text:
Fifth Avenue
The Museum Mile section of Fifth Avenue at the Metropolitan Museum of Art at 81st Street
|Other name(s)
|Museum Mile
|City of New York
|Maintained by
|6.2 mi[1][2] (10.0 km)
|Manhattan, New York City
|South end
|Washington Square North in Greenwich Village
|Madison Square in Flatiron
Grand Army Plaza in Midtown
Duke Ellington Circle in East Harlem
Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem
Madison Avenue Bridge in Harlem
Harlem River Drive in Harlem
|North end
|Harlem River Drive / 143rd Street in Harlem
|University Place (south of 14th)
Broadway (14th to 23rd)
Madison Avenue (north of 23rd)
|Sixth Avenue (south of 59th)
Lenox Avenue (north of 110th)
|March 1811
Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare going through the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It stretches from West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square North at Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. It is considered among the most expensive and best shopping streets in the world.[3][4]
The lower stretch of Fifth Avenue extended the stylish neighborhood of Washington Square northwards. The high status of Fifth Avenue was confirmed in 1862, when Caroline Schermerhorn Astor settled on the southwest corner of 34th Street, and the beginning of the end of its reign as a residential street was symbolized by the erection, in 1893, of the Astoria Hotel on the site of her house, later linked to its neighbor as the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel (now the site of the Empire State Building). Fifth Avenue is the central scene in Edith Wharton's 1920 Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Age of Innocence. The novel describes New York's social elite in the 1870s and provides historical context to Fifth Avenue and New York's aristocratic families.
Originally a narrower thoroughfare, much of Fifth Avenue south of Central Park was widened in 1908, sacrificing its wide sidewalks to accommodate the increasing traffic. The midtown blocks, now famously commercial, were largely a residential district until the start of the 20th century. The first commercial building on Fifth Avenue was erected by Benjamin Altman who bought the corner lot on the northeast corner of 34th Street in 1896, and demolished the "Marble Palace" of his arch-rival, A. T. Stewart. In 1906 his department store, B. Altman and Company, occupied the whole of its block front. The result was the creation of a high-end shopping district that attracted fashionable women and the upscale stores that wished to serve them. Lord & Taylor's flagship store is still located on Fifth Avenue near the Empire State Building and the New York Public Library.
Fifth Avenue originates at Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village and runs northwards through the heart of Midtown, along the eastern side of Central Park, where it forms the boundary of the Upper East Side and through Harlem, where it terminates at the Harlem River at 142nd Street. Traffic crosses the river on the Madison Avenue Bridge. Fifth Avenue serves as the dividing line for house numbering and west-east streets in Manhattan, just as Jerome Avenue does in the Bronx. It separates, for example, East 59th Street from West 59th Street. From this zero point for street addresses, numbers increase in both directions as one moves away from Fifth Avenue, with 1 West 59th Street on the corner at Fifth Avenue, and 300 West 59th Street located three blocks to the west of it.
The section of Fifth Avenue that crosses Midtown Manhattan, especially that between 49th Street and 60th Street, is lined with prestigious shops and is consistently ranked among the most expensive shopping streets in the world.[3] The "most expensive street in the world" moniker changes depending on currency fluctuations and local economic conditions from year to year. For several years starting in the mid-1990s, the shopping district between 49th and 57th Streets was ranked as having the world's most expensive retail spaces on a cost per square foot basis.[4] In 2008, Forbes magazine ranked Fifth Avenue as being the most expensive street in the world. Some of the most coveted real estate on Fifth Avenue are the penthouses perched atop the buildings.[5]
The American Planning Association (APA) compiled a list of "2012 Great Places in America" and declared Fifth Avenue to be one of the greatest streets to visit in America. This historic street has many world-renowned museums, businesses and stores, parks, luxury apartments, and historical landmarks that are reminiscent of its history and vision for the future.[6]
Historical landmarks
New York City landmarks
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission is the New York City agency that is responsible for identifying and designating the City's landmarks and the buildings in the City's historic districts. Historic places are nominated due to their community, state, or national importance. Below is a list of historic sites on Fifth Avenue with their designation dates:[7]
- 500 Fifth Avenue Building – December 14, 2010
- Aeolian Building (Elizabeth Arden Building) – (689 Fifth Avenue at 54th Street) – December 10, 2002
- George W. Vanderbilt Residence – (647 Fifth Avenue) – March 22, 1977
- Goelet Building (Swiss Center Building) – (606–608 Fifth Avenue at 49th Street) – January 14, 1992
- Gorham Building – (390 Fifth Avenue at 36th Street) – December 15, 1998
- Lord & Taylor (424-428 Fifth Avenue) – December 2007
- Manufacturers Trust Company Building – (510 Fifth Avenue at 43rd Street) – April 23, 1985
- Rizzoli Building – (712 Fifth Avenue) – January 29, 1985
- Saks Fifth Avenue – (611 Fifth Avenue) – December 20, 1984
- Sidewalk Clock – (200 Fifth Avenue) and (522 Fifth Avenue) – August 25, 1981
- The St. Regis Hotel – (799 Fifth Avenue at 55th Street) – November 1, 1988
National Historic Landmarks
The National Historic Landmark program (NHRP) focuses on places of significance in American history, architecture, engineering, or culture. It recognizes structures, buildings, sites, and districts associated with important events, people, or architectural movements. Listed below is a list of National Historic Landmarks located along Fifth Avenue:[8]
- Empire State Building – 350 Fifth Avenue – National Historic Landmark (06/24/86)
- Flatiron Building – 175 Fifth Avenue – National Historic Landmark (06/29/89)
- New York Public Library – Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street – National Historic Landmark (12/21/65)
- Rockefeller Center − 45 Rockefeller Plaza – National Historic Landmark (12/23/87)
- St. Patrick's Cathedral – 460 Madison Avenue – National Historic Landmark (12/08/76)
In addition, the cooperative apartment building at 2 Fifth Avenue was named a New York cultural landmark on December 12, 2013 by the Historic Landmark Preservation Center, as the last residence of former New York City Mayor Ed Koch.[9]
Traffic pattern
Fifth Avenue from 142nd Street to 135th Street carries two-way traffic. Fifth Avenue carries one-way traffic southbound from 135th Street to Washington Square North. The changeover to one-way traffic south of 135th Street took place on January 14, 1966, at which time Madison Avenue was changed to one way uptown (northbound).[10] From 124th Street to 120th Street, Fifth Avenue is cut off by Marcus Garvey Park, with southbound traffic diverted around the park via Mount Morris Park West.
Fifth Avenue is one of the few major streets in Manhattan along which streetcars did not operate. Instead, Fifth Avenue Coach offered a service more to the taste of fashionable gentlefolk, at twice the fare. On May 23, 2008, The New York Times reported that the New York City area Metropolitan Transportation Authority's bus division is considering the use of double-decker buses on Fifth Avenue once again, where they were operated by the Fifth Avenue Coach Company until 1953,[11] and again by MTA from 1976 to 1978.
Parade route
Fifth Avenue is the traditional route for many celebratory parades in New York City; thus, it is closed to traffic on numerous Sundays in warm weather. The longest running parade is the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. Parades held are distinct from the ticker-tape parades held on the "Canyon of Heroes" on lower Broadway, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade held on Broadway from the Upper West Side downtown to Herald Square. Fifth Avenue parades usually proceed from south to north, with the exception of the LGBT Pride March, which goes north to south to end in Greenwich Village. The Latino literary classic by New Yorker Giannina Braschi, entitled "Empire of Dreams," takes place on the Puerto Rican Day Parade on Fifth Avenue.[12][13]
Bicycling route
Bicycling on Fifth Avenue ranges from segregated with a bike lane south of 23rd Street, to scenic along Central Park, to dangerous through Midtown with very heavy traffic during rush hours.[14] There is no dedicated bike lane along Fifth Avenue.
In July 1987, then New York City Mayor Edward Koch proposed banning bicycling on Fifth, Park, and Madison Avenues during weekdays, but many bicyclists protested and had the ban overturned.[15] When the trial was started on Monday, August 24, 1987 for 90 days to ban bicyclists from these three avenues from 31st Street to 59th Street between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays, mopeds would not be banned.[16] On Monday, August 31, 1987, a state appeals court judge halted the ban for at least a week pending a ruling after opponents against the ban brought a lawsuit.[17]
Upper Fifth Avenue/Millionaire's Row
In the late 19th century, the very rich of New York began building mansions along the stretch of Fifth Avenue between 59th Street and 96th Street, looking onto Central Park. By the early 20th century, this portion of Fifth Avenue had been nicknamed "Millionaire's Row", with mansions such as the Mrs. William B. Astor House, William A. Clark House, Felix M. Warburg House, two Morton F. Plant Houses, James B. Duke House and numerous others (see Category:Fifth Avenue (Manhattan), below). Entries to Central Park along this stretch include Inventor's Gate at 72nd Street, which gave access to the park's carriage drives, and Engineers' Gate at 90th Street, used by equestrians.
A milestone change for Fifth Avenue came in 1916, when the grand corner mansion at 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue that James A. Burden II had erected in 1893 became the first private mansion on Fifth Avenue above 59th Street to be demolished to make way for a grand apartment house. The building at 907 Fifth Avenue began a trend, with its 12 stories around a central court, with two apartments to a floor.[18] Its strong cornice above the fourth floor, just at the eaves height of its neighbors, was intended to soften its presence.
In January 1922, the city reacted to complaints about the ongoing replacement of Fifth Avenue's mansions by apartment buildings by restricting the height of future structures to 75 feet (23 m), about half the height of a ten-story apartment building.[19] Architect J. E. R. Carpenter brought suit, and won a verdict overturning the height restriction in 1923. Carpenter argued that "the avenue would be greatly improved in appearance when deluxe apartments would replace the old-style mansions."[20] Led by real estate investors Benjamin Winter, Sr. and Frederick Brown, the old mansions were quickly torn down and replaced with apartment buildings.[21]
This area contains many notable apartment buildings, including 810 Fifth Avenue and the Park Cinq, many of them built in the 1920s by architects such as Rosario Candela and J. E. R. Carpenter. A very few post-World War II structures break the unified limestone frontage, notably the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum between 88th and 89th Streets.
Museum Mile
Museum Mile is the name for a section of Fifth Avenue running from 82nd to 105th streets on the Upper East Side,[22][23] in an area sometimes called Upper Carnegie Hill.[24] The Mile, which contains one of the densest displays of culture in the world, is actually three blocks longer than one mile (1.6 km). Nine museums occupy the length of this section of Fifth Avenue.[25] A ninth museum, the Museum for African Art, joined the ensemble in 2009; its Museum at 110th Street, the first new museum constructed on the Mile since the Guggenheim in 1959,[26] opened in late 2012.
In addition to other programming, the museums collaborate for the annual Museum Mile Festival to promote the museums and increase visitation.[27] The Museum Mile Festival traditionally takes place here on the second Tuesday in June from 6 – 9 p.m. It was established in 1979 to increase public awareness of its member institutions and promote public support of the arts in New York City.[28] The first festival was held on June 26, 1979 .[29] The nine museums are open free that evening to the public. Several of the participating museums offer outdoor art activities for children, live music and street performers.[30] During the event, Fifth Avenue is closed to traffic.
Museums on the mile include:
- 110th Street – Museum for African Art[31]
- 105th Street – El Museo del Barrio
- 103rd Street – Museum of the City of New York
- 92nd Street – The Jewish Museum
- 91st Street – Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum (part of the Smithsonian Institution)
- 89th Street – National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts
- 88th Street – Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
- 86th Street – Neue Galerie New York
- 82nd Street – The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Additionally, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 70th Street lies the Henry Clay Frick House which houses the Frick Collection, though this is not part of Museum Mile.
Between 49th Street and 60th Street, is lined with prestigious boutiques and flagship stores and is consistently ranked among the most expensive shopping streets in the world.[32]
Many luxury goods, fashion, toys, and sport brand boutiques are located on Fifth Avenue, including Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Gucci, Prada, Bottega Veneta, Armani, Fendi, Versace, Tommy Hilfiger, Cartier, Omega, Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Harry Winston, Salvatore Ferragamo, Nike, Escada, Swarovski, Bvlgari, Emilio Pucci, Ermenegildo Zegna, Diesel, Lacoste, Brooks Brothers, Abercrombie & Fitch, De Beers, Emanuel Ungaro, FAO Schwarz, Gap , Lindt Chocolate Shop, Henri Bendel, NBA Store, Oxxford Clothes, Sephora, United Colors of Benetton, Zara, H&M and BCBG Max Azria etc.[33] Luxury department stores include Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman. Fifth Avenue is home to New York's fifth most photographed building, the Apple Store, and the largest Build-A-Bear Workshop in the world.
Many airlines at one time had ticketing offices along Fifth Avenue. In the years leading up to 1992, the number of ticketing offices along Fifth Avenue decreased. Pan American World Airways went out of business, while Air France, Finnair, and KLM moved their ticket offices to other areas in Midtown Manhattan.[34]
5 Av 51 St North March 2015b.JPG
The same shot in March 2015
Fifth Avenue begins at the Washington Square Arch in Washington Square Park
Memorial to New York architect Richard Morris Hunt, Fifth Avenue between 70th and 71st Streets
The Plaza Hotel, c.1907
See also
- List of shopping streets and districts by city
- Jerome Avenue, a shopping street and major thoroughfare in the Bronx
- ↑ Google (September 12, 2015). "Fifth Avenue (south of 120th Street)" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 12, 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Google (September 12, 2015). "Fifth Avenue (north of 124th Street)" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 12, 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Fifth Avenue The World's Most Expensive Shopping Street (PHOTOS) (Subtext: "For the 9th year in a row, Fifth Avenue between 39th and 60th Streets ranks first among Cushman & Wakefield's Main Streets Across the World Report, according to the New York Post.")". HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. September 21, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 2010.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Foderaro, Lisa W. "Survey Reaffirms 5th Ave. at Top of the Retail Rent Heap", The New York Times, April 29, 1997. Retrieved February 5, 2008.
- ↑ New York Penthouses for Sale
- ↑ Great Places in America. Planning.org (February 24, 2011). Retrieved July 19, 2013.
- ↑ Landmarks Preservation Commission – Home. Nyc.gov. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
- ↑ http://www.nps.gov/nhl/designations/Lists/NY01.pdf[dead link]
- ↑ Roberts, Sam (December 12, 2013). "Koch's Last Residence Is Named a Cultural Landmark". The New York Times. Retrieved May 14, 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Kihbaconss, Peter. "5th and Madison Avenues Become One-Way Friday; Change to Come 7 Weeks Ahead of Schedule to Ease Strike Traffic 5th and Madison to Be Made One-Way Friday", The New York Times, January 12, 1966. Retrieved December 6, 2007. "The long-argued conversion of Fifth and Madison Avenues to one-way streets will start at 6 am. Friday seven weeks ahead of schedule to ease congestion caused by the transit strike."
- ↑ Neuman, William "Step to the Rear of the Bus, Please, or Take a Seat Upstairs", The New York Times, Tuesday, May 23, 2008.
- ↑ "Giannina Braschi". National Book Festival. Library of Congress. 2012.
'Braschi, one of the most revolutionary voices in Latin America today' is the author of Empire of Dreams.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Marting, Diane (2010), "New/Nueva York in Giannina Braschi's 'Poetic Egg': Fragile Identity, Postmodernism, and Globalization", Indiana: The Global South, pp. 167–182<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>.
- ↑ New York City Cycling Map, New York City Department of City Planning. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
- ↑ Dunham, Mary Frances. "Bicycle Blueprint – Fifth, Park and Madison", Transportation Alternatives. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
- ↑ Yee, Marilynn K. "Ban on Bikes Could Bring More Mopeds", The New York Times, Tuesday, August 25, 1987. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
- ↑ Higgins Jr., Chester. "Bike Messengers: Life in Tight Lane", The New York Times, Friday, September 4, 1987. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
- ↑ The smallest apartment was a half-floor, of 12 rooms; 907 Fifth Avenue.
- ↑ J. E. R. Carpenter, The Architect Who Shaped Upper Fifth Avenue, New York Times, August 26, 2007, Christopher Gray, [1]
- ↑ J. E. R. Carpenter, The Architect Who Shaped Upper Fifth Avenue, New York Times, August 26, 2007, Christopher Gray, [2]
- ↑ Entrepreneur Magazine: "Built for Business: Midtown Manhattan in the 1920s". Retrieved November 11, 2014
- ↑ Ng, Diana. "Museum Mile" in Jackson, Kenneth T. (ed.), (2010) The Encyclopedia of New York City (2nd edition). New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11465-2, p.867
- ↑ Street signs saying "Museum Mile" actually extend to 80th Street. "Street View: 80th Street and Fifth Avenue, New York" Google Maps
- ↑ Kusisto, Laura (October 21, 2011). "Reaching High on Upper 5th Avenue". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 23, 2011. Retrieved February 22, 2013. Unknown parameter
|deadurl=ignored (help)<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Museums on the Mile". Archived from the original on January 1, 2012. Retrieved June 24, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Sewell Chan (February 9, 2007). "Museum for African Art Finds its Place". The New York Times. Retrieved July 15, 2008.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "New Drive Promoting 5th Ave.'s 'Museum Mile'". The New York Times. June 27, 1979. Retrieved July 15, 2008.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Museum Mile Festival held in New York" UPI NewsTrack (June 8, 2004.)
- ↑ New drive promoting Fifth Avenue's 'Museum Mile', The New York Times, June 27, 1979.
- ↑ Fass, Allison and Murray, Liz (2000) "Talking to the Streets for Art" The New York Times June 11, 2000, p.17, col. 2.
- ↑ Catton, Pia (June 14, 2011). "Another Delay for Museum of African Art". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 24, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Fifth Avenue The World's Most Expensive Shopping Street (PHOTOS) (Subtext: "For the 9th year in a row, Fifth Avenue between 49th and 60th Streets ranks first among Cushman & Wakefield's Main Streets Across the World Report, according to the New York Post.")". HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. September 21, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 2010.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ mustseenewyork.com NYC Madison Avenue - Fifth Avenue Shopping Map
- ↑ "POSTINGS: Air France Takes Flight; Au Revoir, Fifth Avenue." The New York Times. May 24, 1992. Page 101, New York Edition. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
Further reading
- Gaines, Steven (2005). The Sky's the Limit: Passion and Property in Manhattan. New York: Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-60851-3.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- "Museum Mile". NY.com. Retrieved February 22, 2013.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- Daly, Sean (April 13, 2003). "Museum Mile High". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 15, 2008.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> (Note: Erroneously states the northern boundary of Museum Mile is East 104th Street.)
External links
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to 5th Avenue (Manhattan).
- Fifth Avenue Photos
- Fifth Avenue Directory and Images
- Greek Independence Day Parade, Fifth Avenue
- New York Songlines: Fifth Avenue
- APA Great Places in America
- National Historic Landmarks in New York State
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles with dead external links from May 2015
- Pages with citations using unsupported parameters
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- Fifth Avenue
- Streets in Manhattan
- Economy of New York City
- Art gallery districts
- Culture of Manhattan
- New York City-related lists
- Museum districts
- Museums in Manhattan
- Visitor attractions in Manhattan
- Festivals in Manhattan
- Museum events
- Recurring events established in 1979
- Upper East Side


text:
The recent walk by the Oakland Urban Paths group took us past a catastrophe I hadn't seen before: the landslide of 15 January 1970. It removed nearly all the homes on the east side of Kitchener Court, just south of the LDS Temple, and dumped the ground into the valley of upper Peralta Creek. The land is still empty and uninhabitable. Here's a look south over the scarp from Kitchener.
The slide wiped out the middle of London Road between a tiny stub at the top of Maple Street and the forlorn end trailing off of Maiden Lane. The Hayward fault is mapped right through the foot of the slide. The site of my photo is across the pink strip opposite the "J" on this portion of the Oakland geologic map.
I frankly can't vouch for any of the bedrock divisions shown here, but the dashed line of the fault is close enough to reality. For orientation, here's the equivalent area in Google Maps. Rettig canyon, where Peralta Creek cuts through the bedrock ridge of Leona keratophyre (pink) and mixed Franciscan rocks (KJf), is in the patch of green at lower center.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Louisiana Oil Spill 2010 PHOTOS: Gulf Of Mexico Leak Reaches Land
Huff Post- First Posted: 06- 1-10 01:24 PM | Updated: 06- 8-10 09:47 AM
The catastrophic explosion that caused an oil spill from a BP offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico has reached the shoreline. Efforts to manage the spill with controlled burning, dispersal and plugging the leak have so far been unsuccessful. This oil spill has now obtained the dubious distinction of being the worst oil spill in US history, surpassing the damage done by the Exxon Valdez tanker that spilled 11 million gallons of oil into the ecologically sensitive Prince William Sound in 1989. Unlike the Exxon Valdez tragedy, in which a tanker held a finite capacity of oil, BP's rig is tapped into an underwater oil well and could pump more oil into the ocean indefinitely until the leak is plugged.
Here are updated photos of oil hitting coastlines and the damage throughout the ocean, which poses a serious threat to fishermen's livelihoods, marine habitats, beaches, wildlife and human health.


text:
For many of us, Roth accounts offer advantages over traditional IRA and 401k accounts. They can be more flexible and more tax-efficient, permitting you to create and preserve more retirement wealth. This free online guide offers help in understanding how to choose the type of account that's best for you, and explains special rules that apply to Roth accounts: contributions, conversions, recharacterizations and distributions. A topical index of the pages in this guide appears below.
Our book: Go Roth! (now available in a 2015 edition) provides a complete, authoritative, plain language explanation of rules and strategies for all types of Roth accounts.
What Hath Roth Wrought
This section provides introductory material to obtain general familiarity with the subject.
To Roth or Not to Roth
This section deals with the choice between traditional retirement accounts and Roth accounts.
Contributions to Roth IRAs
This section deals with contributions to Roth accounts.
- How to Start a Roth IRA
- Basic Rules for Regular Contributions
- Qualifying Income for IRA Contributions
- Spousal IRA
- Roth IRA Phase-Out Rules
- Modified Adjusted Gross Income
- Backdoor Roth IRA Contributions
- Possible Challenge to Backdoor Roth Contributions?
- Retirement Savings Contribution Credit
- Regular Contribution to a Conversion Roth IRA
- Roth IRAs for Minors
- Roth IRA for College Savings
- Excess Contributions to Roth IRAs
Roth Conversions
This section deals with converting a traditional retirement account to a Roth account.
- Conversion Preliminaries
- Conversion Eligibility
- Partial Conversion
- Conversion Consequences
- How Much Conversion Tax?
- Roth Conversion Early in the Year
- Source of Funds for Tax on Conversion
- Periodic Payments and Conversions
- Post-Retirement Roth Conversion
- Regulation Spikes Annuity Abuse
- Isolating Basis for a Roth Conversion (special report)
- Recharacterization Overview
- Recharacterization Rules
- Roth IRA Reconversion to Reduce Taxes
- Extended Deadline for Recharacterizations
- Recharacterization Blues
Managing Your Account
Go Roth!, our book on this topic, contains extensive guidance on investing and other aspects of managing a retirement account. At this time, only the following topic is covered in this online guide.
Roth Distributions
This section deals with distributions, the final stage in the life cycle of a Roth account.
- Distribution Overview
- Tax-Free Distributions from Roth IRAs
- First-Time Homebuyer
- Taxable Distributions from Roth IRAs
- Distributions After a Roth IRA Conversion
- Inherited Roth IRA
Designated Roth Accounts
This section deals with designated Roth accounts, which are Roth accounts in 401k and similar plans, including 403b and 457b plans as well as the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan.
- Designated Roth Account Overview
- Roth Account Compared with Traditional Account
- Designated Roth Account Compared with Roth IRA
- A Roth Account Means More Wealth
- Contributing to a Designated Roth Account
- Who's Eligible for a Designated Roth Account?
- Rollovers from Designated Roth Accounts
- Contributions Over the Limit
- Distributions from Designated Roth Accounts
- Five-Year Requirement for Designated Roth Accounts


text:
Got to use her
Every time I feel fascination
I just can't stand still, I've got to
Use her
Every time I think of what she pulled me through, dear
Fascination moves sweeping near me
Still I take ya
(Fascination) fascination
(sho 'nuff) fascination
(takes a part of me) takes
A part of me
(Can a heart-beat) can a heart-beat
(live in a fever) live in a fever?
(raging inside of me?)
(Fascination) fascination
(oh, yeah) oh yeah
(takes a part of me) takes a part of me
(I can't help it) I can't help it
(I've got to use her) got to use her
(every time, ooh)
Fascination comes around
(Fascination) Your soul is calling
Like when I'm walking
Seems that everywhere I turn
I hope you're waiting for me
I know that people think
That I'm a little crazy
Ohh, better sex is fun
I think I like fascination
Still, tick
[CHORUS (twice)]


text:
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text:
Something is killing the honey bees of Maryland.
Close to 60 percent of the managed hives died last fall and over the winter — about twice the national average, according to the state bee inspector and local keepers.
"I had a healthy hive that produced 50 pounds of honey last year, and we were anticipating another great year," said Stephen Christianson, a Mount Washington beekeeper of three years. "Then, they were just gone. It took my breath away."
Some blame inexperience on the part of the beekeepers, most of whom tend their hives as a hobby, coupled with a bad winter.
But others blame a brew of pesticides and other toxins that threatens to not only wipe out the bees — which are essential to agriculture, from large farms to backyard gardens — but also other pollinators such as butterflies.
"There's no better way to kill every pollinator in the area than to put this on what they eat," said Steve McDaniel, a 35-year beekeeper and retired chemist who lives in Carroll County, holding a can of insecticide meant to protect flowers. "This is a war on bees."
A national report issued today by the Bee Informed Partnership, a collaboration of state and federal agencies, confirms that six of the last seven winters have been particularly deadly for honey bees.
The industry considers a loss rate of 15 percent to be acceptable. Last winter, the mortality rate among all U.S. beekeepers was 31.1 percent, an increase of 42 percent over the previous year. When mostly backyard beekeepers were polled, the mortality rate jumped to 45 percent.
"Losing 30 percent of the bees over the last seven years is pretty alarming if you're a beekeeper," said Dennis vanEngelsdorp, a research scientist at the University of Maryland and one of the authors of the report. "Beekeepers can't sustain that kind of loss forever."
In Maryland a robust honey bee population is key to flourishing farms. The agriculture department estimates that crops valued in excess of $40 million — apples, melons, berries and pumpkins — require or benefit from honey bee pollination.
The unexplained death of millions of bees makes government officials and regulators here and abroad uneasy. The European Union voted last week to suspend the use of three pesticides containing neonicotinoids, a nerve agent, on flowering crops for two years.
Bayer CropScience, the German maker of one of the leading pesticides containing neonicotinoids, criticised the E.U. vote as a "set-back for technology, innovation and sustainability" that will result in "crop yield losses, reduced food quality and loss of competitiveness for European agriculture."
After the E.U. vote, the Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency released a study that acknowledged the decline of the honey bee population but warned against jumping to conclusions. The report said multiple factors are to blame for colony declines, including parasites and disease, pesticides, poor nutrition and genetics.
Jerry Fischer, the Maryland bee inspector, listed another factor: "management."
The state has 1,782 registered beekeepers who together own more than 13,000 hives, also called colonies. Of that total, 68 percent tend at most two hives.
"It's a hobby. It's not a priority. It's not an income that's going to sustain you. The bees die and you buy some more. That's the mindset," said Fischer, who has been a keeper for more than 60 years. "They don't want to admit they've done something wrong."
McDaniel, who lost 13 of his 20 colonies, bristled at that characterization.
"This is the worst I've seen in 35 years. We didn't all get stupid at once. I don't know what it is, but it isn't our stupidity," said McDaniel, holding part of a hive that was once thriving.
The frame is one of four or five that sit inside a wooden box that constitutes the hive. Dead bees are clustered around their queen at one end of the frame, away from a nourishing glob of honey.
"They were well nourished and cared for, but they couldn't even keep themselves warm," McDaniel said quietly. "They starved and died."
Geneva Miller and her husband, Dennis, have run Miller Bee Supply from their home in Chase for 17 years. She said they have been getting 20 to 30 calls every day from distraught keepers, looking for replacements. The run on bees has been so serious that supply hasn't kept up with demand.
"A lot of people from all across the state have lost their bees this year," she said. "It's scary."
Since 2006-2007, millions of bees across the country have succumbed to colony collapse disorder, in which the colony's worker bees disappear, leaving the queen and young bees that cannot sustain themselves to die. Scientists still are looking for a cause, but signs point to the Varroa mite that sucks the blood from bees.
But Fischer said Maryland has never had a case of colony collapse disorder, "and we don't have one this year, either."
VanEngelsdorp agreed, saying he hasn't found colony collapse in two years of looking for it.
Instead, he cited "a host of other causes" for the bee deaths. Fields that used to be blanketed with clover and goldenrod that make good bee forage have been plowed under for soybeans and corn. Drought has altered long-term growing patterns. And, he added, the EPA needs to take a closer look at pesticide and fungicide use and exposure.
"Our level of mortality has been pretty constant. Are these bees telling us there's something wrong with the environment?" asked vanEngelsdorp.
Christianson said he and his wife delighted in making up 30 to 40 honey gift jars for friends and neighbors and putting up a half-dozen quart jars for family.
"It was a very rewarding experience, and our neighbors were tickled to death," he said. "I'd get back to doing it in a New York minute if I thought we could get things back the way they were. Obviously something is going on, and I don't think the experts are close to putting their finger on it."
But scientists say there's a growing body of research aimed at uncovering the root cause of the higher rate of bee deaths that, when shared with the agriculture industry and beekeepers, could help stem the losses.
"The problem is urgent and needs urgent answers. Can we get this information together fast enough to help the beekeepers and the farmers?" asked vanEnglesdorp. "I hope so."


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-Have you ever thought about swinging?
The question struck like sizzling lightning from a summer sky blue like a welding flame. Anna posed it one day, on the phone from Germany, where she was just working temporarily as a pricing manager for six months.
-I've been checking out some swinger websites. They have so many sex clubs for swingers here in Europe, I just can't believe it. And… I'm getting curious.
I had to be honest, I had no real idea of how to do swinging. Where to meet swingers, how to date swingers. Like all curious beings, I was naturally aware of there existing something like swinger parties. But I've never been invited to one. I suppose I don't come across as a person who enjoys getting laid in group. But how could anyone really tell?
-I've found one in particular… it's plainly just called Swingers. They claim to do a little investigation of each person that applies for membership, to judge if they are slim enough, good-looking enough and well-mannered and educated. Once you've been approved, they set up swinger blind dates at their club in a mansion outside Munich.
-You know how I'm ridiculously turned on by mansions and castles. Won't you come along as my date, darling? I promise you I'll be good.
Anna was Portuguese, quite tall, with straight, almost black, hair. Her dimples made her look young and cute, her body, on the other hand, was an erotic landscape as inviting as a Tuscan valley at springtime. She always wore tight long skirts and high-heels together with a blouse. It was her uniform, her power outfit, her seduction kit.
I booked a ticket for the coming weekend, and Anna picked me up at the airport. She drove a blue cab of classic German design. She squeezed my thigh as I slid down in the seat next to her.
Friday evening came. We had arranged for a meeting of three "couples" at Swingers. We had little idea what would happen at the club, if we'd be shown to a private room, or how it would all work. Anna spent quite some time picking out her skimpiest, low-cut silk panties, a mélange of silver and white cotton in colour that made a smooth impression on her lightly suntanned skin. She meticulously chose one of her finest pairs of stay-ups, together with a bra that gave her breasts an even rounder look.
She insisted on that I would wear black low-rise trunks. She squeezed my package gently while dressing, saying that it would just be irresistible to anyone there. She also wanted me to wear a suit, a black, olive-coloured quite slim cut. We can't have anything else at a European mansion, now can we?
We arrived by taxi at nine in the evening. A doorman, oddly enough wearing a cylinder hat and tails, identified us at the door, outside an impressive stone building. He unfolded a scroll of paper, saying, "Meine Frau, mein Herr, Herzlich willkommen bei uns. Bitte, Zimmer drei." Room number three.
The mansion was lit by torches hanging on the walls. The oak door was marked with Roman numerals. III. I could sense and even hear my pulse shooting through my body. Even Anna looked slightly nervous, pushing her hand firmly against the wood. Her French manicure was exquisite, nails sharp.
We entered the room. It was lined by sofas. On the left wall was a large painting of a nude, a slender lady, seen from the side. We could see ourselves, just in front of us, in a large, heavily adorned mirror. To our right, a statue of a Greek god, a perfectly muscular man, in a niche in the wall.
But more than that, on each sofa sat one man and one woman, making us four couples in the room. To the left, definitely a Scandinavian or German couple. She, sitting with her back against the back of the sofa, one leg crossed over the other. Blonde long hair, tanned, blue eyes looking curiously at us. No makeup, wearing a light blue dress, ending just below her knees. Her man, muscular, slightly lighter in skin tone, straight nose, grey sharp eyes. Only in briefs and a short sleeve shirt.
In the middle, a man looking very much like a Latino, dark wavy hair, brown eyes, not so tall. Sitting with one leg pulled up to his chest. I noticed Anna follow the lines of his hairy legs, along the lines of his thighs, the curve disappearing between his butt cheeks, and the enormous bulge between his legs. Next to him was a woman. She had red hair, large curls, swirling down her milky shoulders. Her green eyes seemed to pierce me, inspecting me from head to boxers. I felt a sudden twitch in my groin. What if I got a hard on? Would I stand here showing my cock grow harder, in front of these strangers? I don't know, but I think she noticed the tiny movement in my pants, and a small smile appeared at the edge of her mouth.
To our right, just below the statue, lay two persons, both lightly milk chocolate in skin colour. In front, in just a negligé, was a large-breasted woman, with her curly African hair tied in a knot behind her head. Spooning her from behind, was another woman… She rested on of her hands on the other ladies hip.
It was a wonderful sight. All three couples looking absolutely gorgeous, looking in anticipation towards us. Did they know who we were? Did they know each other? The floor in front of us was covered by the smoothest of carpets, with some kind of silky slightly shiny material. We made our way forward. The middle couple got up, the man greeted me with a handshake, his woman hugged me. We returned the favour. Miguel, Gwen, they introduced themselves. The blonde couple did the same. Joakim, Linda. As did Gio and Sam. Sam squeezed my butt gently as she leaned over to hug me. This was just too good to be true, too good to be true.
Soft music was coming out of speakers hidden somewhere in the walls. It was some kind of bossa nova, softly, rhythmic, with a hint of jazz.
In a mix of utterances in so many languages, I could not make out exactly which… "så vacker, så fin", "qué bonita", "tão bonito", "soo gorgeous"… It seemed like the six of our playmates, our team-mates circles around us… giving us a peck on the cheek here, a pinch in a nipple through the fabric of our clothes there, a slap on my butt here, a squeeze of Anna's thigh there… My… these new friends were indeed randy already…
Someone handed me a glass of exquisitely dry champagne, with a wonderfully ripe bouquet of butter and bread… Anna and I toasted, and then all raised their glasses in a salute, but also, as if it were a starter's gun, the clink of the glasses brought together set off this wonderful orgy.
Miguel, Gwen, Gio, Sam, Joakim and Linda, started, as if synchronized, to peel off our clothes, layer by layer. Gio's chocolate fingers quickly let my suit jacked slide off me, and threw it on one of the sofas. She undid the first button of my shirt, my gaze fixed on her formidably round butt cheeks in the mirror in front of us, Sam eagerly undoing the second and third. Miguel and Joakim surrounded Anna, one man behind and one in front. Miguel started undoing her blouse, button by button, slowly revealing her delicate and deliberately chosen bra. Joakim behind her, pulling the zipper of her skirt downwards, showing off a deliciously tanned thigh.
Gwen undid my pants and had them hit the floor in a matter of seconds. And there I was, in tight trunks, three strange women surrounding my almost-naked body. I could feel Gwen's breath on my neck, her fingers suddenly lightly massaging my chest. I could feel her warm, soft breasts against my back. Gio had squatted in front of me, Sam standing behind her, playing with her hair. Gio's head what conveniently placed in between my brief-clad groin and the ending of Sam's negligé, her head resting between Sam's thighs.
I could feel my appetite beginning to rise… The view of these six strangers in the mirror in front of me, the three women surrounding me, and Anna, seemingly enjoying herself to the fullest, being undressed by these two black and white men… A little game of dominos. Undoubtedly it made my body come to live, the veins of my body pumping of warm blood, filling me with a wonderful libido… Some part of me ashamed of my rising cock inside my trunks, part of me shamelessly enjoying the growing bulge… It soon got the attention of the playful women. Hands caressed the warm, round package growing between my legs… "Eu gusto…"
Gwen pulled down my trunks, and my hard cock sprang out from its cotton cage. It landed in front of Gio's mouth… She carefully placed her palm underneath my balls, and gently placed her lips around my already glimmering glans. I felt Gwen's arm caressing my lower back, her arm sliding in between my buttocks, taking over from Gio, gripping my balls. I could feel Gio's tongue, her warm mouth covering the tip of my cock… Still standing, I look straight into Sam's eyes. She was still standing… caressing Gio's hair… gently pushing her pelvis against the back of Sam's curly head. She leaned forward, giving me a kiss. Then leaned back again… She enjoyed the view. I wondered if Gio always did what she wanted…?
Gio's mouth slid along the shaft of my penis… Her hand squeezed gently around the base of my cock, and masturbated it the same pace as she sucked it in… and slid it out. Repetitively. Again and again.
My eyes now caught Anna's. Miguel had started kissing her nipples… Eagerly sucking, nibbling, making loud sounds, almost as if he was being breastfed. Joakim was squatting on the floor behind her, kissing her lower back, covering her butt cheeks with loud kisses… Maybe biting, I could not really tell. She closed her eyes and drew for breath. Both men were fully erect… Miguel's cock dark and impressive, Joakim's slightly shorter, but very thick. Anna placed her legs a bit further apart.
Miguel kissed her tummy, moving his way down. I could see his curly Latin hair in front of Anna's pussy, as he started to kiss her silk panties… I could hear him inhale her scent… She must've been immensely wet by now. The musky odor seemed to put him on fire… He pulled her panties to the floor and dug in between her legs. She instinctively pushed her pelvis hard against his face, as he started tasting her pussy. His tongue swept over her glossy labia, sticky with her inner fluids. She was completely overthrown, when Joakim did the same. He started kissing her from behind, parting her butt cheeks… The tip of his tongue sliding up and down her crack… She had never experienced this feeling… the hands of two men, both grabbing her thighs, two tongues, one exploring her vagina, the other dangerously circling her anus.
Sam also gleaned to her left… She enjoyed seeing Anna being devoured. She enjoyed watching Gio suck my cock… She loved seeing Gwen's red hair sticking out from time to time behind the lines of my body. Maybe even without thinking about it, she had starting caressing her breast with one hand… Pinching her nipple on one boob, moving quickly to the other, squeezing it, shaping it with her palm, giving it a firm squeeze and back to the other… Her other hand circling her tummy, then further down, coming to rest in her lap. She parted her legs ever so slightly, and began masturbating. She moved her hand in a small, circular motion on her pussy. She look me in the eyes, looked at Sam's head, bobbing to and fro, eagerly tasting the pre cum from my hard cock.
It was a strange feeling, seeing her standing there, pleasing herself, just by looking at me, at her partner, at the other men… I could see how she moved her fingers around her clitoris, sneaking the tip of her finger inside her pussy ever so little. She closed her eyes and sighed...


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Community, Nonprofits and Businesses sharing Information
October 12, 2017 from 12pm to 1pm – New Haven Green Move outdoors and have fun! Party yourself into shape and get fresh air while doing it! Let yourself loose and get your sweat on! Zumba features exotic rhythms set to high energy Latin and internatio… Organized by Elm City YMCA | Type: zumba, class
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May 2, 2017 at 5:30pm to November 28, 2017 at 6pm – Beyond Fitness Mark your Calendars! FREE 2017 Zumba® Kids/Kids Jr. classes are back for the 3rd year ;) Join our team of licensed Zumba® Kids Instructors ready to party with your precious little ones to age-appropr… Organized by Ivette Altieri | Type: free, fitness, family, kids


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Officials in at least four countries have privately discussed ways they can manipulate Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements, financial difficulties and lack of foreign policy experience, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports on the matter.
It is unclear if any of those countries acted on the discussions, but Kushner's contacts with certain foreign government officials have raised concerns inside the White House and are a reason he has been unable to obtain a permanent security clearance, the officials said.
Kushner's interim security clearance was downgraded last week from the top-secret to the secret level, which should restrict the regular access he has had to highly classified information, according to administration officials.
H.R. McMaster, President Trump's national security adviser, learned that Kushner had contacts with foreign officials that he did not coordinate through the National Security Council or officially report. The issue of foreign officials talking about their meetings with Kushner and their perceptions of his vulnerabilities was a subject raised in McMaster's daily intelligence briefings, according to the current and former officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Within the White House, Kushner's lack of government experience and his business debt were seen from the beginning of his tenure as potential points of leverage that foreign governments could use to influence him, the current and former officials said.
They could also have legal implications. Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has asked people about the protocols Kushner used when he set up conversations with foreign leaders, according to a former U.S. official.
Officials in the White House were concerned that Kushner was "naive and being tricked" in conversations with foreign officials, some of whom said they wanted to deal only with Kushner directly and not more experienced personnel, said one former White House official.
Kushner has an unusually complex set of business arrangements and foreign entanglements for a senior White House aide, experts have said. But his behavior while in office has drawn more scrutiny and raised concerns that he would be unable to obtain a final security clearance, which he needs to perform the many jobs Trump has entrusted to him, from negotiating foreign trade deals to overseeing a Middle East peace process.
"We will not respond substantively to unnamed sources peddling second-hand hearsay with rank speculation that continue to leak inaccurate information," said Peter Mirijanian, a spokesman for Kushner's lawyer.
White House officials said McMaster was taken aback by some of Kushner's foreign contacts.
"When he learned about it, it surprised him," one official said. "He thought that was weird. . . . It was an unusual thing. I don't know that any White House has done it this way before."
The official said that McMaster was "not concerned but wanted an explanation. It seemed unusual to him."
In the months since, McMaster and Kushner have worked to coordinate so that the National Security Council is aware of Kushner's contacts with foreign officials and so Kushner has access to the council's country experts to prepare for meetings.
"General McMaster has the highest regard for Mr. Kushner, and the two work well together," said council spokesman Michael Anton. "Everything they do is integrated . . . it's seamless."
Foreign governments routinely discuss ways they can influence senior officials in all administrations.
"Every country will seek to find their point of leverage," said one person familiar with intelligence intercepts of foreign officials discussing Kushner.
But Kushner came to his position with an unusually complex set of business holdings and a family company facing significant debt issues.
A Mexican diplomatic source said that Kushner "has remained strictly professional" in his dealings with the country, "with both sides looking after their interests but trying to find common ground."
Officials from the UAE identified Kushner as early as the spring of 2017 as particularly manipulable because of his family's search for investors in their real estate company, current and former officials said.
Officials at the embassies of China, Israel and the UAE did not respond to requests for comment.
Kushner's lack of a final security clearance has drawn scrutiny in recent weeks. He had an interim clearance that gave him access to information at the top-secret level, as well as more highly classified information, such as the president's daily intelligence briefing. But the application for his final clearance dragged on for more than a year. The downgrading of his interim clearance from top secret to secret was first reported by Politico.
On Feb. 9, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein alerted White House Counsel Don McGahn that significant issues would further delay Kushner's security clearance process, according to four people familiar with their discussions.
Kushner has repeatedly amended a form detailing his contacts with foreign persons. Not fully disclosing foreign contacts ordinarily would result in a clearance being denied, experts said.
On Friday, Trump said White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly would make a final decision on whether Kushner would continue to have a security clearance.
In 2016, Kushner was simultaneously running his family business, Kushner Cos., and helping to oversee Trump's campaign. One of his top business concerns was what to do with his family's investment in 666 Fifth Ave. in New York, which the company bought under his direction for $1.8 billion in 2007, the highest price paid at the time for a U.S. office tower. The purchase became troubled as the Great Recession hit, and Kushner refinanced it, leaving the company with a $1.2 billion debt that comes due in January 2019.
The Manhattan property has been a particularly nettlesome problem inside the government because Kushner's company has sought foreign money on the project.
Kushner and his company had proposed a redevelopment plan that would double the building's size, requiring major new investment. Before Trump took office, Kushner and other company officials explored several options for the financing. They met with an executive of a Chinese-run insurance company, Anbang, which had bought the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. They also discussed a possible investment by the former finance minister of Qatar, who oversaw an investment fund. But after Kushner served as Trump's senior adviser for a few months in the White House, questions arose about potential conflicts of interest, the financing talks ended, and neither Anbang nor the Qatari fund signed on.
Thomas Barrack, a close Trump friend who asked the Qataris to consider investing in the Fifth Avenue property, has told The Washington Post that the refinancing efforts were "crushed" because Kushner's move to the White House "just about completely chilled the market, and [potential investors] just said, 'No way — can't be associated with any appearances of conflict of interest,' even though there was none."
Questions have also been raised about whether Kushner discussed financing with a Russian banker. He met in December 2016 with Sergey Gorkov, the top executive of Vnesheconombank. The bank has said they talked about "promising business lines and sectors," but Kushner told Congress that the meeting did not involve any discussion about his family's company.
Kushner, upon entering the White House, divested his stake, which is now controlled by family members. With the deadline for the $1.2 billion debt looming, the company has continued to search for a lender. The redevelopment plan appears to be on hold after the company's main partner, Vornado, run by Trump friend Steve Roth, deemed it "not feasible."
Kushner's father, Charles Kushner, who plays a major role at the company, told The Post in a recent interview that he and the firm have not been contacted by Mueller. The company, which is privately held, has stressed that the Fifth Avenue property is a small fraction of its assets and that it is doing well financially.
Michael Kranish contributed to this report.


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Cartoonist Mahmoud Shokraiyeh drew a member of the Iranian parliament wearing a soccer jersey, and so now he's now going to be lashed 25 times because this is Iran we're talking about and some of their provincial judges and politicians don't look too kindly on things like artistic expression and, I guess, how that might relate to soccer.
Daryl Cagle, who writes the excellent Cartoon Blog on MSNBC.com, contacted one of his friends, an Iranian cartoonist named Nik Kowsar who was once imprisoned because of his drawings, to see why such a harsh punishment would stem from a seemingly innocuous image:
In 2009, I asked (via email) Grand Ayatollah Montazeri (who died months later) if based on his interpretation of Islam, was it OK to draw Grand Ayatollahs in cartoons or not. He said that as long as you are not insulting a person, there are no objections to drawing that individual. This was sort of a "Fatwa" (a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law), though I had only asked for his opinion.
Still, no one inside Iran dares draw an Ayatollah, and until a few days ago, it was totally OK to draw cartoons of non-cleric officials. Now, Iranian cartoonist Mahmoud Shokrayeh has been sentenced to 25 lashes because he drew a caricature of Ahmad Lotfi Ashtiani, a member of the Iranian parliament, wearing a soccer jersey.
One thing interesting about Shokrayeh's cartoon is the dark skinned mark on Lotfi Ashtiani's forehead. In Islamic countries, this is the sign of "praying too much". Rubbing the forehead on the ground during prayer for years and years does this. You can see it on many Islamist leaders' faces.
Cagle followed up with his friend on the significance of the soccer jersey:
Why did Shokraiyeh draw the MP in a soccer jersey? The MP was interested in bringing soccer clubs to the city of Arak. Nik said, "Imagine if LA Lakers move from LA to SF and turn into SF Lakers."
Incidentally, if you're wondering how this ultimately plays out, it's much more informal than I imagined:
I asked Nik how the lashings work and if Shokraiyeh was in prison pending his punishment. Nik responded to say that Shokraiyeh was not imprisoned and the lashings are done by appointment; Shokraiyeh will be called and given a time to come in to get his lashings, then he can leave (kind of like a trip to the dentist for a root canal, I guess).
Kind of, except not.


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Running an IT help desk is a daunting task, and the wrong software can make it even harder. These apps can help reduce problems and simplify operations.
Note: This list is also available as a photo gallery.
1: SAManage
SAManage (Figure A) is an online, on-demand ITIL help desk tool that provides asset and service management. It is integrated with salesforce.com and Google Apps for Business. It lets you create customized workflows, and it provides a help desk portal for your end users. The pricing is competitive with other SaaS options, including an attractively priced small business option.
Figure A
2: Spiceworks
Spiceworks (Figure B) is a free system for on-premise IT asset management and monitoring in the small to midsize company space. While the help desk functionality is not the system's primary focus, it ties in nicely with the rest of the features to produce a fully integrated package. Spiceworks has a tight focus on the smaller companies, and the feature set reflects it.
Note: The author has performed contract work for Spiceworks in the past to write content for its library. At the time of this writing, the most recent work was in 2010.
Figure B
3: Remedyforce
Remedyforce (Figure C) comes from BMC, which also makes the Remedy system for enterprises. Remedyforce, like SAManage, is sold on the SaaS model and lives in the cloud, so there is no installation pain. Because it is built on top of Force.com, it integrates with other products, like the Chatter system. It also has mobile access, which is a huge help for busy IT administrators and managers.
Figure C
4: ServiceDesk Plus
ServiceDesk Plus (Figure D) comes in three versions (Standard, Professional, and Enterprise) to meet the needs of different organizations. Stepping up from Standard to Professional adds asset management and monitoring, for example. Like other products, ServiceDesk Plus is based on the ITIL model and has a self-service portal. It also supports SLAs to help technicians meet their contractual obligations.
Figure D
ServiceDesk Plus
5: Numara Footprints Incident and Problem Manager
Numara's Footprints Incident and Problem Manager (Figure E) is an enterprise-class help desk application. In that vein, it enables you to create dashboards of the sort that management teams often like, and it allows a fair degree of customization. You can create your own workflows and escalation paths as well. Footprints is a Web-based application and can be used in a SaaS model directly provisioned by Numara.


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A Discourse Analysis of the Use of Code Switching in the Film Yellow Card
This study analyzes the use of code switching as a communication strategy in the film Yellow Card. The film Yellow Card deals with HIV and AIDS concerns and inevitable discusses issues pertaining to sex and sexuality, which are unspeakable in the public domain. This research reveals that code-switching is employed for the purposes of linguistic avoidance, whenever there is need to avoid a direct reference to the words and phrases considered taboo. It also occurs for intra-group identity where it functions as a communication technique for aligning or alienating interlocutors depending on the situations. Code switching is also employed to express concepts that can only be identified through a specific language and to create humour in different speech situations. Also revealed is the fact that code-switching is intra-language, occurring within the same language (formal and informal English), and inter-language, occurring between two languages (Shona and English). Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 1995) was used as both a theoretical guide and a methodological thrust. CDA views language as socially constituted and socially constituting. Data was gathered using in-depth textual analysis of the language content of the film Yellow Card and was presented in a descriptive manner. Data interpretation was carried out according to context of use. This study concludes that code-switching is a complex phenomenon that expresses a great deal more about the intentions and needs of the speaker or the writer. It is a crucial communication tool which is significant in sociolinguistics.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5296/ijl.v4i4.2929
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Court blocks Jindal on Common Core
A Louisiana judge on Tuesday swatted down Gov. Bobby Jindal's attempt to use his executive authority to repeal the Common Core in his state.
Jindal is trying to unilaterally scrap the new academic standards and a related series of exams — a move that's put him at odds with business leaders, the state superintendent, members of the board of education and many Republican legislators in Louisiana.
In a blistering five-page ruling, District Judge Todd W. Hernandez of Baton Rouge ruled that Jindal's plan would cause "irreparable harm" to students, teachers and parents who have been preparing for the new standards for years. He also dismissed the administration's argument that the state education department violated procurement law in the way it planned to deliver the Common Core tests to students.
( Sign up for POLITICO's Morning Education tip sheet)
Jindal's chief of staff, Kyle Plotkin, vowed an immediate appeal.
"We think this judge is wrong on the facts and the law," Plotkin said.
The ruling was a sharp blow to the governor, who once enthusiastically supported the Common Core but abruptly reversed course earlier this year as tea party opposition to the standards swelled. Jindal, a potential presidential candidate in 2016, has been hailed as a hero by the far right for trying to block the standards, but the governor has had a hard time convincing the educational and business establishment in Louisiana to go along with his change of heart.
The result: Escalating tension over how math, reading and writing will be taught — and tested — in Louisiana classrooms this year.
( Also on POLITICO: Grimes rebuts bus claims)
Dueling lawsuits have been filed over the issue. The injunction issued Tuesday came in a case brought by parents, a charter school foundation and the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. A separate lawsuit, brought by 17 state legislators allied with Jindal, is still pending. The plaintiffs pressing that case are suing the state school board and the state education department for trying to implement Common Core.
In issuing the injunction, Hernandez noted that it was unusual for the judicial branch to block a governor from taking executive action. But he wrote that he had the right — and even the obligation — to do so because Jindal and his allies had "caused considerable harm to the public education system in Louisiana" and thrown schools into "a state of chaos" with their attempts to undo the Common Core.
Specifically, the judge found that Jindal's actions caused "anxiety and other harm to the parents, teachers, administrators and students in Louisiana" who have been trapped in a state of limbo, not knowing which standards they will be using in the classroom this year or what specific content students will be tested on next spring.
Those spring tests carry high-stakes consequences: Fourth graders must pass them to be promoted to the next grade. And teachers can earn merit pay if their students score highly.
( Also on POLITICO: Perry booked on 2 felony counts)
Plotkin, the governor's chief of staff, questioned the judge's finding that repealing the Common Core would create chaos in Louisiana classrooms. "The judge took the arguments from Common Core proponents hook, line and sinker," he said.
Proponents of the Common Core often say the standards are just guidelines and don't control curriculum, Plotkin noted — but if that's true, he asked, how could repealing the guidelines create mass chaos?
"What the proponents of Common Core have proved in this case is that Common Core is about controlling curriculum," he said.
Jindal did not testify at the hearing. Indeed, the defense presented no witnesses, though it did submit some documents.
Hernandez ruled that Jindal's team did not offer any evidence that Superintendent John White had broken state law in amending an existing contract with a testing company to deliver the new Common Core exams, which were developed by the federally funded PARCC consortium.
The judge blocked an effort by the Jindal administration to suspend that contract and keep the PARCC tests out of Louisiana schools.
Plotkin, the governor's chief of staff, said that finding would send a dangerous message to other state agencies.
"It's not open season on breaking the procurement law," Plotkin said. "If this judge's ruling stands, it would cause chaos in state government and bring us back to the old days in Louisiana when it was OK to give no-bid contracts to your friends."
But White hailed the ruling. "Our students are just as smart and capable as any in America. We've been working for four years to teach them to the highest standards anywhere," he said. "Today's ruling continues that progress."
Within two hours of the ruling, White had sent a letter to Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols, a close ally of Jindal, informing her that his department would "proceed with urgency" in delivering the PARCC tests to students across the state.


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My Phone Repair Orange Beach, AL (251) 923-3500
Located in The Wharf, MyPhone Repair is proud to offer fast, reputable cell phone and tablet repair services to our Orange Beach customers. Whether you dropped your phone in water, need a crack in your screen fixed, or a button replaced, our team makes it easy to get quality, hassle-free repairs.
At MyPhone Repair, we do it all. From basic repairs to the complex, our experienced techs are ready to help. We specialize in repairs for all your mobile devices including iPhones, iPads, Galaxys and more! We can get the job done quickly and with top quality parts and a hassle-free warranty, so you are assured that your repair is in good hands.
MyPhone Repair offers competitive prices with an unmatched level of customer service. For all your mobile electronics repair needs, choose MyPhone Repair.


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Marine environment
The assessment of potential environmental impacts is of particular importance in the development of offshore wind energy. The protected goods to be considered include organisms living in and on the seabed (benthos), fish, migratory and resting birds, marine mammals and bats in the Baltic Sea. In order to be able to assess possible impacts on the marine environment on a broad basis of knowledge, these objects of protection are examined according to standardised methods.


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The creator of Flappy Bird, the difficult, barebones mobile game whose mere existence roiled video games discussion over the past two weeks, says he will remove the game from the Android and iTunes marketplaces within 22 hours. "I cannot take this anymore," Dong Nguyen tweeted today.
Nguyen added:
Flappy Bird is currently hosted on the iTunes Store and at Google Play. The game is free and supported by advertisements. It was released in May of last year and later became the most popular app downloaded on iTunes for some time. It shot to mainstream notoriety only recently, thanks largely to articles like this one from BuzzFeed. It has skyrocketed into mainstream awareness since then, and is said to earn its creator tens of thousands of dollars a day.
Inside the video gaming community though, Flappy Bird, and its seemingly inscrutable appeal has been the subject of intense debate over the past couple of weeks, criticizing everything from its game design, to its intended audience, to the origin of its visual style.


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I'm currently hand-held by data center technicians with regard to running my servers, but I'm thinking of branching out, and I'm wondering what I need to know.
Some things I understand I should be aware of, but not sure exactly how I should be aware of them:
- Checking log files, specifically security logs
- Keeping my system software, specifically the kernel (and others?) up to date
I'm basically wondering what your favorite little tip which you think every server operator ought to know, but many, if not most, don't.


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MUMBAI: He was voted the seventh-best-looking man in the world and the best looking man in India by US's People magazine in 2004 — but Salman Khan has maintained his distance from Hollywood, and says he has his reasons.
The Bollywood star unleashed his funny side when asked about the reason at an event organised by Indo-American Chamber Of Commerce (IACC) Wednesday.
"All my friends who have gone to America, they don't even want to come back for a holiday, wonder why. I am an actor, those guys were the 'sensible' ones, educated – engineers, doctors, scientists. These guys went there and made a lot of money, respect," he said.
"Me, I am giving Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, all these guys a chance. Otherwise…poor guys," the 46-year-old said here in a humourous way.
Salman also targeted Hollywood films.
"Amazing movies, they make anything look good. Like for example the names I took, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise. We just go on emotions and heart. We overdo anything, I mean guys like us also look really bad," said Salman.
He wrapped up the response with his arch-rival, superstar Shah Rukh Khan's famous dialogue from "My Name Is Khan": "I mean my name is actually Khan and I actually am not a terrorist."
Besides Salman, actress Nargis Fakhri was also present at the event, where Tata Consultancy Services was formally honoured as the overall best Indian Company operating in the US at the 8th Indo American Corporate Excellence Awards.
Watch Salman Khan's funny video:


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Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Are You Prepared? I'm Not.
Living in northern Indiana and knowing the area is prone to tornados, and having had several friends lose their homes to fire, you would think that I would already be prepared. I should be, but I'm not. You always think "It won't happen to me" but as we all know, natural and man-made disasters happen all too frequently. The thing is, if you live as though disaster is waiting around the corner, you won't have time to enjoy life, you'll be too busy worrying about what might happen next. You have to find balance. Think about what is truly valuable to you, what can not be replaced. Make plans to save those things, then follow through with the plan! Easier said than done.
With a forest fire, a hurricane, possibly even a flood, you might have advance warning of the pending or potential disaster. But with a tornado, as with the one in Nappanee last Thursday, there is no advance warning. For those people who had their homes demolished, very little is left. So, what can you do? Not much, in that situation, but with those disasters where some time is available for evacuation you can be prepared.
Put together a Family Disaster Kit. Written in 2005, this webpage is a goldmine of information for creating a plan and building a disaster kit as well as providing guidelines for the important documents and other necessary things. You don't have to do everything it suggests, and you don't have to do it all at once (the cost would be prohibitive, I think) but if nothing else, it will give you something to think about.
Prepare a Home Inventory. The Insurance Information Institute has software for recording your stuff. The software is easy to use. I downloaded it yesterday and have started adding some items. It allows you to attach pictures and scanned images. Best of all, it is free.
Create a Bug Out Box. The box should be small and light enough to be carried by one person. The contents should include copies of important papers, household inventory, prescriptions and other documents needed to reestablish who you are and what you had. Important phone numbers such as doctors and relatives, emergency contacts, credit card and other business numbers should also be added.
Important Papers includes suggestions on the critical documents necessary to rebuild your life.
There are a few things that I am already doing to prepare for a disaster, but I definitely plan on creating a disaster kit. If I had to rely on my pantry for survival, it wouldn't last more than a few days - I just don't keep much food on hand.
Bug Out Box.
I sort of have one but I'm sure it doesn't include all the important papers that would be needed, so I'm going to go through the box and add the things that are missing. I created a document listing critical addresses and accounts and printed a copy for my brother for safekeeping, primarily in case anything happened to me but also as a backup. I'll be getting a safe-deposit box to store some of the more important items. I'll also make copies and scan them before putting them away. It's important to have paper copies available immediately because if power is out, computer files won't be readily accessible.
Data Backup.
I have several external hard drives for backing up all my computer data. One of the drives is stored at my mother's apartment, 30 miles away. The drives are rotated weekly. I backup my data nearly every night on one of the two drives I keep at home. So at most, I'd only lose one day's worth of work.
Scanning documents and photographs.
This is an on-going and seemingly never-ending project. Also very time-consuming. But, to me, it is critical. I just started scanning stuff this summer and haven't gotten much done. I really need to get back to it. Not just family photographs but important documents also.
First Aid Kit.
A very basic first aid kit is kept in the car, along with a few blankets, but after reading the above articles I think more needs to be included.
That's a lot to think about. Not much fun either. But what would you do if your home was destroyed in the blink of an eye?
Follow-up post (11/14/2007): My Plan to Prepare for Disaster
7 comments:
- footnoteMaven said...
This is so important and timely!
When they tell you to evacuate, that you may not be able to return to your home, it is far too late to stop and think about what you need or what you should take with you.
Last year my family learned this first hand and it hit home that we needed serious planning.
All your suggestions are excellent.
Just when you think it can't happen to you, it does.
- October 24, 2007 at 10:59 PM
- Jasia said...
Great post, Becky! I'm not ready either. I know what I need to do I just keep putting it off because it's such a big task. Your post was a good reminder. Thanks!
- October 24, 2007 at 11:00 PM
- Lori Thornton said...
I've been preaching data backup to my students. There are several online backup utilities out there. Most will back up your "My Documents", "My Pictures," "My Music," etc. folders, but I know that my Genealogy Data is actually in the Legacy Directory instead of in one of these. My cookbook software also has data inside the program folders. So - I made sure to add those folders to the online backup. I use Mozy.com but there are some others out there that work well too. Mozy uses encryption.
- October 25, 2007 at 7:19 PM
- Thomas MacEntee said...
Great blog and great post! We must have been on the same wavelength on Wednesday - see my post about the same topic:
You weren't by chance wearing sweats and a blue fleece pullover as well when you wrote that, were you? Hah! ;)
I lived through the 1989 San Francisco earthquake and witnessed the 1991 Oakland Hills fires when I lived in California. I know first hand what it is like to possibly lose all your research.
Again - great post!
Thomas MacEntee
- October 26, 2007 at 7:09 AM
- Becky Wiseman said...
Thank you all for your input, and thank goodness neither I nor anyone in my immediate family has ever had to deal with any of these major disasters! It was brought home once again how important a home inventory is last night while watching the news - one of the people that had lost their home mentioned that they had to create a list of "everything" they owned for the insurance company. I'd have a hard time doing that, I think, especially after having lost it all and dealing with that stress as well.
Lori - Online data backup sounds like it might be a good idea. I have a lot of pictures and other data files and it takes quite a while to backup to a local drive. I can't imagine how long it would take to upload it all to a server.
Thomas - You brought up some interesting points in your post also. Just more to think about!
- October 27, 2007 at 11:19 PM
- Janice said...
You have provided some excellent advice. With families gathering for the holidays it is a good time to talk with your family members about plans you have made.
And it is also a good time to update your wills.
- November 20, 2007 at 10:49 AM
I made a flickr group where you can post pictures of your disaster kit. Hm. I need to update it. Since I posted fotos there, I bought more disaster stuff for my boyfriend and me. What did I want for my birthday? MREs! Yes! I have one kit that rides in the trunk of my car, all the time. a kit with foil-wrapped who-knows-what food and water, first aid, space blankets, and the like. I need to shoot those and add em to the foto pool.
So if you have disaster kits, shoot em and post them.
Speaking of disasters, this Thanksgiving will be spent in Green Valley Lake, where 100 of the 1000 cabins burned in the fires last month. I'll have a report, no doubt.
- November 20, 2007 at 6:58 PM


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Beaverton, city (1990 pop. 53,310), Washington co., NW Oreg., a suburb of Portland, in a farm area; inc. 1893. Beaverton is the heart of the Silicon Forest high-technology manufacturing complex. Headquarters for electronics companies and NIKE, Inc., are there. Food products, wine, and furniture are also produced.
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