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DENVER – In a world where Amazon can track your next book purchase and you must register to buy allergy medicine, James Holmes spent months stockpiling thousands of bullets and head-to-toe ballistic gear without raising any red flags with authorities.
The suspect in the mass theater shooting availed himself of an unregulated online marketplace that allows consumers to acquire some of the tools of modern warfare as if they were pieces of a new wardrobe. The Internet is awash in sites ranging from BulkAmmo.com, which this weekend listed a sale on a thousand rifle rounds for $335, to eBay, where bidding on one armored special forces helmet has risen to $799.
'We're different than other cultures,' said Dudley Brown, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, which advocates for firearms owners' rights. 'We do allow Americans to possess the accoutrements that our military generally has.'
Gun rights activists like Brown celebrate that freedom, but even some involved in the trade are troubled by how easily Holmes stocked up for his alleged rampage.
Chad Weinman runs TacticalGear.com, which caters to police officers looking to augment their equipment, members of the military who don't want to wait on permission from the bureaucracy for new combat gear, and hobbyists like survivalists and paintballers. The site receives 'thousands' of orders daily, sometimes from entire platoons that are about to deploy to war zones.
On July 2, Holmes placed a $306 order with the site for a combat vest, magazine holders and a knife, paying extra for expedited two-day shipping to his Aurora apartment. The order, Weinman said, didn't stand out.
'There's a whole range of consumers who have an appetite for these products, and 99.9 percent of them are law-abiding citizens,' Weinman said. But he said that 'it makes me sick' that Holmes bought material from him. He added that he doesn't sell guns or ammunition and that he was 'shocked' at the amount of bullets that Holmes allegedly bought online.
Authorities say all of Holmes' purchases were legal — and there is no official system to track whether people are stockpiling vast amounts of firepower.
There is no restriction on the sale of bullets in the United States, except for armor-piercing rounds, which can only be bought by law enforcement, said Ginger Colbrun, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Hence the proliferation of websites offering Amazon.com-style wish-lists for hollow-point rifle rounds or tracer bullets.
There is a federal law that bars selling body armor to violent felons — which Holmes was not — but it is rarely used because there are is no requirement to check whether purchasers of the material have criminal records, according to Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence.
Over four months, authorities said, Holmes received more than 50 packages at his Aurora apartment and the University of Colorado medical school, where he was studying neuroscience. As the boxes piled up, he began to shop for guns at sporting goods stores — because of the need to pass a background check to buy a firearm, they are still generally bought at brick-and-mortar locations.
On May 22, law enforcement officials said Holmes bought a Glock pistol. Less than a week later, he upgraded to a shotgun. The following week he bought an AR-15 rifle, versions of which had been outlawed under the assault weapon ban in 1994. But that prohibition expired in 2004 and Congress, in a nod to the political clout of gun enthusiasts, did not renew it.
Holmes also acquired explosive materials and equipment to rig his entire apartment with a complex series of booby traps that took authorities days to dismantle. Officials have not said how he obtained the material for the devices.
Holmes capped off his gun purchases with another pistol on July 7. Authorities say that, 12 days later, Holmes bought a ticket to the midnight premiere of the Batman movie 'The Dark Knight Rises' and entered the theater with the crowd, then slipped out the side door and returned dressed for battle.
Oates said the shooter wore a ballistic helmet, gas mask, throat-protector, tactical vest and pants — such complete protective gear that responding officers almost mistook him for a member of the SWAT team. He lobbed gas canisters at the crowd, then opened fire. By the time police arrived, 90 seconds later, Holmes had shot dozens of people because his rifle was modified with a high-powered drum magazine that allowed him to fire immense amounts of bullets without reloading. 'It was a pretty rapid pace of fire in that theater,' Oates said.
The high-capacity magazine had also been prohibited under the assault weapon ban, and even though the federal law expired a few states outlaw the devices. Colorado, which has relatively permissive gun laws, does not.
Colorado State Senator John Morse, a Democrat, said he wished the state barred large-capacity magazines and guns like the AR-15, but he does not expect the attack to make that likely. 'The NRA has managed to convince the country that this has to happen to protect our Second Amendment rights,' Morse said. 'As long as we let people buy these guns, we will bury our children.'
Rep Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), whose husband was killed in a mass shooting on the Long Island Railroad in 1993, has proposed a ban on high-capacity magazines in Congress but acknowledges it has little chance of passage. She said she was horrified by the shooting but most shocked by the other material that Holmes allegedly accumulated — the bullets and combat gear.
'It befuddles me to think those things should be sold to the general public,' she said.
Colorado State Rep. Mark Waller cautioned against trying to limit purchases of ammunition. He noted that Holmes reportedly bought 300 rounds for his shotgun. 'My 13-year-old son and I go out to the shooting range all the time,' said Waller, a Republican. 'I buy more than 300 rounds of shotgun shells when I do that.'
He said there may be discussion of limiting the sale of the sort of protective clothing that Holmes allegedly donned. 'Is that what the right to bear arms means, that you can purchase tactical gear to stop law enforcement from preventing you from perpetrating a crime?' Waller asked. 'In the days and weeks to come, this is going to be a significant conversation.'
But gun enthusiasts caution against over-reacting to the massacre. Brown, of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, said he thinks citizen's access to weaponry has made the United States 'a stronger country.' And he doesn't see anything unusual about many of Holmes' alleged purchases.
'If I only had 6,000 rounds for my AR-15s, I'd literally feel naked,' Brown said. Then he totaled up Holmes' firearms purchases: 'Two handguns, a shotgun and a rifle. That's the average male in Colorado.'


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Wiki - InterestingThingsToEatAndDrink
Interesting things to eat and drink in Vienna
Some local specialities:
A small street shop (usually a very small building looking a bit like a toll booth (image)) selling hot sausages, hot dogs and beer. They are usually open until very late and often the only place to get food after midnight. The perfect place to get a ...
We just say: "a Eitrige mit an Buckel und a 16er-Blech, oba Jennifa"...
A cheap way to fill your stomach is to buy a 'Wurstsemmel' (roll with sausage, ham, cheese, whatever). Most supermarkets (all Billa and Spar, some Zielpunkt) offer ready-made Wurstsemmeln, or you can order them fresh at the sausage counter. Another nice treat is hot 'Käseleberkäse', which is Leberkäse with small cheese chunks inside - you should eat it hot in a 'Semmel'!
Weisser Gspritzer
aka 'white wine spritzer'
"Sturm" (literally "storm") is grape juice halfway on it's way to wine. It's a hazy liquid, definitly contains alcohol, is very good for your digestiv system (make sure to have a toilet near the next day, if you drink too much of it!) & tastes sweet. Sturm is only available a short time from end of August to October. Thomas Klausner (domm) loves it! Roland Giersig too! :-) Especially the red variety, which is hard to come by...
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Can a wine express human suffering?
Does what a winemaker is feeling at the time he makes the wine somehow enter into the wine, through some mysterious process of emotional osmosis? I don't mean to get all metaphysical, but this question arose, rather powerfully, during my recent visit to Santa Barbara, and I've been thinking about it.
I was tasting with a well-regarded producer. We were reviewing a range of his Chardonnays, dating back to the 2001, which was remarkably fresh. He remarked that he had crushed the wine on a date he would never forget, one that had made him profoundly sad at the time, and still affected him to the point of bringing tears to his eyes.
Sept. 11, 2001.
As his eyes welled, I replied, somewhat insensitively, "Well, I'm sure we won't taste your feelings in the wine." What I meant was that I assumed that what I would taste in the wine — in any wine — was the product of all the objective factors that physically made it what it was: variety, viticulture, enology, terroir, vintage, acidity, alcohol, tannins, age, storage condition, and so forth.
As soon as I spoke, I could tell I shouldn't have. The room (there were four of us present) fell into an uncomfortable silence. The winemaker seemed at a loss for words. I was embarrassed. I didn't want him to think that I had discounted his experience, since I hadn't, or hadn't meant to; I'd merely expressed the view that it didn't seem likely that his emotions had transferred themselves into the wine, unless they had resulted in him performing acts of omission or commission that were the direct results of those emotions.
So I told him that a day or two after 9/11, I was at a consumer wine event in Monterey. There were 40 or 50 people present, who had paid some pretty good money to do a wine-and-food thing. They were laughing and drinking and partying, which made me feel horrible, considering the trauma our country had just gone through. So I asked a friend of mine, a local winemaker, to ding his glass and request a moment of silence. (Today, I would do it by myself, but nine years ago I didn't have the self-confidence.) The reason I related this to the Santa Barbara winemaker was to reassure him that I, too, had been devastated by 9/11.
Well, it didn't do much good, because I felt like an ass for the rest of the day. I still do. I have a tendency to run my mouth off before my brain can think. But I've also been wondering if the winemaker's feelings really did go into the wine, somehow or other.
I don't know quite how that would work. It doesn't make logical sense. It would seem that everything the winemaker did must have been something he would have done regardless of what he was feeling. But the winemaker himself believes it, and he is a profound winemaker whose sensitivity is such that every critic who has ever written about him notes it. He is also an intellect who thinks long and deep about philosophy. So his views are not to be dismissed.
That 2001 Chardonnay was quite a wine. It was pristine, the way his Chardonnays always are, and reflected the minerals and acidity of Santa Rita Hills in a transparent way. I should mention that it was unoaked. It also seemed timeless. Not that it didn't show its age; it did. But it was still sleek and toned.
Of course, once I understood how much that wine and the date of its crush meant to the winemaker, I took the time, out of respect for him, to look for extra qualities in it. Was it clearer, more focused, sparer than his other Chardonnays? His Chards always are minimalist; was the 2001 austere to the point of a haiku, or a Japanese sand garden in which a few strokes of the rake express more than all the flowers in an English garden?
I won't go so far as to say I detected sadness in the wine. That would be carrying poetic license too far. But that 2001 Chardonnay was so transparent, like spring water from a Sierra stream, so mute and mysterious, like an obelisk or (something I thought of later) a Rothko painting, so neutral, in the sense that it was like a mirror held back to your own eyes, that at one point I likened it to a Rorschach test. I told the winemaker that it was a wine in which a person would find, not what the wine said, but what was happening inside the person's own heart. I think the winemaker liked that. At our most profound moments, silence is really the overriding value. There was in fact a profound silence emanating from that wine.
I don't know if that quality of silence came from the winemaker's state of mind on 9/11, or from my imagination. I don't know if I would have found it had I drank the wine from a paper bag in a flight of older Chardonnays at home in Oakland. But I do know the experience made me think about things in great wine that will never be defined. They say some winemakers pour their heart and soul into a wine. Maybe it's true in more than just a metaphorical way.
A very moving and honest post. Wine sits in a very awkward position between artistic expression and brutal business realities. While it is so often the human story that separates a wine from others when marketing it to consumers, these poignant personal stories are often lost amongst the "millionaire owner spares no expense" tales.
Great post, Steve, complex, provocative, made me think also of this new book The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: A Novel (Aimee Bender).
Thank you for sharing that touching story.
Since wine is a living organism, with all things touching it, I believe that 9/11 had an impact… period.
I am one degree of separation from 9/11. My name was once Jalbert. Bob Jalbert (first cousin to Bert Jalbert, my ex-husband) was in the second plane to hit the second tower. (I knew Bob well, his family and mine went to school together.) I shall never be the same, as quiet as that fact is, it remains part of my tapestry. What was being crushed that day had tears in it. It had the joy of harvest stolen from it, but harvest, as all things, went on.
Answer to your question: no it can't. The final product (wine) is the end of a line of events that start 1 year before the next harvest and all the exogenous factors play a huge part on (in?) its taste, flavour, aroma, body, acidity, etc etc.
You can be the Da Vinci among all winemakers, but your superpower is somewhat limited.
I also doubt the wine that represents complete nirvana can be altered to fit the winemaker's mood, low or high spirits.
Ironically, the best wine years in France comprise (as well) 39 and 45. Neither joy nor sadness. Sheer chance.
"But tonight is all mine, alone by choice, under a harvest moon, with the crickets chirping, content to be in a place I love". <<< See I love this comment you made Steve at the end of the article. Good job
All Americans were sad that day.
He was upset that he was getting all this credit for the wonderful wine. While his devoted and passinate cellar crew were sweating it out on the crush pad while he and all the other office people were playing 18 holes.
A very insightful post. You may, or may not, know the work of Japanese scientist Emoto who claims that our feelings and thoughts impact water. He shows the intentionality of folks looking at the water to effect how the ice crystals form. In many ways, it sounds like a lot of new age mumbo jumbo…. However for my wine book I asked Heidi Barrett the question you are asking does the winemaker's feelngs go into the wine. Her answer was of course. The cover of my book shows her 'feelings' as expressed in her wine.
I once worked with a winemaker who was angry a lot of the time, his wine showed daggers. (through the microscope).
and just last week, always questioning the possibility is wine like chocolate or cooking, do our feelings affect it. A small group of us sent love and gratitude, beauty into the wine. It tasted so much better than the 'unloved' bottle – didn't SEE any evidence in the microscope but then if I'm not a believer maybe I wouldn't.
Maybe it is us that changes, our feelings from 9/11 or being angry or loving, changes our experience of wine, food, and each other.
So perhaps what we do need to do is take that moment of silence before we open the wine to offer gratitude to the grapes, the winemaker and all that goes into the bottle. It couldn't hurt.
One of the underlying principles of quantum physics is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, which (in short) states that the act of observation, in and of itself, changes the relationship between the observer and the thing being observed. On a quantum level, it changes things to such an extent that you can't be certain of states of being like distance, velocity and location.
Now while we're talking sub-atomic particles here, it still seems to be an underlying principle that we involve ourselves with the world around us on fundamental levels that few of us can directly perceive.
As strong as emotions can be, I can see that there could conceivably be some influencing connection between the grapes, the wine and the people involved in wine making (especially over a period of time). Perhaps this is the unseen connection that underlies the purported benefits of Biodynamic practices?
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." Seems Mr. Shakespeare had it pretty well covered, eh?
>>Earl, that is a nasty, mean and untrue comment. I am approving it, but just barely. You should be ashamed of yourself.
well I can tell you never worked crush before….Seen it happen for twenty five years
Great post. Definitely made me slow down and think for a bit.
A profound post Steve, on many levels. Just as wine can help to express joy and bring people together, . . . much as i remember feeling the week before having just returned from france and earnestly tasting champagnes along with my budding sommelier classmates in windows (on the world). we were blessed not only to be jointly sampling such great wines but also to be embarking on a new career based solely on spreading warmth and joy while fulfilling basic human needs for sustenance. It was also a bright sunny blue sky-filled day as in the background we could see more benign smaller aircraft flying past.


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Biologist solves mystery of tropical grasses' origin
Around 30 to 40 million years ago, grasses on Earth underwent an epic evolutionary upheaval. An assemblage capitalized on falling levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide by engineering an internal mechanism to concentrate the dwindling CO2 supply that, like a fuel-injection system in a car, could more efficiently convert sunlight and nutrients into energy.
The rise of C4 grasses is not disputed. They dominate in hot, tropical climes and now make up to 20 percent of our planet's vegetational covering. Scientists have pinned the rise of C4 plants primarily to dwindling concentrations of CO2. But C4 grasses have been closely linked with warmer temperatures. Indeed, on a map, C4 grasses are found along tropical gradients, while C3 grasses occupy the northern, or colder, end of the temperature gradient. Considering knowledge of their past and their current distribution, what was left to question?
Everything, apparently, according to Erika Edwards, an evolutionary biologist at Brown University. In a paper published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Edwards and Stephen Smith, a postdoctoral researcher at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in North Carolina, have found that rainfall — not temperature — was the primary trigger for C4 grasses' evolutionary beginnings. Moreover, the pair say C4 grasses were already in tropical forests before moving out of the shade of the taller trees and into drier, sunnier environments.
"We've kind of changed the story a bit," said Edwards, assistant professor of biology.
The paper is important, Smith said, because it "demonstrates the importance of precipitation in the evolution of grasses and particularly in the evolution of C4 grasses — specifically, their movement into drier, not necessarily warmer climates."
To arrive at their findings, the biologists compiled a database of roughly 1.1 million specimens of grasses collected by botanists worldwide. They mapped the locations for these species and then added global precipitation and temperature charts.
"By combining all these data," Edwards said, "we could get individual climate profiles for each grass species."
The pair then went a step further. They whittled the list to approximately 1,230 species for which the plants' genes had been sequenced and from there built a phylogenetic profile for the collection, the most comprehensive evolutionary tree to date for grasses. The reason for building the phylogeny, Edwards said, was to tease out the junctures at which C3 and C4 grasses diverged over time. The scientists zeroed in on 21 such "transition nodes" and examined the climatic conditions during those branching periods.
They found that in 18 of the 21 instances, precipitation, rather than temperature, had changed. "That was the clincher," Edwards said.
Looking more closely at the differences in rainfall, Edwards and Smith noticed the shifts in the amount of rainfall between C3 and C4 grasses in the tropics dictated in sharp relief how the different lineages evolved. Generally speaking, C3 grasses flourished in areas that received, on average, 1,800 millimeters (71 inches) of rain annually; C4 grasses took root in areas that received, on average, 1,200 millimeters (47 inches) of rain annually.
"Twelve-hundred millimeters isn't a desert," Edwards noted. "It's still a fairly mesic place. And so when you start looking at climate profiles, these closely related C3 and C4 lineages are straddling this transition zone between tropical forests and tropical woodlands and savanna."
So, did C4 grasses evolve in the tropical forest and then move out from the canopy or did they move out first and then adopt a different photosynthetic pathway? Edwards isn't sure, but she thinks the pathway may have begun to form with C3 grasses on the forest margins, where those plants would have been subjected to greater fluctuations in precipitation, sunlight, temperature and other environmental stresses, spurring the photosynthetic innovation.
What that all means for the future of C4 grasses and climate change is an open question. While the grasses would presumably benefit from projections of lower mean rainfall in some areas of the tropics, they may be less competitive with rising levels of atmospheric CO2. Also, the effects of changes in land through deforestation and other practices would need to be considered, Edwards said.
In a related finding, the scientists attempt to explain the dominance of a lineage of C3 grasses, called Pooideae, in northern, cold areas of the globe, such as the Mongolian steppes. "The global latitudinal gradients of C3 and C4 always has been explained by the physiological advantages that C4 grasses have under high temperatures," Edwards explained. "No one has considered that the evolution of cold tolerance might have been equally important in setting up that latitudinal gradient. Climatically speaking, the cool-climate Pooideae are really the grasses that are doing something very different."
"It highlights the apparently important role that cold tolerance has played for the evolution of non-C4 grasses and especially the group Pooideae, which includes rye, barley, and wheat and many of the other grasses in the temperate and boreal habitats," Smith said.
Provided by Brown University


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Upon seeing this video, anaesthesiologist Professor Brian Pollard from Manchester Royal Infirmary told BBC reporter Jennifer Carpenter: "Our jaws just hit the ground. I can't tell you the words we used as it wouldn't be polite over the phone."
Pollard had just seen the first-ever images of what a human brain looks like as it moves from consciousness into sleep.
Though we've seen images of sleeping brains, and mapped electrical signals in the brains of people falling asleep and waking up, this is the first time scientists have used a new imaging technique called Functional Electrical Impedance Tomography by Evoke Response (fEITER). The images you see above are from fEITER, and the researchers got them by attaching electrodes to people's heads and sending electrical currents through their skulls. The technique is good for mapping where electrical signals are zooming (or not zooming) through your brain — electrical signals in the brain interrupt currents from the electrodes, and the resulting images show us exactly which parts of the brain are active.
So, what's the big shock? Carpenter explains:
As the patient goes under, different parts of the brain seem to be "talking" to each other, a team told the European Anaesthesiology Congress in Amsterdam . . . The finding supports a theory put forward by Professor Susan Greenfield, from the University of Oxford, that unconsciousness is a process by which different areas of the brain inhibit each other as the brain shuts down.
Obviously, a lot more research and imaging need to be done before we can be certain what these electrical patterns mean in our brains. But the more we map the synaptic byways of our brains, the closer we'll be to re-engineering consciousness itself.
via BBC


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Motorcycle maintenance: spring checklist
Use these tips to get your bike in top shape for riding season.
Are the warmer weather and clear roads filling your head with fantasies of revving up your motorcycle? To help make sure you have a smooth and safe ride, check off these motorcycle maintenance tasks from your list before hitting the highway.
Do a walk-around
You should start by walking around your bike and looking at every part. Look for leaks. Examine pivot points. Are any of the moving parts showing wear and tear? Turn the key to turn on the lights and honk the horn
Oil (and gas) up
Don't start a new riding season with old gas. Before even attempting to start up a bike, drain any fuel from carburetors that's more than six weeks old. Gasoline can evaporate and turn thick when left to sit, which can plug up carburetor jets and passageways. And remember to check the oil, even if you topped it off in the fall. Generally you should change your oil at least once a year. If you put a lot of miles on your bike, you'll probably want to change it more often
Brake check
Check brake pads, brake lines and brake fluid before setting out on your first ride. Replace worn pads or cracked lines. Also, test front and rear brakes separately to make sure they're in working order and free from scraping or squealing.
Check your air filter
Clean your air filter regularly by using compressed air or simply replace the filter if it's too hard to clean. A dirty filter can cause your engine to work harder
Charge your battery
A common issue with a bike sitting in storage all winter is a drained battery. While many riders remove their batteries during the winter and keep them powered up with tender or trickle chargers, those who skip this step need to charge up before spring. But it's ideal to keep it at a 100% charge even when not in use
Inspect the tires
Nothing stops a ride faster than a flat. Check air pressure in both tires: Low pressure can make motorcycles difficult to handle while also increasing tire wear and tear. Also, check for signs of damage such as cracks or dry rot. Replace the tires if needed.
Clean the chain
Most chains are now O-ring chains requiring less cleaning than the older unsealed chains. Clean the chain when it gets dirty or according to what your owner's manual suggests
Wash your motorcycle
Give your bike a good wash and dry when you bring it out of storage. And pay attention to the details: A close inspection can help you spot small issues early on.
Brush up your skills
It's been a while since you've been on the bike, so start slowly. Take a spin around the neighborhood and make sure everything is in working order. Also check that your riding gear (helmet, jacket, gloves) is in good condition. You might also want to review these motorcycle safety tips as a refresher, especially if you are riding double. A little upfront time and effort is a small price to pay for a safe season on the open road!
In addition to the quick visual inspection, fluid levels, tire inflation/condition, controls operation and lamp functions should be checked before each ride, not just at the beginning of riding season. Always consult your owner's manual, and take your bike to a mechanic for extensive maintenance tasks
And check with your local insurance agent to make sure you have proper motorcycle coverage and that everything is current for your motorcycle.


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Lord God Almighty, in whose Name the founders of this country won liberty for themselves and for us, and lit the torch of freedom for nations then unborn: Grant that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain our liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for Independence Day, The Book of Common Prayer p. 242)
We are fast approaching another birthday. Not my birthday or your birthday (though perhaps yours is close as well), but the birthday of the United States, the anniversary of the adoption of Declaration of Independence, appropriately called Independence Day. This Fourth of July will mark the two hundred and thirty fourth year since the declaration was adopted by the Continental Congress. Two hundred and thirty four years is a respectable amount of time. It may only be a drop in the bucket in terms of length of existence compared to some nations, but it's definitely a good amount of time for a people to live under a democratic form of government. Our cultural roots in North America may not extend so far into history as some other nations, for instance, in Europe, but our stability as a republic is unmatched. Not only that, but we have many accomplishments and freedoms to celebrate. The honoring of individual liberty is part of the DNA of the United States, and through its influence, this trait has been shared with or expanded in many other nations.
In recent years some Christians in attempting to shine a light on some of the unhelpful ways the Church has accommodated itself to the culture, have pointed out an unhealthy link between certain patterns of thought masquerading as Christianity, which serve to prop up negative versions of nationalism or to blur the distinction between the Kingdom of God and the United States of America. In an attempt to combat this "Constantinian" turn, these folks have called attention to the ways in which Americans, like the English, Germans, Russians, Holy Romans and Byzantines (pick a country) before us–and contemporary with us–have sometimes justified wrongful national ambitions and actions in religiously steeped language. Since all of these have been culturally Christian nations, that language has often taken the guise of Christian speech. This is a helpful critique, and one that we should always be mindful of–all nations (indeed, all human institutions and every one of us individually) have a drive to self-justify. And yet we should not let a drive to prevent the baptism of national vices stop us from appreciating the fruits of a hard won and costlily preserved Godly liberty. And I would argue that one of the positive things we Americans have inherited and expanded from our English forebears is a conviction that freedom is a gift of God, and that freedom rightly exercised is a virtue both private and civil.
The line that all Christians must walk is the one that recognizes our status as resident aliens, citizens of another country first and foremost. The Lordship and claims of Christ subvert and overcome all earthly claims and yet, I would argue they are not necessarily opposed to all earthly claims, helping us to prioritize and–at our best–become loyal citizens, patriots and ardent critics of our nation. This is the line that Christians have had to walk since Constantine made the faith a licit or legal religion–I might repurpose the term and call this the "Constantinian line" that Christians have to walk. You see, it's rather easy to determine one's relationship to a state that is hostile to your beliefs, and the New Testament is clear: be good citizens and follow the law unless it conflicts with your faith, then be willing to die for Jesus. It's a much more difficult situation to define one's relationship to a state that doesn't persecute, but even protects you and your right to worship. This is the tension that our Christian forebears had to deal with, as they went from a position of being persecuted, and therefore withdrawing from public life, to one of being a legal–even an official–religion and then called upon to take up roles in civil affairs that they had never participated in before.
The way that Christian communities have chosen to walk this Constantinian line is one that has helped define them throughout history. There have always been more sectarian groups that looked with greater or lesser degrees of skepticism on the claims of the state; the Anabaptist tradition is one example (think of the Amish or Mennonites), as are some forms of revivalism and holiness traditions. Anyone who has seen the old movie "Sergeant York" will have seen an example of a revivalism committed to Christian non-violence come up against the claims of the state (and, we can tell from the title, how things played out). Movements, like individuals, have changed their stances over time–the Assemblies of God, for example, were officially pacifistic until the 1960's. Our own tradition, as Anglicans, has been less skeptical of the authority of the state, and, sometimes to our detriment, more willing to work with the nation (England, and later the United States among others). On the positive side though, our refusal to absent ourselves from public life has meant that we have attempted to fulfill a calling to act as a conscience to the nation, calling it back to its own best principals, celebrating triumphs and mourning failures.
It is this role as public conscience that I would argue we as a body of Christians are called to exercise, and in large measure this is most helpfully and fruitfully realized when we as individual Christians take up our roles in civic life as Christians, guided by the moral compass of our faith and calling our leaders–and ourselves–to account to the "better angels of our nature." This is where the true heart of Christian patriotism resides, not in justification of every act of the state, but in the love of neighbor that extends out to the love of home and nation.
The great philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre once compared being called to sacrifice for the modern bureaucratic state as something akin to being asked to die for the phone company (Ethics and Politics: Selected Essays Vol. 2, p 163). If that were all our nation consisted of, he would be right. But as any veteran will tell you, no soldier fights for a bureaucracy–at least not for very long–instead, people sacrifice for their neighbors, their loved ones, the people right next to them, the fellow members of their units, and those virtues of their homelands that they believe make life worth living, and which they believe are worth dieing for. The heart of Christian patriotism is the love of neighbor, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (John 15:3)." The best way to honor these sacrifices, I believe, is to honor the virtues that have made this country worth sacrificing for. Senator Carl Schurz said the following in 1872:
The Senator from Wisconsin cannot frighten me by exclaiming, "My country, right or wrong." In one sense I say so too. My country; and my country is the great American Republic. My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.
These words echo very well the call of the Collect for Independence Day, which asks that we be granted the grace to "maintain our liberties in righteousness and peace." On this two hundred and thirty fourth birth day of our nation, let us give thanks to Almighty God for the many gifts and blessings he has bestowed upon our homeland, lets take this day and celebrate, enjoying the freedoms that have been won and held at so dear a cost. And let us also, as faithful followers of Christ, exercise our calling to be in the world, not to retreat, and to work to make certain that this great and virtuous nation has not yet seen its greatest or most virtuous day, and that it remains one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.


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The insurance industry has unveiled a new, tough frontal-crash test. The first batch of 11 luxury and near-luxury cars put to the test by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety didn't fare so well--only three were rated as good or acceptable.
The test rams the front corner of a car into a fixed barrier at 40 mph. The IIHS says the test simulates a car hitting an object such as a tree or utility pole.
This is a tough test. By involving only 25 percent of the front area of a car in the crash, there's much less structure available to absorb impact forces.
The insurance group found that the 2012 Acura TL and Volvo S60 rated good in the test. The 2012 Infiniti G seriesrated acceptable on the test. Eight other vehicles were rated at marginal or poor, all 2012 models:
-- Acura TSX sedan and wagon
-- BMW 3-series
-- Lincoln MKZ
-- Volkswagen CC
-- Audi A4
-- Mercedes-Benz C-class
-- Lexus ES
-- Lexus IS
Currently, no government in the world mandates use of the 25 percent-offset crash test. The most severe test today is a 40 percent offset, meant to simulate a front collision between two cars. Most carmakers have engineered their vehicles to pass this test.
The IIHS says a quarter of the 10,000 deaths a year from frontal crashes come from hits to a front corner of the car. A crash of this type involves much less of the vehicle's front structure, directing more crash forces into the passenger compartment.
The insurance group notes that in the small-overlap crash, the crash forces are directed into a car's front wheel, suspension and firewall. These areas get less protection from the car's frontal safety cage.
Improving performance on the small-overlap test will require automakers to redesign their vehicles' basic structure--a process that will take several years.
The insurance group noted that most of the vehicles it tested sustained significant deformation and intrusion in the area around the driver's feet. That would lead to severe foot and leg injuries.
Also in some vehicles, the crash forces bent the vehicle's A-pillar, which moved the side-curtain airbag out of position. And the seatbelts in some test cars allowed the dummy's head and torso to move forward too much.
The insurance group said it tested luxury vehicles because they typically are used to introduce new technologies. But of the vehicles tested, only the Volvo S60's design is less than two years old.
The insurance group says it plans to test moderately priced midsize cars next.


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Most catalogs pile up around my house, and quickly make their way to the recycling bin, but I was glancing at the latest Wisteria catalog over the weekend, and was completely inspired by several of their pieces. What I love about the style on the pages of Wisteria is the mix of old and new, whimsy with tradition, and rustic with modern chic.
This reproduction trumeau was the first to catch my eye.
I spied several expensive reproduction trumeaus on our recent trip to Jan de Luz in Carmel, and am determined someday to have a reasonably priced one in our foyer. I'm so crazy about trumeaus, I may follow Susie's brilliant DIY tutorial to reproduce one of my own.
I am also loving this look ~ ottomans upholstered with wool rugs. Here is Wisteria's Dhurrie ottoman ~ one you could mimic at home with a basic ottoman like this and a suzani like this.
Speaking of 'rugs' used in upholstery, how stunning is this Bridal Rug Sofa ? What a striking focal point in any room.
What I really noticed this season was the inspiration from Wisteria's painted furniture.
This Dutch chest has just the right layers of patina to give it the look of a family heirloom. For us DIYers, this distressed look is achieved with a base layer of brown topped with a second layer of paint or glaze in gray applied with a dry brush technique. Gorgeous !
This little French Country Chest gets its pretty look from the two complementary paint colors, and simple trim around the drawer fronts. You could mimic this and upgrade a simple chest with molding cut with a miter box or saw and attached with wood glue.
It's all in the details . . here's another example of simple molding attached to the edges of the drawers, under the top, and along the sides adding even more dimension and interest to this piece.
Bring on the distressed white paint with gray painted drawer trim. I heart this chest !
I don't think I could love this cheerful seafoam Stacked Sideboard any more.
It's for sale at Wisteria for $399, and looks shockingly similar to the Somerset Bay Santa Rosa server below, sold for $2,200.
This upholstered grain sack look is très chic ~ it works so perfectly on this six leg bench.
Want to see a great grain sack bench tutorial? Check out Miss Mustard Seed's DIY upholstered bench, love it !
What's inspiring you in catalogs or design these days?


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The 1.5KE TVS series is designed to protect sensitive equipment against electrostatic discharges according to IEC 61000-4-2, MIL STD 883 Method 3015, and electrical overstress such as IEC 61000-4-4 and 5. They are used for surges below 1500 W 10/1000 μs.
This planar technology makes it compatible with high-end equipment and SMPS where low leakage current and high junction temperature are required to provide reliability and stability over time.


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- Grand Rapids, MI, USA
- Hourly
- Full Time
Medical, Dental, Vision, Pet Insurance, Life Insurance, 401K
We are hiring full time opening crew members for our location in Cedar Springs. We offer GREAT pay and EXCELLENT benefits along with a flexible work schedule.
Availability between 5am-3pm.
Here is what you can expect on a daily basis:
Summary Of Essential Duties And Responsibilities:
- Greets guests with a smile while receiving orders and processing payments
- Prepares and packages food and drink products
- Responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of the restaurant at all times including dining room, restroom & exterior
- Maintains health and safety standards in work areas
- Unloads and stocks inventory items as needed
- Prompt and regular attendance on assigned shifts
- Follows Burger King uniform and grooming standards and policies
Qualifications And Skills:
- Must be willing to have fun and train for job growth.
- Comfortable working in a fast paced environment
- Ability to interact in a positive and professional manner with guests and coworkers.
- Excited to learn all areas of restaurant operations & work multiple stations
- Flexible full time schedule available.
Job Type: Full-time
COVID-19 considerations:
Factorial Restaurant Holdings observes all CDC, MI Department of Health, and county COVID precautions.
Burger King https://factorialburgerking.efficientapply.com
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GOIANIA, Brazil – Dan Henderson may be the oldest of the nearly 400 fighters signed to the UFC roster, but that doesn't mean he is planning on hanging up the gloves anytime soon.
"I've never, ever said I was going to stop fighting," Henderson on Thursday told MMAjunkie.com ahead of his UFC Fight Night 32 main-event rematch against Vitor Belfort. "Win or lose, I'm still going to fight."
UFC Fight Night 32 takes place Saturday at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Goias, Brazil. The main card airs on FOX Sports 1 (8 p.m. ET) following prelims on MMAjunkie.com (5:15 p.m. ET).
Henderson (29-10 MMA, 6-4 UFC), 43, has dropped two close decisions in his most recent trips to the octagon, which has led many to question how much time he has left in the sport.
The former Strikeforce and two-division PRIDE champion has fought professionally since 1997 and is one of the sport's most decorated athletes. However, he said he still is motivated and believes his body will allow him to compete at the highest level for several more years.
"I feel great, and for me that's a big part of being able to perform well is how I feel," Henderson said. "I feel great for this fight.
"I feel good and I know I'm able to compete with the top guys in the sport. I'm thinking it will be at least two years before I talk about retiring."
Other fighters, such as former UFC champion Randy Couture, have fought well into their 40s, and Henderson believes he is capable of doing that as well.
Most fighters are pushed out of the sport due to the amount of damage they receive, but Henderson's case is slightly different as his professional record is still clear of any knockout losses.
Henderson's most recent two fights have ended in debatable split-decision losses to Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans, but he hopes Saturday's fight will have a more definitive ending.
The former Olympic wrestler is still confident he should have taken the win in both fights, but has done his best to learn from those battles and not allow his fight with Belfort (23-10 MMA, 12-6 UFC) to see the judge's scorecards.
"It's frustrating to know you feel you've done enough to win, but you know at the same time I maybe should have squeezed a little bit more out of it or done something different," Henderson explained. "It is frustrating knowing if we had different judges we would have had a different outcome. Everyone looks at it differently, but I'm not going to dwell on it."
Throughout the course of his career, Henderson has been notable for his willingness to fight anyone in any weight class. He held PRIDE's 183-pound title and even defeated MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko in a heavyweight contest.
While he hasn't fought at middleweight since his memorable knockout of Michael Bisping at UFC 100 and his focus remains on Belfort, "Hendo" admits he would consider a return to the weight class under the right circumstances.
"I don't cut any weight at all for 205 – I walk around about 205, so 185 is not too tough to make at all," Henderson said. "It's just one of those things where if I don't have to cut I won't, but if the fans or the opportunities are better if I cut weight, then, I will."
With talk of close fights, a new weight class, and the fight with Belfort surrounding his name, Henderson doesn't seem like the kind of fighter who is on his way out of the sport.
Duplicating his 2006 victory over Belfort and conquering "The Phenom" for a second time is the top goal on Henderson's list at this point, but the real goals he ultimately intends to accomplish stretch well beyond one fight.
"[My goal is] try to be the best guy out there, which means getting a belt or having a title shot," Henderson said. "Those are the goals and that's what I'm striving toward achieving."
For more on UFC Fight Night 32, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.


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- Description
- Additional information
Weavers in Oushak were the first to produce Anatolian carpets of size for the European market as early as the sixteenth century. These carpets were found in Christian churches, palaces, and the homes of the well-to-do. The great artists of the time, such as Hans Holbein the Younger, and Lorenzo Lotto included Oushak rugs and carpets in their paintings. Oushaks from that era now appear only in museums and very rarely at auction. Very little is produced at the present time in Oushak that bears resemblance to pieces such as yours and earlier.
At the time your rug was woven, the population of Oushak had grown to numbers that allowed the weaving industry to thrive, with looms more numerous than any other city in Turkey. The weaving was done entirely by women and girls, most of whom were Mohammedans. Though they lived principally in private homes, they were under the direction of large firms, who furnished the wool as well as the patterns, which were in accordance with European and American demands. Important distinctions existed between the different grades of these rugs. Some were known as "Turkish Kermans", in which Persian designs were frequently introduced, others, of finer workmanship, were formerly known as "Yapraks". They were distinguishable by their colors of red, green, and blue, of which only two as a rule were seen in a single rug, and were massed to produce striking effects. The construction of carpets such as yours was often quite coarse, but the wool was of excellent quality, with piles thick and luxuriant. The lasting quality was so exceptional, that Oushaks were used until recently to cover the floors of the larger mosques of Istanbul.Of course, as we have said, the most striking attribute of older Oushaks is the unusual range of delightful colors – many of which are not found in any other rug classification.


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The focus of this video is the Bull and Bear Statue, an object on display at the Museum of American Finance, on loan from LaBranche & Co. The statue previously stood at the entrance of the Stock Exchange Luncheon Club, which was located on the seventh floor of the NYSE. This club was an exclusive place for traders and brokers to discuss the trades of the day and to unwind with fresh seafood and drinks after work.
There are a number of theories for the origin of bull and bear markets – too many to be included in this short video. The term "bull" was used in association with markets as early as 1714. A bull is a person who buys commodities or securities, optimistically anticipating a rise in prices. He may also be someone who tries, by studying stock trends, to contribute to a rise in the market. The longest bull market trend was in 1949, which lasted eight whole years.
The term "bear" dates back to 1709, when it was used as shorthand for the bearskin jobber occupation. The title "bearskin jobber" originates from a proverb highlighting the practice of selling bearskins before catching the bear. In a more modern sense, a bear is someone who expects prices to fall, thus selling stocks in hopes of a future compensation.
In light of its ancient connotations, the bull and bear statue was an emblem of success for Luncheon Club members, as they would superstitiously rub the horn of the bull and hope for their trades of the day to go up. Although the club has closed, the bull and bear symbol remains pertinent to traders and brokers today, as the statue remains an important icon of the history of finance.
To find out more about this historically significant statue, watch the video: "Taking Stock of History: The Bull and Bear Statue." Additionally, LaBranche & Co. invites the public to view and to touch this statue, here at the Museum of American Finance.
Julia Edwards is a Senior Museum Intern at the Museum of American Finance.
Video by Senior Museum Interns Kelly O'Brien and Julia Edwards.


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Posts tagged Malayalam Actress
Anu Emmanuel Starring opposite Power star Pawan Kalyan!
Sep 7th
Posted by jyothi in Entertainment
Anu Emmanuel got this exciting opportunity to star opposite power star Pawan Kalyan's 25th movie. The Malayali beauty impressed the Telugu audience so much in the movie opposite Natural star Nani in "Majnu". Later she starred opposite "Uyyala Jampala" fame Raj Tarun in the film called "Kittu Unnadu Jagrathha" which didn't do so well.
She also acted in few Tamil and Malayalam movies and now got the golden chance to appear along side Power star Pawan Kalyan. We wish Anu Emmanuel a blockbuster success with this film. With only a few number of movies in her kitty, she is already popular young actress in south Indian film industry as her recent calendar photo shoot with my south diva which went viral and reaching almost 10million views.


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[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/11/18/art.hagel.gi.jpg caption="Hagel had sharp words for Rush Limbaugh Tuesday."](CNN) - As his Senate career nears its end, Republican Chuck Hagel isn't holding back when it comes to criticizing members of his own party - including conservative talk radio hosts.
"We are educated by the great entertainers like Rush Limbaugh," Hagel said Tuesday during a speech in Washington, according to the Huffington Post.
"You know, I wish Rush Limbaugh and others like that would run for office," a sarcastic Hagel continued. "They have so much to contribute and so much leadership and they have an answer for everything. And they would be elected overwhelmingly. [The truth is] they try to rip everyone down and make fools of everybody but they don't have any answers."
Hagel has increasingly become critical of his party in the aftermath of the Iraq War and notably held back endorsing his longtime friend John McCain during the presidential campaign. He's reportedly under consideration for a cabinet post in the Obama administration.
Speaking at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Hagel also faulted Washington lawmakers for "raw, partisan, political paralysis."
"The American people don't like what is going on... they want us to start doing what leaders are expected to do, address the problems, find some consensus to governing. Get along. There will be disagreements, sure... but in the end we can't hold ourselves captives to this raw, partisan, political paralysis."
I think Hagel needs to overcome his bitterness toward Bush. It's time to get over Bush and move forward.
Mike Patton,
So your pal Rush spews hate and filth but that's ok in God's eyes since his party speaks out against abortion? This is the mentality that is leading your party into obsolescence...
YOU said it-MY FRIEND!!
It is actually idiots like Chuck Hagel that we need less of. Rush is right on 99 percent of the time.
I admire Chuck Hagel as a leader, straight shooter and a fellow American. He represents where we all need to be – thinking from the middle and weighing each issue with the good of the country in mind. I am a supporter of our new President-elect, Barrack Obama.
I still find it hard to believe there are people who think Limbaugh is some incredibly intelligent radio personality. What spews from him is a stream of insult and envy one expects from the schoolyard bully. If you don't agree with him, you must be evil. For those of you who are so protective of him, shame on you for following someone who thinks so little of you he names you "dittoheads." As far as he's concerned, you can't think for yourselves and that's the way he wants it.
Stand up for yourselves – read a newspaper – read two. Find out the facts, stop believing everything some voice on the radio tells you or that you read on some blog on the internet. Re-read the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights and find out what they really say. Give some thought to the kind of place this would be if everyone took responsibilty for their own opinions, and the consequences of their own actions.
After all, if you stop and think about what those who disagree with you think, you might see things from their point of view. You still may not agree but you might grow.
Bravo..Senator Hagel.. we Americans are sick of the Rush Limbaugh types who are 100% negative and therefore . .they are the ultimate anti-Americans. They spend all of their time tearing down our country while they get rich!
Wow. This gives me hope that intelligence and thoughtfulness just might become fashionable in this country again.


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Kaitlyn Offer
(Australian Associated Press)
Premier Daniel Andrews likes to boast that Victoria is leading the nation on many fronts, but on Wednesday he managed to succeed where other states have failed: he legalised assisted dying.
The country's only voluntary assisted-dying scheme will be up and running in Victoria by mid-2019, open to terminally ill adults who have lived in the state for at least 12 months.
Patients with less than six months to live who are in pain and want to choose how they end their life can apply for a doctor-assisted death using the legal framework.
The legislation didn't come easily. It took more than 100 hours of parliamentary debate. At times tensions boiled over, colleagues pitted against each other, a cry of "Nazis" at one point cut through the upper house chamber like an axe.
Debate was partisan, but not along party lines.
Despite Labor's leader and health minister championing the bill, Deputy Premier James Merlino was the first to attempt to scuttle it with a motion that would have deferred debate indefinitely.
During the committee phase, where the bill is examined line-by-line, opponent MPs Robert Clark and Graham Watt in the lower house and Inga Peulich, David Davis and Bernie Finn in the upper house were consistent and fearless in their probing.
Health Minister Jill Hennessy and Special Minister of State Gavin Jennings kept their cool, providing measured and detailed answers to a seemingly endless list of questions.
The process was long and exhaustive.
After the first overnight session in the Legislative Council, Labor MP and opponent of the laws, Daniel Mulino, collapsed in his office and was taken to hospital by ambulance.
But for the most part the highly-emotional debate was poignant and considerate.
Tears were shed, hugs were shared. History was made.
Victoria passed laws that South Australia couldn't, despite repeated attempts. Progression of a scheme in NSW failed by one vote this month, while a proposed voluntary assisted-dying bill was voted down in Tasmania's lower house earlier in 2017.
The only other jurisdiction to legislate a similar scheme was the Northern Territory, briefly in the 1990s before it was torn down by the federal government.
Western Australia is now looking at a similar plan to Victoria's and NT's chief minister wants the commonwealth to repeal legislation that bans it from doing the same.
The Victorian government's slogan includes "Getting things done" and after two years of examination, research and campaigning, this policy could end up being its legacy.


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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Rick Scott is using a novel way to get universities to freeze fees charged to students.
The governor refused to go along with granting state approval to bonding for two schools until the universities agreed to keep down costs for students.
Scott said that Florida International University will freeze a student fee as a condition for approval for a new parking garage on campus.
Scott told the Cabinet that FIU agreed to a six-year freeze in its transportation access fee paid by every student, even those walking or riding bikes to classes.
The Cabinet also approved bonding authority to build a new dormitory at Florida State University, after the school said it won't require freshmen to live in dorms and won't require dorm residents to buy meal plans.
Source: Associated Press


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Express oat milk
Oat milk is an amazing vegan alternative to milk. First of all, it's ridiculously tasty. Second, it contains nutrients and fiber. And finally: it's so easy to make at home!
Cheese and mushroom casserole with chicken
This casserole is simple and delicious, and makes a perfect snack during a picnic (bento anyone?)—you should use it as a basic idea for a casserole, since the pasta sauce is the stable and the most important piece of the meal. It's also a very tweak-able recipe! :-)
Golden syrup chocolate cupcakes
These cupcakes have an amazing consistency all-over: the cupcake is moist and rich, and the icing is delicious, smooth and creamy. I used the swiss-meringue buttercream for the icing, and it was a hit! :-)
Cream-cheese strawberry cupcakes
Nothing compliments the strawberries like the cream-cheese icing, and you can enjoy this taste even off-season with strawberry jam! :-) You can skip limit the calories in this recipe by using lighter strawberry jam, or pulverized strawberries, and using half of the sugar in the cupcake part if you want the cupcakes less sweet.
Cream-cheese icing
Nothing complements the fruity flavor like the cream-cheese icing—it's fresh, and delicious, and has a very pleasant texture. It's a bit tricky to do, but with my tips&tricks you will easily make it with no hassle.


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Doing Stress Well Workshop
Doing Stress Well2 1
Stop by Saint Liam Hall for an interactive workshop designed to provide you with the skills to live well through all of life's rythyms. This skills-based workshop will discuss all aspects of stress – what it is, where it comes from, and most importantly how to deal with it. Join in to learn about and practice a variety of stress-relieving activities and consider ways to implement them into your daily life. No registration required.


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The Poincaré Lemma (proof)
We can now prove the Poincaré lemma by proving its core assertion: there is a chain homotopy between the two chain maps and induced by the inclusions of into either end of the homotopy cylinder . That is, we must define a map satisfying the equation
Before defining the map , we want to show that any -form on the homotopy cylinder can be uniquely written as , where is a -form and is a -form, both of which are "constant in time", in a certain sense. Specifically, we can pull back the canonical vector field on along the projection to get a "time" vector field on the cylinder. Then we use the interior product to assert that and .
But this should be clear, if we just define then we definitely have , since interior products anticommute. Then we can define , and calculate , since the pairing of with is . The uniqueness should be clear.
So now let's define
where is the inclusion of into the homotopy cylinder sending to .
Now to check that this is a chain homotopy, which is purely local around each point . This means that we can pick some coordinate patch on , which lifts to a coordinate patch on , where . Since everything in sight is linear we will consider two cases: , where is some multi-index of length ; and , where is some multi-index of length .
In the first case we have , while , which we can write as a bunch of terms not involving at all plus . Therefore we calculate:
and we conclude that , as asserted.
Now, as to the other side. This time, since for any , we know that both terms on the left hand side of the chain homotopy equation is zero. Meanwhile, we calculate
so as well, just as asserted.


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About38,000 kids and teens
have been kidnapped and forced to fight in the war in northern Uganda.
"Two years ago, friends introduced me to Invisible Children, an organization that brings attention to the war in Uganda and works to improve the school system there. Fall Out Boy was so moved that we flew to Uganda and shot a video telling the story of child soldiers — kids who have been kidnapped and forced to fight in the country's civil war. The experience was heartbreaking: We visited displacement camps — small areas with no plumbing where thousands of people live because they were forced to flee their homes. Kids care for other kids who have been orphaned after their parents died from AIDS, other diseases, or the war. Teens fear they'll never be able to return home from the camps. We need to help them get educated so they'll have the power to change things."
—Pete Wentz
More From Seventeen
Make it YOUR mission!
Start an Invisible Children club at your school! Go to invisiblechildren.com to learn about the Schools for Schools program. You'll be paired with a school in Uganda that you can help by holding fund-raisers.
Join the Children of Uganda cause on Facebook. You can recruit friends to join or donate money to this nonprofit organization that helps Ugandan kids go to school.
See firsthand what life is really like for teens living in northern Uganda. Go to invisiblechildren.com/themovie to purchase Invisible Children: Rough Cut. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the charity!
Special thanks to Dosomething.org, a source for finding volunteer opportunities in your community.


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Home Opener Chargers trample over Homer, 51-14
firstname.lastname@example.com CITY — He's fast and elusive.Josh Holton spun, bounced around and stiff-armed his way to a 279-yard and four touchdown night as Union City romped Homer, 51-14 to open Big Eight Conference play.After the Chargers forced a Homer punt on their opening possession, it took one play for Holton to reach paydirt, as the senior busted up the line for an 82-yard score. Scott Alwood's kick was good to give the Chargers an early 7-0 lead.Union City's next score was set up by an interception by Brady Johnson at the Charger 43 yard line. Johnson returned the ball to about the 20, where he fumbled the ball but recovered. A block in the back penalty on the Chargers pushed the ball back to the Homer 43. Three plays later, Holton turned a third and 24 into a first and goal with a 47-yard run. Holton ran in two plays later for a five yard scored. Alwood's kick made it a 14-0 game.Homer came back with a score on the defensive side with an eight-yard fumble recovery for a score to cut the lead in half. Johnson scored next for the Chargers on a 37-yard run to make it 20-7 after a bad point after kick. Homer came back with a 16-yard touchdown pass by Alex White to make it a 20-14 halftime score.In the third quarter, Holton scored twice more on runs of 30 and four yards, respectively, and Tyler Loughman also scored on a 14-yard run that was preceded by a fumble recovery by the junior linebacker, making it 41-14 after three quarters. In the fourth, Brady Johnson scored on a 41-yard run and Scott Alwood kicked a nine-yard field goal late in the game to put a cap on the night.The Chargers had 494 yards of total offense — 454 coming on the ground along. Josh Holton ran for 218 yards on 16 carries. In the opening half alone, as the Charger offense continues to click on all cylinders. The players and coaching staff are adapting well to the changes."The kids are just executing," said Charger coach Chris Davis. "I'm proud of our o-line … it's a new scheme for them."Brady Johnson had 106 yards rushing on the night and was 1 of 5 for 40 yards passing to Taylor Howard. Defensively, Devon DiGiacomo had 12 tackles; Chris Rieger added nine and an interception; and Tyler Loughman had five tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery."Defensively, our kids played their butts off," said Davis.Union City improved to 2-0 on the season and 1-0 in the Big Eight. Next Friday, the Chargers travel to Concord to face the undefeated Yellowjackets, who are also 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Big Eight.


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My first trip to China was a long weekend in Shanghai last year. I found myself intrigued by Shanghai's style and culture.
I started my time in Shanghai with a walk down the Bund, the colonial riverside of Old Shanghai lined by historical buildings on the west and the Huangpu and financial district on the east. In the morning, the air was clear but by 4 pm, the haze had rolled in and the buildings weren't very visible. Luckily, I had a chance to snap these shots in the morning.
In China, red symbolizes prosperity and joy while white symbolizes death and mourning so it's only fitting that a Chinese bride should wear red. This bride and groom were having their wedding portraits done along the Bund.
The riverfront walkway along the Bund underwent a major reconstruction in March 2010. The benefits are clear.
I took a similar photo of a bull at Wall Street in NYC a few years ago.
Continuing my walk, I ran into these fun guys dishing up some street snacks.
I stumbled into People's Park and found a man practicing his Mandarin characters.
It took me a while to figure out what was going on with the hordes of people below. Eventually I came to the conclusion I was at a marriage market. Every Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m parents of unmarried adults gather to try and play matchmaker. The gender gap in China has widened to make finding a suitable bride more and more difficult for Chinese men. This market has been ongoing since 2004.
All this walking was making me hungry so I made my way to Jiajiatangbao (90 Huanghe Lu) for xiaolongbao. I arrived just in time to miss the long queue and sat across from a sweet local couple who gave me tips on the art of eating the dumplings without spilling out the precious juices or burning my mouth.
There are plenty of temples in Shanghai. This is Jing'an Temple just north of Jing'an Park.
After the temple, we settled down into the lovely grass at Jing'an Park where we were promptly booted out by these officers. They were very strict about the "No sitting or standing on grass" policy. A shame, really. The grass was so nice and well cared for. I challenge you to resist temptation to sit on it.
We topped the evening off with cocktails and jazz, which is apparently live and well in Shanghai.
Until next time, Shanghai!
Editors note: Visas to China are required for many countries and can be expensive, particularly for Americans. If you plan on staying 72 hours or less, you may qualify for the 72-hour Transit Visa Exemption Program. Keep that in mind when booking tickets for a quick weekend and you could save yourself a few hundred dollars.


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Southern Alps Photography
Images by Danilo Hegg
"To live, breathe, preserve nature"
"To live, breathe, preserve nature"
Marion Plateau - Mount Lydia, 3 - 8 January 2013
A short but enjoyable transalpine trip in Mt Aspiring National Park. Day 1: Up the Dart Track to the rock bivvy at Cattle Flat. Day 2: Across the swingbridge at Cattle Flat and up to a high camp above O'Leary Pass. Day 3: A crossing of the Marion Plateau to Boys Col and Key Dome, with an ascent of Mt Lydia on the way. We set up camp in the flats at the head of the Blue Duck River. Day 4: We explored the Blue Duck River and Key Dome, and had a look at the route through the bluffs into the Whitbourn River. Day 5: We scouted an excellent route from the head of the Blue Duck River to the swingbridge at Cattle Flat. Another night at the rock bivvy. Day 6: Out via the Dart Valley. Party: Peter Wilson, Jaz Morris, Tiffany Ann Stephens, Geoff Spearpoint, Danilo HeggRead More
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Exciting updates to Microsoft Azure at TechEd Europe, enabling simplicity, scale and innovation
There is no denying it- leveraging cloud is top of mind for most enterprises. Whether you are looking to the cloud to drive efficiencies or innovating your business model, there are multiple compelling reasons- but one trumps them all. It is agility! Agility in driving operational efficiencies; agility in enabling innovation; agility in delivering productivity across IT, business and end users. At Microsoft Azure, we are passionate about empowering you, our customers, in driving your business forward. Today at TechEd, in Barcelona Spain, we unveiled several new enhancements to Microsoft Azure enabling simplification, scale and innovation.


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A club is an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Freedom of association article 20
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association
I love our Fourth of July celebration! I feel the importance to share that we are in the works to acquire five or more members, 70% that will be USPHA members, to officially form our club. Everyone is welcome and valuable.
Our mission statement, for now, is to create a group of new and experienced members.
Hopes for an instructor in the future. Input and interest in all shapes and forms to learn about hanggliding (and paragliding). Bob, I need some help here. And i don't have spell ckeck!
We are looking for elected positions to be filled. Bob K is the secretary now. We will not have a treasurer. Once these things are filled, we can be a chapter of USHPA. An official flying club!! And we will get magazines for our library! Thank you, thank you!
Lakeview Hawk bylaws and membership cont.


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Top Auto Accident Lawyers near you in Nevada
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Do you have concerns about Auto Accident? Find lawyers in the state of Nevada who concentrate on Auto Accident. Consult with experienced Auto Accident Lawyers to explore your options and make informed decisions. No matter where you live in Nevada, with our comprehensive listing of lawyers, you can easily find lawyers near you who can counsel and advise you on how you can take control of your legal issues. Find a Nevada Auto Accident Lawyer who can help you with your specific needs.


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Native Americans to celebrate white bison in Conn.
GOSHEN, Conn. – The birth of a white bison, among the rarest of animals, is bringing Native Americans who consider it a sacred event to celebrate at one of the least likely of places, a farm in New England.
Hundreds of people, including tribal elders from South Dakota, are expected to attend naming ceremonies later this month at the northwestern Connecticut farm of Peter Fay, a fourth-generation Goshen farmer.
Native Americans in the area have come with gifts of tobacco and colored flags for Fay and the bull calf since it was born there a month ago, and Fay is planning to offer his hay field as a campsite for the expected crowds.
"They say it's going to bring good things to all people in the world. How can you beat that? That's the way I look at it," Fay said.
Connecticut farms host only about 100 bison, a tiny fraction of the populations in Western states, such as South Dakota, the home of Sioux tribes that attach the greatest spiritual meaning to white bison. As some push for greater recognition of the bison's significance to both the United States and Native Americans, advocates say the event on the far-flung East Coast is well-placed to boost exposure for the cause.
Fay, whose family traditionally stuck to dairy farming, took on bison four years ago as a hobby, enamored by the animals' toughness. He built his herd to 40 before recently selling half of them.
Word spread rapidly after the arrival of the white bison, which experts say is as rare as one in 10 million, and Fay invited Native Americans for the ceremonies at his farm below Mohawk Mountain. In turn, he and his two daughters were asked to participate in the celebrations, which will include a feast and talks by the elders.
"They're here almost every day, teaching me," said the 53-year-old Fay, who has bison tattoos on his shoulder and chest.
Marian White Mouse, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe in South Dakota, said the birth of a white bison is a sign from a prophet, the White Buffalo Calf Woman, who helped them endure times of strife and famine. White Mouse's family of four is flying to Connecticut for the ceremonies.
"For me, it's like a surreal event. I never thought in my wildest dreams I would ever come in contact with one of them in my lifetime," said White Mouse, 51, of Wanblee, S.D.
Jim Stone, the executive director of the InterTribal Buffalo Council in Rapid City, S.D., said the oral traditions of many tribes honor white bison, which have become a universal symbol for hope and unity. He said each such birth is also an opportunity for tribes to share their history, and the celebration in Connecticut is likely to touch many non-tribal people.
The calf, born on June 16, is off-white — not an albino — and Fay said he is certain the bloodlines are pure, although he has sent its DNA for testing to confirm there was no intermingling with cattle. Fay, who also works at an excavating and rock-crushing business, focuses on breeding and selling the bison calves, but he has not determined what will happen with the white one.
To address concerns for the calf's safety, he also has at least one person stay at the farm around the clock. Last year, a white bison calf born in Texas was found dead and skinned — a slaughter that some suspect as an anti-Indian hate crime. Fay did not want the date of the ceremonies this month publicized.
Tens of millions of bison once roamed America's plains, but the over-hunted population shrank to about 1,000 toward the end of the 1800s. Their numbers have rebounded to several hundred thousand, and wildlife and tribal groups are now pushing Congress to have the bison recognized as America's "national mammal." The National Bison Legacy Act was introduced in the Senate in May.
"Any kind of awareness we can raise around bison is a good thing," said Jim Matheson, assistant director of the National Bison Association in Denver.


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The Kulluk drillship remained aground Jan. 5 on the southeast shoreline of Sitkalidak Island, Alaska, upright and stable, and Shell has received a state permit to move it, the Unified Command reported.
The Independent, a British newspaper, reported Jan. 5 that Shell was moving the drillship Kulluk from Alaskan waters to the port of Seattle, Wash., just before the end of 2012 in order to avoid at least $6 million in Alaska state taxes. The Kulluk was in tow in high seas and high winds when the towlines failed, and it grounded on the southeast shoreline of Sitkalidak Island, Alaska, about 9 p.m. local time Dec. 31, where it remained Jan. 5.
"The rig was beached during a violent storm on its way to a Seattle shipyard for routine maintenance, in a round-trip timed so that, thanks to an accounting loophole, Shell could avoid an Alaskan state tax. However, because the rig ran aground late on New Year's Eve and began 2013 within three miles of the Alaskan coast, Shell remains liable for a unique state property tax on equipment dedicated to oil and gas development and exploration," the newspaper reported, adding that a Shell spokesman confirmed the tax structure influenced the timing of the move, while a second company spokesman insisted it was driven by safety -– because two weeks of favorable weather were forecast for the trip. (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/new-twist-in-stricken-rig-saga-shell-was-moving-it-to-avoid-tax-8439128.html)
The Jan. 5 report posted by the Unified Command overseeing the Kulluk response said the drillship remains upright and stable. Shell has received a permit from Alaska Department of Natural Resources to remove it, and Unified Command has negotiated with the Old Harbor Native Corporation to secure access to the shoreline near the Kulluk, the report states. It also said two C-130 flights completed between Anchorage and Kodiak delivered response equipment.
This free webinar will inform attendees on the most significant updates and modifications in the new standard, known as E1527-21 Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process.


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Northside Social Told In Three Visits
In my lifelong quest for finding places where I can blog, I gave Murky Coffee in Clarendon a try and found it to be the perfect stereotypical coffee spot: kind of divey, free WiFi, and always overcrowded due to it's perfect environment for studying or looking like a hipster.
When Murky became defunct last year, I was not so interested about a bakery opening up in it's place, but when the plan evolved into a new coffee shop run by the folks at Liberty Tavern– I was more than excited to find another place to write my blog posts.
The new coffee shop, Northside Social, opened up this week and I was more than excited to walk down the street and give it a try.
Visit One: Tuesday April 6th
I walked into the old Murky space and saw that it was anything but. Fresh coats of off-white paint; metal buckets used as lighting fixtures; and green and white accents give the place a country/farmhouse look. The handwritten menu completes the feel that I've walked out of Arlington and into a place hundreds of miles further.
The place was busy but not crowded; it was only the second day of business for the shop and it helped that I walked in well after most 9-5ers were in the office. I took a brief walk around the place and saw that the back room was still there, however the furniture looked less like it was acquired from Goodwill. Upstairs I found a bar and additional tables. I decided to pull up a stool at the long counter-top and pull out my netbook. I was excited about the fresh new look and was eager top write about it. However I was disappointed to see that neither of the store's two WiFi networks were functioning. I overheard an employee say that the WiFi, "was still evolving."
Still I grabbed an ice coffee and pulled out some papers on my reading list. While I was there I met Marianne Tolosa, Northside's director of coffee, who gave me more insight on the new space. During the day Northside hopes to be a premiere coffee stop during the day, and at night open up the upstairs bar and serve wine at night.
Visit Two: April 10th
I decided to give Northside another go after my first experience, I walked over on Saturday morning and grabbed another spot on the counter. I was happy to see that one of the two WiFi networks were working and I was soon busy typing away on my keyboard.
The crowd has certainly grown- a quick look at their Facebook page reveals a lot of buzz from the media and locals.
I started to write this post but my phone rang and I had to suddenly leave. A return visit on Sunday was a possibility- perhaps a necessity to finish this write-up.
Visit Two: April 11th
Something I learned about Sundays: forget about hitting up a coffee shop- the DC brunch crowd makes it impossible to find an open seat.
I decided to take the risk and walk down to see what the crowd would be like on Northside's first Sunday in business. Just as I expected a line spilled out the door and the outdoor patio was well stocked with Arlingtonians. I peeked inside and saw that the counter, my new home at Northside, was completely open. I guess people didn't want to sit next to the long line of customers but I'm not picky. In fact I'd welcome anybody that wants to read this write-up over my shoulder.
Clearly Northside Social is enjoying a fantastic opening crowd, and for good reason. A great location, refreshing new look, and the people of the Liberty Tavern restaurant group all come together to form a new coffeehouse that will be a complete success.
Despite some growing pains, I will enjoy the place much more after they get their WiFi up and running at full strength and perhaps the music is a tad on the loud side, there's nothing wrong with Northside Social and from the long line behind me as I type this- I'm not the only one that thinks so.
Northside Social
3211 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, Virginia 22201


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East Coast outages could last most of the week
WASHINGTON – From North Carolina to New Jersey, nearly 1.8 million people still without electricity were asking the same question Monday evening: Why will it take so long to get the lights back on?
Nearly three full days after a severe summer storm lashed the East Coast, utilities warned that many neighborhoods could remain in the dark for much of the week, if not beyond.
Friday's storm arrived with little warning and knocked out power to 3 million homes and businesses, so utility companies have had to wait days for extra crews traveling from as far away as Quebec and Oklahoma. And the toppled trees and power lines often entangled broken equipment in debris that must be removed before workers can even get started.
Adding to the urgency of the repairs are the sick and elderly, who are especially vulnerable without air conditioning in the sweltering triple-digit heat. Many sought refuge in hotels or basements.
Officials feared the death toll, already at 22, could climb because of the heat and widespread use of generators, which emit fumes that can be dangerous in enclosed spaces.
At the Springvale Terrace nursing home and senior center in Silver Spring, Md., generators were brought in to provide electricity, and air-conditioning units were installed in windows in large common rooms to offer respite from the heat and darkness.
Residents using walkers struggled to navigate doors that were supposed to open automatically. Nurses had to throw out spoiled food, sometimes over the loud objections of residents who insisted their melting ice cream was still good.
The lack of power completely upended many daily routines. Supermarkets struggled to keep groceries from going bad. People on perishable medication called pharmacies to see how long their medicine would keep. In Washington, officials set up collection sites for people to drop off rotting food. Others held weekend cookouts in an attempt to use their food while it lasted. And in West Virginia, National Guard troops handed out food and water and made door-to-door checks.
When it comes to getting the power running again, all utilities take a top-down approach that seeks to get the largest number of people back online as quickly as possible.
First, crews repair substations that send power to thousands of homes and businesses. Next, they fix distribution lines. Last are the transformers that can restore power to a few customers at a time.
In Great Falls, Va., just outside Washington, patent attorney Patrick Muir found out firsthand who was high on the priority list. The area is sparsely populated and wealthy, with mansions spread across secluded, wooded lots. Muir had been raiding water bottles from his powerless office to supply his home, which is on a well that was not working. His 8-year-old daughter spoke hopefully of a beach trip to escape the heat. Dad said it was under consideration.
"Great Falls always seems to be the first to go down and the last one to come back up," Muir said.
A Safeway supermarket trying to stay open with a limited power supply handed out free bags of dry ice. But after two days of temperatures in the 90s, the air inside was stale. Shopping carts with spoiled food, buzzing with flies, sat outside the store.
At a CVS pharmacy, Mahesh Tickle did the best he could. He had no cash register, so he made change with loose bills and coins stuffed inside a Ziploc bag. Tickle filled what prescriptions he could and fielded questions from customers wondering if medications such as insulin had spoiled.
Some people said the destruction over the weekend was reminiscent of that caused by Tropical Storm Isabel in 2003 and Hurricane Irene in 2011.
Some backup utility crews arrived Sunday in Maryland, but many were not expected until sometime Monday. That's because the storm arrived so quickly, unlike hurricanes, which typically approach with several days of warning and give out-of-state crews plenty of time to get into place.
After Isabel, it took electricity supplier Pepco eight days to restore power to most of the 500,000-plus customers in Washington and the surrounding areas. About 443,000 lost power at the peak of this storm, and restoration work will likely last into the weekend.
Last year, it took Baltimore Gas and Electric company eight and a half days to restore power to all 750,000 customers who lost power during Hurricane Irene. This time, the power company initially confronted more than 600,000 people without power. It said restoration efforts will extend into the weekend.
BGE said in a letter posted on its website that it would take hundreds of thousands of man-hours to clear debris and work through outages. Crews are working around the clock in 16-hour shifts.
"This type of widespread, extensive damage also complicates our ability to quickly provide accurate restoration times, especially when original damage assessments are revised upon closer inspection of the work required," the letter said.
Some customers were getting impatient Monday.
"This has happened time after time and year after year, and it seems as if they're always unprepared," said John Murphy, a professional chauffeur from Burtonsville, Md., who was waiting for Pepco to restore power Monday to the homes of himself and his mother and sister, who live nearby. "The new neighborhoods are designed with underground power lines but the old neighborhoods, they don't want to spend the money to put them underground."
Utility workers restored a steady electricity flow to Leslie Saltsman's home in Potomac on Monday afternoon. But the enormous cherry tree blocking her driveway won't be removed until later this week.
Saltsman, a nurse who takes care of her elderly mother, watched as linemen in a bucket truck repaired cables above streets lined with piles of tree branches and trunk sections. She said she was irritated by the heat but not by Pepco.
"They're doing as much as they can," she said. "I'm not frustrated with the power company at all."
However, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has been blunt that the utilities must work faster: "No one will have his boot further up Pepco's and BGE's backsides than I will," O'Malley said Sunday.
Pepco spokeswoman Myra Oppel said the differences between storms can be significant. Two storms could have the same number of customers with outages, but the root of the problem could be downed wires in one situation and downed poles in another. But repairing poles takes a lot longer.
As a result, the length of time it takes to restore power "depends on what damage has occurred, not the number of outages," Oppel said.
In the case of Friday night's storms, crews are contending with trees that have to be removed before crews can get to damaged infrastructure.
She said the fact that neighboring states were also hard-hit meant many utilities were competing to get the same backup crews for help.
In Baltimore County, Eveena Felder, a registered nurse, had been relying on air-conditioned public areas to keep cool during the day and a fan to help her family sleep.
"We've purchased a ton of batteries, that's where most of our money has gone," Felder said. "Turn the fan on and keep still, don't move, less energy."
Officials were especially concerned about people in isolated rural areas, such as Greenbrier County, W.Va.
"They have no radio station. They have no TV station. They have no communications because without power, they don't have phones," said Lt. Col. David Lester of the West Virginia National Guard.
Back at the nursing home, the cable was out as well, so in the common rooms with generator power the center played movies on old VHS tapes, including the 1932 classic "Grand Hotel."
Margaret Foster and Helen Ofsharick, 93 and 95 respectively, passed the time outside.
"You wouldn't want to live this way more than a day or so," Foster said. "There are sick people here, or people who don't think too well. They need help."
Barakat reported from Falls Church, Va., and Silver Spring, Md. Associated Press writers David Dishneau in Rockville, Md., Dan Sewell in Cincinnati; Kantele Franko in Columbus, Ohio; and Vicki Smith in Morgantown, W.Va., contributed to this report.