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Cook the Book: Israeli Workingman's Lunch
We love a good egg sandwich—bacon, egg and cheese, egg salad, Croque Madame, we could go on and on, but we have to thank The Big New York Sandwich Book for introducing us to another egg-centric lunchtime repast, the Israeli Workingman's Lunch. One might assume that most workaday Israelis are bent over an overstuffed falafel but Snir Eng Sela, chef at Commerce had a different sort of Israeli lunch in mind.
His go-to lunch is a fresh, bright combo of creamy, tahini-heavy hummus spread on pita and layered with chopped Israeli salad and eggs scrambled with a whole herb garden's worth of greenery.
As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of The Big New York Sandwich Book to give away this week.
Reprinted with permission from The Big New York Sandwich Book by Sara Reistad-Long and Jean Tang, copyright © 2011. Published by Running Press.
- Yield:2
- Active time: 1 hour
- Total time:1 hour
- 2 pitas (preferably the thick Israeli kind)
- 4 tablespoons Israeli Hummus (recipe follows), or fresh, store-bought hummus
- Olive oil
- Green Eggs (recipe follows)
- Katan Katan (recipe follows)
- Israeli Hummus
- 2 cups small dried chickpeas
- 8 cups water
- 3 garlic cloves
- ½ tablespoon baking soda
- Salt
- 1 cup tahini paste, plus ½ cup water
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Fresh-cracked black pepper
- Katan Katan
- 2 Persian cucumbers, finely diced
- 1 ripe tomato, finely diced
- ½ medium onion, finely diced
- 4 parsley sprigs, chopped
- 4 mint sprigs, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
- ½ cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Green Eggs
- 8 to 10 parsley sprigs (about ¼ bunch), stems removed and chopped
- 4 mint sprigs, stems removed and chopped
- 4 cilantro sprigs, stems removed and chopped
- 4 dill sprigs, stems removed and chopped
- 4 tarragon sprigs, stems removed and chopped
- 4 chive sprigs, chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 eggs, whisked lightly
- ¼ cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
- Salt and pepper
For the Israeli Hummus: Soak the chickpeas in the water overnight. Drain the water. Place the chickpeas in a pot, and cover with more water. Add the garlic, baking soda, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down, and simmer until the chickpeas are very soft, about 1 hour.
Purée the cooked chickpeas in a blender or food processor, adding water as needed until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. In a separate bowl, mix the tahini paste with water until the paste turns white and the water is incorporated. Season the tahini with the lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Add the tahini mixture to hummus, mixing well. Adjust the seasoning, and allow to cool before using or serving.
Note: To check doneness, Eng-Sala suggests using a time-tested Israeli method. "Take a chickpea out of the pot, and throw it at the wall. If it sticks, it's ready. If it doesn't, keep cooking."
For the Katan Katan: Toss the vegetables and herbs in a large mixing bowl. Dress salad with lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
For the Green Eggs: Combine the herbs. Place the olive oil in a skillet. Heat until hot, but not smoking. Add the eggs. As they begin to set, turn off the heat. Add the herbs and lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
For the Sandwich: Place each pita on a plate. To each, add a large dollop, or about 2 tablespoons, of hummus. Drizzle with olive oil, to taste. Add equal portions of the Green Eggs and the Katan Katan.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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was derived from the name of our male African Serval stud and pet named "Tafari." In African, Tafari means "awe-inspiring," which is exactly what our Savannah cats and kittens evoke when gazing upon their pure elegance.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Oakland, Berkeley, And East Bay News, Events, Restaurants, Music, & Arts
It took Norman Mailer seven years and 1,282 pages to write 1991's Harlot's Ghost: A Novel of the CIA, and if memory serves, it took me twelve years to actually finish it. So director Robert De Niro and screenwriter Eric Roth can be forgiven for taking two hours and forty minutes to tell The Good Shepherd (aka A Movie of the CIA) but then why does it feel so empty? As long as it is, Shepherd speeds through its leading man's life, cramming in thirty years without elaborating on any of them. The fictional story here is about Edward Wilson (Matt Damon), a CIA agent tied to the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. Edward's involvement in the spy business dates back to his days studying poetry at Yale, where he was indoctrinated into the world of deceit through Skull and Bones. Then he's off to fight World War II as an agent in the Office of Strategic Services, then it's the Cold War, and then and then and then.
The Good Shepherd needed to be either considerably longer more like 1979's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy miniseries or considerably shorter (word has it De Niro cut thirty minutes). Right now, it's stuck in the deadly dull middle in which everything happens but nothing matters since the filmmakers can't stick with one event or idea long enough for it to, well, stick.
When first introduced, Edward is leaving for Cuba with his right-hand man Ray (John Turturro, who valiantly attempts to breathe life into Damon's corpse). All, of course, does not go well. There's been a leak, and Edward's boss (William Hurt) suspects that it's Edward. Later we flash back to Yale in the '30s, where Edward is splayed nude on a couch, revealing tales to his well-heeled brethren of a suicidal daddy who shamed the family. And not long after that, Edward is ratting out a Nazi-sympathizing poetry professor (Michael Gambon) at the request of the FBI. Oh, yes, there is time for love, first with a deaf girl played by Tammy Blanchard, and then with Angelina Jolie, who stumbles into the picture as a woman looking to trap the right kind of husband, whom she keeps for no apparent reason at all. (A Damon-Jolie pairing is hardly as sexy as it sounds; indeed, theirs is a glum and clumsy coupling.)
De Niro, who cameos as a secretive military man hobbled by a rotting foot, and Roth, who penned the Munich screenplay hobbled by guilt, intend theirs as a movie about the consequences of keeping secrets in the name of National Security. Shepherd is supposed to be about the breaking of the heart and the gutting of the soul the hollow nothing left when you're constantly told to trust no one, not even a wife or a son or the ghost of a dead father who went to his grave burdened by his own furtive follies (played for a few seconds of screen time by Timothy Hutton). Yet to care about how secrets eradicate our humanity, you must first have humans, and Edward is barely that.
The story should heat up once Edward is suspected of being a mole, but Roth and De Niro, so eager to show off their meticulous research and shine a bright light onto the world of shadows, have no interest in something as conventional as a whodunit. The closest the movie ever comes to a throughline is the story involving a KGB agent nicknamed Ulysses (Oleg Stefan) and Edward's grown-up son (Eddie Redmayne), but just when we begin to understand that complex relationship and the movie begins to lurch forward, we're thrown back into Edward's past in a vain attempt to reveal something more about our Deep and Disturbed Man of Great Purpose and Mystery, who has found himself at the center of all this intrigue.
Certainly, the plight of the average man caught up in extraordinary circumstances can work; what else did Alfred Hitchcock have up his sleeve but this one great gag? But De Niro and Roth want so badly to impart the details of the spy trade, to illuminate the entire history of the OSS and CIA, that they trade extraordinary for methodical, as the hush-hushed passing of manila folders between characters amounts to little more than tedious busywork. They do succeed at making the spy business appear routine, even mundane. What a feat.
Contact the author of this piece, send a letter to the editor, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.
News - November 30, 4:00 AM
News - November 25, 4:00 AM


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After taking a month off the campaign trail to care for her tenuous health condition, Hillary Clinton attempted to deliver a speech today in Cleveland Ohio, and she could barely make it through…. the coughing returned, again… and it's getting worse. Watch:
And it didn't get any better on the plane, see below:
Another view of the full episode on stage:
As almost everyone is aware. Hillary has a serious history of these continual episodes:


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I am not here.
The reason is because I'm here:
No, those aren't alien boobs. They're the Painted Hills on the fringe of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Oregon, and I'm taking an impromptu road trip to see them at the height of wildflower season.
But hey, I still blogged. Just not here. I'm over at The Debutante Ball today where we've been discussing family members reading our books. Stop by for a visit if you want to know how my parents handle reading some of the more risqué elements of my stories.
I'll return from frolicking in the flowers shortly. Until then, I encourage you all to fill your weekends with as much frolicking as possible.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Alien boobs and frolicking in the flowers
Posted by TAWNA FENSKE at 2:30 AM
Labels: Debutante Ball
7 comments :
- Judy,Judy,Judy. said...
I'm going to frolick. If people give me trouble I'm going to tell them you gave me permission.
- April 22, 2011 at 2:51 AM
- Sarah W said...
I'm going to frolick at the library over the weekend, until they shut me down . . .
- April 22, 2011 at 4:56 AM
Okay, that's an awesome picture!
- April 22, 2011 at 5:08 AM
- Unknown said...
Those hills are amazing. So many beautiful places in this country I've yet to see. *Adding to the bucket list.*
- April 22, 2011 at 5:31 AM
- Trisha Leigh said...
Unplanned road trips are the best. Have a great time!
- April 22, 2011 at 7:39 AM
- Linda G. said...
Wow, those are quite some hills you have there! But I bet you hear that all the time. ;)
- April 22, 2011 at 7:53 AM
I am jealous, jealous, jealous! Nothing is blooming here in Minnesota, yet.
- April 25, 2011 at 5:20 AM
Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )


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Now Hear This: new Dr. John produced by Dan Auerbach
The highly anticipated new music from Dr. John has finally arrived (well one song anyway).
We first heard about it last year during Hangout Festival in the Black Keys interview.
Then we witnessed a soul shaking superjam at Bonnaroo with Dr. John, Dan Auerbach, Patrick Hallahan (My Morning Jacket) on drums and Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Wow, wish I had the recording of that gig!
The album, 'Locked Down' is scheduled for April 3 release along with a three weekend residency at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, which will involve all kinds of fun musical things. Read the deets Here
So here's the first taste of 'Locked Down', a little ditty called 'Revolution'. check it out, give us your opinion.
[display_podcast] [poll id=277]


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Gatsby Party Recipe: Ale-Battered Fried Chicken Sliders
Ale-Battered Fried Chicken Sliders
Makes about 8
Note: This ale-battered chicken is inspired by a meal in "The Great Gatsby" and topped, Bakesale Betty-style, with a spicy slaw.
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 egg, beaten
1 cup ale, such as Speakeasy's Prohibition Ale
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon cayenne
3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
Canola oil, for frying
8 slider buns
1/4 red onion, slivered
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
1/4 red cabbage, thinly sliced into ribbons
1/2 carrot, shaved into thin ribbons with a vegetable peeler
1 teaspoon minced jalapeno, seeds removed
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced shallots
Salt, pepper
1. Slice chicken crosswise, into ovals. Slather with garlic and olive oil; let rest 30 minutes.
2. In a shallow bowl, beat egg and ale. Mix flour, cayenne, paprika and salt; divide between two shallow bowls (you can put all the flour in one bowl, but it's less gloppy this way). Dredge each piece of chicken in flour, dip in egg, then dredge in second bowl of flour to coat.
3. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet, set over medium-high heat until a crumb dropped into the oil instantly sizzles. Working in batches to avoid crowding, fry chicken until golden brown and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
4. In a small bowl, toss onions with 1 tablespoon vinegar; let sit 20 minutes.
5. In a large nonreactive bowl, toss drained onions with cabbage, carrots, jalapenos and lemon zest. Whisk together oil, 2 to 3 teaspoons vinegar, mustard, shallots and salt and pepper to taste. Add just enough dressing to the slaw to moisten it.
6. Split the slider rolls and toast them. Fill with fried chicken and slaw, and serve.
-- Jackie Burrell


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In a piece for Fox News on Tuesday, writer Dan Gainor suggested that MSNBC's name should be changed to MSRBC, "with the 'R' standing for race" because "the MSNBC network has reached a point where every issue is about race, no matter what host is ranting." A few excerpts:
The latest example of this comes from perennial race-baiting anchor Touré who on Nov. 26 attacked Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham as "old, white, establishment folks."
In Touré's black-and-white world, McCain is a "bitter" failed candidate who has no right to dare question potential Secretary of State candidate Susan Rice because she is a "much younger black woman." He also claimed McCain was on a "witchhunt" and "tarring" Rice, another unsubtle code word.
To give Mr. Accent Mark his due, here's that full quote about McCain in all its finery. "He also gave us the horrible optics of he and Lindsey Graham as old, white, establishment folks wrongly and repeatedly attacking a much younger black woman moments after an election in which blacks and women went strongly blue." Never one to ignore a chance to paint all Republicans as racist, he added one more dig: "Looks like the GOP is already laying the foundation for losing in 2016." …
Touré again played the race card saying back in September the election was all about America's view of the races …
For Touré, it was just another day fighting The Man, and forgetting that whether it was Martin Luther King Jr. or even Barack Obama, Americans have been told repeatedly we're trying to get past race. Just not on MSRBC.
Zinger! Except, not really.
First of all, the writer managed to distract from his point by misspelling Touré (as "Tour") throughout the piece (it's since been corrected), all while accusing him of dropping his last name "to gain street cred." (Huh? Why would a writer and television commentator need street cred? Where did that come from? Is it because Touré is … wait, we won't say it for fear of being accused of "playing the race card.")
Second, the whole thing seemed more than a little backward because at this point, doesn't just about everyone agree that a refusal to pay attention to race — the very opposite of what Gainor complains about — is part of what has Republicans in a tough spot today?
It's no wonder Fox types wish desperately that we could all just stop talking about it altogether. But for this writer and others who are still hoping we "get past race" by ignoring it, two pieces of advice: 1) Stick to the lone network that still shares that outdated view, rather than suggesting name changes for the others; and 2) Don't hold your breath.
Read more at Fox News.


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You know how Witcher 2 developer CD Projekt were using German courts to go after alleged pirates of the game? And how they gave up when everyone told them how shitty the practice they were using was? Turns out CD Projekt are just the tip of the iceberg.
An investigation from file-sharing specialists TorrentFreak has revealed that a large number of video game publishers are involved in the same practice of using a German legal loophole to harass accused pirates for ridiculous sums of money. Those publishers include Atari, the local distributors for games by Lucasarts, Square Enix and Techland (Dead Island) and Codemasters. Ubisoft was also once among the ranks, but told Rock, Paper, Shotgun that it ceased the practice three years ago.
Square Enix, Eidos & Other Game Giants All Demand Cash From Pirates [TorrentFreak]


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Life Issues...9/11
9/11 Official Story is Bogus
by Morgan Reynolds
|Former chief economist for the Department
of Labor during President
George W. Bush's first term Morgan Reynolds comments that the official story about the collapse of the WTC is "bogus" and that it is more likely that a controlled demolition destroyed the Twin Towers and adjacent Building No. 7.
Reynolds, who also served as director of the Criminal Justice Center at the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas and is now professor emeritus at Texas A&M University said, "If demolition destroyed three steel skyscrapers at the World Trade Center on 9/11, then the case for an 'inside job' and a government attack on America would be compelling."
Reynolds commented from his Texas A&M office, "It is hard to exaggerate the importance of a scientific debate over the cause of the collapse of the twin towers and building 7. If the official wisdom on the collapses is wrong, as I believe it is, then policy based on such erroneous engineering analysis is not likely to be correct either. The government's collapse theory is highly vulnerable on its own terms. Only professional demolition appears to account for the full range of facts associated with the collapse of the three buildings."
Why Did the Trade Center Skyscrapers Collapse?
"It didn't seem real… There are thousands of these steel beams that just fell like pickup sticks."
~ John Albanese, volunteer firefighter and amateur photographer
"What struck us – guys like Warren Jennings and myself, who have
spent basically all our lives in the scrap business – we'd never seen steel this heavy, this huge, this massive. It was just unbelievable."
~ Michael Henderson (p. 93),
General Manager, Marine Terminals, Metal Management NE
To explain the unanticipated free-fall collapses of the twin towers at
the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, mainstream experts offer a three-stage argument:
1) an airplane impact weakened each structure,
2) an intense fire thermally weakened structural components that may have suffered damage to fireproofing materials, causing buckling failures, which, in turn,
3) allowed the upper floors to pancake onto the floors below.
Many will nod their head, OK, that does it and go back to watching the NBA finals or whatever, but I find this theory just about as satisfying as the fantastic conspiracy theory that "19 young Arabs acting at the behest of Islamist extremists headquartered in distant Afghanistan" caused 9/11.
The government's collapse theory is highly vulnerable on its own terms, but its blinkered narrowness and lack of breadth is the paramount defect unshared by its principal scientific rival – controlled demolition. Only professional demolition appears to account for the full range of facts associated with the collapses of WTC 1 (North Tower), WTC 2 (South Tower), and the much-overlooked collapse of the 47-story WTC building 7 at 5:21 pm on that fateful day.
The scientific controversy over the initial structural weakening has two parts:
* what caused the original tower damage and
* did that damage "severely" weaken the structures?
Photos show a stable, motionless North Tower (WTC 1) after the damage suffered at 8:46 am and the South Tower after its 9:03 am impact. If we focus on the North Tower, close examination of photos reveals arguably "minor" rather than "severe" damage in the North Tower and its perimeter columns.
As many as 45 exterior columns between floors 94 and 98 on the northeast (impact) side of the North Tower were fractured – separated from each other – yet there is no direct evidence of "severe" structural weakening. None of the upper sections of the broken perimeter columns visibly sags or buckles toward its counterpart column below. We can infer this because of the aluminum covers on the columns: each seam uniformly aligns properly across the Tower, forming a horizontal "dashed line" in the façade from beveled end to end. Despite an impact hole, gaps in perimeter columns, and missing parts of floors 95–98 at the opening, the aluminum façade shows no evidence of vertical displacement in the columns, suggestive of little or no wider floor buckling at the perimeter.
The aluminium covers attached to the columns also aligned vertically
after impact, that is, separated columns continued to visually remain "plumb"(true vertical), lining up top to bottom around the aperture, implying no perceptible horizontal displacement of the columns.
Photographic evidence for the northeast side of the North Tower showed no wider secondary structural impact beyond the opening itself. Of course, there was smoke pouring out of the upper floors.
The fact that perimeter columns were not displaced suggests that the
floors did not buckle or sag. Despite missing parts of floors 95–98, photos show no buckling or sag on other floors. If so, that boosts the likelihood that there was little damage to the core. Photos do not document what happened within the interior/core and no one was allowed to inspect and preserve relevant rubble before government authorities – primarily FEMA – had it quickly removed. Eyewitness testimony by those who escaped from inside the North Tower concerning core damage probably is unavailable.
Photos do not allow us to peer far into the interior of the building; in
fact the hole is black, with no flames visible. We know that the structural core and its steel was incredibly strong (claimed 600% redundancy) making it unlikely that the core was "severely" damaged at impact. There were 47 core columns connected to each other by steel beams within an overall rectangular core floor area of approximately 87 feet x 137 feet (26.5 m x 41.8 m). Each column had a rectangular cross section of approximately 36" x 14" at the base (90 cm x 36 cm) with steel 4" thick all around (100 mm), tapering to 1⁄4" (6 mm) thickness at the top. Each floor was also extremely strong (p. 26), a grid of steel, contrary to claims of a lightweight "truss" system.
Those who support the official account like Thomas Eagar,
professor of materials engineering and engineering systems at MIT, usually argue that the collapse must be explained by the heat from the fires because the loss of loading-bearing capacity from the holes in the Towers was too small. The transfer of load would have been within the capacity of the towers.
Since steel used in buildings must be able to bear five times its normal load, Eagar points out, the steel in the towers could have collapsed only if heated to the point where it "lost 80 percent of its strength, " around 1,300oF. Eagar believes that this is what happened, though the fires did not appear to be extensive and intense enough, quickly billowing black smoke and relatively few flames.
While some experts claim that airliner impact severely weakened the
entire structural system, evidence is lacking. The perimeters of floors 94–98 did not appear severely weakened, much less the entire structural system. The criminal code requires that crime scene evidence be saved for forensic analysis but FEMA had it destroyed before anyone could seriously investigate it. FEMA was in position to take command because it had arrived the day before the attacks at New York's Pier 29 to conduct a war game exercise, "Tripod II," quite a coincidence. The authorities apparently considered the rubble quite valuable: New York City officials had every debris truck tracked on GPS and had one truck driver who took an unauthorized one and a half hour lunch fired.
The preliminary NIST Response claims that "the wall section above the
impact zone moved downward" on WTC 1 but offers no evidence. It offers photographic evidence, however, for a "hanging floor slab" on the 82d floor of the South Tower at 9:55 a.m. This looks minor though because there is no sag on adjacent floors and the integrity of the structure looks very much intact. The fire looks weak too, yet the South Tower collapsed only four minutes later. This would be quite a puzzle without a demolition theory.
About a dozen of the fragmented ends of exterior columns in the North Tower hole were bent but the bends faced the "wrong way" because they pointed toward the outside of the Tower. This fact is troublesome for the official theory that a plane crash created the hole and subsequent explosion between floors 94 and 98. The laws of physics imply that a high-speed airplane with fuel-filled wings breaking through thin perimeter columns would deflect the shattered ends of the columns inward, if deflected in any direction, certainly not bend them outward toward the exterior.
A possible response would be that, well, yes, an airliner crash would
bend a column inward rather than outward, if bent at all, but the subsequent force of a jet fuel blast would act in the opposite direction: any inward bends caused by plane impact would straighten toward vertical or even reverse the bent steel columns toward the exterior under blast pressure. However, such a proposed steel "reversal theory" (first bend inward by collision, then bend outward by explosion) suffers two major handicaps:
Occam's razor would suggest that the outward bends in the perimeter
columns were caused by explosions from inside the tower rather than bends caused by airliner impact from outside. Also supporting this theory is the fact that the uniformly neat ends of the blown perimeter columns are consistent with the linear shaped charges demolition experts use to slice steel as thick as 10 inches. The hypothesis of linear shaped charges also explains the perfectly formed crosses found in the rubble (crucifix-shaped fragments of core column structures), as well as the rather-neatly shorn steel everywhere.
The engineering establishment's theory has further difficulties. It is
well-known that the hole in the west wing of the Pentagon, less than
18-foot diameter, was too small to accommodate a Boeing 757, but the North Tower's hole wasn't big enough for a Boeing 767 either, the alleged widebody airliner used on AA Flight 11 (officially tail number N334AA, FAA-listed as "destroyed"). A Boeing 767 has a wingspan of 155' 1" (47.6 m) yet the maximum distance across the hole in the North Tower was about 115 feet (35 m), a hole undersized by some 40 feet or 26 percent. "The last few feet at the tips of the wings did not even break through the exterior columns," comments Hufschmid. But 20 feet on each wing?
I'd call that a substantial difference, not "the last few feet," especially since aircraft impact holes tend to be three times the size of the aircraft, reflecting the fact that fuel-laden airliners flying into buildings send things smashing about in a big way. The small size of the holes in both towers casts doubt on the airliner-impact hypothesis and favors professional demolition again. There were no reports of plane parts, especially wings, shorn off in the collision and bounced to the ground on the northeast side of the tower, to my knowledge, though FEMA reported a few small pieces to the south at Church street and atop WTC-5 to the east of WTC-1.
Adding to the suspicious nature of the small aperture in WTC 1 is that
some vertical gaps in the columns on the left side of the northeast hole were so short, probably less than three feet high. Not much of a jumbo jet could pass through such an opening, especially since a fuel-laden plane would not minimize its frontal area. The engines are a special problem because each engine is enormous and dense, consisting mainly of tempered steel and weighing 24 to 28.5 tons, depending upon model. No engine was recovered in the rubble yet no hydrocarbon fire could possibly vaporize it.
The hole in the North Tower also is suspicious because it did not even
have a continuous opening at the perimeter, but instead contained substantial WTC material just left of center. This material appears integral to that area, so it did not move much, suggesting minimal displacement and no clean penetration by a jumbo jet. These huge airliners weigh 82 tons empty and have a maximum takeoff weight of up to 193 tons.
In the case of the South Tower, an engine from UAL Flight 175 (tail
number N612UA and FAA-registered as still valid!) has not been recovered
despite the fact that the flight trajectory of the video plane implied that the
right engine would miss the South Tower. Photos showing minor engine parts on the ground are unconvincing, to put it mildly. Perhaps independent jet engine experts (retired?) can testify to the contrary.
Further contradicting the official account, the beveled edge of the southeast side of the south tower was completely intact upon initial impact. The government never produced a jet engine yet claimed it recovered the passport of alleged hijacker Satam al Suqami unharmed by a fiery crash and catastrophic collapse of the North Tower.
The government has not produced voice (CVR) or flight data recorders (FDR) in the New York attack either, so-called black boxes, a fact unprecedented in the aviation history of major domestic crashes.
Adding to the problems of the official theory is the fact that photos of
the North Tower hole show no evidence of a plane either. There is no
recognizable wreckage or plane parts at the immediate crash site. While the issue probably takes us too far afield, the landing wheel assembly that allegedly flew out of the North Tower and was found several streets away could easily have been planted by FEMA or other government agents. I've never seen any objective analysis of this wheel assembly though it would be welcome. In fact, the government has failed to produce significant wreckage from any of the four alleged airliners that fateful day. The familiar photo of the Flight 93 crash site in Pennsylvania (The 9/11 Commission Report, Ch. 9) shows no fuselage, engine or anything recognizable as a plane, just a smoking hole in the ground. Photographers reportedly were not allowed near the hole. Neither the FBI
nor the National Transportation Safety Board have investigated or produced any report on the alleged airliner crashes.
The WTC 1 and Pentagon holes were not alone in being too small. Photos
show that the hole in WTC 2 also was too small to have been caused by the crash of a Boeing 767. In fact, the South Tower hole is substantially smaller than the North Tower hole.
The next question is whether the fires were hot enough to cause the WTC
buildings to collapse. In defending the official account and its clones that try to explain the unprecedented collapses of three steel-framed skyscrapers without demolition, heat arguably is more important than structural impact. That's obviously true for building WTC 7 because there was no alleged airplane impact.
First, no steel-framed skyscraper, even engulfed in flames hour after
hour, had ever collapsed before. Suddenly, three stunning collapses occur within a few city blocks on the same day, two allegedly hit by aircraft, the third not.
These extraordinary collapses after short-duration minor fires made it all the more important to preserve the evidence, mostly steel girders, to study what had happened. On fire intensity, consider this benchmark: A 1991 FEMA report on Philadelphia's Meridian Plaza fire said that the fire was so energetic that "[b]eams and girders sagged and twisted," but "[d]espite this
extraordinary exposure, the columns continued to support their loads without obvious damage" (quoted by Griffin, p. 15). Such an intense fire with consequent sagging and twisting steel beams bears no resemblance to what we observed at the WTC.
Second, severe structural damage to the WTC towers would have required
fires that were not only large but growing throughout the buildings and
burning for a considerable period of time. None of these conditions was present. "The lack of flames is an indication that the fires were small, and the dark smoke is an indication that the fires were suffocating," points out Hufschmid. Eyewitnesses in the towers, as well as police and firefighters, reported the same thing.
Third, the impact opening was 15 floors lower in the South Tower than in
the North Tower, where core columns were thicker, so the South Tower fire had to produce more heat to raise the steel temperatures to soften up
(thermally weaken) the steel columns. Yet its fires were considerably smaller and 30 minutes shorter in duration. The Tower collapsed after burning only 56 minutes.
A prime candidate to explain why "the wrong tower fell first" is that
the small dying fire in the South Tower forced the hand of the mass murderers who decided to trigger demolition earlier than planned in order to sustain the lie that fire caused the collapse. The North Tower stood for another 29 minutes and its core steel was thinner at its upper stories. The 1991 Meridian Plaza fire burned for 19 hours and the fire was so extreme that flames came from dozens of windows on many floors. It did not collapse.
Fourth, implicitly trying to explain away these difficulties, the current NIST
investigation, conducted by "an extended investigation team of 236 people," makes "dislodged fireproofing" the key variable to explain the
collapses. Supposedly, "the probable collapse sequence for the WTC towers are (sic) based on the behavior of thermally weakened structural components that had extensive damage to fireproofing or gypsum board fire protection induced by the debris field generated by aircraft impact". "Had fireproofing not been dislodged by debris field," this team of government-paid experts claims, "temperature rise of structural components would likely have been insufficient to induce global collapse". Perhaps acknowledging the lack of direct evidence for its conjectures, the NIST admits that "a full collapse of the WTC floor system would not occur even with a number of failed trusses or connections" and it "recognizes inherent uncertainties".
The NIST will have to boost its creativity to plausibly explain the WTC 7
collapse because it won't have the benefit of tales of aircraft and debris
Aside from specific defects in the fire collapse theory, a wide variety
of facts undermine it:
Griffin (pp. 25–7) succinctly identifies the primary defects in the official account of the WTC collapses, and its sister theories. These problems were
entirely ignored by The 9/11 Commission Report (2004), so the government appointees must have found it difficult to account for the following facts:
Professional demolition, by contrast, can explain all of these facts and
more. Demolition means placing explosives throughout a building, and
detonating them in sequence to weaken "the structure so it collapses or folds in upon itself". In conventional demolitions gravity does most of the work, although it probably did a minority on 9/11, so heavily were the towers honeycombed with explosives.
Controlled demolition would have required unimpeded access to the WTC,
access to explosives, avoiding detection, and the expertise to orchestrate the deadly destruction from a nearby secure location. Such access before 9/11 likely depended on complicity by one or more WTC security companies. These companies focus on "access control" and as security specialist Wayne Black says, "When you have a security contract, you know the inner workings of everything."
Stratesec, a now-defunct company that had security contracts at the World Trade Center and Dulles International Airport, should be investigated, among others, because of the strange coincidence that President Bush's brother, Marvin P. Bush, and his cousin, Wirt D. Walker III, were principals in the company, with Walker acting as CEO from 1999 until January 2002 and Marvin reportedly in New York on 9/11.
At least one report claims that a "power down" condition prevailed on
September 8–9 at WTC to complete a "cabling upgrade," presenting an opportunity to plant explosives with low risk of detection.
A related point is that demolition companies go to considerable expense
to wire steel-framed skyscrapers with explosives to produce safe implosions, and they would love to do it more cheaply by simply setting two small fires like those that (allegedly) caved in building 7. Apparently, the terrorist-inventors have kept this new technology secret.
Why would the killers destroy WTC-7, especially since a collapse would
arouse suspicion in some quarters? A logical if unproven theory is that the
perpetrators used Mayor Giuliani's sealed OEM "bunker" on the 23d story
of WTC-7 to conduct the twin tower implosions and then destroyed the building and evidence to cover up their crimes, just as a murderer might set his victim's dwelling ablaze to cover up the crime (one in four fires is arson). Giuliani's "undisclosed secret location" was perfect because it had been evacuated by 9:45 a.m. on 9/11, it enabled unmolested work, provided a ringside seat, was bullet- and bomb-resistant, had its own secure air and water supply, and could withstand winds of 160 mph, necessary protection from the wind blasts generated by collapsing skyscrapers.
There is special import in the fact of free-fall collapse (item one in
the list immediately above), if only because everyone agrees that the towers fell at free-fall speed. This makes pancake collapse with one floor
progressively falling onto the floor below an unattractive explanation. Progressive pancaking cannot happen at free-fall speed ("g" or 9.8 m/s2). Free-fall would require "pulling" or removing obstacles below before they could impede (slow) the acceleration of falling objects from above. Sequenced explosions, on the other hand, explain why the lower floors did not interfere with the progress of the falling objects above. The pancake theory fails this test.
If we put the murder of 2,749 innocent victims momentarily aside, the
only unusual technical feature of the collapses of the twin towers was that
the explosions began at the top, immediately followed by explosions from
below. WTC-7, by contrast, was entirely conventional, imploding from bottom up.
It is hard to exaggerate the importance of a scientific debate over the
cause(s) of the collapse of the twin towers and building 7. If the official
wisdom on the collapses is wrong, as I believe it is, then policy based on such erroneous engineering analysis is not likely prove to be sound. Revised engineering and construction practices, for example, based on the belief that the twin towers collapsed through airplane damage and subsequent fires is premature, to say the least.
More importantly, momentous political and social consequences would
follow if impartial observers concluded that professionals imploded the WTC. If demolition destroyed three steel skyscrapers at the World Trade Center on 9/11, then the case for an "inside job" and a government attack on America would be compelling. Meanwhile, the job of scientists, engineers and impartial researchers everywhere is to get the scientific and engineering analysis of 9/11 right, "though heaven should fall." Unfortunately, getting it right in today's "security state" demands daring because explosives and structural experts have been intimidated in their analyses of the collapses of 9/11.
|author: Morgan Reynolds, Ph.D., is
professor emeritus at Texas A&M University
and former director of the Criminal Justice Center at the National Center for Policy Analysis headquartered in Dallas, TX. He served as chief economist for the US Department of Labor during 2001–2, George W. Bush's first term.
|Source: Story first published by United Press International.
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WASHINGTON — The Admiral is readying for a rematch.
Former U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, who has played it coy since his narrow loss to Pat Toomey in the grueling 2010 Senate race, announced Tuesday morning by email that he's formed an exploratory committee to run again for the Senate in 2016.
The move means the Delaware County Democrat has ruled out running for governor in 2014, and that he's set his sights on going back to Washington.
If he runs, Sestak will be competing in a presidential year, which are traditionally more favorable to Democrats because of the party's voter registration advantage in the state. Toomey, however, has watched his approval ratings rise after his very public effort last month to strengthen background checks on gun sales.
Sestak was under pressure to announce his political intentions after the Pennsylvania Republican Party filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission that Sestak was raising money without disclosing what he was running for. The "Friends of Joe Sestak" account raised nearly a half a million dollars in the first three months of 2013.
The former Navy admiral, known for his frantic energy, ended the late Arlen Specter's 30-year career in a Democratic primary a year after Specter switched political parties. Sestak then ran a hyper aggressive general election campaign that brought him within two points of beating Toomey in a Republican wave year.
Updated: Toomey's 2010 campaign manager Mark Harris said in a statement, "Pat Toomey is focused on serving the people of Pennsylvania in the US Senate and hasn't even thought about an election three and a half years from now. He will continue working to build consensus and lead in Washington like he has on job creation, fiscal responsibility, and keeping America safe."
In announcing his plans to consider a run for Senate in three years, Sestak, wearing his signature green bomber jacket, released this video of him in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia:


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For purposes of this subtitle, the term "partnership" includes a syndicate, group, pool, joint venture, or other unincorporated organization through or by means of which any business, financial operation, or venture is carried on, and which is not, within the meaning of this title, a corporation or a trust or estate. Under regulations the Secretary may, at the election of all the members of an unincorporated organization, exclude such organization from the application of all or part of this subchapter, if it is availed of—
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Actor Irrfan, who has had the opportunity to work in both Hollywood and Bollywood films, feels that the Indian film industry needs to work on the way they market their films.
"There are few areas we still need to work on, like the release of the film. The way it is planned in America, we still need to find that system. They find the right audience for the film. They really work on what kind of audience is going to watch this film and they release accordingly," he said.
"We find a formula and we apply that formula to every film. We have similar ticket rates, we have similar way of promoting it; we have similar way of releasing it. The ticket rates for a Rs.100 crore budget film and Rs.5 crore budget film are the same. We really need to work on this system," he added.
Irrfan became a prominent face in international cinema after acting in films like "Warrior", "A Mighty Heart", "New York, I Love You" and Danny Boyle's multiple Oscar winning film "Slumdog Millionaire". His most recent release is Ang Lee's "Life Of Pi".
The 45-year-old star feels Hollywood films always have a hidden meaning in them.
"When we make a film, whatever is there on the surface is still there on the surface and there is no layering beneath it, but if you take big Hollywood films there are things that are hidden beneath it. There is something they are trying to suggest to the audience," he said.
"For example Shakespeare, whatever he is trying to say is hidden, though it's a drama but the message he is trying to give is all hidden. When an intellectual person watches 'Slumdog Millionaire', he relates to it in a completely different manner, when a child will watch 'Life Of Pi', he will take it differently. That's what we need to strive and that's what our next generation is going to do," he added.


text:
Restoring an electronic antique for Gettysburg anniversary
The plaster Gettysburg icon still sits in four sections on supports of plywood and steel, like the pieces of a giant puzzle waiting to be solved.
But Hanover businessman Scott Roland said this week the pieces are coming together and he hopes to have the 29-foot by 29-foot, 50-year-old map open to the public soon.
Roland bought the map -- which educated generations of battlefield visitors -- last year for $14,000.
"It was an out-of-nowhere project, and it's been on hold for a while, but we are working with other interested parties to get things set up for the work to continue," Roland said.
The map recently tested positive for Chrysotile, a common form of asbestos, Roland said. Fears of asbestos nearly led to the maps destruction, but the National Park Service in the end agreed to auction the map instead.
In order for the map to again tell the story, something needed to be done to assure it is safe for workers renovating it and visitors viewing it, Roland said.
Rich Yingling, of First Capital Insulation, Inc., is a big fan of preserving the map and offered to donate his services.
Next week, Yingling plans to hand-paint the sealing coat on the map to keep contaminated particles from becoming airborne. Yingling painted a test patch with the special coating on Friday afternoon and said it will take about a day to do the work needed to seal the plaster.
The next step is replacing wiring, taking out the old "Christmas-style" lights and replacing them with LED lights, Roland said.
"We have the wire, we will have the lights next week, and it's just a matter of jacking up the pieces so that the wires can be removed and lights replaced," Roland said.
Each of the 600 lights will be updated so that they can be changed out from the top instead of underneath the map.
The map will also be programmed for automated lighting. When the map was in operation in the past, a operator would use toggle switches to change the lights, Roland said.


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PDA Voter Suppression Shows: Guests include Myrna Pérez, Senior Counsel Brennan Center for Justice; Edgardo Cortés of the Advancement Project; Kemba Smith and Linwood Christian, both are Felon Voting Rights Restoration Activists; Sara Mullen of ACLU of Pennsylvania and Chris Fields of Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights on "OneNation" with hosts Andrea Miller and Rev. Terence Dicks
Voter suppression and racism is alive and well in America but we can fight this machine by registering to vote, voting early and fighting Voter ID laws.
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text:
SANTA ROSA (AP) — Ten seconds.
That's how much time passed after a California sheriff's deputy reported a suspicious person to dispatch then called back to say shots had been fired.
The shots killed 13-year-old Andy Lopez on Tuesday afternoon in a blue-collar neighborhood in Santa Rosa. Police say Lopez was carrying a pellet gun that looked like an AK-47 assault rifle.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced late Friday that it is conducting its own investigation of the shooting, which has outraged many local residents who are demanding to know whether the shooting was justified.
More than 100 angry middle and high school students walked to City Hall on Friday, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported. Hundreds of people protested earlier in the week.
City police and the Sonoma County district attorney's office are also investigating.
In a statement Friday, Sheriff Steve Freitas said he would cooperate fully with the FBI inquiry, and he expressed sympathy for the Lopez family. He also thanked the community for keeping protests peaceful.
The dispatch timeline released by the Santa Rosa Police Department showed that two deputies in a squad car encountered the hoodie-wearing Lopez just after 3:14 p.m.
Witnesses say at least one of the deputies took cover behind an open front door of the cruiser, and one yelled twice "drop the gun."
Ten seconds after their initial report to dispatch, one of the officers called in "shot have been fired."
Sixteen seconds later, the deputies were calling for medical help. Cruz was later pronounced dead at the scene. The Sonoma County coroner said he found seven "apparent entry wounds," two of them fatal.
The deputies, who have not been identified, have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard after a shooting, officials said.
Assistant Sheriff Lorenzo Duenas told the Press Democrat that the deputy who shot the teen is a 24-year veteran and his partner, who did not fire his weapon, is a new hire.
Santa Rosa police Lt. Paul Henry told the newspaper the deputy who opened fire later told investigators he believed his life as well his partner's was in jeopardy. The deputy said the teen didn't comply with commands to drop the gun and was turning toward the deputies while raising the barrel.
"The deputy's mindset was that he was fearful that he was going to be shot," Henry said at a Wednesday news conference.
Geoffrey Alpert, a professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina, said officers are typically justified in the use of deadly force when they sincerely believe lives are at stake.
If the teen was raising the barrel of the gun toward officers, they had little choice about firing, Alpert said.
"If it's a pink bubble gum gun and an obvious fake to most, then there is no reason to shoot," he said. "But if the gun looks real the barrel is being pointed at you ... it's unfortunate, but a perceived threat trumps age and the officers have to protect themselves."
Hundreds of community members marched Wednesday night to remember the teen and protest the shooting.
They covered more than three miles from Santa Rosa City Hall to the field where Andy Lopez was killed. Some lit candles and placed flowers at a makeshift memorial with printed pictures of the victim, stuffed animals and a balloon that read "RIP Andy L."


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The AQ6150 Series Optical Wavelength Meter is an ideal instrument for accurately measuring the optical wavelength of optical devices and systems used in telecommunication applications from 1270 to 1650 nm (including C&L Band). By employing a Michelson interferometer and a high speed Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm, the AQ6150 series can measure not only a single wavelength laser signal, but also a multiple wavelength laser signal from a DWDM system and Fabry-Perot laser. Furthermore, this technology enables the measurement of modulated laser signals in addition to the CW signal from an optical transceiver. The optimized optical design and data processing routine significantly reduces the measurement time and improves manufacturing throughout.
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Maintain high performance even with low-power input
Equipped with an Auto Gain Control (AGC) function, the AQ6150 Series adjusts the gain of the electrical amplifier automatically based on the input signal power. This helps maximize wavelength accuracy and measurement speed, even if the input signal power is as low as -40 dBm.
For the adjustment and characterization of tunable laser sources and tunable optical transceivers requiring hundreds of wavelength measurements per device, high-speed measurement and processing capability are crucial for improving the production throughput. Both models can acquire, analyze, and transfer a measurement to a PC within 0.3 seconds. This is 5 times faster than our conventional model, vastly improving production throughput. In the Repeat Measurement mode, the AQ6150 series can collect 5 measurements per second, making it extremely useful when adjusting a device while monitoring the wavelength in real time.
|Easy to view bright color LCD
|USB ports
|Direct operation with mouse
|Data access through LAN
|The standard LAN port allows convenient access to files stored in the internal memory as well as the ability to remotely update the firmware from a PC.
With the conventional wavelength meter, the high failure rate of the wavelength reference light source and its high replacement costs have been a major contribution to the overall ownership costs over a product life.
One of the key product design goals was to address these issues. This was achieved by a multi-dimensional approach, giving the AQ6150 Series the ability to extend the service life of the light source and by reduce the overall replacement cost of the unit.
|Single, repeat, average, drift, data logging
|Measurement condition setup
|Average count, air/vacuum wavelength, device type (CQ/modulated,), measurement range
|Single wavelength, multi-wavelength, delta, grid, spectrum, wavelength axis units, optical power units, center wavelength, total power, marker, label, power bar, warning messages, error messages, system information.
|Data analysis
|Peak search, FP-LD analysis, drift analysis, WDM(OSNR) analysis
|Saving/loading measured results (CSV), saving/loading parameters (binary), saving screen images (BMP)
|Remote control
|Interface selection (GP-IB/Ethernet), TCP/IP configuration, remote monitor
|Internal reference light source on/off, internal reference light source status LED, optical power offset, parameter initialization, firmware updating
|Single Wavelength Mode
|The single wavelength mode displays the wavelength and power of the highest peak or an arbitrary peak using large easy to read numbers. This allows the values to be easily read even if the unit is places at the top of the test strand
|Multi Wavelength Mode
|The multi wavelength mode displays a list of wavelength and power of multiple peaks with the wavelength and power of the highest peak or an arbitrary peak on top of the list. There is also a mode to show the list only to maximize the number of channels shown on the screen.
|Delta Wavelength Mode
|The delta wavelength mode calculates and displays he difference between a reference peak and the other peaks in terms of wavelength and power. This mode helps determine the peak spacing.
|Grid Mode
|Displays the deviation between a set grid wavelength and a measured wavelength which is within a set search area centering the set grid wavelength.
|Optical Spectrum View
|The AQ6250 series can display an optical spectrum waveform obtained from a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm. It allows for determining test conditions and troubleshooting an error in the measurement while confirming the actual spectrum.
The AQ6150 series is equipped with automatic measurement and analysis functions. These functions save valuable time and resources from creating/validating remote control and analysis programs.
|Drift Analysis
|The drift analysis measures the variation of wavelength and power for each peak over time by repeating the measurement. It obtains maximum value (MAX), minimum value (MIN), and variation (MAX-MIN). This function is useful for long-term stability testing and evaluation the temperature dependency of lasers.
|Average measurement
|The average measurement obtains an average wavelength and power for each peak by repeating the measurement. This function helps uncertainty of measurement for a modulated signal or unstable signals.
|Fabry-Perot laser analysis
|The evaluation parameters of a Fabry-Perot laser can be analyzed and displayed instantly from the measured optical spectrum.
|Data logging
|Records measured data up to 10,000 point per channel and displays them in chart and graph. Valid for long term stability testing and temperature cycling.
In WDM transmission system testing, high wavelength accuracy is required for testing the system's internal circuit boards such as laser modules and optical transceivers as well as the final output signal of the system.
Testing of optical components used in WDM transmission systems such as laser devices, laser modules, and optical transceivers also require high wavelength accuracy.
Due to the high accuracy of the AQ6150 Series, it can be used for precision wavelength calibration applications such as:
Generate interference by changing the optical path length difference between the fixed mirror and the movable mirror, then detect the interference signal with the optical receiver.
Convert the interface signal into an optical spectrum waveform.
Analyze the given optical spectrum waveform, then output the wavelength and power data of the input signal.
Correct the measurement error by simultaneously measuring the interference signal of the reference wavelength while measuring the input signal.
|AQ6150 Optical Wavelength Meter
|AQ6151 Optical Wavelength Meter
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April 10-16 every year, homeopaths and supporters in over 40 countries celebrate and share knowledge of this invaluable healing science with the public during free events. Those include lectures, panels, free/reduced clinics, art & informational exhibits, articles, printed materials, social networking, documentary viewings, TV & radio interviews and much more!
This event is called World Homeopathy Awareness Week (WHAW). Since the start in 2003 each WHAW has greatly increased the awareness, accessibility, and use of homeopathy around the world!
As an all-volunteer organization and yearly event we greatly appreciate your support to assure our success. Here are the levels of sponsorship you may consider:
€ 1500 & above - WHAO International Sponsor
Your logo on brochures and logo/web link on our website for 1 year
€ 1000
Your logo/website link on our website for 1 year
€ 750
Your logo/website link on our website for 6 months
€ 400
Your logo/website link on our website for 4 months
WHAO is an international non-profit organization.
We collaborate with all major homeopathic organizations around the world in promoting our mission to make homeopathy a household word and to prosper.
An example of the outcome of our efforts is that in the U.S. alone, each WHAW brings homeopathic awareness to over a million people directly and grows exponentially throughout the year via social networking, articles, internet radio interviews and blogging & word of mouth. Multiply that by the efforts of all participating countries, and we have tremendous growth in the awareness and accessibility of homeopathy from every WHAW and their ripple effects.
This is volunteer based Organisation and only runs on the support of Homeopathic Pharmacy Companies and your generous donation . please donate as much as you can , Click below to donate with credit card or paypal , on the secure website.


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Equitable and Sustainable Pensions : Challenges and Experience
Show Summary Details
Equitable and Sustainable Pensions
- togglePart I: The Outlook for Public Pension Spending and Key Equity Issues
- togglePart II: Designing Equitable and Sustainable Pension Systems
- Chapter 3. The Role of the Public and Private Sectors in Ensuring Adequate Pensions: Theoretical Considerations
- Chapter 4. Pension Reform and Equity: The Impact on Poverty of Reducing Pension Benefits
- Chapter 5. Intergenerational Equity and the Gender Gap in Pension Issues
- Chapter 6. Attitudes toward the Role of the Family, the Individual, and the State in Providing Retirement Income: Survey Evidence from Emerging East Asia
- Chapter 7. Who Will Pay? The Dynamics of Pension Reform and Intergenerational Equity
- Chapter 8. Is the Egg Basket Worth Its Price? The Fiscal Implications of Pension Privatization in Eastern Europe
- togglePart III: Country Experiences and Challenges
- Chapter 9. Pension Reforms and Risks: Challenges for Pension Systems in Advanced European Economies
- Chapter 10. Pension Reforms in Japan: Options for Fiscal Sustainability
- Chapter 11. Providing Adequate Old-Age Pensions in the Republic of Korea
- Chapter 12. Singapore's Pension System: Challenges and Reform Options
- Chapter 13. Australian Pensions: An Equitable and Sustainable Arrangement in a Postcrisis World?
- Chapter 14. Emerging Asia's Public Pension Systems: Challenges and Reform Efforts
- Chapter 15. Reforming Pensions to Ensure Equitable and Adequate Retirement Incomes in China
- Chapter 16. India's Pension Reform Initiative
- Chapter 17. Pension Reform Experience in Indonesia
- Chapter 18. Latvia's Multipillar Pension System: New Challenges in the Wake of the Economic Crisis
- Chapter 19. Reforming the Public Pension System in the Russian Federation
- Chapter 20. Macroeconomic Implications of Pension Reform in Brazil


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This was published 6 years ago
Double J launches with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds track
With Myf Warhurst at the helm, Double J officially sprang to life at midday on Wednesday.
The ABC launched its newest radio digital station, the reborn Double J — a Triple J for grown-ups — at midday on Wednesday with a reel of greatest hits from on-air moments at Double J and Triple J over the last 39 years, a nod to the station's nostalgic bent.
Anticipation that a surprise first track might be played — as a possible homage to the original 2JJ launch on January 19, 1975, which played a banned Skyhooks song — didn't amount to much. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' Get Ready For Love, came first, a safe choice played by new daytime presenter Myf Warhurst.
Forty-eight hours after the nation's newest station began playing renditions of NWA's Express Yourself continuously, including local versions recorded especially for the occasion, Double J officially sprang to life.
Warhurst drew rapturous applause from about 200 launch party attendees at Melbourne's Kelvin Club by smashing a small guitar with the words: "'I do declare Double J to be open."
Among those in attendance at the launch party were Wally de Backer aka Gotye, Kevin Mitchell from Jebediah, The Bamboo's Kylie Auldist and ex-Powderfinger guitarist Darren Middleton, Kate Miller-Heidke, Ella Hooper, Lance Ferguson and the band The Audreys. Miller-Heidke and Paul Dempsey performed songs.
The second song played was Cobbler by American soul-pop artist Kelis, who is a headliner at the Splendour in the Grass Festival in July — its bill often includes Triple J favourites. Other early songs were Miller-Heidke's O Vertigo, Spring Rain by The Go-Betweens and Avenger by The Bamboos and Dempsey's Deja Vu.
Warhurst said part of the station's aim was to "celebrating iconic artists of the past few decades" and also shine a light on emerging talent through a variety of programs. Her own program will be broadcast between 11am to 3pm weekdays.
ABC managing director Mark Scott said Triple J had enjoyed "remarkable success" with both audience reach and impact and the launch of Double J would strengthen the ABC's digital radio offering by "catering to the demographic between Triple J and the other ABC networks". The station will be aimed at the over 30s on air and on mobile.
Scott admitted the band he'd most like to be in was The National, although he'd have to grow back his beard.
The live broadcast lasted only an hour before settling into the pre-programmed format that will provide most of the content.
The first hour's programming included the announcement of several regular shows, including Sunday afternoon slot Artist in Residence, whose presenters will include punk icon Iggy Pop, ex-Go Between Robert Forster, The Cat Empire, Henry Rollins and Adalita.
Warhurst's daytime show will be between 11am and 3pm, while different hosts will front archival show The J Files on Thursday evenings — a former Triple J program.
Other shows will include The Beat Eclectic, hosted by 3RRR and ex-Triple host Karen Leng; Sky High, a dance and soul show on Saturday evening presented by The Bamboo's Lance Ferguson; Caz Tran's Saturday afternoon show featuring archive material, live music recordings and Tim Shiel's Tuesday night slot Something More.


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WASHINGTON -- Amtrak trains carried 31.2 million passengers in the fiscal year ending in September, the highest annual ridership since the railroad was formed in 1971, the nation's intercity passenger railroad said Wednesday.
Ridership grew 3.5 percent over the past 12 months compared with the previous budget year, and ticket revenue jumped 6.8 percent to a best-ever $2.02 billion, Amtrak said. Ridership has increased every year but one over the past decade, and is up almost 50 percent from 2000.
"People are riding Amtrak trains in record numbers across the country because there is an undeniable demand to travel by rail," Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman said in a statement. "Ridership will continue to grow because of key investments made by Amtrak and our federal and state partners to improve on-time performance, reliability, capacity and train speeds."
At the same time ridership has been increasing, Republicans have stepped up their campaign to end federal subsidies to Amtrak. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has accused Amtrak of "Soviet-style" inefficiency and held several hearings devoted to criticism of the railroad.
The GOP platform adopted at the Republican National Convention in August calls for "the federal government to get out of way and allow private ventures to provide passenger service" in the lucrative northeast corridor between Washington and Boston _ the heart of Amtrak's operations.
Critics have complained that the railroad's trains are slow compared to high-speed passenger trains in Europe and Asia. Last month, Amtrak began testing trains in the Northeast capable of reach speeds as high as 165 mph.
Amtrak http://www.amtrak.com
Follow Joan Lowy at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy


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Stalemate at Pride Park
Derby and Brighton played out a lacklustre goalless draw at Pride Park in a game where the visitors enjoyed plenty of possession which they failed to convert into goals.
For Gus Poyet's men it's a third game without a victory following their five-match winning streak which had seen them lead the way in the npower Championship during September.
But aside from a 20-minute period after the interval where Brighton had a series of good chances, they were unable to find the net as they badly missed injured top scorer Craig Mackail-Smith.
The home side struggled to break down a stubborn Albion backline who have now conceded just three times in five away league games this season, this despite having nine corners in the game.
Brighton looked a real threat early on with their patient passing game, but the best they could manage was Andrea Orlandi trying his luck twice from distance.
The first goalkeeper to be called into action was Derby's Adam Legzdins, who had to be alert to save David Lopez's free-kick which he managed to get up and over the wall and saw it bounce awkwardly in front of the Rams shot stopper.
Derby struggled to get a foothold in the game in the opening quarter and their first shot only came on 21 minutes when Paul Coutts dragged a right-foot shot wide from 20 yards out.
Orlandi then headed over the crossbar at the far post after a deep cross, before the visitors were forced to make a change as Tuesday night's late goal hero in the 1-1 draw against Ipswich, Will Buckley, hobbled off injured to be replaced by Stephen Dobbie - who struck an effort wide just before the break after a flowing move.
After a disappointing first half, Albion hit the crossbar minutes after the restart when Liam Bridcutt's left-foot shot from the edge of the area took a deflection and had Legzdins rooted to the spot as it came back off the woodwork.
The Rams defence then backed off to allow Dobbie the chance to turn just outside the area and send his shot just over the bar.
The visitors were doing all the pressing at the start of the second half as they bossed possession and Lopez was next to go close but steered just wide of the left post after a neat lay-off by Dobbie.
Brighton were the team looking most likely to break the deadlock and Gary Dicker's inswinging corner from the left was met by the head of substitute Dean Hammond but Legzdins parried away before Gordon Greer headed the rebound wide from six yards out.
This seemed to wake the hosts, who up to this point had barely had a shot on goal but then forced Brighton goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak into two fine saves in a matter of a minute - the Pole tipping shots from distance by John Brayford and then Craig Bryson behind for corners.
Both teams endeavoured to find a late winner and the home side enjoyed a five-minute period of pressure without ever further troubling Kuszczak as the game ended without a goal being scored.
Source: DSG
Source: DSG


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The Classic Driver is inspired by retro motor racing, a mix of technical and elegance .... steel and leather. It makes for a special watch for your weekend drives.
The Classic Driver delivers sensations of tradition and modernity, its black steel-rimmed dial refers to the classic GT cars of the 70s and 80s with the added red zone on the dial. Elegant on the wrist the Classic Driver embraces its owner with a perforated black leather rally strap to remind of the leather upholstery and gloves of the drivers.
The checks of your car are done, the luggage stored in the trunk to accompany you in your road trip of the weekend, a glance of your Classic Driver timepiece ... it is time to quench your thirst for driving!The Driver features 2 design options so whether you love a chronograph or not we have you covered. The casing is 43mm all stainless steel, these are a quartz watch so both models run a Japan quartz movement and are 100m water resistant. The caseback features a chequered print and lastly all models tailor a genuine leather strap.
Shipping is free worldwide, due to the current global pandemic shipping can takes from 1 week to 4 weeks to arrive depending on your location. Shipping to customers in the UK is generally 4-7 business days. Your order will be dispatched within 3 business days. Shipping is tracked and emailed to you once collected by couriers. Our distributing centre is located in the UK, shipping outside of the UK may incur customs fees or import taxes upon import. These are fully payable by the customer so try to acknowledge potential fees prior to purchasing. Consulting your local customs website to enquire. When shipping internationally the full customs value of your order will always be declared by Marchand Watch Company. Please take note that we do not ship to PO Boxes.
Returns Policy
At Marchand Watch Company we care for customer service, therefore if you are not satisfied with your purchase an exchange or refund by return can be made within 14 days of receiving your order. Please note any refund excludes shipping and handling charges, the cost of shipping will be deducted from your total refund. All exchanged or returned items must be unworn, undamaged and in new condition, still in their original packaging with all packing material, booklets and accessories to receive a refund. Refunds will be made by the same method that the original order was paid and made in pound sterling (£). Please note that we are not responsible for any change in currency exchange rates between your purchase and refund, this applies for international orders. Depending on your bank and location refund payments can take up to 7 business days to receive.
Each Marchand Watch Company timepiece we sell will be free of defects and is to work dependably for at least 2 full year from date of purchase. If your Marchand watch malfunctions within the 2 year period we will repair or replace the timepiece for you at no cost to you. Please email us at email@example.com to receive further information and instructions.


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Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain stretched facts, sometimes past the breaking point, as they addressed the financial crisis and more during their second presidential debate.
Here are some examples:
McCAIN: Said one way out of the financial crisis is to "stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't like us."
THE FACTS: Although he didn't spell it out, he was referring — as he has in the past — to purchases of oil from countries hostile to the U.S. The figure is inflated and misleading. The U.S. is not spending nearly that much on oil imports and roughly one-third of what it does spend goes to friendly countries such as Canada, Mexico and Britain.
— The Associated Press
OBAMA: "I believe this is a final verdict on the failed economic policies of the last eight years, strongly promoted by President Bush and supported by Senator McCain, that essentially said that we should strip away regulations, consumer protections, let the market run wild, and prosperity would rain down on all of us. It hasn't worked out that way. And so now we've got to take some decisive action."
THE FACTS: McCain has indeed favored less regulation over the years but supported tighter rules and accountability on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years before the start of a financial crisis prompted in part by those giant mortgage underwriters. Obama was not a leader in that unsuccessful effort. Some of the current problems can be traced to legislation passed in 1999 that lifted many regulations over the financial industry. That deregulation was championed by then-Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, a McCain supporter, but also by President Clinton, who signed the legislation, and by former Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, now a top Obama economic adviser.
— The Associated Press
McCAIN: In a jab at Obama, McCain said that the last president to raise taxes during difficult economic times was Herbert Hoover during the Great Depression.
THE FACTS: While the recession of the early 1990s didn't compare to the Great Depression, Bill Clinton raised taxes — which, as both Clintons like to remind everyone who will listen, led to the greatest economic expansion in the country's history.
— NBC News' blog First Read
McCAIN: Said he would provide a $5,000 refundable tax credit for families to buy health insurance "rather than mandates or fines for small businesses as Senator Obama's plan calls for."
THE FACTS: Obama's health care plan does not impose mandates or fines on small business. He would provide small businesses with a refundable tax credit of up to 50 percent on health premiums paid on behalf of their employees. Also, large employers that do not offer meaningful coverage or contribute to the cost of coverage would be required to pay a percentage of payroll toward the costs of a public insurance plan. But small businesses would be exempt from that requirement.
— The Associated Press
OBAMA: Said McCain's proposal to give people a tax credit in exchange for treating employers' health insurance contributions as taxable wages amounts to "what one hand giveth, the other hand taketh away."
THE FACTS: Obama's suggestion that McCain's health care plan is a wash for families is misleading. McCain offers families a $5,000 tax credit to help them buy health insurance. The corresponding increase in taxable wages would result in a much smaller cost than the value of the tax credit, at least at first. Over time, the value of the tax credit may diminish as premiums rise. However, the Tax Policy Center estimates that McCain's plan would increase the federal deficit by $1.3 trillion over 10 years — mainly because it would lead to less tax revenue coming in, meaning it is a true tax break overall.
— The Associated Press
McCAIN: Went after Obama's ties to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, especially the campaign contributions Obama has received from their employees.
THE FACTS: What was missing? McCain mentioning the ties his own campaign manager had to both Fannie and Freddie. The New York Times reported that McCain campaign manager Rick Davis' firm received $15,000 per month through August from Freddie Mac. That followed other reporting that Davis received $30,000 per month to head up an advocacy group, the Homeownership Alliance, set up to defend Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to protect it from more government regulations.
— NBC News' blog First Read
OBAMA: "Actually I'm cutting more than I'm spending so that it will be a net spending cut."
THE FACTS: Obama has many ambitious plans to spend more taxpayer dollars on a variety of federal programs, including clean energy technologies and job training. He's said he'll cut pork-barrel programs and the costs of the war in Iraq to pay for it — as well as raise taxes on the wealthy — but the specifics of his new spending plans greatly outweigh the few spending cuts he's identified.
— The Associated Press
McCAIN: Said that Obama has voted to raise taxes 94 times.
THE FACTS: As fact-checkers have constantly pointed out, that is an exaggeration. Per Factcheck.org:
- 23 votes were for measures that would have produced no tax increase at all; they were against proposed tax cuts.
- 7 were in favor of measures that would have lowered taxes for many, while raising them on a relative few, either corporations or affluent individuals.
- 11 votes the GOP is counting would have increased taxes on those making more than $1 million a year — in order to fund programs such as Head Start and school nutrition programs, or veterans' health care.
- The GOP sometimes counted two, three and even four votes on the same measure. We found their tally included a total of 17 votes on seven measures, effectively padding their total by 10.
- The majority of the 94 votes — 53 of them, including some mentioned above – were on budget measures, not tax bills, and would not have resulted in any tax change. Four other votes were non-binding motions related to conference report negotiations.
— NBC News' blog First Read
McCAIN: Said Obama supported a congressional earmark of "$3 million for an overhead projector at a planetarium in Chicago, Ill. My friends, do we need to spend that kind of money?"
THE FACTS: McCain's phrase suggests Obama spent $3 million on an old-fashioned piece of office equipment that projects charts and text on a wall screen. In fact, the money was for an overhaul of the theater system, which projects images of stars and planets for educational shows at Chicago's Adler Planetarium. When he announced the $3 million earmark last year, Obama said the planetarium's 40-year-old projection system "has begun to fail, leaving the theater dark and groups of school students and other interested museum-goers without this very valuable and exciting learning experience."
— The Associated Press
OBAMA: "We're spending $10 billion dollars a month in Iraq, at a time when the Iraqis have a $79 billion dollar surplus — $79 billion dollars."
Well, not quite. As Factcheck.org put it, "The country was once projected to have as much as a $79 billion surplus, but no more. The Iraqis have $29 billion in the bank, and could have $47 billion to $59 billion by the end of the year."
— NBC News' blog First Read


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Results 1 to 10 of 30
Thread: THE EV ADVANTAGE
Hybrid View
Its been about a year ago that I ordered my FWD Ford Escape Hybrid. The first thing I did was get on the web and try to find all the information I could about the FEH. Hybridcars.com was a great place to talk to people that slowly started to receive theirs units. Got mine Feb. 14, 05 and right from the start, I was driving in Electric Vehicle. Top speed in EV was about 31mph then and I could go about 1.3 miles before the engine would start and recharge the battery. Driving in EV and a light foot got me 40mpg, far better than I expected from this new vehicle.
With a little over 15,000 miles, I'm getting much better mileage with a lot less work. There is no question in my mine that the Ford Escape Hybrid has "THE EV ADVANTAGE" over other Hybrids. Not to take anything from the other great Hybrids, but if you want to drive electric, buy a FEH.
Top speed after break in is about 38mph. The cruise control can be set on flat roads at 35mph in EV now. Range at that speed in cruise is between 1.3 to 1.6 miles till the engine (ICE) starts. Range can increase at slower speeds and no cruise.
The ICE can recharge the battery in about 1.8 to 2.0 miles at 35mph. However, recently (the last few months), many FEH owners have discovered ways to greatly shorten that distance to recharge the battery. Thats right, the FEH can recharge itself with the regenerative system without the brakes. This shortens the time and distance that the ICE has to run. More important, as the ICE begins to recharge a drained battery, it consumes gas at a faster rate (21mpg @ 31mph). Near the end of recharging the battery, the ICE is getting about 36mpg @ 31mph. Granted Ford designed the system to burn a smaller amount of fuel at a slower rate near a full battery as most drivers would only use EV for short take offs and parking lots. When you drain the battery and the ICE starts, it still has a big percentage of charge left but the FEH computer system will not let you tap it.
There are three ways to use the regenerative system without the brakes to recharge the battery. The regenerative system uses the moving tires and axles to turn the generator which charges the battery. I've given them names for ease of explaining them each time.
When using these methods, refer to:
The LGA is a method of shutting down the ICE below 40mph, setting the cruise between 30-35mph and using the tires and axles energy to charge the battery at any speed below 100mph. Placing the gear shifter in "L" and letting off the gas pedal will allow this. The cruise should be preset between 30-35mph (depending on your FEH EV top speed) with the ICE running on flat roads. Increase speed to 43mph, shift to "L" as you let off the gas. ICE will shut off at 40mph. Coast to preset cruise. If the ICE starts, try a lower setting and repeat. If you need to charge the battery, use "L" when slowing or stopping.
The FS and FSS is a way to charge the battery and lower the RPM's. As you let off the gas, the tires and the axles will also shoot a charge into the battery. This can be seen by the charge/asist gauge. The reason I call this a fake shift is because you simulate letting off the gas long enough to drop RPM's and change a gear in a manual tranny. In the FEH, I use this to keep the RPM's from running away as you try to increase speed. I try to stay under 2,000 RPM as much as posible. The FSS is a way to keep the same speed but pump fast charges into a drained battery. Example, the ICE kicks on to recharge to battery at 35mph, let off the gas like you do with a fake shift but just maintain 35mph repeating fake shifts one after another till the battery is full or a point you want to go back to EV. You don't have to increase the RPM above where you were at 35mph. Always apply gas slowly to conserve fuel.
This method can cut recharge time and reduce recharge distance from 1.8 miles to 1.3 miles.