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OSLO, Norway — The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for working to eliminate the scourge that has haunted generations from World War I to the battlefields of Syria.
The reaction in Syria to the Nobel decision was notably polarized. A senior Syrian rebel called the award a "premature step" that will divert the world's attention from "the real cause of the war" while a ruling party lawmaker declared it to be a vindication of President Bashir Assad's government.
The OPCW was formed in 1997 to enforce the Chemical Weapons Convention, the first international treaty to outlaw an entire class of weapons. Based in The Hague, Netherlands, it has largely worked out of the limelight until this year, when the United Nations called on its expertise to help investigate alleged chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
"The conventions and the work of the OPCW have defined the use of chemical weapons as a taboo under international law," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in Oslo. "Recent events in Syria, where chemical weapons have again been put to use, have underlined the need to enhance the efforts to do away with such weapons."
Friday's award comes just days before Syria officially joins as the group's 190th member state. OPCW inspectors are already on a highly risky U.N.-backed disarmament mission based in Damascus to verify and destroy the government's arsenal of poison gas and nerve agents amid a raging civil war.
"Events in Syria have been a tragic reminder that there remains much work still to be done," OPCW Director-General Ahmet Uzumcu (AKH'-meht ooh-ZOOM'-joo) told reporters in The Hague. "Our hearts go out to the Syrian people who were recently victims of the horror of chemical weapons."
"I truly hope that this award and the OPCW's ongoing mission together with the United Nations in Syria will (help) efforts to achieve peace in that country and end the suffering of its people," he said.
He said the $1.2 million prize money would be used "for the goals of the convention" — to eliminate chemical weapons.
By giving the peace award to an international organization, the Nobel committee found a way to highlight the devastating Syrian civil war, now in its third year, without siding with any group involved. The fighting has killed more than 100,000 people, devastated many cities and towns and forced millions of Syrians to flee their homes and country, according to the U.N.
U.N. war crimes investigators have accused both Assad's government and the rebels of wrongdoing, although they say the scale and intensity of the rebel abuses hasn't reached that of the regime.
Louay Safi, a senior figure in Syria's main opposition bloc, called the Nobel award "a premature step."
"If this price is seen as if the chemical weapons inspections in Syria will help foster peace in Syria and in the region, it's a wrong perception," Safi told The Associated Press in a phone interview from Qatar.
Fayez Sayegh, a lawmaker and member of Assad's ruling Baath party, told the AP the award underscores "the credibility" of the Damascus government. He said Syria is "giving an example to countries that have chemical and nuclear weapons."
In the past, seven nations — Albania, India, Iraq, Libya, Russia and the United States, along with a country identified by the OPCW only as "a state party" but widely believed to be South Korea — have declared stockpiles of chemical weapons and have or are in the process of destroying them.
However, the committee noted that some countries have not observed the deadline of April 2012 for destroying their chemical weapons. That applies especially to the U.S. and Russia, said Nobel committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland.
"I have to recognize that they have particular challenges. They have huge stockpiles of chemical weapons," he told the AP. "What is important is that they do as much as they can and as fast as they can."
After an Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds in Syria, Assad was faced by the prospect of possibly devastating U.S. strikes against his military. To avert that, he admitted his chemical weapons stockpile and his government quickly signed up to the Chemical Weapons Convention and allowed OPCW inspectors into his country. Syria formally becomes a member of the organization on Monday.
The first OPCW inspection team arrived in Syria last week, followed by another team this week. They have already begun to oversee the first stages of destruction of Assad's chemical weapons.
The struggle to control chemical weapons began in earnest after World War I, when agents such as mustard gas killed more than 100,000 people and injured a million more. The 1925 Geneva Convention prohibited the use of chemical weapons but their production or storage wasn't outlawed until the Chemical Weapons Convention came into force in 1997.
"During World War II, chemical means were employed in Hitler's mass exterminations," the prize committee said. "Chemical weapons have subsequently been put to use on numerous occasions by both states and terrorists."
According to the OPCW, 57,740 metric tons, or 81.1 percent, of the world's declared stockpile of chemical agents have been verifiably destroyed. Albania, India and "a third country" — believed to be South Korea — have completed the destruction of their declared stockpiles.
An OPCW report earlier this year said the United States had destroyed about 90 percent of its stockpile of the weapons, Russia had destroyed 70 percent and Libya 51 percent.
Nations not belonging to the OPCW include North Korea, Angola, Egypt and South Sudan. Israel and Myanmar have signed but not ratified the convention.
The OPCW did not figure prominently in this year's Nobel speculation, which focused mostly on Malala Yousafzai, the 16-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban last October for advocating education for girls.
"She is an outstanding woman and I think she has a bright future and she will probably be a nominee next year or the year after that," Jagland, the committee chairman, told The Associated Press. He declined to comment on whether she had been considered for this year's award.
The European Union won the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize for uniting a continent ravaged by two world wars and divided by the Cold War.
Earlier this week, Alice Munro of Canada won the Nobel Literature Prize for her short-story prowess; three U.S.-based scientists won the chemistry award for developing a powerful new way to do chemistry on a computer; three Americans won the medicine prize for discoveries about how substances are moved around within cells; and the physics award went to a British and a Belgian scientist whose theories helped to explain how matter formed in the universe.
The peace prize was the last of the original Nobel Prizes to be announced for this year. The winners of the economics award, added in 1968, will be announced on Monday.
Ritter reported from Stockholm. AP reporters Mark Lewis in Oslo, Norway, and Bassem Mroue and Barbara Surk in Beirut contributed to this report.
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I am building a simulation engine that creates and uses a couple hundred thousand objects per simulation trial, many of which are only used for a small amount of time. Not unexpectedly, I am running into out of heap memory errors because either a) I am not properly dereferencing them, or b) Java's garbage collection is working slower that my object creation. This happens over the course of about 20 trials, I need to run about 100 trials, and I have set the Java heap size to about 256mb.
Regardless of the reason for the problem, and I admit it is likely to be programming errors on my part, I would like to be able to recycle all objects, when no longer needed, in about 30 classes, and make them available for reuse at the end of each trial. All objects in the recycled list could have their references reset, and since these objects are only referred to by others of these objects, my objectives would be met.
With code such as the code below customized for each class, I am able to build a list of all objects in each :
public static AbstractEntity firstRecycledEntity = null; public Entity newEntity(int index, String name) { Entity entity = null; if (firstRecycledEntity == null) { entity = new Entity(index, name); } else { entity = firstRecycledEntity; firstRecycledEntity = firstRecycledEntity.nextRecycledEntity; } return entity; } public static Entity void recycle(E entity) { entity.nextRecycledEntity = firstRecycledEntity; firstRecycledEntity = entity; }
However, I was wondering if there was any way I could do this with generics so that I did not have to copy this code to each class.
Thanks . . .

subset: commoncrawl


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Clara (Davis) Smith was the daughter of Jacob and Jane (Moyle) Davis. Her father was a brother to my gg-grandfather, John B. Davis. Clara's the sister of William Davis. I received this obituary from my mom; there is no citation. Clara died December 10, 1951, and is buried at Linwood Cemetery in Dubuque, Iowa. I visited Linwood Cemetery in 2011, but was unable to locate her headstone.
Transcription of obituary:
Mrs. Clara Smith, 92, widow of W. H. Smith, died at 4 a.m. Monday at Mercy hospital. She had been ill for one week.
Friends may call after noon Tuesday at the Egelhof funeral home. Services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday from the funeral home. The Rev. G. Dempster Yinger, of St. Luke's Methodist church, will officiate. Burial will be in Linwood cemetery.
She was born on Nov. 16, 1859, at Council Hills Station near Galena, Ill., a daughter of the late Jacob and Jane Davis. She came to Dubuque 50 years ago and lived at 767 Roberts street until she moved to the Bethany home six years ago. She was a member of St. Luke's Methodist church.
Surviving are a son, Earl C. Smith, of Chippewa Falls, Wis.; a daughter, Mrs. R. C. (Verna) McKinney, of Cleghorn, Ia.; a brother, Jacob Davis, of Custer, S. D., a niece, Miss Lucille Smith, of Dubuque; and two grandchildren and one great grandchild.
She was preceded by her husband in 1937.


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the new map 6.52d has just been released and it is being used in some of the leagues that are gonno b hosted worldwide . got a lot of bug fixed and some changes in some heroes and stuff !
The dload link is
6.52d Changelog
* Fixed a major exploit that has been discovered very recently
Notes: Both 6.53 and the official map translation project (Korean/Chinese/Russian for now) are almost ready.
6.52c Changelog
* Changed some bounty values on Transmuted neutral creeps when using Hand of Midas
* Significantly lowered Ancient of Lore and Temple of the Damned's armor and increased their HP regeneration (15->5 armor, 2.5->20 HP/sec)
* Fixed a minor bug with Juxtapose
* Fixed some bugs with -pm
* Fixed a bug with capturing a rune using a Bottle from a leaver
* Fixed a minor bug when trying to form Satanic on courier.
* Infest now properly dispels buffs when you go in a unit
* Fixed Marksmanship hotkey
* SinglePlayer's test commands -lvlup and -refresh now work for multiple heroes
* Siege units now get a minor bonus when the respective range rax (Temple of the Damned/Ancient of Lore) is destroyed
* Fixed Meepo with Aegis of the Immortal
* Fixed some aggro problems with one of the scourge neutral camps
* Fixed an issue with buying an item on a unit as it was dying that resulted in a tome version of the item appearing
* Fixed multiple Dagons with different levels not sharing cooldown
* Fixed a bug with Sandstorm that caused various game glitches with Blackhole and Spectral Dagger
* Fixed a potential suicide issue with Fatal Bonds
* Fixed a minor glitch with Maelstrom triggering Perseverance's cooldown
* Improved cast range and cooldown on Plague
* Changed Soul Rip allied damage to hp loss to prevent it from dispelling consumables
* Improved damage progression on Slithereen Crush
* Fixed a bug with Morphling in -dm when spawning with melee bashers
* Fixed the recent Morph not transfering stats at proper speed at levels 2 and 3 (DonTomaso)
* Increased Howl's duration
* Fixed a bug when combining -sd and -du game modes
* Fixed -music from affecting other players
* Removed leaver hero icon when using -kickafk
* Lowered Bounty Hunter's Wind Walk cooldown
* Fixed an exploit with Time Walk
* Fixed an old rare bug involving Sprout and Spirit Bear
* Fixed a potential bug when healing with Bottle near the fountain
* Fixed a bug with captured rune not expiring when using allied shared Bottle
* Fixed a bug with Spirit Bear dying with bottle in -dm
Should this map be played in the league games , since there is no major change only bug fixes ???


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Voroshilov, Kliment Yefremovich
Voroshilov, Kliment Yefremovich vôrəshē´lŏf, Rus. klyĭmyĕnt´ yəfrĕm´əvĭch vərəshē´ləf [key], 1881–1969, Soviet military leader and public official. A Bolshevik from 1903, he was an active revolutionary prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and an outstanding Red Army commander in the civil war (1918–20) that followed it. As commissar for military and naval affairs, later defense (1925–40), Voroshilov helped reorganize the Red Army. In World War II he served as commander of the northwestern front. Voroshilov was a member of the politburo of the central committee of the Communist party from 1926 and a member of the Supreme Soviet from 1937. A close associate of Stalin, he became chairman of the presidium of the supreme council of the USSR (i.e., president of the USSR) on Stalin's death (1953). Implicated by Khrushchev in the 1957
antiparty factionagainst Khrushchev, he was forced to resign in 1960 and was dropped from the central committee in 1961. After Khrushchev's ouster he was reelected to the central committee (1966).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Russian, Soviet, and CIS History: Biographies


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Mom Remembrance Necklace Someone we love is in Heaven
Keep Mom close to your heart with this loving Remembrance Necklace. "Mom" is engraved on the dainty hand polished coin and enhanced in black enamel, paired with a delicate polished Angel Wing tag on an adjustable cable chain measuring 18"-22" with a lobster clasp closure. Available in Polished Stainless Steel and 18k Yellow Gold over Stainless Steel. Pendant Dimensions: Circle: 0.5" (13mm), Wing: 0.625" (10mm)
Return & Warranty
- 100% Secure payment with SSL Encryption.
- If you're not 100% satisfied, let us know and we'll make it right.
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- Orders ship within 5 to 10 business days.
- Tip: Buying 2 products or more at the same time will save you quite a lot on shipping fees.


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Sports Beat: He built something from nothing
There is a puncher's chance that Jim Calhoun could walk into a gathering that included Alex Rodriguez, John Sununu and Simon Cowell and be considered the least likeable person in the room.
Presumably that wouldn't bother Calhoun. He wasn't concerned with popularity contests. He was concerned with winning basketball games. And championships.
Until Thursday.
Calhoun announced his retirement from coaching the University of Connecticut men's basketball team. It wasn't because of his age, now 70. It wasn't because he doubted his ability to continue orchestrating a major-college behemoth through another challenging season. Men who accept the enormity of molding an athletic program in a place few ever have heard of aren't daunted by age or task.
Neither was it because of cancer, which Calhoun already has survived.
It was because of his inability to ride a bicycle without drastic circumstances befalling him. Or more succinctly, him falling off said bicycle.
Jim Calhoun might not have been media friendly or gotten along with officials, those fashioning ties as well as striped shirts. His players might not have had a preferred graduation rate. He might not even have gotten along with Geno Auriemma, the man located down the hall from Calhoun who sculpted UConn's women's basketball program into a powerhouse.
But this is what Jim Calhoun did: Build something out of nothing.
Calhoun made many of us commit to memory the city of Storrs, which possibly is his most remarkable achievement. He somehow recruited elite players to a state whose premier athletes previously attended Yale. To a place that was known mainly for cows and snow drifts, and a region that basically attracts New Yorkers tired of living in the city.
This much for Podunk, too. While Storrs is your basic metro punch line, neither is it known for its war-zone ghettoes, rush-hour gridlock or Spring Break tragedies.
Because of Calhoun and Auriemma, hired only one year apart in the athletic director coup of the century, it became synonymous with excellence in college basketball. Give Calhoun credit for his contribution to that, if you're not willing to give him anything else.
Then consider, briefly, how much he'd care. This is a man who successfully battled prostate cancer in 2003 and skin cancer twice, most recently in 2008.
Calhoun was hospitalized in 2009 after breaking several ribs during a charity bike ride and he missed seven games in the 2009-10 season for an undisclosed stress-related medical reason. He coached a game four days after having back surgery.
He got back on the bicycle to finish the charity ride in 2009, but his latest bike mishap resulted in a fractured hip. To be truthful, it probably gave him an out to retire following a 15-month NCAA investigation and with the Huskies failing to academically qualify for the 2013 NCAA tournament.
The breadth of compassion and depth of soul of Jim Calhoun aren't intimately known to this corner, or probably anyone reading this morning. All we received from afar were terse postgame comments and crusty bench behavior during games.
It is possible that he preserved his humanity for the inner circle and those closest to his heart; family, including his players.
For the rest of us, he deposited gruff and tough into our memory banks and didn't feel the need to make any withdrawals.


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Former Somerset market making a graceful transition to church
People who drive past the former Grand Central Market at 3049 County St. can see Grace Gospel Church's prayers being answered.
The former market will re-emerge in about a year as the new home of Grace Gospel Church, currently located at 271 Sharps Lot Road, Swansea. Those driving by may have noticed the steeple added to the front of the building in recent weeks.
"We've been working for more than a year," said Grace Gospel pastor the Rev. Gerard Martel. "But it was the design process and we did a lot of work inside. Now, people can see what we're doing."
Or at least people can see what they think the church is doing.
"A woman driving by pulled into the lot and asked when the new Christmas Tree Shop would be open," Martel said.
"We are moving for two reasons," Martel said with a laugh. "Visibility and visibility."
The church's current location on 45 acres of former farmland, which also supports the church's educational facilities, gym and baseball field, is just barely visible from Sharp's Lot Road. Most of the buildings are at the rear of the property and down a slight hill.
The new site will feature just the church. The church's other operations will remain on the Sharps Lot Road property.
"This will be our youth campus," Martel said.
Eighteen months ago, the church bought the Grand Central property at auction for $800,000, a considerable bargain compared to the original $1.5 million asking price.
"The project, not including the loan we took out to purchase the property, will cost about $2.5 million," Martel said.
While Martel isn't ruling out another loan, it's something he and pastor Jack Owens, who serves as point man on the project, are trying to avoid.
"We're building as we raise the money," Owens said.
So far, the church has raised about $500,000.
The Sharps Lot Road Church can seat, at most, 800 worshippers, Martel said. The new church will hold 1,500 worshippers — 1,100 on the main floor and another 400 in the balcony. The church needs the room, too. Martel estimated 150 people have joined his church in the last 12 months.
"It's a lot of work," said Owens, who noted that members of Grace Gospel have been very generous, and not just with money.
"The general contractor, Eddie Petrosso, has donated his services," Owens said. "Also, there are a lot of men in the congregation, skilled laborers, carpenters, electricians, who have donated their time."
"If I didn't have Jack, I would be swallowed by this," Martel said. "I wouldn't be able to pay attention to the other things I need to do."
Martel said Somerset has welcomed the new church.
"We have had a wonderful experience with the town," Martel said, adding that Somerset was pleased to have the vacant building occupied.
There was one very slight bump in the relationship between Somerset and Grace Gospel.
"We had a banner outside, telling people that we were building a new church," Owens said. It was too big under town regulations. We took it down."
Three decades ago, Martel left his job as a machinist in Fall River to become a full-time pastor, holding his first service in his mother-in-law's living room.
"At first, we were on Grove Street in Fall River," Martel said, going on to say that the Sharps Lot Road property, bought soon after, cost the church $50,000 — an immense sum in the 1970s, but paltry now, at least for 45 acres of land. The land the church bought on County Street comprises 5 acres.
The new church will offer not just a place to worship, but Sunday school facilities, a cafeteria, a coffee shop and a foyer with fireplaces and plenty of comfortable places to sit.
While there are other businesses in the plaza, Martel said there's plenty of parking for all.
"We're going to have a foyer with fireplaces and couches that will hold 300 people," Martel said, adding that the new church will offer expanded space for everything from prayer groups to substance abuse ministries.
"It's very important for people after they leave the sanctuary to have a place that's warm and inviting where they can create relationships," Martel said of the spacious foyer. "There will also be a banquet room."
Martel admits it's a big project, but said he and his congregation want to leave a foundation on which the next generation can build. It's a vision, Martel said.
"It's in Proverbs, Chapter 29, Verse 18," Martel said. "Where there is no vision, the people perish."
E-mail Herald News writer Marc Munroe Dion firstname.lastname@example.com.


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This is how my six year old son regarded our visit to a charity bookfair at the weekend. When I mentioned the bookfair my son groaned, my other half said 'we had better not be there forever' and my 4 year old daughter was as excited about it as I was.
Well, the result of the visit was that my son rolled around the floor the whole time, my other half walked away with a huge pile of books in his arms, my daughter found a great activity book and I found some great historical books. That's a success I reckon!
The first book I found was 'Celebrity Family Trees' written by Ed Wright. I felt this was very topical at the moment since we are watching the celebrity programme 'So who do you think you are? every Sunday. I have been watching the American series which included Sarah Jessica Parker and her connections to the awful time in history of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. In the Australian series with the amusing episode of Maggie Beer and her bigamist ancestor. Both have been as fascinating as the each other.
This is a great read covering notorious celebrities from Napoleon Bonaparte to Roald Dahl. I previously knew very little about Napolean apart from what I had seen in old movies and yet this week his name keeps popping up. I have just come across this information about Napoleon and his view of Jersey:
"France can no longer tolerate this nest of brigands and assassins. Europe must be purged of these vermin. Jersey is England's shame".
Apparently in 1804, Napoleon collected 130,000 men, 15,000 horses and 600 guns at the port of Boulogne to invade England. Jersey was the top of Napoleon's targets! I hadn't read about any of this before and am finding it all very interesting. The amusing thing is, that Napoleon was a disciplined and ambitious leader who must have felt quite frustrated at having such indisciplined women in the family, especially his sister!
The other book I found was 'My side of the story – THE PLAGUE' written by Philip Wooderson. It is written from two different characters points of view about the events in this time in history which I am looking forward to reading more about.
Philip Wooderson seems to have done quite a few books in this method, starting with one character on one side of the book, then you have to flip it over and turn it upside down to read the other side of the story. I like that.


text:
- Get link
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So pretty Hillary!ReplyDelete
I LOVE using QUOTES on projects!
Loved this one!
Thanks so much for sharing with us!
So pretty, especially the colors!ReplyDelete
love the colors, they are so pretty Don't use quotes too muchReplyDelete
- AnonymousApril 2, 2014 at 9:36 AM
Great project, the colors are just great tooReplyDelete
That is a beautiful, detailed card! I just love your flower :)ReplyDelete
Beautiful card!! love the details!ReplyDelete
Beautiful cards love the look, great detailReplyDelete
Nice layering. The tag looks like brass the way you inked it. Really great!ReplyDelete
This project is amazing, Sweet Stamp Shop stamps have SO MUCH variety, I'd love to really start incorporating stamps into my projects! Gorgeous collection!ReplyDelete
Beautiful paper! Love that one is so very 'boy' and the other can mix with it nicely. Thanks for the Sweet Stamp love!ReplyDelete
Oh my, what a gorgeous bright card! I love it to pieces!ReplyDelete
What a beautiful card!ReplyDelete
Beautiful! What a great color combo!!! That flower is just gorgeous!ReplyDelete
Oh wow! That is such a striking card. I love that flower & all the dimension it adds.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousApril 2, 2014 at 10:14 AM
The flower is so pretty on the circle. Lots of pretty colors and layering. Great card/ReplyDelete
So pretty! Love the layers on that!!ReplyDelete
Beautiful card! And IReplyDelete
love the colors in
Flourish, so pretty.
Carla from Utah
Beautiful card!ReplyDelete
Your card is GORG! I love the beautiful colors and all the great texture! Your stitching and rounded corners make it even more unique and special. And this sentiment--fabulous in every way! Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful card and for joining in for this special release! HugsReplyDelete
That flower is just gorgeous-love the colors and all of those layers!ReplyDelete
wow, fabulous project!ReplyDelete
Beautiful project, I just love the colors!ReplyDelete
Wow that is a beautiful card!ReplyDelete
Great projects...love that you partnered with such a great company! :) Thanks for the chance!ReplyDelete
very very fun, what a great project!!ReplyDelete
What a gorgeous project...love all of the dimension and the color palette! Love that you also partnered with Sweet Stamp Shop! Thanks so much for the chance to win!ReplyDelete
Amazing project!!!ReplyDelete
Beautiful card!ReplyDelete
Very pretty project. Creative use of the wheel stamp. Love the colors you chose!!!ReplyDelete
jwoolbright at gmail dot com
Love how the paper frames the beautiful flower. TFSReplyDelete
Beautiful card! Love the flower and the quote!ReplyDelete
Absolutely love this collection and that gorgeous flower! I like that the Flourish collection is so versatile and can be used for cards or layouts both!ReplyDelete
I don't know which one I like the most. Both paper packs have great colors. The card is beautiful. I would be happy to win either paper pad. Thanks so much for the chance to win! ;0)ReplyDelete
I forgot to say how much I love the stamps from the Sweet Stamp Shop. They are so cute. Thanks so much for joining up with Authentique & doing this great giveaway! ;0)ReplyDelete
Perfect quote - perfect card!ReplyDelete
Coming over from the Sweet Stamp shop to say hi and to tell you how much I love Authentique products! This collection and flower are so beautifulReplyDelete
Came over from Sweet stamp shop. What a gorgeous card!!ReplyDelete
Just stop by to check the Authentique blog for some inspiration and found this giveaway. Awesome!ReplyDelete
DELIGHTFUL card - LOVE the colours, layers and sentiment!!!ReplyDelete
Thanks to the Sweet Stamp Shop for reminding me to come visit today :)
THANK YOU for the chance to win some BEAUTIFUL CRAFTY AWESOMENESS :)
Gorgeous card! I love the bright colors and the flower.ReplyDelete
I love this card because the color combinations of the papers used go together so well.ReplyDelete
I love this paper so much that I would be hesitant to cut it! I love your 'pretty' tag, it's perfect! Well done!ReplyDelete
Also have to say the stamps from Sweet Stamp Shop are totally fab!ReplyDelete
Love it when two fab companies join together and make wonders out of their products! Way to go Authentique!ReplyDelete
So cute! This paper is awesome.ReplyDelete
What a great combination, thanks for sharing and the chance.ReplyDelete
Very pretty. I like the use of felt and the button.ReplyDelete
slrdowney at hotmail dot com
Beautiful card! I love the colors and the stamps!ReplyDelete
Love your papers!ReplyDelete
Gorgeous papers! Think I need those! LOLReplyDelete
Love you and Sweet Shop pairing up! Gorgeous work! :)ReplyDelete
Cute card! The flower is great looking.ReplyDelete
love the colorsReplyDelete
Pretty card.ReplyDelete
Love your card Hiliary! I own this stamp set and have never used it in this way so thank you for inspiring me once again! Love your rainbow of colors too!ReplyDelete
Pretty card- love the colors!ReplyDelete
Gorgeous flower!ReplyDelete


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Diamond Dirt: Angels treated Torii Hunter unfairly
The direction Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno is going is a tough one to decipher.
Last season he lured in Albert Pujols, and now he's done the same with Josh Hamilton.
I don't know if Moreno realizes this, but he already had a veteran, powerhouse outfielder in Torii Hunter. He was the face of the team. He loved the fans, the fans loved him. His effort, bat, and defense is leading and inspiring. But I guess that didn't matter to Moreno. Instead of having a longtime face of his franchise, he's gone off and bribed two others.
Hunter played it cool, cause that's the kind of guy he is. He was gracious to the Angles organization and the fans before signing a deal with the Detroit Tigers. That's just the way the business side of baseball is these days. You know you're eventually worth a lot of money when free agency arrives and if the team you've been with can't afford you, you bow out gracefully and you continue on.
That's what Hunter did. And now he's a Tiger. His deal is two years, $26 million.
But with the Angels signing Josh Hamilton to five years, $125 million — that's where Arte Moreno and the Angels organization stabbed Hunter in the back.
"I was told money was tight, but I guess Arte had the money hidden under a mattress. Business is business, but don't lie," Hunter tweeted when news of Hamilton's signing broke.
Nothing against Josh Hamilton, he's a great ballplayer when healthy, but seriously why would Moreno feel it necessary to replace a consistent, dependable veteran like Hunter with a an injury-prone, on-again off-again athlete like Hamilton?
And I'm sorry, a former drug and alcohol abuser like Hamilton is a big risk. He's come into his national success — despite his past — with the Rangers during his time there and to take him out of his norm into an atmosphere where winning is everything and losing isn't acceptable, and the postseason is expected and to not get there is complete failure, that's not good. He's in a position for relapse. I don't say that to point out faults, I say it out of fear and care that this guy could slip and fall back into old habits.
That issue didn't exist with Hunter and I sure hope he has the best season of his career to prove Moreno and his front office wrong.
As for Hamilton, he pulled a Pujols.
He was in a place where he was not only a face for the franchise, but he was in a place where he could've become a legendary identity of the franchise like Nolan Ryan. And in Pujols' case, he could've had a legacy like Stan Musial.
But once again the almighty dollar prevailed — along with some clever Moreno business tactics, he's certainly good at some sort of manipulation. Whether or not it's good remains to be seen.


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The Swallowtail ButterfliesRobert D. Reed and Felix A. H. Sperling
This tree diagram shows the relationships between several groups of organisms.
The root of the current tree connects the organisms featured in this tree to their containing group and the rest of the Tree of Life. The basal branching point in the tree represents the ancestor of the other groups in the tree. This ancestor diversified over time into several descendent subgroups, which are represented as internal nodes and terminal taxa to the right.
You can click on the root to travel down the Tree of Life all the way to the root of all Life, and you can click on the names of descendent subgroups to travel up the Tree of Life all the way to individual species.
For more information on ToL tree formatting, please see Interpreting the Tree or Classification. To learn more about phylogenetic trees, please visit our Phylogenetic Biology pages.close box
The swallowtail butterfly family, Papilionidae, consists of at least 550 species, many of which are large and colorful and recognizable even to non-specialists. While the majority of swallowtail species are found in tropical latitudes, representatives from the family can be found on every continent except Antarctica, and can be common in both tropical and temperate habitats. Swallowtail butterfly diversity is greatest in East and Southeast Asia, a region where many natural butterfly habitats are under extreme threat of destruction due to human activity. Some swallowtails, particularly representatives from the genus Parnassius, may fly at very high elevations. The birdwing butterflies (Troidini: Troides) of Australasia are the largest butterflies in the world. Collins and Morris (1985) provide an overview of the patterns of swallowtail diversity around the world.
The name "swallowtail" refers to a tail-like extension on the edge of the hindwing that is found in many, though not all, papilionids. The function of this tail is not known, but genetic studies in some species of Papilio suggest the tail is a labile character whose expression is controlled by a single gene (Clarke and Sheppard 1960, Clarke et al. 1968).
Within the Papilionidae, many families of larval hostplants are utilized, although five families generally dominate the host records: Aristolochiaceae, Annonaceae, Lauraceae, Apiaceae, and Rutaceae. Notably, the swallowtail tribes Zerynthiini (Parnassiinae), Luehdorfiini (Parnassiinae) and Troidini (Papilioninae) are limited almost exclusively to feeding on Aristolochiaceae. It has been demonstrated in a number of Aristolochia-feeders that caterpillars are able to sequester aristolochic acids, causing both the larval and adult stages to be unpalatable to predators (eg. von Euw et al. 1968).
Three unambiguous morphological characteristics unite all papilionids and distinguish them from the other butterfly families.
- All swallowtail caterpillars possess a forked, eversible organ behind the head known as an osmeterium. The osmeterium secretes a foul-smelling terpene-based defensive compound (Eisner and Meinwald 1965). When molested, a caterpillar will evert its osmeterium and rear its head back in an attempt to dissuade its antagonist. The specific composition of osmeterial secretions may vary between swallowtail species.
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- The second anal vein (vein 2A) on the adult forewing extends to the wing margin and does not converge with the first anal vein (vein 1A). In all other butterfly families veins 1A and 2A fuse, and 2A does not reach the wing margin.
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- The cervical sclerites join beneath the neck.
Discussion of Phylogenetic Relationships
For several decades the favored view of Papilionidae has divided the family into four subfamilies: Baroniinae, Praepapilioninae, Parnassiinae, and Papilioninae (Munroe, 1961; Hancock, 1983), thought to be related (with constituent tribes) thusly:
Baroniinae and Praepapilioninae are both considered to be very primitive. The plesiomorphic nature of the sole species of the Baroniinae, Baronia brevicornis, has been supported by virtually all treatments. The sole genus of Praepapilioninae, Praepapilio, includes two species of extinct butterflies that were each described from single fossils found in a middle Eocene deposit in Colorado, U.S.A. (Durden and Rose, 1978). Praepapilio and Baronia share several striking similarities, but their exact relationship has been difficult to determine.
Both Praepapilio and Baronia have traditionally been considered to be the sister group to the rest of the swallowtails, but recently several alternative hypotheses regarding the root of the swallowtail tree have been considered. In an analysis of 103 morphological characters from 59 butterfly and 19 moth species, de Jong et al. (1996) presented some evidence that the genus Parnassius may be the sister group to the rest of the swallowtails. However, the intra-papilionid relationships in de Jong et al.'s (1996) study changed dramatically when the composition of the outgroups was altered, and a local analysis with a butterfly-only outgroup provided the traditional Baronia-as-sister rooting. Furthermore, de Jong et al. (1996) included only six papilionid species in the analysis, leaving out many taxa bearing characteristics key to understanding papilionid relationships.
Using a maximum-likelihood analysis of DNA sequence data, Caterino et al. (2001) found possible evidence for a root within the Papilioninae that would place Papilionini + Troidini as the sister group to the rest of the swallowtails. Because the likelihood of this intra-Papilioninae rooting was not found to be significantly higher than the traditional rooting, and because the traditional rooting is favored using maximum parsimony, we present the traditional rooting in our phylogeny.
Although a phylogenetic analysis of morphological characters has generally supported a monophyletic Parnassiinae (Miller, 1987), several other studies on morphological (Häuser, 1993; de Jong et al., 1996) and molecular (Yagi et al., 1999; Caterino et al., 2001) characters have called into question the monophyly of the subfamily. However, a new phylogenetic study on Parnassiinae, based on five mitochondrial and two nuclear genes, as well as 236 morphological characters (Nazari et al., 2007) has provided some evidence of a monophyletic Parnassiinae with three strongly supported tribes within the subfamily. This study also suggests that Praepapilio is sister only to Papilionini and Baronia is sister only to Parnassiinae, and likely none of the two are sister to all swallowtails as previously indicated.
With the exception of the intra-Papilioninae rooting alternative proposed by Caterino et al. (2001), the monophyly of the Papilioninae has been accepted by virtually every worker in the field. Despite this general consensus, the relationships of the tribes that comprise the subfamily have been debated. For our phylogeny, we follow the recommendation of Miller (1987) in recognizing Teinopalpini as the sister group to the Troidini + Papilionini group. At the time of this writing, no molecular data for Teinopalpini exist, and Miller (1987) provides the only rigorous phylogenetic analysis of the morphological data. The tribe Teinopalpini consists of only two species, both in the genus Teinopalpus. Munroe (1961) and Hancock (1983) did not grant Teinopalpini tribal status, but considered Teinopalpus to be a Graphiine genus (note that both authors used the name "Leptocircini" instead of "Graphiini").
Ackery, P.R. 1975. A guide to the genera and species of Parnassiinae (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Bull. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Entomol. 31: 73-105.
Bryk, F. 1923. Baroniidae, Teinopalpidae, Parnassiidae. In E. Strand (ed.), Lepidopterorum catalogus, 27.
Bryk, F. 1929-1930. Papilionidae I-III. In E. Strand (ed.), Lepidopterorum catalogus, 35, 37, and 39.
Caterino, M.S., R.D. Reed, M.M. Kuo, and F.A.H. Sperling. 2001. A partitioned likelihood analysis of swallowtail butterfly phylogeny (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Syst. Biol. 50(1):106-127.
Clarke, C.A., and P.M. Sheppard. 1960. The evolution of mimicry in the butterfly Papilio dardanus. Heredity 14: 163-173.
Clarke, C.A., P.M. Sheppard, and I.W.B. Thornton. 1968. The genetics of the mimetic butterfly Papilio memnon L. Phil. Tran. Roy. Soc. London, ser. B. 254: 37-89.
Collins, N.M, and M.G. Morris. 1985. Threatened swallowtail butterflies of the world. The IUCN Red Data Book. IUCN, Gland and Cambridge.
de Jong, R., R.I. Vane-Wright, and P.R. Ackery. 1996. The higher classification of butterflies (Lepidoptera): Problems and prospects. Entomol. Scand. 27: 65-101.
Durden, C.J., and H. Rose. 1978. Butterflies from the middle Eocene: the earliest occurence of fossil Papilionidae (Lepidoptera). Pearce-Sellards Ser. Tex. Mem. Mus. 29: 1-25.
Ehrlich, P.R. 1958. The comparative morphology, phylogeny, and higher classification of the butterflies. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 39: 305-370.
Eisner, T., and Y.C. Meinwald. 1965. The defensive secretions of a caterpillar (Papilio). Science 150: 1733-1735.
Ford, E.B. 1944. Studies on the chemistry of pigments in the Lepidoptera, with reference to their bearing on systematics. 4. The classification of the Papilionidae. Trans. R. Entomol. Soc. London. 94: 201-223.
Häuser, C.L. 1993. Critical comments on the phylogenetic relationships within the family Papilionidae. Nota Lepid. 16: 34-43.
Hancock, D.L. 1983. Classification of the Papilionidae (Lepidoptera): a phylogenetic approach. Smithersia 2: 1-48.
Igarashi, S. 1984. The classification of the Papilionidae mainly based on the morphology of their immature stages. Tyo to Ga 34: 41-96.
Miller, J.S. 1987. Phylogenetic studies in the Papilioninae (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 186:365-512.
Munroe, E. 1961. The classification of the Papilionidae. Can. Entomol. Suppl. 17:1-51.
Munroe, R. and P.R. Ehrlich. 1960 Harmonization of concepts of higher classification of the Papilionidae. J. Lepid. Soc. 14:169-175.
Nazari, V., Zakharov, E.V., Sperling, F.A.H., 2007. Phylogeny, historical biogeography, and taxonomic ranking of Parnassiinae (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae) based on morphology and seven genes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 42: 131-156.
Rothschild, W., and K. Jordan. 1906. A revision of the American Papilios. Novit. Zool. 13: 412-752.
Talbot, G. 1949. Fauna of British India. Butterflies, Vol. 1. London: Taylor and Francis.
von Euw, J., T. Reichstein, and M. Rothschild. 1968. Aristolochic acid in the swallowtail butterfly Pachlioptera aristolochiae. Isr. J. Chem. 6: 659-670.
Yagi, T., G. Sasaki, and H. Takebe. 1999. Phylogeny of Japanese papilionid butterflies inferred from nucloetide sequences of the mitochondrial ND5 gene. J. Mol. Evol. 48:42-48.
Information on the Internet
- Species list for Papilionidae, by Christoph Häuser and colleagues.
- Distribution of Afrotropical Kite Swallowtails, by Campbell R. Smith and Dick Vane-Wright.
About This Page
Robert D. Reed
University of California, Irvine, California, USA
Felix A. H. Sperling
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Robert D. Reed at
Page copyright © 2001 Robert D. Reed
Page: Tree of Life Papilionidae. The Swallowtail Butterflies. Authored by Robert D. Reed and Felix A. H. Sperling. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.
- First online 21 February 2002
- Content changed 07 July 2006
Citing this page:
Reed, Robert D. and Felix A. H. Sperling. 2006. Papilionidae. The Swallowtail Butterflies. Version 07 July 2006. http://tolweb.org/Papilionidae/12177/2006.07.07 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/


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Sara Lee Foundation Renews Scholarship Sponsorship with American Indian College Fund
February 27, 2011
The American Indian College Fund received a grant from the Sara Lee Foundation to continue Sara Lee's Tribal College Scholarship Program for Women for the 2011-12 academic year. This program will continue to provide scholarship support to American Indian females that attend our nation's tribal colleges and universities and are primary residents of one of the following states: Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.
"We are excited to continue our support of American Indian women and their pursuit of a higher education," said Judy E. Schaefer, Director of the Sara Lee Foundation. "We are proud of the scholarship program that we have developed with the American Indian College Fund and the positive effects it continues to have on the students, their families, and their futures."
"It is an honor to receive this continued support from the Sara Lee Foundation," said Richard B. Williams, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund. "This gift will allow us to continue to help Native women improve their lives by obtaining a college degree, and we are thankful for this opportunity."
About the Sara Lee Foundation
The Sara Lee Foundation was founded in 1981 to formalize Sara Lee's dedication to community service. Since then, the Foundation has grown and set a new standard for corporate giving, touching millions of lives and helping those in need. The Foundation provides philanthropic support to communities where Sara Lee employees live and work, supporting select nonprofit organizations focused on food-related issues such as food insecurity and nutrition; healthy lifestyles; women's self-sufficiency and diversity through the support of highly visible cultural programs. For additional information please visit: www.saraleefoundation.org.


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How nerve cells flexibly adapt to acoustic signals
In order to process acoustic information with high temporal fidelity, nerve cells may flexibly adapt their mode of operation according to the situation. At low input frequencies, they generate most outgoing action potentials close to the cell body. Following inhibitory or high frequency excitatory signals, the cells produce many action potentials more distantly. This way, they are highly sensitive to the different types of input signals. These findings have been obtained by a research team headed by Professor Christian Leibold, Professor Benedikt Grothe, and Dr. Felix Felmy from the LMU Munich and the Bernstein Center and the Bernstein Focus Neurotechnology in Munich, who used computer models in their study. The researchers report their results in the latest issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.
Did the bang come from ahead or from the right? In order to localize sound sources, nerve cells in the brain stem evaluate the different arrival times of acoustic signals at the two ears. Being able to detect temporal discrepancies of up to 10 millionths of a second, the neurons have to become excited very quickly. In this process, they change the electrical voltage that prevails on their cell membrane. If a certain threshold is exceeded, the neurons generate a strong electrical signal—a so-called action potential—which can be transmitted efficiently over long axon distances without weakening. In order to reach the threshold, the input signals are summed up. This is achieved easier, the slower the nerve cells alter their electrical membrane potential.
Input signals are optimally processed
These requirements—rapid voltage changes for a high temporal resolution of the input signals, and slow voltage changes for an optimal signal integration that is necessary for the generation of an action potential—represent a paradoxical challenge for the nerve cell. "This problem is solved by nature by spatially separating the two processes. While input signals are processed in the cell body and the dendrites, action potentials are generated in the axon, a cell process," says Leibold, leader of the study. But how sustainable is the spatial separation?
In their study, the researchers measured the axons' geometry and the threshold of the corresponding cells and then constructed a computer model that allowed them to investigate the effectiveness of this spatial separation. The researchers' model predicts that depending on the situation, neurons produce action potentials with more or less proximity to the cell body. For high frequency or inhibitory input signals, the cells will shift the location from the axon's starting point to more distant regions. In this way, the nerve cells ensure that the various kinds of input signals are optimally processed—and thus allow us to perceive both small and large acoustic arrival time differences well, and thereby localize sounds in space.
More information: "Action Potential Generation in an Anatomically Constrained Model of Medial Superior Olive Axons." Simon Lehnert, Marc C. Ford, Olga Alexandrova, Franziska Hellmundt, Felix Felmy, Benedikt Grothe, and Christian Leibold. Journal of Neuroscience, 9 April 2014, 34(15):5370-5384; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4038-13.2014


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In Season - April 2009
You probably believe that pink grapefruits are sweeter than white. Actually, there is no difference. But grapefruits run sweeter in late winter and early spring, so this can be the optimum time to enjoy them.
While grapefruit was first introduced to Florida in the early 1800s, it was sold chiefly to tourists as a curiosity for the first 100 years. But it didn't get full respect until the 1960s, when fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice began to appear in restaurants.
Named for their clustering on the trees (like grapes on the vine), grapefruits are filled with nutritional benefits. Low in sodium, they're high in fat-burning enzymes, and since they're also high in water content, eating them may even increase your metabolism.
Here's a favorite recipe of mine from Dean & Deluca for spicy ceviche marinated in grapefruit.
Halibut Ceviche with Grapefruit and Chilies
1 lb. halibut filet
½ cup fresh squeezed lime juice
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
1 whole pink grapefruit
½ teaspoon minced garlic
1 ½ tablespoons finely minced chilies
1 tablespoon finely minced green chilies
2 tablespoons fresh mint chiffonade (roll leaves and cut very thin)
Sea salt and hot sauce to taste
Extra virgin olive oil to taste
Cut the halibut into thin, broad slices. Place in a non-reactive bowl (do not use metal) and toss with lime juice and grapefruit juice. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Cut the grapefruits in half crosswise and cut into pieces with a grapefruit knife. Slice each piece in half lengthwise.
When ready to serve the ceviche, drain the liquid completely from the halibut. Add grapefruit pieces, garlic, red chilies, green chilies and mint.
Toss very gently.
Divide into six small plates. Season with sea salt and drizzle with olive oil. If you like extra heat, use a splash of hot sauce as well. Serve with wedge of lime.


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Sid Jacobson JCC members, friends and partners have helped us lead the way for more than three decades. Event sponsorship supports our mission and makes an enormous contribution to our community.


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Welcome back to our weekly survey of the state of Our National Dialogue which, of course, is what Richard Strauss would have come up with had he composed Also sprach MinniePearl.
We will begin by dipping first into Disco Dave's Disco Dance Party, where the following remarkable colloquy took place between the Dancin' Master and Colin Powell. First, the general.
There's also a dark — a dark vein of intolerance in some parts of the Party. What I do mean by that? I mean by that is they still sort of look down on minorities. How can I evidence that? When I see a former governor say that the president is shuckin' and jivin', that's a racial era slave term. When I see another former governor after the president's first debate where he didn't do very well, says that the president was lazy. He didn't say he was slow, he was tired, he didn't do well, he said he was lazy. Now, it may not mean anything to most Americans but to those of us who are African-Americans, the second word is shiftless and then there's a third word that goes along with it Birther, the whole Birther Movement. Why do senior Republican leaders tolerate this kind of discussion within the Party? I think the Party has to take a look at itself.
And then, having been presented by someone who allegedly one of the most influential Republicans in American life with an extensive brief that, root and branch, the party has been taken over by nasty racist bastards, here is the Dancin' Master's follow-up question:
GREGORY: A couple of other foreign policy matters, what should the force — the U.S. force in Afghanistan look like after next year?
I have two questions here.
Question The First: is there a more overrated person in American politics than Colin Powell? I mean, it's not like the Republican party was taken over by nasty racist bastards some time in the past four years. It's been a generational process, going back at least to the conscious decision made by Republican leaders in the mid-1960's to ally themselves with the powerful remnant of established American apartheid, particularly in the South. This all took place while Powell was rising, first through the military and then through the Republican political establishment. Earlier in the interview, he claimed pride of place by declaring himself a member of the Republican party of Ronald Reagan, who kicked off his campaign talking about states rights in Mississippi, and who fought for tax-exemptions for segregated "Christian academies," and of the Republican party of the elder George Bush, who had no compunction at all about letting the late Lee Atwater scrape the country's racial wounds raw in order to win an election. Of all the people that come to mind, he was uniquely suited to push back against the rising power of polite white supremacy within the conservative movement generally, and the Republican party in particular. As far as I know, he did nothing of the sort. The "dark vein of intolerance" has been in plain sight since 1964. Where you been, General?
(People act like his apparatchik's performance selling the phony case for war in Iraq before the UN was an anomaly. It was of a piece with his whole career.)
Question The Second: Does David Gregory get paid well for missing the point so badly?
We'll return to the Dance Party later, but there was a lot of wonderful blithering to be found over on This Week With The Clinton Guy Shocked By Blowjobs. It was a veritable Mardi Gras of fashionable Beltway Centrism, a celebration of how we can't do any one thing, so let's think long and hard about doing everything so that we don't really have to do anything at all. Riding the lead float were irrelevant Republican Jon Huntsman, marginalized gun-totin' Democratic turncoat Joe Manchin, retired race-baiter Bob Corker, and Jack Reed from Rhode Island, who was picked last when they were choosing up teams because he occasionally acts as though the actual merits of an issue might be more important than with whom he'll have dinner over the weekend. Naturally, the talk turned to guns, and Manchin feels very strongly in many directions.
George, basically we have a cultural — we have to change the culture of mass violence we have. If you think it's only about guns and that would change the culture, you'd be wrong. If you think it's only about the lack of mental illness coverage that we give, and you would be wrong there. And if you think it's only about the media with the video games — it takes an all-in approach. I have linked up with and I will be with John McCain introducing a bill that Joe Lieberman, our dear friend...
(Wait, no, stop. Cough, hack, wheeeezzzze! Common sense got caught in my throat there for a minute. Do continue, though.)
...has been championing for a long time, which basically puts a commission about mass violence together. You bring experts from all different fields. You bring people such as myself that are NRA members that have been sportsmen all of our lives, and look for a commonsense approach to how we change the culture of violence in America. And that's what needs to be done.
How long are we supposed to pretend that the NRA really cares about the plight of the mentally ill in America? For that matter, how long are we supposed to pretend that the NRA is really bothered by the fact that young children are exposed to shooting games that glorify the use of actual firearms? I'm sorry, but Manchin and his "fellow sportsmen" have had more than enough time to wrench their organization away from the sociopaths who run it, and more than enough time to turn it back into a genuine interest group, and not a front for the weapons industry. Here's what let's do. Let's put the assault-weapons ban back in place. Let's ban the high-capacity magazines. Let's establish a rigid and effective system of background checks. Let's close the gun-show loophole. Once we do all that, then we can have the commission on mass violence, where we all tug our forelocks about videogames, and then we can determine as a nation to spend whatever tax dollars have to be raised to do better by our citizens with mental illness. But let's do the gun part first. What say you, Senator Joe? You in?
Jon Huntsman, of course, is one of the utter political failur...er...important centrist figures behind the No Labels scam, and The Clinton Guy pointed out to him that No Labels may be the only organization in America that hasn't yet taken a public position on the issues arising from the Newtown massacre. Huntsman responded with what may be the most No Labelish answer in the history of No Labels.
Well, this is not about finding the endpoint for a specific policy issue. This is about creating a pathway that speaks to problem solving. So the whole attempt here, George, is to create a new attitude that speaks to problem solving. It's not about ideology, it's about extreme partisanship. That's the problem today, so Joe and I have come together. We both have a background as governors. We know what it means to make progress for the people you represent, what it means to be problem solvers. So our attempt here — and you ask the specific question about what to do about it — well, you can't do anything about problem solving unless you get a group of people together on Capitol Hill who are dedicated to putting country first and making decisions that are right for the future as opposed to the next election.
You see, we'll get around to contributing to the national debate over why America is so giddy over firearms once we find a way to craft a political solutions without any, you know, politics. This was very depressing, which is why I was so happy when the Storytime With The Magic Dolphin Queen broke out and she told us all a wonderful story about...pirates! Arrrrgh, Squire Trelawney, she's my ship now!
STEPHANOPOULOS: Meanwhile, I don't see as the broader question of the Republican strategy. Peggy Noonan, I was struck by your Wall Street Journal column yesterday, which may be a little of odds with sitting down. I'm not sure. You say pirate time for the GOP, wave a sword, grab a rope and swing aboard the enemy's galleon. Take the president's issues, steal them. They never belonged to him. They are yours. Elaborate.
NOONAN: Go for it. First of all, don't be the depressed gray-suited gaggle that comes forward in the halls of the House once a day to speak in a sort of a almost furtive and sad manner about what's going on. No great themes ever emerge, nothing ever seems to get said. Look, this is a time to remember in a way the joy of politics. The Republicans are in a bad position right now. They just lost a big election. They are a bunch of folks in Washington, the president is one man with a mike. That man, the president, can always overpower them. My feeling is this is a wonderful time to be daring and surprising. Go to the populist right on economic issues, on things issues like breaking up the banks and the carried interest loopholes. Go for immigration, don't wait for the president.
Apparently, that Krugman kid in the back of the class thought this was supposed to be a comic story and laughed at an inappropriate time, like when the Story Lady said that part about Republicans breaking up the big banks which, I admit, I thought was part of the plucky comic relief myself.
I know. I'm just here to amuse, Paul.
Story Lady is not amused.
Things were not as lighthearted over on Face The Nation, where former Congress Of Vienna special correspondent Bob Schieffer managed to pry the reclusive John McCain out of seclusion and somehow cajole him into appearing on television, where McCain could explain how much he'd always liked Chuck Hagel until Hagel took a job with the guy who prevented McCain from snaring the office that was his by right of droit seigneur of all Green Rooms. Why, that uppity youngster didn't even ask McCain's permission before appointing a Secretary Of Defense. Where does he get off, anyway?
He's a veteran, he's a friend. By the way, on this process, usually with the previous presidents, both Republican and Democrat, when they're considering nominations, they call in the other side and say — you know, the key members on the other party and say, hey, I'm thinking about nominating Mr. X, what do you think about it? There has been none of that with this administration. But more importantly than that, I honor Chuck Hagel's service. He's a friend. My questions about him, and they will be raised in the nominations, are what is his view of America's role in the world? Whether he really believes that the surge was the worst blunder since the Vietnam War. That clearly is not — that's not correct. That's — in fact, it's bizarre. Why would he oppose calling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization? Same outfit that's on the ground now in Syria killing Syrians, same outfit that was exporting the most lethal IEDs into Iraq killing Americans. So these are legitimate questions that need to be asked. I honor his service. We are friends. But I have an obligation to the men and women who are now serving in uniform.
If John McCain can't be president, then by god, John McCain will have his wars. This is the way things are supposed to be.
We conclude with a return to the Dance Party where the Dancin' Master decided to get his teeth into the entirely phony issue of "diversity" in the president's new cabinet. He did in part by constructing a question entirely out of HBO miniseries.
Haley, it is interesting to describe as a band of brothers cabinet just go around not a team of rivals.
And if the president wins the Game Of Thrones, he may well find himself with a Boardwalk Empire and then we'll all have to buy guns and move to a compound in Idaho.
Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston and has three children.


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|Jaymz likes elevens, so I captured
this moment on the odometer for him.
I am calling my sister, because we decided a while ago that when it's 10/10/10 or 11/11/11, etc. we would enjoy it for a moment on the phone together.
I like numbers. This is not to say that I enjoy mathematics, per se, but I do enjoy number puzzles and tricks. For instance, on long road trips I'm always keeping an eye out for special numbers on the odometer. Jaymz taught me once that to determine if a number is a multiple of 11 (his favorite number), you simply have to subtract and add the numbers in order. If the end result is any multiple of eleven (0, 11, or -11, say), then the original number is a multiple of 11. It goes like this: Say, your mileage is 74987. 7-4+9-8+7=11, so 74,987 is a multiple of 11! Sometimes I wish I had known some of these fun tricks when I was in high school...maybe I would've done better in class!
|Last year's day like today
I also like noticing repeating numbers and particularly palindromes (a word, phrase, or number that is read the same forward as it is backward) in my everyday life. Jaymz and I make an effort when tipping at a restaurant to make the total into a palindrome ($23.32) or a sequential ($23.45) or repeating ($23.23) number sequence. Extra points if you can make the tip and the total into fun numbers! "A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!" is one of my favorite word palindromes (along with simply "Mom," of course). Weird Al Yankovic wrote a song consisting entirely of palindromes, which I think is pretty awesome:
|(We even set the alarm for 9:09)
Do you like to have fun with words or numbers like I do? Do you celebrate special-numbered days like this? Do you even notice? Do you think I'm a little crazy (or just a huge nerd) after reading this? I'm curious to know if you enjoy anything like this, too!


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Bulk Pricing:
7/16" 300' New England KMIII Rope
SKU: 330x-14-00300
KMIII static rope is a balanced construction consisting of a continuous filament polyester cover braided over a unidirectional nylon core. KMIII is designed to meet the rigorous requirements associated with rescue and rappelling operations. KMIII is dual certified (CE & NFPA).
| Available Colors
The polyester cover is very flexible, absorbs less water, has lower stretch, and is more abrasion resistant than the nylon covers found on some static ropes. The polyester cover and nylon core are balanced during manufacturing to attain the ultimate in performance.
KMIII static rope is a balanced construction consisting of a continuous filament polyester cover braided over a unidirectional nylon core. KMIII is designed to meet the rigorous requirements associated with rescue and rappelling operations. KMIII is dual certified (CE & NFPA).
Working Loads:
No blanket safe working load (SWL) recommendations can be made for any line because SWL's must be calculated based on application, conditions of use, and potential danger to personnel among other considerations. It is recommended that the end user establish working loads and safety factors based on best practices established by the end user's industry; by professional judgment and personal experience; and after thorough assessment of all risks. The SWL is a guideline for the use of a rope in good condition for non-critical applications and should be reduced where life, limb, or valuable property is involved, or in cases of exceptional service such as shock loading, sustained loading, severe vibration, etc. The Cordage Institute specifies that the SWL of a rope shall be determined by dividing the Minimum Tensile Strength of the rope by a safety factor. The safety factor ranges from 5 to 12 for non-critical uses and is typically set at 15 for life lines.
|Technical Specifications:
|7/16" 300' New England Rope
|Very little degradation from UV, and can be used over long term if inspected regularly.
|Polyester has good resistance to most chemicals, except 95% sulfric acid and strong alkalis at boil. Nylon will degrade with strong oxidizing agents, mineral acids, and 90% formic acid. Nylon may discolor when exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide.
|Polyester has a melting point of 480˚F with progressive strength loss above temperatures of 300˚F. Nylon has a melting point of 460˚F with progressive strength loss above 300˚F.
|Good resistance to the passage of electrical current. However, dirt, surface contaminants, water entrapment, and the like can significantly affect dielectric properties. Extreme caution should be exercised any time a rope is in the proximity of live circuits.
|Recommended D/d* ratio is 8:1 (*Sheave diameter to rope diameter)
1 Review
It's great rope, my guys prover it over the other options. It says ply-able and knots a re easy to break. The diameter runs thru all of our devices with ease. The weight isn't back breaking when you're packing it in or out.


text: It looks as though I will be speaking in Brazil on the 10th and 11th of November. I expect I will want to spend at least a week in the country, given the time and effort of getting there and back, so was wondering if anyone else was interested in having me give a talk. An honorarium is nice, but the minimum requirement is expenses plus an interesting audience.


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Hope Solo says she's 'happy' after marriage to Jerramy Stevens
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Hope Solo diffused the drama surrounding her personal life as the gold medal-winning U.S. women's soccer team prepared for an exhibition match against Ireland...
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Hope Solo diffused the drama surrounding her personal life as the gold medal-winning U.S. women's soccer team prepared for an exhibition match against Ireland.
"My life is great," the goalkeeper said. "My life is happy."
Solo made her first appearance with the national team since she was married to former NFL tight end Jerramy Stevens in Washington state on Nov. 13, a day after his arrest at a party for domestic violence. A judge determined there wasn't enough evidence to hold Stevens, but the matter remained under investigation.
Solo spoke after a workout with her fellow U.S. teammates at Portland's downtown Jeld-Wen Field. The national team plays Ireland on Wednesday night on its U.S. appreciation tour following a 2-1 victory over Japan in the final match at the London Games.
"It's unfortunate what the media can do to judge before the facts are out there. It's hard to see, but it's a hard truth, and it's part of life," she said. "I'm happy. I'm happily married. I would never stand for domestic violence. I've never been hit in my life."
Solo has had a stellar career with the national team, helping the team to two straight Olympic gold medals. But she's never shied from attention: From her Twitter criticism of former national team member Brandi Chastain during the London Games to appearing on TV's "Dancing with the Stars."
Police say that they were called to a disturbance at a home in Kirkland, a Seattle suburb, in the early morning hours on Nov. 12. Solo and her brother blamed a disturbance on three unknown men. Officers maintained they had probable cause to arrest Stevens because they observed evidence of an altercation, including a cut on Solo's elbow, and his admission that the two had argued, according to court documents.
The next day, Solo and Steven were married. Solo, 31, posted a smiling photo of herself with Stevens, 33, to Twitter two days later.
Stevens was selected with the No. 28 pick of the 2002 draft by the Seahawks after a stellar career at Washington. But he also was involved in incidents away from football that included reckless driving charges for crashing into a nursing home.
His best season with the Seahawks as in 2005 when he started a career-high 12 games and had 45 receptions as the Seahawks won the NFC championship.
Solo also went to Washington. The two started dating following the London Games.
"Like I said, we're happy, and ultimately that's all that matters," she said.
Wednesday's match is the sixth of the U.S. team's Fan Tribute Tour.
Jill Ellis, women's development director for U.S. soccer, is coaching the U.S. team against Ireland. Former Australian national team coach Tom Sermanni takes over the national team in January, replacing Olympic coach Pia Sundhage, who stepped down.
Ireland and the United States will play again in Glendale, Ariz., on Dec. 1 as the tour continues.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.


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Manning, Sherman agree on Broncos QB's 'ducks'
Peyton Manning and Richard Sherman can agree to agree.
No war of words between the record-setting Broncos quarterback and the star Seahawks cornerback who will try to slow him down in the Super Bowl.
In his regular column for MMQB.com, Sherman ranked Manning as the smartest quarterback in the NFL a few weeks ago.
After gushing about his adjustments for a few sentences, Sherman added: "His arm, however, is another story. His passes will be accurate and on time, but he throws ducks."
Not exactly a revelation to anybody who has watched Manning toss a football. Asked about the "ducks" on Wednesday, Sherman said, "Well, I still feel the same way I felt."
"He is a great quarterback. He does a great job," he added. "At the same time, when he catches the ball he doesn't necessarily catch the laces all the time. He throws an accurate ball in regards to how he catches it. He just gets it on time and delivers it accurately."
And so Manning was asked about that comment Thursday and wasn't the least bit offended.
"I believe it to be true," he quipped.
"I do throw 'ducks,'" he said. "I've thrown a lot of yards and touchdown 'ducks.' I am actually quite proud of it."
Told later Thursday of Manning's response, Sherman said: "I agree. That's exactly what I said."
¦ Spirit of 12: A Boeing 747-8 jet decked out in a Seahawks paint scheme to honor the team playing in the Super Bowl took its support a step further Thursday.
The plane flew over Eastern Washington after taking off from Seattle's Boeing Field with a flight plan that spelled out 12. The flight path stretched from the southern border of the state between Washington and Oregon almost to the eastern border of Idaho to completely spell out the two numbers.
¦ Cram session: Having two weeks to prepare for the Super Bowl can sometimes lead to too much study of the opposition.
That's especially true when getting ready for an offense like Denver and all the different formations and adjustments Manning uses.
It's been thought that Sunday could be filled with checks and changes from both Denver's offense and Seattle's defense. But strong safety Kam Chancellor said he expects the Seahawks to stay with their basic defensive principles.
"I think you can do too much. I think you can kind of look at too much also," Chancellor said. "Once you find your formula and what you need to know, I think you need to stick with that and go with it."
¦ Museum jerseys: The signed jerseys of four players from the Seahawks and Broncos will be on display when the National Museum of African American History and Culture opens. NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith announced Thursday that the players' union was donating jerseys from two players on each team taking part in the Super Bowl.
Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson and cornerback Richard Sherman and Denver linebacker Von Miller and cornerback Champ Bailey are the four. The museum, part of the Smithsonian, is currently under construction on the National Mall in Washington.


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This delicate Affinity necklace is a perfect wardrobe staple. The diamond shape measures 7 mm x 14 mm and has clear cubic zirconia stones. Chain measures 16" with a 3" extender.
All of metals used in Glee's designs are plated, we use a high quality electro plating.The plating does have an anti tarnish component to help extend the life of the plating as well.All of our Metals are completely hypoallergenic as they are nickel and lead free.Gold – 10-14 K gold platingSilver – sterling silver platingRose gold: a combination of silver, gold and copper plating to create the rose gold
Glee Jewelry is based in beautiful Victoria, B.C. on Vancouver Island where the abundance of natural beauty is almost overwhelming. You may notice many of our designs have an organic flair and compliment individual styles- whether you consider yours to be contemporary, exotic or simplistic.


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RTC Conference Primers: #10 – Missouri ValleyPosted by Brian Goodman on October 27th, 2010
Patrick Marshall of White & Blue Review is the RTC correspondent for the Missouri Valley Conference.
You only need one video clip to sum up the Missouri Valley Conference last season: Ali Farokhmanesh hitting the dagger three-pointer against #1 Kansas in the NCAA Tournament to advance to the Sweet 16.
Predicted Order of Finish:
- Missouri State (24-6, 14-4)
- Wichita State (23-7, 13-5)
- Creighton (23-8, 13-5)
- Southern Illinois (21-9, 11-7)
- Northern Iowa (20-11, 10-8)
- Bradley (19-11, 10-8)
- Illinois State (16-16, 7-11)
- Drake (12-18, 4-14)
- Evansville (11-16, 4-14)
- Indiana State (9-21, 4-14)
All-Conference Team (key stats from last season in parentheses)
- G: Toure' Murry, Wichita State (11.9 PPG, 5 RPG, 109 AST)
- G: Sam Maniscalco, Bradley (13.1 PPG, 107 AST)
- G: Kwadzo Ahelegbe, Northern Iowa (10.6 PPG, 97 AST)
- F: Kyle Weems, Missouri State (13.6 PPG 6.2, RPG 40.7% 3PT)
- C: Kenny Lawson Jr., Creighton (13.1 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 82% FT)
6th Man
Adam Leonard, Missouri State (13 PPG, 39% 3PT)
Impact Newcomer
Greg Echenique, Creighton (Rutgers transfer)
What You Need to Know
- Multiple Bids: Last season, people will easily remember the Missouri Valley Conference with Ali Farokhmanesh hitting the gutsy three-pointer late in the game to lead Northern Iowa's upset against #1 Kansas in the NCAA Tournament. What you may not know is that for the third straight season, the MVC has only sent one representative to the Big Dance. After several years of sending multiple teams in and hitting a peak of four teams in 2006, the past three seasons have seen the team that won both the conference regular season and conference tournament (Drake and UNI twice) as single-bid teams that went to the NCAA Tournament. This season the schools in the conference have beefed up their schedules the best they can to hopefully return to a multiple bid league.
- Coaching Changes: A number of linked events took place this summer regarding the coaches in the MVC. The Dean of the Valley Dana Altman left Creighton after 16 years to take the head coaching job at Oregon. Iowa State head coach Greg McDermott was hired less than 48 hours later. He had one stint in the MVC already as the head coach of Northern Iowa before Ben Jacobson. Jacobson released McDermott's son Doug from his letter of intent so that he could join his dad and play with the Bluejays. About a month later, Indiana State head coach Kevin McKenna left to become an assistant once again under Altman. Chris Lowery (Southern Illinois) and Jim Les (Bradley) are now the elder statesmen of the conference, but both of their seats are pretty warm right now as they try to take their teams back to the NCAA Tournament after each of their Sweet 16 runs seem like ages ago for those two schools.
- Veteran Teams: Many of the MVC teams bring back a lot of veterans to lead their respective teams. Creighton returns all-conference center Kenny Lawson and point guard Antoine Young. Missouri State brings back a solid combination of Adam Leonard and Kyle Weems. Wichita State has the talented JT Durley, Graham Hatch and Toure' Murry while Bradley has Andrew Warren, Sam Maniscalco and Taylor Brown returning. But you can't leave out Northern Iowa with Kwadzo Ahelegbe and MVC sixth man of the year Lucas O'Rear. With such a large percentage of players retuning this season, a battle for The Valley title could be messy and any of these teams could emerge as the dust clears in March.


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Meenakshy Aiyer, MD
Regional Dean
Your help is vital to the Mission of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria (UICOMP), which is to "Lead Collaboration to Improve Health."
For more than 50 years, we've worked with our community to train exceptional physicians, provide outstanding patient care and engage in innovative research. UICOMP's impact is felt locally where 60% of Peoria's primary care physicians trained in a UICOMP sponsored residency.
Giving is a very personal act. Perhaps your gift remembers a specific department or person that played a key role in your education. Perhaps your gift is to help a student through supporting a scholarship. Perhaps you or a family member are living with cancer and wish to contribute to the research for a cure. And perhaps you will choose to give to an unrestricted fund that provides me or a Department Chair with the flexibility to decide how to use your gift to meet the most acute needs of the college. The following web pages provide a variety of options so you can choose where to place your gift.
Wherever you choose to give, please be assured that your gift is needed, appreciated and will be used to benefit the students and programs of the College of Medicine here in Peoria. Your gifts help us to accomplish great things that improve the health of our communities.


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UK govt announces changes to visa policy for non-EU nationals; to affect Indian IT professionals
In a crackdown to curb its soaring immigration figures, the UK government has announced changes to its visa policy for non-EU nationals, which will affect a large number of Indians especially IT professionals.
Under the new visa rules announced last evening by the UK Home Office, anyone applying after November 24 under the Tier 2 intra-company transfer (ICT) category would be required to meet a higher salary threshold requirement of 30,000 pounds from the earlier 20,800 pounds.
The ICT route is largely used by Indian IT companies in Britain and the UK's Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) had found earlier this year that Indian IT workers accounted for nearly 90% of visas issued under this route.
The changes come just days before British Prime Minister Theresa May lands in India on Sunday for her three-day visit.
"The first of two phases of changes to Tier 2, announced by the government in March following a review by the Independent Migration Advisory Committee, will affect applications made on or after November 24 unless stated otherwise," a UK Home Office statement said.
Besides the Tier 2 ICT salary threshold hike, the other changes announced include increasing the Tier 2 (General) salary threshold for experienced workers to 25,000 pounds, with some exemptions; reducing the Tier 2 (ICT) graduate trainee salary threshold to 23,000 pounds and increasing the number of places to 20 per company per year; and closing the Tier 2 (ICT) skills transfer sub-category.
A number of changes have also been announced for the Tier 4 category, which covers maintenance requirements for the Doctorate Extension Scheme.
Nationals outside the European Union (EU), including Indians, will also be affected by new English language requirements when applying for settlement as a family member after two-and-a-half years in the UK on a five-year route to residency settlement in the UK.
The new requirement will apply to partners and parents whose current leave to remain in the UK under the family immigration rules is due to expire on or after May 1, 2017.
The changes follow advice by the MAC earlier this year to curb the Tier 2 ICT route and reduce reliance on foreign workers.
"(Immigration) is not serving to increase the incentive to employers to train and upskill the UK workforce. Ready access to a pool of skilled IT professionals in India is an example of this," the MAC report had said in its findings.
"We did not see any substantive evidence of long-standing reciprocal arrangements whereby UK staff are given the opportunity to gain skills, training and experience from working in India," it noted.
The MAC had added that the evidence indicates that multinational companies with a presence in India had developed a competitive advantage in delivering IT projects in the UK.
"They have developed a delivery model, whereby significant elements of projects are delivered offshore in India, taking advantage of the fact that Indian salaries are lower than in the UK for equivalent workers.
"Indeed, partners told us that India currently has a competitive advantage in training IT workers and in the time it would take to fully upskill the native population, technology would have moved on," the report concluded.
The new rules follow further tightening of the Tier 2 category, which came into force in April this year.
"The UK government's reforms to Tier 2 work visas are intended to ensure that businesses are able to attract the skilled people they need, but also see that they get far better at recruiting and training UK workers first," then UK Immigration minister James Brokenshire had said.
Get Latest Business News, Stock Market Updates and Videos; Check your tax outgo through Income Tax Calculator and save money through our Personal Finance coverage. Check Business Breaking News Live on Zee Business Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe on YouTube.
11:47 am


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In 2008, the National
Electric Code (NEC) was updated to recommend that all new home construction use tamper-resistant electrical outlets; to date 37 states have made this new code a requirement.
According to the National
Electrical Manufacturing Association (NEMA), on average 17 children a
day are treated in the Emergency Room because of injuries from electrical
outlets that are usually a result of them having stuck objects into the slots. While
outlet covers can be used, it's easy to forget to reinsert them after using them, something that's not necessary
with these new outlets which have a shutter system built into them; when
something is plugged in (meaning something is inserted into both holes in the
outlet) the shutter is moved out of the way making the outlet usable. But when
something (like a key or paper clip) is inserted into only one of the holes,
there's a blockage and no live electricity is activated.
The Electrical Safety Foundation Institute (ESFi) has wonderful
information on electrical safety and even includes a Kids' Corner with
an animated video that teaches children how to be safe around electricity.
More From Good Housekeeping
But what if you're buying a newly constructed home or don't live in one
of the states that has mandated this code?
You can buy tamper-resistant outlets yourself from companies like
Leviton and Lutron at Home Depot or Lowes and
either install them yourself or hire an electrician to do a job. It's a small price to pay for peace of mind.
Check out Good Housekeeping's stories on
Furniture Tip Over Safety, Home Emergency Products, and take our Child Safety


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At the end of a highly publicized espionage case, death sentences are imposed against Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, one week after the couple were found guilty of conspiring to transmit atomic secrets to the Soviet Union.
The Rosenberg case began with the arrest of Klaus Fuchs, a German-born and U.S.-employed scientist who confessed to passing classified information about the U.S. atomic program to the Soviets. Following his 1950 conviction, U.S. authorities began an extensive investigation of Los Alamos, New Mexico, the top secret U.S. atomic development headquarters where Fuchs worked during the war. Harry Gold, a Philadelphia chemist, was arrested as a Fuchs accomplice, followed by David Greenglass, who had been stationed near the Los Alamos atomic testing site during the war. In July 1950, Ethel Rosenberg, the sister of Greenglass, was arrested along with her husband, Julius, an electrical engineer who had worked for the U.S. Army Signal Corps during the war. Alleged to have communist leanings, the couple was accused of convincing Greenglass to provide Harry Gold with atomic secrets.
During their trial, the Rosenbergs maintained their innocence, though Greenglass, who had pleaded guilty, agreed to testify against them. At the trial's end in the spring of 1951, David Greenglass was sentenced to 15 years in prison, Harry Gold was sentenced to 30 years, and the Rosenbergs were sentenced to death. Despite court appeals and pleas for executive clemency, the Rosenbergs, the first U.S. civilians to be given the death penalty in an espionage trial, were executed by electrocution on June 19, 1953.
The trial occurred at the height of the "red scare" in the early 1950s, and critics of the case argued that the political climate of the time made a fair trial impossible. Others questioned whether the Rosenbergs deserved execution, especially as the only seriously incriminating evidence came from a confessed spy who was given a reduced sentence to testify against them. In one of her last letters before being executed, Ethel Rosenberg wrote, "My husband and I must be vindicated by history; we are the first victims of American Fascism."


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Last night's episode was so boring. The hour crawled by as we watched an unhappy Sam tossing her hair, talking about Ron, and having a tenuous grasp on the definition of "done." I'd rather watch Angelina fart on Snooki.
Why must the editors focus on the Sammi/Ronnie love story. To me, it seems like there's not really love, much less a story going on. Please just focus on anything else. They have this cast of characters who are entertaining to watch in completely mundane situations, like walking down the street, ironing jeans, adjusting breasts in a shirt, tying shoelaces, or playing with indeterminate animal statues that cause vaginal discomfort. MTV paid top dollar for this cast to return so that they could edit it down to the Sammi and Ronnie show? BORING!
Actually, it's more entertaining to hear how JWoww and Snooki are "done" with Sam and Ronnie being "done." And I believe them way more.
And you know what would be even more interesting? If they actually included Ron's increasingly obvious candycaine problem. Who takes a cab to the same club that everyone else walked to, and then gets there last?
A person who had swing by the dealer's house first. Just sayin'.


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No One's Looking Back In New 'Walking Dead' Midseason Trailer
Frank Pallotta
AMC released a second trailer for the upcoming return of this season's "The Walking Dead" and if Rick's face is any indication, it's going to be rough second half for the group of survivors.
The 30-second spot shows the gang split up and on the run after last year's midseason finale. Michonne (Danai Gurira) returns slicing and dicing through zombies with her machete while Daryl (Norman Reedus) is weaving his way through a graveyard.
"The Walking Dead" returns February 9th.
See Also:
- Disney Channel Introduces First Lesbian Couple On Popular Kids' Show
- The 7 Best Moments From Sunday's Episode Of 'Sherlock'
- Justin Bieber's Arresting Officer Makes 'Weekend Update' Appearance
- Here's How You Can Vastly Increase The Number Of Shows And Movies You Can Get On Netflix
- 9 Fantastic Behind-The-Scenes Images From 'Sherlock' Season 3
SEE ALSO: Watch the first midseason trailer of "The Walking Dead"