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Part 3. Is a Future Possible?
The Death of Homo Sapiens Sapiens (Part 3)
Reality Check: Is a Future Possible?
The culture of exponential growth is destroying the biosphere. [The biosphere is the part of our planet's shell within which life occurs and includes air, land, water and surface rocks. It consists of ecological systems, or ecosystems, which are the life support organisms that integrate all living beings, without whose continued service humans and other life forms could not survive. The biosphere evolved, it is widely believed, about 3.5 billion years ago.]
What is Ecological Footprint?
Nature provides us with food, fuel, forest products… and various systems to absorb our waste, especially carbon dioxide. The ecological footprint (EF) is a measure of our impact on Earth. EF is the amount of land and water area that we use to extract resources to support our lifestyles and to absorb our waste using prevailing technology.
Humans EF grew by about 160 percent from 1961 to 2001, whereas the population only doubled over the same period, crossing the threshold of sustainability in the 1980s [or the 1970s if we set aside 12 percent of the bioproductive land to care for other species, following suggestions in the Brundtland Report.] The global EF was 13.5 billion global hectares (GH) in 2001, or 2.3 GH per person [GH is a measure of land or sea area with biological productivity equal to the global average.] Earth's total biocapacity, based on its biologically productive area, however, was only 11 billion GH, which provided an average of only 1.8 GH per person. Humans EF exceeded global biocapacity by 0.5 GH per person, or by 22 percent [In fact, the deficit for 2001 rose to 38 percent, when reserving at least 12 percent of the available bioproductive area for other species.]
According to the projections, the world population has now reached 6.67 billion [February 2007]. The projected global EF for 2007 is 15.34 billion GH, whereas the available global capacity is about 9.8 GH, with only 1.46 GH available per person, resulting in a deficit of 0.8 GH per person. It means in 2007 humans consume 57 percent more than the nature could provide continuously.
The overshoot of global biocapacity means spending natural capital faster than nature can regenerate it, which is reducing the ecological carrying capacity permanently: Ecological crash becomes unavoidable.
According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), a comprehensive UN report backed by 1,360 leading scientists from 95 countries released in March 2005, at least 15 of the planet's 24 ecosystems were on the verge of collapse including fresh water, fisheries, air and water purification systems, and the systems that regulate climate, natural hazards, and pests. It takes only a fractional increase in our ecological footprint to destroy the remaining ecosystems—a scenario which is unfolding before our eyes.
1. The above calculations do not include the reduction (erosion) in the Earth's biological productivity. The EF calculations also exclude activities that fall outside the boundaries of sustainability, but accelerate the collapse of ecosystems including release to the biosphere of radioactive materials, CFCs, crude oil spills, chemicals and biohazards, heavy metals, persistent organic and inorganic toxins and other industrial/municipal/agricultural wastes.
2. MSRB has created a new index called Index of Human Impact on Nature (HIoN) that calculates the full human impact on the Earth's ecosystems including consumption, deterioration to Earth's biological productivity and the rate of collapse of the ecosystems. As of March 2007, the HIoN index stands at a terminally high level of 171.40. That is, the full human impact on his living environment for the 12-month period ending March 2007 was 71.4 percent higher than the planet in its current state can cope with.]
Damage to Environment
The damage humans have inflicted on the environment is irreversible. The greenhouse effect is here to stay. The earth is heating progressively resulting in the onset of many catastrophic climate events (and onset of new and old mosquito-borne and airborne infectious diseases exacerbated by global heating and dust storms from desertification). The mounting climate problems are just beginning to surface, however, there is a 30-year delay between the cause and effect: the exponentially growing human activities that release greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide, CO2; methane, CH4; chloroflourocarbons or CFC's…) into the atmosphere and the warming of ocean waters.
Water, Land and Food
Planet's supply of fresh water is simply running out. The water quality continues to deteriorate globally from pollution, rising temperatures and overconsumption. Globally, at least one person in five has no access to safe water, according to the UN. The exponential growth culture is irreversibly depleting also our natural food reserves resulting in collapsing fisheries, disappearing species…
The world's arable land and top soil are shrinking. The pressure to produce more food is degrading the soil productivity resulting in desertification. About 6 million hectares of arable land are lost each year, blown away by the wind. The problems are further compounded by the eroding soils, mudslides… as well as contamination of the food chain by fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, synthetic chemicals, disease, harmful radiation, antibiotics…
More and more of the tropical rainforests are cleared, usually by fire, to provide land for grazing and cultivation resulting in the loss of innumerable plants and animal species. We are loosing more than 10 million hectares of forest and possibly as many as 27,000 species that inhabit them, each year.
Toxic Pollutants
In addition to greenhouse gases, industrial activities release more than 15 billion pounds (about 7 million metric tons) of toxic pollutants into the environment each year. The deadly cocktails of pollutants include several thousand toxic substances, but only 667 are reported. [Toxic pollutants like perchlorate—rocket fuel— found in every breast milk sample taken from 18 states by the Texas Tech University researchers in 2005 are not on the list.] Our bodies contain about 500 measurable chemicals that should not be there.
We convert 57 trillion pounds (26 billion metric tons) of raw materials to garbage, which are rapidly engulfing our living space like giant quicksands.
Exponentially increasing inventories of municipal waste, industrial pollution, farm waste, pesticide and fertilizer runoffs, pollution from industrial accidents, automobile pollution, and toxic and radionuclide waste released to the environment have poisoned our air, water and soil, resulting in more acid rain and more dead zones in coastal waters.
Ozone Depletion
Atmospheric ozone shield, which protects life against harmful radiations, is depleting. Without ozone, life on Earth is not possible. Ozone depletion allows higher levels of UV radiation (UVA and UVB) reaching Earth's surface and poses the biggest threat to life and the ecosystems. Increased UV radiation impairs human immune system, causing genetic mutations and increasing the risk of various diseases and incidents of skin cancer. Increased UV radiation retards crop growth by altering the physiological and developmental processes of plants and contributes to eco-feedbacks that increase the buildup of greenhouse gases, and reduces ozone. During the Antarctic ozone depletion season, the amount of UV radiation reaching Antarctica increases by at least 50 percent seriously affecting animals (including humanoids) and plants in New Zealand and Australia. In addition to Antarctica, ozone depletion now affects North America, especially Canada, as well as Europe, Russia and most of South America.
Exposure to UV reduces the survival rates of phytoplankton that form the basis of aquatic food chains. According to estimates, ozone depletion of about 16 percent could result in a disastrous loss of about 7 million tons of fish per year – almost 10 percent of the current annual global catch.
American Chemist G. Tyler Miller, Jr. wrote (1971): "Three hundred trout are needed to support one man for a year. The trout, in turn, must consume 90,000 frogs, that must consume 27 million grasshoppers that live off of 1,000 tons of grass."
Warning: Do Not Eat More Than Zero Fishmeal in Your Lifetime!
Those, of course, were last of the golden days when you could eat more than one fishmeal a month and hold on to your sanity, unaffected by mercurialism (mercury poisoning), to talk about it the next day. Today, the Environmental Defense Network's recommended intake of the Spotted-Seatrout is zero (meals per lifetime) due to the very high levels of PCBs and mercury contamination.
While the life habitat, natural food supplies and nonrenewable resources on Earth continue to shrink or disappear entirely, the world population keeps on growing at a phenomenal rate of about 100 million people each year.
Carbon Emissions
In 2006, we pumped to the atmosphere more than 16,000,000,000,000 pounds of carbon [7.4 billion metric tons—about 30 times the combined weight of the entire world population—corresponding to 27.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases, CO2e.] In the past 30 years, the burning of fossil fuels and cement production emitted nearly one and a half times as much carbon (180 billion tons) to the atmosphere than the preceding 224 years (1751 – 1975). The gang rape of the environment must stop!
Human and Financial Costs
Natural and human-made catastrophes claimed about 97,000 lives worldwide and resulted in financial losses of more than US dollars 230 billion in 2005, according to the re-insurers, Swiss Re. Their figures for 2004 were 300,000 lives lost and a financial loss of USD123 billion.
The commitment to the exponential growth culture that encourages unsustainable lifestyles pumped with adrenalin, hyperconsumerism and overconsumption is tearing apart the fabric of life on Earth. This psychosis must cease!
Mother Nature made, depending on whose figures we believe, total deposits of 1.8 – 2.2 trillion barrels of [conventional] oil. Since the discovery of oil as a popular fuel, humans have consumed about one-half of the deposits (~ 950 billion barrels). In 2006, about 31 billion barrels of oil were pumped out of the ground.
It seems deceptively simple to calculate the remaining years before the oil runs out. Divide the deposits left in the ground by the total oil supplied in 2006 to arrive at 29, the number of years left before the supplies run out. In reality, however, the calculations are somewhat more complex because various dynamics kick in.
1. World oil demand is exponentially increasing (more people, more oil to make food, more consumer goods, more possessions, more cars, more roads, more car journeys, more flights…). The annual growth rate for oil consumption currently stands at 2% (cf., 1.4% in 2001, and 1.8% in 2006). A forecast by International Energy Agency suggests a rise of 47% by 2030. The forecast seems peculiar, however, because at their suggested rate of increase the known oil reserves would have effectively run out before 2030.
2. In the early days, large oil fields returned more than 100 barrels of oil for each barrel invested in the discovery, extraction, transportation and refining. This high ratio of the Energy Returned on Energy Invested (EROEI) is no longer achievable. Currently, the average EROEI is much less than 10:1 (MSRB estimate for the average EROEI is about 4.5:1). As the EROEI of a resource approaches 1:1 (this happens long before the resource is physically exhausted), the net energy gain approaches zero, in which case production is no longer viable as a net energy source.
United States has 2 percent of the known global reserves but uses 25 percent of the world's oil supplies importing about two-thirds of its entire consumption. This unworkable balance is unsustainable as a long-term formula and poses a serious threat to the world security and therefore to the welfare of the Americans as well as other nations.
The old well-established relationships between, on the one side, the US and EU and, on the other side, the minor tyrants that rule the oil-pumping countries are becoming increasingly untenable and pose a risk to the world security. Time is finally up for the depraved 'Royals,' ruling families and otherwise puppet regimes whose only purpose is to safeguard the interest of the cabal (that rules the US, EU…). Between them, the ruling classes in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Arab States of Persian Gulf act as guard dogs to some 50 percent of world's (known) oil reserves on behalf of a small minority of world population, while the combined populations of China and India has risen past the 2.5 billion mark.
For a Fistful of Dollars: Monetary Exchange Value; Not Wealth
Nothing preoccupies the human race more than creating wealth. The general understanding of wealth is the transforming of natural resources to usable goods through work. In the economic sense, wealth increases when labor assumes specialized roles and employs capital (energy and machinery). Theoretically, the wealth increases as labor, capital or both are increased.
In reality, however, there are physical limits to how much wealth can be created or how far the economic growth can expand. The economic system is a subset of the ecological system and the ecology, Earth, is not growing. Any forced extension beyond the natural limits imposed by the biosphere would destroy the ecology, as previously noted.
'Experts' tell us, however, without exponential growth (growth with a fixed doubling time) the poor would always remain impoverished and the rich couldn't make anymore money, that we cannot even begin to set aside enough money to meet our future needs and that the economy cannot provide full employment. They say, unless we continue with the economic growth and create wealth exponentially our welfare would be in grave peril.
What the exponential growth creates, however, is monetary exchange value, not wealth. As discussed earlier, preludes to the mounting ecological deficits and environmental casualties are already lain victim to the exponential growth culture.
Human Welfare
Human welfare is not limited to economic welfare alone. It includes a host of other welfare, which are noneconomic in nature and with nonmonetizable values.
Total Human Welfare = Economic Welfare + Noneconomic Welfare
The above equation remains valid only when the sum total of all welfare is positive, i.e., no conflict of interest can arise between the economic welfare and the noneconomic welfare. Having exceeded Earth's ecological carrying capacity en route to maximizing economic welfare, however, we have inflicted serious damage to the environment, which provides most of our noneconomic welfare. Consequently, the assault on nature has invalidated the equation. Any activity that raises the economic welfare affects the environment reducing the noneconomic welfare. In other words, our perceived economic welfare is now working against our noneconomic welfare. Any rise in economic activity precipitates our total welfare into negative territory.
There are two means of reversing this critical trend. First, by drastically reducing economic activities (to near zero), we would reduce the harm to the environment and, in turn, help the recovery of the noneconomic welfare thus hoisting our total welfare from the negative into the positive territory. Second, by switching to an entirely different system of economy that neither plunders Earth's natural resources nor destroys the ecosystems in favor of increasing the monetary exchange value-to the detriment of all life forms including human beings, but to the perceived benefit of a small cabal of moneychangers.
[Note: Shareholders of the top 10 banks in the world held combined assets of about 16 trillion dollars in 2006.]
The Death of Homo Sapiens Sapiens (Parts 1 to 6)


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WASHINGTON (AP) — Companies marketing the Ab Circle Pro exercise device have agreed to pay as much as $25 million in refunds to customers to settle federal regulators' charges of deceptive advertising.
The Federal Trade Commission says it was deceptive to promise that people could lose 10 pounds in two weeks by using the abdominal exercise device for only three minutes a day. The TV infomercials touted the fiberglass disk with handlebars and knee rests selling for $200 to $250.
The FTC had filed a civil lawsuit against the companies. In the settlements announced Thursday, Fitness Brands Inc., Fitness Brands International Inc., Direct Holdings Americas Inc. and Direct Entertainment Media Group Inc. agreed to pay a total of at least $15 million and up to $25 million, depending on the amount of refunds requested.
Consumers should carefully evaluate advertising claims for weight-loss products, the FTC said.
Reader's Digest Association Inc. also agreed to contribute to the refunds. The association was named as a relief defendant in the FTC's suit filed Wednesday in federal court in Miami. That means it wasn't accused of wrongdoing but the FTC sought to recover money that the agency said the association received from its subsidiaries Direct Holdings Americas and Direct Entertainment Media Group as proceeds from the deceptive advertising.
Fitness Brands Inc., Fitness Brands International and Michael Casey and David Brodess, who the FTC says control the companies, agreed to pay a total $1.2 million. Direct Holdings Americas, Direct Entertainment Media Group and Reader's Digest Association together are paying $13.8 million and up to an additional $10 million, depending on the volume of customer' refund requests.
Under terms of the settlements, none of the defendants admitted wrongdoing.
The TV infomercials ran more than 10,000 times between March 2009 and May 2010, according to the FTC. Pitchwoman Jennifer Nicole Lee said in the commercials that the Ab Circle Pro enabled her to lose 80 pounds.
A sample of claims in the ads: "You'll firm and flatten your stomach in just weeks, not months. We guarantee it."
"In fact, three minutes on the Ab Circle Pro is equal to 100 sit-ups."
In addition, the device was sold on the Internet, in stores and in print ads in TV Guide, Woman's Day, Shape and Parade magazines.
Lee and her two companies agreed in the settlement not to falsely claim that the device, or any similar device, exercise equipment, food or drug contributed to her weight loss.
The FTC said marketers should "think twice" before promising magic solutions to health problems. "Weight loss is hard work, and telling consumers otherwise is deceptive," David Vladeck, director of the agency's consumer protection bureau, said in a statement.
Consumers seeking refunds can go to www.ftc.gov/bcp/cases/abcirclepro/

subset: commoncrawl


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Spain's prime minister published his tax returns on Saturday in a bid to quell reports he and other conservative politicians received secret cash payments but the opposition said many questions remain unanswered.
The government's website posted tax authority documents detailing Mariano Rajoy's income and tax payments from the past ten years. His ruling People's Party (PP) also revealed four years of financial accounts on Friday, in another attempt to put the matter to rest.
The scandal, centered on ledgers supposedly made by a former party treasurer, have cut support for the PP to the lowest level on record and pushed up borrowing costs just as it seemed Spain was getting to grips with a financial crisis that had raised questions about the future of the euro zone.
Former PP treasurer Luis Barcenas has described as fake handwritten ledger entries published on Jan. 31 by El Pais newspaper purporting to show payments funded by construction firms made to PP leaders including Rajoy.
Rajoy has said the payments were not made and that the party is organising an external audit into the affair.
The opposition Socialists said the published accounts of Rajoy and the PP did nothing to explain the Barcenas papers.
Socialist spokeswoman Soraya Rodriguez said Spaniards wanted more than Rajoy's tax records.
"Spaniards are fed up of waiting for answers that never come," she told journalists in Valladolid on Saturday.
Cayo Lara of the United Left party said the publication of the accounts was meaningless as members of parliament have to declare their assets in any case.
The tax returns do not cover the first half of the period of entries in the ledgers published by El Pais, which run from 1990 to 2009.
In the last year of detailed returns published, for 2011, Rajoy earned more 400,000 euros before tax. He paid 870,292 euros in tax over the period covered by the published accounts. His parliamentary salary was supplemented by investments in public debt and real estate, the government said.
Support for the PP fell to 24 percent in a Metroscopia poll published on Feb. 3, the lowest on record and barely more than half the support the party received when it won a landslide election victory in late 2011.
Spain, the euro zone's fourth-largest economy, has been at the center of concerns about the future of the euro currency and was pushed to the brink of following Greece, Ireland and Portugal in asking for an international bail-out.
A pledge by the European Central Bank to act as a backstop for bets against peripheral euro zone countries has reduced borrowing costs, but Spain is still struggling with a deep recession and unemployment of 26 percent.
The yield on Spain's 10-year government bonds rose to almost 5.5 percent on Feb. 6, up from 5.2 percent on Jan. 30, the day before El Pais published the alleged accounts.
Fitch affirmed Spain's investment grade rating on Friday but warned that it could still downgrade the country's sovereign bonds in coming months on worries about the economy and public debt levels.


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For the best in authentic, made-to-order Italian-style pizzas, pastas and subs, look no further than San Remo Pizza! We have the pizzas and pastas that you're craving, as well as appetizers, salads, dinners, calzones and sandwiches.
Our hand-tossed pizzas are made fresh when you order them, and still hot from the oven when you pick them up or eat in the dining room. Our pastas are served with authentic sauces. Our heroes and subs are perfect for lunch or dinner, and don't forget your party guests by ordering our "by-the-foot" subs!


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At Seattle's Sci Fi Museum, a Battlestar Galactica exhibit opens this weekend - including life-sized ship props. In this video, curators explain how they cut a new hole in the museum walls to squeeze the ships into the gallery.
The EMP|SFM writes to tell us what's in store this weekend at the Sci Fi Museum:
We announced the stars who will be attending the Opening weekend festivities THIS WEEKEND (Oct 22-24) —Edward James Olmos (Admiral William Adama), Michael Hogan (Colonel Saul Tigh), Tahmoh Penikett (Karl 'Helo' Agathon), Richard Hatch (Tom Zarek, 2004, and Apollo, 1978), Kate Vernon (Ellen Tigh) and executive producers Ronald D. Moore (BSG, Caprica), and Glen Larson— There's a VIP Reception and Red Carpet on Oct 22 followed by a host of activities on October 23 (including panel discussions with the creators and casts from both series, which is bound to sell out).
If you're in the Seattle area, this sounds like a perfect nerd date event.
Learn more about the exhibition and opening night festivities at the EMP|SFM website.


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What is the Point of Dating When It Seems Most Relationships Are Unhappy or End in Failure?
Just a little confused about this dating thing; why? Why do people insist that it should be done? I have dated, cohabited, married, divorced. I have also had a few long-term, no strings attached sexual-type relationships, which serve me better than any traditional type of relationship has. I guess I am wondering, if scientific research has shown that humans are programmed to be in only short-term relationships, ie 4-7 years, then why do they strive for life long ones, and why the heck do people need to use the word love as a noun when using it as a verb is a much better idea (at least in my opinion). OK, I know I am cynical, jaded, opinionated, bullheaded, miserable, confident, independent, etc…
I just wonder why it is that all my ol' girls are always trying to persuade me to get a man, when I really don't want one, I think, ok maybe if there were a hot, young vampire nearby it would work, but I doubt it. They are all clearly miserable in their relationships, and I have been in the ones I have had in the past. I think I am intended to be a single, with a few lovers on the side. I guess I just need to be reassured that what I am doing isn't going to cause me to burn in hell or something… haha.
Don't worry. You're not alone. Nor do I think you're going to burn in hell.
Thou dost protest too much, Margaret.
But don't worry. You're not alone. Nor do I think you're going to burn in hell.
I just think you're going to be a bit lonely, that's all.
So, let's establish that there's nothing wrong with being single. There's nothing wrong with being a single woman. There's nothing wrong with being a single woman in her 40's. The real question is this: would you rather be single than be in a happy relationship? If you would, then there's nothing to worry about. It's EASY to stay single.
You're posing a false dichotomy. Would I rather be single than in a bad relationship? Why yes, you would! And I would, too. Who could blame a girl who doesn't want to be in a miserable marriage like all her friends?
But that glosses over a fundamental truth, which is that relationships can be tremendously rewarding. Does the intense chemistry wear off after 18 months to 2 years? Yes. Do most couples face a 7-Year Itch? Yes. Could you take the radical step of breaking societal conventions and spending your life in a series of good solid 5-year relationships which end the moment they get stale? You betcha.
So why don't you? Why are you writing to me? Not for validation – you're too smart for that. No, you actually wanted to be told the other side. The optimistic side. This is your lucky day.
It is human nature for us to justify our circumstances and find rationalizations to support our beliefs. When I was fired from a talent agency, I said to myself, "I hated that job, my boss, and my low pay" rather than "I wasn't very passionate at my work, I had a bad attitude, and they probably found someone better." Both are true. But I focused on the side that made my former employers wrong. Helps get us through the night, doesn't it?
It's easy to say, "I'd rather be alone". It's safe. It's the result of your life experience – the one that made you into a cynical, jaded, opinionated, bullheaded, miserable woman. I don't blame you for it. It's just HALF of the story.
You took a fork in the road and are acting as if that's the only option. "It's either being alone or misery and I choose being alone!" I call bullshit.
The reason that so many people work so hard to find love is because it's worth it. And while there's nothing wrong with flouting societal conventions and turning your life into a series of relationships, like getting a new dog every 10 years, I would point out these two big flaws in your reasoning.
You took a fork in the road and are acting as if that's the only option. "It's either being alone or misery and I choose being alone!" I call bullshit.
First, you can't build anything if you're always moving. Hey, if you don't want kids, that's cool. But if you want to establish a stable family unit, you can't do so by rotating boyfriends out every election cycle. That's why people get married – to build something bigger and more enduring than anything they can do alone. I don't stand in judgment of single people who focus on business and travel and hobbies – I merely point out that when you're part of a family unit, it's not all about you anymore.
Second, there are happy marriages. Is it a different happiness than the intoxicating scent of puppy love? Yeah. But if the rock star life of rotating partners doesn't sustain itself into your 50's and 60's, you may find yourself wishing you had a husband – one man who was with you for the long haul.
It's easy to justify the grass being greener on your side of the fence – no fighting husbands, no arguing kids, nothing but you and your backyard sunshine. But if that's REALLY what you want, you have to ask yourself why aren't you totally enjoying it and what could make it better. I'm thinking it's a man who loves you as you are – and maybe even takes away some of your cynicism..


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1. Library membership is open to all adults (ages 18 and up) who are residents of Springfield or own property in the Township. Proof of residency in the form of a driver's license, voter registration card, utility bill, property deed, rental agreement or other valid documentation must be presented at the time that the application for a library card is made. For those owning property in Springfield, proof of ownership in the form of a current tax bill must be presented.
2. Library membership is open to all minors (under the age of 18) who are residents of Springfield. The application form must be signed by the minor's parent or legal guardian and the parent or guardian will also be required to show proof of the minor's residency. The adult who signs for the minor's card must also be a library card holder in good standing. By signing the minor's library card application, the parent or guardian agrees to assume responsibility for any fines and/or fees incurred by the minor.
Effective January 20, 2020, any minor issued a library card will have his/her library card electronically linked to that of the parent or guardian who served as the legal signatory on the child's library card application. Notices of overdue or lost items will be communicated directly to the responsible signing adult as well as the minor child. In the event that a minor's account becomes blocked due to excessive accumulated fines or lost items, the library account of the adult legal signatory shall also be blocked until such time as accumulated fines and fees have been paid and the minor's library account has been unblocked.
The parent or guardian must also sign the DVD permission statement on the back of the library card application in order for the juvenile library card holder to be able to borrow DVDs from the Library's collection. Further, the application contains a provision waiving any confidentiality or privacy rights of the minor regarding Library materials in accordance with New Jersey Statutes Annotated 9:2-4.2 (Parental Access to Children's Records).
a. Every parent, except as prohibited by federal and State law, shall have access to records and information pertaining to his or her unemancipated child, including, but not limited to, medical, dental, insurance, child care and educational records, whether or not the child resides with the parent, unless that access is found by the court to be not in the best interest of the child or the access is found by the court to be sought for the purpose of causing detriment to the other parent.
b. The place of residence of either parent shall not appear on any records or information released pursuant to the provisions of this section.
c. A child's parent, guardian or legal custodian may petition the court to have a parent's access to the records limited. If the court, after a hearing, finds that the parent's access to the record is not in the best interest of the child or that the access sought is for the purpose of causing detriment to the other parent, the court may order that access
3. Library cards for Springfield residents and property owners must be renewed every three years with appropriate proof of residency or property ownership provided as detailed in paragraph 1.
4. M.U.R.A.L. (Middlesex Union Reciprocal Agreement Libraries) patrons who are in good standing in their home town libraries are eligible for borrowing privileges at the Springfield Free Public Library. The following rules apply:
- Borrowing privileges for MURAL patrons must be renewed annually with appropriate ID provided.
- MURAL patrons must present the library card from their town of residence each time they wish to borrow materials from the Springfield Free Public Library.
- In those cases in which a patron either works or attends school in Springfield but is also a resident of a MURAL community, the terms of the MURAL agreement supersede any other provisions of this library membership policy.
- Anyone under 18 years of age registering for borrowing privileges under the terms of the MURAL agreement must have a parent or legal guardian co-sign their library borrowing application in person. The parent who signs for the minor's borrowing privileges must also be a patron in good standing at the public library in their community of residence.
- MURAL patrons will be assigned a lower priority status than Springfield residents so that any holds they place will not be satisfied until after all holds for Springfield residents have been satisfied, regardless of the order in which the holds were placed.
5. People who do not reside in Springfield or one of the MURAL communities but who are employed in Springfield may apply for borrowing privileges upon presenting proof of employment that identifies the employer as being located in Springfield. This may take the form of an employee ID badge, pay stub, or a letter from the employer on company stationery. Borrowing privileges for library patrons in this category must be renewed on an annual basis with appropriate ID provided.
6. Non-residents who attend a public or private elementary, middle or secondary school in Springfield may apply for borrowing privileges after presenting proof of enrollment. A parent or legal guardian must sign the application form for non-resident students under the age of 18 and the parent must present proof of address even though he or she does not live in Springfield. All other rules for minor patrons will apply, as specified in section 2 of this policy statement. Borrowing privileges for patrons in this category must be renewed annually with appropriate ID provided.
7. People who do not reside in Springfield and do not qualify for borrowing privileges as detailed in the preceding sections may purchase a Springfield Free Public Library card for an amount that is not less than the per capita amount that the Township of Springfield allocates for library services for that given year, rounded up to the nearest dollar. The current amount is $65.00. Non-resident paid cards must be renewed annually and the fee paid every year.
8. The library charges a non-refundable fee of $3.00 for the replacement of a lost library card.
9. Cardholders must immediately report a lost or stolen library card to the Circulation Department. Cardholders are liable for materials charged out from the time of the loss to the time the loss is reported. The cardholder's maximum liability for materials charged on a card that has been reported lost or stolen is $50.00.
Approved November 21, 2019


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Health care changes to watch for in 2014
- The health care industry believes the law is here to stay%2C one analyst says
- Medicaid and its expansion could drive innovation and cost containment
- More than 2 million Americans now have new private health insurance
WASHINGTON — Starting Wednesday, the Affordable Care Act was in full force, as millions of uninsured Americans either now have health coverage or will get it this year.
But experts say that's just one of many changes to watch for in 2014, including how the law will affect elections, what the states will decide about Medicaid expansion, and what insurers will do to react to their quickly changing demographics.
Already, at least 1.1 million people have gained coverage through the federal exchange, HealthCare.gov, and the federal and state exchanges stand to enroll millions more through the cut-off date at the end of March. Beginning Jan. 1, insurers may no longer preclude people from buying insurance because of pre-existing conditions; they may not charge older people much-higher premiums than younger people; they may not charge women more than men; and they must share pricing and benefits information to their consumers in an apples-to-apples way.
Beyond the law's new requirements, analysts and industry officials say they anticipate a series of related changes to affect health care in 2014, including:
• Private exchanges. Insurers will bring more private exchanges to the workplace, and people will begin to understand they have to control their own health costs instead of relying on benefit-heavy insurance plans to do that for them, said Alan Cohen, chief strategy officer for Liazon, a company that provides private exchanges.
"I think we're going to see dramatic, dramatic increases in people who use private exchanges," Cohen said. "There was a big increase this year, but it will pale in comparison to next year."
• Employer mandate. Employers will also start making changes to prepare for the requirement that companies with more than 50 employees provide health insurance for their employees, said Hector De La Torre, executive director of the Transamerica Center for Health Studies. That requirement was supposed to start Jan. 1 but was delayed a year by the Obama administration.
"Employers are really going to be on the clock for 2015 for their mandate kicking in," De La Torre said. "That will be interesting throughout the year as regulations come into play."
More employers and insurers will also start offering wellness discounts, which are meant to encourage employees to take better care of themselves in order to get lower premiums, he said.
• Pricing transparency. Regardless of the political storms surrounding the law, the health industry is proceeding with the assumption it is here for good, said Ceci Connolly, managing director of PWC's Health Research Institute.
That will lead, she said, to more transparency in the pricing of health services. The law requires insurers to tell customers how much they are expected to pay in out-of-pocket costs, but so far health care providers have not followed suit by listing prices for treatments. Some states are requiring providers to do that, Connolly said.
"Price transparency is kicking in," she said. "We really think that's going to take off in 2014."
• New rules and higher enrollments. Ellen Nelson, who heads up Affordable Care Act's implementation at Catamaran, a pharmacy benefit manager serving 25 million people, said she expects an "avalanche" of rules and guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services about the law and a surge in enrollments from Jan. 1 through March 31. That's the deadline for people to have insurance or pay for a fine.
"We expect that March 31 deadline date to get bumped out to May 1," Nelson said. "If it does, it won't be until mid-year, like June, that we'll know who has enrolled in 2014."
• Electronic records. Adoption of electronic records will increase in 2014 and spur industry-wide change, said Rainu Kaushal, chairwoman of the new Department of Healthcare Policy and Research at Weill Cornell Medical College. That's in part because more physicians will have to use the records to participate in Medicare.
This will lead to higher quality and efficiency, Kaushal said, because providers will be better able to track what works — and what doesn't.
• Shrinking networks. Insurers will continue to limit their networks of health care providers, often by using those providers with which it can negotiate better rates, said Kev Coleman, head of data and research at HealthPocket.
"I think this network issue is going to become one of the top stories in 2014," Coleman said.
For most people, he said, particularly for first-time insurance purchasers, that won't matter. "If you never see a doctor, the question's a little more academic," Coleman said. But for a person with diabetes or lymphoma, it's important to make sure specialty doctors are included in new plans.
• States will drive change. Medicaid, which is run by the states, will have the most impact on local price structures, said Ray Scheppach, project director for the Health Care Cost Containment Commission and a former deputy director of the Congressional Budget Office.
Medicaid administrators, Scheppach said, could move away from fee-for-service models to accountable care organizations and medical homes, where payment is based on low-cost, quality-outcome methods.
"Medicare's important, but if you start to add up the number of people in Medicaid, plus state employees, plus exchanges, the states can drive the model," he said.
Some states will also decide this year whether to expand their Medicaid programs, as allowed by the health law.
"There are 36 governors up (for election); that's a big collection of governors," Scheppach said. "That cedes into how many additional states expand Medicaid. I think that's the biggest issue."
Follow @KellySKennedy on Twitter.


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When it is permissible to use cosmetics? And the ruling on collagen in particular
In principle it is permissible for women to use cosmetics, but when saying it is permissible it is essential to pay attention to a number of things, such as:
This beautification should not be for non-mahram men. The one for whom she should beautify herself first and foremost is her husband. If she uses cosmetics so that her husband will see her in the best shape, or she appears thus beautified before other women or her mahrams, that is permissible for her, because the basic principle is that she should cover all of her body in front of non-mahram men, so how can it be permissible for her to beautify herself for them in addition to that?
The materials used for cosmetic purposes should be permissible, such as henna and kohl. It is not permissible for her to use fat from dead meat (i.e., from animals that have not been slaughtered in accordance with sharee'ah) or impure (naajis) substances, because Islam forbids using impure and haraam things. See the answer to question no. 45635.
The materials used for cosmetic purposes should not be harmful to her body. It is not permissible for her to use harmful chemical substances, whether the harmful effect will occur immediately or in the future, because Islam forbids harming oneself, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "There should be neither causing harm nor reciprocating harm."
For more information on the ruling on powders and some of their harmful effects, please see the answers to questions no. 26861, 26799, 20226 and 22917.
The cosmetic effect on the body should be temporary. It is not permissible for her to use those substances that change the creation of Allaah, as some women do by having lip treatments, face peeling and tattoos which change the colour of the skin permanently.
In the answer to question 34215 we have stated that face peeling is haraam, and that it is changing the creation of Allaah.
In the answer to question no. 47694 we discussed the ruling on cosmetic surgery, and we stated that some of it may be essential, so it is permissible, and some of it is merely for the purpose of beautification, and it is haraam, because it comes under the heading of changing the creation of Allaah. One of the examples we mentioned was face lifts.
If the conditions and guidelines mentioned above are met, then using collagen is permissible.
And Allaah knows best.


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This book, Loving Yourself to Great Health: Thoughts & Food–The Ultimate Diet by Louise Hay and Ahlea Khadro has a lot of meat to it! Or for you vegetarians/vegans, a lot of fiber. 😉
I was delightfully surprised at the wealth of information which I'd not heard or read before. It's very up-to-date and includes a broad range of ideas.
As someone with a chronic issue going on, I found it especially helpful. It's in no way superficial, but offers information and philosophical approaches to in-depth practices that can truly turn things around.
As with all Louise Hay books, it includes quite subtle — yet powerful — suggestions for you to apply. Examples are being aware of — and turning around when necessary — your thoughts, attitudes, and emotions, especially regarding yourself. (Thus the title, Loving Yourself to Great Health.)
It includes quite a bit about diet (one way to love yourself), including leading edge research and findings.
It steps very thoroughly through our bodily processes and I learned a lot about our physiology, even though I'm already quite knowledgeable about it. This was and is a very valuable aspect of this book to which I'm sure I'll refer again and again.
And yet … As much information as this book offers, one of its most invaluable gifts is that it includes methods and exercises for you to tune into your own body to learn what it has to say to you in particular, thus guiding you to customize your very own healing journey.
About half the book is dedicated to recipes and lists of various foods' qualities. What I like about this is that it's a great cross-section of different kinds of foods that might be hard to find elsewhere under one cover.
If you're considering buying this book, but are afraid it might be a bit "Micky Mouse", be assured it is not! I can't imagine anyone reading it who won't get something valuable out of it.
Many thanks to Louise Hay, Ahlea Khadro, and Heather Dane. It's quite the impressive collaboration!
Note: I received this book for free from Hay House Publishing for review purposes and this review reflects my honest evaluation.


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Manuscripts and Publications
Filters: Author is Horvath, Keith J [Clear All Filters]
Adapting technology-based HIV prevention and care interventions for youth: lessons learned across five U.S. Adolescent Trials Network studies.. Mhealth. 7:21.. 2021.
Addressing engagement in technology-based behavioural HIV interventions through paradata metrics.. Curr Opin HIV AIDS. 12(5):442-446.. 2017.
Improving the Youth HIV Prevention and Care Cascades: Innovative Designs in the Adolescent Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions.. AIDS Patient Care STDS. 33(9):388-398.. 2019.
Model-Based Methods to Translate Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions Findings Into Policy Recommendations: Rationale and Protocol for a Modeling Core (ATN 161).. JMIR Res Protoc. 8(4):e9898.. 2019.
Modeling Adherence Interventions Among Youth with HIV in the United States: Clinical and Economic Projections.. AIDS Behav. 25(9):2973-2984.. 2021.
A Multilevel Tailored Web App-Based Intervention for Linking Young Men Who Have Sex With Men to Quality Care (Get Connected): Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.. JMIR Res Protoc. 7(8):e10444.. 2018.
Recent mobile health interventions to support medication adherence among HIV-positive MSM.. Curr Opin HIV AIDS. 12(5):432-441.. 2017.
A Systematic Review of Technology-Assisted HIV Testing Interventions.. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 17(4):269-280.. 2020.
Technology-Based Stepped Care to Stem Transgender Adolescent Risk Transmission: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial (TechStep).. JMIR Res Protoc. 9(8):e18326.. 2020.
Testing the Testers: Are Young Men Who Have Sex With Men Receiving Adequate HIV Testing and Counseling Services? J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 82 Suppl 2(2):S133-S141.. 2019.
Using technology to assess and intervene with illicit drug-using persons at risk for HIV.. Curr Opin HIV AIDS. 12(5):458-466.. 2017.
Using technology to support HIV self-testing among MSM.. Curr Opin HIV AIDS. 12(5):425-431.. 2017.


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I caught a whiff of spring yesterday ~
Efforts to capture its fleeting essence
Were for naught.
Freshness escorted by bird ballads
replaced by cold rain and squally winds.
Winds threaten spring again today ~
We are enrobed by a diaphanous cape of fog.
Spring plays hide and seek
But I will keep looking ~
even if I have to count to one thousand and sixty-two.


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- Inside Athletics
- Tickets
- Fan Zone
- Media Zone
- Social
- Shop
- Donate Now
TUCSON, Ariz. (Jan. 27, 2008) - Having said farewell to the most decorated golfer in the history of the program, the ETSU men's golf team enters the 2008 spring season on Monday in the PING-Arizona Intercollegiate at the Arizona National Golf Club. The team will play 36 holes on Monday, followed by 18 on Tuesday, and fans can watch live stats from the event by visiting
The Buccaneers, who were ranked in the Top 25 for much of the fall season, enter the spring season with a great deal of anticipation.
After a career which included three straight PING first-team All-America selections and a No. 1 national ranking as a senior, Rhys Davies (Bridgend, Wales) has moved on to continue his golfing career at the professional level. However, Davies leaves behind his four Buccaneer teammates, who a year ago helped lead the team to a record 21st conference title and their second straight trip to the NCAA Championships.
But even without Davies, the Bucs have shown already that they have the talent to continue their winning tradition. In fact, the team has a new Rhys. Freshman Rhys Enoch (Cornwall, England) wasted little time making a name for himself this past fall, finishing first on the team with a 71.1 stroke average, posting three Top 7 finishes and ended the fall ranked 26th in the nation by Golfweek/Sagarin.
Meanwhile, the Bucs return a bevy of experience talent, including honorable mention All-American and first-team All-Atlantic Sun selection Gareth Shaw (Lisburn, Northern Ireland), who finished his junior season second on the squad in stroke average and enjoyed seven finishes of 16th or better. Shaw enters his senior year already earning national recognition, as he was selected preseason third team All-America by Golfweek. Along with Shaw, sophomore Seamus Power (
Along with Enoch, Paul O'Kane (
For more on ETSU men's golf this weekend and throughout the upcoming year, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's golf link.


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Is the "practice of homosexuality" compatible with Christian teaching? That question is at the center of a debate between progressive and conservative members of the United Methodist Church, the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States. This debate is taking place as states and the U.S. Supreme Court are considering whether same-sex marriages are constitutional. "A Church Divided" introduces viewers to the clergy, the couples and the congregations battling to influence Methodists' official policy toward gays and lesbians. This documentary is produced in collaboration with KQED.
Here is a sampling of other churches' views on homosexuality and same-sex marriage:


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October 5th, 2012
'Jersey Shore': Times have changed
Cue up the Boyz II Men, "Jersey Shore's" sixth and final season is underway.
Not unlike past season premieres, Thursday's episode kicked off as the gang prepared for a summer of booze, brawls and one-night stands in Seaside Heights, New Jersey.
Of course, there were a few notable differences, like The Situation's sobriety and Snooki's growing baby bump. (The reality star gave birth to baby Lorenzo in August.)
But Sitch seemed confident enough in himself, and Snooki assured viewers that pregnancy had turned her into a new woman as clips of her antics from past seasons played on the screen. "I definitely did, like, a whole 180."
Then we headed over to JWoww's house, which she lives in with Roger and her two little dogs. As she was loading her suitcase, Roger complained that he just wanted to settle down with her but couldn't because she was running off to the shore. JWoww's response: "Where's my ring?" (The two announced their engagement in September.)
And then there's Ron and Sam, who are - get this - back together, but they already seem to be disagreeing with each other…
Ron: "I'm not really looking forward to living with a pregnant chick, to be honest with you."
Sam: "I think it will be cool."
Deena was excited to show off her new attitude and new look, but she wasn't excited to leave her boyfriend Chris or be the only crazy meatball in the house. (In case you're new to the party, Deena and Snooki refer to themselves as meatballs.)
The Situation shows up first and starts cooking dinner for his roommates, which apparently means "I'm sorry" in Italian.
Everyone woke up before 9:30 the next morning and set out to GTL. Except poor Snooki. She couldn't work out too hard at the gym, or tan. Vinny noted: "Nicole not being able to tan in a tanning salon is like a [expletive] fish, just like, looking at the ocean on the sand."
Pauly D was pretty stoked about it, actually: "I no longer have any competition in the house for the tannest Guido because Snooki can't tan so I take the belt."
That night, Snooki and Jionni went out for dinner while the rest of the cast hit up Karma.
Even though Snooki wanted to go meet up with everyone at the club, she decided it's no place for a pregnant woman. Sober Sitch, on the other hand, seemed to be having a great time.
You'll never guess what happened later that night ... unless you've watched the show before: "Wasted-beyond-wasted" Ron got mad at Sam for not eating dinner before going out to the club.
He told Sam, "I have a million girls that can do what you do." (Yes, but do you have a million girls that would stay with you if you said that to them?) Then he slid down the stairs on his backside. Karma?
In other drama, Deena started crying when Vinny asked her boyfriend Chris about furniture. As it turns out, Deena doesn't have an aversion to ottomans or loveseats. She was just emotional because she didn't want to leave her beau. Snooki called her co-dependence "crazy pants," and we agree.
The next day Snooki and Sammi went shopping while Deena and JWoww went for drinks and pondered the definition of "integrity." Deena decided it actually means "shame," even after the bartender assured her it's about "self-worth and values."
Snooki dropped a bomb on her roommates during Sunday dinner. She told them she was moving into the apartment next door so she could be pregnant in peace. Vinny also dropped a bomb: He's going to be celibate for the rest of the summer. Of course the ground rules are still fuzzy, but he seemed pretty excited about it.
What did you think of the beginning of the end of "Jersey Shore"?
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Product Overview
Pat LaFrieda, the third generation butcher and owner of Americas premier meatpacking business, presents the ultimate book of everything meat, with more than seventy-five mouthwatering recipes for beef, pork, lamb, veal, and poultry.
For true meat lovers, a beautifully prepared cut of beef, pork, lamb, veal, or poultry is not just the center of the meal, it is the reason for eating. No one understands meats seductive hold on our palates better than Americas premier butcher, Pat LaFrieda. In Meat: Everything You Need to Know, he passionately explains the best and most flavorful cuts to purchase (some of them surprisingly inexpensive or unknown) and shares delicious recipes and meticulous techniques, all with the knowledge that comes from a fourth generation butcher. If you have ever wondered what makes the meat in Americas finest restaurants so delectable, LaFriedathe butcher to the countrys greatest chefshas the answers, and the philosophy behind it.
In seventy-five recipessome of them decades-old LaFrieda family favorites, some from New York Citys best restaurateurs, including Lidia Bastianich, Josh Capon, Mike Toscano, and Jimmy Bradleythe special characteristics of each type of meat comes into exquisite focus. Pats signature meat selections have inspired famous chefs, and now Meat brings home cooks the opportunity to make similar mouthwatering recipes including multiple LaFrieda Custom Burger Blends, Whole Shank Osso Bucco, Tuscan Fried Chicken with Lemon, Crown Pork Roast with Pineapple Bread Stuffing, Frenched Chop with Red Onion Soubise, Beef Wellington with Mushroom Cream Sauce, and Chipotle-Braised Tomahawk Short Ribs, along with many more.
Step-by-step photographs make tricky operations like butterflying a veal chop or tying a crown roast easy even for beginners; beautiful double-page photographic diagrams show more clearly than any previous book where different cuts come from on the animal; and advice on necessary equipment, butchers notes, and glorious full-color photographs of the dishes complete this magnificent and comprehensive feast for the senses.
Throughout the pages of Meat, Pat LaFriedas interwoven tales of life in the meatpacking business and heartwarming personal reminiscences celebrate his familys century of devotion to their calling and are a tribute to a veritable New York City institution. Pats reverence and passion for his subject both teach and inspire.


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- Tickets
- Drawings
- Prizes
- Scams
Sales cut-off times vary by selling jurisdiction. Please check with your local lottery for more information.
Some lotteries sell Powerball® tickets over the Internet, but the service is only available to residents of that jurisdiction. The sale of Powerball tickets over the Internet or by mail across jurisdictional borders is restricted. Lotteries may refuse to pay out prize money on Powerball tickets purchased on any website other than their own. Please contact your lottery with any further questions.
You do not have to be a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident to play Powerball®. Players from jurisdictions where Powerball tickets are not sold, either in the United States or outside the country, when visiting a selling jurisdiction, can purchase Powerball tickets from a retailer licensed or authorized by the selling jurisdiction, if they meet the legal age requirement in the jurisdiction of purchase. Federal and jurisdictional income taxes may apply to any claimed prize money.
The 10X multiplier is only in play when the advertised jackpot annuity is $150 million or less.
Powerball® tickets print the white ball numbers in numerical order of a given play. You can match the white ball numbers in any order of a given play to win a prize. The red Powerball number of a given play on your ticket must match the red Powerball drawn. Each play on a ticket is separately determined; players cannot crisscross play lines on a ticket or combine numbers from other tickets.
While there are many factors that determine the advertised Grand Prize estimate in the Powerball® game; two important ones are games sales and the annuity factor.
A number of variables can affect game sales, such as seasonality or a big Mega Millions jackpot. Traditionally, game sales are stronger for a Saturday drawing versus a Wednesday drawing.
The annuity factor, or the cost to fund an annuity prize, is another key component. The annuity factor is made up of interest rates for securities purchased to fund prize payments. The higher the interest rates, the higher the advertised Grand Prize. You might not realize that an economic reality like interest rates impact even the Powerball jackpot, but they do!
Most players think the odds of matching the Powerball to win a prize are 1 in 26, since the Powerball is drawn from a field of numbers from 1 to 26.
But consider this…
The odds of matching the Powerball ALONE are harder than 1 in 26, because there is also the chance you could match one or more white balls, in addition to the Powerball, to win another prize.
Powerball numbers are drawn from two sets of numbers, so the odds of winning a prize are calculated by combining the odds for both sets of numbers for all prize levels. The odds for matching just the Powerball are calculated by combining the odds of selecting the Powerball and the odds of not selecting any of the five numbers from the first set of numbers drawn.
Prizes must be claimed in the jurisdiction where the winning ticket was purchased. Players can generally claim a prize up to $600 at any licensed lottery retailer in the jurisdiction where they bought the ticket. Prizes over $600 can be claimed at some lottery offices, depending on the amount, and also at lottery headquarters. Please contact your lottery with any further questions.
Ticket expiration dates typically vary from 90 days to one year depending on the selling jurisdiction. The expiration date is often listed on the back of your ticket. If the expiration date is not listed, check with your lottery.
Unclaimed prizes are kept by the lottery jurisdiction. If a Grand Prize goes unclaimed, the money must be returned to all lotteries in proportion to their sales for the draw run. The lotteries then distribute the money, based on their own jurisdiction's laws, to other lottery games or to their jurisdiction's general fund, or otherwise as required by law.
Every jurisdiction has its own law on winners remaining anonymous. Some jurisdictions are required by law to provide the winner's name, city of residence, game won and prize amount to any third party that requests the information. Some jurisdictions allow winners to claim a prize as a trust or other legal entity thus allowing some anonymity from public disclosure of their information. Check with your lottery to see if taking a photo of the winner is required and what its rules are on prize claims. Regardless of how a prize is claimed, the person who purchased the winning ticket must be known to the lottery so officials can confirm you are eligible to play and to comply with other legal requirements.
A Powerball jackpot winner may choose to receive their prize as an annuity, paid in 30 graduated payments over 29 years, or a lump-sum payment (cash option). For the annuity, the annual payments increase by 5%. The cash value option, in general, is the amount of money required to be in the jackpot prize pool, on the day of the drawing, to fund the estimated jackpot annuity prize. The advertised jackpot annuity and cash value are estimates until ticket sales are final, and for the annuity, until the Multi-State Lottery Association takes bids on the purchase of securities.
Federal and jurisdictional income taxes apply to both jackpot prize options.
Check with your lottery for its rules on how to claim a jackpot prize and the correct procedure for selecting the annuity or cash value option.
If a jackpot winner dies before receiving all annual installments, the balance of the prize will be paid to the winner's estate. Upon receipt of a court order, annual prize payments will continue to be paid to the winner's heirs. Other provisions may also apply depending on the laws of the lottery paying the prize.
A United States $100 bill is .0043 inches thick.
Ten thousand $100 bills equals $1 million (10,000 x $100 = $1,000,000).
Therefore, a $1 million stack of $100 bills is 43 inches tall (10,000 x .0043 inches = 43 inches).
43 inches = 3.5833 feet
A stack of one hundred dollar bills equaling $40,000,000 is 143.33 feet tall (40 x 3.5833 feet = 143.33 feet).
Lotteries will never contact you via email or telephone call to inform you that you've won a prize, unless you specifically entered an official lottery promotion or contest.
In addition, lotteries will never ask you to pay a fee to collect a Powerball prize. If you are asked to pay a fee to claim a prize, you are likely being scammed, and you should not share any personal or banking information with those entities.
In the past, Facebook users have reported notices that indicate Powerball is giving away prize money on Facebook. These notices are false and fraudulent. Lotteries do not contact prize winners through Facebook, unless you specifically entered an official lottery promotion or contest.


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AMD A10 5700 review -
AMD A10 5700 APU - the 2nd Generation AMD A-Series
It's time for another AMD A10 series APU processor review. You know, back in May AMD introduced a series of AMD A10 'Trinity' APUs as mobile and notebook solutions. The new APU series is based on a new architecture that should bring its performance above previously released Llano based products from that same A series.
The new chips came with a codename that you all will recognize, Trinity. Trinity will thus be the successor of the current AMD A4, A6 and A8 Llano-processors. First and foremost, we are a bit of an enthusiast based website so I need to make it very clear here, the A10 and A8 APU processors are entry level to mid-range targeted processors, please do understand that very clearly. That means you are looking at reasonable desktop CPU experience versus a greatly enhanced integrated GPU, and all that for very interesting prices.
Tested today is the A10 5700 APU for example, costing roughly 115 EUR, and that's a four core processor with integrated graphics and motherbaord chipset. Not bad huh ? Based on AMDs APU architecture there will be several models to be found which we'll place in an overview later on.
Our tested model is the A10-5700 APU is rated at 65W running at 3.4 GHz with a Turbo allowance towards 4000 MHz (if the conditions are right). This A10 APU have a 4MB L2 cache and pack 384 Radeon (shader) cores with that embedded GPU running at 800 MHz, just like its bigger brother the A10 5800K.
The 384 Radeon (shader) cores by itself is not a massive GPU change opposed to the previous generation which had 400 shader cores however the new AMD graphics architecture is applied and offers a significant leap in performance for integrated graphics alright. When we zoom in at the processor side for the APU then Trinity is based on Piledriver cores, Piledriver simply put means the new 2nd revision of AMD's Bulldozers cores, which we all know from AMD's FX series processors.
So before we dive a little deeper into the performance of the APU, I wanted to quickly talk about the APU and the technology behind it. Next page please.
** Update - we mistakenly noted down the A10 5700 APU as 5700K model a couple of times in this review. It's A10 5700 (without the K).
We review the AMD A10 6790 APU processor, the little brother of the 6800K and the big brother of the 6700 just became available in the stores. With performance close to the 6800 this might be the budg...
AMD A10 6700 review
We review the 100 EUR AMD A10 6700 APU processor, the little brother of the 6800K we just reviewed a little while ago. Based on Piledriver architecture this processor slash graphics hybrid symbiosis called APU.
AMD A10 6800K review
We review the 125 EUR AMD A10 6800K APU processor. Based on Piledriver architecture this processor slash graphics hybrid symbiosis called APU remains hard to beat in terms of features performance.
AMD A10 5700 review
We review the AMD A10 5700 APU processor. Based on the APU architecture and building on the strengths of the Llano design, the 2012 AMD A-Series platform has been updated to meet and exceed the increasing demands of today's consumers.


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We've all heard the stats. The majority of Americans are missing retirement savings targets, and more than 100 million working adults don't even have retirement assets.
The bottom line is that Americans don't plan for retirement effectively, and it's concerning. People are living longer and spending more time retired, contributions to company pension plans have decreased, and future Social Security benefits are uncertain. But there's good news: With some preparation today, you can maximize your retirement income for tomorrow. Follow these steps to starting your retirement fund.
1. Identify Your Needs
As you're starting your retirement fund, evaluate your potential future income needs. For example, will you live in your current home or will you downsize? Will you travel? Will you have a summer or winter home? Will your family depend on you for financial assistance? Once you've identified your needs, you can outline how you'll achieve them.
2. Evaluate Your Current (and Future) Situation
Your retirement funding will depend on your sources of income and your expenses now and in the future.
- Do you have an employer-provided retirement plan you can contribute to? Pension plans or 401(k) contributions may make up the bulk of your retirement funding, but more than a third of private sector workers don't have employer-sponsored plans.
- Can you see yourself working a part-time job during retirement? If so, you could earn some supplemental cash and keep the boredom at bay.
- Are you counting on Social Security income? Though the future of Social Security is uncertain, it's expected to be paid in full through 2037.
- What will your ongoing expenses be like? Americans are living longer, but they're also paying more for healthcare. Consider these and long-term care costs as you're planning for retirement.
- Will you have any outstanding loans you'll need to pay during your retirement years? Be sure to account for mortgage, car and other payments as you're running the numbers.
3. Consider Your Retirement Fund Options
You can grow your retirement funding using a variety of investment vehicles. In fact, several options, such as an IRA, can help you defer or avoid federal income tax on earnings.1 You can also choose from stocks, bonds, money markets, CDs, mutual funds or annuities.
What type of investment portfolio is right for you? It depends on how many years away from retirement you are, your financial objectives and the risk you're willing to take to achieve your goals. Even small, regular savings can add up over time. The earlier you start saving for retirement, the longer you can take advantage of compound interest and tax-deferred growth on your money.
Start Your Retirement Fund Today
Retirement can seem like a far-off dream. But whether your plan to retire in 10, 15 or 30 years, taking charge today means financial security tomorrow. Connect with your local Farm Bureau agent today to learn more.


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Microsoft today announced that this fall its partners will start selling subscriptions to Windows 10 Enterprise, the edition that targets businesses, for $7 per month per user.
Dubbed Windows 10 Enterprise E3 -- the last part of the label a nod to Office 365's nomenclature -- the subscription program will be offered from a select group of resellers already on the Redmond, Wash. company's Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) list.
The approved CSP resellers -- Microsoft did not identify which partners would participate -- will sell Windows 10 Enterprise E3 for $7 per user per month, or $84 per user per year.
Yusuf Mehdi, an executive in the Windows and Devices Group, briefly mentioned Windows 10 Enterprise E3 in his time on stage Tuesday at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in Toronto, and provided a bit more information in a post to a company blog.
Unlike Microsoft's historical licensing -- which licenses the operating system on a per-device basis -- the E3 subscription will be per-user. That approach wasn't novel for the firm: It began experimenting with per-user licensing in October 2014, then expanded that in January 2015 with Enterprise Cloud Suite (ECS).
ECS was a bundle that included per-user licenses to Windows Enterprise, Microsoft Office 365 and Enterprise Mobility Suite, a management platform for, name aside, both mobile and desktop devices. At the time, ECS cost between $7 and $12 per user per month.
But Windows 10 Enterprise E3 is not a direct descendent of ECS.
That honor -- and the root of probable confusion -- goes to different subscriptions announced last week. Named "Secure Productive Enterprise", with E3 and E5 suffixes, they toss together Windows 10 Enterprise E3/E5, Office 365 E3/E5 and Enterprise Mobility + Security E3/E5.
Enterprise Mobility + Security will be a combination of device and user management tools, and advanced security options. (Microsoft defined the contents of the Enterprise Mobility + Security's components last week on its website.)
According to Wes Miller, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft who specializes in the technology company's complex licensing rules and practices, Windows 10 Enterprise E3 and E5 will cover licenses for the operating system only, and so serve as a subset of Secure Productive Enterprise E3 and E5.
Microsoft did not immediately reply to questions about Windows 10 Enterprise E3 and E5, including one posed about the plans' contents.
The difference between an E3 and E5 subscription, Miller pointed out in an interview, is the addition of Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (APT) to E5. APT, which Microsoft announced in February but waited until May to accept testers from the general public, is a cloud-based, post-breach detection and remediation service.
Interestingly, Microsoft has fully adopted the Office 365 labels -- E3 and E5 -- to denote the different plans for not only Windows 10 Enterprise subscriptions, but others, too, including Secure Productive Enterprise and Enterprise Mobility + Security.
"E5 will be the maximum-compliance-and-risk-reduction [plan]," said Miller, comparing it to the same-named Office 365 subscription. "E3 will be for just getting things done."
Mehdi didn't make much of a case today for Windows 10 Enterprise E3, much less E5; but Microsoft will probably tout the programs in more detail as they become available to customers.
One thing's for sure, said Miller: The debut of Windows 10 Enterprise E3 and E5, and their per-user focus linked to recurring payments, doesn't mean subscriptions will suddenly supplant the perpetual OS licenses most users are familiar with. "There will be a mixture in most organizations for the foreseeable future," Miller asserted.
So what customers has Microsoft put in its sales crosshairs with Windows 10 Enterprise E3 or E5? Depends, Miller said. "Whether it's Office, Windows or management tools, you have to compare [the different licensing models] with what you do, what rights you require, how often you upgrade, a combination of things," he said.
Although today's announcement was aimed at resellers, Microsoft will almost certainly sell the Windows 10 Enterprise plans using its own sales teams and through its various direct channels, including the Enterprise Advantage self-serve licensing storefront set to launch in 2017.


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Francisco Padron, 52, triumphantly stood at the podium in the centuries-old Palace of the Captains General in Havana and described to dozens of diplomats, journalists and cigar industry members from around the world how Cohiba became a symbol of the best from Cuba.
His face was difficult to see through the haze of fresh Cohiba smoke, but you couldn't help noticing his slightly satisfied smile as he announced the introduction of five new sizes in the Cohiba range. Not only had he been at the cutting edge of developing the new cigars, Padron had been the impetus behind establishing Cohiba as the world's most prestigious cigar brand.
Padron began in 1985 as director of Cuba's cigar export sales organization, Cubatabaco, after preparing an extensive study on the tobacco industry for the foreign trade minister. "There were so many things to change," he said, looking back eight years. "There was such great potential. We just needed to sell more."
Increasing sales was not the only strategy Padron used. He set out on a well-focused plan to take control of his worldwide distribution through establishing partnerships with his agents in key markets. Having now achieved his goal, Padron is looking toward the future with great anticipation.
Cigar Aficionado editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken met with Padron in November 1992, in Havana, to discuss the Cuban cigar industry and Padron's plans for the future.
Cigar Aficionado: Connoisseurs the world over appreciate Cuban cigars. During the past several years, you've had serious business difficulties with Davidoff which have resulted in the end of your relations with the Swiss company and the discontinuation of Davidoff cigar production in Cuba. Is there confusion in the international marketplace caused by the Davidoff situation?
Francisco Padron: None at all. Let me tell you something. We made an agreement with Davidoff. We think that it [canceling production] is a very good agreement. We signed the agreement, and we must not talk about it.
CA: What is the future strategy for Cuban cigars?
Padron: We want to have Habano cigar, not a brand name. It doesn't matter if it is Bolivar, Montecristo or even Cohiba. For the last four years, we have been telling the connoisseur how to recognize a Havana. When we launched the smoke ad we just put Havana, now Habanos. We think the most important thing is the umbrella that can cover all the brand names. We can create a brand name whenever we want.
CA: I think that a connoisseur understands that Cuba is a statement of origin and quality but he typically buys brands. Once he buys a brand, then he buys sizes in a brand. He is very brand loyal. He smokes Cohiba. He knows that Cohiba has a certain taste and style and so forth. You speak of this marketing of Habanos, but isn't there a strategy to promote individual brands?
Padron: We have two strategies. One is the institutional campaign I just described, and the second one is the brand campaign.
CA: Which do you feel is more important?
Padron: We at Cubatabaco are in charge of both of them. We deal with the institutional, and we let our enterprises [agents] around the world, in agreement with us, work on brand campaigns. For example, what does Fonseca mean to you?
CA: It is well known as a highly respected Port wine.
Padron: Yes. But in Barcelona it is a wonderful brand name for Cuban cigars. We sell almost three million cigars. So that is why we let our agent analyze the best way to promote the Fonseca brand in Spain.
CA: You approve the brand advertising, and the local agent decides on which brands should be advertised depending on the importance of the brand in that marketplace?
Padron: Yes. We create the image. We are now creating the image for various brand names; they must use that image and the concept of being under the Habanos umbrella.
CA: Cuba has approximately 30 brand names of which about 20 are popular. Do you think the future should favor fewer or more brands?
Padron: Fewer. We are not going to kill any of the brands. We are going to let the market select the best ones. We are going to let the market kill them.
CA: At a meeting recently with your agents from around the world, you made it very clear that volume is nothing and that quality is everything. But having said that, today you export approximately 60 million cigars. You know if you produced 100 million cigars the market would absorb them. The demand greatly exceeds supply. And knowing that cigars are agricultural and that there is only so much land, only so many workers and only so much money for inventory and aging and that the economy in Cuba is in such great difficulty right now, is there any significant way that you can increase cigar production without adversely affecting quality so that more people can enjoy Cuban cigars?
Padron: Of course. This is our hope. We want to increase our production without losing quality.
CA: What kind of growth? If you are at 60 million cigars exported today, do you have some sort of plan? A five-year plan? Where do you see exports going?
Padron: Without the U.S. market, we think that we can easily sell between 80 or 90 million--maybe even 100 million cigars. We would like to be between 90 and 100 million.
CA: Is it a production question? A labor question? A capital investment question? The government is going to have to agree to take money away from some other industry and give it to you.
Padron: Our government already agreed to increase the tobacco leaf production, and there is a direct instruction from Fidel that the first priority is quality.
CA: Are there certain brands that you consider priority brands in terms of the future for your portfolio?
Padron: We are focusing on this in a different way. We already have a parameter for this. At the top section, there are Cohiba and Montecristo. In the middle, there are Partagas, Romeo y Julieta, Hoyo de Monterrey and the others. At the lower level, we have Los Statos Deluxe, Quintero and all those [machine-made] brands.
CA: Cohiba is described in tobacco terms as "the selection of the selection" and is the leading marque in your portfolio. We now see the Cohiba family growing from six to eleven sizes. What was the reason for the increase in the number of Cohiba sizes?
Padron: I would rather not answer this question. (Editor's Note: It was clear from talking to members of the trade while in Cuba that the new Cohiba sizes were introduced to replace the lost production of the chateau series produced earlier under the Davidoff brand name.)
CA: How big is Cohiba today?
Padron: It depends on the crop. It had been about 3.4 million cigars. It will be more in 1993. That was another reason for the launch of the new line. Production was just too small.
CA: Do you see Cohiba having additional sizes as time goes on?
Padron: No, I don't think so.
CA: There obviously is a significant demand for Cuban cigars in the United States. No doubt you hope that one day the embargo is lifted. But doesn't that create problems between your agents and tobacconists from England, Switzerland, Mexico and Canada in that a lot of them compete for the same customer in America? When America opens up, won't many of these businesses lose their sales when Americans won't need to shop in foreign markets to buy Cuban cigars?
Padron: They [the agents] don't have a problem with it. They don't even mention it.
CA: Many American cigar smokers don't realize that there are two brands of Partagas, a Partagas in America from the Dominican Republic and a Partagas sold around the world from Cuba. Assuming that tomorrow the embargo is lifted, how would it work? What would happen?
Padron: We are not going to have two brands over there. Not even in Europe. We decided to break our deal with Davidoff because of that. So what would happen is that we would launch new things for the North American market, new brands. Or we could make an arrangement with the brand owners over there.
CA: General Cigar, as an example, owns the brand names Partagas, Ramon Allones and Cohiba for the U.S. market, and it has tremendous distribution in the United States. I would imagine that they would love to sit down with you and work it out to represent those brands of Cuban cigars in America. Is this possible or is it a problem? You are shaking your head no.
Padron: The first condition is that they must pass the brand name to us. This is the first condition. Immediately. If not, forget about it. Second condition, they must be our partner. The same way that we have it in the rest of the world. There is no other way to make a deal with us. If not, forget about it.
CA: But having said that, would you be willing to create a new brand for the American market that General Cigar could have if you worked out a partnership agreement?
Padron: We would have to analyze the relationship of the commercial end of the American market, but we are prohibited from doing this today.
CA: I understand what you are saying and it seems consistent in terms of your practices around the world. The only thing that I question is that America is such a big market and companies like General Cigar, Consolidated Cigar and Villazon already have the distribution, salesmen, accounts...it would be easy for you and for them to get together for distribution. If you had to start a new company and create distribution and a sales force, it would be very expensive to duplicate what they already have. That is the only reason I mentioned this.
Padron: Marvin, I don't believe you. I just have to go to the United States and sit down in a hotel room and say that I am here and who wants to buy these brands? You? Okay. Here are the conditions.
CA: Have you ever smoked cigars from a different country...the Dominican Republic, Honduras? When people ask you what is the difference between a good Cuban cigar and a good Dominican, how do you respond?
Padron: Whenever I smoke a cigar, for instance a Macanudo....I tried a Macanudo earlier today, I was not thinking of a Cuban cigar when I smoked it. I was thinking of a different thing. It is like if you are going to drink a Bordeaux, and then a wine from a different place. If you are looking to find the same thing in the Macanudo as a Cuban cigar you are not going to find it. It's a different thing. Don't think about Cuban cigars. Macanudo has a certain blend because they know how to make a cigar. It is not a Cuban cigar but it is very good for what it is. They know how to make cigars. Some cigars are not well-blended. They are just leaves and taste like straw.
CA: Cuban cigars are a great topic of conversation in America because they are forbidden fruit. People dream about them. They read about them. Some people like to say that ten years ago Cuban quality went down. In your opinion, has there been a change in quality in the last ten years?
Padron: Let me tell you something. Maybe people were right. There was a reason. When we produce cigars, we use three years of different crops in our blend. So, we lost two crops in a row in 1980 and 1981. That was a very strong blow to our production. So, when that happens, you have to change the blend, and you cannot use what you normally use. You reduce your range of combinations of different tobaccos. You must realize that. And for another two or three years more you are not doing things like you were. For a few years in the early '80s, the cigars were not the same but they were still good cigars. That was a problem. In order to maintain our taste or flavor in cigars, we have to blend different harvests.
CA: I remember in the early and mid-1980s when I would buy a box of Cuban cigars in Europe, upon inspection I would remove maybe five, six, seven cigars because they were clearly in bad condition. Now I rarely experience a bad box.
Padron: Let me tell you something. We committed an error at that point. We were too flexible with our quality control.
CA: This was in the early '80s?
Padron: Yes. We did it in order to maintain our sales. I was not in the tobacco business then. It was not a good decision. Right now we have a very, very clear instruction from Fidel. Nobody can do something like that. That is finished.
CA: The other thing that people are saying today is that Cuba cannot maintain its quality because it has no fertilizer, no fumigation. You don't have the supplies you need to produce the quantity you need at the quality level you want. Is this true?
Padron: No. No. We reduced our production because of this. We are not trying to increase production at any cost.
CA: Today, are you able to get the necessary fertilizers and other chemicals you need?
Padron: Today, we have top priority in Cuba. We are getting it.
CA: --to produce the 60 to 70 million export quality cigars?
Padron: We are not getting all that we need, but there is going to be a very good crop if the weather is okay.
CA: So what is the limiting condition to produce more quality cigars? The weather, finances, fertilizers, what?
Padron: In normal conditions, it is a question of climate. But right now, it is a question of finances.
CA: What do you need the money for? The agricultural aspect? Inventory? Labor?
Padron: No, agriculture.
CA: When did you peak? What was the maximum you had for export? How large did your cigar shipments get at their peak?
Padron: We used to produce 120 million cigars for export.
CA: How long ago was that?
Padron: A couple of years ago.
CA: Aficionados say if you want to buy the best quality Cuban cigars, like Punch Punch, Hoyo Double Coronas, Montecristo No. 2, Cohiba Robusto and Esplendido, that you must go to England or Switzerland to buy them. Are there certain markets that get the best quality and the other markets that get the second quality?
Padron: No. No. That is not true. The only difference in the past was the former socialist countries. We were delivering to them machine-made cigars by the millions.
CA: One cigar merchant in Geneva, Switzerland, claims that he and his father actually come to Cuba to hand select cigars. Does that actually happen?
Padron: Nobody can do that.
CA: I want to go back to your government's attitude and philosophy regarding cigars. We have read a lot in the newspaper that there is a strong emphasis on tourism to bring in dollars, and that the sugar business is down. The nickel business is down. You have had problems with building the nuclear plant and so forth. It would seem to me that a few years ago tobacco was, economically speaking, relatively unimportant to the government, but today it is realizing that Cuban cigars create great prestige for the country. From a government standpoint, has there been a change in attitude in the last few years?
Padron: No. There is another problem. When we had all that we needed to produce our crop it was not a problem. But when the financial problem started, Fidel found that he must give cigars priority in order to maintain the quality. Fidel said to be careful. We must give priority to cigars because it is very important.
CA: For many years, Winston Churchill, wherever he was, held a cigar in his hand or mouth. For many years, you would never see a photo of Fidel without a cigar. About eight years ago, he stopped smoking because of the social and health issues in Cuba. People were smoking too much. He decided that he would stop smoking and set a good example for his people. Does he still take an interest in cigars? Does he ever go to the Vuelta Abajo or to the factories?
Padron: He goes to see the cigar production. He has been interested in cigars since he was a very young fellow.
CA: But he doesn't smoke anymore?
Padron: No, he doesn't. He says that sometimes he still dreams about smoking a cigar.
CA: Do you have an estimate as to how many cigars find their way into the United States each year?
Padron: My people think that it must be around ten million.
CA: When the embargo ends, what do you think the potential is for Cuban cigar sales in the Unites States?
Padron: The first year will be less than ten million, but by the second year, we should be selling 20 million cigars.
CA: A lot of Cuban cigars sold in England or Switzerland, for example, are actually bought by Americans. Won't sales go down in these markets once the U.S. market opens up?
Padron: Maybe. Maybe. The sales all over the world may be slightly affected because Americans buy all over the world.
It has been under wraps for more than a year. After spending months perfecting various tobacco blends, some of Cuba's top rollers at the Partagas factory in Havana began last autumn making five new sizes of Cohiba.
The brand already includes some of Cuba's hottest-selling cigars, despite their astronomical prices. Last year, Cohiba sales totaled close to 3.4 million cigars with an average retail price of $15.60. With such a following, the Cubans couldn't resist the chance to stoke the fire for demand and develop new sizes and shapes. The addition of five new cigars brings the total to 11 under the Cohiba brand.
Although no one at Cubatabaco, the government tobacco marketing organization, would confirm it, the cigars look surprisingly like some of the old Davidoff sizes and shapes abandoned last year when the Swiss company moved its cigar production to the Dominican Republic.
Cohiba's new "Linea 1492" celebrates the 500th anniversary of Columbus discovering Cuba and, more importantly, the explorer's discovery of tobacco. The five cigars in the Linea 1492 range are called Siglo I, Siglo II, Siglo III, Siglo IV and Siglo V. Siglo means "century" in Spanish; therefore each cigar represents one of the centuries since Columbus's discovery.
Siglo I, exactly the same size as Davidoff s former Château Haut Brion, is about 4 inches long by 40 ring gauge. Siglo II (Château Margaux) measures 5 inches by 42 ring gauge while Siglo III (Château Mouton-Rothschild) is also 42 gauge but 6 inches. Siglo IV (Davidoff 5000) is about 5 2/3 inches by 42. Siglo V is the only cigar in the new range not to resemble a Cuban Davidoff. Similar to the classic 8-9-8, it measures 6 2/3 by 43.
Although they resemble other Cuban cigars, the Siglo range is 100 percent Cohiba. In an arrangement similar to the production of Cohiba Robusto and Esplendido, the Linea 1492 cigars are being made at the Partagas factory in downtown Havana under the direction of technicians from El Laguito, the main factory for Cohiba. All the tobacco for Siglo is selected, processsed and matured like other Cohibas.
"The new cigars are made from the very best tobacco just like all Cohibas," says Rafael Guerra, assistant director of El Laguito, who is overseeing the production of the new line with Cuba's top tobacco man, Avelino Lara. "The tobacco is fermented three times, which is unique to Cohiba."
The proof is definitely within the wrapper. All the Cohiba Siglos are outstanding smokes. Like other great Cohibas, such as Robusto and Esplendido, they are rich and opulent yet maintain a remarkable delicacy and refinement. Annual production is expected to reach about one million cigars in total or about 200,000 of each size. That will increase overall Cohiba production to 4.4 million cigars.
The five Linea 1492 cigars are expected to reach key export markets by late spring. Siglos come in varnished wooden boxes of 25 cigars rather than pressed in paper-covered wooden boxes. Prices have not been officially set, although Siglos are expected to fit into the current price range for Cohiba, from $8 to $23 a cigar.
When asked if other sizes or shapes for Cohiba are being considered for the future, Cubatabaco officials would not reply; however, sources in the organization say that a pyramid-shaped cigar is not out of the question.
-- James Suckling
SIGLO I (Ring Gauge: 40 Length: 4")
A lot of flavor in a small cigar. Beautifully crafted with a rich chocolate wrapper, it is soft-textured and sumptuous to smoke with dark chocolate and spice aromas and flavors. 93
SIGLO II (42 x 5")
Another beautiful cigar with loads of earthy, spicy character. Like other Cohibas, this one is full-bodied and rich in flavor with a long aftertaste. 90
SIGLO III (42 x 6")
A great addition to a great line of cigars. It is gorgeous to look at with its rich brown, smooth wrapper and gives loads of pleasure with every puff. An opulent smoke with great finesse and class. 95
SIGLO IV (42 x 5 2/3")
A blockbuster of a cigar. Try it after a hearty meal. It gives a blast of cinnamon, tobacco and cedar flavors and seems a little rough for a moment. A few months of aging may soften some of the rough edges. 92
SIGLO V (43 x 6 2/3")
It's a shame when you finish this cigar. You can't get enough of it. It is full-bodied and rich yet maintains superb harmony. A truly refined cigar. 96 A Cigar for Columbus
When Cuba released 500 limited edition humidors with 50 1492 cigars this autumn, no one ever expected such a smash success. Hong Kong sold out of its 80 boxes in a few weeks. London's 70 took about a month. Canada's 20 went in about the same amount of time.
A customer asked one London cigar merchant if he could buy the entire production of 500, while the Sultan of Brunei's brother, Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, reportedly sent a servant out to buy as many of the humidors as he could find in London. In Hong Kong most of the humidors were sold to a handful of customers for Christmas gifts.
"I could have sold twice as many," says Edward Sahakian, the owner of Davidoff of London, who went through his stock of 45 in a few weeks. "I was not surprised by the demand. It is a very special thing. Those people who bought them will probably not even smoke the cigars. They will be kept and cherished."
The oblong-shaped cherrywood humidor with its distinctive rounded ends and "1492" etched in its lid comes filled with 50 limited edition cigars. Each humidor is also etched with two numbers. One represents one of the 500 years since 1492 and the other corresponds to the actual year. For instance the last humidor is marked 1992-500. The cigars are also marked on their bands with numbers from 0 to 25,050. Of course, the first box was given to Fidel Castro while the second was a gift to King Juan Carlos of Spain. The humidor numbered 1992-500 is on permanent display in Havana's National Museum of Tobacco.
1492 cigars measure about 5 2/3 inches by 46 ring gauge. The cigars look remarkably similar to the no-longer-produced Cuban Davidoff 5000, although the 1492s are box pressed. All the tobacco comes from the El Laguito factory, home of Cohiba cigars. The cigars, however, were made at the H. Upmann factory in downtown Havana. "It is a fabulous cigar," says Rafael Guerra of El Laguito. "It is a great shape, and the wrapper is one of the thinnest, finest wrappers we have ever used for a cigar."
The release price for the 1492 humidor and cigars is between $1,000 and $2,000 depending on the market. With such great demand, the humidor has already become a collector's item, and its price is expected to quickly escalate.
1492: A gorgeous cigar to look at with its impressively smooth, light-brow wrapper. It shows extremely refined aromas and flavors and loads of richness, yet it's also very delicate. A classy smoke. 92


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