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FK Coilovers Audi A4 Quattro B6 B7 type 8E Yr. fr 2000-2007
Our A4 coilovers give you the option of lowering your Audi 25-100mm below stock ride height.
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Twitter offered workarounds to users in Turkey after the country blocked Twitter over its alleged refusal to remove some Web links.
The move by the Turkish government was confirmed Friday by the country's telecommunications regulator and its state news agency Anadolu.
[ Get your websites up to speed with HTML5 today using the techniques in InfoWorld's HTML5 Deep Dive PDF how-to report. | Cut to the key news for technology development and IT management with the InfoWorld Daily newsletter, our summary of the top tech happenings. ]
Earlier, local newspapers reported that the government was considering blocking Twitter's website as the company had refused to abide by court orders requiring certain content to be deleted.
Twitter had been ordered by a court in Turkey to remove certain Web links after complaints by citizens, but company officials had remained indifferent to the verdicts, despite being approached by officials, the Anadolu Agency quoted Thursday from a government statement.
"Access to Twitter may be blocked as a last resort to avert the unjust treatment of our citizens in case of a continuation of this ignorance of the court rulings," Anadolu quoted the prime minister's press center as stating.
Twitter spokesman Nu Wexler did not comment when asked if the service was blocked in the country but pointed to messages by @policy, the feed from Twitter's global public policy team. In one such message, the company advised Turkish users to send tweets using SMS (short message service) through local mobile carriers like Vodafone, Avea and Turkcell.
Some users have predictably started using techniques such as intermediary proxy servers to access Twitter. Among those continuing to tweet was Turkey's President Abdullah Gul, who is said to be opposed to the block on Twitter.
The Communication Technologies Institution (BTK), which has been given extraordinary powers under a recently passed Internet law, lists three court rulings and one prosecutor decision on its website as the reason of the outage, reported the Hurriyet Daily News.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been previously quoted as vowing to "wipe out" Twitter following allegations of corruption in his close circle on the social media website. The country's municipal elections are scheduled for later this month.
Neelie Kroes, vice president of the European Commission, said in a message that the Twitter ban in Turkey is "groundless, pointless, cowardly." The Turkish people and international community will see it as censorship, which it is, she added. Erdogan has previously threatened to block Facebook and YouTube in Turkey under the new Internet law, according to reports.

subset: commoncrawl


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Kitchen Call: Real Italian cooking for everyone
Have you noticed the lines, or that you need a reservation at red sauce Italian restaurants lately? Or that upscale eateries that once refused to recognize the tomato have added lasagna Bolognese and eggplant parmigiana to their menus?
Not only the restaurant world but the food media have re-discovered Italian-American food. Saveur magazine features it on its current cover. Inside articles range from Sunday family dinner to the annual Celebration of the Seven Fishes. Even the New York Times Book Review recently recognized Italian-American cooking. On Sunday, its closing essay by Laura Shapiro described researching a 1950s cookbook at Radcliffe's Schlesinger Library. She writes that American home cooks were not ready, not for its lyrical descriptions meant to be the actual recipe, or its inattention to exact measurements.
Thirty years later American home cooks were not only ready they heartily embraced Mary Ann Esposito when she debuted her Italian cooking show, "Ciao Italia," on PBS. They looked forward eagerly to her first book so they could re-create her recipes. Mrs. Esposito became the most beloved Italian cooking teacher in the USA. Not only because of her books or show, but because her personal appearances are full of warmth and willingness to engage with her readers, answering questions and dispensing kitchen wisdom until everyone's hunger is sated. (A tasting and book-signing on Nov. 30 at Gordon's Fine Wines in Waltham is nearly sold out)
Her latest book, "Ciao Italia Family Classics," is different from all her previous books; there's a thickness to it beyond its 450 pages. It captures the current excitement in the restaurant world and brings it home. It acknowledges that Italian-American cooking never went away; it continued in home kitchens through generations of cooks honoring their culinary heritage.
As a history teacher and translator of ancient Italian texts, Mrs. Esposito gently and lovingly traces the history of Italian cooking as interpreted on American soil, aka Italian-American cooking. She guides the reader through several generations of recipes using her own family remembrances as the vehicle. Each one demonstrates a stop on the journey from the first immigrants who adapted available ingredients to recreate a taste of home. It follows the ensuing generations of American tourists who sought out their roots in Italy's trattorias and their children, today's new cooks, back to the kitchen.
Remembrances of Sunday dinner evoke the early morning fragrance of tomato sauce simmering on the stove and extended family piling in the door. There's her grandmother's rolled beef, pounded thinly and stuffed with cheese and parsley and walnuts and eggs, then cooked in tomato sauce, the tomatoes tenderizing the beef, the beef lending its flavor to the tomatoes. More flavor memories appear in chickpea and pasta soup, the Friday supper staple during Lent when meat was forbidden.
And, there's today's stylish branzino in orange sauce, featured on big city upscale, or alta cucina, menus. Mrs. Esposito's recipe reveals it as simple-to-prepare — providing you can find sea bass at your local fish store. And penne alla vodka, an idea that Mrs. Esposito discovered was the brainchild of liquor distributors. Only briefly accepted in Italy, it became a hit in this country. She improvised her own recipe based on traditional Italian techniques.
The gamut of Italian-American cooking finds a comfortable place on the pages of this book laced with memories and lovely photographs of finished dishes so that the cook knows the result. The flavor will follow as well as a future of warm memories.
The following recipes are adapted from "Ciao Italia Family Classics" by Mary Ann Esposito.
Braciolione all Nonna Galasso
Makes 6 to 8 servings
2 pounds to round steak, about ¼-inch thick
2 teaspoons fine salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup grated pecorino Romano cheese
3 hard-boiled eggs, cut into slices
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion thinly sliced
4 cups crushed tomatoes, fresh or canned
1/3 cup water
1 cup dry red wine
1 whole bay leaf
1 small bunch basil, tied with twine
salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1. To make the braciolone, lay the meat out flat and pound it with a meat mallet to flatten it slightly to a uniform thickness, about 1/4-inch thick. Be careful not to tear the meat. Wipe the meat dry with paper towels. Rub it all over with salt and pepper.
2. Mince the garlic, parsley and walnuts together and spread it all over the surface of the meat. Lay the egg slices down the center of the meat, slightly overlapping.
3. Starting at the long side, roll up the meat like a jelly roll. Tie the roll with string at 1-inch intervals. Set aside.
4. To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a large deep saucepan. Add the onions and cook until they soften. Add the meat to the pan and brown it on all sides. Lower the heat to medium low and add all the remaining ingredients. Season with salt to taste and stir to blend well. Simmer the meat, covered for 1-1/2 hours, or until very tender.
5. Remove the meat from the sauce and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the string and cut the braciolone into 1-inch thick slices. Arrange the slices on a serving platter, spoon sauce over the top, and serve.
Penne alla Vodka
Makes 8 servings
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon hot red pepper paste
2 cups pureed canned plum tomatoes
1/2 cup vodka
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
fine sea salt
1 pound penne rigate
1. Melt butter in a 12- to 14- inch sauté pan. Add garlic; cook over medium heat until soft. Stir in the red pepper paste and cook about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and vodka; cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Reduce the heat to low. Slowly pour in the cream and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add half the cheese, cover, and keep the sauce warm while the pasta is cooking.
3. Bring 4 to 6 quarts of water to a rapid boil and add 1 tablespoon of salt. Add the past and cook until al dente. Drain the penne, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water.
4. Transfer the penne and reserved cooking water to the sauce and stir the ingredients well over medium heat until hot. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese and stir to blend.
5. Transfer penne to a serving platter. Serve immediately.
Linda Bassett is the author of "From Apple Pie to Pad Thai: Neighborhood Cooking North of Boston." Reach her by email at firstname.lastname@example.com


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Oh, Anne! With your small head and pert nose and oversized, ready smile and glossy pixie cut and squeakily tuneful speaking voice, uttering lines like "It came true!" as you gaze at your newly won Oscar with moistened doe-eyes, wearing a powder-pink Prada gown adorned with diamonds and bows: Why are you so annoying?
This question was posed repeatedly in the days after Anne Hathaway's Oscar win for her role as the destitute-prostitute mother Fantine, in "Les Mis"—and various answers have been offered: she's too actorly, and reminds us of the show-tune-belting nightmare we knew in high school; she's polished, successful, and driven, and people still find this distasteful in a woman; plump faces are the vogue and her face is too thin; the public every so often elects a random celebrity victim for vitriolic hatred—every generation needs one, and she is ours; her sunny persona is a coverup for steely ambition that catapulted her out of youthful stardom into a mature career that runs the gamut from eccentric indie to big-franchise blockbuster. To these reasonably convincing propositions, I'll add one more: she represents the archetype of the happy girl, which is one that many people resist.
Just flip randomly through the photographs of women on the red carpet: their faces are taut and inscrutable, their bodies often posed in the defensive posture of one muscled arm on hip. They smile without teeth. Their eyes are glazed and look off into a hazy middle distance, guarding some secret. Now, look at Anne: she stands with her long arms at her sides, looking directly (even a little pleadingly) into the camera, her smile is toothy and takes up half of her face. It's a look of unfettered excitement and openness, an expression of high-wattage joy that reminds me of none other than a nine-year-old girl about to dig into a big slice of birthday cake. There's generally only a small window of time when girls have that mien of utter at-homeness in the world—it gets snuffed out in many of them by age twelve or thirteen, when their glance turns inward, scrutinizing. Anne has somehow managed to retain that bright look, and many people would like to wipe it off her face.
Let's take a quick survey of the people who were applauded for their red-carpet performances. A pale, limping Kristin Stewart with her perennial teen-agery pout and a bruise on her arm; Jennifer Lawrence, who is casually funny and naturally sarcastic and is most famous for her tomboyish roles; actresses in middle age like Sally Field and Meryl Streep, whom one can admire freely in the way that one admires a mother. Bruised teen-agers: likeable. Women who seem a little like men, or like they can hang with men: likeable. Post-menopausal women, old enough to be sexually non-threatening: likeable.
But I'm not so sure that girls are likeable, and I think this goes for girlish women like Anne Hathaway, who retain a bounding, uncontained energy. Look no further for evidence than the treatment of an actual nine-year-old girl who made an appearance at the Oscars, Quvenzhané Wallis, the star of "Beasts of the Southern Wild." She was meanly criticized for spontaneously raising up her arms and making a muscle when her name was called in the list of nominees for best actress. Seth MacFarlane made a joke about her being too young for George Clooney, and The Onion tweeted its infamous tweet: "Everyone else seems afraid to say it, but that Quvenzhané Wallis is kind of a cunt, right?" The tweet was taken down and apologized for, but The Onion, as usual, had blurted out a terribly ugly version of a suppressed, itchy attitude that is probably more widely held than we'd like to think: the idea that young girls are ridiculous, annoying, and a little disgusting. They're glittery, they squeal, they like attention, and—most disturbingly—they threaten to evoke illicit sexual feelings. The word "cunt" didn't bubble up by accident.
Coincidentally, last night I came across a wonderful scene about the predicament of the little girl in the second installment of the autobiographical novel "My Struggle," by the Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgaard. (It's published here in May.) Karl takes his little daughter, Vanje, to a classmate's birthday party. She is a shy and introverted child, but she longs to play with other children, and looks forward to the party with a mix of trepidation and eagerness. She chooses to wear a new pair of sparkling golden shoes. When she arrives, she is thrust into a room with other children, who are all playing wildly. Karl watches her as she tries to figure out how to break in:
This scene is almost unbearably touching because it so deftly encapsulates a problem we all face: having to temper naked pleasure so as to be thought socially appropriate. Little girls learn very quickly not to ask so openly for praise, and to modulate their excitement if they want to be acceptable.
Anne Hathaway seems to never have quite ingested this lesson. She's the girl proudly holding out to us her sparkling golden shoes. She wants praise. (And I don't think it has been said enough that she deserves it. She's a very gifted actress, particularly when she plays roles that cut against her cheery persona, like Jack Twist's lacquered, embittered wife in "Brokeback Mountain.") Would it really be so terrible to give her the applause that she craves?
Photograph by Jason Merritt/Getty.


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Posts Tagged sanitary gauges
Chemical Seal Assemblies Available from Lesman Stock
Posted by danstips in Pressure Gauges, Service, WIKA on July 22, 2016
Chemical seals and fills are often necessary to protect your process instrumentation from harm. But the wait for a custom gauge-and-seal, switch-and-seal, or transmitter-and-seal combination could be an issue, keeping your process offline for longer than necessary, or costing a premium for quick delivery.
We've removed the potential for downtime and rush charges with our WIKA-certified assembly station, and improved stock of most popular transmitters, switches, gauges, diaphragm seals, and fill fluids. Lesman customers can experience next-day delivery on custom assemblies from in-stock instrumentation.
Should I use a chemical seal with my pressure instruments?
Posted by danstips in Honeywell, Pressure, Pressure Gauges, Pressure Switches, pressure switches, Pressure Transmitters, pressure transmitters, Siemens, Switches, Transmitters, United Electric, WIKA on January 17, 2012
Pressure instruments in contact with the process can take a real beating. Process fluids can corrode the wetted parts and destroy the sensing element. Media the solidifies can clog the pressure-sensing port. Or, an installed instrument can affect the process by providing a spot for media remnants to remain after cleaning and purging. Specialized chemical seals deal with these pressure sensing issues.
Here's a list of questions to ask about your application that will determine if you need a chemical seal with your gauge, switch, or transmitter.


text: Heating and air cooling shops are readily available around the nation, packed with pros who are prepared and eager to assist you to with your warming and air-con demands. They can handle nearly everything that relates to heating and air conditioning, assisting to maintain your home at a comfortable temperatures. These distinct heating and air-con… Continue reading Air Conditioning Store


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Dulles, John Foster
Dulles, John Foster
dŭl´əs, 1888–1959, U.S. secretary of state (1953–59), b. Washington, D.C.; brother of Allen Dulles, grandson of John Watson Foster, secretary of state under President Benjamin Harrison, and nephew of Robert Lansing, secretary of state under Woodrow Wilson. The Dulles brothers were born into America's political establishment and became extremely influential government officials; they did much to develop and implement America's interventionist foreign policy during the cold war. A graduate (1908) of Princeton, Dulles was admitted (1911) to the bar and was counsel to the U.S. delegation to the Paris Peace Conference (1919). He soon achieved prominence as an international lawyer and attended various international conferences in the interwar years. He was appointed (1945) adviser to the U.S. delegation at the San Francisco Conference (1945), and served (1945–49) as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. He was appointed (1949) to finish the unexpired term of Senator Robert F. Wagner of New York, but was defeated (1950) in a general election for the seat. In 1951, as ambassador at large, Dulles negotiated the peace treaty with Japan. Appointed (1953) secretary of state by Dwight D. Eisenhower, he emphasized the collective security of the United States and its allies and the development of nuclear weapons for
massive retaliationin case of attack. Regarding Communism as a moral evil to be resisted at any cost, he firmly upheld the Chinese Nationalist defense of Matsu and Quemoy off the coast of Communist China and initiated the policy of strong U.S. backing for the South Vietnamese regime of Ngo Dinh Diem. Dulles helped develop the Eisenhower doctrine of economic and military aid to maintain the independence of Middle Eastern countries; under its terms U.S. forces were sent to Lebanon in 1958. He resigned from office a month before his death. Dulles wrote War, Peace, and Change (1939) and War or Peace (1950).
See biographies by M. A. Guhin (1972) and T. Hoopes (1973); S. Kinzer, The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War (2013); studies by R. Goold-Adams (1962) and L. L. Gerson (1967); R. Drummond and G. Coblentz, Duel at the Brink (1960).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies


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Do you believe in coincidences? Of course they happen, but not about some things, especially when little known professors are suddenly brought back to be the quote of the day in a daily education newsletter. The day after the last post where I mentioned the 1948 push for a World Constitution at meetings held at the University of Chicago, the EdTech SmartBrief cited 'Italian Writer Giuseppe Antonio Borgese' for an inspiring vision about Change not only being possible, but necessary. How apropos when fundamental change is the daily meme. Borgese of course is more than an Italian writer. He was one of the prime participants in those meetings, a prof there, and the draftsman. He also wrote the 1953 book Foundations of the World Republic laying out the vision.
You don't really think I grasp how all this fits just from Abstracts or the Cliff Notes versions, do you? No, I had read that book and get the connection to ed. So does someone apparently at Smart Brief and they are fully aware of the pertinence of today's K-12 juggernaut of changes too. Few terms though come up more often these days or are used so consistently to mislead parents and taxpayers on the true nature of the intended changes as 'rigor.' There's a reason education consultant, Willard Daggett, with a ridiculously lucrative national professional development business (for someone who used to be in Vo-Tech. I have a few of those mediocre textbooks) says that "relevance makes rigor possible." Rigor is always grounded in emotion and personal experiences.
When a District Super tells concerned parents that Rigor is about higher standards and provides the metaphor that you cannot turn up the temperature suddenly on an oven from 350 to 550 without burning the turkey and leaving it frozen on the inside, I think that explanation deserves a Pinocchio award. That example of rigor may make parents feel better about upcoming higher than average failure rates on the new state Common Core math assessments, but it does not accurately reflect the nature of the problem. Rigor is about what a student feels, perceives, and does when there is no single correct answer or there are insufficient facts stated to reach a definitive conclusion or the asked about material has never been taught. It provides superb behavioral science data on likely future actions and it primes students to be willing to act in the face of uncertainty. Just what people with visions of transforming and then redesigning societies and societies around Big Data need from a compliant, malleable citizenry.
Facing History and Ourselves, which we met again in the last post, keeps being cited as the perfect example of a curriculum offering 'rigorous engagement' and 'deeper learning.' Deeper Learning is being trumpeted, formally assessed, and funded generously as the cornerstone of the Common Core and the OECD's global vision for education by the Hewlett Foundation. Building on the previous post's revelations and the return of Life Adjustment before that, why is FHAO so crucial for an international bureaucracy pushing for fundamental transformations in the economy, society, and political structures and institutions? Let's look.
http://trustnet.learningtrust.co.uk/partners/Community%20Cohesion/Case%20Study_Facing_History_and_Ourselves_at_Skinners.pdf advocates that teaching materials force students (their bolding) through the process of Text to Self (this reminds me of a time when… so that personal experiences become involved), Text to Text (building those links to previous school activities or discussions and the concepts involved so that a predictable mental web is being woven by schoolwork), and Text to World (students connect the ideas to things happening in the world today). Did you realize that's what 'personalizing learning' meant? Constantly reenforcing schoolwork to a student's life experiences and then creating life experiences in school and elsewhere to reenforce the desired concepts and attitudes? As the link says, FHAO allows students to have Mindsets that allow "better questioning of the world and what goes on it. But most importantly, students become more engaged in their own communities and apply the knowledge they learn to their own lives." (my bolding this time).
Knowledge grounded again more in emotions and instincts than facts, but all the more likely to compel future action for that very reason. Remember Harlan Cleveland from my book? Well, about 10 years before his 80s vision I explain there he did a report in 1976 for UN Leaders meeting in Philadelphia. It laid out his vision on what the significance of the US Bicentennial was for the future. He saw it as igniting the Next Great World Movement: the Global Fairness Revolution. Like the odd sudden citing this week of Borgese, these visions do not go away. They simply keep looking for new sales jobs to have education finally bring them to fruition. That's precisely what FHAO and PBS intended to do when they created Choosing to Participate to be used as part of what it would mean to be Literate under the Common Core. http://web.uri.edu/nonviolence/files/ChoosingToParticipate.pdf
When the "challenge for educators" now is announced to be creating "settings that can help young people develop as thoughtful, caring, compassionate, and responsible citizens," the vision of citizenry is to be Change Agents for Transformation. That is also blatantly a view of education that is primarily focused on Psychosocial Development, not knowledge as academic content. Students are to be deliberately primed, at a deep level, to be unwilling to accept the world as it now exists. They are also to be intentionally manipulated to misperceive the current nature of that world. Ignorance and grievance may be one of the most volatile combinations in the universe. Unlike nitroglycerin though, these Students with carefully cultivated and shaped Mindsets and emotional Push Buttons will not have warning labels. Not yet anyway. I am working on that one.
FHAO does not mince words when it states its intention to have Choosing to Participate:
"be a catalyst for conversation about how we treat each other, how we should live together, and what our choices mean. The key challenge is to think deeply [emotions again!] about what democracy really means, and what it asks of each of us. Democracy is a fragile enterprise and can only remain vital through the active, thoughtful, and responsible participation of its people. Education for citizenship means encouraging each of us to recognize that our participation matters."
Jumping to the punch line, FHAO intentionally uses the horrors of the Holocaust and Legal Segregation by race in the US to justify a belief that economic, redistributive, justice, if desired by a majority of current voters, is a perfectly legitimate demand binding everyone. Resistance then becomes akin to the racism that surrounded the Little Rock 9 trying to integrate Arkansas schools in the 50s. FHAO is the perfect accompaniment to the communitarian focus we have already located in the required Positive School Climate for all K-12 schools and lurking oddly in the definition of what it means to be Career Ready under the Common Core. FHAO early on specifically instructs students:
"communities are not built of friends, or groups of friends, or of people with similar styles and tastes, or even of people who like and understand each other. They are built of people who feel they are part of something that is bigger than themselves: a shared goal or enterprise [hence all the hype on collaboration now]…To build a community requires only the ability to see value in others; to look at them and see a potential partner in one's enterprise…community can also be defined in terms of a 'universe of obligation'–a group of individuals or groups 'toward whom obligations are owed, to whom rules apply, and whose injuries call for amends."
Amends are owed. I am going to end with that quote because clearly this intention is where we should put all these sudden mentions of allegations of White Privilege and conferences centered around preparing teachers to make that and race generally a focus of the K-12 curriculum. Everybody seems to like trilogies so this post is the Human Rights Trilogy's second part.
I want to come back with considering the implications of targeting values, attitudes, and beliefs about how societies and economies should be structured as just another antiquated area that can, and should be, legitimately targeted by K-12 for change. Comparable in the minds of many educators and certainly the FHAO curriculum to the shifts rightfully needed previously to move beyond legal segregation.
We are going to continue to confront history all right. Especially the implications of requiring that students "prove their humanity" in ways to be mandated by political authority.
Should students be taught that "Built into each individual's experience must be an occasion for giving, a task of humanity, an act of sharing and sacrifice"?
Is that really Student Achievement? Growth? Should taxpayer-funded education administrators and profs really be making these decisions in a free society?
Or is the disputed nature of freedom itself in the 21st Century the real question?


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Welcome to CouponCabin's 25 Crazy Dayz of Giveawayz! This multi-blog event is hosted by Simply Stacie, Makobi Scribe and Sassy Mama in LA and is sponsored by CouponCabin. This is the biggest event the blogosphere has seen with over 400 giveaways each at $25 value or more plus a huge giveaway with some major prizes like a MacBook Air, iPad2 & Visa Gift Cards. You can find all the giveaways from the participating blogs by visiting Simply Stacie, Makobi Scribe and Sassy Mama in LA. Each host will feature a different set of giveaways for you to enter!
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Providers of the pedodontist should be searched for for, for schedule dental tests & prophylactic care. Tooth cleanings should be done if necessary. If your teeth is used, then a pedodontist will placed a space maintainer in this place, in order that the grownup teeth is actually created correctly because spot.
Thumb sucking:-
Mainly popular among kids upto 4 years old. If this remains following this age one has to talk to a pedodontist. It could bring about front tooth protruding. This could lead to overbiting.
A pedodontist might assistance to place braces at the later period. They can refer the kid to a orthodontist (supply orthopedic treatment), when the pearly whites and jaws are establishing abnormally.
Tongue thrusting:-
Some young children have the habit of getting their mouth out. It might protrude the less jaw.
A pedodontist may suggest braces for this particular also and in addition orthopedic attention could be necessary.
Lip sucking:-
Some young children possess the habit of sucking their reduce lip. This too leads to improper growth of teeth.
The solution is identical as mentioned above.
First and foremost this a pedodontist features a optimistic method towards young children in addition to their dental care problems. To get rid of this improper habits aside from oral cavaties, pedodontists also advise a emotional technique.Most young children choose thumb sucking, lip sucking etc as they deficiency stability. Parents should never tease or surpass the child for this but instead should prize the child whenever he/she halts doing it.
Infant treatment
Babies needs to be delivered to dentists once their milk the teeth seem ie about 7 or 8 several weeks aged. Earlier dentistry assessment using a pedodontist helps one to look for assistance with a baby's diet, package use, fluoride use & teeth scrubbing. Pedodontists works with protective dental hygiene at this age group. Pedodontist will recommend moms and dads how nourishment influences oral health. During early assessment using the pedodontist the youngsters is likewise more comfortable with their doctor with a later point.
6 several years to 12 yrs:-
The period of time if the whole milk teeth fall along with the mature the teeth can be purchased in. This is actually the time of combined dentition. Each half a year one should check with a pedodontist. Youngsters and mother and father ought to be scrubbing twice daily. Mothers and fathers should likewise floss once a week. Largely kids usually tend to copy men and women. If caries show up in young children, this means moms and dads also are likely to produce caries.
Generally small kids does not just like a unknown person poking in their mouth area. But most children & preschoolers become friendly with their pedodontist the moment their visit has finished. This depends on the approach from the dentist to the youngster. Even aside from the pearly whites & jaws. A pedodontist examines a child's brain, throat & encounter. He examines the overall rise in the facial area location and also the symmetry & amount of development of each body organ within the encounter.
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The first presidential election results are in - and it's a tie.
President Barack Obama and his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, each received five votes in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.
The town in the state's northeast corner has opened its polls shortly after midnight each election day since 1960 - but today's tie was the first in its history.
Explainer: What if there's a national tie?
The result was unexpected, said town clerk Dick Erwin. The town has two registered Democrats, three Republicans and five independents.
"Considering the way things are polling around the country, we may have been the first tie of the day," said town clerk Dick Erwin, noting the national polls showing a virtual dead heat in the race. "Keep your eyes on the news reports, because it's going to be a wild ride."
The town, home to about a dozen residents, has drawn national media attention for being the first place in the country to make its presidential preferences known.
Unlike some parts of the country, election officials never have to worry about lack of interest. Dixville Notch has had 100% voter turnout since it started its first-in-the-nation voting tradition.
Under New Hampshire voting law, a poling place can be closed once all registered voters have officially cast their ballots. With all 10 registered voters on hand, the community had its tally shortly after midnight.
However, since 1996, another small New Hampshire town - Hart's Location - reinstated its practice from the 1940s and also began opening its polls at midnight.
The result there? Obama 23; Romney 9
The result in Dixville Notch is hardly a reliable bellwether for the eventual winner of the White House - or even the result statewide.
Although the community typically leans Republican, residents went for Obama in 2008 - the first time the majority of folks in Dixville Notch went for a Democrat in 40 years.
Be sure to visit these and other Election Day interactive features from CNN.com:
See your ballot before you vote
Issues: Where the candidates stand
How much campaign money has been raised and spent in your state
Share your voting story and photos with CNN iReport
The CNN Facebook I'm Voting App
Discuss: What's inspiring you to vote - or not vote?
Remember it took Bush Jr eight years to create the pile-give Obama at least that long to shovel it.
If a third party wins the right state and Obama and mitt tie what then?
This headline is really misleading if you ask me.
a city of 10....and cnn is covering that election??? what about new york city or chicago or dallas.. its dead tied cause 10 people voted OMG that sums up what the other 400million people want..
Hey, Nathan! Where did you get your stats? 400 million? Including part of Canada?
" "Keep your eyes on the news reports, because it's going to be a wild ride." I like Bette Davis' line batter. Those were the days."Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy ride.' Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him well.
no mandate !
49% oppose OBAMA policy and voted for Romney
10 people in jerkwater New Hampshire voted and its a tie.
Who cares – the real world votes next
42 voters between two towns? Kuo, noteworthy new is happening elsewhere.
5 votes a piece? Can we please enact a law requiring journalists to understand the term "statistical significance"?
Anecdotal reference to a quaint tradition only. Don't get your panties in a wad.
I fear, my friends, the "Idiocracy" is no longer art, it's reality, and the Annointed One will get another term. So, the Idiocrats may think they have "won," but in reality, we will all lose in the long run. Time will tell.
Polar Bear- Wow, you REALLY missed the point of the movie, didn't you?
let God guid u to choose a leader without division among yourselves. America is great nation, thus requires a great LEADER.
Keep it kool people...will know the winner by midnight!!! Don't just believe in RED or BLUE....Believe in RED, WHITE AND BLUE!!!
Lol someone knew who was going to win and they posted it here, but I think their post is deleted know. Google "cnn brujo 303" their post was recorded at 1:07am. And it predicted 303 electoral votes for Obama.
I replied to your posting (not sure if it will be attached to your post or not)... with: Several scientists and others around the world predicted the election...
Several scientists and others around the world predicted the election results many days in advance using the latest techniques for making such predictions. The person you're referring to must have just copy and pasted from one of those expert's findings. One example is http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-nate-silver-20121108,0,4373603.story - BBC also has a story about all of the experts who got it right in advance, I believe.


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Suspect fell through justice system cracks
DENVER — The ex-convict suspected in the killing of Colorado's prison chief slipped off his electronic monitoring bracelet before anyone noticed he was missing — all after he was mistakenly released from prison four years early because a judge failed to use the word "consecutive."
A corrections computer system recorded that Evan Spencer Ebel's bracelet stopped working on March 14, according to documents released Tuesday. Officers learned he had fled on March 19, the day Tom Clements was fatally shot as he answered the front door at his home.
The detail is the latest example of how Ebel fell through the cracks of the criminal justice system in the years before his January release. On Monday, court officials acknowledged that a clerical error allowed Ebel to leave prison four years early because his most recent felony conviction was incorrectly recorded on his record. And in a 2006 letter obtained by the Associated Press on Tuesday, Ebel wrote he fantasized about killing prison staff. The hand-written letter had been confiscated by guards.
"We have to do better in the future," said Tim Hand, director of the Department of Correction's parole division.
Ebel entered Colorado prisons in 2005 after a series of assault and menacing charges that combined for an eight-year sentence. Within six months he landed in solitary confinement, and he bounced in and out of that restricted state until his Jan. 28 release. In 2006, he slipped his handcuffs, punched a guard in the face and threatened to kill the man's family. He was supposed to serve four extra years for that.
But as a parolee, Ebel, who died after a March 21 shootout with Texas deputies, had shown model behavior until his electronic monitoring bracelet stopped working. Before that, he called in daily, even once calling in alarm because no one had requested his weekly random urinalysis test to show he hadn't been using drugs.
His father provided him housing and a job at his law firm, but on the afternoon of March 14, a "tamper alert" automatically went to a prison computer system showing the bracelet had stopped working, records show. Two days later, corrections officials called Ebel and told him to come in to repair the bracelet. He did not show up.
On March 17, Nathan Leon, a father of three and Domino's delivery man, was shot to death after responding to an order for pizza in Denver. Ebel is suspected in the killing.
It was not until March 18 that parole officers spoke to Ebel's father, who told them he feared his son had fled and gave them permission to search his apartment. The next day, two parole officers saw Ebel had taken a large amount of clothing and apparently fled. That night, Clements was shot.
An arrest warrant for Ebel's parole violations was issued March 20. The following day he became a suspect in both killings after dying in a shootout with authorities in Texas. The gun Ebel used was the same one used to shoot and kill Clements.
Ebel had been flagged as a high-risk parolee and went straight from solitary confinement back out onto the streets in late January. But parole officials said they were impressed with his first six weeks out of custody. While many high-risk offenders slip up and violate parole in their first months, Ebel complied with all the terms of his agreement.
"From the 28th of January to the middle of March, we had an individual who was calling in every day, who was employed, who showed no indication that he would do the kind of things that we now know" he did, Hand said.
Judicial officials acknowledged Monday that Ebel shouldn't have been released in January.
In 2008, Ebel pleaded guilty in rural Fremont County to assaulting a prison officer. In the plea deal, Ebel was to be sentenced to up to four additional years in prison, to be served after he completed the eight-year sentence that put him behind bars in 2005, according to a statement from Colorado's 11th Judicial District.
Prosecutors referred to a letter Ebel wrote in 2006, fantasizing about torturing and killing prison staff.
"I just fantasize about catching them out on the bricks and subjecting them to vicious torture and eventual murder," Ebel said in the hand-written letter confiscated by guards in 2006. "And that seems to get me through the days (with) a good degree of my sanity remaining intact."
According to court transcripts released Tuesday, Ebel told the judge he'd be 33 when he was released, and asked for a more lenient sentence. The judge told him that four years on top of his previous sentence was fair.
The judge, however, didn't say the sentence was meant to be "consecutive," or in addition to, Ebel's current one, so it went to the prison system as a sentence to be served simultaneously. Prison officials say they had no way of knowing the intention had been for Ebel to remain behind bars long after his Jan. 28 release date.
Charles Barton, chief judge of the 11th Judicial District, and court administrator Walter Blair, said in a statement that the court regrets the oversight "and extends condolences to the families of Mr. Nathan Leon and Mr. Tom Clements."
Leon's widow said the apology wasn't going to cut it. "How do I tell my 4-year-olds: 'Daddy was murdered because of a clerical error,"' Katherine Leon told KUSA-TV in Denver.
Leon's father-in-law told AP he had no immediate comment.


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Psychopaths make up an astounding 1 to 2 percent of the general population and occupy virtually every niche in society. Often ruthless, callous and completely devoid of empathy, they impose an incalculable toll on individuals and society. And science is increasingly learning that psychopathy may actually be a genetic disorder — one that could eventually be eliminated.
But what if it turns out that we actually need psychopaths?
As a term, psychopathy often means different things to different people. Part of the problem is that psychopathy is not a recognized clinical term, one that's defined within the DSM-IV. But this is starting to change. There's growing consensus among clinicians and neuroscientists that psychopathy does in fact exist as a meaningful and identifiable personality disorder. A growing community of experts are starting to use psychopathy as a clinical diagnosis.
Another part of the problem is that it's often used interchangeably with such terms as sociopathy and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). While sociopathy is a rather vague term, ASPD does have a strict definition within the DSM-IV — but it's not the same same condition as psychopathy. ASPD is diagnosed based on behavioral patterns, while psychopathy includes behavior but also measurable cognitive, emotional, and neuropsychological differences from neurotypical people. And thanks to fMRI brain scans, neuroscientists are increasingly showing that there is a consistent and identifiable neurological basis for psychopathy.
In terms of definition, psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by severe emotional dysfunction, especially a lack of empathy and remorse. Psychopaths exhibit consistent disregard for the feelings of others and the rules of society. They are completely unable to recognize such things as anger and fear in individuals, either based on facial expressions or verbal exclamations. In terms of behavioral traits, psychopaths are generally regarded as being callous, selfish, dishonest, arrogant, aggressive, impulsive, irresponsible, and hedonistic. At the same time, psychopaths often exhibit higher than average intelligence and a superficial kind of charm.
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But clearly, given that nearly 2 in every 100 persons is a psychopath, they can't all be bad — otherwise society would have completely imploded by now. There's evidently more to this issue than meets the eye.
An underlying genetic basis
Scientists are increasingly finding a genetic basis to psychopathy. Work in genetics has revealed that the heritability coefficient for psychopathy is a shocking 50%. Psychopathy, it would appear, runs deeply in the family.
Moreover, neurologists are learning that psychopathy can manifest early in a person's life. There's an understandable reluctance to brand children as psychopaths, which is fair given the amount of stigma involved, and the fact that many children "act out" in age-appropriate ways. Consequently, therapists and researchers instead use the term "unemotional-callous" to describe what might actually be protopsychopathology.
Back in 2005, a twin study found that antisocial children could be classified into two groups: those who were influenced by both genetic and environmental factors, and those influenced by environmental factors alone. Of the two, the former group experienced the highest rankings of callous-unemotional traits.
But while genes may be a key factor, there's still plenty of room for environmental factors. It's thought that, while genetic factors may generally influence the development of psychopathy, the environment still affects the specific traits that predominate.
It's also worth noting that virtually all psychopaths exhibit anti-social traits as children, but that half of them "grow out of it". This gives therapists hope that the condition could be treated environmentally.
Psychologist Robert Hare, a leading expert on such matters, has argued that psychopathy may actually be adaptive. He has observed how many male psychopaths have a pattern of mating with and quickly abandoning women — and as a result, have a high fertility rate. His contention is that these children may inherit a predisposition to psychopathy.
And there appear to be physiological differences between psychopaths and everybody else — a recent study showed that the psychopathic brain has significantly less grey matter in the anterior rostral prefrontal cortex and temporal poles than the brains of both non-psychopathic offenders and non-offenders. These areas of the brain appear to be important for reading other people's emotions and intentions, and seem to be active when people think about moral behaviour.
Neuroscientists have also found that the amygdala is impaired in psychopaths. The amygdala is responsible for stimulus-reinforcement learning and responding to emotional expressions, particularly fearful expressions. It is also involved in the formation of both stimulus-punishment and stimulus-reward associations.
The psychopaths among us
At first blush, the estimate that 1 to 2 percent of all people are psychopaths seems astonishingly high. In a country like the United States, this implies that there are between 3 to 6 million psychopathic Americans. Psychopaths also make up roughly 15 to 25 percent of the prison population, and are responsible for the lion's share of brutal crimes and murders. And according to the neuroscientist Fabrice Jotterand, psychopathy affects 3 to 5 % of all CEOs.
But not all psychopaths are dangerous. Given the high prevalence of psychopathy in our gene pool, and given that many seem to fare rather well in society, it's fair to say that we run the risk of generalizing about this condition and pigeonholing all psychopaths as being inherently dangerous.
That said, it's not outrageous to suggest that psychopathy may eventually be branded as a genetic disorder — one that may be subject to prenatal screening or gene therapy. Genomics and the practice of preimplantation genetic diagnosis may eventually alert prospective parents, not to mention their fertility doctors, to the possibility that their offspring could be psychopathic. Genetic technologies may put prospective parents in a difficult position, if tests reveal that their future child has a high chance of being a psychopath.
This issue could get trickier if the government gets involved. According to an estimate by the neuroscientist Kent Kiehl, the national cost of psychopathy in the U.S. stands at $460 billion a year — roughly 10 times the cost of depression. The government could stand to save a lot of money, if it decides that psychopaths should never be born in the first place.
Robert Hare, co-author of Snakes in Suits, takes a hard-line when it comes to psychopaths, referring to them as "intraspecies predators." He argues that they lack the very qualities that allow humans to live in social harmony and is concerned about their ability to blend in, undetected, in a variety of surroundings, including corporate environments. By conceptualizing psychopaths as remorseless predators, he feels we can better understand what often appears to be senseless behavior.
Indeed, it may very well have to be the human toll that's considered. Psychopaths, given their indifference and often insatiable desires, can harm people in any number of ways, whether through physical violence or ruthlessness in the workplace. It's the continuing prospect of having psychopaths around in the general population that may eventually determine whether they should be filtered from the gene pool.
An important social role?
But a reality check is also in order. As already noted, not all psychopaths are violent. In fact, that's far from the case.
Psychopathy is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Like autism, it falls along a spectrum. The Hare Psychopathy Checklist, a standard inventory used in law enforcement, has a top score of 40. Psychopaths tend to get a bit scary when they score in the early 20s. A very demented and dangerous psychopath would score around a 30. As journalist Jon Ronson has noted, "There are absolutes in psychopathy and the main absolute is a literal absence of empathy. It's just not there. In higher-scoring psychopaths, what grows in the vacant field where that empathy should be is a joy in manipulating people, a lack of remorse, a lack of guilt. If you've got a little bit of empathy, you're kind of not a psychopath."
This is why Ronson and others feel that some psychopaths make for great CEOs. "I think the other positive traits for psychopaths in business is need for stimulation, proneness to boredom," Ronson told Forbes. "You want somebody who can't sit still, who's constantly thinking about how to do better things."
Kevin Dutton, the author of the upcoming book, The Wisdom of Psychopaths, agrees. He feels that psychopathy is an indelible component of the human fabric that extends well beyond the business world. Dutton feels that psychopaths have a lot of good things going for them. He argues that they are fearless, confident, charismatic, ruthless and focused -– qualities Dutton believes are tailor-made for success in 21st century society. Specifically, attributes like coolness under pressure and strong desire give rise to successful surgeons, firefighters, movie stars, and attorneys. Weed out psychopathy, argues Dutton, and you may lose some very important personality traits that help to create the greater whole that is humanity.
No easy answers
Clearly the issue of whether or not psychopathy should be wiped out is not as straightforward as it might appear. As geneticists have shown, there's an adaptive nature to psychopathy — and its prevalence may actually be on the rise. And there may be a very good reason for it in the human gene pool, one that contributes to a kind of neurodiversity that's socially beneficial.
Taking a step back, an overarching question that needs to be asked is one about end-goals. What's more important: changing someone's behavior, or changing a person's state of mind? A consequentialist would argue that it's behavior, and that it doesn't matter what a person thinks or what kinds of empathic impairments they might have — all that matters is how they act. Subsequently, an argument can be made that, if we can root out criminally harmful behavior, our task is done.
But as Robert Hare has argued, that may not be good enough. The absence of empathy, he argues — the very definition of a psychopath — will always result in malevolence.
That may very well be the case, but the truest expression of humanity is the ability to extend empathy towards others — even those incapable of mustering empathy themselves.
Image via Shutterstock.com / claudia veja/


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text:
Copyright vs. Community
This is a speech by FSF president and founder, Richard M. Stallman.
See a list of all upcoming talks by Richard M. Stallman or help promote the event by downloading posters for Stallman events
Jul 11, 2012
from 06:00 PM to 08:00 PM
|Munich, Germany
|Contact Name
|Christian Grothoff
|Contact Phone
|+49 89289-18040
|Add event to calendar
Copyright developed in the age of the printing press, and was designed to fit with the system of centralized copying imposed by the printing press. But the copyright system does not fit well with computer networks, and only draconian punishments can enforce it.
The global corporations that profit from copyright are lobbying for draconian punishments, and to increase their copyright powers, while suppressing public access to technology. But if we seriously hope to serve the only legitimate purpose of copyright--to promote progress, for the benefit of the public--then we must make changes in the other direction.
Please fill out our contact form, so that we can contact you about future events in and around Munich.


text:
Protect your account with two-factor authentication!(self)
You asked for it, and we're delivering! Today, all Reddit users have the option to enable two-factor authentication for an additional layer of account security.
We have been slowly rolling this feature out, starting with beta testers, moderators, and third-party app developers, to ensure a positive experience across devices. Your feedback has been incredibly valuable, from pointing out bugs to recommending features. Thank you to everyone involved in testing.
Two-factor adds more security to your Reddit account by requiring a second step to sign in. In this case, if you opt into 2FA, you'll access a 6-digit verification code generated by your phone after a new sign-in attempt.
With two-factor enabled, even if someone else obtained your Reddit username and password, they still could not log in as you.
You can enable two-factor by selecting the password/email tab under your preferences on desktop. Select enable under two-factor authentication and follow the steps given to you. And make sure to generate your backup codes in the event your phone is unavailable! You can find more help in our Help Center.
Two-factor is supported across desktop, mobile, and third-party apps. It requires an authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy, or any app supporting the TOTP protocol) to generate your 6-digit verification code.
A few handy security reminders:
Thank Ellen Pao


text:
Caregivers At Risk for Weight Gain
Catching some Z's can help keep the pounds off
En español | Caregiving is tough, demanding work. It's also 24/7, which means that caregivers often find themselves short on sleep. To compound matters, new research shows that sleep deprivation can cause hormonal changes that increase appetite and decrease the sensation of feeling full. Studies from the University of Chicago and Stanford University in California found that the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin rises in people who haven't gotten enough rest. And leptin, the hormone that signals the brain when you're full, decreases when people don't get enough rest.
Curb cravings
Snack smart, eat fresh. Grabbing a quick snack is a natural reaction to satisfy a hunger pang. But choose wisely. Readily available snack foods may satisfy that empty feeling in your stomach and a craving for something sweet or salty, but most snacks provide unwanted calories and can contribute to weight gain.
Instead of a vending machine snack or "out of a box" snack, consider eating fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains found in oatmeal, bread, brown rice and bran cereal, among others. These foods provide complex carbohydrates that take longer to digest and don't create the sugar highs and lows that might keep you craving for more.
Don't eat or drink empty calories
If, after a sleepless night, you know the day ahead will be busy, try to avoid sugar- and calorie-laden soft drinks and juices. These are empty calories that provide a temporary energy boost but that will ultimately make you more tired and can contribute to obesity.
Choose low-fat dairy
Select low-fat or fat-free dairy products, such as yogurt, milk and cheese, to provide calcium for healthy bones. A cup of low-fat yogurt can satisfy your hunger without adding unwanted fat to your diet or your waistline.
Select quality protein
Include protein-rich foods that are low in saturated fat to maintain heart health and help control your weight. Select nuts, lean meats, poultry and fish to get the protein you need. Unsalted, toasted soybeans are also a good source of protein and are a convenient, tasty alternative to high-sodium snack foods.
Consider portion control
Remember to pay attention to portion control when you're tired. If you haven't had a scheduled "regular" meal all day, you're likely to overeat. So when you finally sit down for a meal, maintain normal-size portions and enjoy!
Change locations
If you're still feeling hungry after you've eaten, drink a glass of water, then get up from the table and leave the room. Changing your environment can help take your mind off food and reduce your risk of overeating.
Get a better night's rest
Caring for another person can reduce the amount of sleep you get each night and disrupt your normal, healthy sleep patterns. Instead of having time for yourself, those few precious hours before bedtime are typically devoted to preparing your loved one for bed. The following suggestions will help you get some much-needed rest:
- Create an evening schedule that gives you at least a half hour of downtime before retiring. If possible, change your loved one's schedule by getting him/her ready for bed earlier and encouraging some personal quiet time in his/her room prior to normal bedtime.
- Work out a schedule with another family member to take over caregiving duties after dinner, so you have some free time and can wind down before bed.
- Go to bed and wake up at approximately the same time each day. It may seem impossible at first, but developing a sleep routine for you and your loved one is important to your health.
- Make sure your bedroom is conducive to good sleep: Use room-darkening blinds, keep pets off the bed and out of the bedroom, turn off the bedroom phone ringer, avoid caffeinated drinks after 5 p.m., don't read or watch television in bed, limit daily alcohol intake to one glass for women and two for men, and exercise whenever possible (it's the best remedy for improving your quality of sleep).
- If you can't resolve your sleeplessness, talk with your doctor. Sometimes underlying health conditions — in addition to your demanding caregiving responsibilities — can interrupt your sleep. Your doctor can evaluate your health status, as well as discuss other strategies to help you get the rest you need.
This article was previously published by Johnson & Johnson.
Also of Interest
- Visit the Caregiving Resource Center for advice, resources and more
- Foods that can help you get to sleep
- Looking for a challenge? Try our free online games
See the AARP home page for deals, savings tips, trivia and more


text:
Business integrity Speak Up
Compliance with the Code of Conduct applies to all KLM Group employees. As part of the code, if there is any suspicion of inappropriate business behaviour within the company, staff can report it correctly and safely. Not only current and former KLM employees can do this; anyone who comes into contact with KLM as a result of their work may do this as well. You can find more information in our Speak Up Policy. In this policy, you'll also find a link to the Speak Up reporting tool.
Customer complaints cannot be filed via the Speak Up reporting tool. For such complaints, please reach out to the KLM Customer Contact Centre.
Safety and security
Safety and security are fundamental aspects of everything we do. We aim to achieve the highest level of safety and security possible. Our ambition is to be a world leader in safety.


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Adoption: Judge upholds child support in Russian adoption charges
A judge upholds requirement for a Tennessee woman to pay $150,000 in child support for a Russian boy she adopted but later sent back to Russia in April 2010.
| Lewisburg, Tenn.
The Tennessee woman who ended her adoption of a 7-year-old Russian boy by putting him on a plane to Moscow by himself lost her bid Friday to keep from paying $150,000 in child support.
Torry Hansen made her first court appearance Friday in a case that began in April 2010 when she sent Artyom Saveliev away from her home in Shelbyville with a letter that said he had violent behavior problems and she no longer wanted to be his mother.
Criminal charges were never filed but the Seattle-based adoption agency she used, the World Association for Children and Parents, sued her last year for child support.
Ms. Hansen, who now lives in Redding, Calif., went through a string of lawyers as she contested the child support and never responded to summonses to appear in court or at depositions. After Circuit Court Judge Lee Russell ordered her in May to pay $150,000 in child support, she hired a new attorney, former federal prosecutor Edward Yarbrough of Nashville.
In court on Friday, Hansen told the judge her previous attorneys did not keep her informed about the case and advised her she did not need to come to court. She also said that she gave birth to a daughter last year and could not come to court because of the pregnancy.
Hansen never spoke to the press before Friday, but her mother, Nancy Hansen, told The Associated Press in 2010 that her daughter, then 33, had to return the boy when he developed serious behavior problems. Nancy Hansen claimed he hit, screamed and spit at his adoptive mother and threatened to burn down the Hansen home and kill members of the family.
"Without going into depth, I can say he was very violent. I can say he wanted to kill me and he tried to kill my sister," Torry Hansen said in court Friday.
She said that the boy threatened to stab her mother to death. She started to tear up when describing how the threats of violence sent her mother to the emergency room in Shelbyville.
"That was when my parents decided to take him, because he was so violent," she said.
She said it was her parents' decision to put the boy on a flight to Russia, but she was aware of the decision and acquiesced.
"I have never mistreated or abused him or any child," she said.
Under cross examination, Torry Hansen told the court that she never called the police or the state Department of Children's Services about his behavior.
"I called numerous psychologists and was told there would be a 6-week wait to get in," she said.
When asked whether she was aware that a Russian court found that her actions constituted neglect and abuse, she said, "I am aware that they felt putting him on the plane was emotionally disturbing."
Ruling from the bench, Judge Russell upheld his default judgment against Hansen, ordering her to pay child support for Artyom, who now lives in a group home in a Moscow suburb. Mr. Russell said Hansen had not cooperated with the court and he wasn't convinced by her arguments.
Mr. Yarbrough said Hansen has been making the child-support payments and will be required to continue doing so.
The case contributed to a decision by Russia in 2010 to delay some adoptions by US parents. Russia on July 9 ratified a new agreement with the United States that gives the country greater power to regulate international adoptions.
After the judge's ruling, Yarbrough said the litigation is not over and his client still has options, such as appealing the order or requesting that it be modified.
"I think it is a loss, we wanted the judge to set aside the default judgment and have a full trial, but there are other options for us," he said.
The attorney for the adoption agency, Brentwood attorney Larry Crain, said the child spent six weeks in a psychiatric hospital when he was returned to Russia because of the trauma he experienced.
He said the case has had huge implications on international child adoptions, as well as sparked outrage in both countries.
"I believe even the accord last week was due to the fact that finally this court, when no one else would step up and do anything for this child, finally this court did ... " he said. "Now we believe there are safeguards in place to prevent this from ever happening again."


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Activists urge Obama to speak out on Mexico's human rights record
MEXICO CITY -- Activists are attempting to spotlight human rights issues during President Obama's visit this week to Mexico, urging him to publicly condemn what they describe as Mexico's abysmal record of torture, killings and forced disappearances by security forces.
It is highly unlikely Obama would make that kind of public statement during his stay here Thursday and Friday. His meetings with Mexico's new president, Enrique Peña Nieto, are expected to focus on topics the two governments prefer, such as the economy and trade, with a nod to security and the drug war.
Any discussion of human rights issues would probably occur behind closed doors.
Rights organizations say Obama is missing an opportunity to criticize Mexico's record at a time when Peña Nieto can avoid being blamed for it. He assumed the presidency just five months ago, at the end of President Felipe Calderon's six-year term.
Under Calderon, the government fought powerful drug cartels and arrested key criminal figures. But killings, kidnappings and other severe human rights abuses by the police and military soared, according to human rights groups, as well as testimony collected by The Times. During that period, the Obama administration repeatedly voiced its support for Calderon's efforts.
"Presidents Obama and Peña Nieto have a golden opportunity to address issues affecting the lives of people on both sides of the border," Frank Jannuzi, interim executive director of Amnesty International USA, said in a statement Tuesday.
"Respecting human rights must be integral to any joint plan for further bilateral cooperation between the two countries -- not just words during a presidential photo-op," he added. "Do not squander this moment."
Jose Miguel Vivanco, director of the Americas program at the New York-based Human Rights Watch group, wrote to Obama this week to chastise the administration for its "uncritical" support of Calderon's policies and failure to condemn abuses.
"This visit provides an ideal opportunity to break that silence by demonstrating the U.S. government's concern for Mexico's human rights problems and [the new government's] commitment to supporting a new approach," Vivanco wrote.
He noted that Peña Nieto's administration has said that it would "adjust" the drug-war strategy.
Current and former officials from Mexico and the United States told The Times last week that one of those adjustments will be to reduce the role U.S. advisors play in Mexico's security affairs.
Obama on Friday travels from Mexico to Costa Rica, where he will meet with several Central American leaders. With that in mind, a coalition of human rights groups from the region urged the leaders Tuesday to confront the abuses faced by thousands of Central Americans who travel across Mexico every year in an effort to reach the U.S.
Many from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, especially, are kidnapped by criminal drug-and-extortion gangs -- often working in cahoots with Mexican police -- and held for ransom, forced into slave labor or killed.
In a letter to Obama, Peña Nieto and the presidents of Central America, 145 organizations said the "alarming increase in violence" had to stop. They blamed transnational criminal gangs, but also the "failed security policies" of the region's government that have "militarized citizen security" and "exacerbated … human suffering."
In Mexico and through most of Central America, armies have been given large roles in fighting drug traffickers, often with the U.S. military as close advisors.
Another group of activists in Mexico City chose arms trafficking as their issue. They sent a small dirigible over the city Monday to symbolically deliver to the U.S. Embassy a petition calling for an end to the steady flow of weapons into Mexico from the United States. The slogan "Adios a las armas" (Goodbye to weapons) was printed on the side of the dirigible.
Apparently, however, a stiff wind sent the balloon off course, and it crashed somewhere over the western part of the city.
Organizers decided instead to carry their petition, which they said had collected about 20,000 signatures via the Internet, to the embassy in person.
"Without stopping the weapons," prominent peace activist and poet Javier Sicilia said, "we cannot stop this horror that Mexico is living."
Obama's 'red line' on Syria grows softer
Six men plead guilty in Britain to planning terror attack
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Rays outfielder Kiermaier completes 6-year, $53.5M contract
PORT CHARLOTTE — The drive from 31st-round draft choice to one of baseball's best defensive players paid off for Kevin Kiermaier.
The Tampa Bay Rays rewarded their center fielder with a six-year, $53.5 million contract that ranks among the largest financial commitments the team has ever given a player.
"I can't say it's unbelievable because I've always dreamed of this, and I've worked ... ever since I got to junior college to try to make this moment happen," the two-time AL Gold Glove winner said Monday.
"I couldn't be more thankful and grateful," said Kiermaier, who turns 27 next month. "A lot of hard work and dedication can make a lot of great things happen."
The deal could keep him in a Tampa Bay uniform through 2022 and includes a club option for a seventh season which — including incentives — could boost the total value of the contract to $66.15 million.
Not bad for a defensive whiz who continues to draw motivation from being overlooked when he was drafted coming out of Parkland College in Illinois.
"I was the 941st pick of the 2010 draft. I'll never forget that," Kiermaier said.
"At the time, I was pretty bitter about that because I knew I was better than that," he added. "But at the same time, I wouldn't change that for anything. I always use it as a chip on my shoulder."
Kiermaier joins Evan Longoria and Chris Archer as the only players to sign contracts guaranteed for at least six years by the Rays since principal owner Stuart Sternberg took control of the budget-minded franchise in 2005.
Longoria signed a six-year, $17.5 million deal as a rookie in 2008, then agreed to a six-year, $100 million extension in November 2012. Archer agreed to a six-year, $25.5 million contract after the 2014 season.
Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman called Kiermaier's contract a "classic win-win" for an organization.
"You're talking about the faces of our franchise right now, and guys who have made a commitment to the Tampa Bay Rays," Silverman said.
"We don't have the opportunity often to make these types of commitments — even to have the initial conversations, much less actually consummate a deal," Silverman added. "But if you look at those three guys, you look at Kevin in the outfield, Longo at third base and Chris Archer on the mound, those are cornerstones of a franchise."
Kiermaier made his major league debut in 2013 as a late-inning replacement during Tampa Bay's Game 163 tiebreaker win over Texas. By the end of the following season, he was the Rays' regular center fielder.
Kiermaier missed 48 games with a broken left hand in 2016. He batted .246 with 12 homers, 37 RBIs and a career-best 21 stolen bases.
And while he welcomes the financial security of a new contract, Kiermaier vowed big money won't change him or the way he approaches the game.
"I'm never content with anything I'm doing. I always want to be the best player I can possibly be," the native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, said. "I don't think I've scratched the surface yet. I know I can be a lot more well-rounded player. I hope to prove that this year and many more to come."


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Free agency Day 3: D-Day do-over for Parise, Suter?
The dominoes are ready to start falling whenever JP's kid Zach and Ryan Suter make their "Decisions" which we all expected yesterday.
We do know that the Rangers aren't even a little bit involved in either of those free agents, who are going to get insane contracts no matter where they land.
And we do know, or expect, that once they do land the dominoes start to tumble and perhaps Glen Sather can get onto acquiring Rick Nash ... that is, if Columbus GM Scott Howson can find an acceptable deal that doesn't include Chris Kreider or Derek Stepan (apparently, according to reports out of Ohio, Ryan McDonagh is not a "must" in the offer/demand; the Jackets aren't necessarily looking for a D-man).
And we know that after Parise's contract is done, Nash's $7.8 million cap hit is going to look like a bargain.
Not to mention the P.A. Parenteau, Ray Whitney, Olli Jokinen contracts.
Last night, in case you missed it, Aaron Portzline, the fine reporter for the Columbus Dispatch, tweeted that, as far as he knows, the list of teams to which Nash would accept a trade includes ... "Detroit, NY Rangers, Philadelphia and San Jose." He added, "To be clear: there could be one or two more." Carolina, for some reason, believes it still has a shot at him. Others, including Ottawa, have been told to not bother.
Anyway, I'm not expecting much today only because I've spent two days expecting stuff to start rolling, and I have two important appointments today (no, not those kind of appointments where you smack a ball around and enjoy yourself to whatever degree; these are actual appointments from which I will derive no pleasure). So I'll be checking in throughout the day, but I might not be here to update immediately.
Rely in the widget (which I guess we can no longer call Woywitka) ---------->


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Storm hammers Lake Tahoe with several feet of wet snow
TAHOE/TRUCKEE — Winter returned to the Sierra with a wet twist over the weekend, dumping several feet of snow in higher elevations and bringing plenty of rain at lake level.
On Monday morning, Kirkwood Mountain Resort south of Lake Tahoe reported a whopping 82 inches of new snow at upper mountain (nearly 7 feet) from the storm that began Thursday throughout the greater Truckee/Tahoe region.
On the North Shore, Squaw Valley reported a storm total of 68 inches on its upper mountain, while Sugar Bowl and Alpine Meadows both reported storm totals of 61 inches.
"The new snow was just what we needed to really get winter going here at Squaw and Alpine," said Mike Livak, executive vice president for Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, in a statement. "Thanks to the storm, we are now able to open new lifts so that our guests can truly experience the diverse terrain that these two mountains have to offer."
Here's a look at some storm totals, according to Tahoe area ski resorts Monday morning*:
Alpine Meadows: 61 inches of new snow at upper mountain.
Squaw Valley: 68 inches of new snow at upper mountain.
Heavenly: 34 inches of new snow at upper mountain.
Homewood: 52 inches of new snow at upper mountain.
Kirkwood: 82 inches of new snow at upper mountain.
Northstar: 44 inches of new snow at upper mountain.
Sugar Bowl: 61 inches of new snow at upper mountain.
Diamond Peak: 48 inches of new snow at upper mountain.
According to the National Weather Service in Reno, as much as 2 to 3 feet of snow fell between 7,000 feet and 8,000 feet, while lake level areas received up to 6 inches — and plenty of rain.
According to reports, the northeastern side of Lake Tahoe, near Incline Village and along Nevada 28, saw up to 3 inches of rain over the weekend, while Carson City received 2 inches near its western foothills.
The weather caused an hours-long power outage for much of Incline and Kings Beach Saturday night into early Sunday, according to Liberty Utilities, due to a failure at the Brockway Substation that reportedly even had the casinos at north state line operating on generators.
Skies should be clear for Presidents Day weekend, which typically is the last big holiday weekend for Tahoe resorts. Temperatures should be in the mid-50s by the weekend, according to NWS.
The storm comes amid the current drought in California, declared recently after consecutive drier-than-average winters, and on the heels of 2013 being the driest ever in the Sierra, according to previous reports.
In the Sierra Foothills, NWS reported more than 10 inches of rain had fallen at the Nevada County Air Park from Wednesday through Sunday, according to the Sun's sister paper, The Union in Grass Valley, with 5.9 inches falling Saturday and Sunday.
Still, while a welcome sight, several more storms need to soon line up behind the one that washed through the western county this weekend to even reach normal precipitation levels, let alone approach making up the drought deficit, said Stefanie Henry, a forecaster with the weather service in Sacramento.
"Several more (storms) would have to bring us way above normal precipitation to bring us up to normal," Henry said. "But this is the most significant rainfall event we've seen this season."
*Accumulation statistics are according to resorts' online snow reports; some vary from 48-hour totals vs. overall storm totals.
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(The Blaze/AP) -- Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul outlined his views on immigration Wednesday, saying he favors a compassionate policy that doesn't rely on "barbed-wire fences and guns on our border."
Paul spoke to several dozen people organized by Hispanics in Politics, Nevada's oldest Hispanic community group. The Texas congressman has scheduled several days of campaigning in Nevada before the state's caucuses Saturday.
Paul went into much greater detail on immigration policy than he has at most of his campaign stops. He typically steers clear of discussing rights for specific groups of people, insisting that his libertarian-leaning views apply to everyone as individuals.
But in Nevada, which is 26 percent Hispanic, Paul outlined an immigration policy far outside the Republican mainstream.
Paul blasted politicians who blame immigrants for causing the country's economic problems. He compared the situation to Nazi Germany's targeting of Jews in the 1930s.
"When things go badly, individuals look for scapegoats," Paul said. "Hispanics, the immigrants who have come in, are being used as scapegoats."
Paul said he doesn't support illegal immigration and said people who break the law should be punished. But he said he opposes any effort to round people up and ship them away.
"If an individual is found to be breaking the law, serious consideration should be given for them to return. But I would think 99 percent of people who come here come because they believe in the American dream," Paul said to applause.
Paul decried a punitive border policy, which said offended his belief in individual liberty.
"The one thing I have resisted and condemned: I do not believe that barbed-wire fences and guns on our border will solve any of our problems," he said.
Paul also said he was against laws that require immigrants to carry proof of legal status. He says he doesn't want to live in a country where people are required to carry identity papers.
"You say, `Well, this is only for illegals.' That's a bunch of baloney," Paul said. "How do you sort out illegals from legals? Unless you put papers and identification on everybody."
Hispanics in Nevada have favored Democrats over Republicans in recent election years - a full 74 percent of Hispanics supported President Barack Obama in 2008 over GOP rival John McCain.
But Fernando Cortes, Paul's director of Hispanic outreach in Nevada, said many Hispanic voters had shown interest in Paul's message.
"They're always pandered to by the left and ignored by the right," Cortes said of Hispanic voters. "They're very motivated by the wanting of freedom back and a sound economy."
Rep. Paul's remarks to supporters in Nevada Tuesday night:


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Microsoft's 64GB Surface Pro tablet ships with about a third of its advertised storage capacity when it goes on sale February 9. While it's common for tablets to have less storage space available because of preinstalled software, the Surface Pro is one of the worst offenders compared to the identical issue faced by Apple's iPad, Amazon's Kindle Fire HD, and Surface RT.
Microsoft confirmed the $899 64GB model of the Surface Pro will only have 23GB available for use out of the box – that's just under 36 percent of the advertised capacity. The rest is taken up by the full Windows 8 Pro install, preinstalled apps and a recovery partition, which make up for the 41GB occupied. The 128GB model of the Surface Pro comes with 65 percent of its advertised storage capacity available, 83GB.
This is not the first time the Surface tablets from Microsoft are in the spotlight due to how little storage space is available for users out of the box. When the Surface RT tablets were introduced in October, the 32GB Surface RT actually came with 16GB free to use (50 percent of advertised capacity), while the 64GB version has 45GB free, which is around 70 percent of the storage advertised on sale.
In comparison with other tablets, Microsoft appears to offer the least available storage space. iOS on an 16GB Apple iPad takes no more than 4GB of space, leaving some 75 percent of the advertised capacity for use. So, for example, the new 128GB iPad actually has some 124GB of available storage, with the OS taking just over 3 percent of the space. For the 128GB Surface Pro, Windows 8 Pro takes 35 percent of the storage capacity – over 10 times more than the iOS.
Amazon also leaves more than 78 percent of the 16GB Kindle Fire HD storage available to users, while the 32GB model comes with almost 27GB free. Similarly, the 16GB Barnes and Noble Nook HD+ comes with 13GB user accessible storage, while the 32GB model has 28GB free.
Having a full Windows 8 Pro install on a tablet-sized device has its trade-offs. You can install and run a full desktop version of Word or Photoshop, but your tablet will only have a limited amount of built-in storage available to use, and half the battery life of normal tablets . However, the Surface Pro allows you to extend your storage capacity via a full-size USB 3.0 port and a MicroSD slot, while on the iPad you are stuck with the built-in storage.


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Melinda Deslatte: Mary Landrieu stung by failed ACA rollout
Mary Landrieu needs some good news from the federal health care law — and soon — or an issue that's already tricky for the Democratic U.S. senator's 2014 re-election bid threatens to become a tough hurdle for her campaign.
The federally run website allowing Louisiana residents to sign up for insurance coverage has been dogged with problems. At least 93,000 people in her home state face insurance cancellations because of the federal law. And the state's Republican governor has made sure hundreds of thousands of people who could have received free insurance won't get that benefit.
In a state where President Barack Obama and his health care reform poll as highly unpopular, Landrieu needs something positive to show for the law if she's going to be able to explain her vote that helped pass it and her continuing, strong defense of it.
The three-term senator has a bit of time. The election is still a year away.
But Obama also has realized the trouble the problem-plagued health care rollout could have for the election for Landrieu and other Senate Democrats. He met with them last week to describe planned fixes for the website. Landrieu wouldn't comment on the meeting.
Her chief Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, has seized on the rollout of the health law to blast her. He's used the problems to steer attention away from his own difficulties and questions about his conservative credentials within the GOP.
Cassidy, an opponent of the law known as the Affordable Care Act, has repeatedly voted to repeal it. In recent days, his campaign launched its first attack ad against Landrieu, an online spot that seeks to direct ire over the health revamp to the state's senior senator.
"As the deciding vote for Obamacare, Mary Landrieu is in a panic, not for you, but for her own political career. Typical Washington politician," a narrator says in the Cassidy ad.
Although as many as 344,000 Louisianians are estimated to be eligible for subsidies to buy insurance through the federal online marketplace, the website's launch has been plagued by glitches making it difficult to sign up for coverage. The marketplace offers insurance options for people who are uninsured or who currently pay for individual policies.
The website problems are expected to eventually be fixed. That's the easier hurdle for Landrieu to move past.
But another piece of the health care law rollout appears to contradict statements made by the president and repeated by Landrieu during debate on the law: assurances that if people were content with their health insurance policy, they could keep it under the health overhaul.
That hasn't happened. Instead, insurance companies have sent millions of cancellation notices to individual policy holders.
Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon's office said nearly 93,000 people in Louisiana won't be able to keep their current insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act because the policies don't meet minimum federal requirements for coverage.
Landrieu stayed staunch in her support of the federal health overhaul during the website computer glitches, but she clearly understands the trouble the wave of canceled insurance policies can cause her. She's introduced a bill to permit insurers to reinstate the canceled plans.
"A promise was made, and this legislation will ensure that this promise is kept," Landrieu said in a statement.
The proposal has yet to gain significant traction with Democrats who would be needed to pass it, however.
Back home, Landrieu's not getting help in framing some benefits of the federal health law from Louisiana's other top leaders, most of whom are Republicans opposed to the overhaul.
For example, Gov. Bobby Jindal has refused to expand Louisiana's Medicaid program under the law, rejecting billions of federal dollars that could have been used to give free health insurance to as many as 400,000 uninsured people, mainly the working poor. He also refused to let the state run its own online marketplace for residents to shop for coverage.
That leaves Landrieu largely on her own to defend her health care vote, waiting and hoping for good news.
— Melinda Deslatte covers Louisiana politics for The Associated Press.


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Free Download VideoMeld offline installer for Windows 11, 10, 8, 7. An all new multitrack digital audio and video editing program, edit videos and add text captions, special effects, and transitions.
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Upshur, Abel Parker
Upshur, Abel Parker ŭp´shər [key], 1790–1844, American cabinet officer, b. Northampton co., Va. Admitted (1810) to the bar, he practiced law in Richmond, Va., and held state offices. When most of the Whig cabinet resigned in disagreement with President Tyler, Upshur was appointed (1841) secretary of the navy. Upon Daniel Webster's resignation, he became secretary of state (1843–44). An ardent advocate of slavery, Upshur reopened negotiations with Texas for its admission to the Union as a slave state and thus played an important role in the movement for the annexation of Texas. He was killed by the explosion of a cannon on the U.S.S. Princeton.
See biography by C. H. Hall (1964).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies


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Every franchise group manager has an "efficiency" goal: How do you run locations better, maintain great food, and happy employees while doing more with less?
For Matt Hansen, senior vice president of operations at KBP Foods, adding an automated oil-management system was the answer.
KBP owns 163 KFC restaurants across the U.S. Each location had a basic system to monitor oil usage, but managers didn't have access to centralized reporting, oil-usage monitoring over time, or data to help use oil more efficiently.
To remedy this situation, Hansen decided to install the automated oil-management system from Restaurant Technologies, Inc. (RTI). Since then, all of KBP's KFC locations have been upgraded, with the newly purchased Virginia locations being the most recent.
The patented RTI closed-loop oil-management solution automates fresh oil delivery, storage, handling, and disposal of used oil.
Employees use a wand to fill and discard oil in the fryer. RTI technicians supply fresh oil and collect the used oil via a secure fill box mounted to the exterior of each restaurant, eliminating the need for "grease caddies" and other antiquated oil-handling practices.
RTI also provides a full training program, in which the employees and managers of each store receive in-depth coaching on the system from RTI personnel.
For Hansen, the best feature is the Total Oil Management (TOM) online portal. Using TOM, managers can monitor oil-related data for single or multiple restaurant locations, analyzing oil quality, usage, and other statistics.
Managers have visibility into employee compliance with standard operating procedures and oil data, including the volume of oil used at any given time.
"It's a brilliant way of measuring efficiency and ensuring we provide our highest-quality food," Hansen says. "If our oil usage is too high, we're wasting money. If it's too low, we're probably serving a product not up to our standards. TOM automatically computes all of these numbers in every store for us. Essentially, the system pays for itself."
"We can now maximize our oil usage, getting the most out of it without wasting or overusing it," he continues. "This has the potential to offer significant savings because behind chicken, cooking oil is where we spend the most money."
Hansen also knows that implementing the RTI system has helped make KFC general manager jobs easier. Aside from eliminating grease caddies and creating a cleaner atmosphere, managers like having access to more robust data, training tools, and reports.
"When KBP Foods walks into a room of general managers and says we're going to put RTI into their restaurants, we get a standing ovation," Hansen says. "It's that important and that impactful."


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Posted 12 years ago
(1 item)
Came across this recently, the last 15 years it was the floor of my sons fort. He came home and wondered if it was still there. It is two-sided, the other side has some bullet holes but for its age its in pretty good shape. It is 2'x6'.