text:
Boyfriend's past haunts girlfriend
DEAR ANNIE: I am having a hard time forgetting my boyfriend's past. Before we met, he subscribed to girlie magazines, went to strip clubs, bought lap dances, etc. I have always felt those things are degrading and disrespectful to women. He also has said he fantasizes about other women.
Whenever I see him staring at a hot girl, it makes me think of his past. I do believe he loves me, but I can't help it. This is causing problems in our relationship. How do I get beyond this? — HARD TIME FORGIVING
DEAR HARD TIME: A lot of men subscribe to girlie magazines and have visited strip clubs. As long as he has stopped doing these things, we wouldn't worry about that part of his past. Fantasizing is common (women do it, too) and is not a concern unless he acts on it, although he would be wise to stop discussing his fantasies, since you become so upset.
You and your boyfriend could look into couples counseling to see whether that can help you work through this. But if you cannot let go of his past, we hope you will let go of him. You both deserve a relationship where you feel secure and not judged.
DEAR ANNIE: I read the letter from "Frustrated Employee" and can empathize. It seems no one ever gets punished, fired or held accountable for not doing their jobs.
I, too, am frustrated with the entitled attitude of many co-workers. It's downright theft when they habitually pad timecards, use sick leave for a personal day, show up late, take long lunch hours, leave early, etc. And if you are brave enough to complain to management, you are told that this matter will be taken under advisement (and never is), or you are accused of not being a "team player" and blamed for your negative attitude toward your co-workers.
You try to just do your job, but it is difficult when you share responsibilities on a project, and the other person doesn't carry their weight. Why should I suffer ulcers, sleepless nights, short lunches at my desk and long days in order to support someone else's lack of work ethic?
You suggested that "Frustrated Employee" put out an updated resume, but it's possible this person has benefits that cannot be replaced, isn't able to relocate for another position or is close to retirement. Why do the rules only apply to the few?
From experience, I know that some things will never change. But why are we condoning the actions of those who are not productive and condemning those who are? — ANOTHER FRUSTRATED EMPLOYEE WRITING ON HIS OWN TIME
DEAR ANOTHER: The reason for your ulcers and frustration is that you think there is some way to transform the useless co-workers or hold management accountable. But there isn't. If management chooses to ignore incompetent employees, the business suffers, but your choice is simply to stay or go.
If you choose to stay, for whatever reason, it helps to tune out what you cannot fix. Do your job, document your efforts, put a smile on your face and ignore the rest. Conscientious, capable employees like you feel responsible for the success of the company and want their efforts appreciated. But if the company doesn't care, please let yourself off the hook.
DEAR ANNIE: This is in regard to "Proud Mom," who didn't like it when people attempted to touch her baby. There are quite a few places where she can find signs that attach to car seats and strollers saying, "Please Don't Touch the Baby." I found plenty offered online, and she could even make her own. Of course, it won't stop everyone, but it might help a little. -- Completely Understand
Annie's Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please email your questions to email@example.com, or write to: Annie's Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.


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Wimbledon update (3:45 p.m.): Doubles match sees 5th-set tiebreaker
WIMBLEDON, England — The Latest at Wimbledon (all times local):
8:45 p.m.
The first deciding-set tiebreaker was played at Wimbledon since the tournament changed its rules for this year.
In men's doubles, Henri Kontinen and John Peers beat Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 13-12 in the fifth set of their third-round match after winning the tiebreaker 7-2. Wimbledon traditionally didn't play tiebreakers in the final set of matches but introduced one for this year if the score reaches 12-12.
The longest match in Wimbledon history was in 2010, when John Isner beat Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the fifth set. Last year, Kevin Anderson beat Isner 26-24 in the fifth set in the semifinals.
Kontinen and Peers won 7-6 (2), 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 13-12 (2).
8:25 p.m.
Andy Murray was asked and asked and asked, but he just wouldn't — or just couldn't — give the British media the answer they wanted to hear.
Murray, who reached the third round in mixed doubles at Wimbledon with partner Serena Williams, is skipping the singles tournament at the All England Club this year as he works his way back from hip replacement surgery.
His good play on the court has some in the country hoping Murray will be able to get back to playing singles imminently, perhaps as soon as the U.S. Open — where Murray won the first of his three major titles in 2012.
"I think it's pretty unlikely just in terms of timing," Murray said. "The amount of work I need to do on the court to get ready for singles, the amount of work I need to put in off the court to get myself strong enough to play best-of-five sets, it's still quite a ways away, unfortunately."
Murray and Williams won their second match in mixed doubles, beating Fabrice Martin and Raquel Atawo 7-5, 6-3. They will next face top-seeded Bruno Soares and Nicole Melichar.
Murray also entered the men's doubles tournament, but he and partner Pierre-Hugues Herbert lost in the second round.
7:35 p.m.
Serena Williams completed another two-win day at Wimbledon.
The mixed doubles team of Williams and Andy Murray beat Fabrice Martin and Raquel Atawo 7-5, 6-3 to reach the third round.
Earlier, Williams reached the semifinals in singles at the All England Club for the 12th time.
Williams also won two matches on Saturday, first in singles and then in mixed doubles.
5:30 p.m.
Barbora Strycova reached her first Grand Slam semifinal by beating Johanna Konta 7-6 (5), 6-1 on Centre Court.
Strycova trailed 4-1 in the first set but broke back for 4-3 and clinched the tiebreaker when Konta netted a forehand.
The unseeded Czech player, who will face Serena Williams in the semifinals, then raced to a 3-0 lead in the second and broke again for a 5-1 lead.
Strycova's only other Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance came in 2014 at Wimbledon, where her serve-and-volley style of play is effective on the grass courts.
Konta was the last British player remaining in the tournament. In 2017, Konta became the first British woman since Virginia Wade in 1978 to reach the Wimbledon semifinals, and she also made the last four at the French Open in June.
4:50 p.m.
Elina Svitolina came from a break down in both sets to beat Karolina Muchova 7-5, 6-4 at Wimbledon and reach her first Grand Slam semifinal.
Svitolina was down 4-1 in the opening set but broke back when Muchova served at 5-3 and won the next three games as well. In the second set, Muchova broke again for a 2-0 lead only for Svitolina to win the next five games. Svitolina failed to serve out the match on her first attempt at 5-2 but later converted her first match point when Muchova missed a backhand return.
Svitolina had lost her previous four Grand Slam quarterfinals, including at this year's Australian Open, while her previous best result at Wimbledon was reaching the fourth round in 2017. She will next play former No. 1 Simona Halep.
Muchova was trying to become the first woman since 1999 to reach the semifinals on her Wimbledon debut.
4 p.m.
Serena Williams says she sent an apology to Naomi Osaka for her behavior in last year's U.S. Open final.
Williams, who reached the Wimbledon semifinals on Tuesday, says in a Harper's Bazaar magazine article that she wrote to Osaka after not being able to "find peace."
Williams says "I started seeing a therapist. I was searching for answers, and although I felt like I was making progress, I still wasn't ready to pick up a racket. Finally I realized that there was only one way for me to move forward. It was time for me to apologize to the person who deserved it the most."
Williams says she told the Japanese player she was a fan and that she was "truly sorry."
Osaka answered the message, and Williams says "when Naomi's response came through, tears rolled down my face."
Williams was given three code violations by chair umpire Carlos Ramos in the U.S. Open final, resulting in the loss of a game. The first came as a result of what Ramos deemed coaching from her box. The second was for smashing her racket, costing her a point. And the third came after she called Ramos "a thief."
3:15 p.m.
Serena Williams was pushed to three sets on Centre Court before beating fellow American Alison Riske 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to reach her 12th Wimbledon semifinal.
Williams broke for a 5-3 lead in the third set when Riske double-faulted on the fourth break point of the game, and then served out the win with an ace.
Williams was down a break twice in the opening set but came back both times and broke again in the final game. But in the second set, Riske broke for a 5-4 lead before holding serve to even the match.
Riske converted all five break points she created, while Williams needed 16 opportunities to break six times.
Williams is seeking an eighth Wimbledon title and 24th Grand Slam victory, while Riske was playing her first quarterfinal at a major tournament.
Williams was due back on Centre Court later Tuesday to play mixed doubles with Andy Murray.
2:40 p.m.
Simona Halep reached the Wimbledon semifinals for the second time, beating Zhang Shuai 7-6 (4), 6-1.
Halep was broken in her first service game as Zhang raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set, and the Romanian faced four more break points at 4-1. But she eventually held serve in a game that featured six deuces, and then broke back to make it 4-3. In the tiebreaker, she converted her first set point with a forehand winner.
In the second set, Halep broke twice for a 5-1 lead and converted her second match point with another forehand.
The 2018 French Open champion is looking for her second career Grand Slam title but had not reached the semifinals at the All England Club since 2014. She will next face either Elina Svitolina or Karolina Muchova.
10:40 a.m.
Garbiñe Muguruza, the 2017 Wimbledon champion, has split with her coach of about four years, Sam Sumyk.
The champion at the All England Club in 2017 and French Open in 2016 wrote on Twitter that it was "the end of an Extraordinary ride. ... Beyond grateful for this last 4 years. Merci Sam."
Besides winning two major titles, Muguruza also rose to the No. 1 ranking in 2017. She is currently ranked 27th and lost in the first round at this year's Wimbledon tournament.
7:20 a.m.
Serena Williams will face fellow American Alison Riske in the quarterfinals at the All England Club as she chases an eighth Wimbledon title and a 24th major overall.
Riske upset top-ranked Ash Barty in the fourth round and will be playing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal — in her 30th appearance at a Grand Slam tournament.
No. 7 Simona Halep is the highest seeded woman left in the draw. After beating teenage sensation Coco Gauff in straight sets, Halep will take on Zhang Shuai of China in the quarterfinals.
Also, Johanna Konta, the last British player in the tournament, will play Barbora Strycova, while No. 8 Elina Svitolina faces Karolina Muchova.

subset: commoncrawl


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Center Strips Bed Quilt
Inspired by Bar Code from designer Lori Mason
Quilt tester: Jennifer Keltner
- 9--1/2-yard pieces assorted prints in red, green, orange, blue, and brown (pieced rows, binding)
- 4--1/2 yards black print (pieced rows, border)
- 5-3/4 yards backing fabric
- 88x99" batting
Finished quilt: 79-1/2x90-1/2"
Quantities are for 44/45"-wide, 100% cotton fabrics. Measurements include 1/4" seam allowances. Sew with right sides together unless otherwise stated.
Cut Fabrics
Cut pieces in the following order. Cut border strips lengthwise (parallel to the selvages). For ease in cutting strips, first cut each fabric into 13-1/2"-long strips, then cut strips into specified widths.
From assorted red, green, orange, blue, and brown prints, cut:
- 9--2-1/2x42" binding strips
- 5--4-1/2x13-1/2" strips
- 15--4x13-1/2" strips
- 12--3-1/2x13-1/2" strips
- 6--3-1/4x13-1/2" strip
- 6--2-3/4x13-1/2" strip
- 20--2-1/2x13-1/2" strips
- 7--2x13-1/2" strips
- 15--1-1/2x13-1/2" strips
From black print, cut:
- 2--20-1/2x90-1/2" border strips
- 5--4-1/2x13-1/2" strips
- 20--2-1/2x13-1/2" strips
- 22--2x13-1/2" strips
- 6--1-3/4x13-1/2" strips
- 10--1-1/2x13-1/2" strips
- 24--1x13-1/2" strips
Assemble Pieced Rows
Referring to Quilt Assembly Diagram and photo, sew together assorted print and black print 13-1/2"-wide strips to make a pieced row at least 90-1/2" long. Press seams in one direction. Trim pieced row to 13-1/2x90-1/2". Repeat to make three pieced rows total. (You will have some leftover strips.)
Assemble Quilt Top
1. Referring to Quilt Assembly Diagram, sew together pieced rows to make quilt center. Press seams in one direction. The quilt center should be 39-1/2x90-1/2" including seam allowances.
2. Join black print 20-1/2x90-1/2" border strips to long edges of quilt center to complete quilt top. Press seams toward border.
Finish Quilt
1. Layer quilt top, batting, and backing; baste.
2. Quilt as desired. Nancy Sharr used jumbo stipple quilting across the quilt top (Quilting Diagram).
3. Sew together assorted print 2-1/2x42" strips to make one long binding strip. Bind with pieced binding strip.


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Lexbe eDiscovery Platform
Full-Featured, Fast, & Affordable eDiscovery in the Cloud
The Lexbe eDiscovery Platform is a comprehensive cloud-based litigation document management and review application. We give users the ability to process, analyze, cull, review, and produce large discovery collections quickly and securely – without breaking the bank.
The platform integrates eDiscovery functions across every stage of your case to deliver a full-featured, yet easy-to-use, discovery solution. Lexbe eDiscovery Platform can be entirely self-administered or you can access our team of technical experts who are always available to help.
Lexbe eDiscovery Platform includes all of the features lawyers, paralegals, and litigation professionals expect in an advanced e-Discovery and litigation document management application. In addition to strong execution of standard processing, search, review, production, and timelining functionality, Lexbe separates itself from other software providers with unique technology features that support a wide variety of workflows.
Sophisticated Litigation Document Management
Document-intensive cases demand a full-featured litigation support document review application. To do otherwise places a firm at a distinct disadvantage to other (often larger) firms that can bring more technology resources to bear. Lexbe eDiscovery Platform offers a "powerful litigation document management software to handle complex cases", according to a TechnoLawyer. Features include:
Cross-Platform Support
- PC or MAC: Use Lexbe on Mac or PC Operating Systems.
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As a 'web-based' application and platform (also known as 'hosted', 'cloud', 'software-as-a-service, or 'SaaS'), Lexbe eDiscovery Platform enables users to manage their own work-flows and time priorities from any web capable device. Lexbe eDiscovery Platform is self-administering, so authorized users can be in control of case management and control the organization of their data. Users can set up cases, upload documents and metadata, add and remove sub-users, and prepare productions from anywhere with internet access. With Lexbe eDiscovery Platform, firms can handle cases large or small without the need to maintain costly internal software and servers or hire trained IT and litigation support staff to support simple electronic discovery tasks, complicated litigation databases or legacy litigation support applications.
Operating in the cloud also allows us to deliver constant feature updates without the need for customers to purchase more recent additions to take advantage of improvements. All of our customers are always and automatically using the latest version of Lexbe eDiscovery Platform. Being web-based also means that any technical issues you may experience can be addressed and fixed remotely and often within minutes of being reported to our support staff. You can read more about our technology, how it works, and how we implement the best data security standards in the world.
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Lexbe eDiscovery Platform can be fully administered by end users or supported by our dedicated customer support & Technical Service specialists. Our team of experts is poised and ready to assist our clients with support and technical issues that may occur while using Lexbe software or services.
We provide multiple service options depending on your specific needs. Lexbe's software and services include free Customer Service access 24×7 through our ticket system and support resources. We also offer extended support through Technical Services and other Professional Services available on request (billable hourly). See the Lexbe Customer Service Overview for a full description.
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Lexbe eDiscovery Platform maintains state-of-the-art security to ensure that customer documents are never compromised. Data security is our top priority and our redundant infrastructure, multi-level application controls, and strong in-place and 256-bit SSL transfer encryption deliver the highest levels of protection for your legal electronically stored information (ESI).
The Lexbe eDiscovery Platform operates within the Amazon Web Service (AWS) cloud environment and incorporates Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), and Elastic Block Store (EBS) technology. Amazon is a leading service provider for the infrastructure, network, and physical security layers of a cloud-based network environment. Servers are maintained in secure, limited access physically-isolated data centers, and monitored from network operating centers 24×365.
Lexbe data infrastructure partner AWS was recently named the sole "Leader" in cloud security by a recent Forrester Research Report. Click here for more information about Lexbe security.


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Hairy Mountain - Datura4 (Alive Natural Sounds)
A debut as strong as "Demon Blues" was always going to be hard to top, but but Perth's hard rock combo extraordinaire Datura4 has scaled that mountain seemingly without trouble.
There's a deeper psychedelic vein running through "Hairy Mountain" than its predecessor and the songs are just a touch stronger. Dom Mariani and Greg Hitchcock have solidified what was probably a fun idea involving teenage bandmates reuniting into a serious guitar partnership with some scorching sonic explorations. And the gun rhythm section of Warren Hall (drums) and Stu Loasby sounds in command and totally at home.


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On the QaFoo blog today Manuel Pichler has written up a guide to help you write a custom rule to use with the PHP Mess Detector (PHPMD) as extended from some of the current rules (it's always easier to start from examples).
Let us start with some architecture basics behind PHPMD. All rules in PHPMD must at least implement the PHP_PMD_Rule interface. You can also extend the abstract rule base class PHP_PMD_AbstractRule which already provides an implementation of all required infrastructure methods and application logic, so that the only task which is left to you is the implementation of the concrete validation code of your rule.
He walks you through some sample code and talks about some of the common interfaces that are available to your testing. He takes one of them, IFunctionAware, and looks at it specifically, showing how to use it to detect and add violations for the validation. He includes an example of writing a rule based on an existing software metric (in this case, the number of public methods). There's also bit at the end showing how to write a rule based on the "abstract syntax tree" to be able to check just about anything in the code you're looking to test.


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But I'll give you one anyway.
It wasn't intentional but today's column, with the exception of the lovely Judy Greer, has been all about men. Why don't we end it with the best man? I opened Tuesday's column with Dustin's comments on his epiphany about women. Click here if you missed it. And if you missed it, you're really missing It. Because Dustin Hoffman GETS it.
Check out Dustin yesterday hanging out with some fans – with Tootsie signs! And just as I was writing this article, a reader called Allison emailed because she'd just run into him, literally just this afternoon. Serendipity!
This is how Allison described their encounter:
Hi Lainey,
My husband and I live in Brentwood and we see celebrities from time to time (Ben Affleck, Liev and Naomi, Don Cheadle, etc.), but we would never approach them for any reason.
However, I just had my second daughter on Sunday and the Dustin Hoffman video surfaced right around then. I don't know if it is my hormones or what, but we saw him walking down the street today and I had to say something to him about how much I loved the video and that it was really sweet given the timing.
He then said that he has 4 kids and it looks like we're on our way. At which point I said these words to Dustin Hoffman, "You are out of your mind."
He was sweet enough to take a picture with the girls (Harper and Reagan - thoughts Duana?) and went on his way. Just a guy walking down the street to a meeting by himself in slip on New Balance shoes with no socks.
Then the FedEx guy who was making a delivery and watched the whole thing told us that "He's the only one like that. The only one that stops and is nice. Ben Affleck and Adam Sandler are dicks."
Well, OK.
Thanks Allison!
And that's why Dustin Hoffman is the greatest. In his New Balance shoes with no socks.


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Marc Munroe Dion: Lessons to survive the hard times
If you're from Fall River, a city historically troubled by high unemployment and low wages, then at least one of your parents or grandparents was a hard times survival expert. Maybe you are, too.
How do you define the hard times survival expert?
If a hard times survival expert gets a $5 a week raise, he'll deposit $3 of it every week in the credit union or locally owned bank closest to his house. If you look at his/her passbook, you see a long line of deposits and no withdrawals. He/she withdraws money only for major home repairs or a down payment on a house.
A hard times survival expert doesn't have a credit card or, if she does, she uses it only to book a vacation trip to Disneyland. Every 10 years.
A hard times survival expert will plant a garden on any piece of ground available. This includes pieces of tenement backyards small enough to be covered by a Bible.
A hard times survival expert has a coffee can full of change on his dresser.
A hard times survival expert trades a car when it won't start anymore.
A hard times survival expert gets all her baby furniture from friends who had a baby last year.
There are cribs in Fall River that have known the gurgling of eight babies in as many years.
Down there on Wall Street, they're shy on hard times survival experts. That's why the big guys are going broke, because they walked past the credit union and took their money (and everybody else's) into a casino. Look at those guys at Lehman Brothers, the investment bank that just folded like a beach chair. They were shooting dice with the money and, as dice-shooters do, they eventually crapped out.
In Fall River, we have residents who have never made more than $13 an hour in their lives and they're married to someone who makes $9 an hour.
And they own their own home.
If you know anything about man/woman life on a combined wage of $22 an hour, with maybe a kid or two, then you know that for these people to buy a home is an achievement comparable to building the Great Pyramid with tweezers.
When people like that fail, big government doesn't step in, it stands by.
What Wall Street should have done was come to Fall River with a big bus and take a bunch of our hard times survival experts down to New York where, for salaries New Yorkers throw at bus drivers, they would have reformed the financial system.
"Do you need an $800 desk chair?" a Fall River hard times survivor would say to a CEO. "My whole living room set cost $999. What are you, crazy?"
"You're buying mortgages some bank you never saw made to some people you don't know?" another survivor would have asked a Lehman brother. "I wouldn't even co-sign my cousin's car loan because he only had his job for three years."
Not that we don't have some careless people in Fall River. We do. But working class carelessness provokes neither sympathy nor government bailout. If you're working class or poor and you get fired for not showing up, you can be sleeping under a bridge seven months later. You stop making payments, your car gets repo-ed fast. Oh yeah, and you WILL get arrested if you do something wrong.
How many billions of dollars flowed into Fall River when Quaker closed and laid off its last 900 workers? If you were one of them, did a politician ever come to your door, looking to help?
You got "re-training,' but stories in The Herald News showed that most ex-Quaker workers didn't get a job because of re-training.
The government is going to step in and buy up all the bad debt the big boys own. The big boys and the government have been neighing about the "free market" for 20 years, but when the big boys cut themselves shaving, the government comes running with a team of heart surgeons.
A hard times survival expert would ask the government how they're going to collect all that bad debt if the guys that used to own it couldn't.
Marc Munroe Dion is a reporter for The Herald News. E-mail him at email@example.com.


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All presidents have to put up with a daily barrage of jokes at their expense, but it's not too often that they get to turn the tables. The White House Correspondents' Dinner, unofficially dubbed "nerd prom," offers one of those rare opportunities. President Obama finally got to let loose and make some jabs at a captive room of reporters, politicians, and celebrities. Check out some of our favorite zingers from the president and host Conan O'Brien.
President Obama looked like he enjoyed bringing up last year's election to his right-wing opponents. See his jab at the GOP, and watch Newt Gingrich's reaction.
First lady Michelle Obama's bangs seemed to get more publicity than the president got when she debuted her look in January. See the president hop on the bandwagon.
Conan O'Brien describes Washington's movie doppelgangers. See which D.C. power players he says look like Grandpa Munster, tan mom, and Ralphie from "A Christmas Story."
President Obama turns his jokes on himself, saying he's not "the strapping young Muslim socialist" that he used to be. Hear him descibe his "rookie mistakes."
Correspondents' Dinner Host Conan O'Brien rips into CNN and its ratings. See Piers Morgan react when he's called out by name.
Hamsta, you cant copy and paste on Fox?
I'm sure I could but stupid liberals need to be educated here so it is my job to tell the truth.
Lol ok now thats funny cuz you bych like a 90 year old woman! Is that a real man? If so put on a dress cuz youre failing miserably!
Your president should be dressed in lingerie with stockings and heels. His hands are softer than yours after all. His name says it all: Barebackred by Hussein while sucking Osama off. I bet he flip flops then also because I heard he likes the taste of chocolate covered hot dogs.
Good of you to give that liberal president all of your love making techniques. Right down to your choice of positions.
Lol you dont get paid much for this new *job* you claim to have do you? Cuz youre not very good at it!
And i really dont need to know your fantasies about OUR president! Ya sicko!
Lol @ rupert, after all those beers you and hamsta shared last week youre just now figuring that out ???


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Poll: Shutdown Skyrockets Public Opinion of Federal Workers
Confidence in federal workers hits five year high in a wave of shutdown sympathy, according to a new GWU poll. By William C. Adams and Donna Lind Infeld
Whether a sympathy vote or a new found appreciation, many Americans seem to have taken a fresh look at the federal workforce and decided it merits more confidence.
Confidence in civilian federal workers increased significantly during the shutdown, according to a new George Washington University Battleground Poll. After hitting a low point before the shutdown, voters' ratings of federal workers have jumped to the highest levels in five years.
Immediately before the shutdown, a GW poll had found the lowest level of confidence in federal workers since 2009, with 36 percent of respondents having little or no confidence and only 19 percent voicing a lot of confidence. Shortly after the shutdown a nationwide telephone survey of 1,000 registered voters found that 29 percent have a lot of confidence and the segment voicing little or no confidence fell 15 percentage points to 21 percent.
Perhaps the shutdown focused attention on the breath of important activities undertaken by federal employees and diverted attention from lingering controversies at the Internal Revenue Service and elsewhere.
Whatever the driving factors, higher opinions of feds cut across party lines. The share of Democrats who have a lot of confidence in federal workers jumped from 26 percent to 40 percent, while the share of Republicans who have at least some confidence grew from 51 percent to 65 percent. Democrats, however, are still substantially more confident in federal workers than are Republicans.
William C. Adams and Donna Lind Infeld are professors in the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at the George Washington University.


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Free Will Astrology July 04 2013
July 4-10
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Thomas Gray was a renowned 18th-century English poet best remembered for his "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard." It was a short poem - only 986 words, which is less than the length of this horoscope column. On the other hand, it took him seven years to write it, or an average of 12 words per month. I suspect that you are embarking on a labor of love that will evolve at a gradual pace, too, Cancerian. It might not occupy you for seven years, but it will probably take longer than you imagine. And yet, that's exactly how long it should take. This is a character-building, life-defining project that can't and shouldn't be rushed.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The 18th-century German philosopher Georg Christoph Lichtenberg accepted the possibility that some humans have the power of clairvoyance. "The 'second sight' possessed by the Highlanders in Scotland is actually a foreknowledge of future events," he wrote. "I believe they possess this gift because they don't wear trousers. That is also why in all countries women are more prone to utter prophecies." I bring this to your attention, Leo, because I believe that in the coming weeks you're likely to catch accurate glimpses of what's to come - especially when you're not wearing pants.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Were you nurtured well by caring adults in the first year of your life? If so, I bet you now have the capacity to fix whatever's ailing your tribe or posse. You could offer some inspiration that will renew everyone's motivation to work together. You might improve the group communication as you strengthen the foundation that supports you all. And what about if you were NOT given an abundance of tender love as a young child? I think you will still have the power to raise your crew's mood, but you may end up kicking a few butts along the way.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Summing up his experiment in living at Walden Pond, naturalist Henry David Thoreau said this: "I learned that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws will be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings." Given the astrological factors that will be impacting your life in the next 12 months, Libra, you might consider adopting this philosophy as your own.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Thirteen thousand years ago, lions and mammoths and camels roamed parts of North America. But along with many other large beasts, they ultimately became extinct. Possible explanations for their demise include climate change and over-hunting by humans. In recent years a group of biologists has proposed a plan to repopulate the western part of the continent with similar species. They call their idea "re-wilding." In the coming months, Scorpio, I suggest you consider a re-wilding program of your own. Cosmic forces will be on your side if you reinvigorate your connection to the raw, primal aspects of both your own nature and the great outdoors.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Who was Russia's greatest poet? Many critics say it was Alexander Pushkin, who lived in the 19th century. His abundant creativity was undoubtedly related to his unruly libido. By the time he was 31 years old, he'd had 112 lovers. But then he met his ultimate muse, the lovely and intelligent Natalya Goncharova, to whom he remained faithful. "Without you," he wrote to her, "I would have been unhappy all my life." I half-expect something comparable to happen for you in the next 10 months, Sagittarius. You may either find an unparalleled ally or else finally ripen your relationship with an unparalleled ally you've known for a while. One way or another, I bet you will commit yourself deeper and stronger.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): It's Grease Week - a time when you need to make sure everything is as well-oiled as possible. Does your car need a quart of Castrol? Is it time to bring more extra virgin olive oil into your kitchen? Do you have any K-Y Jelly in your nightstand, just in case? Are there creaky doors or stuck screws or squeaky wheels that could use some WD-40? Be liberal with the lubrication, Capricorn - both literally and metaphorically. You need smooth procedures and natural transitions.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Two years into the War of 1812, British soldiers invaded Washington, D.C. They set fire to the White House and other government buildings. The flames raged out of control, spreading in all directions. The entire city was in danger of burning. In the nick of time, a fierce storm hit, producing a tornado and heavy rains. Most of the fires were extinguished. Battered by the weather, the British army retreated. America's capital was saved. I predict that you, Aquarius, will soon be the beneficiary of a somewhat less dramatic example of this series of events. Give thanks for the "lucky storm."
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Like the legendary Most Interesting Man in the World who shills for Dos Equis beer, you will never step in gum on the sidewalk or lose a sock in the coming weeks. Your cereal will never get soggy; it'll sit there, staying crispy, just for you. The pheromones you secrete will affect people miles away. You'll have the power to pop open a piñata with the blink of your eye. If you take a Rorschach test, you'll ace it. Ghosts will sit around campfires telling stories about you. Cafés and restaurants may name sandwiches after you. If you so choose, you'll be able to live vicariously through yourself. You will give your guardian angel a sense of security.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In his book The Fisher King and the Handless Maiden, Robert Johnson says many of us are as much in debt with our psychic energy as we are with our financial life. We work too hard. We rarely refresh ourselves with silence and slowness and peace. We don't get enough sleep or good food or exposure to nature. And so we're routinely using up more of our reserves than we are able to replenish. We're chronically running a deficit. "It is genius to store energy," says Johnson. He recommends creating a plan to save it up so that you always have more than enough to draw on when an unexpected opportunity arrives. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to make this a habit, Aries.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In the course of your long life, I estimate you will come up with approximately 60,000 really good ideas. Some of these are small, like those that help you decide how to spend your weekend. Some are big ones, like those that reveal the best place for you to live. As your destiny unfolds, you go through phases when you have fewer good ideas than average, and other phases when you're overflowing with them. The period you're in right now is one of the latter. You are a fountain of bright notions, intuitive insights, and fresh perspectives. Take advantage of the abundance, Taurus. Solve as many riddles and dilemmas as you can.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): No one knows the scientific reasons why long-distance runners sometimes get a "second wind." Nonetheless, such a thing exists. It allows athletes to resume their peak efforts after seemingly having reached a point of exhaustion. According to my reading of the astrological omens, a metaphorical version of this happy event will occur for you sometime soon, Gemini. You made a good beginning but have been flagging a bit of late. Any minute now, though, I expect you will get your second wind.


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Professional Knowledge Creation in the World-System
Building an anti-imperialist "anthropology," plus an anthropology that studies imperialism, and that studies itself as a received invention of imperialism, means much more than just analyzing and questioning how anthropologists served this or that colonial venture. It means totally unthinking anthropology as a social science; more than that, it means totally unthinking social science. For whatever discussions of "decolonizing anthropology" have achieved, this ground was never covered in those discussions.
In the previous posts the discussion was centered on opening questions in a critique of the relationship between anthropology and imperialism, along with questions concerning the terms and concepts that, initially, appear to be central to the debate. Here we focus on the wider intellectual and geopolitical context of anthropology's institutionalization, and the received baggage of 19th century European social science. In particular, I resort to Immanuel Wallerstein for his analysis of the institutionalization and formalization of the social sciences, and how the very process of institutionalization created the knowledge boundaries, categories, and concepts we use today. Not least among these received conceptual boundaries, fundamental to the division of knowledge into "social sciences," is the arbitrary construction of "society," "economics," and "politics." Moving beyond the Eurocentrism of the social sciences also means getting past the false divisions in knowledge created by these institutionalized conceptualizations.
The particular works by Immanuel Wallerstein to which I will be referring, or that shape the overall discussion in some way, are:
Wallerstein, Immanuel M. 2006. European Universalism: The Rhetoric of Power. New York: New Press. (Ch. 2, "Can One Be a Non-Orientalist? Essentialist Particularism," 31-49)
Wallerstein, Immanuel M. 1999. The End of the World As We Know It: Social Science for the Twenty-First Century. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. (Ch. 11, "Eurocentrism and its Avatars: The Dilemmas of Social Science," 168-184)
Gulbenkian Commission on the Restructuring of the Social Sciences. 1996. Open the Social Sciences: Report of the Gulbenkian Commission on the Restructuring of the Social Sciences. Stanford: Stanford University Press. (Ch. 1, "The Historical Construction of the Social Sciences, from the Eighteenth Century to 1945," 1-32)
Wallerstein, Immanuel M. 1991. Unthinking Social Science: The Limits of Nineteenth-Century Paradigms. Cambridge, MA: Polity Press in association with B. Blackwell. (Ch. 8, "A Comment on Epistemology: What is Africa?" 127-129; Ch. 9, "Does India Exist?" 130-134)
I strongly recommend these for a start. One really cannot "do" or "write" anthropology innocently any more after reflecting on these works.
The Institutionalization of the Social Sciences
In Open the Social Sciences, the Gulbenkian Commission led by Wallerstein, highlighted the main historical trends that led to the institutionalization of knowledge in universities. "The need of the modern state for more exact knowledge on which to base its decisions," they observe led to the emergence of new, though still uncertain, categories of knowledge already in the 18th century. The university was until then a largely moribund institution, at least since the 16th century, having been too tightly linked with the Church. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, however, the university was largely revived as the primary locus for the creation of knowledge (Gulbenkian, 1996, p. 6).
The revival of the university was not actually led primarily by the natural scientists, but rather those who stood to lose most from the development of a hierarchy of a value emerging from the split between science and philosophy (see the "two cultures" below). Instead, it was "historians, classicists, scholars of national literatures…who did most to revive the universities in the course of the nineteenth century, using it as a mechanism to obtain state support for their scholarly work" (Gulbenkian, 1996, p. 8). They sought the alliance of natural scientists in promoting the new university structures, in order to profit "from the positive profile of the natural scientists," and in the process reinforcing the distinction, and the tension, between the humanities/arts and the sciences (Gulbenkian, 1996, p. 8).
"The intellectual history of the nineteenth century is marked above all by this disciplinarization and professionalization of knowledge," the Commission argued, pointing to "the creation of permanent institutional structures designed both to produce new knowledge and to reproduce the producers of knowledge" (Gulbenkian, 1996, p. 7).
In the wake of the French Revolution, and especially in Great Britain and France, the pressure for political and social reorganization were felt strongly by the powers that be. In place of a belief in the "natural order" of things, many now recognized the normalcy of change, and argued that,
the solution lay rather in organizing and rationalizing the social change that now seemed to be inevitable in a world in which the sovereignty of the "people" was fast becoming the norm, no doubt hoping thereby to limit its extent. (Gulbenkian, 1996, p. 8).
"But if one were to organize and rationalize social change," the Commission points out, "one had first of all to study it and understand the rules which governed it" (Gulbenkian, 1996, p. 8). Hence the proclaimed need for a "social science." Social science was charged with developing "systematic, secular knowledge about reality that is somehow validated empirically" (Gulbenkian, 1996, p. 2). The classical premise of science at this point was two-fold: one, the Newtonian vision of a symmetry between past and future, and two, Cartesian dualisms of humans and nature, mind and matter, and so forth. Accompanied by notions of progress, and a finite, knowable world, the aim was to "facilitate the explorations and exploitation demanded by progress, and to make practical and realizable Western aspirations to dominion" (Gulbenkian, 1996, p. 4). Exploration, exploitation, and rapid social change, all pointed to the need to investigate order, and for that Newtonian physics offered the most useful support.
It was especially in the period from 1850 to 1914, when we witness a university boom in Europe, North America, and Australia, with many new universities being founded in that very period, that we also see the disciplinarization of knowledge in the form of the social sciences as we know them today (Gulbenkian, 1996, pp. 12-13). The five primary social sciences were history, economics, political science, sociology, and anthropology. Owing to the struggle between science and philosophy, and the social prestige of science, the primary emphases of these "social sciences" were the "emphasis on the existence of a real world that is objective and knowable, the emphasis on empirical evidence, [and] the emphasis on the neutrality of the scholar" (Gulbenkian, 1996, p. 15).
Between 1850 and 1945, the new social science disciplines were institutionalized: "This was done by establishing in the principal universities first chairs, then departments offering courses leading to degrees in the discipline" (Gulbenkian, 1996, p. 3). "Training" was institutionalized as was "research": "the creation of journals specialized in each of the disciplines; the construction of associations of scholars along disciplinary lines (first national, then international); the creation of library collections catalogued by disciplines" (Gulbenkian, 1996, p. 3). Of course one of the key elements in this institutionalization was for the social sciences to stress the differences between them, what made them unique, and thus what required that a special place be made for them in the new universities. Institutionalization, disciplinarization, expanding world capitalism, and rapid social change thus all combined to create and shape the social sciences as we have known them. Each of these is tied into the others.
The Eurocentrism of Social Science
Wallerstein's core argument is that the creation of the structures of knowledge, specifically the institutionalization of the social sciences, is a phenomenon that is inextricably linked to the very formation and maturation of the capitalist world system (or what others might loosely, and less comprehensively, refer to as imperialism or capitalist hegemony). There is nothing that is either natural, logical, or accidental about the institutionalization of the social sciences. The structures of knowledge are accepted ways of producing knowledge of the world. In particular, the universalism-particularism dichotomy, and all framings of knowledge that fit within or between that polarity (of especial relevance to anthropology's intellectual mission, and central to the revival of cosmopolitanism), is part of the intellectual double bind of the capitalist world system (see Wallerstein, 1991, p. 128).
In broad terms, "social science has been Eurocentric throughout its institutional history," Wallerstein explains, "which means since there have been departments teaching social science within university systems" (1999, p. 168). There should be no surprise here, he adds, since social science "is a product of the modern world-system, and Eurocentrism is constitutive of the geoculture of the modern world" (Wallerstein, 1999, p. 168). In particular, "as an institutional structure, social science originated largely in Europe (Wallerstein, 1999, p. 168).
By "Europe," Wallerstein means primarily western Europe and North America. One could broaden that, using native studies discourse, to mean Europe and European settler states. Even with that more expansive definition, Wallerstein observes that "the social science disciplines were in fact overwhelmingly located, at least up to 1945, in just five countries – France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and the United States" (1999, p. 168). "Even today," he continues, "despite the global spread of social science as an activity, the large majority of social scientists worldwide remain Europeans" (Wallerstein, 1999, p. 168). Penetrating deeper, Wallerstein argues that,
Social science emerged in response to European problems, at a point in history when Europe dominated the whole world-system. It was virtually inevitable that its choice of subject matter, its theorizing, its methodology, and its epistemology all reflected the constraints of the crucible within which it was formulated. (Wallerstein, 1999, p. 168)
The Eurocentrism of social science has come under increasingly vigorous attack, especially in the period since 1945 with the formal decolonization of Africa, Asia, and much of the Caribbean, and Wallerstein sees this attack as "fundamentally justified." Moreover, he argues, that "if social science is to make any progress in the twenty-first century, it must overcome the Eurocentric heritage that has distorted its analyses and its capacity to deal with the problems of the contemporary world" (Wallerstein, 1999, pp. 168-169). To do this, we must understand what constitutes Eurocentrism and its "many avatars" (Wallerstein, 1999, p. 169).
There are at least five distinct yet overlapping ways that social science is Eurocentric, as Wallerstein explains. The Eurocentrism of social science is expressed in "(1) its historiography, (2) the parochiality of its universalism, (3) its assumptions about (Western) civilization, (4) its Orientalism, and (5) its attempts to impose the theory of progress" (Wallerstein, 1999, p. 169).
While "institutionalized social science started as an activity in Europe," Wallerstein's argument is about much more than this important historical and cultural recognition. The problem with Eurocentric social science is that it has been "charged with painting a false picture of social reality by misreading, grossly exaggerating, and/or distorting the historical role of Europe, particularly its historical role in the modern world" (Wallerstein, 1999, p. 177). "Whatever Europe did," Wallerstein affirms, "has been analyzed incorrectly and subjected to inappropriate extrapolations, which have had dangerous consequences for both science and the political world" (1999, p. 178).
The Received Baggage of the 19th Century
The "two cultures" division is one of the most fundamental bases for the modern world-system's structures of knowledge. By the "two cultures" Wallerstein is drawing on the work of C.P. Snow, and referring to the division between the sciences and the humanities. "No other historical system has instituted a fundamental divorce between science and philosophy/humanities," Wallerstein observes (1999, p. 183). It took about three centuries for this rupture to become triumphant in Eurocentric thought, and to become institutionalized. Now that this has taken place, the "two cultures" is "fundamental to the geoculture and forms the basis of our university systems" (Wallerstein, 1999, p. 183).
It is this very split, between the two cultures, that enabled "the modern world to put forward the bizarre concept of the value-neutral specialist, whose objective assessments of reality could form the basis not merely of engineering decisions (in the broadest sense of the term) but of sociopolitical choices as well" (Wallerstein, 1999, p. 183). Indeed, one of the central foundations of the Eurocentric social sciences is this very idea of "objective science":
The idea that science is over here and sociopolitical decisions are over there is the core concept that sustains Eurocentrism, since the only universalist propositions that have been acceptable are those that are Eurocentric. Any argument that reinforces this separation of the two cultures thus sustains Eurocentrism. If one denies the specificity of the modern world, one has no plausible way of arguing for the reconstruction of knowledge structures, and therefore no plausible way of arriving at intelligent and substantively rational alternatives to the existing world-system. (Wallerstein, 1999, p. 183)
With the split between the two cultures, the alternative to "science" was seemingly plagued by "a lack of internal cohesiveness, which did not help its practitioners plead their cause with the authorities, especially given their seeming inability to offer 'practical' results" (Gulbenkian, 1996, p. 6). This story should be very familiar to anthropologists, in their drive to create "applied anthropology" and anthropology in the service of military, intelligence, and colonial administration. The opinions of the authorities, especially those promising funding, and demanding practical benefits, have weighed heavily. From early on, "it had begun to be clear that the epistemological struggle over what was legitimate knowledge was no longer a struggle over who would control knowledge about nature (the natural scientists had clearly won exclusive rights to this domain by the eighteenth century) but about who would control knowledge about the human world" (Gulbenkian, 1996, p. 6).
One can sum up in this way the key dichotomies that arose from the 19th century institutionalization of the social sciences, dichotomies that are vital to sustaining the Eurocentrism of the social sciences:
- science versus philosophy/humanities
- discontinuity-continuity
- state-centrism in analysis
- idiographic versus nomothetic
- determinism versus agency
- objectivity versus subjectivity
- politics versus economics
In review:
Anthropology's Baggage
The Gulbenkian Commission devoted attention to each of the five social sciences. What follows is their description and analysis of the emergence, institutionalization and disciplinarization of anthropology. At the most basic level, the expansion of the modern world-system involved the European encounter and usually conquest of the peoples of the rest of the world. In particular, those people who were organized in social structures that Europeans classed as small, without written records, and not part of a geographically wide ranging religious systems, were classed as "tribes" or "races." They became the domain of what would later be called anthropology. Anthropology had largely begun as a practice of explorers, travelers, and officials of the colonial services of the European powers, and then subsequently became institutionalized as a university discipline (Gulbenkian, 1996, pp. 20-21).
Anchored within the structures of the university, anthropologists were constrained to maintain the practice of ethnographic fieldwork "within the normative premises of science" (Gulbenkian, 1996, p. 21). Some were of course attracted to ideas of a universal natural history of humanity, with assumed stages of development, but their discipline was one pressed into studying particular peoples, requiring a very specific methodology, that of fieldwork. Consumed with the ostensible interest in human difference, and the particulars of non-European modes of being, anthropologists largely adhered to an idiographic epistemology, with some lingering desires for developing nomothetic propositions (Gulbenkian, 1996, p. 22).
Anthropology's special baggage then – in the preliminary type of analysis offered by the Gulbenkian Commission – was idiographic research, focused on the non-West, and in particular focused on tribes (not the non-Western "high civilizations" that were more the domain of the Orientalists). As we go further, this analysis will be deepened significantly, but it will be useful to remember some of the broad historical forces at work, as presented in this essay.


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An interview with author Tony Schaab
What do a devout family man, Humane Society volunteer, DJ, actor, comedian, troupe manager of the comedy improvisational troupe IndyProv, college enrollment coordinator, movie critic and zombie aficionado have in common?
They're all author Tony Schaab, of course.
This unique combination of talents has magnetized him to undead lovers around the world. His humor-laden, tongue-in-cheek reviews are so sought after, he has taken a step other critics are soon to follow. He compiled 50 favorites into the recently released, "The G.O.R.E. Score, Vol. 1."
Tony's writings have appeared in numerous magazines, New Line Press contracted him for an original story and this multi-talented man has two novels on the brink of publication. His story "On Ramp" was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. The sci-fi/horror novella "The Eagle Has Reanimated" was just nominated for the Science Fiction Writers of America's Nebula Award.
Q. Your innate humor permeates all you do. To what or whom do you attribute your comedic talent?
A. First, I'd have to thank my seventh-grade teacher, Mr. Hilker, for providing my younger self the novel "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by the late British author Douglas Adams. The story exposed me to satire and how comedy can be intellectually subtle, yet effective at the same time. Another huge source of inspiration is the great Mel Brooks. An interesting
side note is that, now that I'm a zombie and horror author, my connection with Mel Brooks has come full circle, since his son Max Brooks wrote the popular "The Zombie Survival Guide" and "World War Z."
Q. Congratulations to you and your wife on the birth of your daughter. How do you think she's going to affect your life and writing?
A. Thank you! Born on Valentine's Day 2010, I fortunately have some time until she's old enough to read anything I write, which means I can keep working on horror stuff for a while until I have to worry about explaining it to her. Children definitely throw a wrench into even the best-laid plans; I've seen the free time I have available for writing decrease dramatically this year, not that I'm complaining of course. I just have to plan my time more effectively now; lots of early-morning and late-night writing these days! As for my writings that she could read: I actually have an idea for a childrens/young-adult book series that would combine sci-fi with a good dose of multi-level Disney/Pixar-ish humor. Hopefully that project will come to fruition and she could read that before digging in to any of the horror stuff.
Q. Horror in literature is on the rise. What do you think has rekindled interest in this genre?
A. I think the biggest reason is the horror stories that cross over into other genres – comedy, drama, romance, and the like. Series like "Twilight" and "The Walking Dead" show readers that stories can effectively utilize horror elements with developed character types, having them cope with relationships, problems, etc. I'm utilizing this approach in the romantic horror story for New Line Press.
Q. The G.O.R.E. Score is actually an exceptional system you created for reviewing books and movies. What's the impetus behind it?
A. When I decided to write reviews, I wanted to avoid being just another guy throwing his opinions around. So I thought to myself, "Self, why not create an objective system to rate the reviewed items in categories fans would actually want to know about?" Through good karma and a bit of luck, the areas of focus resolved themselves into a nice little acronym, G.O.R.E.: "G"eneral entertainment, "O"riginal content, "R"ealism, and "E"ffects and editing. I still have some of my own subjective rhetoric mixed into each review, of course, but on the whole I think the rating system really helps my reviews stand apart as a great source of insight and information.
Q. Though gifted with humor, you remain seriously devoted to what you do. Where would you like your career to be in 10 years?
A. Like most writers, I would love to be able to devote even more time to my creative projects. Writing full-time in the next decade would be ideal. In addition to keeping The G.O.R.E. Score going strong with zombie reviews, I think the system could be extrapolated to general-horror and some other genres as well, so that's a passion I will continue to pursue and attempt to grow. Since I made the commitment to professional writing, I've had 15 stories published in various genres and anthologies. My plans for the immediate future are to focus on producing a few full-length fiction novels. "Zombies Can't Dance" is already in progress and will hopefully be released sometime in 2011. If I could look back in a decade, I'd like to have made my mark in a variety of ways – short stories, novels, columnist, perhaps even screenwriter – my mind is full of great ideas waiting for me to find the time to make them happen!
DA's romantic suspense novel "Sunday Awakening" by KevaD is available at nobleromance.com.
DA can be reached at email@example.com.
The Journal-Standard
www.tonyschaab.com, www.thegorescore.com


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Community Foundation Invites The Public To "Saving Our Sons: A Community Conversation"
Apr 24, 2012, 08:00 ET
20 years after the civil unrest, Black male youth are more at risk than ever
LOS ANGELES, April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- California Community Foundation (CCF) invites parents, educators, employers, community, civic and religious leaders, and all concerned members of the public to participate in a historic town hall on the need to change and improve conditions for Black male youth in Los Angeles that are adversely affecting their futures. "SAVING OUR SONS: A COMMUNITY CONVERSATION" will take place on Wednesday, May 2, at 6 p.m., in the North Tent at Los Angeles Trade-Tech College, 1937 Grand Ave., Los Angeles 90015. More than 200 people are expected in attendance.
Twenty years after the civil unrest in Los Angeles, Black male youth have significant challenges related to their educational and employment prospects. Additionally, while Black male youth make up 10 percent of L.A. County's youth population, they comprise approximately 33 percent of all youth under probation supervision.
The event on May 2 is supported by Brotherhood Crusade, Community Coalition, Liberty Hill Foundation, Los Angeles Urban league, Youth Justice Coalition, Youth Mentoring Connection, and the Office of the Mayor, City of Los Angeles, and will feature a personal appearance by actor and activist Larenz Tate (TV's "Rescue Me", and films such as, "Ray", "Love Jones", "Crash", and "Menace II Society").
In addition, the event will culminate in a major announcement by CCF.
Free parking for the event is available at the LATTC parking lots on Grand Ave. in between Washington Blvd. and 23rd St., or in campus lot F. People may register for the free event in advance, at www.calfund.org/sos.
California Community Foundation (CCF) is a multi-faceted and public charitable organization serving Los Angeles County since 1915. It encourages philanthropy by individuals, families, companies and organizations, and serves as a steward of their charitable funds and legacies. It manages grant-making programs and engages in major initiatives with local nonprofits in the arts, education, health care, housing and neighborhoods, human development, and civic engagement. It actively encourages and supports community problem solving with local, regional and national partners in the private, public and nonprofit sectors. For more information, visit calfund.org.
Media Contacts:
Barbara Lee, CCF
(213) 413-4130 ext. 258
[email protected]
Terri Dixon, LAGRANT Communications
(323) 469-8680 ext. 232
[email protected]
SOURCE California Community Foundation


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Dr. Sean Gabb of the Libertarian Alliance injects some common sense into the issue of drinking and driving.
Sean Gabb, Director of the Libertarian Alliance, speaking on BBC Radio 4 on the 22nd January 2013.
The excuse for this discussion was a story about an Irish local authority that wishes to relax the drinking and driving laws.
Sean argues these points:
- That the Libertarian Alliance regards road traffic accidents as bad things.
- That anyone who causes a road traffic accident should be effectively punished, and that drunkenness should be an aggravating factor for sentencing.
- However, that the great majority of those punished in England for drinking and driving were not noticeably driving erratically. They tested positive in random stops by the police.
- That stopping people without probable cause, and subjecting them to some physical test is a violation of their human rights. It is also a waste of the money we are compelled to give the police.
- That this is equivalent in principle to making people turn their bags out on railway trains on the offchance that they are carrying stolen property.
Sean was asked by the presenter if he thought the current laws had reduced the amount of drinking and driving. Sean answered that shooting drunk drivers out of hand on the roadside would be more effective, but that it would not be done for obvious reasons.
The woman from a charity called Brake came in to say that the right to life is the most precious right. Sean decided, because he would have been silenced, not to make the following reply:
- That states are not notably concerned about the protection of life. In the past century, thugs in uniform have been ordered by their political or military superiors to kill about 200 million people.
- This point aside, that there are equally effective means of reducing road traffic accidents that do not require the shredding of our common law protections.
Note: Brake has been called a "fake charity" on the grounds that the majority of its income is from the taxpayers. According to Mark Wadsworth:
Their website screams fakecharity – it uses the same template as all the others, with sub-pages for 'Home', 'About us', 'Contact us', 'Our supporters' (as a variant on 'Support us' or 'Donate'), 'Jobs' and 'Links'.
The income in their 2007 accounts (see page 8) was as follows:
Corporate partnership £285,718
Donations £333,057
Road Safety Education £296,984
BrakeCare £75,979
Fleet Safety Forum £66,535
Research £3,360
Investment income £15,759
Their list of corporate partners seems innocuous enough. Donations include "Community Fundraising £236,319" (which might or might not be suspect). Note 3 to the accounts discloses income of about £70,000 from the Department for Transport, the Youth Justice Board, the Office for Criminal Justice Reform and the Scottish Executive. Those government departments are all duly listed on their site, along with Children in Need, which you might argue is not a fakecharity.
So far, so not so bad, really. Where it starts to stink a bit is on their list of Organisations working with Brake, which includes, along with some genuinely interested private groups, the following:
British Transport Advisory Committee
Chief Fire Officer Association
Child Accident Prevention Trust
Community Transport Association
Disaster Aftercare Services
European Secure Vehicle Alliance
The Intensive Care Society
Learn + Live
Pre-Hospital Care
Never Away
Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety
Public & Commercial Services Union
Road Operators' Safety Council
Road Safety Markings Association
The Slower Speeds Initiative
Transport & General Workers Union
Transport Management Association of the NHS
University of Huddersfield
All of which appear to be quangos, fakecharities, public sector pressure groups and/or wholly or party funded or arganised by the government (there may be exceptions and I am happy to edit that list down a bit).
So, to cut a long story short, Brake appears to be, to a large extent, a fake.
Sean Gabb
Director, The Libertarian Alliance (Carbon Positive since 1979)
email@example.com Tel: 07956 472 199
Postal Address: Suite 35, 2 Lansdowne Row, London W1J 6HL, England
Wikipedia Entry


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Acclaimed author Jesmyn Ward will join the Tulane University English Department as a tenured associate professor beginning July 1. Ward, who has been named to the first-ever Paul and Debra Gibbons Professorship, won the 2011 National Book Award for fiction for her second novel, Salvage the Bones.
The DeLisle, Mississppi, native is currently working on her fourth novel, following a memoir based on the deaths of five black men in her hometown. Unlike many authors, Ward doesn't shy away from the often-controversial topic of racism. She says that she hopes to chime in to the current race-based discussions taking place at Tulane.
"I'd like to add my voice to the chorus of those teaching at Tulane who are already part of this conversation about equality and racial tension," Ward says. "I hope the discussions we have in our work and around campus will aid us in finding our way toward an answer to the question I'm asked whenever I speak about these issues: So what do we do now – how do we change?"
Michael Kuczynski, chair of the Tulane English department, says that he greatly admired Ward's writing before he ever met her and is delighted that Ward is joining the team. "It's great for the English Department, and it's great for Tulane, and it's great for New Orleans."
Ward says that she's particularly excited for the opportunity to mentor young writers. "I love teaching. I love reading and writing and talking about reading and writing with students," Ward says. "I love working with student writers to help them revise and polish and transform their work and I love watching students find their voices. It really is very rewarding work."
Ward received her undergraduate degree in English and a master's degree in media studies and communication from Stanford University. She then went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts in fiction from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor; was a Stegner Fellow in the creative writing department at Stanford University; and a Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi.
She has been teaching writing for 10 years at the University of Michigan, the University of New Orleans, Stanford University and the University of Mississippi. She is currently Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of South Alabama.


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In my previous blog post, Visual "Proof" of General Relativity, I discussed how gravitational lensing demonstrates the effects of Einstein's theory of general relativity in a direct, visual manner. Images created by gravitational lenses show features that are not possible in Newton's version of gravity.
Although seeing general relativity with your own eyes is kinda awesome, there's one unsatisfying aspect: you only see the result, not the process. Since you don't know exactly what those galaxies looked like before the gravitational lensing, it is hard to fully appreciate the magnitude of the distortions. We have no on/off switch for the mass of the galaxy cluster to be able to examine the un-lensed image and compare against the lensed one.
But we can demonstrate the process of gravitational lensing through scientific visualization. The images above show a simulation of gravitational lensing by a galaxy cluster. On the left is an image of only the galaxies that belong to galaxy cluster Abell 2744; all of the foreground and background objects have been removed. On the right is a deep field image of galaxies. In the center is a simulation of how the galaxies of Abell 2744 would distort the galaxy images in the deep field.
By carefully comparing galaxy images between the right and center panels, one can see how the un-lensed galaxies transform to their distorted lensed versions. The elongated streaks and arcs in the center image generally come from compact, ellipse-shaped galaxies in the right image. But not all galaxies are changed, a fact easily seen by examining the larger, yellow galaxy in the lower right.
The explanation comes from the details of the simulated lensing. The deep field used above is a portion of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF), and includes only galaxies for which we have a good measure of their distance. Using those distances and the distance to Abell 2744, we were able to place the galaxies of Abell 2744 at their correct positions within the deep field. HUDF galaxies which are closer than the galaxy cluster would not be lensed, and appear the same in the right and center images. Only those galaxies behind the cluster were transformed by the simulated lensing. Thus, the central image provides a proper simulation of what would be seen if Abell 2744 suddenly wandered across the sky and ended up in the middle of the HUDF.
I note that all of the background galaxies were combined into a single image at a set distance behind the cluster for simplicity. The full, and rather tedious, 3D calculation could have been performed, but was deemed unlikely to provide a significant visual difference for a public-level illustration. I further note that it is an occupational hazard of being a scientist that one feels compelled to provide such full-disclosure details.
The really difficult challenge is to do the reverse of this simulation. Start with an image of gravitational lensing and then work out the mass distribution of the galaxy cluster from the distribution of streaks and arcs. But, hey, no one said being an astrophysicist was easy.
In the final part of this series of blog posts, I'll provide a more down-to-earth example of gravitational lensing.


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Former The Wonder Years star DANICA McKELLAR has become the latest casualty on hit U.S. reality show Dancing With the Stars after reportedly breaking a rib in rehearsals.
So...I broke a rib in yesterday's DWTS rehearsal. Trying my best to pull thru and could use your prayers!! wanttokeepdancing
The 39-year-old actress and author took to Twitter.com on Friday (25Apr14) and asked her supporters to pray for her quick recovery.
She wrote, "So...I broke a rib in yesterday's DWTS rehearsal. Trying my best to pull thru and could use your prayers!! wanttokeepdancing".
It is not yet known if McKellar will be able to dance her way through the pain or be forced to sit out the next round of live shows next week (begs28Apr14).
Earlier this season, Star Wars hero Billy Dee Williams pulled out of the ballroom competition show due to a chronic back problem.
Other celebrities still in the competition for season 18 of Dancing with the Stars include former Full House actress Candace Cameron Bure, Glee star NeNe Leakes and Big Time Rush singer James Maslow.
tagged in James Big Time Rush Singer author Hero


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"Want to star alongside Pam in a short film?" is the question Nokia's asking, as part of its promotional campaign for its forthcoming N8 smartphone. Pam's perhaps not the unstoppable sex machine she once was, but... yes please.
A short film, entitled The Commuters, will be shot in London on September 20 using the Nokia N8 to shoot entirely using the phone's HD video capabilities. The stars are Pamela Anderson, Gossip Girl's Ed Westwick and possibly you, if you want. To be in with a chance of getting in the film/commercial, all you have to do is "like" Nokia's UK Facebook profile.
With entry requirements that low, even Lindsay Lohan might be able to resurrect her acting career. [Star With Pam]


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Tucked away in the woods of Chicago, this four-bed, four-bath is a modernist masterpiece, but might be more well-know for its starring role in the painfully infamous car scene of the feature film "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
Its reprise on the web currently comes from its recent listing on the market for $2.3 million.
Two steel-and-glass buildings make up this peaceful palace with the garage celebrating the automobile by showcasing the cars within. Architects A. James Speyer and David Haid built the structures on steel beams, creating a Jetson-like pod above the ground. The home also has stunning panoramic views, with floor-to-ceiling glass walls spanning 5,300 square feet and lending an affect much like Philip Johnson's famed Glass House.
To Inquire or learn more about visit Sotheby's International Realty.
More images after the jump.


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Posted Monday, April 28, 2014
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Chapel Hill, NC - "Variety Vacationland." Do you remember that slogan from our state's past?
I suggest a new one: "Variety Literatureland."
In the next few weeks I plan to provide support for my suggestion in the form of books and their authors who will be appearing on "North Carolina Bookwatch."
First is Krista Bremer, associate publisher of The Sun, a successful national magazine headquartered in Chapel Hill. Bremer's essays have been published widely, most recently in the April 13 Sunday Magazine of The New York Times. In the Times piece she writes about a gift from her mother-in-law, "a blanket, over 12 feet long, that she wove herself over two years using wool from sheep she raised."
"We have slept beneath that blanket ever since. I appreciate it most on chilly winter nights," Bremer wrote.
This blanket could be an introduction to Bremer's book, "My Accidental Jihad," published last week by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.
In the new book Bremer tells the story of her courtship, marriage and life with a man she met jogging one day in Chapel Hill, a "grey-haired man with a thick accent whose conversation was peppered with references to Allah."
This man came from Libya and "was older and darker and poorer and more foreign than the husband I had planned to have. The husband of my dreams did not put his forehead to the ground to pray in an apartment that was pungent with strange spices, or carry on passionate Arabic phone conversations with his Libyan family that sounded like heated arguments."
How Bremer and her husband have made the variety of their upbringings and beliefs into a successful family is a compelling and instructive story. Bremer talks about her book and her family on "North Carolina Bookwatch," previewing on cable UNC MX May 9 at 9 p.m., and broadcast on UNC-TV on May 11 at noon and May 15, at 5 p.m.
Thinking of variety, what about the variety of different ways North Carolina people talk? In their new book, "Talkin' Tar Heel: How Our Voices Tell the Story of North Carolina," N.C. State professors Walt Wolfram and Jeffrey Reaser teach their readers that the various groups of peoples who settled in North Carolina have given us a treasure chest of different speech patterns, from the "Hoi Toider speech" of the Outer Banks to the mountain dialects that still carry 200-year-old phrases from the British Isles. (May 16, 18, 22)
Wilmington-based Wiley Cash's debut novel, "A Land More Kind Than Home," makes history this week. Two years after its publication it will debut at Number 12 on Sunday's New York Times combined print and e-book fiction best-seller list and Number 10 on the Times e-book list. How can this happen? We may have to wait to learn the full amazing story. But we do not have to wait long to hear Cash talk to Bookwatch viewers about his second novel, "This Dark Road to Mercy." Quite different from his first book, "Dark Road" describes a variety of personal disasters and high crimes that follow the unsuccessful career of a Gastonia baseball minor league professional player named Wade Chesterfield. (May 23, 25, 29)
Another variety in North Carolina fiction is the result of the recent recession. How have North Carolinians dealt with the disruption the financial crisis caused their career paths? Drew Perry's new novel, "Kids These Days," tells a story of a Charlotte mortgage banker who loses his job in the recession and moves to Florida to partner with his wife's brother-in-law, whose businesses draw the attention of state and federal law enforcement officials. Amazingly, Perry makes the story both funny and poignant. (May 30, June 1, 5)
What do you think? Would "Variety Literatureland" fit on your license plate?
D.G. Martin hosts "North Carolina Bookwatch," which airs Sundays at noon and Thursdays at 5 p.m. on UNC-TV. For more information or to view prior programs visit the webpage at www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch.