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The Colorado Court of Appeals has handed the concept of religious liberty for individuals yet another defeat, with its August 13 ruling against suburban Denver baker Jack Phillips (shown). The appellate court upheld a lower court ruling that the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop had illegally discriminated against two homosexual men by refusing to bake a cake to celebrate their "marriage."
The two men, Charlie Craig and David Mullins, had filed a complaint with the aid of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), citing Colorado's anti-discrimination law. Phillips told them that to accede to their wishes would violate his religious beliefs.
When the two men ordered the cake in 2012, Colorado did not recognize same-sex marriage; however, the court held that the refusal by Phillips to bake the cake ran afoul of the state's law which prohibits discrimination based upon "sexual orientation."
In a 66-page ruling, the appellate court dismissed the argument by Phillips that being required to bake a cake to celebrate a same-sex wedding violated his right to freedom of religion and free speech, contending that a requirement for someone to follow the anti-discrimination law is not forcing him to "endorse" the marriage of the two men.
The court opined, "Masterpiece remains free to continue espousing its religious beliefs, including its opposition to same-sex marriage."
Phillips' attorneys decried the ruling. "Jack simply exercised the long-cherished American freedom to decline to use his artistic talents to promote a message with which he disagrees," declared Jeremy Tedesco of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a group based in Arizona."The court is wrong to deny Jack his fundamental freedoms."
But the court denied it was violating Jack's freedoms of religion and speech, insisting it was merely prohibiting his business "from discriminating against potential customers on account of their sexual orientation."
Of course, constitutionalists recognize that the First Amendment to the Constitution does not simply protect an individual's right to "espouse" religious beliefs, but rather also to practice, or have the "free exercise" of his religious beliefs. The appellate court failed to explain exactly how Phillips would be able to "exercise" his religious beliefs, in addition to espousing them, under this ruling.
The Colorado decision is just the latest in a string of similar cases around the country in which courts are trying to force Christians to set aside the free exercise of their religion so as not to discriminate based on sexual orientation.
In Washington State, for example, a florist who refused to provide services for a same-sex marriage in 2013 is now facing litigation. A New Mexico Supreme Court ruled two years ago that a photographer who refused to work a same-sex couple's "commitment ceremony" was in violation of that state's anti-discrimination law. Recently, two bakers in Oregon were even slapped with a $135,000 "damages" assessment because they declined to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.
In all these cases, the business owners were not refusing to conduct business with same-sex couples, simply because they were same-sex couples. All have expressed that they had no problem baking cakes (such as birthday cakes, etc.), providing flowers, or taking photographs for these individuals, who happened to be gay. They simply did not want to participate in celebrating a same-sex wedding, an activity which they consider morally wrong.
Some have wondered — if these "anti-discrimination" laws were carried far enough — would a Jewish sign maker, for instance, some day be required to make signs celebrating the Holocaust? Or would an African-American baker be forced to make a cake for the Ku Klux Klan?
The fact is, everyone "discriminates" every single day — over which restaurant or store they wiill patronize (and thereby, which ones they will not give their custom to), what car they will buy (or not buy), who their friends will be, and what functions they will (or will not) attend. Lawyers routinely decline business from prospective clients whose causes they disagree with. All of this is certainly discrimination, but there's nothing wrong or illegal about it. It's a natural part of life.
Presently, 29 states do not prohibit discrimination based on "sexual orientation." Such cases as those of the Colorado baker and the Washington State florist would not happen in those states.
Or would they?
How much longer will it be before federal judges require all states to outlaw discrimination on sexual orientation? After all, marriage laws were held as an example of federalism — something which was within the jurisdiction of each state — until the Supreme Court "discovered" a "right" to same-sex marriage in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.
With federal courts tending to disregard the clear wording and intent of the Constitution, what can be predicted for the future, based on these cases with florists, bakers, and photographers? If these individuals are not allowed to freely exercise their religious beliefs, and decline to take actions which violate their consciences, what is next?
The ramifications are many.
What about Christian colleges that offer "married student housing"? After all, under the reasoning of the appellate court in Colorado (which might very well be adopted by federal courts as well), these colleges would be allowed to continue to "espouse" their view that homosexual activity is wrong, but they just will not be allowed to practice such a "discriminatory" belief.
Will churches be required to hire overt homosexuals? Will they be forced to rent out their facilities for the performance of same-sex marriages, if their buildings are used for heterosexual weddings?
As it stands now, ministers often decide after counseling a heterosexual couple to decline to perform their wedding. Such refusal, is, of course, "discrimination."
What the courts will decide when (not if) such cases arise is speculation. But based on the past rulings of federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, constitutionalists cannot feel confident that their right to "free exercise of religion" will be respected, regardless of the clear wording of the Constitution.
Photo of Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips at work in his bakery: AP Images


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Brandon Formby / Texas Tribune
Brandon Formby writes about the challenges facing Texas' largest metro areas as they experience unbridled growth. He joined the Tribune in October 2016 and is the organization's first reporter based in Dallas. The Texas Tech University graduate spent more than 13 years at The Dallas Morning News, where he covered transportation, local government and politics.

subset: commoncrawl


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Ballet Class Lottie Doll
Meet Olivia. She likes nothing more than perfecting her ballet moves at the barre. She goes to class every week with her friend Meg and they work hard to improve their dancing technique. Olivia has already mastered first position and pliés.
Olivia is really excited to finally wear a proper ballet tutu, ballet shoes, wrap around ballet cardigan and silver head band. And she loves her cosy leg warmers. Now Olivia feels like a proper dancer and she can't wait to try her first pirouette.
Olivia has long golden hair and blue eyes. Dance fans will delight in her dance outfit and the attention to detail. Olivia wears a tutu with silver spots, a pink band and lining, ballet tights and shoes and has a pink v-necked cardigan.
This is a ball jointed doll with bendable knees, which means she is easy to pose for imaginative play (and she can do those impressive dance moves).
The brand is a winner of numerous international awards.
Why they'll love itSmall, portable size.
The dolls in the Lottie range come in a range of skin, hair and eye colours so if desired the doll can be chosen to look similar to her owner.
Wide range of hobbies and pursuits to reflect the interests of her owner.
Easy to relate to.
Lots of accessories and outfits available to further enhance play scenarios.
Why you'll love itBased on the natural dimensions of a 9 year old child.
Ethnically diverse.
Lottie doesn't wear makeup, high heels or jewellery.
She is interested in a range of hobbies from stargazing to gymnastics.
Refreshing role model doll that a child can relate to.


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Hy guys,
I am going to hit you with the following question: can I include a GWT page (the html generated code after the compilation step) into a Seam page? If this can be done of couse. Also I am not able to redirect to a html page from Seam.
PS: I am using facelets, Seam 2.0
Thanks, Alex


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The Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) trail circumnavigates Western Europe's highest mountain, the mighty Mont Blanc, up craggy passes, over pastoral saddles and through surreal valleys of France, Italy and Switzerland. It offers fantastic hiking that is both scenic and challenging while providing the allure of great vino, a hot meal and a comfortable bed in a charming village at the end of the trail every evening. The route winds through famous mountain villages such as Chamonix and Courmayeur as well as smaller villages that will leave you contemplating dairy farming as a plausible profession.
There are countless hiking options of varying lengths and difficulty as well as many options to leverage buses and lifts to navigate the hike around the massif. And both directions of traveling the loop offer their benefits and challenges. You can plan on about 10 days of actual hiking give or take your speed of walking, and it is worth considering an option that includes 1-3 "rest" days to check out some of the bigger villages and side trails along the way. Some travelers carry their own gear, but there are plenty of guide and transport companies that will transport bags so you only need to hike with a day bag. And with plenty of refuges, some of the best potable water supplies and villages along the way, day packs can be light. Most stay in hotels, auberges or refuges so carrying a tent or even a sleeping bag is not required. Guided trips are available and may be the way to go for those less experienced with walking and hiking, but we found the navigation and hiking pretty straightforward and enjoyed the flexibility of a self-guided version where we walked at our own pace but met up with a group often on the trail as well as at the end of the day.
The surreal scenery makes this hike one of the best that we have ever done, but that is not the only reason why this hike is consistently rated one of the best in the world. Here are some more reasons to love it:
- Hiking thru three stunning countries with different cultures, food and languages- France, Italy, Switzerland.
- Trekking 132 miles on well marked trails with about 32K of vertical (up and down) not only gives one a sense of accomplishment, but burns a lot of calories on the gorgeous trails and allows for guilt-free enjoyment of the wonderful food and wine every night.
- Days are filled with surreal natural beauty.
- The only sound you are likely to hear are the bucolic chimes of cow bells or the rush of running mountain water.
- Gorgeous wildflower strewn fields abound in alpine back country.
- No need to worry about grizzly bears. The only wildlife you should see on the trail are more benign- ibex, marmots, hawks
- A hot shower and comfortable bed awaits every night in charming hotels and villages.
- Eating is taken seriously in Europe. (France takes two hour lunches and many places are closed from 12-3 pm.) In the Alps, regardless of where you are whether at the top of a col or in a valley where there appears to be nothing for miles, refuges are plentiful on the TMB offering wonderful food, drinks and shelter.
- Plenty of vino, cheese and great food every night.
There are so many ways to do this hike- on your own, guided or self-guided. We used Sherpa Expeditions, and they were fantastic. Sherpa offers a self-guided model that involves transporting your luggage every day but one. We also started the trek with 8 other people and stayed in the same hotels every night making for a social but flexible trek. So for those that want to hike at different speeds, this is a great option.
The TMB is definitely one of the best hikes in the world and one of our best experiences this year between the stunning views, fresh, clean mountain air, fabulous food and wine, charming villages in three of our favorite countries! We loved it so much we will likely repeat this trek sometime in the future. Stay tuned for more details on the TMB.


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Pedigree is an absolute favourite for dog owners and pet lovers everywhere. Ensuring your pets stay healthy and happy with the world's leading pet products, Pedigree is the perfect choice for those who want nothing but the best for their furry friends. Here at Catch, you'll find all your trusted pet brands and dog food on sale, 100% online and delivered straight to your door. Check out some screamin' good deals on pet supplies online now!
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You probably see a lot of yourself in many of the characters on NCIS. Maybe it's Dinozzo's charm, Ziva's passion or Abby's zest. But whom would you most closely resemble in personality? Take this personality identifier quiz and discover more about NCIS' special agents and maybe more about yourself.
You both understand human nature and the beauty of the natural world. But you can also appreciate the finer things in life. Some people might call you square, but you're more like a trapezoid.
You two are spitting images of each other. Except for some accessories. You both surround yourself with details and knowledge but know how to break out of the shell and have fun.
You and McGee would both fit in nicely at a Star Trek convention. You're analytical, logical and occasionally dorky. Dorky in a good way.
You are mysterious, yet humble. Exotic, yet accessible. Modest, yet confident. Like Ziva, you know how to get your hands dirty when it comes to seeing a job through.
Gibb's knows his place in the machine of life. You stand tall by your morals and ethics, no matter how stubborn they might be.
Just like Tony Dinozzo, your speedometer is always pushing red. You're slick, smooth and sometimes silly.


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Minecraft update puts cross play into action
Gamers can now share their content directly within the game interface and across multiple platforms
Microsoft is giving popular block building game Minecraft a makeover by transforming it into a cross-platform multiplayer video game.The 'Better Together' update is being described by Minecraft representatives as the first truly 'future-facing platform'.
The update will see Minecraft become a unified experience, meaning gamers can save data across the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, mobile and Windows 10 PC.
Furthermore, and probably the most exciting update is that gamers can now play one another even if they are using different platforms, this is down to the new in-game servers.
The idea is to bring players together along with a seamless experience of switching platforms, however it has not been confirmed if PlayStation players will be included in this cross-platform update.
The update also includes a 'Super Duper Graphics Pack' which features enhanced and realistic textures, light effects and 4K graphics.
The game, which was only recently bought by Microsoft, has 55 million monthly players.


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This luxuriously rich eye crème, made specifically for the delicate eye area, helps to diminish signs of premature aging. Rich in Vitamin K, this crème also works wonders at helping to eliminate dark circles! Key Features: • Diminishes signs of fine line etching • Detoxifies lymphatic congestion, aids in combating dark circles and puffiness • Great … Continue reading Banish Dark Circles with Vitamin K!
Tag: Peptides
Get Dramatic Results- in as little as 2-3 weeks with this Powerful Starter Kit
Introducing the- Rapid Renewal Starter Kit A REGIMEN THAT WORKS! The purpose of the Rapid Renewal Starter Kit is to help speed up, strengthen and enhance the skin's own renewal process. It is the perfect complement to the Cryostem™ Stem Cell Therapy System. The products you use in the morning nourish, strengthen and protect your … Continue reading Get Dramatic Results- in as little as 2-3 weeks with this Powerful Starter Kit
Stem Cells vs. Growth Factors vs. Peptides
Stem Cells vs. Growth Factors vs. Peptides (Source: dnaskin.com) Recently, at DNA Skin Institute™, we have been asked many questions in regards to "Stem Cells" that are typically stored in a jar, at room temperature. The small print on these "Stem Cell" products often times reveals that the product does not actually contain Stem Cells, … Continue reading Stem Cells vs. Growth Factors vs. Peptides


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However, two-thirds of HER2 positive breast cancer patients develop resistance against HER2-targeting drugs. The reason for this is not yet understood. Researchers now found out, that HER2 dimers appeared to be absent from a small sub-population of resting SKBR3 breast cancer cells. This small subpopulation may have self-renewing properties that are resistant to HER2-antibody therapy and thus able to seed new tumor growth.
For their studies researchers from the INM – Leibniz-Institute for New Materials, Saarbrücken and from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg used a new electron microscopy method called Liquid STEM. It allows nanoscale studies of intact cells in their native liquid environment.
The scientists have studied the local variations of HER2 membrane protein and of its dimers. HER2 is a member of the human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family. These family members trigger cell growth signals, when two of the membrane proteins are bound into a protein complex (dimerization). This happens usually after the binding of a small protein, the epidermal growth factor, which circulates in the blood stream and serves as communicator to transmit signals that regulate cell growth. HER2 is special in the sense that it does not need the growth factor protein in order to form dimers. It is thus capable of triggering cell growth without external regulation. In certain types of breast cancer, amplified levels of HER2 and its dimerization are known to drive unrestricted cell growth. HER2-tailored antibody-based therapeutics entered clinical practice more than a decade ago. These drugs aim to prevent cell growth triggered by HER2 homo- and/or heterodimerization.
"We found out, that HER2 dimers appeared to be absent from a small sub-population of resting SKBR3 cells. Could such cells survive the therapy and then develop into a drug resistant cancer at a later stage? It thus seems to be of key significance to study this sub-population of cells with exceptional phenotype," says Niels de Jonge, head of the Innovative Electron Microscopy group.
HER2 dimerization processes were thus far mostly studied on the basis of cell population averages, for example, with biochemical methods using pooled cell material, and information about the localization of HER2 dimerization was lacking. Therefore, the researchers around de Jonge pioneered the electron microscopy method Liquid STEM to imaging these receptors on cancer cells. The cells were examined on a microchip placed in the electron microscope, and remained intact and in liquid. "Specimens cannot be studied in liquid with traditional electron microscopy", explains Professor de Jonge. "Cells are typically studied in dry state via thin sectioning of solid dried plastic embedded or frozen material. The role of HER proteins is a "hot" topic in cancer research but despite large research efforts using a wide range of techniques over the past decades this important information was not unveiled before. Our novel findings were obtained as a direct consequence of the high spatial resolution of Liquid STEM combined with its capability to study many intact cells in liquid," says de Jonge.
D. B. Peckys, U. Korf, N. de Jonge: Local variations of HER2 dimerization in breast cancer cells discovered by correlative fluorescence and liquid electron microscopy. Science Advances, 2015, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1500165
The German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) with its more than 3,000 employees is the largest biomedical research institute in Germany. At DKFZ, more than 1,000 scientists investigate how cancer develops, identify cancer risk factors and endeavor to find new strategies to prevent people from getting cancer. They develop novel approaches to make tumor diagnosis more precise and treatment of cancer patients more successful. The staff of the Cancer Information Service (KID) offers information about the widespread disease of cancer for patients, their families, and the general public. Jointly with Heidelberg University Hospital, DKFZ has established the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg, where promising approaches from cancer research are translated into the clinic. In the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK), one of six German Centers for Health Research, DKFZ maintains translational centers at seven university partnering sites. Combining excellent university hospitals with high-profile research at a Helmholtz Center is an important contribution to improving the chances of cancer patients. DKFZ is a member of the Helmholtz Association of National Research Centers, with ninety percent of its funding coming from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the remaining ten percent from the State of Baden-Württemberg.


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Manage Stress & Fatigue with Adrenal Support
The Myers Way® Adrenal Support provides healthy, balanced adrenal function, supporting the body's ability to adapt to stressors and avoiding damage from those stressors.
Whether you're suffering from chronic stress and adrenal fatigue, or you're just going through a particularly stressful time in your life, The Myers Way® Adrenal Support is a very powerful tool for supporting your adrenal glands while you work to address the root cause of your stress.
It combines ten adaptogenic herbs that boost stress hormones when they are low, and lower them when they are high.
The Myers Way® Adrenal Support effectively addresses all stages of both acute and chronic stress, supports the body's ability to adapt to stressors, and helps avoid the damaging consequences from those stressors. Additionally, The Myers Way® Adrenal Support can reduce fatigue, enhance endurance, and promote mental and emotional wellbeing.
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This year Mr. Right and I had his mother, sister, and her family to our house for Thanksgiving. We got up around 5:00 to start the ham and turkey. There was a loud thunder storm which woke the children up at 5:30 so we could not go back to sleep. Mr. Right and I cooked, cleaned, and chatted throughout the morning. I have had a cold this week. My voice has been very hoarse and I was not feeling all that great. We cooked several new recipes.
Throughout all of this, never once did we have the stressed out feeling that we sometimes get when entertaining. It is was so nice to work in tandem without the stress that often accompanies holidays. Maybe I just felt too sick to worry or maybe we have had some many real issues this year that getting worked up over a holiday dinner did not seem that important. Whatever the reason, I am thankful Mr. Right and I can pull off a nice holiday meal without stress and with lots of joy and satisfaction.


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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CambioConfiable #CollectiveBias
As a boy growing up in Guatemala, my father and I bonded over taking care of the family car. As Latino "car guys" or gear heads we took a lot of pride in keeping our cars looking and running well. I remember doing the simplest of maintenance chores with him on our family vehicles so fondly. Even changing the oil was something, that as a kid, I would look forward to doing with my dad.
As an adult I fully understand that changing the oil is crucial to keeping my car on the road and getting the most out of my investment, and yes ,I am still that proud Latino "car guy" I was back in Guatemala. So I really appreciate when I find a reliable and afortable product that both my father and I agree we can confidently use in our cars with consistently great results. Quaker State Oil is the one brand of motor oil we both trust in our vehicles. When I roll up my sleeves to change the oil in my cars today I pick up a few quarts of Quaker State Oil at Walmart and use the Diaz family oil change tips my dad passed down to me to make the job a bit easier. When you are ready to save money by changing your own oil at home stop by Walmart and grab some Quaker State Oil and follow these tips to make your oil change go smoothly and keep your car running like new.
Oil Change Tips:
- Warm up the engine: This is one tip my dad taught me that a lot of people don't know, but it is crucial to a professional grade oil change. Warming the engine for around three minutes helps to make removing any sludge a lot easier. Be sure not to run the engine too long though as the oil will get much too hot to handle.
- Floor Protection: Trying to get oil off the floor of your garage or driveway is really not any fun, at all. An inexpensive shower curtain can save you a lot of work from those inevitable spills that are going to happen.
- Green Oil Absorbent materials: It's going to happen, even when you are prepared. Be ready to sop up any minor (or major) oil spills with eco-friendly oil absorbing materials which you can easily find online. Don't use kitty litter or clay based absorbers, they tend to just leave you with a bigger mess.
- Always change the oil filter: My dad always stressed having the right tool for the job and that applies to oil changes as well. Make sure you have the properly sized wrench for your vehicle. After removing the old filter rub a small amount of the oil onto the seal of the new oil filter and always hand tighten it; a wrench can sometimes exert too much force if you aren't very careful.
- Don't forget to refill: Find the oil cap and fill it up with your Oil, using the recommended weight and amount for your specific vehicle I use Quaker State Advance Durability. Replace the cap and wait a few minutes. Check to see that your oil level is between the low and full marks on your dipstick.
- Safe oil disposal: Never dump used oil into sewers. Aside from this practice being environmentally unfriendly it is also illegal and you can be fined or even serve time in jail. Instead collect it and find an approved disposal location for your used oil. Most service stations and gas stations offer a disposal service.
Your car is very important to you and your family for your everyday life, take good care of it. Be sure to check out the different Quaker State products to find the correct one for your vehicle here.


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The Plunge daily is a culmination of two editorial initiatives My Big Plunge, an online magazine featuring the start-up and entrepreneurial eco-system in India and Sound Plunge focused on indie music, artists and the eco-system.
The editorial magazine now sets to expand its canvas with covering a host of issues, products, opinions, technology and the overall societal evolution and thinking.
Started in 2010 by Ashutosh Bhattacharya, an entrepreneur himself has spent over a decade in the industry across roles and industry verticals. The Plunge Daily promises to be fearless in its reporting and work towards bringing forward stories that are untold. Issues that are not reported and facts that always get sidelined in the noise and lack of time.
At The Plunge Daily, we come to work because we want to share the success stories of the hundreds of entrepreneurs, issues of the everyday people, stories that are inspiring and opinions that are taking or set to take the country by storm. Indian Entrepreneurial Gene across business, arts, culture, music, politics, society, life, technology and research, is the talk of the town. And we want to be the ones who bring these stories to you uncut and unbiased.
Our magazine specialises in video stories. Since the inception, we have featured over 100 entrepreneurs, 100 Musicians, 50+ Products and Technology Innovations, through multiple video series.
Come join in on the fun and excitement. Mail us at firstname.lastname@example.com or email@example.com for any queries or stories that you want to share.


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Lamborghini Aventador Unica Leaked!
The Lamborghini Aventador "Unica" has been leaked before it's Geneva release. The open top speedster evokes the essence of the olden days of open top racing. Lamborghini is no stranger to low windshield speedsters as concepts as they have done this in the past with the Gallardo Concept S in 2005 and the Diablo Roadster concept in 1999.
Official Release at Geneva on March 6th, 2012


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There are times when I'm really glad that I live in Germany. In May and June 2004 Ray Wilson toured Germany in acoustic formation accompanied by his brother Steve and keyboarder Irvin Duguid. Now it's November [2004], scarcely a year after the Change tour - and he's back in German clubs with a full band.
Wilson's set consists of his own material as well as classics from Genesis and several songs from his "band colleagues" Collins and Gabriel. Okay, so it's supposed to be a Ray Wilson concert, but his renditions of old Genesis songs such as Carpet Crawlers, Ripples and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway are absolutely smashing, not least thanks to Irvin Duguid on the keyboards. The decision to have the trained musician from Glasgow play on tour as well as in the studio is really worth an extra round of applause.
The audience, however, keep asking for more songs by the man himself, which is a positive development. Ray's audience also celebrates his songs from the time he was in Guaranteed Pure, songs like Swing Your Bag and Airport Song. That, of course prompted his ironic question (asked back in June [2004]), why he puts so much effort into song-writing if it's those songs that we love. Apparently, the beginnings of Ray's career as a musician enjoy cult status.
The songs from his time with Stiltskin are almost as old. On this tour, he plays Rest In Peace, Footsteps, Rays favourite Stiltskin song Sunshine And Butterflies and, of course, Inside.
More highlights come from the new album. Wilson performs Ever The Reason, Sometimes, Magic Train, The Actor and Alone from The Next Best Thing. Pumpkinhead, the song that hails back most to his hard-rock past, was dropped during the tour as was (albeit not literally) Rays Scottish kilt outfit.
The show opens with These Are The Changes from the new album. While the studio version is not totally convincing, the song grows to its full stature live at the beginning of each concert. The tape with speeches held by U.S. politicians, Ashley McMillan's drumming and probably the chronicler's personal expectation combine into a fantastic atmosphere for These Are The Changes.
For Ashley McMillan and his brother, Lawrie McMillian on bass and some backing vocals, it's the second tour with Ray, the first being the Change full band tour. Other remnants of that tour are the songs Change, Another Day, Goodbye Baby Blue, Yesterday, which prompts Ray into a spontaneous Beatles medley, and Along The Way, a song written by Ray's brother Steve Wilson.
Steve is in the band for this tour, too. Since singer Amanda Lyon did not join the cast this time, Steve does not only play the guitar, but he also tackles a major part of the backing vocals. His is an excellent voice that goes very well with his brother's, which comes out better on evenings when he's up in the mix.
Two-and-a-half hours later we remember why Ray's gigs are so brilliant. It's an evening chock full of good music, funny stories, spontaneous jokes or ideas or musical findings, for example when Ray sings "Entschuldigung seems to be the hardest word" [Entschuldigung is German for "sorry"; the translator].
You never know who enjoy themselves more when Ray has forgotten to put the mouth organ round his neck for the umpteenth time on the tour, when he plays the intro to a song in the wrong key or when Steve is heartily amused about his own backing vocals on Swing Your Bag: the people in front of the stage or the lads on stage? It's little things like these that make each gig so special.
When the band mingles with the audience after the show, we have the opportunity to realize that the musicians really enjoy playing and that they really are a very nice bunch.
Ray called this tour his "most enjoyable" so far. If you have missed it, you can still get a small impression of it. The Worpswede gig, one of the best performances of the tour, has been recorded and published as Live. You can order the 2CD set from Ray's website.
by Melanie Hohmeyer
translated by Martin Klinkhardt
Line Up for the The Next Best Thing tour
Ray Wilson, Steve Wilson, Irvin Duguid, Ashley McMillan, Lawrie McMillan
Setlist, Oct 03, 2004, Worpswede, Music Hall
These Are The Changes
Goodbye Baby Blue
In The Air Tonight
Carpet Crawlers
Ever The Reason
Follow You Follow Me
Another Day
How High
Magic Train
Sunshine And Butterflies
I Can`t Dance
The Actor
Along The Way
Lover's Leap
No Son Of Mine
Not About Us
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Swing Your Bag
Knockin`on Heaven`s Door
The Airport Song
Rest In Peace
Live 2CD (32 Tracks)
Release date: 9, Mai 2005 (Germany)
Double-album with new versions of Genesis classics and guest musicians such as Steve Wilson, Nik Kershaw, John Wetton, Steve Rothery or Simon Collins
Live-Double-album of the 2007 Turn It On Again-Tour.
Review available


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The state of our food waste
There is no denying that our world has been drastically modernized over the past few decades. Dating back to just 1960, technology has rapidly developed and made essentially anything and everything accessible at the touch of a button. This means that friends and family can keep in touch instantly, even when living on opposite sides of the country. It even means that groceries can now be paid for and delivered directly to your doorstep without ever needing to step foot outside.
These advancements in technology have of course proven beneficial in a number of ways, including breakthroughs in medical research and advancements in manufacturing that have made necessary goods cheaper and more accessible. However, this increase in instant gratification has also had a hand in a number of today's societal issues. With many goods now being produced faster than ever before, a vast majority of society now pays less attention to waste, instead focusing on the fact that something new can be purchased, and most likely it will be cheaper than it was before. Unfortunately, one of these goods being wasted more than ever is food. While some may think a perfect solution is simply producing more to make up for our increased waste, the problems we are facing due to our excessive food waste are only going to be made worse if this logic is followed.
How much are we wasting and what is the impact?
The numbers surrounding our food waste here in America are shocking. While many understand that we as a country are very guilty of excessive food waste, many do not know the alarming numbers that are associated with this trend. In the United States alone, nearly 40% of food is never eaten and according to the Environmental Protection Agency, over 37 million tons of food waste ended up in landfills in 2015. These numbers are startling for many different reasons. For consumers, this means that over a quarter of the food purchased will never be eaten. Many experts have stated that to visualize this fact, imagine walking out of a grocery store with four bags, dropping one and then not bothering to pick it up.
For farmers, food waste means that 40% of a yearly harvest will never be consumed. Not only does this mean that nearly half of a farmer's yearly harvest is essentially no good, it also means that 40% of the farmers land, resources and efforts are being put to waste as well. Food and produce of any sort does not come from nothing. It requires land, labor, water, nutrition and a nearly countless number of additional resources to plant, raise and harvest foods of any type. Especially at a time where severe drought is prevalent across western parts of the country, food waste is even more costly, as wasting this food is also wasting water. By letting the food that is produced in these areas go to waste, we are contributing to the region's water depletion while simultaneously creating a new and separate problem.
As millions of tons of food waste end up in landfills across the country each year, we are contributing to the production of a very potent greenhouse gas. When food waste is added to a landfill, it undergoes anaerobic decomposition. This occurs because the landfill does not receive proper amounts of oxygen. Lacking oxygen, as the food begins to decompose it produces methane, which is known to be at least 20 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide. According to the most recent study published in the Washington Post, Americans are throwing away more food than any other material. Food waste was reported at 34.7 million tons during a 2012 survey. That is 5.8 million tons more than a material we currently have dedicated receptacles for at every home, event or public gathering location; plastic. With the repercussions of food waste being so incredibly high, it may be wise to begin placing compost bins alongside our recycling bins.
Why are we wasting so much?
There are a number of reasons as to why we are letting so much food go to waste. Societal factors have driven us to become more focused on precision than ever before. We have also become much less in touch with where our food is coming from, making us more open to tossing out a slightly shriveled tomato and replacing it with a new, fresh one from the nearest grocery store. As a whole, we have become influenced by the need for perfection and instant gratification. If something is not perfect, we look for it elsewhere, because it is bound to be easy to come by. This combination of desires has created the "final option myth".
Discussed in the 2015 documentary film, "Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story", the newly developed final option myth has a great influence on our societal food waste. The reason being, when consumers see only one food product left, no matter what it may be, they assume that because it is the last one, something must be wrong with it. The assumption is that dozens of other consumers have inspected the produce, and this final one has already been turned down by all those who came before. Whether this final piece of produce actually does have some sort of flaw or not, seeing just one instantly leads consumers to believe that there is some sort of flaw. This mentality leads to produce going un-purchased, inevitably resulting in waste. This thinking influences buyers any where food is sold, and not only does it cause perfectly good produce to go to waste, it actually adds to the waste through efforts to counteract this thinking.
Large chain grocery stores often overstock on produce in order to keep the shelves fully stocked at all times, preventing there from ever being a lone piece of produce to fall subject to the final option myth. From a business view, this is a smart idea, but by overstocking on perishable goods, the food waste is not reduced, it is actually increased by a large percentage. In this instance, rather than having just one piece of produce go un-purchased, hundreds of individual items may now go untouched at the end of the day simply because there is no demand for the amount of goods being offered. These excess foods are often taken off the shelf at the end of the day and shipped somewhere else or discarded. By attempting to solve the problem at hand, we are making things much worse.
Another common reason for food waste is printed expiration dates. These dates are often taken as black and white by consumers, meaning that once they see the date on a food has passed, they instantly throw it away without question. Everyone is guilty of giving food that is past its printed expiration date one last chance. Occasionally this results in a "what was I thinking?" moment, but as many can attest to, just because the label says expired, does not mean that the food has gone bad. Expiration dates or use by dates are actually just a producers' best guess as to when that produce is going to be at its peak. This date should be viewed as a guideline for when to use the produce instead of being seen as the date after which the produce will no longer be edible. These dates often confuse consumers and lead them to believe certain foods are unsafe to consume and must be thrown out as a result.
What can we do about this?
Solving the issues of food waste is bound to be a long and slow road. However, there are already a number of steps that both businesses and individual consumers can take to help decrease our food waste year over year.
Support local – Local farmers research their markets beforehand. Their business depends upon having an ideal amount of produce to meet demand. Instead of overstocking their supply, local farmers plan, buy for and produce what is needed. The more accurate their numbers are, the more profitable their business will be. Rather than walking into a store with shelves full of produce, stop by your local farmers' market. Selections will be much more appropriately sized and the produce is guaranteed to be fresher.
Donate to food banks – Many consumers often shy away from donating produce to local food banks out of fear that the food donated may cause an illness that they will be held responsible for. This is entirely not the case however, as in kind food donations are covered by the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act which protects donors from liability should a product donated cause harm or illness to a recipient. One should not knowingly donate food that is spoiled or tainted in any way, but any spare food is always welcomed as a donation year round. You can also get involved in programs like the USDA's Food Waste Challenge and other initiatives similar to it.
Start to compost – While we can help eliminate a large portion of food waste, it cannot be eliminated entirely. Some parts of food will always qualify as waste, such as the core of an apple or the husk from corn. These materials can be utilized however, in a manner that is beneficial to the environment. Composting is a great way to capitalize on the remaining nutrition available in common food waste. When composted, food waste receives proper levels of oxygen, causing the food to undergo aerobic decomposition, which produces carbon dioxide as a byproduct instead of methane. Compost can later be added to gardens and landscapes to help improve soil health, allowing you to get the absolute most out of your food.
Find new ways to use produce – Admittedly, not all food produced will meet our level of perfection. If not pollinated perfectly, strawberries can look like they were dropped from outer space and root vegetables often grow with a mind of their own. Focusing on flawless appearance has only made our food waste problem worse, and currently, many farmers will not even bring produce to market unless it is uniform in appearance, fearing that anything out of the ordinary will not sell. Rather than letting this misfit produce completely go to waste, use the odd appearance as an opportunity. Misshaped fruit can be used for jams or jelly, while non-uniform carrots can be cut down and repurposed as carrot sticks.
Buy what you need, avoid excess – This is incredibly simple and seems nearly too obvious to mention, but our society has recently become plagued by impulse buys. It is nearly impossible to avoid, sales are everywhere in the grocery store and on occasion, a deal is simply too good to pass by. With food waste increasing so significantly in recent years, it is often best to consider how much food you really need the next time a sale comes around. While it is tempting to buy one, get one free, or spring for the larger family pack because it has a better value, it is important to consider whether or not the food you purchase could possibly be consumed beforehand. If the value jumps out at first, consider your ability to actually realize that value. Paying less in the moment does not reduce the economic or environmental impact of throwing the food away. Realize more value out of your food purchases by passing on the buy one get one deal and getting just the produce that you actually need.
Food waste is a big issue that is currently affecting everyone in the United States. While solutions to this problem are not simple, there are a number of steps we can take to help actively reduce the impact this is having on our society. Consider the life of your food from start to finish next time you are out shopping and be sure to buy smart. Your efforts will result in both economic and environmental savings.


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I have worked with amazing people in the past and I admire some of them for their management skills. However, I have also come across people that believe that micromanaging is how one should manage people and tasks.
I am sure you have might have encountered a micromanager at some point in your life.
If you have, you know how frustrating it can be.
Micromanager often bullies their subordinates and instead of giving general instructions for a task, they get into unnecessary details of the task and evaluate the person responsible for the task based on baseless facts and observations. Micromanagers often end up mentally harassing the employee.
According to TUC, nearly a third of people (29%) have been bullied at work and in nearly three-quarters (72%) of cases the bullying is carried out by a manager.
Here are few of the traits to identify a micromanager and how these traits affect others.
They have an insatiable hunger for control
Micromanagers love control. They like to control everything and everyone around them. Working with a person with such hunger for control is not a pleasant experience and is one of the major reasons why people don't stick around with micromanagers for long. Micromanagers are also threatened if they feel that they are losing control and will do unimaginable things to reclaim their control.
They have the "Perfectionist Illusion"
Every micromanager thinks that they are perfectionists and they often blame their "perfectionism" as the reason for their behavior. In reality, micromanagers are the worst kind of employees as they don't value or accept others recommendations. They believe they know everything and that what they say and think is always perfect.
They assign unnecessary tasks
One of the most annoying habits of micromanagers is creating unnecessary tasks and processes. They assign unnecessary tasks like a useless detailed report and make others follow processes that hamper their productivity. Moreover, they expect quick results for those long unnecessary tasks and will never accept that the processes created by them are actually killing the productivity of others.
They avoid Delegation of Decision
Micromanagers usually avoid delegating decisions to others even if the other person is more qualified or suited to make that decision. This behavior not just irritates others but also has unfavorable results. The person who works with micromanagers with this mentality, end up having low self-esteem and it affects their growth in the long term.
They are masters of the Blame Game
Micromanagers are quick to take credit if everything goes well and even quicker to blame others when things go wrong. They know and have mastered the blame game over the years and cannot take the fall for any kind of failure. They will punish you for not getting things complete, not getting results even though it was their unnecessary tasks and processes responsible for this failure.
If you have encountered a micromanager in your life, let me know in the comments below, how you handled them.


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Yogev Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz 2011
Yogev Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz 2011
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Varietal Composition
Cabernet Sauvignon (50%) from the vineyard of Zvi Shosayov in Karmei Yosef (Samson area).
Shiraz (50%) from the vineyard of brothers Reuven and Avraham Birger in Kfar Kish – (Lower Galilee).
Production Highlights
The grapes of each variety were harvested separately, two weeks apart. After destemming the grapes were fermented separately with the skins for two weeks. They were then pressed and aged in oak barrels for eight months, after which they were mixed to create the final blend
Wine Characteristics
Characteristic fruit aroma with hints of forest berries against an elegant backdrop of oak and a whiff of vanilla. This medium bodied wine is ready to drink now but will keep beautifully in the bottle for the coming three years.
The wine is ideal for serving with Mediterranean-style cold salads, herb lamb kebabs and hard aromatic cheeses such as Pecorini. Dry Red Wine Cabernet Sauvignon - Shiraz
-From the producer


text: Hey guys, doing some research on re-proping my 07 outback v. I wanna go with an ACME, just curious to see what was recommended to you other outback v owners. I know there are a few different syles just seeing what you guys went with and why. I am going to e-mail ACME to see what they recommend, I just wanted to see the feedback from the boat owners. Also curious to see how much of a difference a 14 X 14 makes and how much you like it. Thanks.


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It seems like hooded backpacks are becoming a thing now, and that means people are going to start getting creative with them. Case in point being this number, a glow in the dark black backpack revealing what's going on underneath.
The backpack shows off your (really) inner beauty, with the rib cage on the backpack and a skull on the sides of the hood. Bikers who need to solve the problem of visibility at night, you just got another solution. Not too many people are going to miss that one going down the street. Which is good, because we want those bones printed on the outside of your backpack, and safely inside you.
If you're ready to rock the skull and rib-bones, a seller in eBay is shipping them off for the price of about $30.


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Let consider two Visual Studio Online (TFS running as a service on Microsoft Azure).
Who would have thought that a difference would exist between 2 VSO accounts ?? Something unusual occurred to me when I wanted to add new users onto my new VSO account.
You you see a difference between the left-hand side account and the right-hand side ? (apart from the URL!)
On the left, VSO it requires a connection with Microsoft Azure Active Directory. On the right, it is not linked to AAD (look carefully on the bottom of the screen shot).
What are the consequences ?
First, when you want to link your VSO to a Microsoft Azure Account, it will detect the, say "thavo001.VisualStudio.com" belongs to the AAD "Objet Direct".
where as the second case is not ("Not connected to a directory").
Second, when you want to add a new user into your VSO, in the first case, you will have to add it also in the AAD, as reminded below:
Whereas, when "not connected to a directory", adding a new user is instantaneous.
This differences comes from a historical privilege that some of us had to be a VSO "Early Adopter" where AAD not not yet connected. Now a more secure way is to use your Microsoft Azure Account to instanciate a VSO account, where automatically an AAD would be associated.
In your case, do you see other differences and side effects ? ;-)
TODAY, you do not have the choice, you MUST be in the Azure Directory; the new portal reminds you so:
as documented here: http://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/dn655138
Note: Renaming VSO accounts could be risky since other users will loose the current URL. Sometimes Microsoft reminds you that with interesting CSS colors/icons! (I love HTML 5 so much easier to trouble shoot that Silverlight … well, I wish ! )
and the full list of icons are found here (I had to reduce):


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Dr. John R Compton was my first pastor and role model as a spiritual leader. I wanted to acknowledge him during Black History month yet his legacy as a pastor and community leader extends beyond the confines of a one month celebration.
By Rebecca Goodman
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Rev. John R. Compton, former president of the Cincinnati NAACP and the first African-American to serve on the governing board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), died April 19. He was 77.
Active in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the Rev. Mr. Compton was part of the march on Washington led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 and helped organize visits to Cleveland by King.
The Rev. Mr. Compton came to Cincinnati in 1948 to become pastor of the Wehrman Avenue Christian Church. Prior to that, he had served at a church in Palestine, Texas, after graduating from Jarvis Christian College there. During his 30 years as pastor at the Wehrman Avenue church, the growth of the congregation necessitated a move to a larger building. With the move came a new name – the United Christian Church.
After he left that assignment, the Rev. Mr. Compton provided leadership in the regional and national offices of the Christian Church. He was the first African-American to serve as regional minister (for the church in Indiana) and as president for a unit (the division of homeland ministries). He was administrator of the National Convocation of the Christian Church, and administrator of the reconciliation mission, the church's race and poverty program.
He also served on the church's 16-member general cabinet, wrote numerous articles for the church's magazine and lectured at the Christian Theological Seminary.
After his retirement, the Rev. Mr. Compton served the Bond Hill Christian Church, overseeing the merger of that African-American church with the white Forest Park Christian Church. The resulting church is known as the Kemper Road Christian Church.
The Rev. Mr. Compton received awards from Jarvis Christian College, Cincinnati Community Action Now, the NAACP and honorary doctorates from Lynchburg College and the Christian Theological Seminary.
In 1988, he received the Liberation Award from the National Convocation of the Christian Church and was inducted into the Jarvis Christian College Hall of Fame in 1995.
The Rev. Mr. Compton was a member of the Walnut Hills Area Council board, Victory Neighborhood Services Agency and the Cincinnati Model Cities board.


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Neesham Makes History
New Zealand 508-7 dec. (Williamson 113) v
West Indies 19-0
First Test, Jamaica, day two
Jimmy Neesham became the first New Zealander to score centuries in each of his first two Test matches as his side declared their first innings on day two of the opening game against the West Indies in Jamaica.
Neesham emulated Kane Williamson (113) in reaching three figures before he fell late in the day for 107.
And after BJ Watling just missed out on a century himself, dismissed for 89, New Zealand declared on 508 for seven.
The West Indies then closed on 19 without loss in nine overs.
Resuming on 240 for three overnight, New Zealand continued to make slow and steady progress as the West Indies bowled tidily in the morning, spinners Sulieman Benn and Shane Shillingford getting plenty of bounce from the surface as well as some movement.
Just 19 runs had been added when Williamson, who faced 298 balls in all, was bowled when he left a Benn arm ball which homed in his off stump.
Soon after, Shillingford had Ross Taylor caught by Kirk Edwards at midwicket for 55 and Brendon McCullum (7) followed him back soon after.
He edged Benn to Chris Gayle at slip via the gloves of Denesh Ramdin but from 279 for five, New Zealand counter-attacked through Watling and Neesham.
The pair added 201 runs together for the sixth wicket, Neesham hitting 107 in 171 balls and Watling 89 in 204.
The former hit 12 fours and a six and the latter seven fours and a six as they put New Zealand back on top.
Even after Neesham was dismissed, caught behind by Ramdin off Benn, Tim Southee blasted a quickfire 21 not out in seven balls to further frustrate the West Indies.
After bowling for almost two days, the fall of Watling's wicket, caught in the deep by Kieran Powell off Shilingford, gave the home side respite as McCullum called his side in.
Benn finished with three for 142, Shillingford three for 145 and Jerome Taylor one for 37.
West Indian openers Gayle (8 in 26 balls) and Powell (11 in 28) then saw out the remainder of the day's play as the West Indies began their response.
© Cricket World 2014


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With other insulation products installed behind the dry lining, these can create an effective barrier against condensation.
Get in touch with our friendly team today on: 0800 1583605 and we will help you every step of the way.


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What will it take to stop the apocalypse? In most video games, all it takes is to defeat the main villain and save the day. But in some cases, it's not always so easy. In Omensight not only do you need to stop the world from being destroyed, but you also must find out why an ancient evil has been summoned in the first place. As a result Omensight crafts an interesting narrative, but it's unfortunately marred by some gameplay issues.
Groundhog Day
Omensight starts you off right in the middle of the action. You, the Harbinger, are teleported into the middle of a bloody battlefield, the climax of a hard-fought war. However, the outcome of the war no longer matters, as the evil Voden has awoken and consumed the world, rendering the feud of mice and birds moot.
Thankfully, that's not the end of the game, as the witch aiding the Harbinger can rewind time one day. She also accompanies one of the important characters in the ongoing war to try and stop Voden's resurrection. Said resurrection is linked to the death of the Godless Priestess, and it's up to you to figure out who murdered her and how to stop it.
The story to Omensight starts off pretty typically, but it does go in some interesting directions. Learning more about the four characters that can accompany you on the last day reveals some intriguing personas, and things end up not being as simple as they seem. It's a tale worth seeing to its conclusion, if only to see your comrades react to the information you gather on your quest.
Omensight Review - Dawn of the Final Day
Key to Success
In order to figure out the mystery involving the Godless Priestess, you'll have to continuously replay the final day and learn more information about the world, the war, and the key players in it. Following different characters will reveal new information, and eventually you'll unlock an Omensight, which is a massive breakthrough in the investigation.
Omensights are unique in that not only do they reveal more about the ongoing mystery, but you can show other characters these visions, and change how they'll go about their final day. It's important to show the Omensights to each of the characters, but other times it may be best to hold back to gain another's trust.
When I first heard that Omensight would feature replaying a day and following characters around as you unravel a mystery, I was really worried that it would become hard to progress, or that I would have to remember a specific set of actions in order to move the plot forward. Thankfully, that is not the case here. The Witch will often offer advice as to who to accompany next, and once you pick a character for a day, you'll only follow them, and not have to worry about the others. I never once got stuck trying to figure out how to move the investigation forward.
Hack and Dash
Omensight isn't just about the story, though. The game is also an action RPG, and it comes with all the bells and whistles you expect from the genre. You have light and heavy attacks, dodging, launching projectiles, and other flashy moves.
The thing is, it's just not very fun to fight. Most battles revolve around dodging enemy attacks, then hitting them a couple times before needing to dodge again. Since the vast majority of battles are with larger sides mobs, you can't stay in one place for more than a couple seconds without risking taking a hit. Additionally, while you get a lot of different skills to use, there doesn't feel like there's much of a need to use them. While I constantly used the move that slowed down time for a few seconds, there are plenty of others, like the grapple technique, that I never felt a need to implement.
Finally, Omensight has a fixed camera. It's a clever enough trick to hide secrets, but in battle there are multiple occasions where this turns into a frustrating experience. The camera might not pan out the way it should, or you might dodge yourself into a sidepath, but without the ability to fix the camera all this means is that enemies are going to be able to take potshots at you while you try to find them.
I really like the story that Omensight sets out to tell, but I really wish that it was more fun to actually play. The characters and learning about their motivations made it worth seeing the game to its conclusion, but a finicky fixed camera and somewhat lacking gameplay made my playthrough less satisfying than it should have been.
Omensight review code provided by publisher. 1.01 reviewed on PlayStation 4 Pro. For more information on scoring, please read our Review Policy.


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Tegan & Sara Dream Playlist, Last U.S. Con Tour, September 30 – October 19, 2008 – YouTube
HEYYYYY HOLIDAY WEEKEND!!! Maybe it's a good time to pull out a project I've been working on and am really excited about…
"Would you want to see a three hour Tegan and Sara show? Oh my god, me too!!!
I made this playlist because Tegan and Sara's brief three-week Con wrap-up tour in the fall of 2008 is my all-time favorite tour that they've ever done (with the spring of 2010 coming in second!) Why, you might ask? Well, I'll tell you. B-sides. Covers. Demos. New arrangements. Switching up the set list every night. Old (and I mean ACTUALLY old) songs. Surprises. Playing songs they SWORE they'd NEVER play again, because fans bugged them about it so much that they finally caved. Guest appearances. Matt Sharp. Dallas Green. Hunter Burgan. Rambling incessantly without caring. Fucking up songs without caring. Saying the word "fuck" over and over without caring. Swearing. Swearing at each other. Swearing at the audience. Not censoring themselves for even a moment. Talking about sex. Talking about their sex lives. Talking about their GRANDPARENTS' sex lives. Talking about drugs (often). Talking about politics (even more often). Talking about Sarah Palin (could we have gotten them to STOP talking about Sarah Palin?!) Talking about being gay, and Prop 8, and homophobic fans, and about Dallas being their sperm donor (where I think Sara had one of the most inappropriate moments I think I've ever seen her have: "Too far?" "Too far.") And HUGGING. Onstage. At a time where they still pretty much still never touched each other! This tour was only three weeks long, but I went to the first show and the last show and a couple in between and the whole thing can be described as nothing short of epic. Thank god I skipped out of work a few times to go… (And thank god I didn't get fired. And thank GOD I'm not in that job anymore.)
Seriously… if you make it through this playlist, drop me a line. I want to see if anyone actually accomplishes this! (And then, if you make it, tell me what you thought of it, so I can edit if necessary!) A few songs are in there twice, I know… but it's either because the songs deserved it, the versions were different, or the banter before or after was just too good to leave out. 😉 And after all… I didn't think anyone would really mind! Click below to see the "set list"… I can't believe they alternated between THIRTY-FIVE SONGS during this short tour! Some they only played once and then not again! Read the rest of this entry »


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It's been a long time since I've posted here. Time has a way of going quickly when you are busy doing things that you love.
As I approach the end of my fifth year of post-corporate life, I continue to be amazed at the lack of white space on my calendar. There are always upcoming events to train for, the actual events to experience, and then the very brief period of rest and recovery before ramping up for the next one. The year 2016 has been a stampede of events upon events. Looking ahead, I expect 2017 to be even busier!
When I last wrote, CFL and I were training for Seattle to Portland (STP), a two-day, 206-mile bike ride. We'd never done a century ride before, much less two of them back to back. While we were among the slower riders in the throng of 10,000 cyclists, we got it done. We even managed to have some fun along the way.
We were all smiles at the start!
Enjoying a few miles of off-highway riding on a very nice bike trail.
Still smiling!
At a food stop on Day 2, in front of the "World's Largest Egg" in Winlock, WA.
My triumphant arrival at the finish line!
We'd barely had time to recover from STP when we were off for our second Ride Around Washington. Last year's ride had taken us from Ilwaco on the Washington coast, approximately 400 miles to Walla Walla in eastern Washington. This year our group of 250 cyclists returned to Walla Walla and then rode another 400 miles all the way up to tiny Metaline Falls in the far northeast corner of Washington state. Our ride took us through the rolling hills of the Palouse.
We crossed over into Idaho a couple of times. Coming out of Lewiston we rode the historic Spiral Highway, which winds up 2,000 feet in eight miles. Such fun on a 95 degree day!
On our last day we crossed the Pend Oreille River on this beautiful bridge. Although it looked scary, it wasn't.
I stopped to look directly down through the open grate at the river below.
We were happy to see this sign at last.
Finish line beers are the best beers!
Overall, it was a wonderful ride. I managed to complete it without injury (unlike last year) or any significant aches or pains. We relaxed and took our time, and still managed to find time for an ice cream stop most afternoons.
A mere week after returning from RAW, I tried something new — I competed in my first duathlon! I'll never do a triathlon because I refuse to get in the water, but the idea of run-bike-run has always appealed to me. When a local duathlon was announced, of course I had to register.
The course was a 5K run through a county park, followed by a 21.5 mile bike ride (two laps of rolling country roads), and finally by the same 5K run again. Although I've done run-bike for fun several times, I only had one chance to practice run-bike-run before the event. I was totally mystified as to how the Transition area would work, but the friendly volunteers provided helpful tips on how to stage my bike and where to go as I finished one phase and moved on to the next.
I had no idea how much time I'd need during the two transitions. Therefore I had no idea how long the entire event would take me, but I roughly estimated I could do it in under 2:45:00.
Although it was mid-August, it was a cold, foggy morning. This made the first 5K easy enough. I shivered at the starting line, grateful for my arm warmers (sleeves). Then off we went — me at my usual slow, happy pace near the back of the pack.
Finishing the first 5K, I ran through the chute and found my way back to my bike. As I'm a wimp who doesn't yet clip into my bike, I didn't have to worry about changing my shoes. I simply removed my helmet, took a quick swig of water, and then I was on my way. Arm warmers are pushed down now! Although it was still foggy, I was well warmed up.
I've never raced a bike before, and I really had no idea how fast I might complete the 21.5 miles. It turned out that I can ride quickly enough when I'm motivated. I made up a lot of time on this section of the event.
Coming from a run to the bike, my legs do just fine, but going from the bike back to running is a lot harder. I sort of stumbled through the second transition, but I stashed my bike safely and found my way back out on the course.
I ran the second 5K a minute faster than the first one, even though I walked up the one big hill.
Another triumphant (if slightly bedraggled) finish line arrival!
My finish time of 2:33:02 was good enough to finish 20th out of a field of 39 — not bad for my first duathlon!
I'm now totally hooked and I can't wait to do another one.
After mid-August, things got a lot quieter. I was training for a half marathon to be run in early November, but a nasty bout of shingles in October ended my racing plans for the year. Since my recovery from that, I've resumed running and riding but without any particular goal in mind other than daily mileage.
So now we've cycled through the seasons and found our way to late December. Our calendar is filling up with big plans for next year, but that will have to wait for another post.
Slow Happy New Year!


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Gene Taylor on Government Reform
Democratic Representative (MS-4)
In a press conference today the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of 32 moderate to conservative Democrats, announced their continued support for the Shays-Meehan Campaign Finance Reform bill (H.R. 2356), which is being debated on the House floor today. The Coalition was joined by the lead sponsors of the Senate Campaign Finance Reform bill. "I believe that we need to end the influence of 'soft money' generated from undisclosed sources. And I believe that we need to rein in illegal foreign contributions," said Rep. Ken Lucas (KY), Blue Dog Campaign Finance Reform Task Force Co-Chairman. "True campaign finance reform will restore to the American people their voice in the legislative process--a voice that has been drowned out in recent years by big-money donors."
The Blue Dog Coalition endorsed the Shays-Meehan bill in March of this year. An official Blue Dog endorsement comes with the approval of no less than two-thirds of the Coalition's 32 members. "My own campaign experience has demonstrated to me the need for strong campaign finance reform measures," said freshman Blue Dog Rep. Adam Schiff (CA), whose victory last November was the most expensive House race to date – combined, both candidates spent $11 million. "In order to protect the integrity of our democratic electoral process, we must reduce the corrosive influence of unregulated soft money donations."
"I have been a strong supporter of Shays-Meehan and urge my colleagues to join with us so we can restore the faith of the American people in our elections," said Rep. Dennis Moore (KS), a member of the Blue Dog Campaign Finance Reform Task Force. "I've worked with Sen. McCain on reform legislation before and I know that by working in a bipartisan manner, we can get big money out of politics."
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Editorial Note
Yehouda Shenhav has parlayed his position in the Department of Sociology at TAU into a successful career in political activism.
After receiving tenure, Shenhav, who was hired to teach and research the sociology of organizations, he switched to writing about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His first venture was a book "proving" that the Mizrahim were actually Arab Jews who were robbed of their true identity by the Zionists. Not coincidentally, the book was linked to Shenhav's role in the Keshet Mizrahit, a minuscule group that advocated forging an alliance between the Mizrahim and the Palestinians based on their joined cultural identity. The plan did not work out and worse, the Mizrhaim went on to establish the hardline Shas party whose attitude toward the Palestinians was anything but friendly.
Shenhav's next venture involved the alleged "post-Westphalian" period in international relations. In his view, humanity was about to be freed from the scourge of nations and nationalism forged by the Treaty of Westphaliaof the mid- seventeenth century. Seizing upon this new spirit, Shenhav recommended creating a bi-national state where the Palestinians would be welcome back and would be resettled in new villages to replace the one that were destroyed by Israel. As in the case of the "Arab Jews," Shenhav ran into reality in the Middle East, which does not bear any resemblance to the enlightened "post-Westphalian spirit." Indeed, the current drive to create an Islamic caliphate - replete with gruesome, ritualized beheading and slave sex, seems to indicate a regression to a period much darker than anything that the Treaty of Westphalia could fathom.
Perhaps discouraged by the failure of his utopian schemes, Shenhav moved on to the relatively "reality- proof" venture of creating a Nazi-Israeli equivalency. As pioneered by Adi Ophir, a professor of philosophy at TAU and a veteran political activist who launched the first BDS movement in Israel, the exercise is quite simple. It goes something like this. Start with Hannah Arendt's "banality of evil," - a notion she derived from observing Adolf Eichmann trial in Jerusalem - proclaim that the Nazi's industrial-scale murder of the Jews is not unique but part of any "oppressive relations," and compare the Israeli treatment of Palestinians to that of the Jews during the Holocaust.
In an article "Beyond Instrumental Rationality: Lord Cromer and Imperial Roots of Eichmann's Bureaucracy" in the Journal of Genocide Studies, Shenhav uses this formula with a slight twist. He starts with the de rigueur reference to Arendt's conceptualization of Eichmann as a personification of the "banality of evil." Arendt held that Eichmann was essentially a "morally aloof," dispassionate bureaucrat with no particular bad feelings toward the Jews. His real passion, per Arendt, was bureaucratic organization. Shenhav agrees with Arendt on the issue of moral aloofness, but criticizes her for refusing to accept the alleged similarity between the British imperialism and the Nazi racist theory. In Shenhav's view, the imperialist- colonial philosophy based on racist distinction (as exemplified by Lord Cromer, the British envoy to Egypt) and the Nazi rule are in principle similar. He chides Arendt for rejecting this linkage in her seminal work on the origins of totalitarianism: "I suggest that in this rewriting of the history of totalitarianism [by Arendt] we may find one clue to the discursive denial of the continuity between imperialism and Nazism."
Shenhav's eagerness to "marry" the banality of evil with imperialist–colonial bureaucracy driven by racism becomes clear in the following paragraph: "When Arendt visited Jerusalem in 1961, Israel employed its own model of 'bureaucracy and race' to manage its Palestinian citizens. The bureaucracy that was formed, known as a 'military regime', was based on imperial elements: constant states of emergency, secrecy and collaboration. The local military rulers have had tremendous power in restricting freedom of movement, granting license for businesses, determining administrative arrests, confiscating lands and other privileges.
Israel's laws of exception were originally adopted from the British imperial rule of Palestine that was in effect since 1945." In other words, the Israelis are no better than the British colonials who were not better than the Nazis.
"Eichmann Before Jerusalem: The Unexamined Life of a Mass Murderer," by Bettina Stangneth (translated from the German by Ruth Martin), Alfred A. Knopf, 608 pages, $35
History has left us with two distinct images of Adolf Eichmann: There is the chief of the Gestapo's Department of Jewish Affairs in 1942, sporting an officer's cap bearing the SS death's head emblem, arrogant, self-assured, affecting a penetrating stare and flashing a smile that is almost a smirk. And, almost 20 years later, there is the man in the glass booth, balding, bespectacled, accommodating; the only headgear is earphones, the smile is now diffident. It is the image not of someone on trial but of an expert witness, a specialist called to clarify a complex matter.
The disconnect between this before and after has filled volumes and been the source of a long-running debate over personal responsibility for the crimes of the Third Reich and the nature of radical evil. Now, in "Eichmann Before Jerusalem," the German philosopher and historian Bettina Stangneth has provided a connecting thread between the before and after, presenting a comprehensive study that links both periods and makes sense of the whole picture.
Stangneth's chronicle would be impressive if it merely accounted for Eichmann's time in eluding capture in the postwar era. But its real strength lies in unearthing the 29 hours of taped conversations as well as the more than 1,300 pages of transcripts, notes, commentary and assorted writings that Eichmann produced during his sojourn in Argentina, from his flight there in 1952 to his capture by the Israelis in 1960.
Although specialists were cognizant of some of this material – indeed the Israelis gained access to a limited portion whose introduction Eichmann downplayed or prevented at his trial – the bulk of it was dispersed in a confusing manner over various German archives, and was largely unknown by the general public until Stangneth published her book in Germany in 2011. In gathering, reconciling and clarifying this data, Stangneth has brought to light a substantial amount of hitherto unrevealed information.
What we learn from these extraordinary files is that, far from the abject creature who claimed he was no more than a dutiful clerk carrying out the wishes of his masters in the Nazi genocide, Eichmann was an unreconstructed Nazi, unregenerate, unrepentant, who reveled in his deeds and only regretted not carrying them to their conclusion. Moreover, he was a brilliant actor who could play a variety of parts with a chameleon's gift for becoming whatever his audience wanted to see. His career consisted of three acts: The Third Reich, The Not-So-Hidden Years and the Jerusalem Captivity. And he played each part to perfection.
Far from being a fugitive lurking in a hidden backwater, for the better part of his years in Argentina Eichmann flaunted his notoriety within a protective ring of friends and enablers in Buenos Aires. Though he maintained the alias of Ricardo Klement, he flourished openly under his own name among an influential circle of like-minded sympathizers that constituted a "who's who" of escaped Nazis. Insulated by a sympathetic Peron regime and a collusive German embassy, he enjoyed a second life in Argentina working at various times as a surveyor in Tucuman, a farmer and at jobs provided by his supporters. What brought him down was that, unlike such fellow war criminals as Joseph Mengele, who remained hidden, Eichmann sought the limelight, lulled into a false sense of security within his trusted cordon sanitaire.
Adolf Eichmann wrote prolifically under his own name, explaining and justifying his deeds in carrying out the Final Solution and musing on the hopes for a Fourth Reich. Here is a partial list of his oeuvre: The Argentina Papers, recounting his history and world view together with assorted commentary, general essays, notes and speeches, as well as the edited transcripts of his recorded colloquies, taped by the Dutch SS man-turned-journalist Wilhelm Sassen.
He also found time to write a novel, "Tucuman Roman," as well as to compose an open letter to then-German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, which his friends wisely convinced him not to send. He even signed a book contract with Durer Verlag, the publisher of neo-Nazi tracts. This does not count Eichmann's voluminous production during his two-year imprisonment in Jerusalem, which includes "My Memoirs," "My Escape," prison writings and theological letters.
'How I became famous'
In good part, Eichmann is his own chronicler. His is quite a tale. First, there is the Eichmann of his years as the head of the Gestapo's Department for Jewish Affairs, from 1933-45. In the prewar era he was the central coordinator of the despoliation of the Jews of the Reich, as well as of the Jewish community in his native Austria during the Anschluss and the Czech Jews whom he deported from the "protectorate" of Bohemia and Moravia.
In early 1939, even before the war began, Eichmann had already earned the sobriquet "the czar of the Jews" in the foreign media, gaining notoriety, Stangneth writes "as a bloodhound who wanted to kill the Jews." He enthusiastically collected his press clippings as his reputation grew. "This is how I became famous," Eichmann crowed in the Sassen tapes. He relished his stature as the man of the moment. It helped him intimidate his victims and, equally important, vault over rivals in the Nazi hierarchy.
When the German conquests in the East with their large Jewish populations brought the onset of ghettoization and extermination, Eichmann became the indispensable man to do the job. He was everywhere at once, a whirlwind force overseeing the deportations, arranging the transports and perfecting the machinery of genocide. As Stangneth observes: "His performance gained him a reputation in these circles as a man of 'unconventional organization.'"
Eichmann reveled in his infamy, particularly as it spread to "the Jewish world press." "Nobody else was such a household name in Jewish political life at home and abroad in Europe," he wrote. His efforts were reported from the outset. Just after the war's outbreak, in September 1939, the Aufbau, the German-Jewish newspaper in New York, wrote that Sturmtruppfuhrer Eichmann has commenced the transfer of all Jews in the Protectorate." At about the same time, the Czech intelligence service in London reported that "Eichmann has been granted extraordinary powers ... and is said to report directly to [SS head] Himmler."
Stangneth writes: "He dispatched, decreed, allowed, took steps, issued orders and gave audiences." As she documents, and Eichmann himself boasts, he didn't follow orders, he gave them. As Aufbau detailed in a front-page piece in December 1940 devoted entirely to Eichmann: "The Gestapo's new informer and hangman in Romania is Kommisar Eichmann."
By the time of the invasion of Russia, Eichmann's name was linked inextricably with the elimination of the Jews. In October 1941, the London exile newspaper Die Zeitung wrote of the transport of 5,000 Berlin Jews to the East: "There can now be no doubt that this campaign is premeditated mass murder. The campaign leader is SS Gruppenfuhrer Eichmann."
As the war continued, and the Nazis genocidal program went into high gear, Eichmann became the face of extermination. In Stangneth's words: "The Nazis needed a shop-front sign to which the Jewish question could be irreversibly linked and Eichmann was the name to fulfill that symbolic function." Eichmann flaunted his authority to the end. In personally supervising the deportation of more than 400,000 Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz, he showed "no trace of restraint or caution."
He boasted of direct control of the gas chambers. "I am a bloodhound!" he roared at the Jewish negotiator Rudolf Kasztner. "I'll set the mills of Auschwitz grinding!" In Eichmann's own recollection, his chief Gruppenführer Heinrich Muller expressed it best: To insure the success of this operation "they were sending in the master himself." Even when the war was lost, Eichmann maintained his genocidal obsession, overseeing the death marches that killed tens of thousands. With the Nazi defeat, Eichmann found that his sought-after notoriety had become a liability. His name appeared on every list of most-wanted war criminals.
But luck and cunning served him well. He hid his identity in a prisoner-of-war camp from which he affected an escape before he could be unmasked. He then used his skills as a former hunter to evade his pursuers, creating a false trail which sent them to the Middle East while he quietly toiled as a forester and later a chicken farmer in northern Germany. Then, with aid of sympathizers in Vatican circles – who were helping to smuggle out other Nazi officials as well – he made his way to Genoa and thence to Argentina in 1952, where he was supplied with a new identity: Ricardo Klement.
A hot ticket
Eichmann lived well in Argentina, which he referred to, without irony, as "the promised land." If he didn't flourish, he was always comfortably provided for by a network of intimates and well-wishers, many of whom themselves had eluded justice for their wartime endeavors. By 1954, he had brought over his wife and three sons, and indeed had a fourth boy during this period.
Had Eichmann chosen to remain unobtrusively in Tucuman province, he might have gone undetected. But he was bored in the hinterlands and sought a more cosmopolitan stage on which to reclaim at least a taste of his former glory.
His means of realizing this was a circle of Nazis who provided him with a platform and the means of advancing his agenda, and theirs, through the agency of the printed word. The presiding spirit behind this was Eberhard Fritsch, the head of Durer Verlag, which published Nazi tracts as well as the fascist magazine Der Weg, and the owner of a bookstore that served as a Nazi gathering place. The group that formed around Eichmann also included such Third Reich stalwarts as Ludolf von Alfensleben, Himmler's former chief adjutant and the highest-ranking Nazi in Argentina.
But the linchpin in this gathering was Willem Sassen, Eichmann's Boswell, who inspired him to chronicle his former achievements and future ambitions in the form of a book. The means to accomplish this was a tape recorder, whose transcripts would furnish the basis of Eichmann's opus.
The work began in April 1957 and continued for several months. This was not simply a case of interviewing a subject for posterity. Rather, the tapes take the form of a colloquium, conducted in Sassen's living room, with a cluster of perpetrators comparing notes on how effectively they achieved their goals. Eichmann, being the most senior surviving Nazi to supervise all aspects of the genocide, is the star of the show. Women were invited to what was nothing less than a salon. It was a hot ticket.
Never does anyone object to the nature of what is being discussed. Tempers only flare over bragging rights. Eichmann furnishes specifics: Jews were "gassed," "idiots sent to the slaughter," those who were deported were "killed nonstop in concentration camps like on a conveyor belt." He extols forced emigration as enabling him to "be creative in my work," and complains that his efforts to finish off Budapest's Jews were thwarted. "As far as I know I couldn't have done anything fruitful anymore." Nevertheless, Hungary was his masterwork, "and I am proud of that to this day.''
Such work does not come easy, and Eichmann complains that "it was a killer of a job." The only one he feels sorry for is himself, for occasionally having to witness the results of his handiwork at the death camps. "I am one of those people who can't stand to see corpses," he confides to his listeners.
In his apologia, "The Others Spoke, Now I Want to Speak," Eichmann declares, "I am not guilty before the law and before my own conscience." He was a soldier in a total war of annihilation and his oath of allegiance obligated him to carry out his duty to the fullest.
Where does morality stand in all this? Eichmann's response: "There are a number of moralities: a Christian morality, a morality of ethical values, a morality of battle. Which will it be?" Eichmann opts for "the morality of the Fatherland."
The higher morality is that of the nation manifested in the will of its leaders, who act on behalf of the people. As Stangneth observes, this leads Eichmann to conclude in his own perverse logic that, "Therefore a person should not allow his inner morality to conflict with his orders." A universal war of extermination, Stangneth writes, obliged people to use "unscrupulous violence." Death camps, she notes, were simply "an inventive battle tactic."
Although he never served at the front, Eichmann considered himself a combatant. A clarifying moment in his Weltanschauung comes when Eichmann tells Sassen's audience: "We had a total war and the front and the hinterland were totally blurred." He takes issue "with those who are of the opinion that the last war was fought only on the front lines ... There is no difference between the annihilation of enemy powers when a total war has been declared."
Stangneth observes that Eichmann "had clearly forgotten that his 'enemy powers' had been defenseless, frightened human beings." But this speaks to the essence of Hitler's war against the Jews, an existential conflict in which one side or the other had to be utterly eliminated. Such reasoning enabled mass murderers to account themselves heroic figures. It provided one of the pillars of Nazi ideology, and Eichmann diligently evoked its precepts. Eichmann's world view may be abhorrent, but within its dystopian borders, it is malevolently consistent and perversely well thought out.
Playing the naïf
When he was captured by the Israelis and brought to trial in Jerusalem in 1960, Eichmann proved a wily quarry for his interrogator, Avner Less, and a formidable opponent for the prosecutor, Gideon Hausner. He was remarkably well informed about the evidence against him since he'd already read everything on the subject, and conducted what amounted to mock debates during the Sassen interviews. But he kept this from his captors, skillfully playing the naïf as he sparred with them. And although his capture caused consternation in West Germany, where it was feared that if Eichmann named names he would compromise Bonn's political, economic and security establishment, he remained loyal to his former comrades and kept silent.
To dismiss his "modest mental gifts," as Hannah Arendt did in "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil," accepts his guise as an unimaginative clerk mindlessly carrying out the mandates of his superiors. Playing the obedient dutiful pen-pusher – his only hope of avoiding the gallows – was Eichmann's last great role. He was able to convince Arendt, if not the court. By dismissing him as a non-entity in reporting his trial, Arendt deprived Eichmann of his own satanic gifts and the responsibility that went with them."
In Arendt's rendering, Eichmann was a diligent functionary imbued with the Nazi ethos, who responded automatically and assiduously in carrying out the commands of his superiors, and so, acted legally if not morally. But Stangneth writes that, in light of the Argentine documents, Arendt's "characterization of Eichmann's 'inability to think' is insupportable." The transcripts, the tapes, the texts leave Arendt's thesis about the banality of evil in tatters. True, Arendt may not have had access to the Argentine material, but the sheer mass of reportage that appeared in the international press about Eichmann's role as an innovative progenitor of the Holocaust, which he himself fostered, was available to her long before his trial.
Arendt justified her coverage as being based on a thorough reading of the trial transcript, but all she had to do was read back issues of her own newspaper, the German-Jewish Aufbau, for which she wrote during the war, to gain an image of Eichmann that was a far cry from the dutiful bureaucrat she painted in her treatise. It is incredible that she ignored this information, of which she had to be aware, and which should at least have given her pause in portraying Eichmann as a mindless factotum.
Arendt's defenders maintain that her theory on the "banality of evil" has been misunderstood, that her detractors wrongly accuse of her of attributing seemingly acquiescent behavior to what are in fact demonic impulses. Instead, they suggest a more nuanced approach: that Eichmann's banality consisted in his being so ordinary and yet capable of radical evil, although incapable of the complex thought that motivates the ideological zealot.
They are wrong on both counts. On the first point, ordinary men can behave heroically or basely under extreme conditions. On the second point, as Stangneth shows, Eichmann was no ordinary man. His monstrous thinking was based on a complete ideological system, logically consistent within its warped framework, and not too far in its raw bio-ethnic premise from the Volkish nostrums of Martin Heidegger, "Hitler's philosopher." Eichmann was anything but the self-effacing mediocrity portrayed by Arendt; rather, he was an extraordinary individual who had applied super-human energy to subhuman acts.
Arendt's name has been linked inextricably with Eichmann's so that it is now difficult to mention one without the other. One of the strengths of Stangneth's book is that while she gives Arendt her due throughout, she keeps the spotlight firmly on Eichmann. Arendt used Eichmann as a foil to advance her thoughts on the nature of radical evil. If the man she described in Jerusalem was other than the pathetic creature she depicted him as, her theory would have been compromised. Arendt's various motives and subsequent behavior in writing about the trial have at times subsumed the career of Eichmann himself.
In "The Eichmann Trial" (2011), Deborah Lipstadt demolished Arendt's charge of complicity on the part of the Judenrat that administered the ghettos, pointing out, among other things, that the Nazis were able to massacre more than a million Soviet Jews without benefit of Jewish councils. Lipstadt eviscerated Arendt's charge that Israel's "case was built on what the Jews had suffered, not on what Eichmann had done," citing the cumulative wealth of documentation that sent Eichmann to the gallows in 1962. She also reminds us that Arendt, who made so much of her own meticulous reportage, went on vacation in the midst of the four-month trial, missing five weeks of testimony. For a reporter who set such store on her insights into the personality of the man in the glass booth, reading a transcript is not the same thing as watching him testify over the course of the trial.
One of the strengths of Stangneth work is that she has freed Eichmann from Arendt's shadow and restored him to center stage. The issue is not Arendt's reading, but Eichmann's actions. He was one of the instrumental architects of the Holocaust and, as Stangneth's voluminous research demonstrates, the responsibility is his, together with the many-headed cohort that abetted him.
Bettina Stangneth has combined the talents of rigorous academic research with investigative journalism in tracking down and sifting through the mounds of archival data located in diffuse venues. Her efforts at comparing, collating and interpreting the wealth of material in the hall of mirrors and blind alleys that Eichmann erected are nothing less than prodigious. The result is an exhaustive – and sometimes exhausting – journey through a realm of radical evil, but a necessary one for anyone who wants a fuller understanding of Adolf Eichmann.
The writer formerly supervised the book pages of Newsday and was an editor in the culture section of The New York Times.


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Can someone tell me how to get the maroon color for a redskins cake?
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Wilton sells a burgandy color (reviews say it tastes really bad though). Americolor has both a burgandy and a maroon. You could probably use red and mix it with a bit of black, maybe some violet to achieve the color. I just did that with forest green. No time to buy so I kept mixing black and royal into my kelly green to get the dark green. It took awhile but little by little, it eventually got there.