text:
The agencies have long supported meaningful public disclosure by banks with the objective of improving market discipline. The agencies recognize the importance of market discipline in encouraging sound risk management practices and fostering financial stability.
Pillar 3 of the New Accord, market discipline, complements the minimum capital requirements and the supervisory review process by encouraging market discipline through enhanced and meaningful public disclosure. These proposed public disclosure requirements are intended to allow market participants to assess key information about an institution's risk profile and its associated level of capital.
The agencies view public disclosure as an important complement to the advanced approaches to calculating minimum regulatory risk-based capital requirements, which will be heavily based on internal systems and methodologies. With enhanced transparency of the advanced approaches, investors can better evaluate a bank's capital structure, risk exposures, and capital adequacy. With sufficient and relevant information, market participants can better evaluate a bank's risk management performance, earnings potential and financial strength.
Improvements in public disclosures come not only from regulatory standards, but also through efforts by bank management to improve communications to public shareholders and other market participants. In this regard, improvements to risk management processes and internal reporting systems provide opportunities to significantly improve public disclosures over time. Accordingly, the agencies strongly encourage the management of each bank to regularly review its public disclosures and enhance these disclosures, where appropriate, to clearly identify all significant risk exposures whether on- or off-balance sheet and their effects on the bank's financial condition and performance, cash flow, and earnings potential.
Some commenters to the ANPR indicated that the proposed disclosures were burdensome, excessive, and overly prescriptive. Other commenters believed that the information provided in the disclosures would not be comparable across banks because each bank will use distinct internal methodologies to generate the disclosures. These commenters also expressed concern that some disclosures could be misinterpreted or misunderstood by the public.
The agencies believe, however, the required disclosures would enable market participants to gain key insights regarding a bank's capital structure, risk exposures, risk assessment processes, and ultimately, the capital adequacy of the institution. Some of the proposed disclosure requirements will be new disclosures for banks. Nonetheless, the agencies believe that a significant amount of the proposed disclosure requirements are already required by or consistent with existing GAAP, SEC disclosure requirements, or regulatory reporting requirements for banks.
The public disclosure requirements would apply to the top-tier legal entity that is a core or opt-in bank within a consolidated banking group (that is, the top-tier BHC or DI that is a core or opt-in bank). In general, DIs that are a subsidiary of a BHC or another DI would not be subject to the disclosure requirements82 except that every DI must disclose total and tier 1 capital ratios and their components, similar to current requirements. If a DI is not a subsidiary of a BHC or another DI that must make the full set of disclosures, the DI must make these disclosures.
The risks to which a bank is exposed and the techniques that it uses to identify, measure, monitor, and control those risks are important factors that market participants consider in their assessment of the institution. Accordingly, each bank that is subject to the disclosure requirements must have a formal disclosure policy approved by the board of directors that addresses the institution's approach for determining the disclosures it should make. The policy should address the associated internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures. The board of directors and senior management would be expected to ensure that appropriate verification of the disclosures takes place and that effective internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures are maintained.
A bank should decide which disclosures are relevant for it based on the materiality concept. Information would be regarded as material if its omission or misstatement could change or influence the assessment or decision of a user relying on that information for the purpose of making investment decisions.
To the extent applicable, a bank would be able to fulfill its disclosure requirements under this proposed rule by relying on disclosures made in accordance with accounting standards or SEC mandates that are very similar to the disclosure requirements in this proposed rule. In these situations, a bank would explain material differences between the accounting or other disclosure and the disclosures required under this proposed rule.
Consistent with longstanding requirements in the United States for robust quarterly disclosures in financial and regulatory reports, and considering the potential for rapid changes in risk profiles, the agencies would require that quantitative disclosures be made quarterly. However, qualitative disclosures that provide a general summary of a bank's risk management objectives and policies, reporting system, and definitions may be disclosed annually, provided any significant changes to these are disclosed in the interim. The disclosures must be timely, that is, must be made no later than the reporting deadlines for regulatory reports (for example, FR Y-9C) and financial reports (for example, SEC Forms 10-Q and 10-K). When these deadlines differ, the later deadline would be used.
In some cases, management may determine that a significant change has occurred, such that the most recent reported amounts do not reflect the bank's capital adequacy and risk profile. In those cases, banks should disclose the general nature of these changes and briefly describe how they are likely to affect public disclosures going forward. These interim disclosures should be made as soon as practicable after the determination that a significant change has occurred.
The disclosures would have to be publicly available (for example, included on a public website) for each of the last three years (that is, twelve quarters) or such shorter time period since the bank entered its first floor period. Except as discussed below, management would have some discretion to determine the appropriate medium and location of the disclosures required by this proposed rule. Furthermore, banks would have flexibility in formatting their public disclosures, that is, the agencies are not specifying a fixed format for these disclosures.
Management would be encouraged to provide all of the required disclosures in one place on the entity's public website. The public website address would be reported in a regulatory report (for example, the FR Y-9C).83
Disclosure of tier 1 and total capital ratios must be provided in the footnotes to the year-end audited financial statements.84 Accordingly, these disclosures must be tested by external auditors as part of the financial statement audit. Disclosures that are not included in the footnotes to the audited financial statements would not be required to be subject to external audit reports for financial statements or internal control reports from management and the external auditor. However, due to the importance of reliable disclosures, the agencies would require the chief financial officer to certify that the disclosures required by the proposed rule are appropriate and that the board of directors and senior management are responsible for establishing and maintaining an effective internal control structure over financial reporting, including the information required by this proposed rule.
The agencies believe that the proposed requirements strike an appropriate balance between the need for meaningful disclosure and the protection of proprietary and confidential information.85 Accordingly, the agencies believe that banks would be able to provide all of these disclosures without revealing proprietary and confidential information. However, in rare cases, disclosure of certain items of information required in the proposed rule may prejudice seriously the position of a bank by making public information that is either proprietary or confidential in nature. In such cases, a reporting bank may request confidential treatment for the information if the bank believes that disclosure of specific commercial or financial information in the report would likely result in substantial harm to its competitive position, or that disclosure of the submitted information would result in unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
Question 61: The agencies seek commenters' views on all of the elements proposed to be captured through the public disclosure requirements. In particular, the agencies seek comment on the extent to which the proposed disclosures balance providing market participants with sufficient information to appropriately assess the capital strength of individual institutions, fostering comparability from bank to bank, and reducing burden on the banks that are reporting the information.
The public disclosure requirements are comprised of 11 tables that provide important information to market participants on the scope of application, capital, risk exposures, risk assessment processes, and, hence, the capital adequacy of the institution. Again, the agencies note that the substantive content of the tables is the focus of the disclosure requirements, not the tables themselves. The table numbers below refer to the table numbers in the proposed rule.
Table 11.1 disclosures, Scope of Application, include a description of the level in the organization to which the disclosures apply and an outline of any differences in consolidation for accounting and regulatory capital purposes, as well as a description of any restrictions on the transfer of funds and capital within the organization. These disclosures provide the basic context underlying regulatory capital calculations.
Table 11.2 disclosures, Capital Structure, provide information on various components of regulatory capital available to absorb losses and allow for an evaluation of the quality of the capital available to absorb losses within the bank.
Table 11.3 disclosures, Capital Adequacy, provide information about how a bank assesses the adequacy of its capital and require that the bank disclose its minimum capital requirements for significant risk areas and portfolios. The table also requires disclosure of the regulatory capital ratios of the consolidated group and each DI subsidiary. Such disclosures provide insight into the overall adequacy of capital based on the risk profile of the organization.
Tables 11.4, 11.5, and 11.7 disclosures, Credit Risk, provide market participants with insight into different types and concentrations of credit risk to which the bank is exposed and the techniques the bank uses to measure, monitor, and mitigate those risks. These disclosures are intended to enable market participants to assess the credit risk exposures under the IRB framework, without revealing proprietary information or duplicating the supervisor's fundamental review of the bank's IRB framework. Table 11.6 provides the disclosure requirements related to credit exposures from derivatives. This table was added as a supplement to the public disclosures initially in the New Accord as a result of the BCBS's additional efforts to address certain exposures arising from trading activities. See the July 2005 BCBS publication entitled "The Application of Basel II to Trading Activities and the Treatment of Double Default Effects."
Table 11.8 disclosures, Securitization, provide information to market participants on the amount of credit risk transferred and retained by the organization through securitization transactions and the types of products securitized by the organization. These disclosures provide users a better understanding of how securitization transactions impact the credit risk of the bank.
Table 11.9 disclosures, Operational Risk, provide insight into the bank's application of the AMA for operational risk and what internal and external factors are considered in determining the amount of capital allocated to operational risk.
Table 11.10 disclosures, Equities, provide market participants with an understanding of the types of equity securities held by the bank and how they are valued. The table also provides information on the capital allocated to different equity products and the amount of unrealized gains and losses.
Table 11.11 disclosures, Interest Rate Risk in Non-Trading Activities, provide information about the potential risk of loss that may result from changes in interest rates and how the bank measures such risk.
In addition to the public disclosures that would be required by the consolidated banking organization subject to the advanced approaches, the agencies would require certain additional regulatory reporting from BHCs, their subsidiary DIs, and DIs applying the advanced approaches that are not subsidiaries of BHCs. The agencies believe that the reporting of key risk parameter estimates by each DI applying the advanced approaches will provide the primary Federal supervisor and other relevant supervisors with data important for assessing the reasonableness and accuracy of the institution's calculation of its minimum capital requirements under this rule and the adequacy of the institution's capital in relation to its risks. This information would be collected through regulatory reports. The agencies believe that requiring certain common reporting across banks will facilitate comparable application of the proposed rules.
In this regard, the agencies published for comment elsewhere in today's Federal Register a package of proposed reporting schedules. The package includes a summary schedule with aggregate data that would be available to the general public. It also includes supporting schedules that would be viewed as confidential supervisory information. These schedules are broken out by exposure category and would collect risk parameter and other pertinent data in a systematic manner. The agencies also are exploring ways to obtain information that would improve supervisors' understanding of the causes behind changes in risk-based capital requirements. For example, certain data would help explain whether movements are attributable to changes in key risk parameters or other factors. Under the proposed rule, banks would begin reporting this information during their parallel run on a confidential basis. The agencies will share this information with each other for calibration and other analytical purposes. Question 62: Comments on regulatory reporting issues may be submitted in response to this NPR as well as through the regulatory reporting request for comment noted above.
- The bank regulatory reports and Thrift Financial Reports will be revised to collect some additional Basel II-related information, as described below in the regulatory reporting section. Return to text
- Alternatively, banks would be permitted to provide the disclosures in more than one place, as some of them may be included in public financial reports (for example, in Management's Discussion and Analysis included in SEC filings) or other regulatory reports (for example, FR Y-9C Reports). The agencies would require such banks to provide a summary table on their public website that specifically indicates where all the disclosures may be found (for example, regulatory report schedules, pages numbers in annual reports). Return to text
- These ratios are required to be disclosed in the footnotes to the audited financial statements pursuant to existing GAAP requirements in Chapter 17 of the "AICPA Audit and Accounting Guide for Depository and Lending Institutions: Banks, Savings institutions, Credit unions, Finance companies and Mortgage companies." Return to text
- Proprietary information encompasses information that, if shared with competitors, would render a bank's investment in these products/systems less valuable, and, hence, could undermine its competitive position. Information about customers is often confidential, in that it is provided under the terms of a legal agreement or counterparty relationship. Return to text


text:
Are you looking for an easy way to introduce your toddler or preschooler to early literacy skills through theme-based learning? Kits for Kids are a quick way to check out all five of the essential early literacy skills identified by researchers as most beneficial in preparing children to learn: Read, Write, Talk, Sing, and Play—all in one bag!
Kits for Kids are theme-based, early childhood learning resources that are selected by librarians and packaged in one convenient bag for easy checkout. These Kits are a great educational resource for toddlers and preschoolers along with their parents, caregivers, and teachers. Each Kit includes: six books centered on a topic or theme, a DVD or CD related to the same theme, a toy or puzzle on theme, and an activity sheet full of suggestions to extend your child's learning.
Kits are available for check out in many library locations. If you cannot find the title you are looking for, ask a library staff member to place a hold on the title for you. The following Kits are available in various locations in our system. Please call the library at (330) 643-9050 or check the library's catalog for a complete Kits for Kids listings with locations and availability.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
MAP Program Facebook
Posted in Facebook on Sep 10th, 2008
As requested at the MAP Brown Bag Lunch Meeting yesterday, we now have a MAP Program Facebook!
Please join to meet up with your mentor/mentee and other MAP program participants. Discussions about mentoring, leadership, Monterey Institute student life, graduate school and life in Monterey are welcome!
Right now it is a closed group for only MAP participants. Please send a request to join and as the administrator of the group I will add you as soon as possible.
If you have any questions, please let me know. Hope to see you soon on Facebook!
-Gail 🙂


text:
A+ Credit University
we make it easy
At A+ Credit University, we have designed programs that work in 35- 45-day cycles. Each period lasts approximately 1 to 3 months. After each period, you will receive 3 credit reports results. These reports will be mailed directly to your home. These reports will show which questionable negative items have been removed from your credit thus far. Each client will be able to access their client portal 24/7.
Business Name:
A+ Credit University
A+ Credit UniversityDeerfield Beach Florida 33441USA
About Deerfield Beach
Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, just south of the Palm Beach County line. The city is named for the numerous deer that once roamed the area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 86,859. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which is home to 6,166,488 inhabitants as of 2020. == History == Deerfield Beach's history dates to 1890, when a small settlement named Hillsborough was developed along the Hillsboro River.
Neighborhoods in Deerfield Beach, Florida
Arlington Park, Barwal, Bay Colony, Boulevard Park Isles, Broken Woods Estates, Butler Farms, Central Beach, Central Corals, Coral Creek, Coral Ridge Isles, Coral Springs Subdivision, Crossings, Deerfield Beach Housing Authority, Deerfield Pines North, Diaflor
Our Newest Profiles


text:
More than one in six Boston doctors offices refused to schedule appointments for callers posing as disabled patients in wheelchairs, researchers at Baystate Medical Center reported Monday in a study of specialty practices that highlights obstacles to routine medical care.
Legal specialists say the practice violates a federal law requiring that people with disabilities have access to appropriate care.
Callers turned away by physicians in Boston and three other cities were mostly told the offices lacked an exam table that could be raised and lowered or a lift for transferring a patient out of their wheelchair. In some cases, practices were located in buildings inaccessible to people in wheelchairs.
Gynecologists in the four cities had the highest rate of inaccessible practices, with 44 percent informing patients that they needed to seek a specialist elsewhere. The findings were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
"Many doctors may not be aware that they need to see patients with disabilities," said study leader Dr. Tara Lagu, an academic hospitalist at Baystate in Springfield and an assistant professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. "I'm shocked every time I hear from patients in wheelchairs that they can't get an appointment with a urologist or gynecologist or that the doctor wants them to come in an ambulance for transfer to an exam table by an emergency medical technician."
Lagu and colleagues at Tufts, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and elsewhere called up 256 speciality practices posing as disabled, overweight patients with various medical problems — diabetes, unexplained uterine bleeding, depression — that related to particular specialties such as endocrinology, gynecology, or psychiatry. Overall, 56 practices, or 22 percent, told the callers that they could not be seen.
Practices in Boston denied access to disabled patients about 17 percent of the time, compared with 30 percent in Houston, 27 percent in Dallas, and 14 percent in Portland, Ore. These denials could lead to delays in these patients getting cancer screening tests such as mammograms and Pap smears or proper management for chronic health problems, Lagu said.
"The medical community hasn't understood the importance of equal access," said Bill Henning, executive director of the Boston Center for Independent Living. His organization three years ago persuaded Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women's hospitals to spend millions on architectural improvements, medical equipment upgrades, and staff training to better serve those with disabilities.
"It's been very positive," he said, "but the challenge has been trying to change the culture; they're big institutions, and there's still a lot of work to be done."
Mass. General has required its staff to participate in training to help them become more sensitive to the needs of disabled patients and has purchased adaptive equipment such as scales that can weigh patients in wheelchairs and mammogram machines that don't require patients to stand for the exam.
"The shift in culture is difficult since it's such a big hospital," said Zary Amirhosseini, the disability services manager who was hired soon after Mass. General pledged to make changes.
A Brigham spokesman said the hospital has purchased specialized equipment and staff training on disability issues is in progress.
A Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center executive said the hospital has provided easier access for those in wheelchairs, as well, adding more wheelchair-accessible bathrooms, video phone systems for the hearing-impaired, and enhanced signs for the visually impaired. The hospital also installed more than 90 accessible exam tables in its ambulatory clinics, which make it easier for patients to transfer from wheelchairs, said Dennis Monty, director of facilities planning.
But Karen Schneiderman, who uses a wheelchair because of spina bifida, said when she had an ovarian cyst removed under local anesthesia at one of the hospital's clinics a year ago, her surgeon had to lie on the floor to operate. The bed they transferred her onto from the wheelchair could not be raised and was too low for the surgeon to gain access any other way.
"It was ridiculous that my doctor had to be on the floor," said Schneiderman, who works as an advocate for the Boston Center for Independent Living.
Kelly Lawman, a Beth Israel Deaconess spokeswoman, said that she could not substantiate the episode and that no formal complaint had been filed.
The 23-year-old Americans with Disabilities Act requires that medical facilities provide full and equal access to their patients and make "reasonable modifications" when necessary, such as providing wider doorways for wheelchairs or equipment that can be maneuvered around patients who cannot rise from their chairs.
Health care providers are not allowed to tell patients that they cannot be seen because of their disability nor require them to bring a person along to help lift them onto the exam table.
"Doctors have to make reasonable accommodations or find an alternate way to provide the service. Turning people away simply because they use a wheelchair would be a clear violation of the federal law," said Dan Manning, director of litigation for Greater Boston Legal Services, which provided legal advice to the Center for Independent Living in pursuing its initiative with Mass. General and the Brigham.
What the federal law doesn't specify, however, is what specific accommodations doctors offices should make — such as lifts and adjustable tables — to care for disabled patients, an omission that a committee of specialists convened by the federal government is trying to remedy. The panel's recommendations are expected to be submitted this summer.
While new policies will no doubt mean more costs for doctor's offices, the changes will ultimately be a "win-win" for health care workers and patients by protecting both from injuries, said Dr. Lisa Iezzoni, director of the Mongan Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital, who wrote an editorial that accompanied the study.
Physician groups viewed the study in a positive light. "It is gratifying to note that the overwhelming majority of specialists could indeed accommodate the request," said Dr. Richard Aghababian, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society. "Still, there may be circumstances where a patient request may not be able to be fulfilled, and we encourage those providers to make efforts to arrange for care."
Deborah Kotz can be reached at email@example.com. Follow her on Twitter @debkotz2.


text:
It has been one of those life-affirming weeks. When something that has been a part of you for decades finally gets the attention and admiration you've felt it has deserved all along, a special pride is evoked; you can now pass it coolly and smoothly on to your own children and to the next generation. I'm speaking, of course, of the new, mainstream Hollywood blockbuster: the Avengers.
OK, by now the reader may be wondering if they are viewing the correct website, where movie reviews of major new releases, especially apparently militaristic ones, are not commonly lauded. Allow me to explain, or rather — to confess. Since about age eight, now more than forty years ago, I have been a more-than-avid Avengers fan-boy. At first, it was just a simple reader's favorite, one of many comic books which sparked my imagination at a young age. As I grew older, however, and the others were swept aside and replaced by passionate interests in music, and then my grown-up commitment to the movements for social change, the Avengers remained a faithful reminder of fun things past and maybe possible; I'd take my vacations each August finding a comic book shop and buying the past years' worth of stories, catching up on old friends. When I landed my first substantial paycheck, one of my first acts (after paying numerous bills!) was to go to a local comic convention and fill in the "blanks" of my still-preserved Avengers collection — including the rare and wonderful "first issue." Over the past ten years or so, as fatherhood and work responsibilities (and a depressed economy) have made it harder to find time or money to keep up on a weekly basis, I have still made stops to my local shop a part of my monthly routine. I've never written "fan fiction" or obtained the on-line status of some super-fans, such as the amazing Javis-head-authors associated with the "Assembled" books, but there is evidence to suggest that my commitment to this franchise runs long and deep.
What then has motivated a life-long nonviolent activist to keep up a devotion to men in tights who smash things? Why, as a boy brought up in a pacifist-leaning household (my parents weren't activists but gasped at the Vietnam War images flashed across our television), was I caught by such a craze? The striking images of Jack Kirby, or — later — of the incomparable George Perez and others, certainly played a role. But clearly the defining feature was the character development and relationships, expertly crafted by Stan Lee, and developed by many excellent writers over the course of time. And, in Lee's inimitable style, these heroes had "issues," as my son would say — their own sets of character flaws which made them all the more human and relatable to the young folks (mainly boys) who comic books were supposed to attract back in those days. Put together in a team, you had some page-turning sparks fly which had nothing to do with battling "bad guys." This is what Comix.com writer Mindy Newell correctly characterized as "group dynamics" — the gel which made the Avengers so consistently interesting.
Maybe these are just rationalizations, but I'm inclined to think that some of the basic moral principles I was raised in, and the revolutionary nonviolence and social justice commitments to which I've subsequently dedicated my life and writings, are in some ways embedded in (and have therefore been influenced and supported by) the stories of "Earth's Mightiest Heroes." Perhaps we need look no further than the Black Panther: that fantastic 1966 addition to the team, coming on just a short time before my youthful readings began. Though not formally connected to the militant self-defense and liberation organization (the Panther's first appearance pre-dates the founding of the Oakland-based organization by a few months), the character still embodied an amazing array of progressive Pan-Africanist features for the time. A head-of-state of a stridently non-aligned, independent African nation (the fictionalized Wakanda, both politically and economically free from colonial control, with strong, nationalized mineral and nationalistic human resources), T'challa (the Panther's real name) is part-diplomat, part-scientist, part-acrobatic defender; his super-power is how he balances these skills for the good of his and all people. For a boy not quite ready to read Malcolm or Martin, the tales of T'challa in the context of the multi-national (and internationalist) Avengers team were an inspiring lens through which to view a late-1960s frame.
After the Black Panther, my favorite Avenger, coming onto the team just a few issues later, was (and is) the Vision. Part-human, part-"synthezoid" (a synthetic, robot-like deep thinker), the Vision looked cool — in green and yellow and red — and was an amazing cross between otherworldly and strangely familiar. Though it barely occurred to me directly until thinking about my pre-teen son now and my pre-teen self then, there is no way that the Vision didn't typify the confusion and angst of our "tween" dilemmas. The Vision clearly has feelings, but doesn't understand or connect to them very well; his powers literally involve the ability to get very hard and/or nearly intangible. He is brilliant and clunky, all-powerful and yet awkwardly vulnerable. As I described the prospect of taking my son and his best friend to a New York IMAX 3D showing on the first day of release, followed by an Avengers-themed sleepover: "Earth's Mightiest Hormones!"
To understand the Avengers, one must understand the women — from founding member Janet Van Dyne (the Wasp, a survivor of domestic abuse who goes on to lead the team), the Black Widow (another internationalist: a Russian double agent and spy), the all-powerful Scarlett Witch (who literally shapes and bends realities, but can't quite face the reality that she and the Vision can't have children). And then there is the Hulk, prominent in the current box-office smash, but not a serious part of the team past the first few issues. Cultural critic and Black feminist bell hooks has brilliantly deconstructed the problematic issues of an apparently white-guy genius who turns into a huge, stupid, menacing man-of-color when he gets angry; the FEMINIST HULK of recent twitter fame plays on those issues in uncannily gender-bending (and often anti-racist) ways.
Then there are the big three: the triumvirate of Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man. Philosopher Mark D. White handily analyzes the "Avengers Prime," along with an array of other issues and others scholars in the recently published The Avengers and Philosophy: Earth's Mightiest Thinkers. In dividing the teams' mainstays into three basic schools of thought and action — utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics — White poses some vital issues regarding the ideas underlying the close-to-fifty-years of text. For me, though, the center of the fray is always "the Captain" — our patriotic embodiment of justice who somehow avoids the trappings of racism, sexism, or imperialism. Few realize that Steve Rogers (Cap's civilian identity) resigned the position during the Contra Wars of the Reagan era, unwilling to front for unjust wars. In addition, though any cursory glance would note that the Avengers do regular battle, the fact is that Steve Rogers — while certainly not an abolitionist as far as prisons are concerned — always wants to avoid violence and is principally opposed to taking a life. This has not always been seen as positive or practical by the rest of the team, but Cap's unavoidably superior strategic and leadership skills usually end up with him getting his way; the Avengers use just enough force to get the job done. This dance of the dialectic — between nonviolence and armed self-defense, if you will — is not one unfamiliar to those of us in the fields of peace studies and social movements.
The new movie is worth seeing. One need not know anything about the Avengers comic book history, or superheroes at all, to enjoy the carefully scripted and paced conglomeration of action scenes, humor, and relationship-building. Social issues exist in some forms — from the sojourn to India where solidarity work is being done in a poor village, to recognition of the complicated questions of who the real liars and criminals are, who is really giving orders to whom, and who is really designing and producing weapons of mass destruction. Like the best parts of the books, however, the movie's most dramatic moments are not in the heat of battle, but over the debates about whether and how these different special beings are going to unite and get along. It takes a friend's demise to help bring the individualistic heroes to the realization than an alliance is both worthy and needed; the villain is vanquished not so much because he is outnumbered or outgunned, but because, ultimately, it is clear that he lacks conviction, fighting as he is for a cause that is so unjust.
Was I reading too much into things when, on May 1, 2012 — the day of general strike called for by Occupy Wall Street as well as labor and immigrant rights groups — the Avengers franchise were asked to open the floor of the New York Stock Exchange … and they chose the actor playing the evil Loki, god of mischief, to represent the film? Am I just seeing things when the big letter "A" which adorns all Avengers materials seems to me a call for anarcho-socialist revolution!? Perhaps I should leave it to the simple message my son and his friend came up with when I asked them for a quote for this article: "It is one of the best movies I have ever seen, dad."
And yet, and yet … while I can't condone the crazy commercial blitz which the Avengers are currently undergoing (do we really need an Avengers deodorant? do we need to use an image of Cap's shield to sell soda pop, wiffle balls, spatulas, and sneakers?), I remain struck by how the Avengers set me on a path of coalition-building. It is not only a needed, but also a worthy goal; the movements for social change in this country are too dispersed, too separated and uncoordinated and out of touch. We progressives could use a good rallying cry for the ages: "Peace and justice activists, ASSEMBLE!" We've got a world to save.
A quick message before you keep reading
We're proud to publish real news 365 days of the year, completely free of charge to our readers. But producing high-quality, independent work is not cost-free – we rely heavily on your support.
If you found the piece above useful, informative, or inspiring, please consider supporting Truthout with a tax-deductible donation. A gift of any size makes a difference and helps keep this unique platform alive.


text:
Units Sold: 8
Beer and balls, need I say more?
Many people tell me that they hang their Bryn Parry cartoons in their loo and I always reply that's a good place because at least there they get a good viewing. Now we can offer you the ultimate addition to your private gallery; a Bryn Parry loo seat!
The seats are made in Oxfordshire by Looprints and are built of a solid, moisture resistant MDF construction that will give years of service. Each seat is digitally printed with my designs and then hand lacquered before being packed and sent off to you. As the seat will come from the manufacturers it despatched separately from the rest of your order.
Now Sold


text:
Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.
Amanuensis Monday, hosted by John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch.
While working at sorting out the Kelly's that lived in Adams, NY I found this obituary. As of right now I do not know how or if Florence and her family fit into my family tree. I did find her presumed cause of death very interesting.
Jefferson County Journal, Adams. N. Y., Wednesday, July 13, 1927; page 1, top of column 5
Florence A. Kelly
Miss Florence A. Kelly, aged 46 years, died at the home of her father, John E. Kelly, on Church Street West, Thursday, July 7, at 10:45 a. m.
Because of ill health she had been making her home with her father and her sister, Mrs. Margaret Cannan, since April 30, coming here from New York, where she had lived for the past twelve years. She was employed by the government during the World war in the manufacture of gas masks, from which she suffered a severe attack of chemical poisoning which left her heart in a weakened condition. She has recently finished a complete course in a beauty culture school and the close application to this work helped to hasten her end.
At 8:30 Thursday morning she came downstairs, took her heart medicine at the usual time and then went to her room to lie down again. At 9:30 her sister entered the room and finding her seriously ill summoned Dr. Hollis, but all efforts to revive here failed.
Florence Kelly was born in Kingston, Ont., the daughter of John E. and Catherine McDonald Kelly, and came to Adams to live when about a year old. She was educated in the Adams schools and was a member of St. Ceclia's church of Adams, where services were held Saturday morning at 9:30, Rev. Father J. R. McClure of Sackets Harbor officiating. Burial was made in Elmwood cemetery.
Miss Kelly was of a very lovable, kindly nature and was always ready with services in illness or trouble. She had many friends who will miss her and her death is a severe loss to her family and friends.
She is survived by her father and the following brothers and sisters: John E. Kelly, Jr., of Watertown, Margaret Cannan of Adams, Mrs. Harry A. Brown, Mrs. John Thornley and Mrs. John F. Collins of Syracuse, Allen R. Kelly of Washington D. C., and Harry A. Kelly of Adams; also an aunt, Mrs. Flora McDonald, of Adams. A sister, Mrs. Harry A. Brown, of Syracuse, was unable to be present at the services as had just undergone a serious operation. Other brothers and sisters with their families were present at the services, also Mrs. Anna Eagan, R. W. Eagan, Geo. F. Kelly and family of Syracuse.
Card of Thanks
We wish to express our deep appreciation to friends, neighbors and relatives for the beautiful floral tributes sent at the death of our beloved daughter and sister, and for the many cards and words of sympathy in our loss.
John E. Kelly and Family.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Florence A. Kelly - Obituary
Posted by Charley "Apple" Grabowski at 5:00 AM
Labels: Amanuensis Monday, Kelly
2 comments:
- Joan said...
Apple, so nice to see you back. Hope all is going well with you and your family.
You are right, that was an interesting obituary. It begs all sorts of questions -- for which you may never have answers.
I know that the WASP in WWII many times were involved in experiments/tests to evaluate the effects of high altitudes. It was a time that people just did what they had to do.
Thanks for sharing this bit of history with us.
- Charley "Apple" Grabowski said...
Thanks Joan! It's good to be back.
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Rule #1 - Be Patient - Rule #2 - Don't ask when, if you don't contribute - Rule #3 - You have coding skills - LinuxMCE's small brother is available: http://www.agocontrol.com
Hi friends,I tried to install linuxmce on my laptop, which has a nvidia card. But I´m not able to install this card correct.-During the linuxmce-installation-wizard, when I select, that the nvidia driver should be installed, after the reboot, I can not login again, because the display stays grey.-I also tried to install the nvidia-linux-driver, after the linuxmce installation, but in this case, the nvidia-linux-driver installation fails... -I also tried some steps, what I´ve found on the net:remove of:pluto-nvidia-video-driversnvidia-glxvi /etc/default/linux-restricted-modules-common → DISABLED_MODULES="nv"apt-get install nvidia-glx-new nvidia-kernel-commonnvidia-glx-config enablenvidia-xconfig But again, the installation fails.Is there a way to install linuxmce with NVIDIA, to enable UI2?many thanxmardoc
good god, why the hell are you guys circumventing all this stuff? you guys make it 50,000,000 times harder than you ever should!


text:
Webster Bible Translation
Israel's Unfaithfulness Punished
1Say ye to your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah.
2Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her prostitutions out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;
3Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and kill her with thirst.
4And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they are the children of lewdness.
5For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.
6Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.
7And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.
8For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.
9Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in its time, and my wine in its season, and I will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.
10And now will I disclose her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of my hand.
11I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.
12And I will destroy her vines and her fig-trees, of which she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.
13And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, in which she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her ear-rings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgot me, saith the LORD.
God's Mercy to Israel
14Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably to her.
15And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came from the land of Egypt.
16And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.
17For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.
18And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping animals of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down in safety.
19And I will betroth thee to me for ever; yes, I will betroth thee to me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies.
20I will even betroth thee to me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.
21And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth;
22And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.
23And I will sow her to me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them who were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.
Webster Bible Translation
Section Headings Courtesy BereanBible.com
© 2013, 2014 Used by Permission
Bible Hub


text:
Submit search
The Countryman E6i Directional Earset Microphone with soft boom, is extremely easy to adjust and is very stable on the head. Designed for applications where the mic is worn by multiple users, the Countryman E6i features a more flexible boom when compared to the original Countryman E6. The Countryman E6i Earset directional microphones provide high quality voice pickup while rejecting surrounding noise, stage monitors, or feedback from nearby speakers. An ultra-miniature electret condenser element is held close to the mouth by a thin boom and comfortable earclip for world-class vocal mic sound with far better isolation than an omnidirectional mic can provide. The entire assembly weighs less than one-tenth ounce and almost disappears against the skin, so performers can forget its there and audiences barely see it. Changeable caps let you select a cardioid pickup pattern for ease of placement, or a hypercardioid pattern for maximum isolation.
Unobtrusive: Countryman Earsets are the smallest, lightest, and least visible head-worn microphones. The comfortable earclip doesnt interfere with hairstyles, eyeglasses, wardrobe, headphones, or in-ear monitors. The tiny boom and mic element virtually disappear against the face.
Rugged and Reliable: Stainless steel, skin-colored almost unbreakable boom can be bent and re-bent many times to fit different performers. The E6i is exceptionally resistant to makeup, sweat and moisture when used with the supplied protective caps. Caps and cable are field-replaceable without tools.
Versatile: Soft, highly flexible boom is easily shaped right on the performers face. Available in multiple skin tone colors. Changeable protective caps let you shape the frequency response for different situations or to match other microphones. Versions available for different speaking or singing styles, with up to 140 dB SPL capability.
Exceptional Sound Quality: Frequency response is better than 30 Hz to 15 kHz with smooth off-axis response and >100 dB dynamic range. Countryman Earsets sound like world-class, full size performance mics but the performer has complete freedom.
Excellent Isolation: Countryman directional Earsets reject 20 dB of off-axis sound, while easy adjustment keeps the mic very close to the mouth at all times. This reduces feedback in meeting rooms or houses of worship, and cuts monitor pickup on stage. The directional Earset is ideal for concerts and other high-noise environments.
Replaceable cables: With other microphones a worn cable requires purchasing a completely new mic. An E6 replacement cable easily replaces it in less than a minute. Quick-connect miniature 1 mm or 2 mm super rugged cables are available for almost any wireless transmitter or phantom mic input providing 3 - 48 V.
Microphone Color Options:
Datasheet (1.08 Mb, pdf)
Manual (1.25 Mb, pdf)
Repair Form (224 kb, pdf)


text:
Welcoming the Winter Solstice
In cultural terms, the winter solstice has been a special moment that was recognized as far back as Neolithic times. These astronomical events in ancient times impacted the sowing of crops, mating of animals, and handling of winter reserves between harvests. They winter solstice was an important part of many indigenous cultures spiritual beliefs, a time of cosmic change and renewal, as well as a time where indigenous communities faced existential questions. Surviving winter was far from guaranteed for those in colder climates, and celebrations that took place during the winter solstice were epic. For example, cattle were slaughtered (they couldn't be kept alive over winter) and so it was often the only time an indigenous community could enjoy fresh meat. Because the winter solstice is also an event that marks the return of the sun's presence in the sky, it has been connected with renewal, birth, sun gods, and life-death-rebirth deities.
The winter solstice's importance to ancient cultures is most famously on display in the Neolithic and Bronze Age sites of Stonehenge, in England, and Newgrange, in Ireland.
These monuments contain primary axes that appear to have been carefully aligned on a sight-line which points to two key moments during the winter solstice. Stonehenge, believed to have been built between 3000 BC and 2000BC, is one of the most recognizable archaeological sites on the planet. With its large standing stones set within earthworks and composed in a large circular setting, what many don't realize is Stonehenge has a strong winter solstice connection. There are five Great Trilithons at the site (structures consisting of two large vertical stones that support a third stone set horizontally across the top, the most iconic features of the site), one of which was erected outwards from the entrance of the monument, its face turned towards the winter solstice sunset.
At Newgrange in eastern Ireland, which is older then Stonehenge, built around 3200 BC, the connection to the winter solstice is even more striking. This large mound structure and passage tomb, with grass growing on top, has a room within it that floods with light as the sun rises on the winter solstice. This alignment was no accident, with archaeologists and religious scholars alike agreeing that this site, which was once sealed and closed for several millennia, was a place of great import to its builders and the indigenous cultures who worshipped there.
Here in North America there is evidence of celebration and worship of the winter solstice, at places like Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, the site of an ancient indigenous city from 600-1400 AD. The site contained 120 earthwork mounds built over an area of roughly six square miles (80 remain) and is the largest archaeological site left by the Mississippian culture, which had complex and advanced societies all across the Midwest and eastern North America. Woodhenge, a circle of posts within this ancient city-structure, consisted of a circle of posts that were used to make astronomical sightings. Archaeologists discovered Woodhenge and found that the placement of the posts marked both the solstices and equinoxes. Further analytical work showed that the placement of these posts was by design, with such artifacts as a beaker found near the winter solstice post that bore a circle and cross symbol which symbolized the Earth and four cardinal directions.
In rural Peebles, Ohio, the Great Serpent Mound, believed to have been built by the Fort Ancient people between 1000 and 1550 AD, slithers away from the winter solstice. The Great Serpent Mound is possibly the best-known serpent effigy in North America, stretching out nearly a quarter of a mile in the unmistakable form of a uncoiling serpent. The serpent's head is aligned to the sunset during the summer solstice, the coils and tail are believed to point to the sunrise on the days of the winter solstice and the equinoxes.
During the period between 1150 AD and 1375 AD, a still unexplainable series of mounds were built by the ancestors of the Creek Indians in Georgia, western North Carolina and the eastern edge of Alabama. These five-sided mounds are unique to the region, and were "perfectly arranged on the apexes of a triangular matrix, stretching for several hundred miles," according to an article by Richard Thornton, part of an alliance of Muskogean scholars. "One leg of the isosceles triangles was true north-south. Another leg was true east-west. The hypotenuse was the angle of the solar azimuth at sunset on the winter solstice. How the accurate surveying of such long distances was accomplished by the indigenous people of the region has never been explained,' he wrote.
Indian Mounds across the country, from Spiro Mounds in Oklahoma to Town Creek Indian Mound in North Carolina, have connections to the winter solstice. Here is a good list of American Indian mounds in North America, with some of them having special winter solstice celebrations.
This winter solstice for the Maya of South America is a hugely important time for rebirth, reflection, and renewal as the end of one cosmic cycle arrives with the beginning of a new cycle. Winter solstice ceremonies and celebrations have been an important component of Central and South American indigenous communities for many millennia. There will be celebrations everywhere, from El Salvador and Guatemala to Belize and Peru.
This video showcases a Mayan winter solstice celebration when Mayans gathered with a "Tribe of Nations" at the pyramids of Tikal for the first ever all night Winter Solstice ceremony in Guatemala.
In Machu Picchu, there is a large column of stone called an Intihuatana, which translates to "hitching post of the sun," with a ceremony that takes place each June 24 in Sacsayhuamán during the Peruvian winter solstice. There are more celebrations during the southern hemispheres winter solstice in June in places like Mapuche, in Southern Chile.


text:
Council approves formation of Transportation Benefit District
Agency would administer funds generated to maintain transit service, support transportation infrastructure
StoryThe Metropolitan King County Council today gave its unanimous approval to the formation of a Transportation Benefit District (TBD)—a separate taxing district that has the authority to generate revenue for transit, roads and other transportation projects.
"With formation of a countywide Transportation Benefit District, King County now has a potential tool for funding preservation of Metro Transit service and maintenance of local roads and transportation infrastructure," said Council Chair Larry Phillips. "Without new revenue, King County faces transit service cuts of up to 17 percent and at least a $100 million annual gap for the maintenance of county roads."
"This is an important step in a process of placing a measure on the ballot, which would allow the public to consider preventing cuts to Metro bus service," said Council Vice Chair Joe McDermott.
"I appreciate the unanimous approval of this legislation by my colleagues. It will allow us to ask the voters to make investments in our transit and road systems," said Councilmember Rod Dembowski, chair of the Council's Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee, and author of the ordinance creating the District. "As we move forward, I am committed to ensuring that the TBD uses the authority granted by law for rebates of vehicle license fees to low-income taxpayers to ensure that any funding measure is as progressive in nature as possible."
The Transportation Benefit District is similar in structure to the King County Ferry District and King County Flood Control District, with the members of the County Council acting as the TBD Board. The TBD will have the the authority to acquire, construct, improve, provide and fund transportation improvements identified in the transportation plan of the Puget Sound Regional Council, the county or a city within the County.
"Forming the TBD is a first step, but the final choice will be made by the voters of King County if the District chooses to send something to the ballot," said Councilmember Larry Gossett.
"The county's roads and transit budget shortfalls have reduced our ability to provide these regional and local services at levels previously provided," said Councilmember Kathy Lambert. "The creation of the TBD provides additional options for potential transportation revenues that could help offset these shortfalls."
The Transportation Benefit District will be able to consider funding options and determine whether to propose sending a measure to raise revenue for the district to county voters.


text: Selecting a childminder to care for your youngster is a very important determination to create. That is why it is vital you have the proper guidance when conducting so. You must ensure that this prospective childminder has got the proper abilities and knowledge to look after your child sufficiently. Childminder Legislation May be the childminder… Continue reading Choosing a Childminder For Your Child


text:
Uprising Series III: Why the Fascination With Superheroes?
This is the first of four articles in our "Uprising –Series III," where God's men explore the "uprising" taking place globally where a rebellion is taking place against the suffering created by broken masculinity. This series takes us on a journey into our broken male culture, showing us that God is our Father and He wants us to return home to His family. This series will help you understand that we are all God's children and – like any loving Father – He expects His sons to behave accordingly.
When you think back on your life, how many of you had visions of being a superhero who brought justice?
I know that 90 percent of you had some form of superhero paraphernalia: underwear, pajamas, a cape, masks or a Halloween costume. There is something in us at a very young age that wants to be a few things: we want to be good, we want to be dangerous, we want to have special power, and we want to deliver justice.
Now why is that? Why is it universal across the globe? Why is it universal across cultures?
We want to be on the right side of good, but then as we age our vision goes from the ideal to what is really born into us, to something else, usually because we're subjected to life here on Earth. There are losses. We get hurt.
The idea fades away because it's just an idea. It's unrealistic; you can't run around doing good in tights and with all this equipment. It's just not reality. We can't be that, and yet, a part of us longs for that.
How do I know that?
Because we see "Iron Man," "Tombstone," "Gladiator," all these movies, where strong guys deliver justice, have that something extra special power, and lead movements. They protect the innocent. They stand for something. We pour billions of dollars into movies because that is really who we want to be, but we can't be in our everyday lives, so we settle for the fantasy over reality.
It's a tragedy because our world is ready to receive a real guy who is good, dangerous with goodness, who brings justice, and who champions the have-nots and the beaten down. You CAN be that man.
Look at world events. Look at what happened in Tunisia. You can see how one man released a flash point that unleashed an uprising. All of a sudden, there's this domino effect, not just literally or politically, but emotionally.
A Tunisian street vendor set himself ablaze after a policewoman confiscated his fruit cart. Not satisfied with accepting the fine that the vendor tried to pay, the policewoman slapped the vendor, spat in his face and insulted his dead father.
This was the flash point of an uprising. The fruit vender not only set himself on fire, he set Tunisia on fire and it spread throughout North Africa and the Middle East.
We've seen years of broken political corruption and broken male culture manifested in political corruption around the world just like we've seen in Tunisia. People have lots of frustration, lots of emotion. We've got issues and injustices, emotions and energy – and then it hits – a flash point.
The country of Tunisia heard about this one man who committed suicide because he was depressed and frustrated over his livelihood being taken away by a broken political structure run by men. That was the flash point.
Every uprising has a flash point.
They could not believe what just one man, just one act of uprising, unleashed on the Arab world, where authoritarian and monarchal governments have been changed forever, and many are shaking in their boots.
All it took was one man in an act of desperation to unleash a flash point that tapped into this pent-up emotion and created an uprising.
As we're in this Uprising series, you will pick up on and read about movements like this. You will see that they hinge on very small things.
British Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said that big wheels turn by small axels. The small axel of this one man's suicide has turned this big wheel of uprising throughout the Middle East. Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Syria all of these governments are going: "Oh my goodness."
There is a grass-roots freedom movement in the world. It's not a politically motivated movement. It's not the Islamic political group Hezbollah. It's not some insurrection, or a terrorist-sponsored thing.
It's the power of an uprising. Watch world events and you will see the power of an uprising. What you see is the power of numbers, and the power of a just cause.
There is something happening in the world that has been simmering for centuries. It is about broken male culture and its partnership with evil. The chief export of this culture has been the creation of suffering worldwide.
You can see it everywhere in cultures that do not evolve; cultures that do not take on a dignified respect for human life. They create this kind of gender-class system that produces suffering. It's really nothing new. It has been simmering, and now it has reached its flash point.
Cultures around the world are saying, "We are done with this broken male dominated culture because it produces so much suffering."
What has been the result?
Women's movements, women advocacy movements, justice movements, political activism, media stories, front-page news, weekly magazine cover stories, CNN and Fox News – all of these headlines that highlight the symptoms of suffering, the repair, the recovery.
The symptoms: domestic violence, broken homes, prostitution, human slavery, honor killings – all these are manifestations, but they are not the root cause.
The root cause is the broken male heart, the broken male identity, a masculinity that is lost and soaked in culture.
There is a worldwide reaction. What do people want?
They want freedom. They want to be liberated from this culture of men that doesn't allow them to be who God created them to be.
That's what's in every heart. We're all born to freedom. We all want to be free. We want to be free to be who God created us to be.
Those who have reacted want relief. They need relief, but deeper than that, what they want is a brand new man.
They want a brand of men that protects and provides, but that also loves and defends the vulnerable, the marginalized, and people who need a champion. They want men who bring justice.
You are a son of God. You can become that guy. That's important; you ARE a son of God.
We saw the flash point of Jesus' death which created an uprising like this in the Bible, where guys became dangerous with goodness, and went counterculture. We saw it in the men of Pentecost, in Acts 2.
You have a Father who has character. He wants to pass that down to you. He wants to train you so your conduct can change culture.
That's what every father's dream is, isn't it? He wants for his sons to grow up to be the superheroes he knows they can be.
Watch "Uprising –Part III" where men's expert and pastor Kenny Luck helps you to learn how God's men are joining God's "Uprising."


text:
To start select enemy heroes in the field above. It's intended to be used with multiple heroes. The more enemy heroes you provide the better results you will get.
This website was made to help you in pick stage of online game Dota 2. It calculates rating for each possible counterpicks based on tips from web-based database made up entirely of user contributions Dota 2 wiki.
You will get the list of recommended hero counters with a list of tips written by Dota 2 wiki contributors explaining why it's good against the particular hero. In comparison to other similar websites, which show only rating based on average hero win rate from dotabuff or similar service.
How to interpret this data
Take it with a bit of grain of salt, especially if the recommendation has a low rating (<= 1), some heroes
may win a lane in an early game but would lose in late game (and vice versa). That's why sometimes
you could hero names appearing as a counter and as being countered, as on image:
You can also add your own tips, update old data and fix mistakes by editing page on Dota 2 Wiki (it works like Wikipedia - anyone can contribute, you don't even need to register) these edits will appear on this website automatically (data is updated several times per week).
Right now there is no app/overlay that will detect picks automatically (like overwolf dota plus or become the gamer), instead, you can open web version in a steam in-game browser or use mobile version on your smartphone.
Want to know more? Check FAQ
List of new features that have been added
- Results now also sorted both by rating and average hero win rate for the chosen rank (data from dotabuff)
- You can share counterpick suggestions just by copying URL. Try it: Pudge and Phantom Assassin counters
- Results from the left and right column are partially merged now: the green color shows counterpicks and red color heroes who are countered by an enemy pick.
- Added link next to each hero pointing to wiki hero page
- Counterpick suggestions will appear as you type
- Added statistics: Total entries in the database: 557, last updated: about 1 month ago
- Filtering by role: carry/durable/support - data taken directly from the game (basically the filters which you see on pick stage in dota)
- Filtering by lane: off lane/safe lane/mid lane (lane data is parsed from hero guides dotabuff)
- Tips now include icons next to the heroes/spells/item names (just like on Dota 2 wiki)
- Added item suggestions
- Heroes now can be searched by their abbreviations: CM - Crystal Maiden, Kotl - Keeper Of The Light, AM - Anti Mage etc.
- Mobile website version
- Improved UX on small screens - when selecting heroes page automatically scrolls so hero select input is displayed at the very top of screen, leaving more space for results.
- importing picks from dotabuff/opendota URL or matchid
- sorting by personal win rate after logging via steam
- dota overlay(like Overwolf Dota Plus) that will automatically detect picks and bans this will also bring synergy and ban suggestion based on opponent recent games and most played/highest win rate heroes (but don't expect it soon).
Sharing link to this site is always appreciated.
Dota 2 is a registered trademark of Valve Corporation. This site is not affiliated with Valve Corporation. All game images and names are property of Valve Corporation.
Most popular searches listSlark, Pudge
Dazzle, Pudge
Techies, Spectre
Tusk, Elder Titan
Bounty Hunter, Huskar
Axe, Legion Commander
Ancient Apparition, Abaddon
Ancient Apparition, Anti-Mage
Axe, Techies, Spectre
Alchemist, Ancient Apparition
Kunkka, Axe, Grimstroke
Phantom Assassin, Crystal Maiden
Phantom Assassin, Pudge, Pugna
Slark, Pudge, Ancient Apparition
Faceless Void, Drow Ranger, Slark
Ancient Apparition, Anti-Mage, Bane
Abaddon, Alchemist, Ancient Apparition
Alchemist, Ancient Apparition, Anti-Mage
Pudge, Invoker, Drow Ranger, Weaver
Abaddon, Alchemist, Arc Warden, Bane
Anti-Mage, Arc Warden, Axe, Dark Willow
Dazzle, Witch Doctor, Bristleback, Spectre
Riki, Crystal Maiden, Visage, Treant Protector
Anti-Mage, Abaddon, Axe, Bane, Batrider
Riki, Invoker, Bristleback, Sniper, Lion
Crystal Maiden, Magnus, Enigma, Sven, Luna
Weaver, Invoker, Pudge, Lich, Ember Spirit
Sniper, Slark, Troll Warlord, Visage, Ursa
Ogre Magi, Ursa, Troll Warlord, Meepo, Lich
Ogre Magi, Treant Protector, Necrophos, Chaos Knight
Alchemist, Ancient Apparition, Anti-Mage, Arc Warden
Gyrocopter, Riki, Slardar, Bloodseeker, Meepo
Faceless Void, Tinker, Lion, Brewmaster, Pudge
Riki, Legion Commander, Tiny, Invoker, Spectre
Alchemist, Lina, Lycan, Luna, Nature's Prophet
Pudge, Zeus, Lich, Juggernaut, Centaur Warrunner
Clockwerk, Pudge, Invoker, Shadow Shaman, Sniper
Silencer, Zeus, Faceless Void, Sniper, Sand King
Huskar, Pudge, Alchemist, Luna, Phantom Assassin
Centaur Warrunner, Spirit Breaker, Tusk, Axe, Tiny
Drow Ranger, Sniper, Earthshaker, Bristleback, Riki
Tinker, Pudge, Earthshaker, Elder Titan, Gyrocopter
Phantom Assassin, Pudge, Riki, Invoker, Chaos Knight
Dazzle, Ogre Magi, Invoker, Rubick, Phantom Assassin
Spirit Breaker, Outworld Devourer, Axe, Warlock, Ursa
Winter Wyvern, Lich, Ember Spirit, Underlord, Leshrac
Leshrac, Shadow Shaman, Sniper, Necrophos, Terrorblade
Abaddon, Bane, Storm Spirit, Grimstroke, Phantom Lancer
Abaddon, Anti-Mage, Arc Warden, Ancient Apparition, Axe
Windranger, Storm Spirit, Ember Spirit, Riki, Alchemist
Brewmaster, Pudge, Storm Spirit, Phantom Lancer, Oracle
Alchemist, Ancient Apparition, Anti-Mage, Axe, Arc Warden
Ancient Apparition, Anti-Mage, Arc Warden, Axe, Alchemist
Luna, Vengeful Spirit, Storm Spirit, Undying, Beastmaster
Juggernaut, Zeus, Sven, Ancient Apparition, Spirit Breaker
Axe, Ancient Apparition, Bloodseeker, Clinkz, Chaos Knight
Phantom Assassin, Pudge, Huskar, Queen of Pain, Earthshaker
Axe, Drow Ranger, Vengeful Spirit, Windranger, Winter Wyvern
Juggernaut, Shadow Shaman, Windranger, Meepo, Spirit Breaker
Abaddon, Alchemist, Anti-Mage, Arc Warden, Ancient Apparition
Abaddon, Alchemist, Ancient Apparition, Anti-Mage, Arc Warden
Juggernaut, Ember Spirit, Shadow Shaman, Ogre Magi, Brewmaster
Shadow Shaman, Spirit Breaker, Sniper, Wraith King, Earthshaker
Invoker, Grimstroke, Windranger, Bounty Hunter, Phantom Assassin
Treant Protector, Puck, Vengeful Spirit, Shadow Fiend, Anti-Mage
Phantom Assassin, Wraith King, Skywrath Mage, Silencer, Shadow Fiend
Bristleback, Crystal Maiden, Invoker, Phantom Lancer, Vengeful Spirit


text:
New Year's Eve is this weekend, meaning that most of us are attending parties. For this week's Shooting Challenge, I want you to capture that party...in a really long exposure. 15 seconds to 30 minutes.
The Challenge
Take a long exposure of an NYE party. The longer, the better. (And feel free to use lights for light painting, or make it natural - whatever!)
The Technique
Set your camera on a tripod somewhere no one will touch it.
You can set the exposure up to 30 seconds with most cameras. To go longer, set your shutter to "bulb" mode - the longer you hold the shutter, the longer the photo will expose for. (A remote shutter will stop you from shaking the camera while you do so.)
- Set your aperture somewhat high (f/11 or higher) to increase depth of field (to get the entire frame in focus).
- Keep your ISO low. No reason to suffer the noise of 800+ if you're doing a long exposure anyway.
- Depending on the amount of light in the room, you may very well need a neutral density filter.
- Make sure that, if you try a really long (several minute exposure), your battery is fully charged.
Now, what you do creatively is up to you. Giving guests of a party flashlights, LEDs - these options can light paint a whole room. But general blur and commotion can be fun, too.
The Example
Our lead photo by Jack Zalium is a great example of the energy you can capture in a long exposure party scene. I didn't see metadata on flickr or the photo itself, but I'm guessing we're looking at an exposure of about 30 seconds, though by the strong figure outlines it could be closer to 15. Regardless, note the ethereal energy of the shot, how it captures a moment in a different way than a quick exposure with more clarity could.
The Rules
1. Submissions need to be your own.
2. Photos must be taken since this contest was announced (read more on that above).
3. Explain, briefly, the equipment, settings, technique and story behind shot.
4. Email submissions to email@example.com, not me.
5. Include 970px wide image (200KB or less) AND a 2560x1600 sized in email. I know that your photo may not fall into those exact high rez dimensions, so whatever native resolution you're using is fine.
6. One submission per person.
7. Use the proper SUBJECT line in your email (more info on that below)
8. You agree to the Standard Contest Rules - though we DO accept non-US resident submissions.
9. If the image contains any material or elements that are not owned by you and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties, and/or if any persons appear in the image, you are responsible for obtaining, prior to submission of the photograph, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit the exhibition and use of the image in the manner set forth in these rules without additional compensation. If any person appearing in any image is under the age of majority in their state/province/territory of residence the signature of a parent or legal guardian is required on each release.
Send your best photo by Monday, Jan 2nd at 10AM Eastern to firstname.lastname@example.com with "NYE" in the subject line. Save your files as JPGs, and use a FirstnameLastnameNYE.jpg (970px wide) and FirstnameLastnameNYEWallpaper.jpg (2560px wide) naming conventions. Include your shooting summary (camera, lens, ISO, etc) in the body of the email along with a story of the shot in a few sentences. And don't skip this story part because it's often the most enjoyable part for us all beyond the shot itself!
Mark Wilson is the founder of Philanthroper, a daily deal site for nonprofits.


text:
Suerte Tequila 2013 Brand of Promise Nominee
Suerte Tequila co-founders, Laurence Spiewak & Lance Sokol,
and Master Distiller, Pedro Hernandez Barba explain the story
of their brand and the process that's used to produce it.
Read Ryan Kelly's review and tasting notes on Suerte Blanco here.
Mike Morales and Alex Perez taste and discuss the complete line of Suerte tequilas in this episode of Sipping off the Cuff:
Suerte Tequilas have been carefully handcrafted to appeal to today's modern Tequila drinker while maintaining a high level of authenticity. During production, our Master Distiller uses traditional methods such as low temperature, slow cooking and use of a Tahona to create a truly unique Tequila. Of equal importance is the pure spring water that infuses every sip of our value premium brand. At Suerte Tequila we believe in providing a true artisanal Tequila experience while pushing the boundaries of this traditional Mexican spirit.