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Why OCIA-Certified Organic?
Why Choose Organic Agriculture?
Organic agriculture is based on a system of farming that maintains and replenishes soil fertility without the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
- Soil is enriched with compost, green manure and organic amendments.
- Weeds, pests and disease are controlled through crop rotation, carefully timed mechanical and manual intervention, beneficial insects and the selective use of natural, non-chemical pesticides.
- Livestock are provided quality living environments and are raised without hormones, or antibiotics.
Through environmentally sound practices, organic producers and processors strive to sustain the health of the earth while providing quality food for those who inhabit it. Be sure to read Why We Transitioned to Organic that describes why two OCIA farmers chose to go organic.
Why Choose Organic?
More and more consumers want certified organic foods because they know that these foods are:
- Grown without genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
- Grown and processed without the use of synthetic chemicals, fertilizers, antibiotics, or hormones.
Why Choose OCIA-Certified Organic?
As one of the world's leading organic certification agencies, OCIA International requires that its producers and processors strictly adhere to organic standards. These standards ensure that:
- No chemicals or non-natural fertilizers have been applied to fields, pastures, orchards, or vineyards for three years prior to harvest.
- Operations have been annually inspected by an independent inspector and are subject to unannounced verification inspections at any time.
- Detailed records of each operation's practices and processes have been kept and submitted to OCIA International for an annual certification review.
- OCIA International is independently accredited to a number of industries and government bodies in the United States and internationally.


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Last week I linked to Cook's Illustrated's Thin-Crust Pizza recipe on the magazine's website (subscription required*), promising that I'd try it and then dish.
You may know that the motto of the Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen empire is "Recipes That Work." This one does.** Like a charm. But you grokked that from the title above, right?
The crust texture was superb, producing, potentially, some of the best pizza I've made in my home oven in some time. The flavor was good, too. By the time I got to the end crust, I kept on eating. The only minor quibble I had was that it could have been a bit more salty. But that may have been my fault: I used coarse salt instead of table salt. Note that when Cook's calls for just "salt," the magazine means table salt, calling for kosher salt when necessary. (I've got a batch in the fridge salted with table salt now and will see how that works.)
Regular Slice visitors know that my crust texture as of late has been plagued by a quality that my wife (my personal guinea pig and taste-tester) describes as "creepy bagel" — a thin, outer skin that's crisp yet way too tough, way too chewy. The Cook's crust passed muster with her, crisp on the bottom and the ends and airy and just soft enough in the interior.
The sauce is easy enough to blitz together. It, too, uses the food processor. My tip is to do the sauce first, since it's easier to clean the blade and bowl after this step than after the dough. The sauce uses a nice amount of oregano, that mainstay of New York–style pizza sauce, and a fair amount of garlic. The garlic is a strong note in the finished sauce, so any minor-league vampires out there may want to back down on it a bit.
The basic recipe calls for finely grated Parmesan and freshly grated whole-milk mozzarella cheeses. In the photo montage above, I'm saucing and topping the first of the two pizzas that this recipe yields. Here's what it looked like postoven:
Whoa! Puffy rim, huh? That's my fault. I didn't stretch the first one thin enough.
See, the recipe calls for an eventual 13-inch round. That's really pushing it for the diameter of stone I have, which is, well, about 13 inches. So I stretched to the usual diameter I'm comfortable with. The result was that the edges, where sauce and cheese were not weighing down the crust, poofed up to something like you might see at L.A.'s Pizzeria Mozza.
Girl Slice, I have to report, LOVED the puffy rim. "It's like something you'd get at Motorino," she said. (If only I had topped this thing with brussels sprouts!)
No worries on the puffy rim, though. When I stretched the second dough ball to 13 inches, the pizza came out pretty much as I imagine Andrew Janjigian, the CI writer who came up with it, intended it:
Bottom line: I really love this crust. I think it's super for first-time or novice pizzamakers and that it should please even the dough-whisperers out there.
The only major "problem" I had with it? It sort of obviates the need for me to play around with sourdough starters, persnickety flour blends, and elaborate oven hacks — all stuff I like to tinker with.
Optional Reading
As some of you noted in the comments of my post last week, the CI recipe is pretty similar to Kenji's New York–style Pizza at Home recipe. I'll reiterate that both Kenji and Andrew Janjigian, who developed the Cook's technique, worked independently of one another, neither aware of what the other was up to. The hallmarks of both recipes include using a food processor to whiz the dough up quickly and a 24- to 72-hour "cold fermentation" period in the refrigerator.
If you're new to Slice and/or DIY pizzamaking, the "cold rise" is a popular technique for producing a crust that's far more flavorful than one you'd get with a same-day mix-and-rise. As Cook's Illustrated explains:
Fermentation is a two-phase process: First, the carbohydrates in the dough are converted by the yeast to sugars, alcohol, and acids. Next, these convert to carbon dioxide, expanding the bubbles created in the dough when it was first mixed. At room temperature, the process moves rapidly to the production of carbon dioxide. But in the fridge, the process is slowed way down. With enough time, the complex-tasting sugars, alcohol, and acids form, but very little carbon dioxide gets converted, so the bubbles in the dough stay small and the crust bakes up both thin and more flavorful.
If you have never made pizza before, or have only made same-day doughs, believe me when I say that the cold rise will change your pizza making life. It changed mine, and I almost can't bring myself to make same-day doughs now.
** Girl Slice and I have a digital subscription to the website, and own several of the CI cookbooks. It's been our experience that, yes, the recipes we've cooked from do indeed work.

subset: commoncrawl


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U.S. Anti-Doping Agency says 11 of Lance Armstrong's teammates testified against him in probe
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency says 11 of Lance Armstrong's former teammates testified against him in its investigation of the cyclist, revealing "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."
USADA will deliver its reasoned decision against Armstrong later Wednesday, a summary of the facts it used to hand him a lifetime suspension and erase his seven Tour de France titles.
In a news release previewing the decision, USADA CEO Travis Tygart said it would include more than 1,000 pages of evidence. He listed 11 of Armstrong's former teammates, including George Hincapie, Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton, as among those providing evidence that led to the sanction.
In delivering the report to the International Cycling Union, Tygart called for the federation to create a meaningful program to help clean up the sport.
Tygart said the evidence shows the code of silence that dominated cycling has been shattered.
He said evidence from 26 people, including 15 riders with knowledge of the U.S. Postal Service Team's doping activities, provided testimony for the report. It was with the USPS team that Armstrong won all but one of his Tour titles from 1999-2005.
Other cyclists named in the news release were Frankie Andreu, Michael Barry, Tom Danielson, Levi Leiphimer, Stephen Swart, Christian Vande Velde, Jonathan Vaughters and David Zabriskie.
In a letter to USADA attorneys sent Tuesday, Armstrong's attorney dismissed any evidence provided by Landis and Hamilton, calling them "serial perjurers and have told diametrically contradictory stories under oath."
Hincapie's role in the investigation could be more damaging, as he was one of Armstrong's closest and most loyal teammates through the years.
"Two years ago, I was approached by U.S. federal investigators, and more recently by USADA, and asked to tell of my personal experience in these matters," the cyclist said in a statement published shortly after USADA's release. "I would have been much more comfortable talking only about myself, but understood that I was obligated to tell the truth about everything I knew. So that is what I did."
Tygart said all the facts in the Armstrong case and the cases of six other riders targeted in USADA's investigation will be made available on the agency's website later Wednesday.
Two other players in the Postal team's circle, Dr. Michele Ferrari and Dr. Garcia del Moral, also received lifetime bans as part of the case.
Three other members of the USPS team will take their cases to arbitration. They are team director Johan Bruyneel, team doctor Pedro Celaya and team trainer Jose "Pepe" Marti.
Armstrong chose not to pursue the case and instead accepted the sanction, though he has persistently argued that the USADA system was rigged against him, calling it a "witch hunt" that has used special rules that it doesn't follow in all its other cases.
The UCI has asked for details of the case before it decides whether to sign off on the sanctions. The federation has 21 days to appeal the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The report also will go to the World Anti-Doping Agency, which also has the right to appeal, but so far has supported USADA's position in the Armstrong case.
"We've got no problem with the process they have followed," WADA general director David Howman said. "We've just got to be patient and be quiet until the decision comes to hand."
USADA has said it doesn't need UCI's approval and Armstrong's penalties are in place.
Aware of the criticism it has faced from Armstrong and his legion of followers, Tygart insisted USADA handled this case under the same rules as any other.
"We focused solely on finding the truth without being influenced by celebrity or non-celebrity, threats, personal attacks or political pressure because that is what clean athletes deserve and demand," he said.


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Design submitted by Peter from the UK.
Peter says: This is "Y2Z" (Y two Z) I wanted to come up with a simple belt orientated design that looks really technical and Sci-fi but was ultimately makeable.
I decided to use a conventional analogue movement to power the belts which in turn would rotate around dolly wheels in a different orientation, hence the name "Y2Z"
The time is told by the three belts driven by wheels where the hands would normally be, the top belt displays the hours, the lower left belt 10 min groups (could be conventional minutes) and the third lower right belt single minutes (could be seconds as per conventional analogue movement) The controls for adjustment are on the reverse of the watch to save cluttering the design. The illumination is activated by tapping on the glass.
This design has a very technical look which may interest people who like mechanical products and fine engineering. The Sci-fi feel will broaden its appeal to a wider audience.
The illumination of the wheels adds to the sci-fi look.
The three belt configuration with the change in orientation helps this design stand out from the crowd. The unusual external shape differs it from others.


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The Mars Curiosity hasn't even made it to Mars yet and it's already made a discovery that vital the future of manned space travel: The exact type of radiation astronauts would likely encounter on their way to the Red Planet. This is so freaking awesome.
Until now, scientists and engineers could only guess about this critical information. The computer calculations required to simulate the interaction between radiation and spacecraft hulls are way too complicated—with high-energy cosmic rays and solar energetic particles penetrating into the craft, interacting and colliding with the molecules in various metal and liquid layers.
It's not a mystery anymore: the Mars Curiosity mission has already collected that information and sent it home. NASA installed a Radiation Assesment Detector (RAD) inside the spacecraft, in a strategic location that simulates where a future astronaut might be positioned. It has been measuring radiation levels for nine months, as the spaceship cruised through millions of miles.
According to Don Hassler of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, "Curiosity is riding to Mars in the belly of the spacecraft, similar to where an astronaut would be. This means the rover absorbs deep-space radiation storms the same way a real astronaut would." And it hasn't been an uneventful ride, says Hassler: "Curiosity has been hit by five major flares and solar particle events in the Earth-Mars expanse. The rover is safe, and it has been beaming back invaluable data."
This vital data would allow engineers to design a manned spacecraft that could actually travel to other planets in the solar system and beyond. It will be made available to the international community soon.
The RAD isn't done working yet: When it arrives on Mars, it will start measuring the radiation that future visitors would have to deal with. According to Hassler, this will be a first too—"no one has ever before measured this kind of radiation from the surface of another planet. We're just getting started." [NASA]
THE MARS CURIOSITY ROVER IS LANDING THIS SUNDAY. I'm at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. I will be liveblogging the event life from here.


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Frequently Asked Questions about the FAFSA
What's the FAFSA?
FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It's the form the federal government and schools use to determine your eligibility for financial assistance. Schools also base their financial aid package on the FAFSA. And, as the name implies, the FAFSA is completely free.
When should I complete a FAFSA?
The new FAFSA form becomes available each year on October 1. Submit your application as soon after this date as possible. Funds may be limited so, if you submit your FAFSA too late, there may be no aid left. Remember to file the application each year you need aid - even if you think you may not qualify for financial aid. Your eligibility can change from year to year, especially if there are changes in your family's circumstances.
Where can I get the FAFSA?
The paper FAFSA is available at any high school, college or library. You may also call (800) 4-FED-AID or apply online.
What is Roanoke's Title IV Code?
When completing the FAFSA, it is important to enter the six-digit federal school code in Step Six for each school you would like to receive your FAFSA results. The individual institutions cannot award financial aid without these official results. The Roanoke College school code is 003736.
Why do I need an Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID)?
The Department of Education is constantly striving to make the financial aid process more efficient, easier to use and quicker. The distribution of Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID) is the Departments latest endeavor to accomplish these goals.
How do I get a Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID)?
Virtually anyone interested in obtaining financial aid (current students, former students, high-school students, financial aid applicants and even parents) can request and receive an FSA ID.
What can I do with an FSA ID?
Your FSA ID can be used for the following:
- To update and correct information that was submitted on the FAFSA
- As a means of accessing the NSLDS database
- Access into the National Student Loan Clearinghouse
- Sign your Direct Loan Promissory Note
What is an EFC?
When you apply for federal student aid, the information you and your parents report is used in an extensive formula prescribed by the United States Congress. This formula cranks out your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC is the amount the Department of Education expects you and your family to contribute toward your education. This number is by no means a bill. It may not exactly match the amount you and your family end up contributing.
What is meant by the term "financial need"?
Your financial need is calculated using the FAFSA's EFC and your Cost of Attendance (i.e., tuition, room and board, fees, books, transportation, and miscellaneous expenses). The Financial Aid Office uses the following equation:
Cost of Attendance - EFC = Need
If need is greater than zero, you are considered to have financial need.
How can a student be considered an independent?
Although some students do not receive any financial assistance from their parents in regards to their college-related expenses, it does not mean that they do not need to report their parents' income on the FAFSA. Many students want to be considered independent, but this status is not easily obtained. Federal laws set forth certain criteria by which a student can achieve this status. Those criterion are listed below:
- They are 24 years of age as of January 1
- They are a graduate or professional student
- They are married
- They have children who receive more than half of their support from them
- Both parents are deceased or they are an orphan or ward of the court
- They have been legally emancipated from their parents
- They are in legal guardianship
- They are a veteran of the US Armed forces
- They have legal dependents other than a spouse or children
- They are currently serving on active duty in the US Armed Forces for purposes other than training
- They are considered an unaccompanied youth who was homeless by their high school or school district homeless liaison
- They are considered an unaccompanied youth who was homeless by the director of an emergency shelter or transitional housing program funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development
- They are considered an unaccompanied youth who was homeless or were self-supporting and at risk of being homeless by the director of a runaway or homeless youth basic center or transitional living program
Does the Financial Aid Office have any leeway in determining a student's dependency status?
Yes, the Financial Aid Office does have the ability to override the decision on a student's dependency status within certain guidelines. For more information on how to obtain a dependency override, contact the FAO directly.
What is a SAR?
All RC students who want to apply for federal financial aid must file a FAFSA. The results of this application are contained in the Student Aid Report (SAR). If you file a paper FAFSA and do not supply an email address, you will receive this form, which shows the results of your application and requests you to review the information and make corrections, approximately 4 - 6 weeks after submitting your FAFSA. If you file the form online or supply an email address on the paper application, this form must be accessed via the Internet and will be available usually within 5 - 6 day time frame.
What do I do with the SAR when I receive/retrieve it?
When you obtain your SAR, you need to review all information on the form for accuracy. If corrections need to be made, directions are provided. It is important to remember that any corrections made will generate a new SAR from the Federal Processor for your review.
Why didn't you award me any federal funds?
The Financial Aid Office automatically reviews all pre-registered students for college scholarships and grants. However, you must file a FAFSA to apply for federal and need-based funds (NOTE: includes RC Supplemental Grant). This application must be completed each year. If you fail to do so, your award will not contain any federal funds.
I know that I have completed a FAFSA for but, I still haven't gotten my federal financial aid award letter. What can I do?
If you know that you have completed a FAFSA and still have not been awarded federal funds, there may be a problem with your application. Contact the Financial Aid Office and we will be glad to research your file to determine if there is an error on your application that prevented Central Processing from calculating an EFC.
What happens if my family has a unique financial situation that is not accurately reflected on the FAFSA?
Anytime there is an unusual circumstance that you feel affects your ability to pay for a Roanoke College education, you are encouraged to put it in writing and send it to the Financial Aid Office. The FAFSA form is very generic and does not always portray reality for Roanoke families. The Financial Aid Office has the opportunity to use "professional judgment" and re-evaluate the federal form where deemed appropriate. Students are also encouraged to review Roanoke's Special Circumstances Appeals Form.
What are some circumstances that Roanoke's FAO will consider?
The following circumstances may constitute professional judgment:
- Loss of employment/reduction of income
- Loss of earnings due to disability or natural disaster
- Death of a spouse or parent
- Divorce or separation
- Loss of untaxed income/benefits
- Extraordinary medical expenses that were PAID in 2014 and not reimbursed by insurance
- Sibling attending a private secondary school
- Parent enrolled full-time in a post-secondary institution as a degree-seeking student
- Exceptional legal fees
- Receipt of a one-time sum of money
- Support of an elderly parent or disabled child
- Excessive debt
Do I need to document my unusual circumstances?
In addition to a letter explaining your family's unusual circumstances, you must also provide adequate documentation to support any adjustments you would like the Financial Aid Office to make. If you are unsure what would be considered adequate documentation, contact the Financial Aid Office directly. Students are encouraged to submit a special circumstances appeals form along with all required documentation.
Is the Financial Aid Office's professional judgment final?
Yes. The Financial Aid Administrator's decision as to whether you have special circumstances is final and cannot be appealed to the Department of Education
What if my family's financial situation changes?
In today's uncertain economic times, families may face changing financial situations. If this should occur, please provide the Financial Aid Office with updated information as soon as possible and counselors will re-evaluate your situation.
I just got my award letter but I still need more money. Will Roanoke negotiate?
No. Roanoke College does not negotiate financial aid funds. The award letter you receive is final unless there is a change in the student's academic profile or in the family's financial situation. If either is the case, students should place their request in writing and send it to the Financial Aid Office.


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Saturday, December 24, 2011
Bing Crosby - Mele Kalikimaka (Hawaiian Christmas Song)
26 Thoughtful Comments:
- Kim@Snug Harbor said...
Mele Kalikimaka to you too! Big hugs and best wishes!
- December 24, 2011 at 8:41 AM
- Linda @ A La Carte said...
I love this song and I'm wishing you a wonderful Christmas. I know it's a hard year! Sending you a big Christmas hug. Linda
- December 24, 2011 at 9:14 AM
- gpc said...
Love it! There is nothing that puts me in the holiday spirit faster than a lighted palm tree! Have a blessed Christmas!
- December 24, 2011 at 9:21 AM
- ~Lavender Dreamer~ said...
What fun! Merry Christmas to you dear friend! Warm hugs coming your way! Enjoy this beautiful holiday weekend! ♥♥♥
- December 24, 2011 at 10:28 AM
- Lori E said...
Merry Christmas and Joyeux Noël from Canada.
- December 24, 2011 at 10:44 AM
- CrazyCris said...
Feliz Navidad Rhonda!!! :o)
I hope you have a lovely holiday with plenty of cheer!
It's warm and sunny in Mediterranean Spain too, I miss the snow and the White Christmas but this ads to family warmth.
- December 24, 2011 at 11:52 AM
- RobinfromCA said...
Love this song, love Bing, love the celebration of Christmas by the sea!
Mele Kalikimaka!
- December 24, 2011 at 12:33 PM
- Loui♥ said...
oh Shelle..
what memories this stirs..
i've always loved Bing,,especially his voice..
(hopefully Michael Buble' will continue in his journey of keeping those oldies alive)
but my dear sweet friend..a private e-mail will be forthcoming later tonite..before Santa arrives..
White Christmas is one of my most favorites..so I'm gonna share some Colorado snow..
Love and sandy hugs
- December 24, 2011 at 3:42 PM
- niartist said...
Merry Christmas (or Mele Kalikimaka) to you and yours!!
Color Outside the Lines
- December 25, 2011 at 2:03 PM
- Kaybe said...
Merry Christmas Shell Sistah of my heart. This year is going to be the best ever for you! xo
- December 25, 2011 at 4:27 PM
- Cindy (Applestone Cottage) said...
Just wonderful Rhonda!
I hope you had a good Christmas and can remember the happy times you had with your sister.
I am missing my Arizona grandbaby but hopefully we will be going out there soon!
- December 26, 2011 at 3:58 PM
- CHERI said...
Hi, Shellbelle! I've missed you while I've been away from the blogging world. Finally did my first post in about 3 months. I think I just burned out....but hope to do better in the months ahead. Haven't had time to read your posts and see what's going on with you, but hope all is well. Here's wishing you and yours a very blessed 2012!
- December 27, 2011 at 8:45 PM
- rjerdee said...
Nothing like Old Florida, is there? I'm always so sorry when I see yet another spot slip away...
Had a wonderful time with Karen yesterday, in spite of the storm that hit just 45 minutes after we met!
- December 28, 2011 at 1:32 PM
- Jane said...
I'm behind...as usual.
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas holiday and that 2012 brings you much joy...
Mele Kalikimaka...my 3rd grade teacher (oh, that was a loooooong time ago!) taught us that...and to say "happy new year", too. (But I don't remember this.) In my family, we said "fleetsy potsquash" (felice pasques)
- December 30, 2011 at 10:19 PM
- The Quintessential Magpie said...
And a Mele Kalikimaka to you, too, Shell Belle! :-)
I am finally back in the world of blogging, Rhonda. My computer is functioning. Yea!
Christmas was hectic but fun, and I am now enjoying some blog visiting. It feels like I have been let out of a cage with the return of my computer. YES!
Hope you had a good Christmas. I still have a couple of things for you here.
Sending you warm hugs, my friend, and all good wishes for a wonderful 2012!
Love you...
Sheila :-)
- December 30, 2011 at 11:35 PM
Love your happy holiday Christmas header!
Happy, Happy New Year!
Best Wishes,
Sand and Sea
(aka beachside cottage)
- December 31, 2011 at 2:30 PM
- Julie@beingRUBY said...
Happy Happy New year Dear Rhonda
Wishing you love, happiness and the best in life for 2012 and the future... Much love to you.. ciao xxx Julie
- January 1, 2012 at 3:41 AM
- michelle said...
Happy New Year Rhonda!!! I hope that this year brings you many bright days at the beach and much love.
I love this song and Bing is one of my favorites. :)
- January 3, 2012 at 11:05 AM
- Sue said...
Popping in to say hello! Wasn't it the best Florida weather ever for Christmas? We loved it and got out just in time to beat your cold snap! I'm hoping that 2012 will be a better year for both of us! Happy New Year!
- January 5, 2012 at 2:37 PM
- Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...
Now I've been late for some parties but I'm really late for this one!!!
Loved the video sweetie, even if I am very tardy.
I hope you had a Mele Kalikimaka and are havein' the best New Year ever.
God bless and have a beautiful day sweetie!!!
- January 12, 2012 at 12:35 PM
- Jen Beaudet Z said...
Hi Rhonda! I hope all is well with you. I miss your visits and your blog! Have a truly happy new year!
Take care!
- January 22, 2012 at 5:04 PM
- Jen Beaudet Z said...
Hi Rhonda! I hope all is well with you. I miss your visits and your blog! Have a truly happy new year!
Take care!
- January 22, 2012 at 5:04 PM
- Sue said...
Just wanted to stop by to say hi! I hope you are doing okay...I miss you!
- February 29, 2012 at 4:24 PM
- CrazyCris said...
stopping bye to say hi! I hope your Spring has brought sun an flowers and lovely sea shells into your life!
Something's been missing around the blog-o-sphere without your presence! I hope you come back soon! Perhaps in time for World Oceans Day? ;o)
- May 11, 2012 at 6:19 AM
- Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...
Hey darlin', I just wanted to drop by and wish you a beautifully blessed Mother's Day!!!
Enjoy! :o)
- May 11, 2012 at 3:46 PM
- ~Lavender Dreamer~ said...
I don't know if you will get this through your blog but when I saw that it will be World Oceans day soon....I thought of you! I hope things are going well for you! We are still loving it here in Florida and I sure do miss hearing from you! Warm hugs to you, Diane
- June 8, 2012 at 5:21 PM


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One of Sam Avery's fellow "city born" brothers-in-arms from Charlestown was George DiPesa. At the time of his original enlistment in the Massachusetts National Guard at age 22, George lived in Revere and was employed as an auto mechanic. George enlisted at Malden on March 26, 1917 prior to the declaration of war and was assigned to L Co., 5th Mass. Infantry.
When the 5th Mass. Infantry was dismantled and integrated into the 26th "Yankee" Division in August 1917 (see the 26th "Yankee" Division Page for more information), George was assigned to L Co. in the 101st Infantry Regiment, 51st Brigade and served under the name of "George A. Sophia" using his step-father's last name. Diminutive in stature at 5′-1″, George was also known as the shortest man in the 101st Infantry.
As fellow members of the "Yankee" Division, George and Sam shared the same hardships, discomforts and dangers as they occupied the same Sectors during 210 days of continuous combat during 1917-1918. As one of the "originals" in the 101st Infantry, George served in the Chemin des Dames, Toul Defensive Sector, Champagne-Marne Defensive, Aisne-Marne Offensive, St. Mihiel Offensive and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.
George served with distinction under fire, or as Sam Avery would say "gave a good account of himself": He was slightly wounded on May 31, 1918 while in the Troyon sector, and also was seriously gassed which required a long recovery (see the Recovery in the Hospitals Page for more information). He received the Victory Medal with 5 campaign clasps and the Verdun Medal (France) in addition to the Purple Heart.
After receiving his discharge from Federal service in early May, 1919, George chose to briefly continue his military career and re-enlisted for another term in the 9th Mass. Infantry (National Guard). He rose to the grade of Corporal and received his final discharge in 1921. After the war, George continued to live in Revere where he raised a family and worked as a janitor in the Revere Public Schools. In 1940, George died at the young age of 45 from lung cancer caused by the gassing he had received in 1918.
(Information and photos courtesy of John A. DiPesa, SMSgt USAF)


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The International & Immigrant Student Scholarship is offered to provide tuition assistance to UWB students on an F-1 visa or those who have become permanent residents of the U.S. within the past 5 years, who demonstrate outstanding commitment to the local and/or global community, and have significant financial need. The purpose of this scholarship is to benefit University of Washington Bothell International Students and to honor Natalie Lang and her service to the UWB community.
Applicants will be notified four to six weeks after the deadline and award recipients will be posted on the UWB scholarship web page.
Complete the UW Bothell Scholarship Application which will be available during October or March.
The application includes your resume and a personal statement described on the application instructions. We encourage you to visit the Writing Center, Room UW2-124 for assistance with writing your personal statement.


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October 2013 Work conducted under the Semantic Web Activity has ended or is now nearing the end of its charter. See the highlights section for the current situation.
The goal of the Semantic Web initiative is as broad as that of the Web: to create a universal medium for the exchange of data. It is envisaged to smoothly interconnect personal information management, enterprise application integration, and the global sharing of commercial, scientific and cultural data. Facilities to put machine-understandable data on the Web are quickly becoming a high priority for many organizations, individuals and communities.
The Web can reach its full potential only if it becomes a place where data can be shared and processed by automated tools as well as by people. For the Web to scale, tomorrow's programs must be able to share and process data even when these programs have been designed totally independently. The Semantic Web Activity is an initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) designed to provide a leadership role in defining this Web. The Activity develops open specifications for those technologies that are ready for large scale deployment, and identifies, through open source advanced development, the infrastructure components that will be necessary to scale in the Web in the future.
The principal technologies of the Semantic Web fit into a set of layered specifications. The current components are the Resource Description Framework (RDF) Core Model, the RDF Schema language, the Web Ontology language (OWL), and the Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS). Building on these core components is a standardized query language, SPARQL (pronounced "sparkle"), enabling querying decentralized collections of RDF data. The POWDER recommendations provide technologies to find resource descriptions for specific resources on the Web; descriptions which can be "joined" to other RDF data. The GRDDL and RDFa Recommendations aim at creating bridges between the RDF model and various XML formats, like XHTML. RDFa also plays an important role as a format to add Structured Data to HTML, i.e., as a means to help using Linked Data in Web Applications. The goal of the R2RML language is to provide standard language to map relational data and relational database schemas to RDF and OWL. Finally, the goal of the newly proposed Linked Data Profile Working Group is to provide a "entry level" layer to manage Linked Data file using RESTful, HTTP based API.
The RDF Working Group began its work in February 2011; its charter has been extended until the 31st of December 2013. The mission of the group is to update the 2004 version of the Resource Description Framework (RDF) Recommendation. The group has published many Candidate Recommendations in recent months: Turtle—Terse RDF Triple Language in February, RDF 1.1 Concepts and Abstract Syntax in July 2013 and RDF 1.1 Semantics in November 2013.
JSON-LD Syntax 1.0 was published as a Candidate Recommendation in September 2013 and has just moved to Proposed Recommendation. The standard was originally developed by a separate JSON for Linking Data Community Group and has now been incorporated into the Recommendation track document of the RDF Working Group (JSON-based serialization of RDF is part of the group's charter). Last Call Working drafts have also published for TriG and N-Triples and N-Quads.
The RDFa Working Group has successfully taken HTML+RDFa 1.1 to Recommendation and is now dormant pending the completion of HTML5 and RDF 1.1 that may trigger an edited Recommendation.
The Web Schemas Task Force, under the control of the Semantic Web Interest Group, continues its activity; it has become the major public discussion forum for the evolution of schema.org vocabularies, and we envisage keeping this task force open for the coming period. The proposed Data Activity assigns Team resources to this group to support the development of vocabularies at W3C (see below.
The Linked Data Platform Working Group began its operation in June 2012. The goal of this group is to define an "entry level" set of RESful APIs to develop simpler Linked Data Applications that may include large scale Enterprise Integration or Web Applications based on Linked Data. The Working Group has published a Last Call Working Draft for the Linked Data Platform 1.0 document.
The Semantic Web Health Care and Life Sciences Interest Group (HCLSIG) continues to be a primary forum for experts in this area, considering Semantic Web technologies for the management of biomedical data.
The coming period should see the completion of RDF 1.1 and LDP.
The proposed Data Activity will encompass the work of the Semantic Web Actvity, merging it with the eGov Activity, and building on the two.
Members are invited to review the Data Activity and cast their vote by 24th November 2013.
Summary of Activity Structure:
|Team Contact
|RDFa Working Group
|Manu Sporny
|Ivan Herman
|Chartered until 30 September 2013
|Semantic Web Coordination Group
|Ivan Herman
|Ivan Herman
|Chartered until 28 February 2013
|Semantic Web Health Care and Life Sciences Interest Group
|Charles Mead
|Eric Prud'hommeaux
|Chartered until 31 August 2014
|Semantic Web Interest Group
|Dan Brickley
|Ivan Herman
|Chartered until 28 February 2014
|RDF Working Group
|David Wood, Guus Schreiber
|Ivan Herman, Sandro Hawke
|Chartered until 31 December 2013
|Linked Data Platform (LDP) Working Group
|Arnaud Le Hors
|Eric Prud'hommeaux, Yves Lafon
|Chartered until 1 June 2014
This Activity Statement was prepared for TPAC 2013 per section 5 of the W3C Process Document. Generated from group data.Ivan Herman, Semantic Web Activity Lead
$Id: Activity.html,v 1.414 2011/09/09 01:35:33 ijacobs
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Packaging is evil – but why?
The image of packaging in general is not the most positive one – to say it friendly. Many people and also some media put their finger in the wound and rate packaging as an evil that should be avoided. But why?
Look at the role, packaging should fulfill:
- Guarantee the protection of a product
- Act as a transportation means
- Be source of information
- Function as a quality safe
- Be marketing object
- Become the face of a brand
And when we are honest: That is what packaging does. So why is packaging evil?
Most of the people (and media) simply see the equation: Packaging is waste after use – waste is harming the environment – we have to protect the environment – that is why we should avoid packaging. Biggest problem? The conclusion of this equation is not correct.
Packaging is a must
The problem the packaging industry simply is facing: Not the packaging – paper, plastic, glass or metal, rigid or flexible – as such is the problem. It is the non-responsible use of packaging material; some products are over-packed; for some categories of packaging there could be a higher rate of recycling; and most importantly: packaging is not responsibly disposed. The role of packaging as such could be more positive if people would not only see the negative pictures of littered landscape and oceans. It is the missing link between use of packaging and its disposal.
To influence and correct resp. change this, education is vital: The change to a more responsible thinking about our environment. Economy should/could implement routines and schemes for the collection and recycling – yes, we have this in many countries/regions, but not everywhere around the globe. And the packaging industry has to continue their efforts in developing materials that are easier to recycle and to reuse. Materials that save the resources (e.g. oil), materials made of renewable sources, materials that bio-degrade, materials that save the environment.
Now what do you expect from the packaging industry in general, from the package printing and converting industries and the flexible packaging industry in particular? Basically: Many things are in place and existing already. Companies are reducing waste – resources, energy, carbon footprints etc, companies are actively looking at alternative packaging materials, at thinner and lighter materials that at the same time offer advanced performance, companies are developing new production routines, processes, materials by further developing the components used and the combination of such »ingredients« and offer optimized packaging shapes and structures.
And what do you expect from politics? Stop and reduce excessive bureaucracy. Allow the creative thinking of developers for new kinds of packaging. Allow the industry to incinerate their packaging waste for energy production – when and where appropriate and meaningful.
And what do you expect from the media? Stop condemning packaging as an evil. Packaging in many segments and areas around the globe has been progress – look at the harvests that are spoiled because of the lack of appropriate transportation and packaging, look at the safety for both the product and the consumer packaging is generating, look at the manifold changes packaging has seen over the years and provides in terms of information and security.
As cannot avoid packaging, so make the best of it! Reduce the amount of packaging. Take your bags and baskets to the market, but accept packaging where meaningful and appropriate. Many people make their living with producing packaging, but at the same time too many people around the globe depend on the packaging that protects their food, prolongs the lifecycle of their food and enables farmers and the industry to transport their food to their living spots. Show responsibility!
Packaging cannot be eliminated. But when used and disposed responsibly packaging fulfills many roles that are beneficial for both: mankind and environment.
By Wolfgang Klos-Geiger
Publisher of LabelPack – PackLabel, www.labelpack.de, and founder of many renowned specialist magazines for the package and label printing and converting industries
Photograph by Fotolia. Paola Canti


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Woman Mauled by Chimp Reveals Her New Face
[There was a video here]
Charla Nash, who had her face and hands ripped off by her neighbor's chimpanzee in 2009 revealed her new face on the Today show today. For a woman who was mauled by an animal, she looks pretty damn good.
Nash had the country's third face transplant and doctors replaced her eyes, nose, mouth, and much of the underlying bones and nerves in her face. (The deceased donor of the face has never been revealed.) This was actually the first attempted face and double hand transplant, but the hand transplant had to be abandoned because of complications Nash had from a bout with pneumonia. Doctors will attempt to repair her limbs again soon.
The best part, aside from being able to be seen in public without wearing a veil, is that Nash gets to eat solid food again. Someone get this woman a cupcake! She deserves it.


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Have you seen a more egregious example of unfairness than this?
During Hurricane Sandy, aka #frankenstorm, some Good, Bad, and Ugly things happened on social networks. There were fake tweets about flooding at the NYSE, and of course the American Apparel #SandySale fiasco (WTF were they thinking?).
But the New York Road Runners, the running community and ING bank can hardly be blamed for the devastation wrought by the superstorm, yet the social backlash against the New York marathon dwarfs all the venom ever spent against McDonalds for #McDStories, Kenneth Cole for using the Cairo uprising to sell clothes or KFC Thailand for suggesting that a deadly earthquake was caused by people buying chicken.


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Mobile App Development in Colorado
We're your tech friends in Colorado who help translate your customer's desires and business motives into well designed software
Services we provide
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We get your ideas out of your head and onto paper. Then we'll help fill in the gaps.
App Development
We code one week, test the next, and hand you working code every two weeks.
App UX UI Design
We start by sketching the flows and finish with a beautiful interactive prototype.
Software Development
We love testing software. Not because there's a lot of fanfare for bug squashing, but because it makes it possible to build great code.
User Testing
How do you make sure people will love your app? Test the prototype!
Need technical help for the long haul? We've got you. Let our maintenance team take care of you.
Johnny Mayes
Thanks so much to you, Garrett, Thomas and the whole team. Y'all kick a** and take names! And that's truly an understatement.
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Steve Markey
Approachable Geek was a delight to work with. Very easy to contact and they responded right away which is hard to find these days.
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"We hired Approachable Geek to design a user interface for our software as a service application. (They) quickly grasped our application… and came up with design that looks great and really improves its usability."
Past Projects
Frequently Asked Questions
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Your project will have somewhere between 3-5 people working on it full time until it is complete. A project manager will guide you through all phases of the project, a designer will create the user experience, a team lead will manage the technical work, and awesome developers will code it.
What is an MVP and why it's so important?
An MVP (minimum viable product) helps you ship just enough code to test your assumptions, but not too little code that your users won't love your app. It helps you learn quickly and inexpensively what users need so you save time and money.


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I don't often write about the universe. It's been ten years since I wrote about the physicist Brian Greene's book The Fabric of the Universe. It seems that I cannot get enough of the story, at least when it can be brought down to the terms a layman like me can understand. Some months back Cosmos returned to television, a sort of sequel to the series of the same name hosted by the late astronomer Carl Sagan broadcast on public TV in 1980. This series is hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson and showed up, curiously enough, on the Fox Network, a network known more for its lowbrow entertainment than this nerdy stuff.
I'm catching up on the series now on Netflix. I find it compelling in a strange way, so compelling that I am putting aside other really compelling shows like House of Cards and Ken Burns' documentary The Roosevelts to give it precedence. It tickles my curiosity and sense of wonder. The more you explore what we know about the universe, the more wondrous it becomes. deGrasse Tyson does a great job of conveying the immensity and the wonder of our universe. The series is aided by wondrous CGI as well, the sort that was simply unavailable when Carl Sagan hosted the series (although for the time his CGI was quite sophisticated). The combination of CGI, storytelling and Neil deGrasse Tyson's infectious way of story telling makes it a very compelling series.
It brings out the natural pantheist in me. Natural pantheism is sort of a religion that simply expresses reverence for our universe the way it is. As you finish episodes of this version of Cosmos, you should feel the pull of natural pantheism too. Most of us who are religious tend to appreciate the faiths that we have been brought up in, in part perhaps because its message is much simpler to grasp than the amazing immensity and complexity of the cosmos, to the extent that we can understand it. Traditional religions also tend to concentrate on people and our needs, aspirations and questions. They are human centric. Studying the cosmos as it is, is not human centric at all except of course that we are self-aware creatures. We also have developed a scientific method that allows us to continually gain in understanding of the cosmos and our part in it.
deGrasse Tyson does a great job of explaining how we came to understand how the universe actually works. This too is a compelling story. In it certain scientists like Newton, Faraday and Einstein become something like secular saints, because they each solve great mysteries. In the process they reveal not just what is, but how the master clock works and sometimes how we can work it to our advantage. It's a story of great detective work spanning thousands of years.
The series is spawning new thoughts within me, particularly in the area of evolution. It is clear to me that evolution does not exist merely here on Earth, but across the universe as well. The universe evolves too, creating more and more complex elements that make life possible. Is there life in the universe, aside from our planet, of course? Now the answer seems simple: yes. Life doubtless exists elsewhere, in many forms. In fact it probably permeates our galaxy and much of the evolved universe. This is because all the building blocks are there, particularly carbon and heat, which is hardly unique to the Earth. In addition, as deGrasse Tyson points out in Episode 11, it is probable that microbial life travels between planets and between solar systems, seeding life itself across the galaxy and the universe. It just happens so slowly and over so many millions of years it is hard for us to see.
To me it gets much simpler. The universe itself is a living creature. The universe does not necessarily think or breathe, attributes that we associate with life but at least to our understanding is something done very quickly. But it is clearly evolving and becoming more complex with time. It is unfolding and through nuclear processes and gravity it is creating the complex, like carbon molecules, from the simple: the collapse of hydrogen gases by gravity into stars and their subsequent explosion. And like all living things, the universe seems destined to die. Like our body though it does not all die at once. It will take billions of years to die as the forces of the big bang move objects further and further from each other. The universe will catch a bad case of pneumonia and then pass on. With the big bang so powerful that no contraction of the universe seems possible, its energy will dwindle out, much like a firework. Whatever happens after that takes us to realms beyond the known laws of physics.
So yes, the universe is alive and it is also a vast system. Systems by nature are complex entities, and the universe is complex almost beyond our fathoming. Systems imply rules and order and some understanding, which if you believe in God suggests your belief is not unfounded. Systems also are comprised of many pieces that interrelate with one another. Our universe interrelates with itself. Forces like the nuclear forces and gravity are the means that enforce an interrelationship. It also means that everything is connected to everything else. We sometimes suffer the illusion that we are alone. We may feel lonely, but we are never alone. We are always intimately connected with everything else simply because we are all a part of everything else.
It is individuality that is an illusion, although as deGrasse Tyson points out not only are we part of a universe so immense that few of us can understand it, there is also a universe within ourselves. Within a breath of air that we inhale, there are more atoms inhaled than there are stars in the universe. If there is a miracle, it is that we have evolved to self-awareness. We have a pretty good idea how it all fits together now, and our part in it.
With life must come death. On the universal level, our life is like the lifespan of a bacterium on a bar of soap: very short indeed. By nature we cannot maintain such complexity for that long and even if we could the universe will shift in ways that would kill us. It's no wonder then that universe seems cold, heartless and unfathomable. We are destined to die, and die very quickly on a universal time scale. However, we remain part of the fabric of something far more immense and alive: the universe itself.
We are a part of something immensely grand and complex indeed, with our part to play. We have the privilege, thanks to shows like Cosmos, to understand our what it is and our part in it. And that is awe-inspiring and for this agnostic a fitting and satisfying part to play.


text:
Sprint offering up to a $100 discount to select upgrade eligible customers
Sprint is showing its loyal customers some appreciation in the coming weeks with SprintFeed informing us that starting Feb. 5 select customers will receive a discount up to $100. The discounts will come in $25, $50, and $100 and will be offered to select "upgrade eligible customers that are at high risk of leaving Sprint" through email and snail mail. So the deal does apply to eligible upgrades, but it will require a new two-year commitment. Yes, this is a great way to get you sorted with a less expensive iPhone.
The promotion is running from Feb. 5 to March 18, so you might want to check if your account is flagged for the discount.


text:
West Nile Virus Cases Up Across Southwest
West Nile virus cases in the Southwest are up from previous years, according to new 2012 statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control.
First discovered in New York around 1999, the West Nile virus traveled west, carried by birds and mosquitoes, eventually hitting the Southwest.
"2003 was the first time we actually had human cases, and we had 209 human cases that year with four of those cases being fatal," said Dr. Paul Ettestad of the New Mexico Department of Health.
Since then the number of infections here have fluctuated, with 25 cases in New Mexico in 2010; four in 2011; and 47 in 2012; making the virus hard to predict. But Ettestad says one forecast he can make is that in the Southwest, the virus will turn up near waterways.
"So along the Rio Grande, in the northwest along the San Juan and the Animas and in the southeast along the Pecos," Ettestad said. "In those areas where we have the irrigation is where we potentially have more human cases."
In Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada a total of nine West Nile virus deaths were reported last year, while California saw 20 and Texas had 89.


text:
Infant's cries from slide debris lead to rescue
ARLINGTON -- Drivers on State Route 530 who saw the immediate aftermath of the mudslide near Oso and pulled their cars over to the side of the road Saturday heard a baby crying in slide debris, a witness said in a phone interview Monday.
"We heard the baby crying in the background," said the woman who asked that her name not be used. "We were standing there and you could hear the baby every once in a while, wasn't all the time. Everybody tried to be quiet, you know, and we were all listening for it and we heard it and tried to pick where the sound was coming from."
She said four men took off toward the sound.
"The State Patrol tried to stop them and said, 'No, you can't go out there, it's too dangerous,' and he (one of the men) says, 'I hear a baby out there,'" the woman said.
The 6-month-old baby was found and rescued.
The mother was trapped and had two broken legs -- she didn't see her child's rescue.
The child is believed to be the same one who was airlifted to Seattle's Harborview Medical Center. The child is in critical condition but is improving, the hospital said Monday afternoon. The mother is in satisfactory condition.


text:
Adventure Summer Camp Flyer Template
This fully editable movie poster style flyer template is perfect for any Summer Camp, Church Camp, Day Camp, Child, Day Care or Adventure related gathering, party, or work event. Easily customize your flyer to promote your event with just a few easy clicks. Easy edit smart object layers make updating this flyer a snap. Just add your own event details, logos and/or images and your done. The file layers are color coded for simple hassle free editing.
File Details
- 5×7 Inch Print Ready 300 Dpi CMYK PSD File (.125 Inch Bleeds)
- Smart Object Layers Make Edits a Snap
- Color coded layers for easy editing
- Color adjustments made simple with adjustment sliders
- Read Me help file with instructions and links to fonts
Fonts Used
- Molot
- Intro Rust Free
- Big Noodle Titling
- League Gothic
- Yellowtail
- Thirsty Script
- KG Life is Messy


text:
We know that when you finally find a pillow that's comfortable
all night, you want it to last forever. Here at the Good Housekeeping Research
Institute (GHRI)—that's me with some of the pillows we tested—we pummeled, folded, washed,
and eyeballed 66 pillows made of fiberfill, down and feathers, memory foam,
wool, latex, and combinations of fillers to determine how they'll stand up to sleep-filled
(hopefully) nights. These are some of the questions we considered as we structure our methodology:
Were the pillows easy to get into a pillowcase?
I know this seems silly, but anyone who's ever struggled to
get a pillow into a case, knows this is important.
More From Good Housekeeping
How pillows would look after a spin in the washer?
Any pillows that were washable, went through a cycle in the
washing machine to see if the filling turned lumpy, the outer fabric pilled or
snagged or the pillows just looked ratty.
Will pillows support your head?
First, we put the pillows through the classic "break test": Fold
pillow in half, place a heavy book on it. If the pillow flipped off the book
and puffed back up, it's going to
cradle your head.
Next, on each pillow, we placed thirty pounds of weights and
let it "rest" overnight to see how
fast the filling fluffed back up.
How the pillows look?
Lastly, we had a panel of consumers inspect the washed
pillows and tell us if they still looked good enough to use.
To see the winners and find the right pillow for you, check out our full review
Need a comforter? See our review of the best down comforters
To seehow we test products at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute, please go
to www.goodhousekeeping.com/ghri tours.


text:
DALLAS — American Airlines says it has fixed an outage in its main reservations system that is disrupting travel for thousands of passengers whose flights have been delayed or canceled.
American Airlines spokeswoman Stacey Frantz said Tuesday that the system was fixed by 4:30 p.m. EDT. But the airline expects to see flight delays and cancellations throughout the rest of the day.
Tracking service FlightAware says that as of mid-afternoon, American has canceled more than 700 flights and another 765 flights are delayed.
Passengers are describing long airport lines and frustration at a lack of information from airline employees.


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George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who says he was acting in self-defense when he fatally shot teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, has been charged with murder in the second degree, special prosecutor Angela Corey told reporters Wednesday.
Read the charges (PDF) | Read Corey's remarks (PDF)
Corey said that Zimmerman has surrendered to authorities in Florida and has been arrested. The charge carries a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.
Police say Zimmerman fatally shot Martin, a 17-year-old African-American, on February 26 in Sanford, Florida, after Martin began walking home from a convenience store. Zimmerman, who is Hispanic and was a neighborhood watch volunteer, had called 911 to complain about a suspicious person in the neighborhood. He was released without charges after claiming self-defense, but the case was referred to Corey for a review as thousands converged on Sanford to join in protests calling for Zimmerman's arrest.
The following are running updates on the story:
[Updated at 7:30 p.m. ET] Zimmerman's new attorney, Mark O'Mara, said that he expects to file a motion seeking bond for Zimmerman on Thursday. Currently, Zimmerman is being held without opportunity for bond.
O'Mara told CNN by phone that he thinks Zimmerman is "troubled by the fact that the state decided to charge him," but that he "understands what is in front of him," and he's "doing OK."
At a news conference outside his office seconds later, O'Mara told reporters that Zimmerman voluntarily surrendered to Florida authorities, and that authorities were in the process of moving him to custody in Seminole County, Florida.
"He's concerned about getting a fair trial and a fair presentation," O'Mara said. "There's obviously been a lot of information flowing. I think a lot of it has been premature and inappropriate."
"The worst thing that can happen in this case is that it doesn't get tried properly," O'Mara said. "Give us our chance to do it the way it's supposed to be done."
On Tuesday, Zimmerman's former attorneys Hal Uhrig and Craig Sonner told reporters they had lost contact with Zimmerman and no longer represent him.
iReport.com: What's your reaction?
[Updated at 7:04 p.m. ET] Sanford's mayor, Jeff Triplett, called "for continued calm in Sanford, its surrounding communities and around the nation."
"The case is in the hands of the justice system. Please allow it to work through the process and come to a natural conclusion," Triplett said in a news conference in Sanford, following Corey's announcement.
[Updated at 6:58 p.m. ET] Martin's father, Tracy Martin, thanked "everyone for being compassionate about this."
"As (Martin's attorney, Benjamin Crump) said, this is just the beginning. We have a long way to go, and we have faith," Tracy Martin said.
Trayvon Martin's parents and their attorneys were at a news conference with the Rev. Al Sharpton in Washington, D.C., where the parents have been visiting an annual conference held by Sharpton's National Action Network.
Tracy Martin spoke of the marches in which people called for justice in the case.
"The first time we marched, I looked to the sky and said, 'I will walk by faith,' Martin recalled. "We will continue to walk by faith. We will continue to hold hands on this journey - white, black, Latino.
"We will march and march and march until the right thing is done."
[Updated at 6:56 p.m. ET] An emotional Sybrina Fulton - who is Martin's mother - reacted to Wednesday's news:
"First of all, I want to say: Thank God. We simply wanted an arrest," she told reporters in Washington, D.C. "We wanted nothing more and nothing less, and we got it. And I say thank you. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus."
[Updated at 6:49 p.m. ET] The attorney for Martin's parents, Benjamin Crump, standing with the parents and the Rev. Al Sharpton, told reporters in Washington, D.C., said that if one were to look at the facts and evidence fairly, Zimmerman "had to be arrested, and this matter had to go before a judge and a jury."
"We can take a short breath, because we are just now getting to first base," Crump said. "This is only first base. Trayvon's legacy cannot be tarnished based on people doing sick things and acting (on) ignorance or using violence."
[Updated at 6:42 p.m. ET] The Rev. Al Sharpton, standing with Trayvon Martin's parents at a news conference in Washington, D.C., said "there should be no high-fiving" over Zimmerman's charge.
"There's no winners here. … This is not about gloating. This is about pursuing justice. We have not won anything. All we have established is we have the right to redress," Sharpton said.
Sharpton said that he believed public pressure didn't lead Corey to file the charges, but he believes public pressure caused Florida's governor and Corey to review the case.
"If we did not get this far, we would condemn them," Sharpton said. "We must say that despite the fact that we are of ... different political persuasions ... we came together and said only the facts should matter."
"We are trying to make sure that something happens so that this will not happen again," Sharpton said.
[Updated at 6:34 p.m. ET] Benjamin Jealous, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, issued a statement following the announcement of charges against Zimmerman:
"Forty–five days after Trayvon Martin's life came to a violent end, the wheels of justice have finally begun to turn. This is an important first step toward bringing justice for Trayvon and his family," Jealous' statement began.
"As we have seen, the system does not always work perfectly. But we have shown that when we stand together as a nation we can compel it to work. For the NAACP, this case has always been about the rule of law. We are encouraged by today's charges, but we know that this is just the beginning. We anticipate and expect a thorough federal investigation of the Sanford Police Department and their role in exacerbating this tragedy," Jealous said.
Jealous said "Trayvon's case moved the nation because it underscored the twin tragedies that affect so many of our young people: Trayvon was profiled because of his race—looked upon as a threat rather than the loving son he was."
"And then, once he became a victim, he was neglected by the very police department tasked with protecting our communities and families," Jealous said. "As a nation, we've got to address the issues of racial profiling and the valuation of black mens' lives by law enforcement. In the months ahead the months ahead, the NAACP and our allies in the civil rights community will continue to take these issues on as well as the urgent need to repeal stand-your-ground laws.
"Tonight our thoughts and prayers are with Trayvon's family. We are grateful for the courage and tenacity of Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin that continue to help shape a national movement for justice for their son and for all of America's children."
[Updated at 6:20 p.m. ET] In Florida, a charge of second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, according to CNN and HLN legal analysts. Florida does not offer the chance for parole for those convicted of the charge. The sentence would, however, take into account several mitigating and aggregating factors.
[Updated at 6:17 p.m. ET] Zimmerman is being held without opportunity for bail, but Zimmerman's lawyers are entitled to request a bond, Corey said. Once they do so, a bond hearing will be held, she told reporters.
[Updated at 6:16 p.m. ET] While Corey said that Zimmerman surrendered and is in the custody of authorities in Florida, she declined to say exactly where, citing concerns for the safety of Zimmerman "and everyone else."
[Updated at 6:12 p.m. ET] Corey said she wouldn't discuss what led her to file the second-degree murder charge, other than her conclusion is based on her review of the evidence.
[Updated at 6:07 p.m. ET] George Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the February 26 shooting of Trayvon Martin, Corey said.
What happens now that Zimmerman is charged in Trayvon Martin death?
[Updated at 5:51 p.m. ET] George Zimmerman has turned himself in to law enforcement and is in custody in Florida, according to CNN legal analyst Mark NeJame.
Zimmerman also has a new attorney, Mark O'Mara, according to NeJame.
NeJame reported that Zimmerman, before he surrendered, was "out of the state of Florida, as I understand it, for his safety."
On Tuesday, Zimmerman's former attorneys Hal Uhrig and Craig Sonner told reporters they had lost contact with Zimmerman and no longer represent him.
[Updated at 4:55 p.m. ET] Florida Gov. Rick Scott has released a statement ahead of the special prosecutor's news conference:
"We are fortunate in our state that most Floridians and local civic leaders are law-abiding, responsible citizens who all want justice to prevail. No matter what State Attorney (Angela) Corey determines following her investigation of the Trayvon Martin tragedy, I trust in the goodness of all Florida citizens to allow our justice system to reach an appropriate conclusion in this case."
[Updated at 3:34 p.m. ET] The parents of Trayvon Martin plan to hold a news conference after the special prosecutor makes her announcement.
Martin's parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, will be accompanied by their attorneys and the Rev. Al Sharpton in Washington, D.C., where the parents have been visiting a conference held by Sharpton's National Action Network.
[Updated at 3:07 p.m. ET] Many people in Sanford, Florida and around the world have been captivated by the Trayvon Martin case and have lent their support to Martin's family.
Upon hearing the news that special prosecutor Angela Corey was holding a press conference today to update the media, Martin's mother Sybrina Fulton tweeted that the case was in God's hands now.
[tweet https://twitter.com/SybrinaFulton/status/190153784981327872%5D
[Updated at 3:02 p.m. ET] The office of special prosecutor Angela Corey has confirmed that a news conference updating the media on the Trayvon Martin case will begin at the State Attorney's Office in Jacksonville, Florida at 6 p.m. ET.
[Updated at 2:51 p.m. ET] Corey's office, which is investigating the Trayvon Martin shooting case, said that charges against George Zimmerman have not been filed. The office would not confirm whether the office planned to charge him, according to HLN's Josey Crews.
Earlier, CNN reported that Corey is expected to announce a decision Wednesday regarding whether she will file charges against Zimmerman, and a senior law enforcement source familiar with the Martin death investigation said that Zimmerman would be charged.
[Updated at 2:39 p.m. ET] George Zimmerman "will be (criminally) charged if (he) hasn't been charged already," according to a senior law enforcement source familiar with the Trayvon Martin death investigation.
It's not clear what the charges would be.
[Initial post, 2:29 p.m. ET] A special prosecutor in the Trayvon Martin shooting case is expected to announce a decision within the next four hours regarding whether she will file charges against George Zimmerman, CNN reports.
The news comes a day after attorneys for Zimmerman told reporters they had lost contact with Zimmerman and no longer represent him.
Police say Zimmerman fatally shot Martin, a 17-year-old African-American, on February 26 in Sanford, Florida, after Martin began walking home from a convenience store. Zimmerman, who is Hispanic and was a neighborhood watch volunteer, had called 911 to complain about a suspicious person in the neighborhood.
Zimmerman told Sanford police the shooting was self-defense, and Zimmerman was released without charges. Authorities have said Zimmerman was not immediately charged because there were no grounds, at the outset, to disprove his account that he'd acted to protect himself.
But thousands converged on Sanford to join in protests calling for Zimmerman's arrest and criticizing the police department's handling of the case. Martin's death has triggered a nationwide debate about race in America and Florida's "stand your ground" law, which allows people to use deadly force anywhere they feel a reasonable threat of death or serious injury.
I think that all those rappers should compose the Trayvon Martin's rap. That would be cool. You put of couple of loosers on stage with their pants down to their groin with stupid lyrics and you will have a bunch of idiots following them even the civil rights activists who will defend their crap. There is a down side to democracy.
i think that he could have done much more to avoid this he had already called the police why did he have to take the matter into his own hands ?
George Zimmermans wife gave telephone statement this morning stating that her husband, Gorege Zimmerman was not violent for assaulting a police officer. Her reason for this is that..."He was a plain clothed officer who did not show proper identification". My question is this...How is that any different from a plain clothed stranger who is not law enforcement following and aproaching a teenage boy, without identifying himself. if the no id plain clothes defence works to get zimmerman bonded out of jail, it should also work for convicting him for Treyvons murder. The only difference being, Treyvon is not alive to use the exact same scenario as his aid for justice.
I get the last word. White bad , Black good. White steal, cheat, lie and are generally impotent. Given the chance White's will devour there own young.
Well maybe this will turn out like the O.J SImpleton trial and the murderer will be set free.
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Murderer.... um I think not... Jumping to conclusions is what the media wants... Then you add Al sharpton and Jessie Jaskson trying to make people think that there is some racial divide in America.. when the divide is between upper and lower class Americans... Black And white and all the colors in between... If this would have been a black on black crime there wouldnt have been any bias media coverage... Why is that? So what happens if he isnt found guilty? Race war.. Nope because most people fell the same way black and white... The only real racist are small minded people like Al and Jessie who love every little bit of media coverage they can get... Half of my family is black the other half is white and its pretty clear to us were the divide is. What it comes down to is a fair trail for zimmerman is he going to get it? I dont think so
So...Montel, are you saying that there is NO racial divide in America? I hope your'e not that naive...
More political policing & legal decisions made on the basis of public pressure rather than the law.
Where is the media coverage and public outrage over the Tuesday night shooting in a Laveen Taco Bell Parking lot of a white male holding a dog leash shot by a black male who said he thought the man was holding a lead pipe ?
Is the dog ok ?
Why isn't the the a Lie Detector not being used on George Zimmerman. That would explain the self-defense version made by George Zimmerman?
If The victim straddled the defendant and the 9mm keltec in a holster,inside the waste band of the defendant (remember the victim was straddled and supposedly hitting the defendant ) How is it that the defendant was able to extract said pistol and draw and just lift, would not have the bullet gone to the abdomen area? The trajectory of the bullet confirm or exclude the defenses theory of position of the semi auto.


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It was called Hope For Haiti Now but he was the driving force behind much of the celebrity turnout with three rows of stars making up the most famous call centre on the planet raising more than $57 million for earthquake relief with some of the most moving, most emotional, most memorable performances we've seen in a long, long time.
For those of us who love gossip, and if you're reading my blog I'm assuming you do, it's the candid moments that intrigue us the most. Or moments we perceive to be candid. Which is why there should be a commercial camera at the Golden Globes so we can watch them mingling table to table, drunk and hungry, during the breaks.
They understand this, George understands this, so it wasn't just the prospect of getting him on the phone that was tempting, it was also the shots of them socialising, hanging out, without handlers, observing the chemistry, trying to see who was sitting beside whom, who was talking to whom, whether or not Jen and Brad were reconciling in the bathroom (for the record, word is there was no contact though she did try to make him jealous with Spittle, I mean, please) that kept you riveted for two hours and, they hoped, generous with your donations.
The result is straight up cash money for much needed resources to be delivered to the victims. And some great photographs too.
I love the one with George and Daniel Craig laughing with Mel Gibson. Randoms. And a collection of some of the most epic bitchfaces putting away their bitchfaces for the night – Julia, Drew, and Reese. Pippy and Coop should hang out more together. Madonna sang live but sh-t her face is breaking my heart. And then there's my poor friend LB, who is still weeping for the ugliness of a hirsute Robert Pattinson, as she adores him, and the juxtaposition during the telecast from Colin Farrell's sexy beastness to Pattinson's hairy mongrel truly almost broke her.
As of January 24th, the death toll in Haiti has surpassed 150,000. It's a staggering number, and it keeps climbing. Please let's keep giving. Whatever you can. Hopeforhaitinow.org.
The performances from Hope For Haiti Now are available for purchase on iTunes, all proceeds going to Haiti. All videos are easily viewable online. I've chosen Shakira because I have loved this song forever and I never thought I'd approve of anyone but Chrissie singing it. But Shaki, she did a great, GREAT job.
Photos from Wenn.com and Gettyimages.com


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Researchers at Purdue University have made an advance in stretchable electronics that could lead to computerized clothing and robots with humanlike skin that can "feel."
The issue has been how to create stretchable electronics, but the Purdue scientists have found a simple answer -- a sewing machine.
The same sewing machine that you use to make your child's Halloween costume or to stitch together a pair of curtains is the same machine that can make what scientists call ultra-stretchable interconnects out of conventional wire.
The sewing machine uses a water-soluble thread to stitch the wire into a zigzag pattern. Since it's difficult to sew the wire into the rubbery material, scientists worked out a technique to, instead, stitch the wire into a sheet of polyethylene terephthalate, the material used to make transparencies for overhead projectors in classrooms.
Once the wire pattern is stitched to the sheets, a rubbery elastomer material is poured over the sheet, encasing the wire as it solidifies.
Warm water is used to dissolve the thread and separate the polyethylene sheet from the rubbery material that now holds the wire.
The basic sewing machine is a feasible alternative to more complicated and expensive techniques that other researchers have investigated, according to Purdue. Some scientists have tried to use microfabrication techniques or exotic technologies like liquid-metal-filled microchannels to attain the same results.
The stretchable electronics are capable of stretching 500% of its length, Purdue said.
"This compares to only a few percent for an ordinary metal connection," said Babak Ziaie, a Purdue professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. "The structures are also highly robust, capable of withstanding thousands of repeated stretch-and-release cycles."
Scientists have been trying to create stretchable electronics that can be used in computerized clothing that people might use to access the Internet, store data and monitor the wearer's health. While the material could be used to create robots with sensors in their skin and synthetic muscles, it also could be used to build implantable medical systems or devices.
This article, Stretchable electronics could lead to robotic skin, computerized clothes , was originally published at Computerworld.com.
Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at @sgaudin, on Google+ or subscribe to Sharon's RSS feed . Her email address is firstname.lastname@example.com.
See more by Sharon Gaudin on Computerworld.com.


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Those who dreaded the 'Silicon Valley' reality TV series that aired this past year on Bravo did not have much to worry about after all. The show received mostly negative reviews and had a lackluster performance in the ratings department, and it doesn't seem likely to return — at least not to chronicle the tech scene here in California.
But today we got word of a new TV show also dubbed 'Silicon Valley' that seems like it should be really worth watching. The PBS history series American Experience has made a new documentary focused on what fueled the fire for Silicon Valley and the modern tech industry's earliest days — the founding of Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957 by the then 29-year-old Robert Noyce, an icon in Silicon Valley who a young Steve Jobs later counted as a key mentor.
We'll have to wait until February 19th to see the whole thing, which seems really far away but will actually be here before we know it (can you believe it's already late December, time flies, I'll be 90 before I know it, etc.)
But in the meantime, embedded above is a short trailer, and below is the plot synopsis the show's publicity arm is sending around. It all looks pretty fascinating, and should be a great way for us relatively wet behind the ears Silicon Valley newbies to learn the real history of the early industry mavericks who paved the way to today.
"In 1957, before Apple and Google, before stock-option millionaires and billionaire venture capitalists, a group of eight brilliant young scientists defected from the Shockley Semiconductor Company — the first company to work in the field of silicon semiconductors — in order to start their own transistor company. The "Traitorous Eight," as they were dubbed, created Fairchild Semiconductor, a company whose radical innovations helped make the United States a leader in both space exploration and the personal computer revolution, transforming the way the world works, plays and communicates. Their leader was 29-year-old Robert Noyce, a physicist with a brilliant mind and the affability of a born salesman. Over the next decade, Noyce ran the new company and co-invented the integrated circuit, which would become an essential component of modern electronics including computers, motor vehicles, cell phones, and household appliances. Told through the story of Noyce, who went on to found Intel, Silicon Valley is a vibrant examination of the rough-and-tumble early days of the high tech industry and the thrilling interplay of cutting-edge science and high-stakes business that defines the unique culture of Silicon Valley. Directed by Randall MacLowry, Silicon Valley premieres on American Experience on Tuesday, February 19, 2013 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings).
On October 4, 1957, the young founders of the newly minted start-up heard some startling news: the Soviet Union had just launched the first artificial satellite into orbit around the earth. With the United States scrambling to catch up, the timing couldn't have been better for the upstarts at Fairchild. Eisenhower quickly launched NASA and the nation's new obsession with technology provided the opportunity of a lifetime. In less than two years, Noyce would co-create a groundbreaking invention that would help put men on the moon. But Noyce's innovation — the integrated circuit — would have an impact far beyond the Apollo program. The integrated circuit, also known as the microchip, would re-shape the future, making possible the invention of smart phones and digital video recorders, pacemakers and microwaves possible, and launching the world into the Information Age.
Not only did Noyce's invention transform the world, his management style launched the unique business culture for which Silicon Valley would come to be known — openness over hierarchy, risk over stability, jeans over suits. This revolutionary new style continued at Noyce's next venture, Intel, which in 1971, introduced the world's first microprocessor, the driving force of every digital product we use today, and the heart of a 100-billion-dollar industry.
An eye-opening look at the birthplace of the modern technological era told by the people who shaped it, Silicon Valley is a fascinating reminder of how a few brilliant iconoclasts transformed a rural farmland into one of the most exciting, innovative and influential places on earth."
Photo via The Computer History Museum


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Guide to Digital TV and Digital Radio.
Consumer Guide to Digital Transition and DTV FAQ
TV History – History of Televisoin and Analog to Digital Transition
CONSUMER AWARENESS IS UP 80 PERCENT SINCE 2006, SAYS CEA Government and Industry Education Campaign Ensuring a Successful Transition On June, 2009, the nation will switch over to digital broadcasting. Analog TV will be a thing of the past. The promise of an all-digital world is at hand. Consumer awareness of the transition to digital television (DTV) grew 80 percent since 2006, according to new market research released by the consumer electronics association (CEA). CEA also released new survey results that predict the success of the national telecommunication and information administration (NTIA)'s converter box coupon program which launched in January and was prominently featured at the 2008 international CES. Converter boxes are only needed for consumers who watch over-the-air broadcasts on an analog television. CEA's survey found only 11 percent of television households – approximately 13 million – are solely over-the-air households, indicating that NTIA has sufficient converter box coupons to meet potential demand.
What is DTV Transition?:
Digital TV
Digital Television (DTV) is an advanced broadcasting technology that will transform your television viewing experience. DTV enables broadcasters to offer television with better picture and sound quality. It can also offer multiple programming choices, called multicasting, and interactive capabilities.
What is DTV?
Digital television (DTV) is an innovative type of over-the-air broadcasting technology that enables TV stations to provide dramatically clearer pictures and better sound quality.
DTV is more efficient and more flexible than the traditional way of broadcasting known as analog. For example, DTV makes it possible for stations to broadcast multiple channels of free programming all at once (called multicasting), instead of broadcasting one channel at a time. DTV technology can also be used to deliver future interactive video and data services that analog technology can't provide.
What is HD Radio™?
HD Radio is an upgrading of the way AM and FM radio signals are transmitted, from analog to digital signals. Sounds neat. But what does that mean for us listeners?
HD Radio technology allows broadcasters to transmit a high-quality digital signal. For listeners who have an HD Radio receiver, the benefits are:
- FM radio with near CD-quality sound
- AM radio that sounds as good as traditional FM
- No more static, pops, crackles or fades
- Transmission of additional information, such as song titles and artists
- Increased listening options with multicasting
- Tagging a song for later purchase


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There are many art galleries (a few years ago there were 7, hence the name of Seventh Gallery), art supplies, bookshops, boutiques, cafes, restaurants and antique shops spreading along the street. Rose Chong Costume Hire has extravagant window displays and Arcadia Café has exhibitions on their walls. Most of the activity is concentrated in a few blocks north between Smith St. and Brunswick St. is a microenvironment of greater cultural significance than its size.
At the corner of Brunswick St. the housing commission flats start, part of a slum reclamation by the state government, at Gertrude St. The high-rise housing commission flats have not been as successful as the gentrification that the arts brought to the area. Here, as elsewhere in Fitzroy, there is a slow gentrification going on.
Life, like the numerous pubs along Gertrude St. ranges from down-and-out to up-market. The two sides of the street are distinguished by housing commission flats on one side and on the other, rows of 19th and early 20thcentury shops, post office and pubs. Preserving the turn of the 19th century buildings with their eclectic style architecture are a mix of charities and boutiques continues west. The gentrified area is slowly spreading – initially from the Collingwood end – oddly creating a quiet area closer to the city. It started from Australian Print Workshop established in 1981 and a cluster of galleries around the corner on Smith Street that moved the focus to this end of the street. Darren Knight Gallery, now located in Sydney, was originally just around the corner on Smith St. along with Australia Galleries. Back in the 1980s the sculptors Geoffrey Bartlett, Augustine Dall'Ava and Anthony Pryor shared a studio on Gertrude Street.
Gertrude St. is the one place in Melbourne where there is a strong Koori presence. The old Post Office building on Gertrude St. that was once painted the yellow, red and black of the Aborigine flag has been painted white and turned into a restaurant. On the corner of Gertrude and George Streets three thin bronze figures with aboriginal motifs on their torso stand. They are "Delkuk Spirits", 2002, by Kelly Koumalatsos, a Wergaia/Wamba Wamba woman from the northwest of Victoria and a graduate of RMIT.
On Lt. Napier Street, the laneway next to the old post office, there was some Koori street art by the Bellamah Tribe in 2006: the use of ochre colours, images of goannas, lines and track marks set this wall apart. There were great sprays of paint, black brush marks and tags. It has since been covered up with other pieces since. The Bellamah Tribe wall was an impressive and distinctive and I hoped to see more of the Koori street art but apart from Reko Rennie, that has yet to come. In 2012 the AWOL crew did do a tribute the original owners of this land, who were never asked permission to construct Fitzroy and Collingwood.
I always see something interesting on my walks along Gertrude Street; what was the most interesting thing that you saw there last?


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This concentrated casein scene paint is formulated using only the highest quality artists' pigments available. The range consists of 24 brilliant, non-muddying colors, with an infinite range of intermediate hues possible through mixing.
Iddings Deep Colors dries to a super flat, non-reflective finish which can be easily touched up. It is perfect for backdrops and other porous surfaces and can be easily diluted with water to reduce costs without loosing color vibrancy.
A casein binder is not water resistant, allowing Iddings Deep Colors to be washed off non-porous surfaces. This makes it ideally suited for film and television sets.
When used on non-porous or hard to paint surfaces, Rosco Clear Acrylic can be added to improve adhesion and durability and to increase its water resistance. Iddings Deep Colors is intended for interior use only.


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Matt Laslo
Based on Capitol Hill, Matt Laslo is a freelance reporter who covers Congress, the White House and the Supreme Court. While he has filed stories from Washington for more than 40 local NPR stations, his work has also appeared in The Atlantic, The Chattanooga Times Free Press, National Public Radio, The Omaha World-Herald, Pacifica Radio, Politics Magazine, and Washingtonian Magazine. He has also displayed an amazing ability to blend traditional reporting with new media through his former blog for Capitol News Connection with PRI and his prodigious use of Twitter where he has brought Congress to life for his 4,390 followers.
Since 2009 Laslo has sat on the board at the Regional Reporters Association where he helps represent the dwindling numbers of regional reporters based in Washington. In 2010 he completed the Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship, which is put on by the National Press Foundation. That same year he was also honored to be picked as one of three judges of the prestigious Joan S. Barone Award that's awarded through the Radio/Television Correspondents Association. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Covenant College and a MA from the Johns Hopkins University (cum laude).


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The average person may not know what the term GMO means but is certainly eating GMOs, and probably at every meal. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are created when scientists take DNA from one species and insert it into another in a way that would never occur naturally. It's a complicated process, but award-winning filmmaker Jeremy Seifert aims to explain how chemical companies have quietly overtaken our food system, flooding it with unlabeled GMO ingredients, in the new GMO OMG documentary. It debuts this week at the Yale Environmental Film Festival.
Here are 7 takeaway messages from the film:
#1. GMOs are everywhere.
Almost all of the corn, soy, cotton, canola, and sugar beets grown in this country are genetically engineered to either produce a pesticide within the plant or survive being drenched in weed-killing chemicals. (Usually the weed killers would kill the plant, but by tinkering with the plant's natural DNA and inserting foreign genes, plants can withstand chemicals like Roundup.)
More From Prevention
About 165 million American acres have been planted with GMO crops that likely wind up in everything from 80% of the processed food on store shelves to the sweetener you add to your morning coffee. You wouldn't know it, though, because in America GMOs aren't labeled. (The only certain exception is organic foods; organic standards ban the use of GMOs.)
GMO OMG Trailer from Compeller Pictures on Vimeo.
#2. America's keeping secrets.
China, Russia, and about 60 other countries require labeling if a food contains GMO ingredients. Despite efforts on state and federal levels to require labeling in the US, at present GMOs do not have to be labeled here. And that leaves most US consumers in the dark.
During the 2012 election, the megacorporations that produce both the GMO seeds and the chemicals used on GMO crops spent $45 million to defeat a labeling law in California. If GMOs are so safe, as the corporations say they are, then what's there to hide?
[sidebar]#3. GMOs have never been properly tested for long-term health impacts.
If GMO products are allowed on store shelves, they must be safe, right? Not the case.
The studies used for government approval of GMO crops are conducted by the very same corporations that create the seeds. Can you say conflict of interest? These studies generally are short-term and aren't reviewed by other scientists. The raw data used for approval generally isn't shared with the public. There are no independent, long-term studies investigating how this new genetic experiment affects human health, although some emerging research suggests the genetically altered foods could cause organ damage and food allergies.
#4. Chemical companies control what's on your plate.
Three corporations—Monsanto, Dupont, and Syngenta—control 53% of the proprietary seed market. They also create the chemicals used on the seeds, a huge moneymaker. Since their biotech seeds are used to grow food for most of the cows, chickens, and pigs in the US, these corporations control most of the food Americans eat.
#5. GMO technology can't outsmart nature.
Using billions of gallons of pesticides a year has created "superbugs" and "superweeds," pests and plants that have outsmarted GMO technology. (The same type of thing happens when we overuse antibiotics; hard-to-kill superbug infections occur.) In short, a technology that promised to help farmers is now causing never-before-seen pest problems, and ones that call for even greater chemical use. There are now more than 500 species of bugs resistant to pesticides, and global pesticide use has increased from 200 million pounds in 1945 to 5.1 billion pounds today.
#6. GMOs aren't necessary to feed the world.
While biotech companies are making a fortune selling the GMO seed-chemical package, they're focused on greenwashing the technology as the only possible means to feed the world. That theory's been debunked by numerous studies and reports, including ones from the United Nations. The Rodale Institute's 30-year farming systems trial found that while GMO crops may produce increased yields during the first few years under perfect conditions, organic methods produce similar yields over the long haul. In fact, during years of drought, organic outperformed chemical agriculture.
In actuality, GMOs threaten food security. As more farmers turn to the same variety of seed to grow, other traditional (also called "heirloom" or "heritage") seeds are going extinct. These seeds hold the genetic diversity that could offer traits to ward off diseases and better adapt to climate change in the future.
#7. Haiti would rather burn GMOs than plant them.
Did you know Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, chose to burn tons of GMO seeds donated by Monsanto after the earthquake rather than plant them for food? To the Haitians, the GMO seeds were a threat to their very existence as farmers. GMO seeds are patented, so farmers aren't allowed to save seed from their harvest to replant the next year, something that's been the cornerstone of farming for centuries. Once you buy into the GMO way of farming, you're bound to buy the chemicals and the seeds every year. In the GMO OMG documentary, farmers called it a "capitalistic enterprise," adding that Monsanto doesn't protect the environment, improve the quality of food, or protect life.
Eating organic is the best way to avoid GMOs because the certification makes it illegal to use GMO seeds or chemical pesticides. For more ways to keep GMOs off the menu at your house, read How to Avoid GMOs.


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New Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians needs one thing to have a chance of success -- quality quarterback play. Fired coach Ken Whisenhunt couldn't get that from Kevin Kolb, John Skelton or Ryan Lindley.
Arians is known for his work with Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck and for his aggressive scheme that pushes the ball downfield. He didn't ease Luck into the playbook as a rookie -- everything was installed and available.
"When you go out and evaluate quarterbacks," Arians said, via The Arizona Republic, "you can look at arm strength, you can look at accuracy, you can look at height, weight, speed -- all the things that are coming up with these young quarterbacks -- but you truly can't measure two muscles, the brain and the heart, and that's what separates them.
"That's the grit. When they step in the huddle, the other 10 guys, whatever comes out of his mouth, they believe it's going to work. That doesn't mean he's the most talented player in the world, but he has that leadership, grit, that he's going to do whatever it takes for his football team. It means he's tough as nails and guys will follow him into a fire. That's what you're looking for. That's grit."
Some call that "True Grit," I do believe. Arians should have worn an eye-patch as he gave that explanation.
The question is: Is there a quarterback on the Cardinals' roster with those intangibles? If so, they didn't show it in 2012.