's existing texting ban. Under that (apparently ineffective) law, the ban applies only when the car is moving. There is no possible justification for banning phone use in a stationary vehicle. Strip that insanity from the bill so that low-income Granite Staters can at least let their families know they will be late for dinner when stopped at a light or in traffic.
Crime, law and justice Politics Public Safety Social issues Technology Transportation Editorial


text:
I know this will be published on Dec. 26, but I want to give some respect to the holiday traditions that are slowly fading away from us every year.
First off, rummaging through my Christmas stocking every year is probably the best part of the day. You reach in, and you never know what you're going to get. These mini-gifts have always brought me great joy. Whether it's a candy bar or a pair of tweezers, stocking stuffers are just plain old fun. A few years back, my Dad's side of the family decided to quit the stocking tradition from our extended family Christmas get-togethers. My sister and I were appalled at the decision. Some of the family members claimed it was "Too much work." Thankfully, Santa continues to fill mine every Dec. 25. Thanks Santa!
One holiday tradition that I've never actually seen work is mistletoe. I think I've spotted it around before, but most people don't even know what mistletoe looks like. I think the problem with it is there are many Christmas decorations that have similar resemblance. Wreaths, poinsettias, garland, they all just kind of blend together. I'm sure some people have a few tales of awkward mistletoe moments, but I've certainly never heard of any.
Christmas caroling is one tradition I feel is dying more than all others. I've only been caroling once, and it was for one of our neighbors. Does anyone actually carol anymore?
One thing I enjoyed as a kid was driving around town looking at Christmas lights with my family. But it seems as though there are less and less houses decorated with lights every year. I don't know if it's because of the higher cost of living, or if simply a case of laziness. Either way, the Christmas light tradition is definitely fading away, which is unfortunate. I plan on decking out my future house with lights every year until the day I die.
Some of the other traditions I haven't heard of people doing in a while are making gingerbread houses, swapping white elephant gifts with friends, and sending Christmas cards.
In short, let's try and keep some of these traditions alive. Don't let the economy, technology, or any other modern way of living change the way holiday traditions are meant to be!


text: "The Hunter" is an adventure cinematic trailer score. It's made out of several parts, some are mysterious and full of suspence, and they build the energy to the parts where everything goes wild and action full. The instruments used in this song are strings, piano, trombone, pizzicato and orchestral percussion.


text:
The star of the Abu Dhabi skyline, Etihad Towers is a model of luxury and sophistication. Every aspect of the office tower features spectacular marble walls, impeccable finishes and modern lighting, from the grand lobby to the lifts. Etihad Towers offers its visitors and residents a memorable and exclusive first-class atmosphere of style and comfort.
Servcorp's serviced offices on the 36th floor, offer stunning views of the legendary Emirates Palace, the Abu Dhabi cornice and the Arabian Sea. The office tower caters to every need and is equipped with state of the art systems and managed facilities such as four floors of underground parking, valet parking, disabled facilities, prayer rooms, 24 hour security and a total of 24 elevators. With an array of restaurants, cafes, lounges, designer boutiques, a five star hotel, this location offers the best business solution in Abu Dhabi.
30 minute drive from Abu Dhabi international airport.
Taxis are available 24/7. A taxi pick up can be arranged by calling Abu Dhabi taxi 600 535353.
Ask to be connected to the internet – How long does it take?
Ask if the provider is Tier-1.
Ask to be allowed to check download speeds.
Ask to speak to IT support: Are they in-house or a third party? Are they even in the country?
Ask to be given a phone number so you can try the service before you buy.
Ask for a phone rate card.
Ask to meet your dedicated receptionist. The receptionist is the front line of your business.
Ask about disaster transfer.
Ask if your phone extension can roam at no cost to other locations.
Ask if the wireless internet is secure.
Ask what kind of firewall can be set up for your network.
Ask to see the transparency code of the provider.
Ask if incoming callers can dial '1' for voicemail to mobile.
Within 5 minutes walking distance:
Recommended lunch places:
Quest (Asian Cuisine) Level 63, Jumeirah at Etihad Tower,
Tel 02 811 5666
BICE (Italian Cuisine) Podium Level 1, Jumeirah at Etihad Towers,
Tel 02 811 5666
Scott's (Seafood) Ground Floor, Jumeirah at Etihad Towers,
Tel 02 811 5666


text:
It's been estimated that 30 percent of searches online are for people. How well do we find who we're looking for? That probably depends on how obscure the person is. For example, I share my name with a singer, a baseball player, an artist, an actor who also works as a set designer, and – perhaps most disturbingly – another writer who has written about computers and the Internet. Still, I can be found on the first page of Google. I can't say the same thing for our much more accomplished CTO, Rich Smith.
These days though, a lot of people use Google to research prospective employees, dates, tenants, what have you. Online, it's easy enough to mistake one person for another. If you happen to share a common name like Smith, or a particularly famous name as Josh Clark writing for Global Moxie pointed out, you're not going to show up high in Google's search results. There will be pages of other Smiths, or pages of sites devoted to your celebrity doppelganger.
Enter Spock. I first started hearing about this people search engine in early April. At the time they were just starting to receive financing; they're currently funded by Clearstone Venture Partners (who have also funded the likes of Overture and PayPal) and Opus Capital Ventures. Spock is still in private beta, so I had to content myself with reading reviews by Josh Clark and Tim O'Reilly while waiting for the invitation I'd requested.
I'm pleased to say I finally received that invitation, so for the first time I'm getting to look at something before all of the rest of the world has seen it. So fasten your seat belts; we're checking this ship out from stem to stern.
{mospagebreak title=Getting Started}
Believe it or not, the login screen was a little confusing for a second. Clicking on the link for my invitation, I came to this page, which, as with all the images in this article, I've cropped and reduced to fit:
Quickly, where do I log in? I thought it was the first set of text boxes until I saw the second set. By the way, I didn't get a login with my email. I am a member of LinkedIn, but I didn't want to use it for this trial. Fortunately, there's a link on this page (not shown here) that will let me skip the option of using a particular social networking service. So we come to this page next:
That part is easy; I put my name in and hit the check box telling it that I'm at least 13 years old. At first it didn't accept this, and I had to tell it again. Remember, this is a private beta after all. Once it does take my information it gives me a username, I put in a password, and we're off. I would be curious to see, once it gets out of private beta, how Spock will confirm that its users are at least 13 years old. There are a number of ways to do this; each of these has its own pluses and minuses (sadly I don't think the Vulcan mind meld is one of them).
Now that I'm logged in, I want to start searching. Here's my start page, with tips on some of the things I can do while I'm using Spock. Ignore what's in the search box for the moment; I put it there because I was so eager to get started. The box comes up blank when you start.
Spock's actual home page, by the way, looks more like this (I'll explain the "favorite" listed in the second part of this two-part review):
What you don't see in this picture, because I cropped it, are links in the upper right hand corner to Terri Wells (my name), Favorites, History, Settings, and Logout. I'll be coming back to those. Before I do, though, we're going to learn about all of the features listed on the start page. The Spock blog contains a series of entries that were posted on May 9 that do a great job of explaining everything, but there's nothing like trying it out yourself to get the hang of it.
{mospagebreak title=Searching With Spock}
Spock is set up to help you "look for all types of people, from famous people like Paris Hilton to people in your own personal network," says the Spock blog. You can search for them by name or use a category or tag, like athlete, celebrity, politician, singer, or even Star Trek actors. And of course you can get as specific as you want (George Bush comes up under a search for "Drunk Driver" for instance). You can even search for people relevant to a particular topic, like search engine optimization (Matt Cutts made it to the top of Spock's list there, to no one's great surprise). Spock populates its index by crawling Wikipedia and various social networking sites. Though it automatically creates tags, users can also add their own tags, and vote on the relevance of those tags.
Here it's worth noting that Spock seems to want very precise terms. When I searched on Star Trek actors, I received only 17 hits, most of them for actors that didn't ring any bells, and only one from the original series (a guest star at that). When I put in the term Star Trek actor, without the "s," it was an entirely different story:
You can't see it because I cropped this image to fit, but I received more than 1000 hits. As is appropriate for a search engine named Spock, Leonard Nimoy is at the top.
I'd like to point out a couple of really cool things about this search result that make it a better search for people than Google. First of all, every hit is one person, and every person is different. If you do a search on the name "William Shatner," for instance, you are NOT going to get 5,000 hits for William Shatner unless they are all different William Shatners – in this case, Shat happens only once. The other really cool thing is that each entry from the search results contains a ton of information you can see before you even click on it, including some of the person's tags, which are clickable and can lead you to other people who share those interests or that occupation. So there's plenty of room for serendipity.
There's one more really neat thing I'd like to show you about the search results before moving on. Right now you see them as a list. In the upper right corner of the results (again, I had to crop) are two clickable words, "List" and "Grid." When you click on Grid, you get this:
So if you're thinking to yourself, "Okay, I know this person was an actor on Star Trek, and I can't remember her name, but I know what she looked like, now who WAS she?!" you can find out more quickly than if you had to look at the full list. The list view shows only 10 people per page, but the grid view shows 40 people per page. And yes, the names under the photos are clickable, so you can go right from the grid to the person's profile.
Before we go to a profile, it's worth noting that the search button offers an advanced option. All you have to do is click on the word "Advanced" just below the search button. An advanced search looks like this:
You can use name or email, tags, location, age range, or gender, and require Spock to give you a picture (all in any combination). It's just another way to get specific about your search and help narrow things down.
{mospagebreak title=Getting a Profile}
So let's say we're fans of classic Star Trek, and decide to click on William Shatner. Here's a screen shot of the page that greets us when we do:
I'm afraid the screen shot really doesn't do this profile justice. You'll notice there are multiple parts. At the upper left of course is Shatner's name. Just under that is a section for the tags that everyone has given him. Below that is a section that shows web sites that are related to him. Beneath that is a section for related people. Then, at the upper right, is his picture, with a few vital statistics (his age, gender, how many times the profile has been viewed and any other names by which he is known). Right above his name are links to Tags, Pictures, Related People, and Contact Info, which take you to the full information in each section.
I'm barely scratching the surface here though. Every tag is clickable; every website is clickable; every related person (when there are related people) shows up in the related people section with a picture with a clickable name. So you can potentially find out a lot about a person in a relatively short amount of time, which makes this great for researchers.
With a celebrity like William Shatner, though, not everything fits neatly onto one page. For example, if you think that list of tags looks a little short for a former captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise, just click on the tags title and you'll see you were right:
The blue link at the bottom that's hard to make out in this image says "show tags with negative scores." These are the tags that have been voted down as not being relevant to the person in the profile; when you click to show the tags, they appear on the page in red, just below the rest of the tags.
You can click on the titles of the appropriate sections to show all the websites related to this person, and all the relevant people related to this person. Or if you don't feel like clicking on the titles of the sections, in the lower right hand corner of each section is a blue link that takes you to the same place (all tags, or all websites, or all related people). Of course, you can also click on the links I pointed out that appear above Shatner's picture to take you where you want to go. I think it's great that Spock is using this approach; if visitors can get to the same place in multiple ways, there's less chance that a user will get frustrated from being unable to find something.
Okay, there's one more thing I'd like to draw your attention to before I finish this part. Up near the top of this profile, between William Shatner's name and his picture, is a link that says "Forward." Yes, I know, it's a little hard to make out in the image. There was also a "Forward" link in the upper right corner of the search results. When you click that link, it pops up a fresh email from your email application, with the link already put in. The link is accompanied by a descriptive phrase, so whoever receives your email knows what he or she is getting. For example, if I'd used "Forward" right after I did my earlier search, the email would say "Hey, check out the link below – it's a really cool search result for "Star Trek actor" on Spock."
Now this much alone would make Spock pretty cool and useful as a search engine. But there's a lot more going on here. Can you say web 2.0? In my next article, I'm going to continue this review by showing you how you can add and vote on tags, websites, and related people; claim your profile; and explain all those links at the upper right (your name, Favorites, History, and Settings at least; Logout should be obvious). So until tomorrow…


text:
8:00 pm
Global Voices "Arusi Persian Wedding " Set against the turbulent relationship between the United States and Iran, Iranian-American filmmaker Marjan Tehrani captures the struggle and excitement of her brother Alex and his bride Heather as they plan a Persian Islamic wedding in Iran. But when Alex's Iranian-born parents and Heather's conservative American father meet for the first time, cultures clash and test the couple to their limits. D
9:00 pm
Outdoor Idaho "Salmon River Lodges & Legacies" This special travels the Salmon River, stopping each night at a historic lodge to meet the people, who continue in the footsteps of hearty pioneers in the wild heart of Idaho. Each stop reveals a rich history. Rafters, guides, boat operators and residents all reveal how they are drawn to the river repeatedly - or permanently.G
9:30 pm
Dialogue "Doris Kearns Goodwin: Conversations from the Sun Valley Writers' Conference" The Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin talks with host Marcia Franklin about the lessons we can learn from Abraham Lincoln.G
10:00 pm
America ReFramed "Beyond Belief" Susan Retik and Patti Quigley are two ordinary soccer moms living in the affluent suburbs of Boston until tragedy strikes. Rather than turning inwards, grief compels these women to focus on the country where the terrorists who took their husbands' lives were trained: Afghanistan. Over the course of two years, as they cope with loss and struggle to raise their families as single mothers, these extraordinary women dedicate themselves to empowering Afghan widows whose lives have been ravaged by decades of war, poverty and oppression - factors they consider to be the root causes of terrorism. D


text: Salmon Creek Services Opened in 2005, Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center stands as Southwest Washington's most modern hospital, with a range of innovations to improve the health and the life of the community. Legacy Salmon Creek provides a unique hospital experience by combining the latest in medicine and technology and blending them into a setting designed for care and comfort. Legacy Salmon Creek Hospital, a vital part of Clark County and Southwest Washington, offers complete services for all ages. Tour our Family Birth Center » Slideshow Hospital Tour The latest medical technology in a comfortable, family-friendly environment. A shiny, spacious lobby to welcome patients and visitors. An expansive emergency room and multiple desks help provide efficient service. Bright, friendly colors and toys occupy children's attention in our pediatric emergency room. Advanced technology helps our compassionate staff provide the best care. Our family waiting areas are filled with light and plenty of room to relax. Our birth rooms host families in style and make for many beautiful beginnings. All of our neonatal intensive care rooms are private, allowing mom and baby a more relaxing bonding experience. Patients and visitors enjoy calm and quiet on our rooftop garden. 1 of View Larger » Slideshow Health services at Legacy Salmon Creek We provide a full range of inpatient and outpatient services, including: Breast Health Center Cancer care Cardiac rehabilitation Cardiology Children's care Day Treatment/Infusion Clinic Emergency Services Epilepsy Services Family Birth Center -- Take a tour online -- see slideshow above Foot and Ankle Clinic Healing garden Imaging Services Legacy Children's Center Maternal-fetal medicine Neurology and neurosurgery, including spine surgery Outpatient rehabilitation Pain Management Center Pediatrics Prescriptions may be filled at The Apothecary, an outpatient pharmacy located in Suite 310 on the third floor of Medical Office Building A, near the sky bridge. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Closed for lunch from 1 to 1:30 p.m.) Phone: 360-487-3700 Fax: 360-487-3709 Pulmonary rehabilitation Radiation oncology Rehabilitation services Sleep Services Stroke Program Surgical services for adults and children Total Joint Center Women's Services


text:
BAE to call in Woolf-led ethics pack
May find it difficult to sell weapons as a result
BAE Systems plc, the arms colossus at the centre of a decades-long stink over allegedly corrupt arms deals in Saudi Arabia, is to call in Lord Woolf, the former Lord Chief Justice, to validate its business practices.
The BBC reports that the weapons biz goliath - which says it is the fourth largest defence company worldwide - will set up an "independent ethics panel" led by Lord Woolf in coming months.
Interestingly, the Beeb's biz editor Robert Peston hints that the ethics panel may have been the brainchild of the non-executive part-timers on BAE's board.
This group, led by former BP No.2 Dick Olver, may be feeling a tad unsettled at having their names linked to the rather swashbuckling sales tactics BAE is said to have employed.
CEO Mike Turner and the other two UK-based operations men, Ian King and Chris Geoghegan, all joined BAE's precursor companies straight from university and have been hardcore British arms-industry types for their entire working lives (the group finance boss, George Rose, is a comparative newcomer, however, and USA-based chief Walt Havenstein is a former US Marine).
The ethics committee could be a false move, as its set-up effectively admits that BAE has a serious image problem. Worse, its remit will apparently be limited to current operations, without any inconvenient harking back to the past. As the long catalogue of allegations against BAE dates from the 1980s, even a solid upcheck from Lord Woolf is unlikely to silence the company's critics.
Conceivably, it might ease the ongoing BAE push into the US market, but Capitol Hill opponents of this are probably motivated by protectionism as much as probity. Ethics validation won't take away any of their ammunition.
And, worse still, the company probe could be bad news for sales and investor relations. Given the realities of the worldwide arms trade, many people might be reluctant to buy kit from or shares in a weapons maker known to be undergoing an internal effort to root out kickbacks and bribery. ®


text:
Meal Type
Featured Videos
Featured Content
Featured Brand Sites
Featured Brand Sites
Product By Category
Tools & Info
Cooking Tips
Healthy Living
Your Kids
Recipe Ideas
food&family Magazine
6 servings
Read MoreRead Less
Tap or click steps to mark as complete
Save 30 calories and 5g of fat, including 3g of sat fat, per serving by preparing with KRAFT Lite Zesty Italian Dressing, fat-free reduced-sodium condensed cream of chicken soup and 2% Milk VELVEETA.
Serve with a mixed green salad tossed with apple slices.
Remove pastry sheet from freezer; cover with plastic wrap. Thaw at room temperature 30 min., or in refrigerator 4 hours. Thawed wrapped pastry sheets can be stored up to 2 days in refrigerator.
* Nutrition information is estimated based on the ingredients and cooking instructions as described in each recipe and is intended to be used for informational purposes only. Please note that nutrition details may vary based on methods of preparation, origin and freshness of ingredients used.


text:
Reviewed by J.L. (age 9)
My favorite part was when Ernie pretended he was a pilot. He pretended he was driving a plane and skywriting. He pretended that Bert was in there too. I liked it because it was funny. He wasn't really a pilot. The pictures from this part were colorful and showed what he was imagining. I think that other kids would also like this part.
I liked the illustrations. One reason is because they helped me understand the story. When I didn't understand a sentence, I looked at the pictures to know what the author meant. Also, they were colorful. The illustrator used all sorts of different colors to make the pictures. The illustrations made me want to read this book again.
My favorite character was Ernie. I like him because he is imaginative. He imagined that he was a pilot, but he wasn't. He is a good friend. He listened to his friend Bert when he said to be quiet. The last reason is that he is just like me. I have a messy room, and he does too. My room is in the same room as my mom and dad, and his is in the same room as his friend Bert. Ernie is a lot of fun. I recommend this book to all the children around the world because it is easy to read. If you read this book you can learn more about airplanes. You can learn about all the things that are in the airplanes. If you like airplanes, you should read this book.


text:
Value Line is regarded as the best independent research available. More than just recommendations, Value Line provides the rationale behind its picks for greater understanding.
Kraft Foods (KFT - Free Kraft Stock Report), a component of the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average since September of 2008, is the largest food manufacturer in the United States and the second-largest in the world behind Swiss giant Nestle. The company, with annual sales approaching $50 billion, and a presence in roughly 160 countries, owns some of the most valuable, recognized consumer brands on the planet. In fact, it markets 11 brands with revenues exceeding $1 billion, including Kraft, Jacobs, LU, Maxwell House, Cadbury, Trident, Milka, Nabisco, Oreo, Philadelphia, and Oscar Mayer.
A Long And Complex History
The company's corporate history, dating back more than 100 years, reads like an intricate family tree, with not one but many roots. Indeed, the story of Kraft is really the tale of the consolidation movement across the U.S. food processing industry during the late 19th and 20th centuries. From the beginning, the largest pieces of the puzzle were James L. Kraft's wholesale cheese business (started in 1903); C.W. Post's cereal outfit (founded in 1895 and later incorporated as General Foods Corporation); and Oscar Mayer's meat operations (begun in 1883).
These three iconic units eventually merged after years of doing business as independent entities. In 1981, Oscar Mayer was gobbled up by General Foods Corporation, which, four years later, was itself acquired by Altria Group (MO), formerly Philip Morris Companies, a multinational conglomerate best known for its extensive tobacco operations. Then, a few years after that, in the 1989 time frame, Altria purchased Kraft for $12.9 billion, and integrated Kraft into its General Foods division.
The consolidation wave, aimed at generating cost savings and huge scale advantages, continued into the new millennium. In 2000, Altria bought Nabisco Holdings, maker of Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers, for $18.9 billion. It merged the company with its Kraft Foods unit (that name was adopted in 1995; it was known as Kraft General Foods previously), creating one of the world's most profitable food enterprises.
Separation From Altria
In 2001, Kraft became a public company again, when Altria sold 280 million Kraft shares via an initial public offering. Altria retained a super-majority (over 88%) interest in the company until early 2007, however. At that time, it distributed the remaining Kraft stake to its shareholders in a tax-free transaction.
Today, Kraft maintains one of the most diverse product portfolios of any domestic packaged food manufacturer. Since its separation from Altria, it has stayed true to its roots, remaining very active on the acquisition front, in search of greater economies of scale and more access to the world's booming markets, particularly in the Asia/Pacific region. In 2007, shortly after the separation was completed, Kraft purchased Groupe Danone's global biscuit business, and agreed to sell its cereal unit to Ralcorp Holdings (RAH) for $2.6 billion.
The Cadbury Deal
Most recently, in February of 2010, Kraft engineered one of the more daring mergers in its storied history. After a lengthy, cross-Atlantic tug of war, it acquired Cadbury, the famed British confectioner, for around $20 billion in stock and cash. The transaction creates numerous new synergy opportunities for Kraft, which now appears poised to increase its top line at a quicker pace (about 5%) than the overall food industry in the years to come.
In particular, on the revenue side, the company will likely benefit from higher exposure to some of the faster-growing merchandise categories in the food space (e.g., confection, snacks, and gum), and from a greater presence in emerging international countries, like China and India, where Cadbury has already invested a lot in marketing and distribution. (Emerging markets currently account for one-quarter of the top-line mix.) Cost savings related to the deal ought to be ample, too, given the larger scale of the new Kraft and the companies' overlapping back-office functions and facilities. In fact, the merger is expected to produce at least $750 million in cost synergies when the multiyear integration process is finished.
The Cadbury-related savings, coupled with productivity gains and restructuring benefits, should help to offset an uptick in commodity prices as the decade progresses. Though input costs have been generally favorable of late, inflation and better economic times will probably lead to higher prices for key commodities, such as cheese, coffee, and meats.
Solid Finances
Kraft increased its financial leverage to consummate the blockbuster Cadbury deal. But debt levels remain quite reasonable by industry standards. Moreover, free cash flow remains plentiful, which is supporting an above-average dividend payout and management's efforts to deleverage the balance sheet (and bring down interest payments).
In sum, Kraft is a well-managed packaged food outfit, nicely positioned to capitalize on cost savings opportunities, and on its participation in attractive product categories and emerging markets across the globe. The giant corporation's quality management team, sound finances, and healthy dividend yield also render this Dow component a fine choice for conservative accounts.
At the time of this article's writing, the author did not have positions in any of the companies mentioned.


text:
The main treatments for cancer are chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, hormonal therapy and targeted therapy.
They affect fertility in different ways. Some treatments can:
- stop or slow down sperm production
- damage the cells (germ cells) that produce sperm
- damage nerve endings or blood vessels in the pelvic area, leading to problems with erections or ejaculation
- affect hormone (testosterone) production.
After treatment, you can have your sperm tested regularly to find out if you've started to produce healthy sperm again.
Being able to get an erection and ejaculate does not always mean that you are fertile. Sometimes the semen may not have sperm in it.


text:
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Ben and Dogwood Junction is a GREAT dealer for us. Ben is a smart and dedicated owner with top notch customer service. I am intimately familiar with your EVO and why he kept it another day. Rest assured we will get it fixed and ready to ride today. You're going to LOVE it!


text:
Nangwa wrote:I would love to hear the story behind this. Is there a reference to a specific drunken bhiksu somewhere?Namdrol wrote:
You understand how the rule came about, no? It came about because some fool did something stupid as an ordained bhiksu.
We usually hear the stories about the great disciples etc. it would be fun to learn more about the foolish ones as well.
The story runs something like this: there was a monk who was quite handsome and a housewife enamored of him. She trapped him in her house and gave him three choices: kill a chicken, sleep with her, or drink some alcohol.
He thought that perhaps the booze was the best choice-- drank it, lost his shit, slept with the woman, and butchered the chicken too. In some versions, he murdered the woman's husband.
You see, a rule for fools.


text:
Röd (23 av 365)april 29, 2009 | Filed Under 365 foton 2009 | 1 Comment
Cocktailtomater - så rött det bara kan bli.
Cocktailtomater - så rött det bara kan bli.
Rysk blåstjärna(även kallad scilla) som jag plockade med mig hem häromdagen.
Grön är verkligen denna rödögda lövgroda som jag fotade inne på Malmö Museums
Kejsarskorpion…rätt så farlig för mindre djur i alla fall även om den tydligen inte
kan ta livet av en människa.
Instrumentpanelen i en J35 Draken.
Hembakade kokostoppar:)
Krokig huggorm.
Training schools and colleges worth a lot as they provide all the various kinds of training ns material that professional need in order to get ahead of their profession ad contribute at their best. In Australia, people can surely find lots of schools and colleges that offer high quality training options for the students as well as for the professional who looking to enhance their skill for better capabilities.
There are courses like Diploma of Community Services, Certificate III in Information Digital Media and Technology, Diploma of Work Health and Safety, Certificate II in Business and Retail Management Courses as well as the Advanced Diploma of Leadership and Management and Aged Care Training schools offering professional diplomas and courses that offer higher level training.
There are many things that you must be keeping mind in order to help yourself getting things better and get the training you need, but the most important things you should never forget are:
You should never enroll or opt to enroll in courses which are wide apart as you will be stuck nowhere and may have to manage things that you are not familiar with. In case if you are likely to get more courses you may consider to have enrolled in courses that you like the most, you should consider having the ones which are related or have similar content in them as well as same level and area of training.
As for example if you are going to attend the Business Management Courses, you should be aware that instead of aged care course you must be looking forward to get to the Diploma Of Business Management.
Further you should know that if you have to get to the top level courses you should not hesitate to enroll in the preliminary courses as they would help you learn things better.
Contact Us
email us at email@example.com
- or -
send us a mail at:
36 Halsey Road, YILKI, South Australia, 5211, Australia