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Pentagon's quietest calculation: the casualty count
War planners' estimate of battle losses may factor in an American expectation for 'sterile warfare.'
Somewhere in the bowels of the Pentagon, war planners are searching for answers to the ultimate questions about armed conflict with Iraq: Will it be worth it? Even assuming Saddam Hussein is toppled, will the likely loss of US servicemen and women be "acceptable"?
If the last Gulf War is any guide, official estimates of US casualties vary widely. One scenario back then saw as many as 200,000 of the nearly 600,000 US forces in the region succumbing to biological attacks from Iraqi spray tanks. In the end, Pentagon planners set their best estimate of KIAs (those killed in action) at 18,000 - which turned out to be more than 100 times the actual losses.
Not surprisingly, officials today are closemouthed about the subject.
"The Pentagon rarely will discuss or even admit to doing casualty estimates," says Robert Pape, a political scientist at the University of Chicago specializing in international security affairs. "That's because serious assessments would necessarily consider a high and low range, which would tend to discourage public support for the war."
But there's little doubt that such estimates are being developed, according to those who have been part of such planning, particularly since this war - if it happens - is seen by many as finishing the job begun 12 years ago.
"In this situation - going deep into Iraq, planning to stay a long time, perhaps even fighting inside Baghdad - casualty estimates have been at the heart of the planning," says a retired military officer who played a key Pentagon role in preparation for the Gulf War. "I'd expect that they've chosen a timeline and attack plan specifically shaped by these kinds of risk assessments."
Since the Vietnam War, which saw more than 58,000 US troops killed, Americans have come to expect relatively few casualties when they go into combat.
Before the Gulf War in 1991, upwards of 20,000 body bags were shipped to the region in preparation for the fighting. Yet when Iraqi forces had been destroyed or routed just four days into the ground war, 147 Americans had been killed in combat. Since then, there have been no losses to hostile action in the Balkans, and US combat deaths in Afghanistan total 26 so far.
But some military officers worry that Americans may come to expect "sterile warfare," as one Army officer wounded during the 1983 US invasion of Grenada puts it. And the trend has come both to reflect and to affect US military doctrine - particularly with an all-volunteer force "that at times seems to have signed up for the duration of the peace," as another source half-jests. As a result, says recently retired Army Col. Scott Snook, a "very risk-averse approach" has developed within the armed forces.
"The worst thing you can do over there is screw up and lose a soldier wounded or killed," says Dr. Snook, a West Point graduate who spent 22 years as a combat engineer and now teaches at the Harvard Business School. "There's no upside, so there's only downside. It limits the military as a foreign-policy vehicle, as a foreign-policy weapon."
In part, this reflects the doctrine laid down by former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and then by Colin Powell when he was a four-star general and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Gulf War.
In essence, this means the use of overwhelming force as well as a clear end result to any fighting. In the wake of the 1983 attack on US Marine Corps barracks in Lebanon, the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers military housing facility in Saudi Arabia, and the 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen, it also came to include what some critics say is an over-emphasis on "force protection" - sheltering US troops from possible attack at nearly all costs.
Defense analyst Jeffrey Record of the Center for International Strategy, Technology and Policy in Atlanta calls this "a profound aversion, bordering on the phobic."
"This dread of casualties is pronounced among the country's political and military leadership, and in the war over Kosovo it produced the elevation of force protection above mission accomplishment," Dr. Record writes in a recent issue of Parameters, a publication of the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. "Indeed, the available evidence identifies a significant disparity in casualty tolerance between the leadership and the average citizen, with the latter more willing to accept combat losses - depending on the circumstances."
But gauging the acceptability of combat casualties - especially in a public and political sense - also involves beliefs and perceptions impossible to measure in opinion surveys. And recent engagements have shown that even an overwhelmingly positive ratio of combat losses may not be enough to hold public support. In the most infamous battle in Somalia - the 1993 "Black Hawk Down" episode in Mogadishu - the US killed between 500 and 1,000 Somalis while losing 18 American troops. That was enough to cause a US pullout shortly thereafter.
"I think that Americans will tolerate casualties if they feel we're winning and a war is necessary and the strategy for waging the war is sound," says Michael O'Hanlon, a defense expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington. "Under those circumstances, higher casualties may do more to rally the country around the effort than weaken our commitment."
Still, experts say, it depends on other variables: how the casualties are incurred (hostile action, "friendly fire," accidents), or whether such casualties could have been anticipated given the particular circumstances.
"People watch enough old movies to understand that war means killing and death," says Daniel Goure, a military analyst at the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va. "They are willing to pay the price. They just don't want to be surprised."
The latest Gallup Poll shows that most Americans (56 percent) expect there to be fewer than 10,000 US troops killed in any war with Iraq, with 30 percent saying it would be less than 1,000. But even though 95 percent say it's likely that the US and its allies would win, barely more than half of those surveyed agree that "the current situation in Iraq is worth going to war over." And three-quarters worry that such conflict "could develop into a larger war."
Against this political backdrop, it may be understandable that military officials hesitate to talk about likely US casualties.
"We are on uncharted ground here," says John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org in Washington. "In the past, the decision to go to war had always involved the sacrifice of blood and treasure. Now, the sacrifice is largely one of treasure, instead of blood. It has made it far easier for America to go to war, which may explain why we have been almost permanently at war for the past dozen years."


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My piece for Mike Mitchell's SPACE! The Gallery Show, opening this friday at Gallery 1988 in LA! (with a ton of other amazing artists, oh man!)
I'm a lifelong sci-fi fan, and when I was deciding what to contribute to the SPACE! show I thought of my more memorable sci-fi experiences. Watching Silent Running with my dad as a kid both fascinated and terrified me, and I've been interested in how nature fits into a space travel ever since. What are the logistics of putting something so beautiful and complicated into a very fragile & isolated location?
In the 1970's, NASA, with the help of Dr. Gerard K. O'Neill, studied a variety of plans for space colony designs. I think it's notable that there was a lot of awesome original art created for these plans to inspire people and generate interest in space travel. It's amazing that these same designs have also informed so many modern day depictions of space stations in books, tv and movies!
In the spirit of those NASA illustrations (and after doing a silly amount of additional research) I made a travel poster for a new ecological space habitat of my own design!
Shoutout to Sam for inspiring me to use Google Sketchup....I've been watching him use it very effectively to make simple environment/perspective reference and decided to take the plunge myself. No way in hell I'd be patient enough to draw an inverted curved perspective otherwise!
Some of my preliminary process steps:

subset: commoncrawl


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Work is play
The duo – bassist Rick Maida of Maynard, and Tad Hitchcock, guitarist and vocalist -- has established their latest regular gig at Thirty-One Main in Ayer – a new bakery, café and restaurant and bar -- where they will perform every Thursday, beginning tonight, Thursdday, June 26, 7 to 10 p.m.
Their repertoire includes jazz standards and music from the Great American Songbook.
The pair brings to their newest venue a history of performing, collaborating and dedication to live music throughout the area.
Maida performs with local musicians in addition to promoting music and organizing concert series. His 30-year music career encompasses folk, rock, blues and more, with interpretations of traditional favorites as well as original compositions.
Hitchcock, of Methuen, a member of the Winchester Community Music School faculty, hails from Oklahoma but was raised in New England, working in the greater Boston area since his Berklee College days in the 1970s, acting as accompanist, bandleader, vocalist and more.
In 1988 and 1989, he with the Artie Shaw Orchestra under the direction of Dick Johnson.
The Workingman's Jazz Duo's Thursday night performance is part of Thirty-One Main's live entertainment series, every Thursday through Saturday. No cover. For more information, call 978-772-2233 myspace.com/workingmansjazz.


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Sometimes the slightest shift in perspective reveals the presence of stunningly beautiful interweavings that moments earlier hadn't been obvious between various elements of our lives. That moment came for me this morning while viewing a colleague's newly-posted video on YouTube.
Community, collaboration, and creativity in a variety of venues seemed to be coalescing into an incredibly beautiful tapestry as I watched the video prepared by Hidden Garden Steps organizing committee co-chair Liz McLoughlin. I was initially captivated simply by what Liz had produced: a chronicle of the community collaborations between Steps volunteers, elected officials and civil servants here in San Francisco, and partners including the San Francisco Parks Alliance and the San Francisco Department of Public Works Street Parks Program; cash and in-kind donation successes; and community workshops designed to allow hands-on involvement in the actual construction of the mosaic that is at the heart of the project.
I became even more enchanted and emotionally moved when I shifted my perspective slightly so that the connections between Liz's work and other elements of my own current explorations in online and blended learning as well as with building abundant communities became obvious. What made me see that video in the larger context of creative interactions, collaborations, and community-building was the fact that that Liz, as one of many who are pushing this volunteer-driven community based effort to create a second set of ceramic-tiled steps along with gardens and murals in San Francisco's Inner Sunset District, had perfectly captured the playful spirit and energy of the Hidden Garden Steps effort. There was also the simultaneous realization that Liz, in the context of documenting successes for the Hidden Garden Steps project, had produced a wonderful example of digital storytelling. By combining enticing music, wonderful images, a set of PowerPoint slides, and an engaging story into a video, Liz had, all at once, produced an attractively positive story of how members of communities work together to bring dreams to fruition; an update to current and prospective project supporters; and a great example of what thousands of us are currently studying in #etmooc, the Education Technology and Media MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) organized by University of Regina professor of educational technology and media Alec Couros and several co-conspirators."
As I've documented in two interrelated posts here on Building Creative Bridges, digital storytelling draws upon archetypal elements at the heart of vibrant, creative communities by enticingly documenting what is most important to us. And the experience of exploring digital storytelling within such a dynamically stimulating community as the one developed by those who have organized and are facilitating #etmooc has certainly been inspiring me to look more deeply about how the stories we tell are at the heart of nearly every successful effort that attracts my attention. I see this in my various roles as a volunteer, in the work I do as a trainer-teacher-learner, and in the writing that puts me in touch with creative colleagues worldwide through our promotion and use of social media tools—including those we routinely use to complete assignments within #etmooc and the Social Media Basics course I just finished facilitating again.
The more I think about the interwoven threads of these various stories that are unfolding in my life (the Hidden Garden Steps project, #etmooc and digital storytelling, the Social Media Basics course, my face-to-face and online interactions with colleagues at conferences and in social media platforms, and my ongoing efforts as a trainer-teacher-learner), the more fascinated I become at how the smallest part of any of them sends out tendrils along the lines of the rhizomatic learning concepts we've also been studying in #etmooc.
But then I also realize that I'm falling into the trap of making all of this too complex. What it really comes down to is that we're incredibly social and interconnected people living in an incredibly interconnected onsite-online world. We live socially, we learn socially, we dine socially, we thrive socially, and we build socially. And, at least for me, one of the key pleasures comes from the leaning that occurs in each of these personal and shared short stories that become the extended stories—the novels—that we are creating by living them.
With that act of circling back to learning as a key element of our individual stories, we find one more thread that ties this all together. Given that learning is a process of responding to an immediate need by engaging in positive transformation, we can all continue learning—and creating the stories that give meaning to our lives—through our involvement with challenges along the lines of nurturing the Hidden Garden Steps project, finding community in #etmooc, and becoming active participants in a variety of other collaborative and community-based efforts. The more we look for and document interweavings between these seemingly disparate endeavors, the better learners—and storytellers—we become.
N.B.: This is the fifteenth in a series of posts responding to the assignments and explorations fostered through #etmooc and the fifteenth in an ongoing series of articles to document the Hidden Garden Steps project in San Francisco.


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Royal development is a newly found construction company which has two ongoing Residential Complex Projects in Tbilisi.
Residential complex Royal Tower, situated in Didi Digomi District, is divided in two – 16 and 18 story blocks, uniting 112 and 126 apartments respectively.
Complex is supported by 1200 sq. m. furnished yard and 61 parking lots.
Construction process was started in April of 2018 and will be completed in autumn of 2019.


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Why am I on Twitter?
The editor of the book I'm writing said it would be a good idea to have an account up and running well before publication. So I could say "I have grudgingly agreed to use Twitter as a means of letting people know about my book."
Except let's face it — I like social media. I like blogging and I like Facebook. I even like Google+! So I think I'm going to like Twitter, too. Only an excuse was needed.
What does Twitter have to offer that other platforms don't? It's very simple — on Twitter, I can ask Manny Machado about his already-legendary fake-to-first-trap-the-runner-off-third play in a crucial game against the Rays last October — and he answers!


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The shopping experience is getting more "Minority Report"-ish by the day, what with innovations like digital billboards that know your age and gender and serve up ads accordingly.
Now Samsung is looking to buy into the future-of-retail space with a transparent LCD panel that can be used to dramatically enhance kiosks, store windows, and billboards with text and images that do fancy tricks like rotate and fade in and out rather than just sit there. Think bus shelters with see-through walls displaying scrolling schedules and clothing shop windows that feature models sashaying down the catwalk.
Yesterday in San Francisco, the company showed CNET a 22-inch transparent LCD panel built into a display case housing a Samsung Galaxy Tab. That size panel has already gone into production, with a 46-incher on the way.
During the demo, the 7-inch Tab sat behind a window-like facade programmed to display text and images spotlighting some of the product's specs and social-networking capabilities. Bill Beaton, senior manager of LCD marketing for Samsung, even did a little hand dance behind the rotating imagery to demonstrate the panel's high transparency rate.
The panels come in black-and-white and color versions, and have a contrast ratio of 500:1 with WSXGA+ (1,680x1,050) resolution. They are HDMI- and USB-enabled and utilize ambient light such as sun light, thus reducing their dependence on electricity.
This is not Samsung's first stab at transparency, as its IceTouch YP-H1 and laptop sport a transparent touch screen. Other companies, including LG, Sony Ericsson, and Korean materials maker NeoView Kolon have ventured into transparent-technology territory, as well.
Samsung mostly views its transparent panels as a tool to make advertising more dynamic (and says it's already working with unnamed major retail partners interested in using them that way). But it also imagines them as potential interactive communication devices for corporations and schools.
Beyond those applications, Beaton showed a cool image of an office building made multicolored by smart windows using the transparent panels. That's just a concept at this point. Still, we're suddenly imagining "mood houses" that sport yellow windows when inhabitants feel happy, and blue windows when they're bummed.


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New Delhi: Government will consider any request by the family of Afzal Guru to visit his grave inside the Tihar jail here where he was buried after his hanging on Saturday, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Monday. "If they want to go (to the grave), it can be considered," Shinde said.
The family of 43-year-old Afzal has expressed a desire to offer at least "fathiah namaz" (prayer at the grave) and take his belongings. Cornered over the government's failure to intimate the family, Shinde waved the xerox copy of the speedpost receipt saying "two speedposts within the gap of 10 minutes were sent on the evening of February seven."
However, Post Master General of Jammu and Kashmir Circle John Samuel said in Srinagar that the letter was sent from Delhi on February 8 and received in Srinagar on February nine. According to the official website of India Post, a speed post from national capital to any part of the country other than metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai Hyderabad and Bengaluru will take four to six days.
Shinde was evasive on questions whether the Government made it sure that the family was informed before carrying out the execution. "I have information that family has been communicated. The letter has been sent through speed post on February 7 night and the action was taken on Febuary nine," he said.
Further asked as to whether it was necessary to depend on speedpost when other methods including a phone call or a telegram could have been used, Shinde did not answer this question and rather maintained that rules of jail manual were followed.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had said on Sunday that he wished that the family could have been allowed to meet Afzal before he was taken to the gallows.


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WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHERDonate Now
Issue 240
Jan/Feb 2007
There is no wealth but life
40th Anniversary
by Annie Lennox
Cover: Windswept live oak and rising full moon Photograph: Diane Miller/Monsoon Image
Annie Lennox. Photo Associated Press
If we view the world as an interdependent global village, then we avoid taking action at our own peril.
WE LIVE IN complicated times. We seek, but we don't necessarily find, the ultimate things we long to experience – contentment, joy, love, inner peace. Our lives are too often overloaded with demands: that we should be successful, rich, beautiful and famous; but this just adds to our inner stress and turmoil. The media constantly bombard us with images reminding us of our 'lack' … and we so often feel like failures.
Life's condition means that at any given moment the things we value most can be swiftly taken away from us. Our health, our safety and security, both emotionally and physically, cannot be guaranteed, so we carry our anxiety and fear of loss within and around us, unwittingly. We strive for a 'better moment' than the one we are currently in, while dragging the burdens of our past into every present situation, so that we are rarely, if ever, 'here and now'.
How do we find meaning, value and connection in a society that is dislocated and in many ways dysfunctional? We have lost our sense of community or belonging to anything much beyond our own individual circumstance. We have become voyeurs, vacuously gazing at reality TV shows and sitcoms while exhibitionists and ever-new 'celebrities' grab their shot at fifteen minutes of fame.
Technology has radically altered our existence in so many ways. Everything happens faster, while we struggle to keep up, ever desperate to be ahead of the game. In isolation we scan the internet, and email or text our friends, as a substitute for real connection. We inform ourselves about the soaring crime rate, the effects of drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, the horrors of war, the scandalous antics of corrupt corporate businessmen and their friends, the politicians.
We digest the endless details of humankind's abuse and exploitation, while our polluted planet heats up around us. Ice caps melt, ancient rainforests disappear, the population explodes and animal species hurtle towards extinction. I have therefore come to the conclusion that the world is completely and utterly mad! And perhaps I am mad to have any expectation that it could be anything otherwise. But somehow I still cling to the notion that there is some kind of intelligence, sanity, goodness, compassion, or hope, somewhere on this planet.
I HAVE A view of the world as an interdependent global village. We avoid taking action at our own peril. I would like to see the democratic voters of this country take a more active part in the social and political events that affect our lives, because we actually do have far more power than we ever seem to realise. We have freedom of speech and democracy, but we seem to become complacent once we've put a political party into power. I'd love to see Britain at the forefront of a visionary and exemplary response to the problems we all face. I had earnestly hoped to see something of that change over the last ten years of Labour government, but it seems, sadly, that this will not be delivered.
I don't believe that you can ever solve the problem of terrorism by acts of brutal retaliatory violence. I think the so-called war on terror is scandalous because it is a cover-up, and not a solution. It is in fact America's second Vietnam. I do not believe the Iraqi people are being liberated. They are being destroyed. I do not believe the planet can continue ad infinitum with our endless exploitation of its natural resources. I do not believe that human beings have ever created a political structure which works for the benefit of all, rather than the few.
We need to see more action to follow through from rhetoric. We need to see the noble ideals of justice and a
ccountability put into action, before developing countries can ever begin to take any steps out of chronic and endemic poverty. I want to see an effective response to the genocide of AIDS that is decimating millions of people not only in Africa, but across the globe. Antiretroviral drugs extend and save people's lives: they must be made available. Yet in a country like South Africa, which has the highest instance of HIV/AIDS, there is still, unbelievably, a culture of denial, effectively preventing people getting access to treatment. Like terrorism and environmental disasters, AIDS has no boundaries. We are all in this together, whether we realise it or not.
WHEN RESURGENCE MAGAZINE first started, forty years ago, there was no ecological or new age movement. (Well, there was, but they were called hippies!) There were few health food shops or alternative medical treatment centres. Nowadays the 'alternative' has actually evolved into something that is pretty much mainstream. Who would have guessed that supermarkets would ever have an organic food section, or market their products under 'green' auspices?
Positive change is happening, and we should be encouraged by this. But we cannot afford to become complacent. To me, 'green' actually means 'survival at every level' – it is not merely the current trendy consumer catchword. And 'green' needs to be continuously integrated into our daily lives.
I applaud all environmentalists, activists, radical freethinkers, writers, idealists, creators, philosophers, artists, students and teachers who challenge us to go against the grain, to question, to think, and to respond to the world outside the box: those who search for the truth behind a culture of lies and disinformation, who refuse to give in to pessimism in the face of what often seems like a lost cause.
That is why I love Resurgence … and why I have the most profound respect for this inspirational magazine. I'm proud to be counted as one of the lunatic idealists … who passionately endorse the notion of a better, safer, kinder world.
Annie Lennox is a singer and social activist.


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Started Nov 13, 2014 0 Replies 0 Likes
Hi there!I just added a new Facebook group to connect and keep you updated on the online events I am running.Thank You!MichelleWould love for you to join …Continue
Started Jun 30, 2014 0 Replies 0 Likes
To celebrate re-starting my blog and for reaching 60 Likes on my facebook page, I'm giving away a FREE gift. For details on entering the drawing,please …Continue
Started Apr 6, 2014 0 Replies 0 Likes
I just wanted to let you know that I am hosting a facebook online event "Raising Healthy Kids Hour" tomorrow- Monday night (4/7/14 at 9 PM Eastern time). If you are interested, please visit me on…Continue
Started Mar 8, 2014 0 Replies 0 Likes
Hi,I am thinking about doing online facebook events and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in helping me test an online facebook event. If so, please let me know. Thank you,MichelleContinue
Hi Michelle - I just friended you on Facebook, twitter and pinterest. Lets get you back to blogging again!
Thanks for visiting my blog Michelle! It is great to meet you. I will follow your social networks and look forward to getting to know you. I will check out the link to pinterest. Thanks for giving me the heads up on that! Here is the link: http://pinterest.com/shoppingwives/ Have a great day and stay in touch!! -Tabby
Thank you for stopping by and checking out my blog. I have visited yours as well!
hey there I just got your comment. I didn't type the blog site name in correctly, the link is rikki-renee.blogspot.com
Thank you so much Michelle, That would be so helpful .
Thank you for the visit & follow! I will take a look at your pages and follow back =)
@Michelle, Thanks! I'm following back. :)
Hey there! Thank you for friending me :) I checked out your blog and it's GREAT! Following you on twitter, FB and GFC :) Hope you have an awesome day!
Thanks, Michelle! Going to check out your blog now!
Posted on September 4, 2014 at 2:07pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
Hi all! I'm still updating my blog and just added an events page. Please check out and let me know what you think.
Posted on June 28, 2014 at 1:22pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
New blog post from The CMS Family Blog http://goo.gl/WDizhH


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Even if you possess the absolute baseline of pop cultural literacy, you're probably aware of Garfield, that orange comic strip cat who's spent the past thirty-odd years terrorizing his man-child owner.
Garfield strips aren't heavy reading whatsoever — in fact, they make Marmaduke look like obscurantist performance art. This wasn't the case when cartoonist Jim Davis wrote "Primal Self," a shockingly creepy vignette for the 1984 book Garfield: His 9 Lives.
Most of the stories in His 9 Lives are light-hearted comics about Garfield's past incarnations throughout history (for example, as a cave cat or a viking). But in "Primal Self" — which features art by Jim Clements, Gary Barker, and Larry Fentz — things go off the deep end without warning. I read "Primal Self" when I was seven, and it messed me up for a solid week.
For the last few decades, that scene of the Sabertooth Tiger Volcano Hell Dimension has been tattooed onto my subconscious. Can you imagine Ziggy or Hi and Lois pulling this off? I mean, Mark Trail's beating the hell out of pot farmers these days, but even his reefer-busting can't hold a candle to this.
Of course, the strip that prompted this post was the infamous Halloween 1989 Garfield arc (at left, via Laughing Squid), wherein the lasagna-loving cat wakes up one morning to discover his life never existed.
And for more mental scarring, see "The Lab Animal" from the 1988 TV special adaptation of His 9 Lives. They didn't animate "Primal Self," for reasons obvious and childhood-destroying.


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Tech Time with Libby! (Live)
May 24, 2024 @ 9:30 am - 10:00 am
|Recurring Event (See all)
An event every week that begins at 9:30 am on Tuesday and Friday, repeating indefinitely
Think of this as a drop-in help desk for all of your tech-related questions! Libby from Cyber-Seniors will be on hand to walk you through navigating the Virtual Community Center and associated platforms.
If interested in joining please email firstname.lastname@example.com so we know where to send the Zoom meeting invite.


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We all know we're residing in a time where Health Insurance pricing is growing faster than everything else, even gas for our vehicles. People need Well being Coverage no one is predisposed from getting sick or getting an automobile accident. No-one ideas on getting into a car crash but you still have insurance just in case it does, same task with Wellness Insurance.
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Inspired by: ezinearticles


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Taking this mighty mixer out of the box is quite incredible. It's a heavy, wide and very robust feeling unit with a 5.8-inch dual-touch touchscreen interface and central effects section dominating the majority of the space.
It's designed to sit flush alongside the CDJ-2000s, and Pioneer has mirrored the same slanted-front design. When you're in front of four CDJ-2000s and this mixer, it not only looks awesome, but the amount of flexibility in how you choose to DJ is immense with this particular setup.
Although the mixer can work splendidly with any other CDJs, its integration with the 2000 series is incredible.
Around the back there are six LAN ports, with four ports to connect CDJ-2000s using the LINK technology and two for connecting two separate laptops running Rekordbox.
This means that laptops can be connected via a single LAN cable and, when using the CDJ-2000s, can act as a means of searching and browsing your music, while all the actual DJing is done on the Pioneer hardware by dragging songs directly onto the Live icons of the CDJs or even directly on to the mixer.
When songs are dragged onto the DJM-2000 mixer icon, they are previewed - you can use the Link Cue function to preview tracks without having to load them to a deck. This makes browsing your laptop-stored music even faster. Of course, as mentioned before, this is only one way to DJ using this mixer.
Inside the DJM-2000 there's also a 24-bit, 96kHz, eight-channel soundcard, so it's easy to hook up a laptop and use the DJM-2000 as a multi-output soundcard and mixer without any extra external boxes or audio interfaces required.
EQs and FX
The EQ is again based on the subtle Pioneer sound, with the option of switching the EQ from either a +6dB to -26dB range to an isolator setting, which will completely kill the high, mid or low frequencies when turned fully to the left.
The central Effects section is based on the EFX-1000 outboard effects units from Pioneer and includes a few extras such as Reverb, Slip Roll, Gate and Multi-Tap Delay.
There's also a three-band frequency isolator-style EQ, which allows you to fine-tune the effects to the frequencies you want and even add feedback loops and added resonance by pushing the three frequency bands to the max.
The Slip Roll is a particular highlight of these effects, enabling DJs to cut a section of the track and loop it at fractions, just like a standard roll effect. But, with Slip Roll, you can re-trigger the fractions from new points while the track continues underneath. This makes for a much more natural beat-chop effect when in the mix.
Each of these central effects can be applied to individual channels, A or B sides of the crossfader or the master channel. This isn't where the effects end, though, as Pioneer have also included six INST FX, which can be applied to each channel and controlled using the Filter Control rotaries located above each volume fader.
The usual effects suspects are here including HPF, LPF, Crush, Zip and Jet, but the coolest effect is the inclusion of a noise oscillator, which can be swept onto any channel using the same channel specific Filter rotary.
This makes creating your own build-ups and drops very simple, and added fun can be had by applying the main effects over the top of the noise such as adding a Phaser or Transform effect. This feature alone will make this mixer a firm favourite with club DJs.
The inclusion of MIDI with this mixer is very thorough, with a dedicated MIDI Out port that can send MIDI clock to external devices dependent on the bpm calculator readouts. All controls of the unit are also MIDI-mappable.
As yet, the unit has no Traktor TSI template available, but Pioneer expects templates to be forthcoming.
Using Ableton, Traktor or any other MIDI software alongside the normal functions of two CDJs and a mixer is also easy. Using start/stop and MIDI on/off control buttons, you can choose when to send MIDI information from the mixer and when not to.
The unit is also separated into two MIDI zones: the touchscreen and the rest of the unit. Both these zones can have separate MIDI channels, so that the touchscreen could be used to trigger clips in Ableton while the rest of the unit is set to take command of Traktor.
Can Touch This
With touch technology in its SVM-100 AV mixer, it's no surprise that Pioneer has embraced the popular world of the touchscreen in their DJ line. The DJM-2000's whopping 5.8-inch colour touchscreen is an amazing feature for a mixer to have, nonetheless.
Designed as the solution to a multitude of duties, it includes a Frequency Mixer, MIDI controller and Sidechain Remix mode. The screen is duo-touch, which means only two actions can be performed at the same time, but on a screen this size it never becomes an issue.
The first obvious test was to wet our fingers and test the touchscreen for issues in a recreated drunk/sweaty/clumsy club environment. We're pleased to say that it passed with flying colours and seemed just as responsive with to damp daubs as it did to our dry ones.
Testing out the innovative Frequency Mixer was also a success. This multiband crossfader is split into seven different frequency bands and allows you to crossfade them between whichever two channels you like.
In use, it allows you to blend frequencies between tracks more subtly than ever before - way surpassing what is possible using channel EQ tricks alone. It will certainly be hugely popular with the Techno, Minimal and Progressive crowds for incredibly smooth mixing.
'Ere Come Da Remix
Another feature on the touchscreen is the equally original Remix Mode, which serves up an X/Y pad that can control one of four different oscillators, a Roll Style sampling mode, Pitch effect and Gate effect.
The oscillators are all noise-based drum sounds with hi-hat sound on oscillators one, two and three, and a more 808-style snare on oscillator four. Using this mode, you quickly realise that its success is dependent on the track triggering the oscillators.
The oscillators are envelope-triggered rather than triggered by the master bpm, and you can mute high, mid and low frequencies to tighten the amount of transients triggering the oscillator.
While there's a fair amount of tweakability, it can sound a tad clumsy if you're not careful, but the bonus is that any tempo changes or movement in the trigger track instantly feeds back to the oscillator.
Feeding these noises to a separate channel and adding a mixture of the INST FX and main effects is where the fun really begins.
Set the sample
The colour touchscreen is the obvious main attraction on this mixer but hiding in a small button to the top left of the screen is a Live Sampler mode. For on-the-fly creative performance this is an unbelievable tool, although you do need to have a LAN-connected CDJ-2000 for it to work.
Hitting the button brings up a GUI on the interface where you can record up to eight seconds of either the microphone input or the master channel output. Once sampled, hit the Link button on the CDJ-2000 deck and you can select the DJM-2000 and playback, scratch and manipulate the sample you've recorded.
The possibilities for working alongside MCs and with instrument players are obvious when using this feature. Being able to loop, effect, and scratch sounds you've only just sampled is sure to be a crowd-pleaser and another creative weapon for the DJ.
Plus, because the DJM-2000 has the ability to 'talk' to the CDJ-2000s in the way, the circular ring of light around the jog wheels of the CDJ-2000s will actually glow red when they are 'on air' (the mixer faders turned up), helping to stop accidents from happening when four CDJ rigs are in use.
Pioneering mixer
Pioneer have really gone all the way with this mixer, serving up a solution for every possible scenario and making the regular two-CDJ-and-a-mixer setup more creative than ever before.
As soon as you decide on the best way the mixer works for you, it's much easier to focus on the details and colouration of your mix rather than getting bogged down in features and effects, which is very easy to do. Pioneer have stuck with familiar controls and stylings, which lowers the immediate learning curve, and added features such as Remix Mode, Frequency Mix and touchscreen MIDI templates are simple to get to grips with.
You can't ignore the massive price tag here, but this is one of the most cutting-edge mixers on the market and could form the basis of everything from a creative DJ act to a full-flight Electronic music show.
When combined with four CDJ-2000s, it's easily the most creative, stable and well-thought-out DJ rig available.


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From Mine to OursPosted: September 18, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: chants, charting, routines, student interest 2 Comments
Hello Friends! If you are anything like Kristi, you are in the middle of labels, emergency cards, photographs of your new wonderful class, and you haven't cooked dinner in a week. This is one of the best and busiest times of the year! It is the time when you meet your class and discover their unique personalities, begin teaching, and revel in the small successes. This is also the time when you realize that your writing center is too close to table 1, the routine you were going to use for getting clipboards needs to be revised, and the sand table is just going to make things sandy and there is not much you can do about it. In short, this is the time when what was mine becomes ours and you realize the classroom you set up so carefully was built with no input from the little people that now inhabit it.
A quick story. When Kristi's husband (Geoff) first moved in to the apartment she had lived in for years, she marched him into the least used room and said, "You can put your stuff here." When Kristi expressed concern that she never saw Geoff because he was always in that same room, Geoff said, "This isn't our apartment, this is your apartment and I have a room. Nothing feels like mine outside of this space." So slowly, Kristi relinquished her control and her artfully displayed books were scooted over to make room for Geoff's vinyl records, and the pictures on the wall were replaced with pictures of the two of them, until the line was blurred and the apartment became a place where a family lives.
We tell this story because teachers are masters of control, you have to be to move 25 little bodies out safely during a fire drill, but in order for children to truly feel safe, at home, and have agency, the space you share must truly be shared. Shanna Frazin, a colleague of ours at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, once drove this point home by inviting teachers to measure the square footage of their classrooms and divide that number by the number of students plus one (the teacher). The resulting square footage was a teacher's equal share of the classroom. Yes we need space, but our students need it more! This creation of a classroom family extends to the charts that you make during this critical time of year. Your routines my not be the same as last year, because this class is not the same as last year. Your charts will change because your children have changed.
Charts Reflect the Current Needs of the Current Class
Katie Lee, one the gentlest, smartest, calmest kindergarten teachers you will ever meet created this chart for her students. The beauty is Katie didn't save this chart from last year and show it this year, she created it with her students just a day or two ago. The bin they put their folder in really is red, and the bin for lunch really is green. That really is the table the children sit at in the morning. Katie has a beautiful chart with its simplicity and its visuals, but more importantly, she created it with her students, and with her students in mind.
When Kristi wanted to teach the signs and symbols to calm children on the rug, she first used post-its as visuals for the steps. Then as children practiced the routine over a few days, she began snapping pictures so her drawings became replaced by photos of students in the classroom. Additionally, the writing charts that initially showcased her created examples, now have authentic student examples for children to look back to for support. Just like Katie Lee's chart, these charts reflect all the members of classroom, not just the teacher.
Using Student Interest to Guide Routines and Charting
Kristi's class is train crazy. When the "book fairy" brought a train book, the class just about died with happiness. When the lines in the hall were more like knots in the hall, Kristi named the two lines after New York City subway lines (the E train and 6 train) and reworked a line chant to reflect the theme. This chant was written on a chart and serves double duty as a routine chart and a beloved shared reading.
Line Chant (Call and Response)
It's line up time
It's line up time
Trains on track (photo of a straight line)
Trains on track
Mind the gaps (photo of children close together)
Mind the gaps
Watch for signs (photo of Kristi making a stop hand)
Watch for signs
What time is it?
It's line up time!
(Thank you to Sarah Carolan, another brilliant, thoughtful, and gentle teacher at PS 59 who passed on the original line up chant)
Kat Cazes (one more smart, dedicated, and insightful teacher at 59) suggested that children bring home these charts to read as shared reading and reinforce routines. Parents have expressed delight at not only knowing the routines their children are learning, but seeing pictures of their children doing them! Kat snaps a photo of the chart and prints it out to go in the shared reading folders and/or notebooks.
Lucy Calkins emphasizes this indisputable fact: the better you know your children, the better you can teach your children. When you use what you know and what you see to guide your teaching and form your charts you create a community. There are so few photos in this blog post because all of Kristi's charts have photos of children and examples of children work (parent permission is needed and forthcoming, so soon you will see all these beautiful faces).
Until next time, happy charting!
Kristine Mraz and Marjorie Martinelli
2 Comments on "From Mine to Ours"
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To great fanfare, this week Goldman Sachs unveiled the report of its Business Standards Committee, which makes recommendations regarding changes for the internal structure of what is currently the 5th largest bank holding company in the United States. Some of the recommended changes are long overdue – particularly as they address perceived conflicts of interest between Goldman and its clients.
By Simon Johnson in the BaselineScenario
What is most notable about the report, however, is what it does not say. There is, in fact, no mention of any issues that are of first order importance regarding how Goldman (and other banks of its size and with its leverage) can have big negative effects on the overall economy. The entire 67 page report reads like an exercise in misdirection.
Goldman Sachs is ignoring the main point of the debate made by – among others – Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, regarding why big banks need to be much more financed by equity (and therefore have much less leverage, meaning lower debt relative to equity). On p.10 of his Bagehot Lecture in October 2010, for example, King was quite blunt:
"Modern financiers are now invoking other dubious claims to resist reforms that might limit the public subsidies they have enjoyed in the past. No one should blame them for that – indeed, we should not expect anything else. They are responding to incentives. Some claim that reducing leverage and holding more equity capital would be expensive. But, as economists, such as my colleague David Miles (2010) and Anat Admati and her colleagues (Admati et. al., 2010), have argued, the cost of capital overall is much less sensitive to changes in the amount of debt in a bank's balance sheet than many bankers claim."
This King/Miles/Admati critique appears to be gaining a great deal of mainstream traction (see this link for more on the Miles' view). At the American Finance Association (AFA) meeting last weekend in Denver, there was much agreement around the main points made by Professor Admati and the leading group of finance thinkers that recently wrote with her to the Financial Times on this issue. Professor Admati's slides from Saturday are on the Stanford website (she presented in a Society of Economic Dynamics session, running parallel to the AFA). The Admati, DeMarzo, Hellwig, and Pfleiderer paper examines in-depth, critically, and in the context of current public policy, the mantra that "equity is expensive" for banks; this is available online – on the same page you'll also find related pieces of varying length. Reviewing any of these materials is an easy way to get up to speed on why Goldman Sachs' internal reorganization is little more than irrelevant.
Or perhaps it is a thin smokescreen. The Goldman report does have one revealing statement (on page 1, under their "Business Principles"): "We consider our size an asset that we try hard to preserve."
As John Cochrane, a University of Chicago professor and frequent contributor to the Wall Street Journal puts it, "The incentive for the banks is to be as big, as systemically dangerous as possible."
This is how big banks ensure they will be bailed out.
This week's Goldman Sachs report does not contain the phrase "too big to fail" or any serious acknowledgment that Goldman staff at many levels have the incentive to take on a great deal of risk – through increasing their leverage (debt relative to equity) in one way or another.
On this point there is already perfect alignment of insider interests with what their shareholders want – there is no conflict of interest to be addressed. As Professor Admati points out, when a bank is too big to fail, adding leverage raises the return on equity in good times (boosting employee bonuses and the return for shareholders) – and in bad times there is a bailout package waiting.
The Obama administration, House Republicans, and banking executives like to frame the discussion about financial reform in conventional political terms, with the "left" supposedly wanting more regulation and the "right" standing for less regulation.
But this is not a left vs. right issue. John Cochrane is definitely not from the left of the political spectrum; nor is Gene Fama, who signed the Admati et al letter to the Financial Times; nor are numerous other leading finance people who agree with this same position (again, see the list of Admati signatories). Mervyn King is the ultimate apolitical technocrat – as is Paul Volcker, who has been hammering away at these themes for a while.
The financial sector captured the thinking of our top regulators over the past 30 years. It continues to exercise a remarkable degree of sway – as demonstrated in the very small increase in capital requirements agreed upon in the recent Basel III accord.
The was some serious pushback last year against the biggest banks from a few members of Congress – including Congressman Paul Kanjorski and Senators Sherrod Brown, Ted Kaufman, Carl Levin, and Jeff Merkley. (The epilogue to the paperback edition of 13 Bankers reviews the details.)
Now top people in finance are taking broadly similar positions.
Our big banks have too little capital and are too large. Do not be deceived by the internal alterations and new forms of reporting put forward by Goldman Sachs. At its heart, the problems in our banking system are about insufficient equity in very big banks.
The case against increasing equity in the financial system is very weak – as King/Miles/Admati explain. Most of the opposition to greater equity is in the form of unsubstantiated assertions by people paid to represent the interests of bank shareholders (i.e., executives, lobbyists, and the like).
There is nothing wrong with shareholders having paid representatives – or with those people doing the job they are paid to do. But allowing such people to make or directly shape public policy on this issue is a huge mistake.
We See The World From All Sides and Want YOU To Be Fully InformedIn fact, intentional disinformation is a disgraceful scourge in media today. So to assuage any possible errant incorrect information posted herein, we strongly encourage you to seek corroboration from other non-VT sources before forming educated opinion. In addition, to get a clear comprehension of VT's independent non-censored media, please read our Policies and Disclosures.
Due to the nature of uncensored content posted by VT's fully independent international writers, VT cannot guarantee absolute validity. All content is owned by the author exclusively. Expressed opinions are NOT necessarily the views of VT, other authors, affiliates, advertisers, sponsors, partners, or technicians. Some content may be satirical in nature. All images are the full responsibility of the article author and NOT VT. About VT - Comment Policy


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They look so cute in the movies and are seriously irresistible when attached to someone else. They're pretty and polished when on display, but it's simply impossible to know how much work that takes until you have some of your own.
I'm talking about children in case you're confused. I have nothing against them of course. In fact, I have three of my own and am really quite fond of each one of them. Alright, I love them to death, if you must know.
But let's cut the to the crazy here – they are work and they wreck the house. No, no, they don't mean to cause any bother. They're just living their little lives, going about their important business, learning to function in this great big world. But man, nothing is left standing in their wake.
So, save your money, folks. Do not invest in wildly wonderful and exorbitantly expensive treasures. They will not go the distance unless they're bubble wrapped, vacuum packed and under lock and key, stored nowhere near where you actually live.
You might feel I'm being a drama mama. I'm not. I swear.
They'll work on 'projects' in your freshly cleaned kitchen and you will find melted wax and splattered paint in every corner for weeks on end. You'll spend scrupulous hours decorating their rooms only to find your carefully chosen and expertly applied paint sabotaged with stickers, posters and pushpins. You'll buy new pillows and discover them on the hair-infested floor, which reminds me, children will also use their magical powers to convince you that welcoming animals in to share your home, not to mention help them in their endeavor of destruction, is somehow a great idea.
You'll wash and iron their clothes and uncover them back in the basket a (very) short while later with a pocket torn away. You'll haul the couch covers off to give them a spin and find an ink stain ten minutes after you've put them all back on.
And, you'll cherish all of it.
I've been married 20 years today and my kids are 17, 14 and 12 and a ½. I wouldn't trade any of them it for a pristine house in the Cotswolds, even if they did carve "poop" into my dining room table.


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I'm probably the only one, but I think SW16 is horribly misguided. It won't rock the gravy boat for Disney--but it doesn't add much for fans Apr 07, 16:27
sure its for profit, but its a good story done well, I'll go see it. {nm} Apr 07, 16:34
The Invitation isn't on iTunes or Xfinity. On VOD tomorrow? {nm} Apr 07, 17:32
yes tomorrow (or midnight tonight EST for iTunes) {nm} Apr 07, 17:36
okay, thanks {nm} Apr 07, 17:57
Yes, releases April 8th through Drafthouse Films. {nm} Apr 07, 17:37
Disney is giving the public EXACTLY what they want: more Star Wars movies. Apr 07, 16:38
More Merchandise Opportunties for Darth Vader! {nm} Apr 07, 17:10
this is like saying because we know who won WWII, no WWII movie can ever be dramatically compelling {nm} Apr 07, 16:42
I've seen "Schindler's List." But the genocide of the Jewish people doesn't compare to some Bothans dying to get Death Star plans. {nm} Apr 07, 16:46
ok, that went over even my head {nm} Apr 07, 16:47
Scratch it, reverse it. Bothans dying doesn't compare to millions of Jews getting murdered. "Rogue One" is no "Schindler's List." Bad comp. {nm} Apr 07, 16:49
How is it that when the Holocaust is mentioned it's only the jews getting murdered that gets a mention. How about the millions of Russians.. Apr 08, 02:06
well, the Bothans actually stole the plans for the 2nd Death Star, and his point was that its about the journey, not the destination Apr 07, 16:52
Swords (at least, the laser-y kind), martial arts, Eastern folklore, etc. have always been a part of SW's DNA. Swordsmen didn't surprise me. {nm} Apr 07, 16:54
youre still missing the point. Most people like a bigger universe. Its fine if you don't, but most people do. {nm} Apr 07, 16:57
I do--in ways true to the series. Marvel can spin-off w/ an endless host of potential protagonists. SW can't, because of ONE reason: Apr 07, 17:01
thats just your opinion though. Its fine, but I dont share it. I've been a a fan of the games and Clone Wars and now Rebels. I enjoy it. Apr 07, 17:04
I've played the games, and watched ALL of "The Clone Wars" (including season 6), and "Rebels." But if the Episodes go, they ALL go. {nm} Apr 07, 17:09
Rebels isn't really about the Skywalkers. Both are set around the same time. How can you say Rebels is okay, but Rogue One isn't? {nm} Apr 07, 17:17
That's fair. I was invested before "Episode VII." After, I realized Episodes were all we needed. And technically, Anakin/Vader are in both. Apr 07, 17:29
you lose all credibility with the "true fan" crap. it's still your opinion what's important and what isn't. You don't define "fan" for anyon Apr 07, 19:48
The masses do it for us, don't they? I'm just following suit. Don't we all follow mass distributed "dictionaries" for our definitions? {nm} Apr 08, 10:21
"But that's just, like, your opinion, man." And besides, after watching and playing all those--how much did they really add to the story? Apr 07, 17:13
"Watch it dude, there's a beverage here!" Here's my advice, don't be worried until theres actually a reason to be worried. Apr 07, 17:19
Thinking the glass is half empty makes sure you don't get caught with an empty glass. Disney should've known better before they cause damage {nm} Apr 07, 17:46
Maybe you don't underatand {nm} Apr 07, 23:37
Both glass half full and glass half empty know it can be empty. The point is seeing the positive upside or not {nm} Apr 07, 23:38
We knew the Avengers would prevail over Loki, Indiana Jones would win and Kirk would defeat Khan too. Still were great films to watch. {nm} Apr 07, 18:11
We didn't know the repercussions of defeating Loki (& STILL don't in full). How'd you know Indy would win...?? And yeah, maybe the 2nd time! {nm} Apr 07, 18:15
You honestly thought Indiana Jones might not win? {nm} Apr 07, 18:50
Nothing says Hollywood ending like victory for the Nazis {nm} Apr 07, 19:02
He could've died in the big finale--and then later discovered by American military, and the Ark could've still ended up in American hands. Apr 08, 10:23
so since we know Brando is the Godfather in The Godfather, we dont need to see Deniro become him in The Godfather 2 Apr 07, 16:42
That story was compelling. But I really don't need to know how Rebels got Death Star plans, or how Han Solo became a smuggler. Apr 07, 16:47
but how do you know this story wont be compelling? im willing to give it a try and if it winds up disappointing me, oh well my love of the Apr 07, 16:49
It will diminish mine. Instead of wondering "Wow, I wonder what terrible fate befell those poor Bothans..." it'll be "Oh right, I know that" {nm} Apr 07, 16:52
+1 I don't see how the nostalgic older crowd are going to find their enthusiasm for the spin-offs in the long run. Apr 07, 17:05
EXACTLY thank you! One or two Star Wars Story's are not all I'm concerned about: what will this excess look like 10 years from now? Apr 07, 17:08
I'm following you chosenone2oo5/ Merchandise sales will still be good in 10 years, story quality I'm not so sure about. {nm} Apr 07, 17:18
Story quality's what I'm concerned with. Marvel's been incredibly lucky. Realistically Star Wars could look like the DCEU if they keep it up Apr 07, 17:32
the easiest way to stop studios from making these movies is to not pay to see them {nm} Apr 07, 17:10
Then don't pay to see "A Star Wars Story," but save it to see "Episode VIII." Win-win for everyone, in my honest opinion. {nm} Apr 07, 17:14
So very true - I haven't paid to see a single Marvel movie ever, can't remember the last reboot, and I snuck into STAR7 Apr 07, 17:16
Though I don't agree with ignoring Marvel, & the last reboot was Batman's in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," I admire you greatly sir! {nm} Apr 07, 17:34
LucasFilms has always Expanded the Universe. Countless books, videogames and animated series Clone Wars, The Clone Wars, Rebels {nm} Apr 07, 16:44
But only the NEW stuff applies. They wiped the slate clean, only to messy it up again with "Rogue One," "Rebels," and the other excess. {nm} Apr 07, 16:51
I'm saying the idea of an Expanded Universe didn't originate with Disney. {nm} Apr 07, 16:53
And I'm saying running a merchandise mill is one thing--but this is so pervasive and permeating, it'll eventually harm the Episodes. {nm} Apr 07, 16:55
spoilers: most of what Lucas did with the original trilogy and the prequels was driven by merchandising, not storytelling {nm} Apr 07, 17:00
And the original trilogy stood the test of time regardless: because there's a right way, and a wrong way to go about it. This is excessive. {nm} Apr 07, 17:02
And the original trilogy stood the test of time regardless: because there's a right way, and a wrong way to go about it. This is excessive. {nm} Apr 07, 17:02
if the Star Wars Holiday Special didn't harm the Episodes, then nothing will. ;) {nm} Apr 07, 17:12
It never was canon, anyways. {nm} Apr 07, 17:14
I tthink Star Wars fans love the in-between stories...Clone Wars took place b/w Eps 2 and 3...Star Wars Rebels takes place b/w Eps 3 & 4... {nm} Apr 07, 17:12
plus this trailer plays like a wartime, secret operation movie...like Valkyrie or (as Moviesnob mentioned) The Dirty Dozen... Apr 07, 17:14
They were only used to make kids pay to go see the Episodes...! And now that they understand the Rebel Alliance, can we cancel "Rebels" now? Apr 07, 17:17
tell that to all the adults who love the series...myself included :) {nm} Apr 07, 17:20
I like Rebels (a lot acutally) but its only going to be a three season thing. They'll be a new one for the new time period {nm} Apr 07, 17:21
+1 replace it w/ "Star Wars: Resistance." Figured that was coming anyways. After "Rogue One" is over, there's no necessity for the synergy. {nm} Apr 07, 17:36
"secret operation to steal the Death Star plans" may not look impressive on paper to some, but it's all in the execution {nm} Apr 07, 17:21
speaking of Valkyire, I dare Gareth to give this the same ending as that movie...well, except they accomplish their mission first :) {nm} Apr 07, 17:25
Don't we assume there's a "300"-esque ending where--"oh good, the plans are safe...it's okay if we die now as martyrs for the cause." Apr 07, 17:39
[EXT. SPACE -- NIGHT -- Bothan ship EXPLODES, Imperial Super Star Destroyer HUMS away as "Firefly" violins creep into the silence. FADE OUT] {nm} Apr 07, 17:40
you're the only assuming that. Try thinking about the best case scenario instead and be happy for the next 8 months Apr 07, 19:31
I loved it. Looks amazing! I want more Star Wars and I enjoy the new take on it. {nm} Apr 07, 18:34
Said who? Force Awakens sucked even though it made a ton of money. SW16 looks gritty and realistic and I wish all SW movies the same. {nm} Apr 07, 18:45
Well that explains your portfolio size. {nm} Apr 08, 10:25
I think people have wanted origin stories for so many of these characters for a long time. Expanded universe gave some in books, but people Apr 08, 07:19
Why not the small screen, then? Why does it have to be the big screen? This is as auxiliary as television as a whole. {nm} Apr 08, 10:24
Money {nm} Apr 08, 14:24
Which, if rocking the creative integrity of the entire franchise to get more money, could result in the Episodes then making LESS MONEY. {nm} Apr 08, 22:21


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|More Information on the Suzuki TL1000R/TL1000S
The Suzuki TL1000R motorcycle was introduced in 1998 as Suzuki's 90° V-Twin Superbike. Production ended in 2003.
General background
The TL1000R is a full fairing racing-oriented version of Suzuki's popular TL1000S. The TL1000R was launched in 1998, one year after its sibling, the TL1000S. Unlike the TL-S, the TL-R was designed to compete in the World and American Superbike Championships, although it achieved only one race win before Suzuki pulled the plug on the TL racing program, in favor of returning to the lighter GSX-R750 as its Superbike entry. The TL-R took aim at Ducati's 916 both in the Superbike Championship and in consumer sales. The R shares basic engine architecture with the S but has special components including forged pistons, stronger connecting rods, and a much stiffer frame while retaining the motors 90° V-twin for perfect primary balance and had hybrid chain/gear driven cams. A traditional cam chain turned a gear that in turn rotated the cams. This hybrid design eased maintenance immensely and gave the motor additional aural character because of the gear whine.. The engine tweaks given to the TL-R made it known for its very good top-end horsepower (as compared to most V-twins that make better bottom end power). The TL-R was offered in yellow, blue/white, black, and red. Suzuki stopped production of the TL1000S in 2001, and the TL1000R in 2003.
All specifications are manufacturer claimed.
See also
External links
The photo 1998-Suzuki-TL1000R-TL1000S-538224-GP.jpg (1998 Suzuki TL1000R/TL1000S - Uploaded for: CHA?46
1998 Suzuki TL1000r) was uploaded by: [email protected]
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Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming
Between the Black Hills and the Great Plains, a rock monolith juts over a thousand feet into the air. American Indian tribes know it by many names, including Tso-i-e, or "standing on a rock" by the Kiowa, "Bear's Tipi" by the Arapaho, Mato Tipila or "Bear Lodge" by the Lakota, Na Kovehe or "Bear's Lodge" by the Cheyenne, and "Bear's House" by the Eastern Shoshone. In the 19th century, Colonel Richard Dodge led an expedition into the Black Hills. He modified an interpretation of the unattributed Indian name "The Bad God's Tower" into "Devils Tower." On September 24, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt gave the formation yet another name when he proclaimed it Devils Tower National Monument, the first national monument under the authority of the Antiquities Act of 1906. It was noted for the "lofty and isolated rock ... such an extraordinary example of the effect of wind erosion in the higher mountains as to be a natural wonder and an object of historic and scientific interest" (Proc. No. 658).
Ethnographers believe that the expansive territories of ancient tribes overlapped in the region surrounding Devils Tower NM. Archeology shows that people living 11,500-7,500 years ago hunted mammoth and bison using short-range weapons. Geological formations, like steep-walled arroyos, cliffs, and steep drops, helped the tribespeople to trap and kill. Around 3,000-1,500 years ago, people left materials such as basketry, feathers, shell and stone projectile points in caves to the west. Around 1,500-200 years ago, American Indians hunted game with bows and arrows, made pottery, practiced horticulture, and incorporated horses into their everyday lives.
Over twenty American Indian tribes have a cultural connection with the Tower. Among these are six distinct American Indian Nations that have a direct geographical connection to the Tower, meaning that they have lived in the area at some point in their history. These six nations are the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Crow, Kiowa, Lakota, and Shoshone. For example, Cheyenne oral tradition says that the tribe camped nearby during the winter because there was grass to feed horses, firewood, and protection from the hills from the biting winter winds. Members of these tribes continue to hold the Tower in spiritual reverence for ceremonial visits.
The Tower is part of the American Indian tribes' spiritual culture and figures in creation narratives. According to a Crow legend of the origin of the Tower, the tribe was camped at the Bear's House when a large bear cornered two little girls while they played. Just as the bear reached them, the girls climbed a rock to escape it. The Great Spirit saw that they were in danger and caused the rock to grow out of the ground. As the rock took the girls out of reach, the bear clawed the rock in its attempt to catch them, leaving the deep fissures along the sides. The rock grew so high that the bear could not reach the girls who, according to the legend, are still on top of the rock.
Living American Indian cultures hold sacred narrative or significant stories about Devils Tower. Personal and group rituals continue to be conducted within Monument. Lakota spiritual beliefs revolve around sacred things in the cosmos, like Mato Tipila. For example, to the Lakota, who claim historic and current cultural association with the Tower and the surrounding area, the region is a place to fast, pray, and worship Wakan Tankan, or the Great Mystery, the essence of Lakota spiritual and religious life. The Lakota believe that creation began in the Black Hills. Rituals continue at the Monument today to ensure health for individuals or the tribe, or for personal direction.
Geologists' studies find that the landform resulted from magma that rose up into the surrounding sedimentary rock where it cooled and hardened. Erosion stripped away the softer layers of rock, leaving a tower of harder rock behind. Today, 400,000 visitors every year explore the 1,347 acres protected by the Antiquities Act designation of Devils Tower National Monument. Visitors learn about cultural history from visitor center exhibits. American Indian prayer cloths are often seen along the Tower trail which also gives visitors a firsthand example of current cultural practices. Today, American Indians continue to practice personal and group rituals throughout the monument.
In 2005, visitors to Devils Tower National Monument responded to the question, "In your opinion, what is the national significance of the park?" with these comments:
Additional information


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Obesity 'leading driver' of breast cancerObesity is the biggest driving force behind the most common form of breast cancer in older women, say researchers.
Alcohol and then cigarettes are the next largest culprits, according to Cancer Research UK.
This is arrant nonsense for several reasons, as I said in my e-mail to the Beeb (see here for the details). In summary, there is not a scientist in the galaxy who believes that obesity and drinking are the main "drivers" of breast cancer and only a handful of certifiable anti-smoking maniacs like Stanton Glantz believe that smoking is a risk factor for breast cancer AT ALL.
The BBC's reply:
Dear Chris
Many thanks for getting in touch and raising your concerns.
You are correct that it is important to stress that the findings mean that obesity affects the levels of sex hormones. The article does this. We were mindful of this and discussed this point and the wording with cancer research uk before publication of the article. We explain that it applies only to hormone sensitive breast cancer in postmenopausal women and that the link suggests obesity drives up hormone levels.
Thanks again for contacting us. We value your feedback.
Kind regards
Since this ignores every point I raised in my earlier e-mail, I replied:
I don't take issue with the bulk of the story in question, which reflects the study accurately in some respects. The main problem is the headline and the first two paragraphs, ie:
Obesity 'leading driver' of breast cancer
Obesity is the biggest driving force behind the most common form of breast cancer in older women, say researchers.
Alcohol and then cigarettes are the next largest culprits, according to Cancer Research UK.
Every word of this is demonstrably untrue. It is not a matter of interpretation or wording. Obesity is NOT the biggest driver of breast cancer - as with all cancers, age is the biggest driving force. Between the age of 29 and 69, a woman's odds of developing breast cancer increases from 1 in 2000 to 1 in 13. As Cancer Research UK's website says: "The strongest risk factor for breast cancer (after gender) is age"
After that, there is reproductive history. Childless women have twice the risk as women with large families (who breast-fed).
Family history of the disease also doubled the risk.
These are the true driving forces of breast cancer. Way down the list is overweight and obesity, with a 10-30% increase in breast cancer risk. Again, from CRUK: "Compared to lean (BMI 22.5-24.9) women, overweight post-menopausal women have a 10-20% increased risk of breast cancer, and obese post-menopausal women a 30% increase in risk."
Alcohol is also a risk factor, varying on consumption, but generally is considered to form a 10-50% increase in risk. (eg. http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/165/6/667).
Smoking is not generally considered a risk for breast cancer AT ALL, despite efforts by the BBC and the Daily Mail to tell the public otherwise. To claim that it is the third biggest driver of the disease is ignorant and inexcusable.
Sex hormones are undoubtedly a risk factor, and a major one. The study you reported on shows that obesity is a risk factor for higher sex hormones and that drinking and smoking may be "moderate" risk factors for higher sex hormones. The crucial points - which I hoped I explained in the previous e-mail, but perhaps not - is that (a) the authors of the study NEVER claimed that obesity, drinking and smoking are the main risk factors for higher sex hormones, let alone breast cancer, and (b) even if these 3 factors were the main risk factors for higher sex hormones, it does not follow that they are the main risk factors - or the 'leading drivers' - for breast cancer itself. Indeed, we know with as much certainty as is possible to have in science that they are NOT.
Your article did not "stress" that obesity affects sex hormones. On the contrary, it stressed, quite wrongly, in the headline and opening sentences that obesity is "the biggest driving force behind the most common form of breast cancer in older women". This is untrue. It then stressed that drinking and smoking were the next biggest drivers of breast cancer. This is untrue. You say that: "This latest work, published in the British Journal of Cancer, suggests obesity should go at the top of this list [of risk factors for breast cancer]". This is untrue. The author of the study said, in the press release you were doubtless sent:
"Our study shows that changes in hormone levels might explain the association of established risk factors such as obesity with breast cancer risk. Other studies have found that weight and alcohol can affect hormone levels and this research confirms and adds to these findings and provides more information about how breast cancer develops."
Nothing in the CRUK press release or the study itself in any way supports the premise of your article. Are you prepared to stand by your claim that obesity, drinking and smoking are the "biggest driving forces" for breast cancer? If not, the article should be changed. It is too late to avoid misleading the bulk of its readers, but it would at least be an acknowledgement that the BBC knows when it has made a mistake.
Chris Snowdon
Their reply...
Thank you for your comments, which have been noted.
BBC News website
Translation: 'Piss off and leave us to report Cancer Research UK press releases in anyway we see fit.' Needless to say, the article in question remains unchanged, so any woman who has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer can read it and blame herself for the disease.
I should say that my interest in pursuing this—as I will continue to do—is not because it is the worst example of BBC reporting I have ever seen. Far from it. It is because it is an open and shut case. Their reporting of this particular story is wrong in essence and in fact. To publish such garbage in the first place is lamentable, if forgivable, but to stand by it is appalling.


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Robert Miller placed on administrative leave
A University of Connecticut music professor who was placed on paid leave last month is under investigation by police and school officials amid allegations of sexual misconduct with university students and decades-old molestation involving children, including several boys who attended a camp for sick children.
Robert Miller worked at UConn for three decades and once led the music department. School employees were notified several times between 2006 and 2011 of allegations that Miller had sexual contact with children, but it wasn't until February of this year that school administrators were told of the claims, according to UConn officials and the state attorney general's office. And it wasn't until last month that Miller was placed on paid administrative leave.
School officials didn't have the information they needed to place Miller on leave until they received a state police search warrant affidavit last month, UConn spokeswoman Stephanie Reitz said. University officials announced the creation of a Board of Trustees committee Monday to review its responses to the allegations.
Among those allegations were that in 1992, Miller inappropriately touched four boys ages 10 to 13 who attended a camp for sick children where he was a counselor. The accusers say he took them to his home without permission several times and would often make them take off their clothes, saying he had to check them for ticks and bruises. State police said the boys had hemophilia, a bleeding disorder in which the blood doesn't clot normally.
A fifth accuser says Miller molested him when he was 13 and a student at the former Whittier Intermediate School near Falls Church, Va., where Miller taught in the late 1960s and early 1970s, according to Connecticut state police. Officer Eddy Azcarate, a spokesman for Fairfax County police, confirmed his agency is investigating allegations involving the accuser.
State police said the statute of limitations has expired in the Connecticut case but not for the Virginia allegations.
And last month, a faculty member told a university official that a student alleged that Miller had sex with UConn students, visited freshmen dorms and provided drugs to students, according to the state attorney general's office. It's not clear when those alleged actions happened.
Miller, 66, of Mansfield, was barred from the Storrs campus after being placed on leave. He did not return several phone messages left at his home.
The details of the allegations against Miller, who is not charged with any crime, were not widely publicized before Monday's revelations by UConn, which said it is cooperating with the investigations. In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal at Penn State, many colleges and universities have sought to improve how they respond to allegations of sexual misconduct.
University officials acted quickly after they first learned of the investigations of Miller this year, UConn President Susan Herbst said in a statement.
"Any accusation of sexual misconduct by faculty, staff, or students is among the gravest issues that any institution must face. It is clear that serious accusations have been made, questions that demand answers have been raised, and we will do all we can to find the truth and protect the vulnerable," Herbst said.
UConn also has launched an internal review of its compliance with the federal Title IX gender discrimination law in connection with Miller's alleged sexual misconduct with UConn students. The law requires federally funded universities to act promptly when they are notified of possible sexual assault or harassment.
But Scott Berkowitz, founder of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network in Washington, D.C., said he was troubled that UConn staff members apparently were informed of the molestation allegations years ago. He said the effectiveness of any changes spurred by the Penn State episode remains to be determined.
"We're not going to know until a little further down the road, until those changes are implemented and are making a difference," Berkowitz said.
It was also revealed Monday that the Connecticut attorney general's office is seeking bids from a law firm to advise and represent UConn's Board of Trustees and that the school has hired a private investigator.
University officials released a timeline of events saying that the School of Fine Arts received an email and letter in December 2011 claiming that Miller was a pedophile. State police say the accuser in Virginia sent the email and letter.
But it wasn't until Feb. 13, 2013, that an employee brought the letter to the attention of the new dean of the fine arts school. The next day, UConn officials told campus police and an assistant state attorney general based at UConn.
The camp where Miller worked, the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Ashford, opened by actor Paul Newman for sick children, released a statement saying it was aware of an investigation of a former staff member.
A mother of one of the campers told state police that she and the other boys' parents told camp officials about the allegations but didn't tell police at the time. State police say camp officials then fired Miller.


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Northeast of the ancient town of Lijiang in Yunnan Province, China, lies the Black Dragon Pool, the surrounding area is called the Jade Spring park. Beyond lies Yulong Snowy Mountain, whose highest peak Shanzidou reaches 5,596 meters. This view is widely considered as one of China's finest.
In the center of the lake is the tiny Yiwen Pavillion, and farther back to its right is the Deyue Pavilion [Moon-Embracing Pavilion].
A garden and building in the temple complex in Jade Spring Park, north of the city of Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China.
A temple building in Jade Spring Park, north of the town of Lijiang, in Yunnan Province, China.
The ancient Naxi people used a special ideographic script that is preserved on this wall in the town of Lijiang, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
A crescent moon flies among the eves in the lantern-lit streets of Lijiang, Hunnan Province, China. Lijiang is a UNESCO World Heritage site because of its well-preserved traditional Chinese houses, spectacular setting, and unique ethnic heritage.
The rooftops of Lijiang, and the dominating presence of Yulong Snow Mountain in the distance. Lijiang, in Yunnan Province, southwestern China, is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site.
These tile-roofed buildings are clustered around a three-branched river which runs through the town.
The well-preserved traditional tile-roofed houses in the city of Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China, lie beneath the rugged profile of Yulong Snowy Mountain, which reaches a height of 5,596 meters.
The tiled roofs of Lijiang, Yannan Province, China.
Flowers bloom among the shaded pavilions of the Mu Clan Mansion in the town of Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China. This complex housed the family and retainers of an ethnic chief of the Ming Dynasty.
A stone carving lying between the steps leading to the meeting hall of the Mu Clan Mansion in the town of Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China.
The Wanjuan Building of the Mu Clan Mansion, the official residence of a Ming Dynasty chief, located within the town of Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China.
Long covered walkways connect the various buildings of the Mu Clan Mansion, within the town of Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China. The mansion belonged to a local chief during the Ming Dynasty.


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CAP cooperation project pioneers the potential for re-using agricultural plastic waste in Spain.
CAP cooperation project pioneers the potential for re-using agricultural plastic waste in Spain.
A family-owned business created multiple revenue streams by creating a new product from an olive stone by-product, demonstrating sustainable economic development and environmental protection.
The Rural Broadband project is a national intervention to close the digital divide in remote and sparsely populated rural 'white areas'.
The project has enabled the living-lab, Josenea which is focused on organic farming, to collect bio-waste from neighbours and transform it into compost to fertilise their crops, with environmental, economic and social benefits.
EAFRD funding helped expand and develop a social enterprise in rural Scotland. A new training centre is built, a visitor centre expanded and more jobs for adults with special needs created.
In Sweden, local non-profit associations, encouraged and supported by the public sector, are carrying out the building of broadband infrastructure in the countryside.
The PRIP project extended the national fibre-optic network in Lithuania to some of the remotest rural communities.
A local association used EAFRD support to get broadband coverage in a rural area which was previously lacking any access to internet or telephone connection.
Setting up a house locating system in the rural areas of Formentera island, Spain, made it easier for emergency services and other service providers to access isolated rural homes.
A biofuel production and packaging line was established in an olive growing region of Greece. The waste residues are used to produce biofuel (PELLET) offering considerable economic and environmental benefits.


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At Least One Billionaire Investor Knows Exactly What He'll Do If Argentina Defaults
As it stands now, if Argentina doesn't pay a group of hedge fund managers over $1.3 billion by July 30, the country could go into default.
For the Republic, that means money printing, inflation, and general disaster.
For investors, like Michael Novogratz of Fortress Investments, that means buying, buying, buying.
"If something doesn't happen and there's a default we're going to see a sell-off," said Novogratz at the CNBC/Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha conference on Wednesday, "but that's an opportunity for capital coming in."
To Novogratz, Argentina follows his macro-investing theme of looking at countries that are "so bad, they're good." These are countries that could very well be on the road to improvement — he mentioned India (where a recent election brought in a reform government), Japan (still experimenting with "Abenomics"), and Brazil (where President Dilma Rousseff could soon be on the way out).
Argentina fits this bill because, even if it does manage to avoid default, its current regime will be on the way out by 2015.
If it does default, though, everything will hit rock bottom. This was when the group of "vulture" hedge fund managers, who Argentina refuses to pay, bought the country's sovereign debt.
So if it does default, history repeats itself, and Argentina will set itself up to be "vulture" food yet again.
"We're long stocks, long bonds, long currency," said Novogratz. "We'll know [if the country will default] in two weeks."
See Also:


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My regular Jane Austen readers have been patient as I succumbed to Downton Abbey fever and began to cover events 100 years after Jane Austen's death. Customs changed during that intervening century. Take the matter of dress. While proper Regency ladies changed their outfits from morning gowns to walking gowns when they went out, and changed into dinner dress when dining, by Victorian and Edwardian times the custom of a lady changing her clothes throughout the day had turned into a fine art. One could get by with no less than 4-5 changes per day. A woman who packed to visit a country estate was sure not to be seen in the same outfit twice. This meant that for a 4-day visit she would need at the very minimum to have her maid pack 16 changes of outfits. One can only imagine the work of a lady's maid to keep all the clothes and unmentionables in perfect (and clean) condition. Such attention to detail required quite a bit of organization.
Corsets were worn all through the 19th century and into the early part of the 20th century. Women were constricted into these garments for most of their waking day, but there were times when they were free from these tight-laced garments. During the early 19th century, upper class women at home would wear comfortable (but beautiful) morning gowns. Dressing gowns were also worn. Such gowns were meant to be seen by the family and close relatives only. The moment a woman expected to be seen, she would change into more proper dress.
Cora, the Countess of Grantham, lived during a time when teagowns were all the rage. These beautiful ornate gowns had the advantage of being simply cut and worn without a corset. It was possible that for just a few hours she could relax comfortably before dinner.
They were generally loose-fitting and elaborately trimmed, and gave full vent to the dressmaker's or couturier's skill and taste for theatricality. Tea-gowns were influenced by historical styles from eighteenth century Watteau-pleats, to renaissance hanging sleeves and empire waistlines and quite often, all of them at the same time. Never has so much love and art been invested in such an arguably unnecessary garment. All kinds of informal garments including tea jackets, peignoirs, dressing gowns, combing sacques, morning robes and dressing jackets also had their place in the leisured Edwardian lady's wardrobe, all of them beautifully decorated and almost all of them now obsolete. 1900-1919: The Last Age of Elegance
It had long been the custom for a lady to entertain both male and female visitors in her boudoir. (Read my article on this topic.) During the Regency era, dressing gowns were quite plain and simple compared to teagowns.
At times the teagown gave rise to temptation, for a woman could entertain in private and not need the services of her maid:
Worn between five and seven oclock, gave rise to the French phrase 'cinq à sept'. This referred to the hours when lovers were received, the only time of day when a maid wouldn't need to be there to help you undress and therefore discover your secret. – "Style", The World of Downton Abbey, Jessica Fellowes
Attired in her tea-gown, a soft flowing robe of filmy chiffon or fine silk, trimmed with an abundance of lace and often free of corsetry, the hostess must have been a tempting prospect for many men. Such loose gowns afforded women great comfort, ease of access and a tremendous sense of femininity. Little wonder then that whilst hemlines rose and fell the tea-gown, which had appeared in England as early as 1875 lingered on until the 1920s. – Edwardian tea gowns, fashion era
This Lingerie-style dress embellished with Irish crochet, c.1905 (below) can be seen in more detail on Vintage Texiles. Made of sheer cotton decorated with lace and ruffles, this sheer dress required a slip.
More on the topic:
Read more on the topic: Tea Gowns, Edwardian Promenade
Image of an early 19th century dressing gown at the Met Museum