text:
Public economics
Phillips curve graph, illustrating an
economic principle
|By application
Public economics (or economics of the public sector) is the study of government policy through the lens of economic efficiency and equity. At its most basic level, public economics provides a framework for thinking about whether or not the government should participate in economics markets and to what extent its role should be. In order to do so, microeconomic theory is utilized to assess whether the private market is likely to provide efficient outcomes in the absence of governmental interference. Inherently, this study involves the analysis of government taxation and expenditures. This subject encompasses a host of topics including market failures, externalities, and the creation and implementation of government policy. Public economics builds on the theory of welfare economics and is ultimately used as a tool to improve social welfare.[1]
Broad methods and topics include:
- the theory and application of public finance[2]
- analysis and design of public policy[3]
- distributional effects of taxation and government expenditures[4]
- analysis of market failure[5] and government failure.[6]
Emphasis is on analytical and scientific methods and normative-ethical analysis, as distinguished from ideology. Examples of topics covered are tax incidence,[7] optimal taxation,[8] and the theory of public goods.[9]
Subject range
The Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) classification codes are one way categorizing the range of economics subjects. There, Public Economics, one of 19 primary classifications, has 8 categories. They are listed below with JEL-code links to corresponding available article-preview links of The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics Online (2008) and with similar footnote links for each respective subcategory if available:[10]
- JEL: H (all) – Public Economics
- JEL: H0 – General
- JEL: H1 – Structure and Scope of Government[11]
- JEL: H2 – Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue[12]
- JEL: H3 – Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents[13]
- JEL: H4 – Publicly Provided Goods[14]
- JEL: H5 – National Government Expenditures and Related Policies[15]
- JEL: H6 – National Budget, Deficit, and Debt[16]
- JEL: H7 – State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations[17]
- JEL: H8 – Miscellaneous Issues.[18]
Public goods
Public goods, or collective consumption goods, exhibit two properties; non-rivalry and non-excludability. Something is non-rivaled if one person's consumption of it does not deprive another person, (to a point) a firework display is non-rivaled - since one person watching a firework display does not prevent another person from doing so. Something is non-excludable if its use cannot be limited to a certain group of people. Again, since one cannot prevent people from viewing a firework display it is non-excludable.[9] Conceptually, another example of public good is the service that is provided by law enforcement organizations, such as sheriffs and police.[19] Typically, cities and towns are served by only one police department, and the police department serves all of the people within its jurisdiction.
Cost–benefit analysis
While the origins of cost–benefit analysis can be traced back to Jules Dupuit's classic article "On the Measurement of the Utility of Public Works" (1844), much of the subsequent scholarly development occurred in the United States and arose from the challenges of water-resource development. In 1950, the U.S. Federal Interagency River Basin Committee's Subcommittee on Benefits and Costs published a report entitled, Proposed Practices for Economic Analysis of River Basin Projects (also known as the Green Book), which became noteworthy for bringing in the language of welfare economics.[20] In 1958, Otto Eckstein published Water-Resource Development: The Economics of Project Evaluation, and Roland McKean published his Efficiency in Government Through Systems Analysis: With Emphasis on Water Resources Development. The latter book is also considered a classic in the field of operations research. In subsequent years, several other important works appeared: Jack Hirshleifer, James DeHaven, and Jerome W. Milliman published a volume entitled Water Supply: Economics, Technology, and Policy (1960); and a group of Harvard scholars including Robert Dorfman, Stephen Marglin, and others published Design of Water-Resource Systems: New Techniques for Relating Economic Objectives, Engineering Analysis, and Governmental Planning (1962).[21]
Diamond–Mirrlees efficiency theorem
In 1971, Peter A. Diamond and James A. Mirrlees published a seminal paper which showed that even when lump-sum taxation is not available, production efficiency is still desirable. This finding is known as the Diamond–Mirrlees efficiency theorem, and it is widely credited with having modernized Ramsey's analysis by considering the problem of income distribution with the problem of raising revenue. Joseph E. Stiglitz and Partha Dasgupta (1971) have criticized this theorem as not being robust on the grounds that production efficiency will not necessarily be desirable if certain tax instruments cannot be used.
Pigouvian taxes
One of the achievements for which the great English economist A.C. Pigou is known, was his work on the divergences between marginal private costs and marginal social costs (externalities). In his book, The Economics of Welfare (1932), Pigou describes how these divergences come about:
...one person A, in the course of rendering some service, for which payment is made, to a second person B, incidentally also renders services or disservices to other persons (not producers of like services), of such a sort that payment cannot be extracted from the benefited parties or compensation enforced on behalf of the injured parties (Pigou p. 183).
In particular, Pigou is known for his advocacy of what are known as corrective taxes, or Pigouvian taxes:
It is plain that divergences between private and social net product of the kinds we have so far been considering cannot, like divergences due to tenancy laws, be mitigated by a modification of the contractual relation between any two contracting parties, because the divergence arises out of a service or disservice to persons other than the contracting parties. It is, however, possible for the State, if it so chooses, to remove the divergence in any field by "extraordinary encouragements" or "extraordinary restraints" upon investments in that field. The most obvious forms which these encouragements and restraints may assume are, of course, those of bounties and taxes (Pigou p. 192).
Pigou describes as positive externalities, examples such as resources invested in private parks that improve the surrounding air, and scientific research from which discoveries of high practical utility often grow. Alternatively, he describes negative externalities, such as the factory that destroys a great part of the amenities of neighboring sites.
In 1960, the economist Ronald H. Coase proposed an alternative scheme whereby negative externalities are dealt with through the appropriate assignment of property rights. This result is known as the Coase theorem.
See also
- ↑ Serge-Christophe Kolm, 1987. "public economics," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 3, pp. 1047–55. Table of Contents.
- ↑ • Richard A. Musgrave, 2008. "public finance," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
• _____, 1959. The Theory of Public Finance: A Study in Public Economy. J.M. Buchanan review, 1st page.
- ↑ • Dani Rodrik, 1996. "Understanding Economic Policy Reform," Journal of Economic Literature, 34(1), pp. 9–41. Archived June 6, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
From The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics Online, 2008. Abstract links for:
• behavioural public economics" by B. Douglas Bernheim and Antonio Rangel
• "fiscal federalism" by David E. Wildasin
• "hazardous waste, economics of" by Hilary Sigman.
• "nutrition and public policy in advanced economies" by Janet Currie.
- ↑ The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2008, 2nd Edition. Abstract/contents links for:
• "public finance" by Richard A. Musgrave
• "consumption taxation" by James M. Poterba
• "distributive politics and targeted public spending" by Brian G. Knight
• "generational accounting" by Jagadeesh Gokhale
• "nutrition and public policy in advanced economies" by Janet Currie
• "progressive and regressive taxation" by William Vickrey and Efe A. Ok
• "redistribution of income and wealth" by F.A. Cowell
• "tax expenditures" by Daniel N. Shaviro
• "taxation and poverty" by John Karl Scholz
• "welfare state" by Assar Lindbeck.
• social insurance and public policy by Jonathan Gruber.
- ↑ The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2008, 2nd Edition. Abstract links for:
• "market failure" by John O. Ledyard
• "bureaucracy" by Mancur Olson
• "health insurance, economics of" by Joseph P. Newhouse
• "mandated employer provision of employee benefits" by Jonathan Gruber
• "public goods" by Agnar Sandmo
- ↑ • Sharun W. Mukand, 2008. "policy reform, political economy of," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics 2nd Edition. Abstract.
• James M. Buchanan, 2008. "public debt," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics 2nd Edition. Abstract.
• Mrinal Datta-Chaudhuri, 1990. "Market Failure and Government Failure," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 4(3) , pp. 25-39..
• Kenneth J. Arrow, 1969. "The Organization of Economic Activity: Issues Pertinent to the Choice of Market versus Non-market Allocations," in Analysis and Evaluation of Public Expenditures: The PPP System. Washington, D.C., Joint Economic Committee of Congress. PDF reprint as pp. 1-16 (press +).
• Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2009. "Regulation and Failure," in David Moss and John Cisternino (eds.), New Perspectives on Regulation, ch. 1, pp. 11-23. Archived February 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Cambridge: The Tobin Project.
- ↑ Gilbert E. Metcalf, 2008. "tax incidence," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
- ↑ Louis Kaplow, 2008. "optimal taxation," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
- 1 2 • Agnar Sandmo, 2008."public goods," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
• Serge-Christophe Kolm, 1987. "public economics," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 3, pp. 1047-48.
• Anthony B. Atkinson and Joseph E. Stiglitz, 1980. Lectures in Public Economics, McGraw-Hill, pp. vii-xi.
• Mancur Olson, 1971, 2nd ed.The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups, Harvard University Press, Description and chapter-previews links, pp. ix-x.
- ↑ Of which a complete list with Wikipedia links is at JEL classification codes#Public economics JEL: H Subcategories
- ↑ JEL: H11 – Structure, Scope, and Performance of Government
JEL: H12 - Crisis management
- ↑ JEL: H21 – Efficiency; Optimal taxation
JEL: H22 – Incidence
JEL: H23 – Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental taxes and Subsidies
JEL: H24 – Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
JEL: H25 – Business Taxes and Subsidies
JEL: H26 – Tax evasion
- ↑ JEL: H31 – Household
JEL: H32 – Firm
- ↑ JEL: H40 – General
JEL: H41 – Public goods
JEL: H42 – Publicly Provided Private Goods
JEL: H43 – Project Evaluation; Social Discount Rate
JEL: H44 - Publicly Provided Goods: Mixed Markets
- ↑ JEL: H51 – Government Expenditures and Health
JEL: H52 – Government Expenditures and Education
JEL: H53 – Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
JEL: H54 – Infrastructures; Other Public Investment and Capital Stock
JEL: H55 – Social security and Public Pensions
JEL: H56 – National Security and War
JEL: H57 – Procurement
- ↑ JEL: H60 – General
JEL: H61 – Budget; Budget Systems
JEL: H62 – Deficit; Surplus
JEL: H63 - Debt; Debt Management; Sovereign Debt
JEL: H68 – Forecasts of Budgets, Deficits, and Debt
JEL: H69 – Other
- ↑ JEL: H71 – State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
JEL: H72 – State and Local Budget and Expenditures
JEL: H73 – Interjurisdictional Differentials and Their Effects
JEL: H74 – State and Local Borrowing
JEL: H75 - State and Local Government: Health; Education; Welfare; Public Pensions
JEL: H76 - State and Local Government: Other Expenditure Categories
JEL: H77 - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism; Secession
- ↑ JEL: H80 – General
JEL: H81 – Governmental Loans, Loan guarantee, Credits, and Grants; Bailouts
JEL: H82 – Governmental Property
JEL: H83 – Public administration; Public Sector Accounting and Audits
JEL: H84 - Disaster Aid
JEL: H87 – International Fiscal Issues; International Public Goods
- ↑ Doss, Daniel; Sumrall, William; McElreath, David; Jones, Don (2014). Economic and Financial Analysis for Criminal Justice Organizations (1st ed.). Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-1466592063.
- ↑ A.R. Prest and R. Turvey, 1965. "Cost-Benefit Analysis: A Survey" The Economic Journal, 75(300) pp. 683-735.
- ↑ Introduction to Benefit-Cost Analysis
- Atkinson, Anthony B., and Joseph E. Stiglitz, 1980. Lectures in Public Economics, McGraw-Hill
- Auerbach, Alan J., and Martin S. Feldstein, ed. Handbook of Public Economics. Elsevier.
- 1985, v. 1. Description and preview.
- 1987, v. 2. Description.
- 2002. v. 3. Description.
- 2007. v. 4. Description.
- Barr, Nicholas, 2004. Economics of the Welfare State, 4th ed., Oxford University Press.
- Buchanan, James M., [1967] 1987. Public Finance in Democratic Process: Fiscal Institutions and Individual Choice, UNC Press. Description, scrollable preview, and back cover.
- _____ and Musgrave, Richard A., 1999. Public Finance and Public Choice: Two Contrasting Visions of the State. MIT Press. Description and scrollable preview links.
- Coase, Ronald. "The Problem of Social Cost" Journal of Law and Economics Vol. 3 (Oct. 1960) 1-44
- Diamond, Peter A. and James A. Mirrlees. "Optimal Taxation and Public Production I: Production Efficiency" The American Economic Review Vol. 61 No. 1 (Mar. 1971) 8-27
- Diamond, Peter A. and James A. Mirrlees. "Optimal Taxation and Public Production II: Tax Rules" The American Economic Review Vol. 61 No. 3 (Jun. 1971) 261-278
- Drèze Jacques H., 1995. "Forty Years of Public Economics: A Personal Perspective," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 9(2), pp. 111-130.
- Dupuit, Jules. "On the Measurement of the Utility of Public Works" in Readings in Welfare Economics, ed. Kenneth J. Arrow and Tibor Scitovsky (1969)
- Haveman, Robert 1976. The Economics of the Public Sector.
- Kolm, Serge-Christophe, 1987. "public economics," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 3, pp. 1047–55.
- Feldstein, Martin S., and Robert P. Inman, ed., 1977. The Economics of Public Services. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Musgrave, Richard A., 1959. The Theory of Public Finance: A Study in Public Economy, McGraw-Hill. 1st-page reviews of J.M. Buchanan & C.S. Shoup.
- _____ and Alan T. Peacock, ed., [1958] 1994. Classics in the Theory of Public Finance, Palgrave Macmillan. Description and contents.
- Laffont, Jean-Jacques, 1988. Fundamentals of Public Economics, MIT Press. Description.
- Myles, Gareth D., 1995. Public Economics, Cambridge. Description and scroll to chapter-preview links.
- Oates, Wallace E., 1972. Fiscal Federalism, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.
- Pigou, A.C. "Divergences Between Marginal Social Net Product and Marginal Private Net Product" in The Economics of Welfare, A.C. Pigou (1932)
- Ramsey, Frank P. "A Contribution to the Theory of Taxation" in Classics in the Theory of Public Finance, ed. R.A. Musgrave and A.T. Peacock (1958)
- Stigler, George J. and Paul A. Samuelson, 1963. "A Dialogue on the Proper Economic Role of the State." Selected Papers, No.7. Chicago: University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.
- Starrett, David A., 1988. Foundations of Public Economics, Cambridge. Description. Scroll to chapter-preview links.
- Stiglitz, Joseph E., 1994. 'Rethinking the Economic Role of the State: Publicly Provided Private Goods' Unpublished.
- _____, 1998. "The Role of Government in the Contemporary World," in Vito Tanzi and Ke-Young Chu, Income Distribution and High-Quality Growth, pp. 211-54.
- _____, 2000. Economics of the Public Sector, 3rd ed., Norton.
- Tinbergen, Jan, 1958. On the Theory of Economic Policy.
Further reading
- Arrow, Kenneth J. Social Choice and Individual Values. (1970)
- Atkinson, Anthony B. "On the Measurement of Inequality" Journal of Economic Theory 2 (1970) 244-263
- Auerbach, Alan J. and Laurence J. Kotlikoff. Dynamic Fiscal Policy. (1987)
- Boiteux, Marcel. "On the Management of Public Monopolies Subject to Budgetary Constraints" Journal of Economic Theory 3 (1971) 219-240
- Buchanan, James M. and Gordon Tullock. The Calculus of Consent: Logical Foundations of Constitutional Democracy. (2010)
- Corlett, W.J. and D.C. Hague. "Complementarity and the Excess Burden of Taxation" The Review of Economic Studies Vol. 21 No. 1 (1953–1954) 21-30
- Dalton, Hugh. "The Measurement of Inequality of Incomes" The Economics Journal Vol. 30, No. 119 (Sep. 1920) 348-361
- Edgeworth, F.Y. "The Pure Theory of Taxation" The Economic Journal Vol. 7 No. 25 (Mar. 1897) 46-70
- Feldstein, Martin. "Social Security, Induced Retirement, and Aggregate Capital Accumulation" The Journal of Political Economy Vol. 82 No. 5 (Sep.-Oct. 1974) 905-926
- Fisher, Irving. "Income in Theory and Income Taxation in Practice" Econometrica Vol. 5 No. 1 (Jan. 1937) 1-55
- Fisher, Irving. "The Double Taxation of Savings" The American Economic Review Vol. 29 No. 1 (Mar. 1939) 16-33
- Gini, Corrado. "Variability and Mutability" in Memorie di Metodologica Statistica, ed. E. Pizetti and T. Salvemini (1955)
- Harberger, Arnold. "The Incidence of the Corporation Income Tax" The Journal of Political Economy Vol. 70 No. 3 (Jun. 1962) 215-240
- Higgs, Robert (2008). "Government Growth". In David R. Henderson (ed.). Concise Encyclopedia of Economics (2nd ed.). Indianapolis: Library of Economics and Liberty. ISBN 978-0865976658. OCLC 237794267.
- Lihndahl, Erik. "Just Taxation: A Positive Solution" in Classics in the Theory of Public Finance, ed. R.A. Musgrave and A.T. Peacock (1958)
- Lorenz, M.O. "Methods of Measuring the Concentration of Wealth" American Statistical Association Vol. 9 No. 70 (Jun. 1905) 209-219
- Musgrave, Richard A. "A Multiple Theory of Budget Determination" (1957)
- Niskanen, William A. "The Peculiar Economics of Bureaucracy" The American Economic Review Vol. 58, No. 2 (May 1968) 293-305
- Niskanen, William A. Bureaucracy and Representative Government. (2007)
- Orshansky, Mollie. "Children of the Poor" Social Security Bulletin Vol. 26 No. 7 (July 1963)
- Orshansky, Mollie. "Counting the Poor: Another Look at the Poverty Profile" Social Security Bulletin Vol. 28 No. 1 (Jan. 1965)
- Samuelson, Paul. "The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure" Review of Economics and Statistics, XXXVI (1954), 387-89
- Seater, John J. (2008). "Government Debt and Deficits". In David R. Henderson (ed.). Concise Encyclopedia of Economics (2nd ed.). Indianapolis: Library of Economics and Liberty. ISBN 978-0865976658. OCLC 237794267.
- Tiebout, Charles M. "A Pure Theory of Local Expenditure" The Journal of Political Economy Vol. 64, No. 5 (Oct. 1956), 416-424
- Wicksell, Knut. "A New Principle of Just Taxation" in Classics in the Theory of Public Finance, ed. R.A. Musgrave and A.T. Peacock (1958)


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What an exciting week it's been! You know those days or moments when you see a lot of groundwork (hard work) start to pay off; like when you see the first tomato appear on the vine or the first sprig of a pepper plant pop up through the dirt? Well, we had one of those this week. For the past several years, we've been talking about and planning and laying the foundation to provide library services around the needs that our patrons have when it comes to working with data. Years, I tell you.
When my colleague, Rebecca, arrived last August to take the reins in this effort, I'd been out pounding the pavement for a good while, building relationships and doing individual data-related projects, and perhaps most importantly, getting a sense of who did what and when and where and how. Rebecca got to work strategizing, writing plans, working with our library's administration and other higher-ups in the university, while Lisa and I provided experience and the connections needed to pull it all together. We developed a Library Data Services Advisory Group, bringing a few vested parties to the table. We did an extensive environmental scan to find out what the different stakeholders on campus thought the Library's role might be in this area. We talked to lots of people. We surveyed students. We gained a lot of insight.
Meanwhile, I continued to do my work with the mammography study team, part of which involved helping put together a mini-symposium around data issues in clinical research. We brought together clinicians, members of our Quantitative Health Sciences (QHS) Department, and members of University's Information Technology Department. We also surveyed colleagues to gauge their interest and needs in this area.
Sitting in these different groups, working on these different teams, I started to see pretty clearly that multiple things were happening on campus; that there was at last some real thought and energy being put towards addressing some of the needs we have around data. I also started to see that a lot of right hands weren't aware of what their left hands were doing. And the most exciting part of that (when I got past being frustrated) was this… I knew what both hands were doing!
A few weeks back, I wrote about that frustrating part, as well as how I see how exciting it can be when we (librarians and thus, the library) are positioned in a way to make things happen. And this past Monday, was one of those exciting moments. We ALL came together; representatives of each of these groups that I've been witnessing talk about what to do to address the data needs at UMMS. The librarians, the clinical researchers, the computing services folks, the QHS people… we were all at the same table where we could share with one another what we do, what we know, and how we can help. And we came away with some very real, tangible projects that we can tackle together. It really was one of those times when I felt a sense of accomplishment in this task that's been nebulous, to say the least.
And… I was also hired by the University of Rhode Island's Library & Information Studies program to teach the course on Health Sciences Librarianship this fall. (I'm really excited about it!!) Totally unrelated to the previous tale, but the two events made for a pretty great week. I hope you've had the same!

subset: commoncrawl


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Last modified: 2009-12-11 by
Keywords: rhone-alpes | rainbow |
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Flag of the Regional Council of Rhône-Alpes - Image by Ivan Sache, 17 September 2009
See also:
Departments: Ain, Ardèche, Drôme, Isère, Loire, Rhône, Savoie, Haute-Savoie
Bordering Regions: Auvergne, Bourgogne, Franche-Comté, Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur
Bordering countries: Italy, Switzerland
Traditional provinces: Burgundy, Dauphiné, Languedoc, Comtat Venaissin, Savoy
Area: 43,698 km2
Population (1995): 5,569,200 inhabitants
Regional prefecture: Lyon; seat at Charbonnières-les-Bains, to be relocated at Lyon in 2010
Region Rhône-Alpes lacking geographical and historical homogeneity, the name Rhône-Alpes, associating a river and a mountain, was probably the best default choice. The natural division of the Alps is not respected by the administrative borders, since the limit between the Northern and Southern Alps goes through the department of Drôme. This limit was also the border between Provence and Dauphiny. Since crossing the Rhône was extremely difficult in the past, Ardèche, located on the right bank, belonged to Languedoc and had few contacts with Dauphiné.
The Region has more economical homogeneity, although the departments of Ardèche, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes are less developed than the other ones.
However, some identity developed with time and the neologism rhônalpin was coined, the same way the neologism francilien was coined for Île-de-France.
Ivan Sache, 15 September 2003
The Regional Council of Rhône-Alpes changed the logo and flag of the Region in 2005. The flag, white white the Region's logo, is hoisted in front of the building of the Regional Council located at Charbonnières-les-Bains, near Lyon, as shown on a photo taken by Pascal Vagnat.
The logo is presented as follows on the Regional Council's website:
The construction of the logo is mostly of typographic nature, to ensure a perfect lisibility in all circumstances and on all supports. Its visual dynamic is created by the use of oblique ascendant construction lines, which punctuate the writing of an open territory, in continuous evolution. By a visual contraction game, the two words "Rhône" and "Alpes" form a single one, thus contributing to express the link and the territory's unit. Finally, the selected colours, plum colour and green, ensure a sober and elegant harmony, which contributes to the clearly modern graphism adopted for the new visual identity.
Ivan Sache, 17 September 2009
Former flag of the Regional Council - Image by Pierre Gay, 2 November 1996
The flag of the Regional Council, adopted on 2 January 1991, is white with the Region's logo, made of eight vertical lines that symbolize the eight departments of the region.
Jaume Ollé, 2 November 1996
The vertical lines represent the future and the ambitions, while the horizontal lines represent competences and determination. The rainbow colors represent performance, modernism, youth and quality of life.
The blue line represents river Rhône. It shows the coherence of a great European region. The graphism shows also the West to East region's elevation from the plains to the mountains.
Tristan Blaudet, 14 September 2003Red dog casino


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So great to be partnering with Wanderlust to share this list with a larger audience.
1. Savor: Daily Practices for a More Nourishing Holiday from Rachel Cole. Savor is six weeks of guided audio meditations and journal prompts to support you in being well-fed and centered this holiday season. As Rachel describes it, "Savor is about finding yourself in the small moments. It's about tasting what's already here. It's about noticing the good and saying 'thank you' often. Savor is designed to help you find sanctuary amidst the hustle and bustle that's headed our way. Savor is, no surprise, about savoring your life." At only $35, this would make a great holiday gift, for yourself or anyone else on your list. Disclaimer: I first started working with Rachel almost four years ago. Since then she's been a guide, a teacher, a precious friend. Everything she does is magic, and this is going to be no exception.
2. Random Acts of Kindness Generator. This is such a great idea. Doing something nice, either directly or in secret, is such a mood lifter for everyone involved. I can imagine a homemade version too, a jar with slips of paper filled with different ideas. Just pick one and do it.
3. Problems of output are problems of input from Austin Kleon.
4. An important question posed by Brave Girls Club, "What is calling to you? What is the deepest, most true message that is calling to you?"
5. A Note from the Universe,
It's easy to look around at all the people who already have what you want, notice how they differ from you, and then think that they are the "kind of people" for whom having what you want comes naturally. Whereas you are not, otherwise you'd have it too.
Very rational thinking, and a super way for non-adventurers to avoid responsibility, rest on the sidelines, and watch more TV.
Adventurers, on the other hand, Jill, understand that they are exactly the kind of people who should have the things they now want. Otherwise, they wouldn't be blessed with wanting them.
6. This is about the time I chose not to die.
7. If you accept your body, does that mean you give up?, a recent and brilliant newsletter from Curvy Yoga and Anna Guest-Jelley.
8. Parenthood Is An Act Of Hostage Negotiation With A Broken Robot from Terrible Minds.
9. This Guy's Reaction To Patti LaBelle's Pie Is Priceless. This guy understands pie like I do.
10. Wisdom from Hans Hofmann, "The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." Oh, snap.
11. It's going to be okay, a really great, important and timely comic from The Oatmeal. "So get up, and help someone." Also this video, "Runner. Cartoonist. Cake Lover. – A Seeker Story," the story of Matthew Inman, creator of TheOatmeal.com.
12. Raising Imogen, "koala joey's most adorable home video of all time." Who knew baby koala's were so stupid cute?
13. This Kid Should Work For Hallmark Because His Thank You Letters Are Spot On.
14. Buddhism, Bravery, Love and the Good Life, Lodro Rinzler on Good Life Project Radio. Lodro is one of my favorite teachers, and I always love Johnathan's interviews. Jonathan posted on Facebook, about this interview, "What if meditation didn't solve anything, it just let you see things better?"
15. Wisdom from Judith Lief, "To meditate, all you need are 3 things: a restless body, a wandering mind, and out-of-control emotions."
16. Awkwarding is what brings us all together from The Bloggess. These tweets are so awesome.
17. On What People Think from Dani Shapiro.
18. This 17-Year-Old Cat Is The Laziest Internet Star In Japan on Bored Panda.
19. Deciding How and When to Quit, a brilliant post from Jen Louden about the difference between default quitting and compassionate quitting, which includes a really great set of prompts to help one contemplate how to decide what to do. "But in the end, it comes down to this: You must be willing to look yourself in the mirror and ask, 'Am I suffering enough to do something about it?' or 'Am I hungry enough for something more to take this risk?'"
20. Wisdom from Pema Chödrön,
We make a lot of mistakes. If you ask people whom you consider to be wise and courageous about their lives, you may find that they have hurt a lot of people and made a lot of mistakes, but that they used those occasions as opportunities to humble themselves and open their hearts. We don't get wise by staying in a room with all the doors and windows closed.
20. Wisdom from Seth Godin, Certain failure and Your progress report.
21. How to make your website credible from Paul Jarvis.
22. #naphopomo day 10: do not let the adorable nose fool you on Chookooloonks. Oh Karen, I feel your pain/joy.
23. Five Days of Mandala Magic, from Julie Gibbons, "a free online workshop that demonstrates how, with a little know-how + some tools + techniques, you can create beautiful mandalas anytime you feel called – even if you're not an accomplished artist!"
24. Is Fat Stigma Making Us Miserable? Spoiler alert: YES.
25. 16 Stunning Works Of Origami Art To Celebrate World Origami Day on Bored Panda.
26. Riverside 433 sq. ft. guest cottage is a roomy floating retreat. So dreamy.
27. 30 Simple Ways to Take Care of Yourself Over the Holidays from Be More With Less, a great list for any time of year, not just the holidays.
28. A Healthy Way to Aspire to a Better Life on Zen Habits. The title says it all.
29. money talks with Laurie Wagner. I love this column. I love Sherry, the lovely host. And you know I love Laurie.
30. Wisdom from Jonathan Fields, "Never allow the false urgency of others to dictate where and when you place your attention."
31. In April 2013, Diana Kim spotted her father for the first time in decades. "He was living on the street, disheveled and unkempt, and didn't have a clue who she was."
32. The fallacy of 'go big or go home': redefining ambition from Esmé Wang.
33. Organizers seat woman behind Trump 'because she's black' — so she silently protests by reading her book.
34. I Quit My Job To Be A Travel Writer, And Now I'm Broke And Unemployed. I think it's so important to have these narratives to balance out the "do what you love and the money will come" ones.
35. Calvin Harris & Disciples – How Deep is Your Love (Cover) by Daniela Andrade x KRNFX. The only thing better than a good song is a good cover of that song, and Daniela just might be the queen of covers.
36. The Roar Sessions: Lindsey Mead.
37. 9 Ways Generous People View the World Differently from Marc and Angel Hack Life.
38. A Thanksgiving Reader, a new tradition, offered by Seth Godin.
39. Cultivating Wonder, "4 weeks full of lessons, prompts, interviews + secret missions to grow your sense of wonder" from Andrea Scher, pay what you can. It starts today, but you can still sign up. Again, a disclaimer: Andrea is the reason this blog exists, and I adore everything she does — guide, teacher, and precious friend.
40. Social Media isn't the point. Storytelling is. "8 things you can (and should) do to become an effective storyteller for your brand" from Christina Rosalie.


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Follow iMore on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Google... and WIN fantastic prizes!
We know our loyal readers already visit iMore.com daily, subscribe to our RSS feeds and get the iMore Podcast on iTunes, but we wanted to do something a little extra to reward our loyal fans and grow our audience in some of the off-iMore social networking and content sharing sites that iPhone owners hang out and visit.
It's easy! All you have to do is follow iMore on Youtube, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook and as a thank you for doing so we're going to pick a lucky winner each month from among our iMore followers / subscribers / fans on each of these sites to win some great iPhone prizes! That's four winners each month - one picked at random from each site. All you need to do is click the links below to follow us on each site, and just keep following us! We'll pick our four winners on the last day of each month and announce them around the first day of the new month along with the prizes to be won for the new month. You can subscribe to all of Youtube, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook to maximize your chances of winning.
This month we're going to help you keep rocking til the end of summer with awesome Bluetooth speakers! See the list below for links to the sites and the prize you could win on each one.
- On Youtube - You could win Qmadix iharmonix Q-i-sound Stereo Bluetooth Speakers!
- On Twitter - You could win a Mr Handsfree Blue Beat Bluetooth Wireless Stereo Speaker!
- On Google+ - You could win a Jawbone JAMBOX!
- On Facebook - You could win a SuperTooth DISCO Bluetooth speaker system!
And don't forget to follow our sensational staff -- they often have extra accessories and apps so you never know when they'll surprise you with something special -- @imore, @reneritchie, @GeorgiaTiPb, @llofte, @iMuggle, @chrisoldroyd, @bla1ze, @phishgirl3!
We'll send out a reminder each week with ways to earn extra entries, so make sure to watch the blogs! Thanks for following, spread the word and good luck!!
Follow iMore and Win Contest FAQ/Details
Eligibility - Open worldwide. In order to participate as a follower /subscriber / fan of the iMore accounts in this contest you must have an account with Youtube, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook. We'd love you to follow on us in all four locations (that maximizes your chances of winning) but it's not required. One, two or all four is fine. If you're already following us when this contest starts, don't worry, you're entered automatically!! You must also be a registered member of iMore to be eligible.
Announcing Winners - Winners will be chosen randomly each month. Winning usernames will be posted to the iMore blogs within the first few days of each new month. Winners will be contacted via the respective sites (Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Youtube) and once initially contacted the follow-up will be conducted via email to work out details (address for shipping, etc.) on getting the prize. There is no rule against being able to win more than once.
There you have it! Be sure to tune into the blogs around the first day of each month for the winners' announcement and to see what can be won next month. If you have any questions, you can email me at michelle @ iMore.com - be sure to make the subject Follow iMore and Win Contest!
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Our news, reviews, opinions, and easy to follow guides can turn any iPhone owner into an Apple aficionado


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This product is out of stock, and not coming back.It may have been replaced by a newer version, see replacement/alternatives listed below.
Solid color long sleeve dress with crew neck.
Irregular hem with side pockets, stylish and practical.
Made of soft and skin-friendly material, comfortable touch feeling.
All match with necklace / sweater chain / scarf / cardigan / leggings / boots.
Product Description: Category: dress Main fabric composition: 95% cotton + 5% Spandex Collar type: crew-neck Pattern: solid color Sleeve length: long sleeves Occasion: causal Color: dark green, wine red, coffee (optional) Size: XL, XXL,XXXL, 4XL, 5XL (as shown) Suitable season: spring, autumn, winter
Packing list: 1 * Dress
Note: Due to manual measurements, there may be 1-3 cm difference. The colors deviation might differ due to different monitor settings, please kindly understand.


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Dec.13 (GMM) Both of Force India's race drivers this year are now looking for new jobs.
The Silverstone based team is heading into 2014 with Nico Hulkenberg alongside Sergio Perez, ousting both Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta.
Of the axed pair, German Sutil's prospects look the brightest.
He is backed by the German technology company Medion and now strongly linked with one of the best remaining seats on the 2014 grid, at the Swiss team Sauber.
"We will announce the new employer most likely in the coming week," DPA news agency quotes 30-year-old Sutil's manager Manfred Zimmermann as saying on Thursday.
Scot Di Resta, on the other hand, is likely to leave formula one, although he admitted earlier this week that Sauber was a remote possibility.
After the news of Perez's signing broke on Thursday, the 27-year-old di Resta told his 300,000 Twitter followers "it's now time for a new challenge for me in the next phase of my career".
His most likely move is back to the German touring car series with Mercedes, but he has also been linked with the Indycar seat recently vacated by his cousin Dario Franchitti.
Force India team boss Vijay Mallya defended his decision to oust both di Resta and Sutil.
"Every team needs to move on," he told reporters in London.
"We gave Paul a good stint with us, we gave him the opportunity, he delivered for us. I have nothing against him or Adrian for that matter.
"I consulted my other team members and they all said 'new car, new regulations, let's get a new set of drivers who have got fire in their belly and are really hungry'," added Mallya.
More about Formula 1 you will find on our new Facebook Account!


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The Chicago-based retail REIT's sustainability goals include minimizing environmental impact, increasing energy efficiency, conserving natural resources and reducing energy consumption.
"The company implemented a number of strategically planned initiatives since last year," noted Sandeep Mathrani, GGP's CEO, in the report. "We truly believe the initiatives we're undertaking today and tomorrow make our communities better places to live, work, play and invest."
In New Jersey, GGP installed solar panels on the rooftop of four of its malls. The panels provide 12 percent of the malls' energy needs at an estimated annual savings of approximately $650,000, according to the report. The company is continuing its solar deployment program by installing solar panels at a mall in Hawaii, scheduled to be completed by October.
Additional highlights in the sustainability report include the introduction of a food composting program. Since implementing the program, close to 10 tons of food waste has been diverted from landfills each month, according to the report.
The report noted that much of the emphasis for GGP to date has been focused on creating infrastructure to improve energy efficiency and savings across the portfolio.
To better manage energy use within its malls, GGP has worked to install energy management ystems in its malls. These systems collect output data from sub-meters and monitor tenant and building utility usage.
In addition to the energy management technology, the company established energy standard guidelines to use at each of its centers by upgrading existing systems with more energy-efficient systems. GGP said this helps to maintain consistency when it comes to temperature and use.
The company has also implemented water conservation devices, and as GGP malls undergo renovations, the REIT recycles or donates materials when available.
"Our initiatives garnered positive results," said Mathrani. "We will continue exploring practices that not only lower our carbon footprint but also add value to our communities, retailers, consumers, employees and shareholders. "
GGP owns 123 malls in the United States comprising approximately 128 million square feet of space.


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Eleven Things Every Witch Should Know
1. Magic is what happens when you open yourself to the Divine. All real magic is
a manifestation of the Divine – it is how you co-create reality with deity.
2. The Divine is within you and is everywhere present in the natural world. And
everything is interconnected by this sacred energy.
3. Wicca is not about information — it's about transformation, so practice,
practice, practice — and do it as much as possible in Nature! Witchcraft
enables you to commune with divinity and to manifest your destiny, your desires
and your highest and sacred self.
4. The real ethics of how Witches live and practice magic are simple: Witches
live in a sacred manner because we live in a sacred world. We therefore treat
all of life with reverence and respect.
5. Because all magic flows from our connection to the Sacred, our lives and our
magic, must be guided by the sacred nature of the energy with which we work.
6. The energy Witches work with is not neutral — it is divine love.
7. Magic often works in unexpected way because it is not a mechanical process,
and the Universe is not a machine. You are living and making magic within a
divine, organic, living reality.
8. Witches don't command and control — they commune and co-create.
9. The real secret of successful spellcasting, as with all of magic, is your
connection to the Divine power that dwells within you, and surrounds you. And
spells do work so be careful what you ask for!
10. Nature makes the Divine tangible. By working, living, and practicing your
magic in harmony with Nature, you are in harmony with the Divine.
11. The ultimate teacher is the God/Goddess inside you and in the world of
Nature all around you.
Author unknown


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my first rhinebeck or the time i saw uma thurman smoking.
October 18, 2010
let's just get this out of the way: i finished my sweater.
and i hope to never be put in that position ever again.
i knitted almost the entire drive from pittsburgh,
and had to pop pills to dull the pain in my hands and continue.
i could never have done it without the support of my travel buddies
kelli, lisa, and especially andrea who had the needles i needed.
around 11 p.m. friday night
with pits to kitch
and ends to weave in,
i bound off
too tightly and my sweater wouldn't fit over my head.
i kinda wanted to die.
rather than commit suicide,
i decided to work on finishing.
when midnight rolled around,
my underarms were well closed
and most of my ends were woven in.
but i knew i couldn't go on.
i'd have to finish in the morning.
as soon as the alarm went off,
before i even remembered my own name,
i found my chibi, and finished weaving in my ends.
i then ripped out my collar
borrowed a bigger needle size
and knitted like the wind.
in the parking lot of the dutchess county fairgrounds,
i bound off for a second time,
and pulled that bitch over my extra-large cabeza!
and walked through the gate properly attired.
(which was good since i didn't really bring a coat and it was pretty cold)
the rest is a blurred happy memory.
there was yarn. there were sheep.
there were several nips of whiskey from my flask.
here are the highlights:
i met the pocket wheel
and now want one.
i ran into adrienne martini, a new old friend from the blogosphere,
and clara parkes who knew who i was! really, she knew the hotpants from maryland and i told her i was the one who knitted them.
i also ran into beth hansen who i met back at the silk retreat. she was selling the lovely miniSpinner.
i now want one of them as well.
there was this crazy wheel that i do not want.
i saw bobsolda and casey at the ravelry meetup.
it was kinda more creepy than cute.
(also i totally have a crush on jess aka frecklegirl aka mama rav's brother.
what can i say? i love me a ginger beard.)
the lovely melynda of french press knits spotted me and my sweater, and we finally got to meet in person. i got to feel the baby bump and meet her husband too. she was so beautiful in every sense of the word. i loved how michigany she was, her accent and demeanor. she made me miss home.
of course i was so caught up in the moment that it didn't occur to me document the moment. *sigh* curse this blond hair!
between nips of whiskey,
andrea and i hung out at the beer garden.
there was this guy who was apparently very into carbs.
i spun on my future wheel.
it was brand new and heavily discounted.
they wanted cash, didn't take plastic.
shady? i thought so.
and kept walking.
i headed back to the motel to rest and get ready.
on my way out i saw uma fucking thurman get out of her car
with an unidentified homely gay man.
she was smoking what appeared to be a parliament light.
the lady directing traffic asked her, "aren't you in the movies?"
uma replied, "i used to be!" and kept walking.
then i snapped this shot.
i was too chicken to be a real papparazzo.
but andrea can back me up that this was in fact her.
after dinner, it was time to party ravelry style.
i slipped on the hotpants,
grabbed my tuxedo jacket,
and off we went.
the highlight for me was finally meeting ms. helloyarn herself.
i've been stalking. . . er. . . befriending her online ever since i started knitting.
i spotted her earlier at the ravelry meetup,
but was too apple juice* to say hello.
plus i didn't have my gift for her.
i decided the rav party would be the perfect time.
i stood right next to her at the bonfire but didn't see her.
she couldn't see me either but couldn't miss the hotpants.
those shorts saved my ass!
she gave me jam.
i gave her booze.
it was perfect.
i had an emotion.
i posed with the ladies of the sanguine gryphon
who are both beautiful and fabulous.
(but i really love the rabbit-eared photo bomber in this shot!)
i spotted melynda again, and made up for my earlier absent-mindedness.
and yes, blondes do have more fun.
when i met the smoking sheep puppet
i knew it was time to get the hell outta there.
but before i left,
i swallowed the last of my apple juice,
and asked mary-heather for a photo.
you know how, people online can be totally different in person?
like they seem super sweet and nice online,
but are really a complete bitch?
this is so not the case with mary-heather.
she comes off not only as sweet and nice,
but beautiful and intelligent.
she is all good vibes folks.
here we are
blurry and fabulous!
after freezing to death waiting for the bus,
i headed back to the motel and slept like a christian.
the next day was a bit lower key.
i hung with yvonne and kim,
bought some loot
and just tried to take it all in before i had to head home.
i had a lovely time.
but the absolute best part was the handful of people who came up to me all geeked out telling me they love my blog. that seriously made everything worth it. to those readers i say thank you so so much for making rhinebeck for me!
if you spotted me i'd love to hear it.
and if you took my photo, i'd love to see that too!
socks from lisa.
sweater from me.
jam from hello yarn.
two skeins of sunna by spirit trail fiberworks.
two skeins of bugga by the sanguine gryphon.
see you next year!
*apple juice is our term for losing all sense of intelligence in the presence of a celebrity of some sort.


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I'm back in Austin from San Francisco (I will be posting all about the trip, but not today). I literally just arrived (driving 14 hours on Saturday, sleeping, then starting again at noon yesterday and ending now). Normally I would just go to bed and blog whenever I get up, but I was checking my e-mail at a red light on the way home and after reading a comment I decided that I had to get this off my chest before going to be for what I can only assume will be a very long time.
The comment said "Oh Ragen I adore you. Of course we'll never change things but I think I speak for everyone when I say how much we appreciate that you try".
She started off well (from my, admittedly biased, perspective) but then took a wrong turn at Albuquerque. This is the second comment that said something like this that I've received in the last few days and I'll admit that the first thing I thought when I saw each of them was "haven't you seen Newsies?" Seriously though, I know that both of these commenters had the best of intentions, but I really struggled with the comments.
I think part of it is because of my business history. In my consulting career I did a fair amount of turnaround (going into a business that is failing and attempting to turn it around and make it succeed). This often presents as a near impossible task. Once the turnaround team decided that a business was salvageable we did a lot of analysis, change implementation, change management, planning, goal setting etc. in order to succeed. You know what we never did? If you guessed "say that the task was impossible" give yourself 5 points (or a cookie, your choice). Because there's nothing to be gained by predicting failure except feeling better about failing which nobody on any turnaround team I've ever been on was interested in.
So that's where most of my initial reaction to the comment came from, but there's another layer. And that is the fact that for me there is no alternative than to try to change the status quo. The more I see fat people stereotyped, recieving subpar or no medical treatment, being made to pay higher insurance premiums, having people claim that our body size constitutes a disease diagnosis or proof of a mental illness (more on that tomorrow) etc. the more it reinforces to me that this is a civil rights movement. And it doesn't matter if it's a fat person who is happy with their body and size or a fat person who wants to change their size and/or shape. We all deserve respect in the bodies that we live in right now and that doesn't change even if our body size does. I absolutely believe that we'll see substantive change in my lifetime, but even if I didn't believe that I would continue what I'm doing because when it comes to fighting for civil rights, the odds just don't matter and history is on our side. People can say "that's reality, deal with it fatty", but we know better than that.
I was originally planning to re-post last years Halloween post and fortuitously it turns out that last year's Halloween blog is highly applicable to today's topic so here it is:
Fair warning – this starts and ends with Halloween but the middle bits strayed a little…
I was shopping for Halloween Costumes yesterday. There was one that said "One Size Fits Most". In small print it said that it fit women's sizes up to 14.
That really made me think. Every time I turn around, I hear that 60+% of Americans are overweight or obese, so shouldn' t the tag read "One Size Fits Less than One Third".
Let's be clear, I seriously question the validity of the percentage of overweight and obese Americans because the standard for what constitutes "overweight" was set by diet companies. But let's pretend that it's a true statistic. In that case, we're the majority in this country and yet we're still not treated very well.
If we're really 60+%, then why don't lobby the media: We want to see more positive representations of ourselves and less body hating and photoshopping or they'll lose 60+ % of their customers? This doesn't just affect fat people either, studies show that 8 out of 10 women are dissatisfied with their bodies. As the majority, I think it's time we stand up for our thin body-dissatisfied sisters and say that enough is enough – we aren't buying any more magazines that promise "our best bikini body in 15 minutes".
At 60+%, we control to vote in the United States, but 25+ states have considered or are considering taxes on fat people – despite the fact that nobody has any proven way to lose weight. It doesn't even matter that I have perfect health at my current size. My picture of health doesn't fit my state's frame so I could get taxed for my size.
At the end of the day, if we want change then we have to take responsibility for claiming our power as the majority, or (just in case those numbers are as wrong as I think they are) a community. Many people of size choose to buy into the idea that their size determines their worth and that they don't deserve to be treated well. It's an easy thing to do – we are constantly told that we are lazy, we are unhealthy, we are costing billions in healthcare and lost work. When you look into those studies you'll find that there are some serious questions as to their validity. For example, the Congressional Budget Office released a report saying that Obesity WAS NOT the reason for the rise in health care costs Using that article as a basis, the Boston Globe published an article called "Obesity's Punch to the Gut" where they said that Obesity WAS the cause of the rise in health care costs. How did they get from point A to point B? They left out words in quotes, and they used those partial quotes to construct a message that was polar opposite from the source material. I have no idea why they would do that, but they weren't the only ones who did.
There is no such thing as a "healthy weight" and that insidious little saying needs to be pulled from the collective vocabulary. We know that two people can fit the same profile – sedentary, non-nutritious diet, health problems – and one can be fat while the other stays thin. Ignoring that facts that healthy is multi-dimensional, not in our control and that other people's health is not our business this is still problematic. Even if you believed that people should be held fully responsible for their health, it's a big, flaming sack of duh that it's absolutely unfair to single out the one who is fat for higher taxes, workplace discrimination and poor treatment, while the person who remains thin doesn't suffer any of those consequences despite the same lifestyle and choices. You could say that's all trick and no treat (you might especially say that if you were trying to fit this blog into the Halloween theme).
No matter what, you deserve to be treated well with respect and equality in the exact body that you have now. So have a fun, happy and safe Halloween and at some candy corn for me, because I'm planning to sleep through the whole thing.


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For those of you who don't know me in real life, I am a Taurus (for what it's worth – not that I base my life on astrology), and we're known for liking the finer things in life, including the best tastes, the softest fabrics, and the most enticing smells. I couldn't wait to try this product out because it is both aesthetically appealing and I knew it would throw wonderful flavors into the air, making my Taurus heart sing. (Please note that I have been given this product as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. Although the product was a gift, all opinions remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company.)
I was provided the "Raindrop" version of the essential oil diffuser by Organic Aromas; the base is available in a light wood color (pictured) or black.
At first when I opened the box and glanced through the directions, I wondered if this might be something complicated. After all, there's a lot of parts – the base, the receptacle, the top, the power cord…and here are the instructions including how to put everything together, and how to care for the piece:
But I think what it comes down to is that the company put a lot of thought into how to make a product that is both beautiful and durable. This isn't something that you want to have break on you within six months or get so full of gunk that you have to invest in another one. Part of our responsibility in our commitment in striving to use items that are recycled and/or organic and/or generally good for us and our world is that the goal is to not add to the waste exponentially in our landfills and our oceans by not caring for what we build and use. So if you decide to purchase this Aromatherapy Diffuser – and I can smell so much yummy-ness as I write this because I'm running it right now – please take care of your unit so you can enjoy it for a long time to come.
My space in my efficiency apartment/flat (read: my living room is my bedroom) is at a premium, so generally speaking, I don't have much room to spare for knick knacks. I decided the place that would best serve my needs would be the "window" between my kitchen area and living room/bedroom – mostly because it's also where one of my two electrical outlets in the entire apartment is located. No joke. I'm almost afraid to run my microwave and my TV at the same time.
I plugged this in and turned the knob on, and immediately it started glowing. What happens is the scented oil circulates within the glass globe, and there is a small opening at the top of the second piece that is seated on the larger piece that you remove when you are adding your oil, so the scent travels out of that small opening but is not overwhelming. Because the oil churns in the larger glass portion it sometimes looks like a fountain inside and is quite calming to watch, like looking out a window on a rainy day. The super, duper cool part of this diffuser is that there is a part that lights up in the center and changes color from green to orange to red to blue and then back to green again. You can see in these pictures what I'm talking about. (Excuse the pose-able figurines, they're just waiting for their next assignment.)
Something else that's great is that there is zero noise with these units. The changing colors and no noise factors could make them great for a meditation room or a baby's nursery or child's room – just make sure they are kept far enough away from little hands so they can't be pulled down.
Organic Aromas thoughtfully provided a bottle of their own blend of essential oils so that out of the box, the diffuser could be used right away. However, I always run into this problem: I am deathly allergic to lavender. Even typing that word made me itch. I opened the bottle and took a whiff and it smelled nice enough, but I knew I couldn't take 2 hours daily of an induced asthma attack. I keep my own organic essential oils on hand to make room and fabric sprays, so I placed peppermint and tangerine oils in my diffuser. Man, my place smells so good! Gone are the stink of my one neighbor's day-old Dinty Moore stew in the garbage, or my other neighbor's 20-year-old cat who hasn't made it to the litter box in at least 5 years.
There is an automatic safety feature on this unit in that it will turn itself off after two hours of continuous running.
I think I found my new little happy place, and it is about 5″ wide by 9″ high and smells like heaven.
Raindrop Diffuser Organic Aromas


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GenX: DuPont has committed to no longer make, buy or use perfluorooctanoic acid, (PFOA) by 2015, or earlier if possible. A new DuPont technology includes a processing aid that enables DuPont to make fluoropolymers without the use of PFOA. With this new technology, DuPont has commercialized products for Industrial Fluoropolymers.
Intech will be converting customers to the use of fluoropolymers made with GenX technology as these products become available and as our stock of the current products are depleted. We will make announcements as each one of our products transition to the new GenX product. The codes for the products are also transitioning.
Based on internal testing, DuPont expects that the new products can be used as replacements for the historical products with minimal processing adjustments.
Please also note that sales of these products will now be priced and packaged in kilograms (kg) instead of liquid weights (gallons).
Products being transitioned: New Code:
858N-100 857G-100If you have any questions regarding how this will effect your application or business, please contact Chris Dohl (email@example.com)


text:
Immigration Legal Consulting – Shaina Plaksin, Esq.
Feel Confident About Your Immigration Process
Immigration Legal Consulting (ILC), focuses exclusively on immigration law for its clients. Immigration is an incredibly complex area of law, so you do not want to hire someone who only has a few immigration cases; you want to hire someone who lives and breathes only immigration law.
Business Name:
Immigration Legal Consulting – Shaina Plaksin, Esq.
8275 S Eastern Ave # 200Las Vegas Nevada 89123USA
About Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 26th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area and is the largest city within the greater Mojave Desert. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife. The Las Vegas Valley as a whole serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center for Nevada. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous for its mega casino-hotels and associated activities.
Neighborhoods in Las Vegas, Nevada
Amber Hills, Arts District, Berkley Square, Beverly Green, Bracken, Breamoor Heights, Centennial Heights, Charleston Heights, Cimarron Village North, College Park
Our Newest Profiles


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D.A.: Prisoner, accused accomplices arraigned in courthouse escape
An escaped prisoner is back in jail, along with two people who allegedly helped him flee from Salem Superior Court Wednesday.
The Essex County District Attorney's Office says Miguel Caraballo managed to get away from the correctional officers who were watching him outside the court with the aid of Joann Santos, 30, and Yessenia Silva, 26, both of Lawrence.
The Lawrence trio was arraigned Friday at Salem District Court. Santos, of 383 Chestnut St., and Silva, 306 High St., pleaded not guilty to aiding an accused felon's escape. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison.
The women are also charged with aiding an escape from an officer, for which they face up to two years in jail. Judge Robert Cornetta set bail at $100,000 cash and continued their cases until a a pretrial hearing on July 25.
After Caraballo's original arrest in April, the Essex County District Attorney's Office said he'd claimed he would do anything to avoid returning to jail. He did just that on Thursday night when police found and arrested him at a Dracut home.
Although dressed in a bright orange prison jumpsuit and shackled at the hands, feet and waist, Caraballo, 37, was able to slip away at about 8 a.m. on Wednesday. He was set to appear at a pretrial conference for his case, involving a home invasion in Haverhill, according to authorities.
"You can't extend the feet a great distance (when shackled)," said Paul Fleming, a spokesman for the Essex County Sheriff's Office. "He somehow managed to shuffle away from the gentlemen who were watching him."
Correctional officers were watching about 10 other prisoners at the time of Caraballo's escape, Fleming said.
At least one witness reported seeing Caraballo get into a white Nissan Maxima driven by a woman when he made his escape. Police found the Maxima almost an hour later, with the shackles inside, a couple blocks away on Kimball Court. Sources say the car was stolen.
At the arraignment Friday, Caraballo, of 243 Prospect St. in Lawrence, pleaded not guilty to escape from a penal institution/court and was ordered held on $1 million cash bail. Authorities planned to bring him to Salem Superior Court on Monday to remove his arrest warrant stemming from the escape.
A statewide search for Caraballo was set into motion after his escape, and he remained on the loose for nearly two days before he was apprehended. Salem police were not involved in the arrest.
Fleming said Caraballo has a long criminal record. The defendant had been held at the Middleton jail since April 16 on $100,000 cash bail.
He had been charged with home invasion, kidnapping, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, larceny of a motor vehicle and larceny over $250 in connection with an incident in Haverhill in December 2007. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Caraballo was also being held on federal charges that he violated the conditions of release on a federal conviction of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property when he allegedly committed the home invasion.


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Disney now owns three of the biggest companies in the world of movie making: Pixar, Marvel and LucasFilm, in particular the Star Wars franchise. So with these three huge franchises all working under the same roof it is inevitable that comparisons will be made, but just which is the biggest and best franchise? I will be ranking Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars out of 10 in categories such as Oscar recognition, box office takings, quality of the films and star quality.
Box Office
The box office takings are vital to companies and film franchises such as these three as it indicates whether there is any demand for their films any longer and obviously, at the minute, there is. The Star Wars franchise (the original trilogy and prequel trilogy) have taken $3,793,650,642 at the box office, making an average of around $632million per film. Marvel Entertainment have so far released six films of their own, from Iron Man to The Avengers and have made $3,772,055,196 (with The Avengers making up the most of that) averaging $628million per film. None of this quite matches Pixar who, since releasing Toy Story have amassed an incredible $7,794,770,758 at the global box office, however on average this only amounts to just under $600million per film.
Marks out of 10 for Box Office takings:
Pixar: 6
Marvel: 7
Star Wars: 8
Each year the Oscars acknowledge the best films and the best efforts in making films. Marvel are really lagging behind in this area with just three nominations, two for Iron Man and one for Iron Man 2. Star Wars have so far managed to win seven Oscars with another fifteen nominations! But still this is far far behind Pixar who have been storming the Oscars with almost all of their films and have won ten Oscars for their feature films with another 30 (yes 30!) nominations!
Pixar: 10
Marvel: 1
Star Wars: 6
Film Quality
There is no doubt about who makes the best films out of Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars. Ever since their first release Pixar have continually churned out near perfect, enjoyable family films almost every year. With their recent releases it looks as though they have started to lag but their discography cannot be ignored. Marvel, aside from Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, have dominated the superhero genre and continue to bring out fun, light hearted but still very very good films and all of this culminated in one of the best films of 2012: The Avengers. I have never really liked Star Wars but I can appreciate that the original trilogy was good (yet nothing to really shout about) however the prequel trilogy is universally disliked.
Pixar: 10
Marvel: 8
Star Wars: 6
Star Talent
Star Wars made stars out of Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford primarily, although they were virtual unknowns at the time. However, they did attract Peter Cushing and Alec Guinness to the franchise. In the prequels they managed to cast some good British talent with Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor along with the huge Samuel L. Jackson. Marvel also signed Samuel L. Jackson up along with huge stars Robert Downey Jr, Ed Norton, Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Renner, Hugo Weaving, Tim Roth, Jeff Bridges and Sam Rockwell (and that's not even all of them!). Tom Hanks, John Ratzenberger, Michael Keaton, Kevin Spacey, John Goodman and Steve Buscemi have all provided voices for Pixar characters but a lot of the time the actors are unknown to audiences.
Pixar: 6
Marvel: 9
Star Wars: 4
Overall Ratings:
Pixar: 32/40.
Marvel: 25/40.
Star Wars: 24/40.
So overall Pixar comes out on top which is unsurprising to say the least! Although with their two most recent films (Cars 2 and Brave) not going down as well as previous efforts are they on the decline? Marvel have just released the third highest grossing movie of all time this year and their universe of films is only going to continue to grow and get more and more exciting. Star Wars has continued to live on in television shows since the end of the film franchise and everyone is expecting big things from the new instalment. In the next few years it will be interesting to see who Disney is getting the most from.


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OROVILLE — Three incumbent City Council candidates held a clear lead, but only one Feather River Recreation and Park District board incumbent led after all precincts reported initial results at 12:38 a.m. today.
Five people filed to run for three City Council seats and 10 people filed to run for four Feather River Recreation and Park District Board of Directors seats.
Councilman David Pittman still had the biggest edge on election night with 1,892 votes.
In a telephone interview, Pittman said he wanted to thank everyone who had voted for him.
"I'm honored with the support of the citizens," he said. "I look forward to serving another term, and I hope to see the city continue to move forward."
Al Simpson had 1,723 votes and Vice Mayor Thil Chan-Wilcox 1,231.
Alfreda "Freda" Flint had 1,128 votes and Richard Flint had 922 votes.
The results included the initial results from 12 out of 12 precincts.
In the race for FRRPD's four-year term with three seats available Victoria Coots had a clear lead with 4,876 votes.
Coots was not available to comment by deadline.
Marcia Carter closely trailed Coots with 4,857 votes. Patty Norton had 3,687 votes, and Karen Whitlow was close behind with 3,656 votes.
Director Chris Poblano garnered 3,687 votes, Chairman TJ Jensen had 3,405, Virgle Gage 3,231 and Eva Lincoln had 2,078.
In the two-year term race Vice Chairwoman Jan Hill had the lead with 6,390 votes and Director John Allen had 5,189 votes.
The results included the unofficial count of votes from all 45 precincts.
Staff writer Mary Weston can be reached at 533-4415 or email@example.com.


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Sunday, November 5th open thread: 'Terrible Lie'
Here is the open thread for Sunday, November 5th. Please feel free to post links to interesting articles and to discuss whatever issues arise during the course of the day. Nothing is off-topic here.
Last week we discussed 6 stories. Did you miss any of them? If so there is an easy way to make sure it does not happen again. I understand that all of you are busy and cannot always find the time to check the blog for updates so why not subscribe to America's Watchtower and receive email updates whenever I write a new post? That is the easiest way to follow the blog to ensure you never miss another post.
In addition to subscribing you can also follow America's Watchtower on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the links on the right. But you will get more than that for I often post links to articles probably will not be writing about so it is a great way to keep up with what is happening.
The Twitter widget in the sidebar is fully interactive. This widget updates my tweets in real time and allows you to respond to or retweet my tweets right from the blog. It also allows you to tweet me right from America's Watchtower.
Here is a mud covered Nine Inch Nails performing "Terrible Lie" live from Woodstock in 1994.
frui diem
November 5, 2017 9:09 am
Hello, I Like NIN A Lot
Yello : The Rhythm Divine (Swiss 1987)
November 5, 2017 12:29 pm
Mello Yello jazz. Years ago the backdrop was just darkness and smoke from the lounge basement look. Today all the 'hypnotizing' lighting and effects. Fancy dress 🙂
November 5, 2017 8:10 pm
I was really into NIN back in the day although I don't listen to them that much any more. I remember going to a club in Boston shortly after Pretty Hate Machine came out hoping to see them, but it was just as they were blowing up and it was sold out. I saw them twice years ago but it would have been cool to see them in that small club.
November 6, 2017 8:26 am
It Is This Version Of Dead Souls From Joy Division, Someone Did Bring This, To My Knowledge, And Liked It So Much That I Search Into.
They Have This Song : Hurt .That I Like…It's A Free Fall Into Darkness…Into Pain And Despair. But Actually So Much More Of Love…
November 6, 2017 7:52 pm
I never heard that NIN version of Joy Division but I liked it! Johnny Cash covered Hurt late in his career and I think he called it the greatest song about drug addiction ever written if I remember correctly.
November 7, 2017 3:10 am
I Remember Bringing This Song ( The Cure-Burn), I'm Surprise I Didn't Do The Same For The Joy Cover..Anyway, Same Album.
November 6, 2017 11:57 am
The power of music ~ in the physical and spiritual arenas.
CJ permalinkNovember 5, 2017 10:23 am
Speaking of lies. Big Pharma and their agents, doctors, continue to misinform us.
November 5, 2017 8:16 pm
This was interesting. I am on a low sodium diet. When I first went on it two years ago I tried to basically cut out all salt in my diet but now I just eat healthier and instead of cutting out salt I eat fruits and vegetable, with no processed meat, during the day but have a normal meal at night. I don't add salt to any food any more. It is possible to take anything to far but I think moderation is the key.
November 5, 2017 11:35 am
This is very informative (24;55) I thought. I hadn't consider how this all worked together for the 'evils that are' but he explains it all very well.
Even in this though there's a mightier purpose going on: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
November 5, 2017 11:56 am
I found that vid on this site – which is packed with all sorts of "world order agenda" info: http://www.wakeupkiwi.com/index.shtml
November 5, 2017 8:19 pm
I haven't watched the whole thing yet but it is interesting. I don't doubt population control is part of the reason for war, if there was another alternative war would be less prevalent. An interesting idea. I have to watch the whole thing.
November 5, 2017 12:14 pm
Remember when we could get "real food" at A&W and similar places! Real potatoes used for french fries, real beef w/out GMO feed or antibiotics, all was real and nutritious – people were made fat for eating it.
November 5, 2017 12:16 pm
This is what we have today: processed with chemicals. All part of the depopulation design.
November 5, 2017 8:27 pm
We really don't know what we are putting in our bodies any more. Besides all of this they are pumping chemicals into the animals we eat while they are alive to grow them bigger and you have to think these chemicals are ingested by us when we eat this food.
November 6, 2017 6:28 am
Interesting, I hadn't noticed that.
November 5, 2017 1:49 pm
I'm going a bit over-board w/ all these postings but I hope they're helpful/beneficial to you who are interested.
This vid is important because it shows microwave lasers being used in the CA fires started around 12:30 or so at night. Some people saw blue beams/sparks strike down which causing the fires where they hit (many utube vids show or talk about this – witnesses who were there). These were "target hits and wind directed" burning certain things and not others. Burnt cars were similar to those found at ground zero. Connect this to the 'cyclones' in Maine that appeared as "target hits" downing large trees taking down power lines (outages for days) last week (how much food damage for homes? and health issues from that). This is all along the 'Depopulation Theme of the UN" vid above ~ escalating forward, masked as 'normal weather' normal fires storms (put in the recent Hurricane the mix too: weather warfare).
inTruthbyGrace has a number of informative and insightful vids.
"aplanetruth.info" utube host brought her to my attention, who connects the CA fires to the UN Agenda of 'sustainable smart communities' where certain areas will be 'off limits' for human dwelling – and that area is one of them. Just showing how this is connected and not 'by happen-chance'.
November 5, 2017 8:49 pm
Here's the link for "aplanetruth.info" ~ might find his info worth your time: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE5KlMLlrXWDhPklv7wK04g/videos


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I am trying to get ahead of the game for once and share a holiday recipe before said holiday, when it is most relevant. Here is one for St. Patrick's Day.
In my normal fashion I didn't write anything down. I just put the stew in the oven so I am typing before I forget
1lb stew beef
1 onion
2-3 stalks celery
Tomato paste
3 cups chicken broth
4 tbsp flour
3cloves garlic
Thyme & bay leaf
Season the beef pieces with a good sprinkling of salt and pepper. Add a few glugs of olive oil to a Dutch oven and brown all sides.
Remove meat from pan and set aside.This is the good stuff, leave it in the pan, it is the flavour.
Add 200g chopped meaty bacon ( I used a maple wood smoked). Add chopped onion and minced garlic and cook until softened.
Once softened sprinkle with 3-4 tbsp flour and stir around to coat everything and add 1 can of Guinness.
When we are done with Guinness, the leftover foam always gets put into a small bowl for Max, he loves it! After he laps it down he runs off to his bed to roll around.
Add carrot and parsnip, celery, chicken stock and 4 tbsp tomato paste. Stir again to mix and dissolve the paste.
Add the meat back to the pot along with any accumulated juices
Add 2 bay leaves and a tsp of dried thyme.
I think I added about 1/2 tsp salt and a generous 1/8tsp pepper. Cover and cook in 325F oven for 2 1/2 hrs.
Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Probably best to let people add their preferred amount at the table.
Serve with bread or crusty rolls for soaking up the gravy.


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Whether you are planning a large or small project, Castle Northland Building Supply has many resources to help make your renovation or new construction go smoothly – from planning and preparation to execution and clean-up. Our friendly, knowledgeable staff of experts is here to help. From how-to instructions, building plans, 3D designs, takeoffs and free estimates, we have everything you need to start your project with confidence.
Be sure to subscribe to receive your free issues of Contactor Advantage, Ideas, and Rough Construction magazines.
Ready to begin your renovation? Let us know the details of your project and we can answer your questions, review your options, as well as help you plan and budget.
At Castle Northland Building Supply we want you to have everything you need to make an informed purchase. That's why we provide information sheets from professional and trusted resources. Here are just a few for you to download or ask for in-store:
If you have any questions, contact us, visit us in-store or request a free quote today.
Service. Inventory. Pricing.
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How do we do it? Our membership with Castle Building Centres ensures pricing that competes with the box stores. Being independently owned and operated, we can source the world for the brands you love and the products you need. No one surpasses our knowledge of the industry. Ask us, and we'll get it! That is our promise to you!
Contact us or request a quote today.
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It's a John Legend kinda day
So high
My shoes are scraping the sky
Oohh … Oohhh
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10 Apr, 2012, 04:18 ET
BOYERTOWN, Pa. and LOS ANGELES, April 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ClimeCo America Corporation (ClimeCo America) and Rentech Nitrogen Partners, L.P. (NYSE: RNF) jointly announced today that ClimeCo America will deliver 120,000 Climate Reserve Tonnes (CRT) to Just Energy (NYSE: JE and TSX: JE), a leading competitive North American green energy retailer. Measured as a unit of offset credits used by the Climate Action Reserve (CAR), one CRT is equal to one metric ton of greenhouse gases reduced or sequestered. The carbon credits will be delivered to Just Energy by ClimeCo over a five-year period.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120305/FL64327LOGO )
The carbon credits will be generated by Rentech Nitrogen as part of North America's first voluntary tertiary Nitrous Oxide (N2O) abatement system constructed at the plant in East Dubuque, IL in the summer of 2011 under the leadership of ClimeCo America and Rentech Nitrogen. Nitrous oxide has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 310 versus carbon dioxide with a GWP of one. Every ton of N2O destroyed by Rentech Nitrogen's abatement system generates 310 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent credits (carbon credits).
The abatement system was developed according to the high standards of the Climate Action Reserve Nitric Acid Protocol, which enables Rentech Nitrogen to decrease its carbon footprint while producing nitrogen fertilizer. CAR issues an identification number to each credit to record information such as the source of generation and the issuance date.
With the sale of the carbon credits to Just Energy, Rentech Nitrogen will cover a significant portion of its project construction costs for the N2O abatement system while Just Energy broadens its base of carbon offset projects. "Our investment in green energy and carbon offset initiatives such as this enables us to diversify our project portfolio and provide our customers with more choice in the projects they choose to support," says Ken Hartwick, Just Energy's President and CEO. "To date, Just Energy has invested more than $50 million in over 30 renewable energy and carbon offset projects across North America."
Just Energy will incorporate the carbon credits as part of their carbon offset programs for residential and commercial customers. The company offers green energy solutions through their JustGreen™ and JustClean™ programs that enable customers to offset up to 100% of the emissions associated with their everyday energy use through carbon offsets as well as renewable energy projects.
John Ambrose, Chief Operating Officer of Rentech Nitrogen, stated, "We are very forward in our thinking when it comes to implementing cost-effective programs to voluntarily improve our environmental footprint. We take pride in our environmentally conscious production of nitrogen fertilizer products for farmers in the Mid Corn Belt region of the U.S."
ClimeCo America
Cynthia Jackson
Public Relations Manager
(484) 415.0501
[email protected]
Just Energy
Gord Potter
Executive Vice President, Regulatory and Legal Affairs
(905) 795.4214
[email protected]
Rentech Nitrogen
Julie Dawoodjee
Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications
(310) 571.9800
[email protected]
SOURCE ClimeCo America Corporation


text:
is not just a Buddhist thing. The Vatican has been enduring increasing levels of anxiety about the nuns, specifically the nuns of the US.
The leading representative body for nuns in the US, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, despite it's canonical status within the Church has come under repeated fire and investigation for various heretical tendencies, which you can read about in the Vatican's statement here, and the LCWR response here. The Vatican takes this so seriously that have set up a formal investigation, and the LCWR is talking about seceding from the communion.
The parallels with the situation regarding Wat Pa Pong and nuns are quite remarkable, for all the differences in the details. Despite the misleading and sensationalist headline, this article from AlterNet does a good job of explaning the background to the dispute. The author argues that the basic issue is about power, and it's hard to fault this. Just as WPP criticized Ajahn Brahm and others for questioning the orthodoxy, so 'obedience' is foremost in the lessons that the bishops would have the nuns learn.
And the basic conflict is pretty much exactly parallel. The conservative group insists on keeping the medieval power structure in place, insisting that that, and that alone, is the truth; while the progressive party—more alive to the nuances and changes of history—look for inspiration in the heart of the teacher's message for guidance in changing times.
It's not just the LCWR that's proving controversial. A leading academic nun in the US, Sister Margaret Farley, has come under fire for discussing sexual ethics in ways that the Vatican declares to be "not consistent with authentic Catholic theology". As always, it's best to read the Vatican's original response, which is posted here.
Sister Farley is criticized for taking liberal positions on a range of matters relating to sexuality and relationships, namely masturbation, homosexual acts, same sex marriage, and divorce.
What's interesting (or interestingly boring, depending on your perspective) is the wording of the criticisms. The document speaks of 'doctrinal errors', 'the constant teaching of the Magisterium', 'the objective nature of the natural moral law', 'errors and ambiguities' (Oh, those ambiguities! Can't have them… Or can we?), 'conform to Catholic teaching', 'This opinion is not acceptable', 'Sacred Scripture… presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. They are contrary to the natural law…' 'Legal recognition of homosexual unions… would mean… the approval of deviant behavior…'.
It's all astonishingly unreconstructed. Despite Vatican 2 and the tremendous efforts by Catholics all over the world to genuinely engage with modernity within the framework of their faith, in this document the patriarchy just slams right down, no concessions granted. Modernity is just shrugged off like an annoying mosquito.
The Vatican document cites the 'confusion' among laity, a similar position to that which was expressed at the same sex marriage meeting I attended in April. This was also a key point in the official Amaravati document on the Five Points that subjugate the nuns. These were intended to allay the 'confusion' of the lay folk, which is why they were called 'Points of Clarification'. For these patriarchies, allaying confusion means insisting on the One and Only Truth, which always has been and always will be, and which is fully embodied in the patriarchy itself.
The original document on the five points is here, and it's worth reading it side by side with the Vatican documents. The Vatican, being older and more confident, expresses itself directly, whereas the Amaravati document ties itself in knots trying to apologize. But the end result is the same: obey or get kicked out.
There is, of course, the difficulty that many of the propositions insisted on by the patriarchy are unethical and harmful. They stem not from any timeless well of truth, but from well-understood social and historical conditions, conditions that no longer exist—except in the minds of the patriarchs. But as long as 'modern' notions can be dismissed by the sheer fact of their heterodoxy, they need not be taken seriously.
Meanwhile, Buddhists and Catholics go about our lives. We hear these pronouncements: sometimes they make us angry, sometimes they make us sad, sometimes they make us feel pity. But no one will ever be persuaded by them. They are a call to spiritual devolution, to a regression to lesser lives and diminished horizons. The spirit calls us on, and we won't be shackled.


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What is Compiz ?
(taken from Compiz README)
Compiz is an OpenGL compositing manager that use GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap for binding redirected top-level windows to texture objects. It has a flexible plug-in system and it is designed to run well on most graphics hardware.
Okay, this description isn't really meaningful. In a nutshell, Compiz is a compositing manager, which means that it enhances the overall user interaction by adding fancy effects to your windows, from drop shadows to awesome desktop effects like the Desktop Cube or the Expo view.
Compiz can also be a window manager, which means that it is the software between you and your desktop apps. It enables you to move or resize windows, to switch workspaces, to switch windows easily (using alt-tab or so), and so on.
There are two release series of Compiz available that differ in certain technical respects although functionally almost identical. Plugins built for one series will not work with the other.
The latest stable release of the Compiz 0.8 series is 0.8.8.
The latest stable release of the Compiz 0.9 series is 0.9.13.0 and bug reports can be found here.
What was Compiz Fusion ?
If you heard of Beryl or Compiz Fusion, it's us as well ! Check the wiki page for more details on the (somewhat troubled) project history.
(taken from AboutCompizFusion Wiki page)
Compiz Fusion is the result of a merge between the well-known Beryl composite window manager and Compiz Extras, a community set of improvements to the Compiz composite window manager. Compiz Fusion aims to provide an easy and fun-to-use windowed environment, allowing use of the graphics hardware to render each individual window and the entire screen, to provide some impressive effects, speed and usefulness. The first Compiz Fusion developer release was Compiz Fusion 0.5.2 on August 13th 2007, shortly after Compiz 0.5.2 was released. First stable release of Compiz Fusion is 0.6.0 released on October 20 2007.
Compiz is an open-source software project, meaning anyone can use it freely and contribute.


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For those not betting on the horses and downing mint juleps in honor of the Kentucky Derby this Saturday, there is the fun and frenzy of the little yellow ducks flowing down the Fall River in Estes Park.
The Estes Park Duck Race is held annually on the first Saturday in May. The 25th Duck Race is ready to wade into the water and waddle into history this weekend, continuing a tradition started in 1989 to support the local charities of the Estes Valley.
Ducks duck into the water at 1 p.m. at Nicky's Resort, after the little yellow plastic creatures are exhorted by various race activities, beginning at Nicky's Resort at 11 a.m. "Adopted" little rubber duckies race for the benefit of 63 different Estes Valley charities, which will receive 95 percent of the monies collected from the adoptions. The more ducks that are adopted for a particular charity, the more money that charity makes — get your ducks in a row and clacking.
And there are prizes galore. Step right up and make that rubber ducky yours.
Contact Juley Harvey at 970-586-3356 or email@example.com


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From early 2005 to late 2009, Children's Hospital Colorado had exactly zero emergency-room visits by kids who had ingested marijuana. In the following two years, when medical marijuana became legal in Colorado and federal officials backed off prosecution, it had 14.
Pioneering studies of ER charts by Colorado doctors show looser pot laws leading to childhood poisonings, often from mistakenly eating tantalizing "edibles" like gummy worms or brownies.
Those doctors are now helping lead the charge for mandatory safety packaging as Colorado gears up for even broader legal sales of pot with recreational-marijuana stores.
"We've seen a dramatic increase in pediatric exposure," said Dr. George Wang, a Children's ER doctor who also works with Denver Health's Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center.
Calls about potential marijuana exposure at all ages have doubled since 2009 at the poison center.
Safety packaging, as in other medicines, "is a supplement to careful parenting that has been shown to work," said Wang's colleague, Dr. Michael Kosnett. "There are solutions available right now."
And the marijuana industry agrees, up to a point.
Many industry members favor sending goods out the store door under tamper-proof seal. But they would rather not break each individual joint or candy into a high-tech, lockable bag whose cost — up to $7, even in bulk — might approach the price of the brownie inside.
"They'll have to buy so much tamper-proof packaging that people will just make it themselves at home," said Robin Hackett, co-owner of Botana Care, a medical-marijuana store in Northglenn. "The challenge is with a pound of butter and some cannabis, anybody can make edibles."
Hackett and other members of the Medical Marijuana Industry Group say lockboxes and larger locking bags that buyers can use to transport larger purchases home should solve most of the safety problems.
Breaking everything down into smaller tamper-proof bags is a landfill problem and unnecessary expense, Hackett said. Botana Care counsels patients with children about safety, and keeps track of who has kids as a reminder.
"Unfortunately, we can't write laws around 'dumb,' " she said.
None of the accidentally poisoned children has died, Wang and Kosnett said.
There are serious medical consequences for small children, though, even while marijuana advocates say an adult "overdose" of pot is nearly impossible.
Prescribed dosages of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana products used to control nausea from chemotherapy, is between 4 and 12 milligrams for children ages 2 to 4, based on body surface area. Some "edibles" have 300 milligrams of THC, Kosnett said.
The researchers say individual safety packs would be best, but the current recommendation of all items leaving the store in one secure package is "better than nothing."
Because there is no clear reporting category for marijuana poisonings, doctors have to cull through files to count cases. Presbyterian/St. Luke's, which operates Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children, said it does not track similar cases.
The cases studied at Children's included decreased levels of consciousness and breathing trouble. Children can also vomit from ingesting too much of a strong substance and aspirate the vomit.
The median age in the 14 patients was 3 years, and the range was 8 months to 12 years, according to an abstract of the research published in the journal Clinical Toxicology.
Child-ingested pot is also dangerous because ER doctors aren't looking for it as a cause of any symptoms they see, Wang said. That can lead to invasive and expensive diagnostic efforts, such as a spinal tap or CT scan, if parents are embarrassed or scared to mention the true cause.
"When children get admitted to the ICU, that's serious," Kosnett said. Symptoms may appear similar to meningitis, for example.
Safety packaging and parental prevention should be noncontroversial, said Dr. Robert Brockmann, president of the Colorado Academy of Family Physicians, especially as newly legal recreational use will greatly expand the supply.
"None of that information is being disseminated when it's dispensed," Brockmann said. "It's like liquor or prescription medications, or anything else you don't want your kids to get into."
Kosnett likens the social moment to that of the 1970 U.S. Poison Prevention Packaging Act, which launched many of the safety containers now ubiquitous in medical and chemical markets. One standard for packages, Kosnett said, is that no more than 20 percent of 5-year-olds be able to open a container within 10 minutes.
Such measures have cut pediatric poisonings in various categories by 40 to 90 percent over the decades, he said.
Michael Booth: 303-954-1686, firstname.lastname@example.com or twitter.com/mboothdp