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5 Things to Do This Weekend
Two thumbs up
There are two big movies opening this weekend, one for the whole family and one for adults only. "Shrek Forever After," the last movie in the Shrek franchise, returns to the silver screen in all his green glory. If you liked the other Shrek movies, you'll enjoy this one, and it's rated PG, making it a great family film. The not-for-kids movie is "MacGruber," the R-rated Will Forte-Kristen Wiig movie based on a "Saturday Night Live" sketch. Advance reviews have been glowing, but they also warn of rampant raunchiness, so be advised. We just hope Betty White makes a cameo. …
Bike to Work … or to errands
This weekend marks the end of Bike to Work Week, and Friday is Bike to Work Day. If at all possible, consider riding your bicycle instead of driving your car – it's good for the environment, good for your pocketbook and good for your health. If you can't bike to work, consider biking this weekend instead of driving. You can even make it a fun family affair by getting the kids on bikes, too. The League of American Bicyclists has a good website with information on bike clubs and Bike to Work Week info, so check it out at www.bikeleague.org. Or check with your local bike shop to see if anything is planned.
Celebrate diversity
Friday also is World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, a United Nations holiday started after the Sept. 11 attacks. Many cultural centers, churches and other community-oriented places will be holding events such as diversity dinners to mark the day, so check the paper or call around if you're interested. Or head to the U.N.'s website for more information on the day: www.un.org/Depts/dhl/cultural_diversity/index.html.
You gotta love sports
It's an exciting weekend if you're a sports fan. The first-ever Saturday Champions League final (the European soccer equivalent of the Super Bowl) is on national TV for the first time in the U.S.; it will be broadcast on Fox, with pregame coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. EDT. This year's final features Bayern Munich and Internazionale (better known as Inter Milan). Also this weekend, NBA and NHL playoff action continues, the WNBA has a full slate of games, the NASCAR All-Star Race takes place and much more.
Save the turtles
Sunday is World Turtle Day, a day designed to bring awareness to the plight of turtles and tortoises worldwide. The day is a good chance to educate your family about turtles and the problems they face (many face extinction). If there's a zoo or nature center near you, check to see if they're holding special events for the day, or head to the library or bookstore and check out some books on turtles. For more information on the day, go to www.tortoise.com.
GateHouse News Service


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On February 1st Malcolm Turnbull will make a major speech on the Coalition's climate and energy policy at the National Press Club.In his last public utterance on the topic, at the Sydney fish market in December last year, he spilt coffee , perhaps trying to douse the flames caused by Josh Frydenberg's declaration that carbon pricing would be considered in this year's policy review. Turnbull ruled that out, so who knows what he will say on Wednesday. One well-informed and immensely experienced observer reports that
"Turnbull will announce new vehicle emissions standards and a new energy efficiency scheme. He and his office are looking at "technological solutions" – bright new ideas in solar thermal, or battery or carbon storage technology that might fill the policy void. But all those technologies need government policies to provide investors with incentives and certainty, and without actually confronting the climate doubters no one can imagine what that policy might be."
(Another similarly-credentialled observer says he is the weakest Prime Minister since Billy McMahon )Who knows, perhaps Turnbull will dust off the 'Greenhouse Challenge' voluntary programme for industry that Prime Minister Paul Keating started and John Howard extended. We will know soon enough.
Meanwhile, the National Press Club has a long and interesting (if you're a pathetic geek like me) history with climate change, and it tells us something about Australian journalistic responses to climate change.
Clubbing together
The Press Club began life as a press luncheon club, the result of some journalists having an (uncharacteristic for the profession) drinks in a Canberra watering hole. It seeks "to provide a genuine national forum for discussion of the issues of the day by the personalities who help shape them." (A cynic might say that it is a way for journalists to have stories handed to them literally on a plate, with some nice plonk alongside.) The first speaker, on 17 May 1963, was Chief Justice and External Affairs Minister Sir Garfield Barwick. Soon after Barwick helped establish the Australian Conservation Foundation. The Press Club initially only held a few events a year, but it has grown steadily and there are now about 70 a year. Early environmental speakers included conservationist Harry Butler (October 3 1979) and in mid 1984 the German Greens Petra Kelly who you can hear here
The Club, naturally, reflects the concerns of the day, and politicians of the day fly kites and announce policies. The climate issue seems to have reached the Club in October 1988,when the Liberal Senator Chris Puplick, the Opposition's Environment spokesperson launched the Opposition's environmental policy and spoke on past Coalition. It seems bizarre now, but Puplick then went on to develop a policy on climate change that was more ambitious than Labor's and took it to the 1990 Federal election.
Puplick and his Labor opponent Graham Richardson debated at the Press Club on March 7, 1990, just before the Federal election, and it was from the club that Bob Hawke made his final (and successful) appeal to green-minded voters, calling on disaffected voters not to vote green but, if they did so, to direct their second preferences to Labour. He warned. "When you wake up on 25 March there won't be a Democrat government or a green independent government."
In June 1989, the inaugural Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, Rosemary Follett, had appeared at the club and said that she was
"particularly concerned with environmental issues of national and international significance. The people of the ACT can be assured that the government intends to act locally in addressing issues such as the Greenhouse Effect and Protection of the Ozone Layer."
Richardson had appeared shortly afterwards,after two cancellations for lack of journalist interest.. He talked tough (it's how the man rolls) on the Federal government perhaps using its constitutional powers to override state decisions on environmental matters. He also confirmed a report by Michelle Grattan about a Cabinet meeting at which Treasurer Paul Keating had vetoed his proposal for a 20 per cent reduction in Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 2005 (the so-called 'Toronto Target' ). He told the assembled hacks
"… When I put this target to our Cabinet, I came under close questioning by the economic ministers. I couldn't sustain my argument with sufficient science.
"I haven't yet learnt how to lose gracefully so I was angry. I delved into the department's records so that I could write to my Cabinet colleagues and demand a reconsideration. The cupboard, however was bare, and the letter was never written."
[Dunn, R. 1989. Cabinet reduces greenhouse target. Australian Financial Review, 26 July.]
Sir Ninian Stephen, by then Australia's first Environment Ambassador, spoke wittily in late 1990 on the topic of "the environment: a passing storm or an issue for all seasons" (you can listen here – He argued that it didn't matter what he said, only if he blundered in the Q and A.
The following year the Canadian entrepreneur behind the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, Maurice Strong, spoke. In November 1992, after Rio, Jeremy Leggett, a former geologist who had become Greenpeace International's Atmosphere and Energy Campaign leader spoke (his book The Carbon War is a terrific read, btw).
Worth remembering
Amid all the advocates of action (Ian Lowe, Peter Garrett, David Suzuki, Bob Brown, Gro Harlam Brundtland, Nick Stern), perhaps the one we should most remember is President Kinza Cloduma of Nauru. In late 1997, when the Australian government's diplomatic push for special treatment at the impending Kyoto Protocol meeting had silenced the South Pacific Forum's attempt at a strong pro-action statement, Cloduma told the journalists
"I am not impressed when Mr. Howard openly scorns the critical nature of the situation in order to bow to the will of the fossil fuel industry."
There have been peaks and troughs of concern since then, with scientists speaking in September 2000 "Greenhouse Science Forum: How Real is Climate Change? What does Science Tell Us?", Ian Lowe spoke in 2005 on " Is Nuclear Power Part of Australia's Global Warming Solution?" (his answer was 'nope').
In the white-heat of the 2008-9 carbon pricing battles, Ross Garnaut seems to have had a camp-bed at the NPC, so often was he using it to launch various drafts of his climate reviews. The Greens' Christine Milne argued on 17 June 2009 that "The Climate nightmare is upon us." Bob Brown and Ziggy Switowski debated nuclear versus renewables in April of the following year [thanks to the reader who alerted me to this!]
Less emphatically, Penny Wong, Kevin Rudd, Greg Combet and Julia Gillard all used the NPC to launch various climate policy papers. In mid 2011, Gillard, under ferocious attack over her carbon proposal launched "The Government's plan for a clean energy future". She was asked by Mark Riley about journalist famously suggesting that journalists 'don't write crap – it can't be that hard.'
Since then the club has seen – among others –
- June 2013 350.org founder Bill McKibben on "Global warming: do the math",
- 19 February 2013 Senator Christine Milne Leader of the Greens "Australian Democracy at the Crossroads: the mining industry and the quarry past versus the people and the innovative future",
- 5 June 2013 Greg Combet on , The Clean Energy Future plan one year on: How carbon pricing is working
- 14 March 2014 Bernie Fraser Reflections on Australian Climate Change Policy'
- 10 December 2014 Stephen Chu 'Managing Energy, Economic Growth and Environment Risks'
- In May 2015, Christine Milne argued that Prime Minister Tony Abbott was 'barking mad' on climate change.
- The run up to the 2016 election a debate between Greg Hunt, then Environment Minister and Mark Butler, the Labor Shadow.
Two way traffic
It hasn't been one-way traffic. An early example of a sceptical perspective came in mid 1992 when Prof Richard Lindzen, Professor of Meteorology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology spoke. (He had been brought out by the CSIRO atmospheric science division, which was then headed by G.B Tucker. Tucker had been aware of the issue in the mid-70s, and written an early monograph – The CO2-climate connection : a global problem from an Australian perspective– in 1981, but in retirement wrote pieces for the Institute for Public Affairs with titles like 'The Greenhouse Panic'. But I digress)
Three years later the Club heard from Dr Patrick Moore who was billed as a " Canadian Environmentalist and one of the founders of Greenpeace".The first term can be debated. The second cannot.
Climate change exploded as a public policy issue in Australia in late 2006. It's ironic to remember now, but when John Howard's hand-picked emissions taskforce suggested that a low tax on carbon emissions — less than $5 per tonne – might give Australia a start in preparing for an eventual global emissions trading system , the Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Mitchell Hooke argued at the press club that while Australia should not embark on unilateral action, there was scope for "unilateral leadership". He said
"I don't want a blunt economic instrument of a carbon tax [but] I would see that kind of low order price as being part of a cap and trade framework."
Hooke hardened his line, of course, as time went on. At the peak of the 2011 carbon pricing battles, in June, the Australian Coal Association's Ralph Hillman spoke on "The mining industry's position on the carbon tax."
The same month, Lord Monckton and the Australia Institute's Richard Denniss squared off in a debate. Two weeks later former President Vaclav Klaus President of the Czech Republic spoke on "Climate Change: A new ideology"
Bjorn Lomborg followed up his October 2003 visit with another ten years later in December 2013. Now that he won't be having his 'consensus centre' , the trend suggests it might be another 6 years before he appears again.
Journalism and climate change
The Press Club's willingness to host those who deny basic scientific facts is indicative of a broader difficulty that journalism has had with this issue. Academic studies of the journalism profession's dilemma over climate change. One influential paper argues that "balance is bias", given the overwhelming scientific argument (and dare we say 'consensus') on anthropogenic climate change. The authors argue that
"the prestige press's adherence to balance actually leads to biased coverage of both anthropogenic contributions to global warming and resultant action."
John Oliver put it more visually with this stunt on 'Last Week Tonight'
Australia's experience has been extensively studied – see here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. For starters.
All this is part of a battle for hearts and minds – what counts as 'common sense' and shapes or sustains the institutions – "stable, valued, recurring patterns of behavior" – underpinning society.
Recently scientists have been admitting that studying climate change exacts an emotional toll. Journalists are following suit.
Malcolm Turnbull first addressed the club on March 18 1992, wearing his Australian Republican Movement hat. He might need better head-wear this time round. When Kevin Rudd launched the White Paper of his ill-fated and unloved Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme three protesters were dragged out The numbers of protesters there to greet him on February 1st will probably fall closer to that than the 1500 who turned up to say g'day to Pauline Hanson in 1997
But on the day, and indeed all through the year, Turnbull will – like other endangered Australian fauna – be feeling the heat.

subset: commoncrawl


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#SundaySupper is a group of bloggers who are on a mission to bring back supper around the family table in every home. This week the theme is comfort food.
Whenever I think of comfort food I always think of soup. Soup always makes things better. If I have a cold or if I am homesick I want soup. Soup always makes me feel better; always warms my soul. I use to have to go out for soup. But I am working on it. I have been collecting soup recipes and slowly but surely attempting to make them. Some times they are horrible, but lately I have been making some really delicious soup!!!
This chicken chowder was lovely! I am a huge fan of chowder. It is right up there next to chicken dumpling for me. I have never cooked with clams and clams are not exactly cheap, especially in the midwest. But chicken, now that is an ingredient I am famillar with! This soup is less salty than clam chowder, but just as rich. I really loved it and will definitely be making it again this winter!
Chicken Chowder
This recipe was slightly adapted from Cooking for Two 2012.
- 1 slice bacon, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- pinch of thyme
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 small carrot, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch thick pieces
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed
- 1/2 pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoon minced parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
1. Cook bacon in saucepan over medium heat until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer half of bacon to paper towel-lined plate.
2. Add garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant. Stir in flour and cook for a minute or so.
3. Gradually whisk in broth, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in potato and carrot. Nestle chicken into sauce and bring to simmer. Simmer gently, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes. Flip half way through cooking. Transfer chicken to plate, let cool slightly, then shred into bite size pieces.
4. Meanwhile, put the chowder on medium heat and add the pepper. Continue to simmer until vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. After that take the soup off the heat and add the chicken back in and add the cream. Stir until heated through. Stir in parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle chowder with reserved bacon.
We would love to have you join Lee and our Sunday Supper Team during our chat on Sunday at 7pm Eastern Time. Wait till you see the comfort food recipes our talented Sunday Supper Contributors will be featuring. Something tells me, not only will we be surrounded by love and comfort, we will all be drooling. Just look at the gorgeous recipes!
If that wasn't enough, we will also be giving away 5 signed copies of Those We Love Most, all you have to do is share your most memorable comfort food recipes.
We would be honored to have you join us on Twitter throughout the day during #SundaySupper. We'll be meeting up at 7:00 pm(Eastern) for our weekly #SundaySupper live chat where we'll talk about our favorite Comfort Food Recipes.
All you have to do is follow the #SundaySupper hashtag or you can follow us through TweetChat.
We'd also love to feature your easy go to recipes on our #SundaySupper Pinterest board and share them with all of our followers, too.


text: 08 JUNE 2017 - BANGKOK, THAILAND: A vendor selling chilies and fresh vegetables in Khlong Toey Market, Bangkok's main fresh market. Thai consumer confidence dropped for the first time in six months in May following a pair of bombings in Bangkok, low commodity prices paid to farmers and a sharp rise in the value of the Thai Baht versus the US Dollar and the EU Euro. The Baht is surging because of political uncertainty, related to Donald Trump, in the US and Europe. The Baht's rise is being blamed for a drop in Thai exports. This week the Baht has been trading at around 33.90 Baht to $1US, it's highest point in two years. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZAdd to Cart Add to Lightbox Download


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Hearty Slow-Cooker Soups, Stews & Chilies
Cheesy Potato Soup
Potato, bacon and cheese—all the flavors you love in a bowl of soup! The American cheese keeps the soup from curdling while it slow cooks. Mashing cooked potatoes a bit gives the soup some body, while the bacon adds a smoky-salty taste.
Download our free printable collection of 10 top slow-cooker recipes
Chipotle Black-Bean Chili
This chili is great for tucking into your slow cooker in the morning, so you can come home to a warm dinner. Omit the meat if you'd prefer a hearty meatless main dish. If you like, add chopped avocado or shredded cheese as toppers before serving.
Soy-Ginger Soup with Chicken
Somen are thin Japanese wheat noodles. Find them at Asian groceries or large supermarkets, or substitute vermicilli in this light chicken soup.
Fireside Beef Stew with Root Vegetables
Cranberry juice makes a surprise appearance in this slow cooker main dish. The juice adds a little sweetness to the winter veggie-packed soup.
Chicken Chili
Short on time? Move the slow-cooker setting for this mild white chili recipe to high. If you like, serve in store-bought bread bowls.
Slow-Cooker Brat and Sauerkraut Soup
Potatoes, onion, sauerkraut and brats pack in the German flavor in this homey slow-cooker soup. Try with Whole Wheat Pretzel Rolls; the soft pretzels' chewy, brown exterior comes from being boiled in an alkaline solution—the 1/4 cup baking soda in the water isn't a typo!
Slow-Cooker Brat and Sauerkraut Soup
Tomatillo Chicken Soup
Tomatillos (the key ingredient in green salsa) look like green tomatoes with papery husks. Although they can be eaten raw, we like to cook tomatillos with other ingredients to mellow and balance their tart flavor.
Chicken and White Bean Stew
Great Northern or cannellini beans blend with chicken and purchased Alfredo sauce in this easy-to-assemble meal. Serve with crusty bread and tossed salad.
Italian Vegetable Soup
Purchased pesto adds zip to this veggie-barley slow-cooked soup. Serve with a sandwich for a light meal.
Red Bean, Chicken, and Sweet Potato Stew
Vitamin-rich sweet potatoes and creamy peanut butter complement spicy Cajun seasoning in this easy chicken slow-cooker stew.
Aunt Bonnie's Taco Soup
This easy soup, full of beef and beans, is sure to become a top choice at your dinner table, as it is with Vicki Johnson of Hallsville, Missouri. We like to top it with a generous dollop of sour cream and serve with salsa and chips
Loaded Bratwurst Stew
Smoked bratwurst, cabbage and potatoes cook in a mixture of broth, mustard, vinegar, and spices. You can try kielbasa or a flavored chicken sausage in place of the smoked bratwurst if you prefer.
Lentil-Ham Soup
Fresh spinach and sliced carrots add a vitamin-rich veggie punch to this easy slow-cooker soup. Top with shaved Parmesan, if you like.
Nacho Cheese Chicken Chowder
This five-ingredient slow-cooker chowder goes together in minutes and then cooks two hours on high or four to five hours on low. Serve with breadsticks for dipping.
Slow Cooker Three-Bean Chili
What's the secret ingredient in this recipe? Chocolate syrup, which adds a rich taste to a blend of kidney beans, black beans and small white beans. Rinse canned beans to reduce the sodium.
Southwestern Potato Sausage Chowder
Vary the heat of this easy chowder by choosing sweet or hot sausage and serrano or jalapeno pepper. Cumin adds subtle Southwest character.
Warm-Me-Up Chicken Chili
Combine chicken, chopped vegetables and canned beans for this warm-and-comforting chili. Our recipe gives variations for Slow Cooker Chicken Chili as well as a spicier Chipotle Chicken Chili.
Hominy-Pork Stew
Boneless pork shoulder, navy beans, hominy and salsa blend into a zesty slow-cooker dish. Serve with lime wedges, if you like.
Slow-Cooked Minestrone
Ground beef turns this vegetable soup recipe into a satisfying meal. Top the slow-cooked main-dish soup with fresh-grated Parmesan cheese.
Slow Cooker French Chicken Stew
Save time with premade pasta sauce for this slow cooker recipe. Tender chicken, herbs and fresh vegetables blend for a crowd-pleasing dish.
Buffalo Oven Stew
The Earl family makes buffalo their business at Siouxland Buffalo in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Buffalo meat, also called bison meat, tastes a lot like lean beef. The Earls recommend cooking the meat slowly over low heat. Their oven stew is a prime example.
Wild Rice and Chicken Soup
Mix a can of cream of chicken soup, mushrooms, veggies and rice mix for the soup base. Any boneless cooked chicken works in this recipe, but chicken thighs, with more moisture from fat, slow-cook the best.
Beef and Sweet Potato Stew
Sweet potatoes, cumin, cinnamon, and dried apricots or plums add a North African flavor to this lower-sodium version of slow-cooker beef.
New World Chili
Pumpkin, dried cranberries, jalapeno peppers, and turkey add an unusual flavor twist to slow-simmering chili.
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
This 170-calorie slow-cooker version of a classic comfort food takes just 25 minutes of prep and uses reduced-fat cream cheese in its creamy homemade broth.
Sausage and Tortellini Soup
Prep time is just 10 minutes for this slow-cooker soup; combine canned Italian-style stewed tomatoes, frozen green beans, water, a can of onion soup and turkey sausage. Add coleslaw mix and refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini 15 minutes before serving.
Mexican Meatball Stew
This easy slow-cooker meal has just five ingredients, all packaged or canned. Toss it together in minutes in the morning, and come home to a finished meal in the afternoon.
More great soup, stew and chili recipesRelated Links
Free printable cookbooks
Enjoy more of our favorite recipes in any of our free printable cookbooks.
Top 10 Slow-Cooker Recipes Cookbook
10 Favorite Casseroles Cookbook
Best of the Midwest Recipe Contest Winners Cookbook
7 Fresh Chicken Recipes Cookbook
21 Sweet Corn Recipes Cookbook


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As the owner of Burke Software and Consulting I get to play with a few more Linux laptops than I would as an individual. I recently picked up Dell's latest XPS 13 (9370) Developer Edition. Here's my review as a developer.
Comparing Laptops
I compared the current 9370 model with the 2016 9350 model. I also compared a couple benchmarks with the Galago Pro 2 from System76, which is another laptop with Linux preloaded.
Both XPS computers are top of the line with Intel i7 branded CPUs. The 9370 is an 8th generation Intel i7-8550U CPU while the 9350 is a 6th generation i7-6560U. The Galago Pro was configured with a i5 processor – so while it's interesting to throw in it's not a totally fair comparison.
Hardware and Appearance
The 9370 model is noticeably slimmer as seen in these photos. The other dimensions are the same. It's noticeably a little lighter too. I tested it with a friend, having them close their eyes and pick the lighter laptop to make sure it wasn't a placebo effect. The Dell USB-C charger is also a little bit smaller which is nice.
The camera is still unusable due to its placement. Dell moved it to the center in the 9370 model which is maybe a slight improvement, but all you will see is your fingers on the keyboard and up your nose with this camera. I can't think of any circumstance in which I would use this horribly placed camera.
I benchmarked some typical developer tasks. I tested by building the open source password manager Passit. This has been my passion project for the past couple of years and if you aren't using a password manager yet and like open source I encourage you to try it out (and give me feedback).
I tested a Webpack bundle from the passit-frontend Gitlab repo. This runs angular-cli's serve command.
yarn start (webpack)
9370: 11173ms
9350: 12322ms
Galago: 13945ms
It appears the 9370 is only slightly faster, saving about 1 full second. That is not impressive for a upgrade of two CPU generations.
Ubuntu Disk Utility Benchmark
Average Read Rate
9370: 2.7 GB/s
9350: 1.6 GB/s
Average Access Time (lower is better)
9370: 0.04 msec
9350: 0.22 msec
Looks like the 9370 has a faster SSD. That's always a good thing. We can see how benchmarks look impressive but real world results don't reflect it.
time tns run android
9370: 1m 49s
9350: 2 m9s
This test uses the passit-mobile repo. There's a lot going on. It needs to compile the typescript into JavaScript, build the apk file, start an android emulator, and load the apk file on the device. I did my test using the Unix "time" command. I manually stopped it when I saw the Passit app fully loaded in the emulator. I like this test because it does SO much. Some of the Android compilers take advantage of multiple cores while the node based tools can use only one core. A big change on the i7-8550U CPU is having 4 cores and 8 threads (previous comparable U series CPUs had 2 cores). We can see a decent speed boost on the new XPS here. Nothing ground shattering. If your workload is more multi core utilizing you might see bigger jumps in performance.
All tests were done on battery.
I was pleased to see a good boost in battery life on the new XPS 9370 despite it having smaller battery and a higher resolution display of 3840 x 2160 (9350 topped out at 3200 x 1800). Battery testing is hard and your results will vary. In the type of work I do (web development, vim, browsing) I got about 4-5 hours on the 9350. I seem to get around 7-8 on the 9370. I've only been using it a couple days, so I'll update this post if I find it varies. On both set ups I do not have powertop or TLP installed – I find they can make Linux too unstable for me.
If you opt for the lower screen resolution on any XPS model, you will get vastly better battery life. Unfortunately, Dell does not offer the lower resolution with 16GB of RAM, which made it not an option for me.
The XPS 13 line is not for gaming so I'll keep this short. The 9350 had an Intel Iris integrated GPU option while the 9370 offers only the less powerful UHD 620 integrated GPU. At first I was worried this would mean no more Cities Skylines for me – but that is not the case. Cities Skylines runs just fine on very low settings on the 9370. Dell says the heat dissipation is improved on their new laptop so it may be one reason for decent performance even without the better Iris GPU. If you want some light gaming, the XPS 13 dev edition is a solid choice.
The new Dell XPS developer edition is a modest improvement. I think the better battery life even on the higher end model is the biggest improvement. It's probably not worth upgrading from the 9350 model but it might be from anything earlier. Performance gains are minimal, possibly due to Intel CPU's having only minor performance upgrades the past couple years.


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VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Sunday will preside over a pomp-filled ceremony to declare Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII saints — an event that commemorates the legacies of two of the Catholic Church's most popular popes, both instrumental in shaping the current pontiff's groundbreaking reign.
The rite in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, canonizing two of the Catholic Church's most popular popes, is likely to be a history-making event, given the strong possibility that Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned last year, will also be in attendance. That would mark the first time in the church's 2,000-year history that two popes would honor the memory of two previous ones.
Pope Francis chose to hold a single ceremony to canonize the pair, bringing together two popes who are closely associated with the Second Vatican Council of 1962-65, which led to significant reforms in the church. Pope John XXIII, who reigned from 1958 to 1963, launched Vatican II, as it is commonly known, while John Paul II's nearly 27-year papacy, which lasted from 1978 until his death in 2005, oversaw the implementation of large parts of the reforms.
"To carry out a double canonization is a message to the Church: These two are good people," Pope Francis told reporters on the papal plane back from celebrating the World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro last summer.
More than 40 heads of state are traveling to Rome for the event, and about a million pilgrims are expected on the day, according to estimates from the Vatican and officials in Rome. Around 150 cardinals and about a thousand bishops from around the world will join Pope Francis in the ceremony, which begins at 10 a.m. local time and is expected to last more than an hour. It will be broadcast live world-wide and on large screens in St. Peter's Square and across the city.


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Former Perfect Game top prospect Zack Wheeler was a key component in the Wednesday night trade that sent six-time MLB All-Star Carlos Beltran from the New York Mets to the San Francisco Giants.
Wheeler, a 21-year-old right-hander, was considered among the top pitching prospects in the Giants' organization. He has been pitching this season for the San Jose Giants in the High Class A California League, where he was 7-5 with a 3.99 ERA in 16 starts.
Wheeler was drafted by the Giants with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft right out of East Paulding High School in Dallas, Ga. He was PG's No. 4-ranked national high school prospect at the time of the draft.
A veteran of 11 PG WWBA championships and three BCS Finals with the East Cobb Braves, Astros and Yankees between 2006 and 2008, and Perfect Game scouts first got a look at the hard-throwing right-hander at the 2006 PG WWBA 15u or 2009 Grads National Championship in Marietta, Ga.
Wheeler also participated in many of PG's top showcase events, where he performed under the watchful eyes of the national scouting community.
In the summer of 2007, Wheeler attended both the PG Aflac Showcase in San Diego and the PG Southeast Top Prospect Showcase in Marietta. At the conclusion of the Southeast Top, a PG scout filed the following report:
"Young frame, tall and thin, high takeaway, arm works very smooth, accelerates out front, easy velocity, warms up at 88-89 every pitch, more velocity to come, slider flashes sharp, change has potential, high ceiling, good physical tools.
A year later, Wheeler was invited to participate in the prestigious PG National Showcase at the Metrodome in Minneapolis and then was selected to play in the Aflac All-American Classic – now the Perfect Game All-American Classic presented by Rawlings – at the University of San Diego. His fastball was consistently in the low 90s at this stage of his development and it touched 95 at the All-American Classic.
The PG scouting report filed after the National Showcase read:
"(Wheeler) pitched 90-93 topping at 94 with a very lively fastball and little to no effort in the Metrodome. He gets good extension out front and has an excellent breaking ball with a sharp break in the upper 70s. He commands his pitches well and everything looks easy for him on the mound. Wheeler continues to project … and he is already one of the top 2009 RHP in the country."
Click the link below to view videos of Wheeler pitching at the 2007 PG Aflac Showcase, 2007 Southeast Top Prospect Showcase and 2008 PG National Showcase:


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It should come as no surprise that many, many Twitter Mailbag readers this week were fired up about the plan to drop wrestling from the Olympics.
Some of you asked thoughtful questions on the subject, others just raged in tweet form, and still others made some creative use of profanity. I applaud you all, for different reasons.
In this edition of the TMB, we'll look at wrestling's future, particularly with how it relates to MMA, but we'll also dig into this weekend's UFC interim bantamweight title bout, discuss recent heavyweight bookings, and wonder aloud just what "Cyborg" Santos is thinking. Should be fun. You can ask a question of your own on Twitter at @BenFowlkesMMA, or you can just lurk on the fringes being all creepy and stuff. Your choice.
* * * *
@benfowlkesmma Wrestling out of Olympics, good or bad for mma? Will wrestling skill sets devolve over time? AYFKM, IOC?! #tmb
— Christopher M. Karim (@cmkarim) February 12, 2013
Before we go into full-scale freakout mode, let's consider the possibility that the instant poopstorm caused by this news will encourage the International Olympic Committee to reconsider. If they didn't realize that dropping an original Olympic sport would be unpopular, they do now. For Pete's sake, they kept the pentathlon. You know what the pentathlon is? It's a bunch of people running, swimming, riding horses, shooting weird pistols, and fencing. In other words, all the skills required of a modern soldier – 100 years ago.
Given the outcry, might the IOC rethink the decision? Dan Henderson hopes so. The UFC light heavyweight and former Olympic wrestler told me this week that he "wasn't shocked to hear the news" since wrestling frequently finds itself on the chopping block. "At the same time, I know it's been close to that before, and the wrestling community pulled together," Henderson said. " … We'll see what happens. I'm not a hundred percent sold [that it will happen]."
But let's say it does. Is that necessarily bad for MMA? I'm not so sure. Just because the Olympics drops wrestling, that doesn't mean high school or college programs or even other international competitions will immediately cease to exist. The people who want to wrestle will still wrestle. As a friend of mine from Iowa recently pointed out, "I didn't start wrestling because I wanted to make it to the Olympics; I did it because I was a boy in Iowa."
But, as Henderson pointed out, dropping the sport from the Olympics is likely to have some effect on the young people already involved in the sport.
"There's a lot of kids who get into wrestling, then start watching the Olympics and set their goals on becoming an Olympian and winning a medal," Henderson said. "There won't be that drive anymore. It will just be to get through college and then do MMA or be a school teacher or something."
Depending on how you look at it, maybe that's good news for MMA. Maybe it means that, with no Olympic program to scoop them up, the best collegiate wrestlers will go right into MMA. In the short term, that doesn't sound so bad. Over the long term, however, it could be the kind of thing that gradually chokes off interest in the sport. Something tells me that they'll still be wrestling in Iowa a century from now. I just don't know if they'll have as many other people to wrestle against by then.
@benfowlkesmma What is the reason we should care about the 135lb title fight when its being show on FuelTV? Doesn't give it much prestige.
— Trevor Moore (@trevormoore86) February 13, 2013
First of all, you left off an important word there: interim. This weekend's bout between Renan Barao and Michael McDonald is for the interim UFC bantamweight title. The real 135-pound title is at home with Dominick Cruz, and according to UFC President Dana White, that's where it'll stay until Cruz is healthy enough to return or until he calls it quits altogether. In the meantime (you might even say, in the interim), we've got this belt that looks exactly like the real one but doesn't mean the same thing. It's basically the MMA version of a bookmark. It helps us keep track of who the best bantamweight was while Cruz was away. That's all.
As for why you should care about the Barao-McDonald bout, I don't know. How about because it'll probably be an awesome fight? Forget the shiny trinket attached to it. Forget that it's on FUEL TV in the middle of the afternoon (what, you're disappointed that the UFC isn't offering you the chance to pay for this fight?). Just think of it as a five-round scrap between two of the brightest young talents in the division. Plus it's on free TV. Nothing to complain about there.
@benfowlkesmma if McDonald sees fighting as a job do you expect he will retire much younger than most? I can't see him going past 32. #TMB
— Alex (@Alex_Newfie) February 12, 2013
I wondered the same thing after hearing McDonald explain how and why he separates his job as a fighter from his identity as a person. For most people, a job is a lot easier to walk away from than, say, a life. At the same time, it's worth remembering that this is what McDonald says about it now, when he's 22. I don't know about you, but I remember being 22. My ideas about what I wanted out of life have, let's say, evolved since then. While I think McDonald is wise to separate his fighting career from his identity, I also wonder if he'll feel the same in 10 years. He might. Then again, he might find this sport a lot harder to leave after so long in it.
@benfowlkesmma being that I like a bet, should I know a fighter is on TRT before a contest?
— JBarriteau (@JB_TChalla) February 13, 2013
If you ask me, we should all know if a fighter is on testosterone-replacement therapy before he fights. His opponent should definitely know, ideally before he accepts the fight. Whether you think the treatment is totally legit or a dangerous loophole just begging to be exploited, transparency from those using it and from those allowing them to use it shouldn't be too much to ask.
But in your own roundabout way you bring up an interesting point related to TRT in MMA: Does being on the stuff significantly increase a fighter's odds of victory? I've heard a lot of people asking this recently, often in defense of TRT use. It's a difficult question to answer, mostly because the sample size is still pretty small. We can all name fighters who've won and lost while on TRT, but what does that prove? Fighters have won and lost on all manner of performance-enhancing drugs over the years. I don't see anyone pointing to Stephan Bonnar's loss to Anderson Silva while on drostanolone as proof that it should be taken off the banned substances list. Just because something isn't magic, that doesn't necessarily mean it isn't still unfair.
I realize I'm not really answering your question, though, which, as I understand it, is whether it's a smart move for you to bet on (or against) known TRT users. Again, I'd argue there's not enough evidence to know for sure, but it is worth considering what might prompt a fighter to get on this controversial treatment in the first place. A guy who's destroying everybody he faces probably isn't going to want to risk the public criticism just to get a little boost. Seems more likely that it'll be the fighters who are already faltering who go looking for the answer in a syringe. They might not get the result they want every time, but if it didn't work, they wouldn't go to all this trouble to do it.
@benfowlkesmma I don't love Cain-Bigfoot 2, but honestly couldn't think of anyone else to give shot to. Who would you have picked? #TMB
— Lou Giordano (@LouG_or_Dano) February 13, 2013
I agree that it's going to make for a tough sell, especially after the way Cain Velasquez absolutely destroyed Antonio Silva in their first meeting. But short of waiting for future matchups to produce a more compelling contender, I also don't see an obvious alternative. In a way, I'm almost so relieved to see the UFC give a title shot to someone coming off a victory that I don't even care whether the fight will be competitive. At least the next heavyweight title contender is a heavyweight. At least we know he got the shot by knocking out people rather than talking his way into it. For right now, that's enough for me.
@benfowlkesmma the rashad evans little nog fight may have killed pay-per-view mma for me, worst fight ever. PPV UFC must be over soon right?
— Jason Webb (@generalwebb) February 13, 2013
Dude, calm down. It was one boring fight on an otherwise entertaining card. If the utter snoozefest between Gabriel Gonzaga and Kevin Jordan (which was punctuated by a surprising knockout in the final minute, but only after 14 minutes of total boredom) at UFC 56 didn't kill pay-per-view for the UFC, this certainly won't.
@benfowlkesmma if you are Dos Santos, do you put in your contract w/ Reem mandatory VADA or USADA testing? Is he a fool not to? #tmb
— Baltasar Shepard (@BaltasarShepard) February 13, 2013
I'd be surprised to see Junior dos Santos go that route, if only because he seems like far less of a boat-rocker than fighters such as B.J. Penn or Roy Nelson. As for whether it would be smart for him to ignore his own easygoing nature and find a way to make sure we know what's in Alistair Overeem's body before they fight, well, it sure wouldn't hurt. I'd support any fighter who's willing to go the extra mile to not only assure fans that he's competing clean, but also to make sure he isn't opening himself up to any unfair or undue risk against an opponent who's figured out how to bypass MMA's relatively weak drug testing protocols. I just hope the UFC would be as supportive if JDS decided to go that route.
@benfowlkesmma Is Sara McMann the best prospect for the UFC's women's division? Or is she a hothead like her dad Vince?
— Michael Peterson (@MikeCPeterson) February 13, 2013
Actually, Sara McMann and Vince McMahon aren't – you know what? Never mind.
In answer to your question, I'm still not sure what to make of McMann. She's obviously a great athlete, but with only six pro fights, she's still pretty inexperienced in MMA. What's interesting about her is that, with her wrestling pedigree, she seems like she could eventually be a tough style matchup for Ronda Rousey (and, let's be honest, the UFC's women's division is all about Rousey at this point). A powerhouse wrestler who throws hard on the feet, but can still put you down when she feels like it? As long as her submission (and by submission I mostly mean armbar) defense is sound, she could be a problem for the UFC's golden girl.
@benfowlkesmma what do you think about the who Cyborg and Ronda situation. Is Cyborg just being difficult? TMB
— The MMA Kid™ (@Marc_MMA) February 14, 2013
I don't know if she's only being difficult, but it does seem like "Cyborg" Santos is not being terribly smart. Consider her predicament: She's a disgraced former champ coming off a steroid suspension and trying to compete in a division that the UFC doesn't have. Does that really seem like the best position from which to start making demands?
Santos says she can't make 135 pounds. She cites health concerns, even brandishes a doctor's note. That strategy might work a lot better if she hadn't recently been caught using steroids, which are also not a great idea from a health standpoint. The problem is, 145 pounds is not exactly a thriving division in women's MMA right now. If Santos is so adamant that it's the only weight class she can compete in, she might be dooming herself to long periods of inactivity. Maybe she's fine with that. Maybe she genuinely feels that she has no other option. If that's the case, the UFC might as well let her go do – whatever it is she would rather be doing.
But Santos (and her manager, Mr. Tito Ortiz) ought to be very clear about one thing first: The UFC doesn't need her. It already has the biggest star in women's MMA, and now that it's added other 135-pounders such as Miesha Tate, Cat Zingano, Alexis Davis and Sara McMann, it looks like there'll be no immediate shortage of opponents for her, assuming she gets by Liz Carmouche. Where does Santos think she fits into that picture? I'd say she's a fighter the UFC would like to have, but doesn't absolutely need. She seems to think that she doesn't need the UFC either, which is basically like saying thanks, but no thanks to the biggest, most profitable opportunity of your career.
Again, maybe she's really, truly fine with that. But since she seems to think she could get down to at least 140 pounds for a catchweight bout, that really only leaves five more pounds separating her from a major payday. You're telling me she doesn't even want to give that a shot? It's not even worth considering? If that's how she really feels, then OK. I just hope she knows what she's giving up on.
Ben Fowlkes is MMAjunkie.com and USA TODAY's MMA columnist. Follow him on Twitter at @BenFowlkesMMA. Twitter Mailbag appears every Thursday on MMAjunkie.com.


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In my previous post, I worried that the Google Books settlement might fall apart in the face of opposition from influential parties like the Copyright Office, and that such a collapse might deprive the public of meaningful access to millions of out of print books.
Not everyone sees it that way. I've seen various suggestions of alternatives to the settlement for making these books available. In this post, I'll describe some of the suggested alternatives, explain why they don't seem to me as likely to succeed on their own, and discuss how some of them could still go forward under a settlement.
Compulsory licenses
Both the Open Book Alliance's court filings and the Copyright Office's testimony mention the possibility of compulsory licensing, which essentially lets people use a copyrighted work without getting permission, provided that they meet standard conditions determined by the government. Compulsory licenses already exist in certain areas, such as musical performances and broadcasts. If I want to cover a Beatles song on my new record, I can, as long as meet some basic conditions, including paying a standard royalty. The (remaining) Beatles can't hold out for a higher rate, or say that no one else is allowed to cover the recordings they've released.
The Google Books settlement has some similarities to a compulsory license, but with some important differences, including:
- Book rightsholders can choose to deny public uses of their work, or hold out for higher compensation, which they generally can't do under a compulsory license regime. (They have to explicitly request this, though. So it's really what one might call a "default" license.)
- The license has been negotiated through a court settlement rather than Congressional action. (This was one of the main complaints of the Copyright Office.)
- The license given in the settlement is granted only to Google, not to other digitizers. (This has justifiably raised monopoly concerns.)
I do have a problem with the last difference as it stands. I'd like to see the license widened so that anyone, not just Google, could digitize and make available out of print books under the same terms as Google. But there are various ways we can get to that point from the settlement. The Book Rights Registry created by the settlement could extend Google-like rights to anyone else under the same terms, as the settlement permits them to do. The Justice Department could require them to do so as part of an antitrust supervision. Or Congress could decide to codify the license to apply generally. (They've done this sort of thing before with fair use and the first sale doctrine, both of which originated in the courts.)
If the settlement falls apart, though, negotiation over an appropriate license has to start over from scratch, and has to persuade Congress to loosen copyrights for benefits they might not clearly see. As I suggested in my previous post, Congress' recent tendencies have heavily favored tightening, rather than loosening, copyright control. And I haven't yet seen a strong coalition pushing for laws granting compulsory (or default) licenses that are as broad as would be needed.
For instance, the Open Books Alliance's amicus brief suggests the possibility of a compulsory license, but only as "but one approach", and that suggestion seems as much aimed at getting hold of Google's scans as licensing the book copyrights themselves. Their front page at present shows no explicit advocacy of compulsory copyright licenses. Perhaps they will unite behind a workable Google Books-style compulsory license proposal in the future, but I'm not counting on that. (Update: Just after I posted this, I saw this statement of principles go up on the OBA site. We'll see what develops from that.)
The Copyright Office's congressional brief also mentions but tries to damp down the idea. It repeatedly characterizes compulsory licensing as something that Congress only does "reluctantly" and "in the face of marketplace failure". But despite its strong words on other subjects, it does not appear concerned over whether we in fact have a marketplace failure around broad access to out-of-print books.
Orphan works legislation
The Copyright Office filing also suggests passing orphan works legislation (as have various other parties, including Google). An orphan works limitation on copyrights would be nice, but it's not going to enable the sort of large, comprehensive historical corpus that the Google Books settlement would allow.
As Denise Troll Covey has pointed out, the orphan works certification requirements recommended in last year's bill, like many other case-by-case copyright clearance procedures, are labor-intensive and slow, and may be legally risky. (In particular, the overhead for copyright clearance, not including license payment, can be several times the cost of digitization.) Hence, these methods are not likely to scale well. And they would not cover the many out-of-print books that aren't, strictly speaking, orphans. I don't consider it likely that a near-comprehensive library of millions of out-of-print 20th century books will come about by this route alone any time soon.
Even so, despite its limited reach, last year's orphan works legislation was stopped in Congress after some creator organizations objected to it. Some of the objectors, including the National Writers Union and the American Society of Journalists and Authors, are now members of the Open Book Alliance, which makes me wonder how effectively that group would act as a united coalition for copyright reform.
Private negotiation
Some critics suggest that Google and other digitizers simply negotiate with each rightsholder, or a mediator designated by each rightsholder. It's possible that this actually might work for many future books, if authors and publishers set up comprehensive clearinghouses (like ASCAP and Harry Fox mediate music licensing). If new books get registered with agents like these going forward, with simple, streamlined digital rights clearing, private arrangement could work well for future books both in-print and out-of-print. Indeed, Google's default settlement license privileges don't apply to new books from 2009 onward.
But it's much less likely that this will be a practical solution to build a comprehensive collection of past out of print books from the 20th and early 21st century, because of the sheer difficulty and cost of determining and locating all the current rightsholders of books long out of print. The friction involved in such negotiation (involving high average cost for low average compensation) is too great. Without the settlement and/or legal reform, we risk having what James Boyle called a "20th century black hole" for books.
Copyright law reform
As James Boyle points out, it would solve a lot of the problems that keep old books in obscurity if books didn't get exceedingly long copyrights purely by default. It would also help if fair use and public domain determination weren't as risky as they are now. I'd love to see all that come to pass, but no one I know that's knowledgeable on copyright issues is holding their breath waiting for it to happen any time soon.
Moving forward
As I've previously mentioned, the settlement is imperfect. It may well need antitrust supervision, and future elaboration and extension. (And I've suggested some ways that libraries and others can work to improve on it.) It's still the most promising starting point I've seen for making comprehensive, widely usable, historic digital book collections possible. I hope that we get the chance to build on it, instead of throwing away the opportunity. In any case, I'd be happy to hear people's thoughts and comments about the best way to move forward.


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Discussion Board
Clinical Trials
Vitamin C & beta carotene could help prevent cognitive decline - German study
July 20, 2012
Article:Dietary antioxidants and dementia in a
population-based case-control study among older people in South Germany–
Source: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Jun 18, 2012By Christine
AF von Arnim, et al.[Note: Lead author Christine von Arnim is "head of the Memory Clinic and managing
director of the interdisciplinary Centre of Geriatrics in Ulm" (Germany). Both
vitamin C and beta carotene are nutrients the body uses to support membrane
integrity.]Abstract: Oxidative stress*
is believed to play a central role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease
(AD), a neurodegenerative disease. Antioxidants may prevent the onset
AD, as high dietary intake of vitamins C and E were reported to be associated
with lower risk of the disease.The objective of this study was to
evaluate the serum levels of antioxidants in persons with mild dementia to test
whether it is associated with lower levels of antioxidants in a cross-sectional
study in the population of the "Activity and Function in the Elderly in Ulm"
(ActiFE) study. [Involved a full assessment of 1,506 community dwelling older
adults.]Main exposure measures were:• Vitamin C,• Vitamin E,• Beta-carotene (orange carotene
plant pigment, which the body needs to produce vitamin A; also rich in dark
green leaves, where orange is masked by the green chlorophyll pigment.)
• Lycopene (red carotene pigment, as in tomatoes),• And coenzyme
Q10…… as analyzed by HPLC.Main outcome measures were mild
cognitive impairment among 74 mildly demented compared to 158 age- and
gender-matched controls.We found that blood vitamin C and beta-carotene
concentrations were significantly lower in demented than in control persons even
after adjusting for school education, intake of dietary supplements, smoking
habits, body mass index, and alcohol consumption (3rd versus 1st tertile: OR:
0.29, 95% CI, 0.09–0.96 and 0.13, 95% CI, 0.03–0.55, respectively).No
associations were found for vitamin E, lycopene, and coenzyme Q10.Our
findings suggest an association of vitamin C and beta-carotene with
dementia.However this is limited to the cross-sectional character of our
study [at one point in time] and longitudinal data will give further insight
into this association.Source: Journal of Alzheimer's
Disease, Jun 18, 2012. PMID:22710913, by von Arnim CAF, Herbolsheimer F,
Nikolaus T, Peter R, Biesalski HK, Ludolph AC, Riepe M, Nagel G. Department of
Neurology, Institute of Epidemiology and Medical Biometry, and Department of
Psychiatry and Psychotherapy II, Mental Health and Old Age Psychiatry, Ulm
University, Ulm; Agaplesion Bethesda Clinic, Ulm; Department of Biological
Chemistry and Nutrition, Food Security Center, University of Hohenheim,
Stuttgart, Germany.___* Note: According to
Answers.com:Oxidative stress is "A condition which occurs when the
production of free radicals in the human body exceeds the body's ability to
neutralize and eliminate them. Oxidative stress can result from a lack of
antioxidants or from an over abundance free radicals. Exercise can increase
levels of free radicals, increasing the risk of oxidative stress. Free radicals
can react with key components of cells, including DNA, lipids, and protein,
resulting in cellular damage."
Copyright © 2012 ProHealth, Inc. http://www.prohealth.com/library/print.cfm?libid=17109
Thanks, too, for this very useful study, Onward. A recent study suggesting that Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Coenzyme Q, and alpha lipoic acid were ineffective in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease had a series of design flaws and omissions. Some headlines following the study said that not just the above antioxidants were ineffective against Alzheimer's disease but that all antioxidants were ineffective against the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. However, the study produced better results with antioxidants in the reduction of levels of amyloid plaques and tau hyperphosphorylation then in the group just receiving acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (such as Aricept)


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Rule #1 - Be Patient - Rule #2 - Don't ask when, if you don't contribute - Rule #3 - You have coding skills - LinuxMCE's small brother is available: http://www.agocontrol.com
We could try Before we go ahead and do anything, though, what is a good format for the table?What information would people like to see?I'm thinking something like:|Version|Status|Date|Contributed / tested by||710|Status Unknown||||810|Working|29th April 2010|Wiedbeard65|What do others think?Also, I reckon we should have a "Works with 810" type logo that we could add to wiki pages etc. Anyone artistic?
Oh, I agree totally - I'm concerned about getting the information into the existing pages though.Still, at least once this is done, I'll feel I've contributed something!
Then how about you get off your lazy ass and actually start editing? Or would that be to much effort if it can't be done with "mass inserts"?
I'm concerned about getting the information into the existing pages though.
you guys should try to make this a mediawiki template, so that you can easily insert this with parameters on the relevant pages.Look at the meta mediawiki for instructions.-Thom
{{ template_name | parameter }}
I've got a thick skin so I'll jump in.Coming to this community as someone with programming skills but no multimedia / AV knowledge, my first impression was the wiki sucked. I had trouble finding basic answers like what exactly is LinuxMCE? Where do I find a list of all currently supported alarm systems? What are the pro's and cons of various automation protocols? Etc. The information is somewhat there, just scattered and not well organized.Now I have not contributed anything, wiki, code, or otherwise (I just bought a house, spare time is an oxymoron). I hit the forums a couple times a day while my code is compiling at work. If I jump in the wiki and start trying to make stuff easier to find will I be welcomed for helping out or will I get my butt chewed for changing stuff when I'm a clueless newb? No promises here, I've got all the usual excuses of a full time job plus kid plus I'm studying for my PE certification. But this community has a little "abrasiveness" some times that makes me hesitant to stick my neck out. David


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A new policy brief from the National Education Policy Center pries at the lid of the charter school black box to shine a light into these institutions and reveal how charter schools blur the line from what it means to be a "public school" and, by their very design, expand opportunities to profiteer from public tax dollars and privatize public assets.
New Report Shines A Light Into The Charter School Black Box
Charter schools are now the most rapidly growing form of schools in the nation's education system, but surveys show Americans generally don't understand what charters are even if they tend to favor them. Are these schools public? Are they private? Who really runs these schools, and how do they take in and spend money?
According to charter industry reports, more than 500 new public charter schools opened during the 2014-15 school year enrolling an estimated 348,000 additional students, representing a four percent growth in the number of operating public charter schools and 14 percent growth in public charter school students. There are now more than 6,700 public charter schools enrolling about 2.9 million students nationwide.
But in-depth investigations conducted in communities where these schools proliferate find that government officials who have to deal with the impact of charters generally are perplexed about the "business model" driving these schools. And public school parents who send their children to these schools generally know very little about the financial machinations that support the schools' operations and staffing.
So little is known about how charter schools are organized and operated that they're often referred to as a "black box."
A new policy brief from the National Education Policy Center pries at the lid of the charter school black box to shine a light into these institutions and reveal how charter schools blur the line from what it means to be a "public school" and, by their very design, expand opportunities to profiteer from public tax dollars and privatize public assets.
The brief "The Business of Charter Schooling: Understanding the Policies that Charter Operators Use for Financial Benefit" delves into the many ways the design of charter schools complicates any analysis of the flow of money into and out of these schools. The authors Bruce Baker and Gary Miron – university professors from Rutgers and Eastern Michigan, respectively – detail how the very structure of the charter school business introduces new actors into public education who skim money from the system without returning any benefit to students and taxpayers.
In one of the more bizarre schemes the authors examine, charter operators will use third-party corporations to purchase buildings and land from the public school district itself, so taxpayer dollars are used to purchase property from the public. Thus, the public ends up paying twice for the school, and the property becomes an asset of a private corporation.
In other examples, charter operators will set up leasing agreements and lucrative management fees between multiple entities that end up extracting resources, which might otherwise be dedicated to direct services for children.
These arrangements, and many others documented in the brief, constitute a rapidly expanding parallel school system in America, populated with enterprises and individuals who work in secret to suck money out of public education.
Charter Schools Aren't Really 'Public Schools'
The first secret of charter schools that keeps their financial workings hidden and their funding prone to exploitation is that they aren't really public schools, despite what charter advocates say.
As Baker and Miron explain, charters generally aren't subject to the same disclosure laws that apply to state operated entities and public officials, especially when the governance bodies for these schools outsource management services to for-profit management firms, as is increasingly the case.
As the brief explains, outsourcing school operations to private entities has the potential to make transparency laws – for open meetings, public access to records, and financial disclosures by public officials and state operated institutions – subject to court interpretation. Courts across states have offered mixed opinions as to whether and to what extent to apply transparency laws to charter schools, their authorizers, operators, and governing boards.
Further, the public-private arrangement of charter schools often place new limits on the constitutional (and some statutory) protections that are customarily guaranteed to school employees and students in state operated institutions.
These important differences between charter schools and traditional public schools are not generally understood or appreciated by even the most knowledgeable people, which is why charter advocates put so much energy and resources in marketing their operations as "public" schools.
How The Charter School Gravy Train Works
Just as the complexity of public-private governance emerging in the charter sector complicates analysis of these organizations' legal rights and responsibilities, it also complicates analysis of how money flows into and out of these schools
Because education management organizations do not report relevant, detailed, and comprehensive expenditures in the same format or with comparable documentation as public districts, charter operations can spend money in ways that would generally be impermissible in public institutions.
The types of controversial expenditures in charter schools – what the NEPC brief calls "excess costs" – include bloated executive salaries, wildly inflated administrative fees, acquisitions and transfers of buildings and property, and "asset hoarding" where school supplies and materials purchased with public tax dollars are retained in private holdings.
Most troubling of the charter school excess costs documented in the brief are the various forms of financial arrangements that steer vast sums of public money designated for education to private investors and their firms.
In one such financial arrangement, charter operators will use independent, though often closely affiliated, private nonprofit or for-profit entities to acquire long-term debt that ultimately must be paid for by the public. In these arrangements, the third party entity repays investors by charging the charter operator exorbitant lease payments – a cost that is ultimately charged back to the public taxpayer. Yet, this lease payment, the brief notes, "doesn't need to be approved by local taxpayers."
This arrangement also leads to excess debt service expenses where financial transaction and loan interest costs divert money that had been used for education into the financial industry. Remarkably, the brief notes, these debts generally will not mature until after the year 2040, way beyond when the authorization of most charters will have to be renewed.
In another questionable financial scheme, taxpayer funds are used, without voter approval, to purchase a property from the taxpayers themselves, for someone else – the charter school operator or the education management company. In other words, "the taxpayers are buying the facility a second time, albeit from themselves, but the result is that these taxpayers will no longer own it. Worse, in the process of transferring the property, taxpayer dollars have subsidized substantial fees and interest to various parties. The icing on the cake is that the federal government has spent federal taxpayer dollars to stimulate these transactions."
As Charters Gain Financially, Students And Schools Lose Educationally
In addition to their financial wheeling and dealing, charter schools also "enhance revenues," as the authors phrase it, by engaging in practices public schools would never get away with.
"Some charter schools have been found to condition continued student enrollment on parent volunteer activities," the brief documents. "Others have been found to charge exorbitant fines for student disciplinary infractions."
Charters also frequently engage in a "head count" game in which they inflate enrollments before a cut-off date in the fall and then retain money given to them by the district as students dis-enroll from the charter throughout the rest of the school year.
Another revenue enhancement strategy frequently employed by charters is to avoid serving children with more severe, more costly disabilities.
After charters have tapped all revenue enhancements related to students and parents, they go after teacher salaries and benefits. The brief documents how charter chains, such as KIPP, slash teacher personnel costs at the same time they spend more than what comparable public schools in their communities spend. Another charter chain, Harmony, cuts teacher expenses to spend considerably more on the operating costs of the schools than what comparable public schools spend.
Often, these lower personnel costs are accomplished by keeping a relatively inexperienced staff of teachers who frequently leave the school and are replaced by other low-cost, inexperienced teachers.
Why Are We Doing This?
What emerges from these revelations should be deeply concerning to government officials, public policy makers, charter school lobbyists, and others who advocate for more expansion of the charter sector.
As the authors state, a "substantial share of public expenditure intended for the delivery of direct educational services to children is being extracted inadvertently or intentionally for personal or business financial gain, creating substantial inefficiencies."
The outright unlawful costs of charter schools to the public are not a trivial matter. A recent report from the Center for Popular Democracy and the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools uncovered over $200 million in "alleged and confirmed financial fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement" committed by charter schools around the country. Authors of the report called their findings the "tip of the iceberg," because much of the fraud goes undetected.
Reports of charter schools financial misconduct are now so numerous that it seems every day brings a new revelation of how these schools misappropriate and misspend public money.
However, many of the financial arrangements and business opportunities discussed in the NEPC brief are legally permissible and entirely understandable from the point-of-view of charter schools and their operators. States and authorizers have given these institutions permission to do this.
But authors of the brief ask us to consider whether "that which is legal is not necessrily ethical, or in support of the public interest."
While charter schools can claim to be doing "a reasonably good job of satisfying parents and students," the authors contend, the academic results of these schools are mixed at best, and there is considerable evidence charter schools have acted to further racial segregation and privatization of our education system.
Given their findings, Baker and Miron argue that as these public-private relationships have become increasingly complex and opaque, state charter laws have failed to keep pace. They propose reasonable recommendations for revisions of laws and financial reporting requirements and a tightening of the regulatory provisions for these schools.
These revelations and the recommendations they lead the authors to constitute an invaluable service to all who care about our children's education.
-Jeff Bryant
Jeff Bryant is an associate fellow at Campaign for America's Future and editor of the recently launched Education Opportunity Network, a project of the Institute for America's Future, in partnership with the Opportunity to Learn Campaign and an Education Fellow at The Progressive.


text:
VATICAN, June 11, 2013 (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis pointed out that Saint Peter did not have a bank account, as he warned against the dangers of a Church that finds its security in resources instead of the free gift of the Gospel.
"St. Peter did not have a bank account, and when he had to pay taxes, the Lord sent him to the sea to catch fish and find the money in the fish to pay," said the Pope during Mass in the chapel of Saint Martha's House.
"Philip, when he met Queen Candace's finance minister, did not think 'ah, good, let's set up an organization to support the Gospel,'" he added during his June 11 homily.
Instead, the pontiff noted, Philip "preached, baptized and left."
Pope Francis made his comments based on Matthew 10 and said "the key word" is in the mandate given by Jesus, "freely you have received, freely give."
"When we find the apostles who want to build a rich Church and a Church without the gratuitousness of praise, the Church becomes old, the Church becomes an NGO, the Church becomes lifeless," he remarked.
"The proclamation of the gospel must follow the path of poverty," he asserted.
The only wealth Christians should have should be the gifts they receive from God.
"This poverty saves us from becoming managers, entrepreneurs," he remarked.
"The works of the Church must be brought forward, and some are a little complex, but with a heart of poverty, not with the heart of an investment broker or an entrepreneur," he clarified.
Pope Francis explained that poverty and the ability to praise the Lord are two signs of an apostle who lives a gratuity, the free gift of the Kingdom of God.
"The Church is not an NGO, it is something else, something more important, and this is the result of gratuity, received and proclaimed," he said.
"When an apostle does not live this gratuity, he or she loses the ability to praise the Lord," the Pope said.
The pontiff noted that "praising the Lord is essentially gratuitous" and a kind of freely given prayer because "we do not ask, we only praise."
"There is the temptation to seek strength elsewhere than in gratuity," he stated.
"This temptation creates a little confusion where proclamation becomes proselytizing," the Pope said. "Instead our strength is the gratuitousness of the Gospel."
He underscored that the Lord "has invited us to preach, not to proselytize."
Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, concelebrated the Mass with Pope Francis.
Employees of the congregation also attended the Eucharistic celebration.
"Everything is grace, everything," he told them.
"The Church does not grow through proselytizing but by drawing people to her, and this attraction comes from the testimony of those who freely proclaim the gratuity of salvation," said Pope Francis.


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Olivia Wilde takes us for a drive in a new Tron clip. More photos from Captain America have surfaced, as have character details for Wolverine's trip to Japan. Plus, details on X-Men: The First Class, The Walking Dead, and Alien.
Tron Legacy:
Sam Flynn and Olivia Wilde's Cora take a spin in the Light Runner, Tron's off-road vehicle. [via /Film]
Captain America:
There's a veritable bounty of Captain America in the new issue of Entertainment weekly. We get Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine, Hugo Weaving as Johann Schmidt, and Chris Evans both in and — ahem — out of uniform. [Comic Book Movie]
Wolverine 2:
The second film puts Logan in Tokyo, at the behest of a man named Zen, and there's a host of Japanese characters he'll encounter across the ocean. There is Shingen, a man whose father was Master of the Hand. The Master kills himself to prevent Shingen from taking his title, hoping Logan will become the next Master of the Hand. Logan saves the life of Mariko, Shingen's daughter. They fall in love, but Mariko is engaged to Noburo Moro, the corrupt Minister of Justice who is in the Yakuza's pocket.
He also encounters Kenuichio, a master samurai and Shingen's illegitimate son, under less friendly circumstances. Shingen doesn't recognize Kenuichio as his heir, but Kenuichio — the "Silver Samurai" — attacks Logan while wearing electrified armor. Kenuichio is also the lover of Viper, Noburo's fiercely loyal secretary.
Logan takes on a female bodyguard, Yukio, who has ties to Shingen but is ultimately loyal to Logan. And he gets information from Frank Sinatra, a Japanese lounge singer and high-ranking member of the Yakuza. [CinemaBlend]
Alien Prequel:
Yesterday, we mentioned that The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo star Noomi Rapace was eager to star in Ridley Scott's Alien prequel. Now Deadline is reporting that the feeling is mutual, and Scott is favoring Rapace as his new action heroine. But Rapace's English is a concern, and Carey Mulligan, Abie Cornish, Natalie Portman, and Olivia Wilde are also rumored to be in the running. [Deadline]
X-Men: First Class:
Jennifer Lawrence says that we'll be meeting a different version of Mystique than we're used to — an insecure teenager hiding her blue-skinned secret. [Superhero Hype]
She also tells MTV News that she starts out as a good girl.
New promo videos from this Rapunzel reimagining focus on the minor characters. [CinemaBlend]
Pascal the Chameleon:
Maximus the Steed:
The Pub Thugs:
Plus, look at all the pretty pictures:
[gallery 5676146]
Transformers 3:
Here's another video from the Entertainment Tonight segment, with plenty of Bayhem. [via /Film]
Mission Impossible 4:
Tom Cruise has unveiled the title of the fourth Mission Impossible film: Ghost Protocol. In this video, he explains why he doesn't like to give the films numbers:
The Walking Dead:
We're just a few days away from the premiere, but there's still time to glean every possible detail from the cast and creator interviews. Andrew Lincoln and Sarah Wayne Callies talk Rick and Lori:
[via Spoiler TV]
Robert Kirkman joins Lincoln to discuss how the graphic novel will translate to television. Kirkman describes many of the scenes in the pilot as "more complete" versions of the same scenes in the comic.
The Walking Dead: Kirkman & Lincoln
Uploaded by tvguide. - Check out other Film & TV videos.
[via Spoiler TV]
Over at Newsarama, Steven Yuen (Glen) talks about his experience filming the show as a fan of the comic. [Newsarama]
Producer Gale Anne Hurd reiterates that this wasn't a frame for frame adaptation, but she is clear that the show will read as a television series rather than a series of movies. Regarding the early scenes in Atlanta and the surrounding area:
The city was so cooperative in allowing us to take over downtown for the end sequence of episode one. We were really able to give it scope and not cheat that. You see it a bit of it in the second episode, the location of the survivor's camp in the quarry also has magnificent production value. You actually see downtown Atlanta from that location, too.
And she teases Rick and Michonne's trip to Woodbury:
It will be interesting to see if Rick loses an appendage. We haven't crossed that bridge yet and we haven't ruled it out. I have a feeling that there will be things that would, surprisingly, feel gratuitous if we went to the comic's extent. But, I'm very excited to see Michonne and the Governor. They're pretty extreme characters.
Two new TV spots put us up close with the aliens:
Doctor Who
Here's a whole slew of behind the scenes set photos, including a few we've seen before. [Spoiler TV]
[gallery 5676160]
In this clip from tonight's cursed-with-truth episode, Dean really can't handle the truth. [via Spoiler TV]
In the sixth episode, "6995 kHz," which airs November 11th, a group of 15 people "over here" suffer retrograde amnesia after listening to their short wave radios. The Fringe team investigates, and Peter is still intent on piecing together the mass destruction device — to Walter's chagrin. And the chemistry between Peter and alternate Olivia deepens. [Fringe Spoilers]
The eighth episode of this season will be called "Entrada." [Spoiler TV]
And After Ellen followed the lovely Jasika Nicole to work on set and took plenty of pictures. [After Ellen]
General Lane and Lucy are back for Thanksgiving in November 5th's "Ambush," and, like so many family dinners, this get-together devolves into political disagreement. Clark and the General butt heads over superheroes and the General's attempt to pass a vigilante registration law. Rick Flagg, hoping to keep the law from being passed, lies to Lucy to lure Clark away from the farm so Flagg can assassinate the General. Let's take a look at the heartwarming family moments. [CBR]
In "Harvest," Clark tries to steer Lois away from covering the Vigilante Registration Act because he fears for her safety. Lois doesn't take kindly to his meddling, but no sooner does she tell him she can take care of herself than she finds herself stranded in the middle of nowhere with a flat tire — and then she finds herself in serious danger. Meanwhile, Tess searches for a cure for Alexander's rapid aging. [CBR]
And now that we've seen Mad Harriet, here she is alongside Granny Goodness herself in the episode "Abandoned." [Spoiler TV]
No Ordinary Family:
In the November 9th episode "No Ordinary Visitors," Cybril Shepherd guest stars as Stephanie's hard-to-please mother Barbara. Along with Stephanie's father Allan, she pays the Powells a surprise visit, forcing them to curb their powers to keep their secret. But, as parents will, they witness some strange goings-on and become suspicious. Daphne's friend Trent (moody Twilight vamp Jackson Rathbone) and his parents are victim's of a home invasion, and Daphne tries to use her mind-reading to track down the perps.
Then in "No Ordinary Mobster," Jim tries to take down a mobster who has eluded George for years, putting his secret identity at risk. Stephanie continues Dr. Volson's research on a mysterious path in defiance of Dr. King. Daphne convinces JJ to make her more knowledgeable so she can impress a boy, and JJ tries to help Katie get a date — and goes to the extreme.
"No Ordinary Accident" finds Jim suddenly powerless, and Stephanie tries to figure out why. JJ is caught hacking into the school computer system and may face criminal charges while Daphne is once again out to impress a boy — this time using her own powers. And Katie finds herself falling for a mysterious new man. [Spoiler TV]
Vampire Diaries:
Zach Roerig says that his character, Matt, isn't quite out of the woods. Noting that vamp Katherine is the series' puppeteer, he says "I'm proud to be a puppet in this next episode." [TV Guide]
Additional reporting by Katharine Trendacosta.


text:
FAQ How do I load source files edited outside Eclipse?
You can achieve a minimal level of Eclipse integration without writing a single line of Eclipse-specific tooling code. Add resource files to a project in your workspace. Edit and compile the source files outside Eclipse or by using the Eclipse text editor. Make sure that the files get copied into the project's output directory, usually the bin directory. Intermittently refresh your Eclipse Navigator so that you can access the generated bytecode files. The only integration is the sharing of class files through the file system. But at least it allows for preliminary and rudimentary experimentation without writing any Eclipse plug-ins.
See Also:
This FAQ was originally published in Official Eclipse 3.0 FAQs. Copyright 2004, Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. This text is made available here under the terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0.


text:
Hallmark Less Bitter More Glitter Spiral Notebook
STYLE# 0001HWJ7048Regular price $9.99
Add a little glitz and glamour to your days with this cute journal. Poised to catch the sparks of good ideas and the starry-eyed dreams that run through your head at the speed of light, this spiral notebook features silver laser foil lettering, a sparkly cover and an elastic band closure.
* Hardcover spiral notebook features laser foil accents on cover and end liners
* On notebook: Less Bitter, More Glitter
* 160 lined pages
* Elastic band closure
* Approx. 5'' W x 7'' H
* Hardcover spiral notebook features laser foil accents on cover and end liners
* On notebook: Less Bitter, More Glitter
* 160 lined pages
* Elastic band closure
* Approx. 5'' W x 7'' H
Shipping Information
- Orders will be shipped the same or next business day (Monday thru Friday) of order receipt.
- E-mails confirming status will be sent at the same time.
- Please allow 7 days from ship date for regular ground or postal delivery within the continental 48 states, and 21 days outside the 48 states.
- Merchandise will be shipped FedEx Ground/Home Delivery or USPS Priority Mail unless otherwise requested.
- All purchases over $100.00 must be shipped to the address of credit card holder.
Delivery Times
- FedEx Expedited transit days do not include Saturday & Sunday. (For Example: If we were to ship an order to you on Thursday it would arrive on Friday if shipped FedEx Standard Overnight or Monday if shipped FedEx 2Day)
- Standard Ground Shipping is sent via FedEx Ground/Home Delivery or USPS Priority Mail. This map shows you how many BUSINESS days your order should take to arrive (after we ship it) if it is sent via FedEx Ground/Home Delivery. FedEx Ground delivers to businesses Monday-Friday. FedEx Home Ground Delivery delivers Tuesday-Saturday.
Returns Information
- Returns must be made within 30 days of original purchase.
- Returns must be shipped prepaid to the below address with return form(.pdf format) enclosed.
- All merchandise must be returned in original, unworn condition with all tags still attached
- Credit (less shipping charges) will be issued immediately upon receipt of return.
- First time exchanges will be shipped (with no additional shipping charges added) as soon as we receive your return.
- Please e-mail us at firstname.lastname@example.com for availability and we will hold your exchange for you.
- All special orders will be subject to a 25% restocking fee.
- Gourmet Food & Intimate Apparel may not be returned.
Returns should be shipped to:
914 N Hervey St
Hope AR 71801


text:
It's the week before Thanksgiving, which means it's time to pick classes for next semester. Being a freshman here at Mizzou means you get last picks on classes. That's no fun because usually there are only early morning classes and tough teachers left! I was just able to validate my schedule a couple days ago and, let me tell you, it was very stressful. Classes that I originally selected filled up on me, some classes that I needed don't end until five o clock and, of course, I can't find any classes with my friends - but I stayed calm and finally got picking classes over with.
During this stressful process, I learned a couple of tips that I want to share! At many universities, they have a database called Grade Distribution where you can enter a class or a teacher's name and find out how many As, Bs, Cs, Ds, and Fs the professor gave out in a certain class. I use this because it's a great way of seeing if the teacher is hard or not. If I see the teacher has 400 students and 394 got a D and 6 got a C, then I am definitely not taking that teacher's class.
More From Seventeen
Another tool I use isRatemyprofessors.com
, a website where you can enter what school you go to and look up student ratings on the professors. An advisor can be helpful in picking your classes, but there's nothing better than the opinion of someone who has actually taken the course! I would definitely not finalize a class until you checked with both of the sources. After it's all over, with kick back and hang with your friends... before you have to start studying for finals!
How did picking classes for next semester go for you? Do you use any of these resources (or other ones) when deciding which professors to take? Leave a comment below!


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March 1, 2013
USDA's Risk Management Agency this week announced the removal, starting in 2014, of the five percent premium surcharge assessed against all organic farmers seeking federal crop insurance. This penalty against organic farming has been an issue NSAC has campaigned against for nearly a decade and we are delighted to finally report significant progress.
The change came about in part as a response to a just-relased audit of organic crop insurance by USDA's Office of Inspector General.
The audit found that transitional crop yields for the small but growing percentage of organic farmers in the crop insurance program generally exceeded actual production histories. Transitional yields, in this instance, does not refer to the yields during the transition to certified organic production. Rather, transitional yields are county average yields used in the federal crop insurance program when producers do not yet have a long-term production history with a particular crop, and also when a producer has a very bad year due to natural disasters.
Beginning with the 2014 insurance year, RMA will now use actual transitional yields for organic crops. While this is the appropriate policy, it remains highly problematic because the data being used is RMA's own data and is based necessarily therefore on very thin evidence. Only a quarter of organic farmers are enrolled in federal crop insurance and many of them have enrolled relatively recently. Given the historic surcharge penalty, and given that most crop insurance policies still pay out at conventional rather than organic prices, it is likely that those enrolled, as a general rule, either had higher risks or were more risk averse. Hence, current transitional yield data may very well be skewed in a way that still disadvantages organic farmers. Until more organic farmers are enrolled and have accumulated actual production histories that are recorded with USDA, this will be a continuing problem. However, the removal of the five percent premium surcharge should help considerably in this respect.
No less important is establishing organic prices that RMA can use in establishing the correct insurance payout rates in cases when insurance payments are triggered due to natural disasters or other reasons. The current Administration made a major step forward in this regard in 2011, when organic prices started being used for corn, soybeans, cotton, and processing tomatoes. Since then, RMA has added organic price elections for avocados and certain stonefruit crops. According to this week's bulletin, USDA is working toward having organic price selection available in the next two years for wheat, barley, and oats plus almonds, apples, pears, blueberries, table grapes, and certain stonefruits. NSAC supports a Senate-passed farm bill provision, championed by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), that directs USDA to finish the organic price selection work for all insurable commodities within three years.
Not addressed by this week's report and announcement is the broader issue of insuring individual crops versus insuring the revenue base of an entire farming operation. For highly diversified producers, whether grain, grain-livestock, or fruit and vegetable, insuring crop-by-crop may not be the best approach. For many years, RMA has made available, in certain states and in certain counties, Adjusted Gross Revenue Insurance (AGR) and a variation known as AGR-Lite. These may be better options, even today, for many organic growers than the crop-by-crop insurance. One way to see if it works for your farm is to use the AGR-Lite Wizard tool created by NSAC member group, the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT).
Better still may be the proposed new Whole Farm Diversified Risk Management Insurance, a farm bill provision promoted by NSAC and included in both the Senate-passed and House Agriculture Committee-passed farm bills in 2012. It would be available on a nationwide basis and provide for a diversification bonus. For diversified operations, the Whole Farm product may prove to be a superior option once it becomes available.
More information is available in RMA's 2013 Organic Factsheet and RMA's Organic Q&A document. Additional information is also available through RMA's Organic Crops website.
Categories: Farm Bill, Organic