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A broken hand suffered in training has forced Lenny Lovato (8-1) to withdraw from a planned MMA Fight Pit matchup with "The Ultimate Fighter 8" contestant Junie Browning (4-4).
In his place steps New Mexican Jacob Clark (7-3).
Browning and Clark now meet on the main card of "MMA Fight Pit: Genesis."
"This feels amazing," Clark stated in an official release. "I've never had this big of an opportunity in my life, and I've never been more excited.
"Ten weeks ago, I asked for this fight but heard Lenny Lovato got the spot. As soon as I got the call, I took the fight right away. I'm excited to fight Junie Browning."
Featuring a light heavyweight matchup between Houston Alexander and Razak Al-Hassan, "MMA Pit Fight: Genesis" takes place Aug. 13 at The Pit in Albuquerque, N.M. In-Demand, AVAIL-TVN, Dish Network, DirecTV, Bell Express VU, and Viewer's Choice Canada will broadcast the event via pay-per-view.
An eight-time King of the Cage veteran, Clark looks to right the ship after back-to-back losses to recent UFC signee Vagner Rocha and Bellator recruit Radley Martinez. Prior to the defeats, Clark had opened his career with a 7-1 mark that includes seven submission wins. Six of the seven wins came in the opening round.
Meanwhile, in his first fight of 2011, Browning looks to break a three-fight losing streak. Perhaps best-known for his wild behavior while on "TUF 8," Browning was released from the UFC following an August 2009 loss to Cole Miller.
With the change the latest "MMA Fight Pit: Genesis" card now includes:
- Houston Alexander vs. Razak Al-Hassan
- Jens Pulver vs. Coty Wheeler
- Junie Browning vs. Jacob Clark
- Jamie Yager vs. Willie Parks
- Tyler East vs. Chris Guillen
- Angelica Chavez vs. Diana Rael
PRELIMINARY CARD (un-aired)
- Conrad Padilla vs. Guy Youell
- Josh Montoya vs. Jason Sampson
- Ali Hanjani vs. Sean Spencer
- Rocky Ramirez vs. Mark Lujan
For additional coverage of "MMA Fight Pit: Genesis," stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
(Pictured: Junie Browning)


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Choosing the right SEO company is crucial to your firm's marketing success. Choose the wrong agency or "SEO expert" and you will be wasting time and money, as well as missing out on generating leads and new clients. Most companies that turn to lawyer marketing to handle their digital marketing have been down the path of choosing the wrong provider. Their law firm website does not rank as a result of poor SEO being conducted or their websites have been penalized by their vendor for "over-optimizing" their website. This is quite often the result of choosing a law firm SEO service based upon price.
So if you want to be in the market, you have to promote your company brand name along with your experience. When you have a firm you have to promote it aggressively whether online or offline. It doesn't matter whether you are experienced or not. If your law firm is not found on Google or any other search engine, you're not there to contend. When you are planning to hire an SEO consultant for your law firm, make sure you find a proficient and expert SEO for lawyers that focus on SEO marketing For Law Firms in San Jose, Florida.
Learn about your goals for generating leads and make sure that we understand the type of client your firm looks to represent. From this do a comprehensive analysis of keyword searches to find out the keywords and phrases that your potential clients are typing into Google, Bing, and Yahoo! when they search for lawyers in your location and practice area. Then tailor your site content to appeal to these clients, ensuring that they find your website first instead of other lawyers.
Importance Of SEO For Law Firms in San Jose, Florida
There are so many benefits to SEO that a lot of law firms do not see. There's still a handful of law firms that are sticking to the traditional marketing methods (phone book, billboards, etc.) that produce lower ROI than internet marketing does.
Cities we serve near in 32217:
- San Jose Forest
- Bowden
- Lakewood
- Fleetwood Mobile Home Park
- Suntree Mobile Home Park
- Southside Mobile Home Park
- Larsen
- Pine Oaks Mobile Home Park
- Goodbys
- Pineland Gardens
Each year, the number of spending increases as more and more websites compete for business on the Internet. By 2020, SEO spending will approach $80 billion. Competition amongst law firms will continue to get tougher and tougher every year. Despite what less-scrupulous online marketing companies might tell you, there are no "hacks" or shortcuts to creating pages and sites that obtain a high ranking and hold onto it.
It has been determined that over 90% of all search traffic will not bother looking beyond the first page in their searches. If they won't find it on the first page, they just enter in a new search query. Regardless of your high-quality legal services, if you are not on the first page of Google and other search engines, your law firm doesn't exist online.
Additionally, the costs of PPC can sometimes be insanely expensive. What used to be much easier is now much more difficult. The time and effort required to do search optimization the right way make low-cost seo company near me impossible to offer. If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is.
With the continuous advancements in technology and the internet, marketing is becoming a lot more diverse and there are newer ways to drive clients to your firm more effectively. We know where you're at.
Best SEO company for small businesses in San Jose
You've probably been pitched SEO to the constant spam emails and phone calls nonstop. You also might've been burned by other so-called "SEO companies" who promise huge results but only take your money.
You should be able to focus on practicing law, not web design or internet marketing. We want it to be a pleasure to create your law firm website, not a chore. When you build a website using our tool, it is tailored to your law firm's specific areas of practice and location. With just a few minutes of effort, your new website is filled with pages of relevant content designed to bring new clients to your firm.
There are plenty of legal marketing companies who will tell you they are best lawyer SEO service you can find. How do you know which company to trust? As they say, talk is cheap. If you want to have great online visibility for your practice, you need someone with a proven history of getting results in the legal industry. You know them as clients and potential clients.
Law Firm SEO and Internet Marketing for Attorneys
Search engine optimization for attorneys is one of the most competitive verticals in the SEO world. Each year, the number of law firms who are increasing their spending on online marketing continues to rise. We know that choosing the right company to handle your law firm's online marketing is not an easy task. Again if this information is not readily provided, be warned.
Orientation and training that provide guidance on corporate etiquette, law firm expectations of summer interns, legal research and writing and more. SEO agencies in Duval County, Florida is the only program of its kind to offer talented incoming law school students of color a unique opportunity to intern with a top law firm during the summer before law school.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Access to Facilities, including ADA issues
From Professionaltips
Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA, a division of ALA) Important Issues: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Black, William, and others. Special Needs: Envisioning a Spectrum of Library Services. Tennessee Libraries, Volume 56 Number 1 (2006).
Rubin, Rhea Joyce. Serving People with Disabilities - Different Voices, Common Quest: ALA OLOS Preconference June 2002. 2002. (PDF)


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Shooting Range Safety Zones Established on Louisiana DWF Wildlife Management Areas
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries' Wildlife Division has established and enhanced safety zones surrounding shooting ranges on three Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs).
The affected WMAs include Bodcau, Pearl River and Sherburne WMAs. The Woodworth Shooting Range within Alexander State Forest WMA already had a designated safety zone established.
The Department wants to remind the public to consult with your local LDWF field office for hours of operation and rules on all WMA ranges and rules. Information and maps for individual ranges as well as the associated safety zones may also be found at http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/hunting/shooting-ranges.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Wildlife Management Area Program is charged with providing necessary habitats to manage and protect both game and non-game wildlife, as well as to provide quality outdoor recreation for the public.
For more information: visit us at www.wlf.louisiana.gov, at www.facebook.com/ldwffb; on Twitter @LDWF; or by contacting Steve Smith at [email protected] or 225-765-2359; or Fred Kimmel at [email protected] or 225-765-2355.


text:
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text:
2020 Goals
Don't just write down your goals for the new year, add them to your 2020 Goals project in Todoist so you don't forget. Check in every month to complete the tasks you've achieved so far and ensure you're making progress on the rest.
Use this template as a starting point, then add tasks for each goal you want to reach this year. Feel free to add new sections or change the existing sections to whatever suits you best. For goals you want to achieve sooner rather than later, set task due dates.
Tip: Give yourself a head start with 10 Insights that will change the way you set (and achieve) your goals in the New Year.
Evert from Todoist Head of Support


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Concerning my post about Mystery in the Sky, please DO NOT use PayPal. I have run into trouble with them and cancelled my account. I am having to have my bank make up a whole new checking account for me. Very troubling experience.
Please send me a check or money order for the dvd. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Chris Stephan SET
P.O. Box 1081
Burton, OH 44021


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Story highlights
NEW: Bellaire officer Jimmie Norman, bystander killed by gunman
NEW: Norman, 53, had been with department for 24 years
NEW: Other man killed was apparently coming to his aid
The suspect is listed in critical condition at a hospital
A police officer and a bystander died from wounds suffered in a parking lot shootout after a car chase in a Houston metropolitan area Monday morning, police said.
Cpl. Jimmie Norman, a 24-year veteran of the Bellaire, Texas, police, died at a hospital, said Chief of Police Byron Holloway.
Holloway didn't identify the other man who was killed. He described him as a local businessman who "was coming to the aid of Officer Norman" after the chase ended in Houston and the shooting began.
The suspect was shot twice by other officers from Bellaire, Holloway said.
"Jimmy had a police mind and a big heart," said Holloway, who has been with the small, tight-knit department for 37 years. "He was always thinking about things that would better the department, better the city, better the working conditions of officers and better the way we could serve the citizens."
Norman, 53, was married and had two adult children, one of whom works with the police department, Holloway said.
The pursuit started after a driver refused to stop when a Bellaire police officer tried to pull over his vehicle, Houston police spokesman John Cannon said.
The fleeing car collided with a pickup truck, which then joined the chase, Cannon said.
Norman, who was a patrol supervisor, and the truck driver followed the suspect into an auto parts business parking lot, he said.
The suspect opened fire at Norman and shot and killed the local businessman, who came out to the parking lot. Backup officers arrived and exchanged gunfire with the suspect, who was struck twice, Cannon said.
Norman died later at Ben Taub General Hospital, police said. The suspect is listed in critical condition at a hospital.
"We owe a great debt of thanks to Officer Norman and the thousands like him who ask for not much more than to be a good police officer and to come home safe," Bellaire Mayor Phil Nauert said in a written statement.
CNN's John Fricke and Alan Duke contributed to this report.


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Violent response to indigenous mobilization in Guatemala
On October 4, 2012, residents of Totonicapán, K'iche' citizens of Guatemala, shut down the Inter-American Highway to protest against a hike in electricity rates, a series of constitutional reforms that indigenous peoples were not consulted about and the threat of restrictions on access to education in rural areas through a proposed change to the teaching curriculum. The day ended with confrontation between the protesters and State security forces, leaving more than 40 peoples injured and Santos Hernández Menchú, José Eusebio Puac Baquiax, Arturo Félix Sapón Yax, Jesús Baltasar Caxaj Puac, Jesús Francisco Puac Ordóñez, Rafael Nicolás Batz, Domingo Pascual Solís, and Jesús Domingo Caniz murdered. The mourning K'iche' people call for justice for these actions.
October 15 2012—We, the below signed networks, who are made up of organizations that defend and promote the respect and guarantee for the exercise of human rights in the world, express our profound concern for the actions that took place in Guatemala on October 4, when seven members of the indigenous K'iche' community lost their life as a consequence of the disproportionate response to their protests by State security forces who used firearms against the protesters.
A peaceful protest
The peaceful protest on the highway was organized as a way to support and give visibility to the dialogue that traditional indigenous authorities from the 48 communities of Totonicapán were trying to promote in the capital. That day, the indigenous authorities had traveled to Guatemala City, roughly 200 kilometers from their communities, to express their concern to the government for the increase in electricity rates affecting the people of their region, as well as their rejection to changes in the education system and constitutional changes related to rights of indigenous peoples who had not been previously consulted, as is defined by the international human rights standard.
Totonicapán, with a population of almost 500,000, is one of the departments of Guatemala with the highest indigenous population with Maya origin: the K'iche' people make up 97%. In this region of the country, high levels of poverty prevail. Five of its most populated municipalities (San Andrés Xecul, Momostenango, Santa María Chiquimula, Santa Lucía la Reforma and San Bartolo Aguas Calientes) have between 73 and 94% of the population living in conditions of poverty and between 21 and 55% in extreme poverty.
At the same time, with Guatemala being one of the most violent countries in the Americas, Totonicapán is one of the departments where the least number of murders are committed (6 for every 100,000 inhabitants in 2011, while the national rate is 39 per 100,000 (pdf). Some analysts have explained that the low rates of violence in the region are linked to the levels of local cohesion that has been maintained thanks to the strength of their traditional indigenous organizing. This has been a key to the survival and to the peaceful co-existence of this group of people historically marginalized by the Guatemalan State.
Lack of mechanisms for expression
The tragic events of October 4, which the K'iche' people of Totonicapán have mourned, were a direct result of the use of armed military as part of the public forces meant to "preserve order" during the protest, under the logic of criminalization of social protest; and as an indirect consequence of the lack of adequate spaces for dialogue and for channeling demands by excluded groups in Guatemala. In this case in particular, one of the latent triggers has been the lack of mechanisms for expression and participation of indigenous peoples in decisions on matters that affect them.
Those who have signed below do so in solidarity with the families of the victims and with the Maya K'iche' of Totonicapán. We manifest our rejection of violence and exclusion that have driven these serious human rights violations which shame the global community. We demand the following:
- Truth: That the truth of what happened be investigated and shared and that the legitimate right to protest and that human rights of all Guatemalans be recognized.
- Justice: That these violations against life and physical integrity of the victims are not left in impunity; for which an independent and impartial investigation will be required – observed by the Human Rights Ombudsman of Guatemala – that will identify and point to those who are criminally liable and which offer security guarantees for victims, witnesses, traditional indigenous authorities and those working in justice.
- Reparations: That compensation and other means of comprehensive reparation be given to the families and K'iche' People of Totonicapán by the Guatemalan State.
- Guarantee against repetition: We insist that the Guatemalan State avoid employing military personnel and the use of firearms in social protest; we urge the government to develop and promptly establish a genuine dialogue mechanism to address the demands of the K'iche' People and that in the meantime, all of the pertinent measure be taken for Guatemala to guarantee the application of and exercise of the rights recognized in ILO Convention 169 and in the UN Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The attentive and systematic international observation will be indispensable to achieve advances in this process; being of special relevance the role of diplomatic missions represented in the country that will participate in the Periodic Universal Review of Guatemala on October 24, the Office of the UN High Commissions for Human Rights and the Special Relators of the UN and Inter-American System, particularly those responsible for issues related to the protection and defense of human rights and of indigenous peoples.
We, non-governmental actors who accompany Guatemalan society, will be attentive of your actions and support you in the context of our respective demands and capacities.
- Dutch Platform against Impunity
- Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network (Canada)
- Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network (Canada)
- Foro de ONG Internacionales de Guatemala –Fongi
- FIAN International
- Guatemala-Netz Zürich
- Red Europea de Comités Oscar Romero
- Oxfam
- Iniciativa de Copenhague para Centroamérica y México –Cifca
- Asociación Latinoamericana de Organizaciones de Promoción al Desarrollo A.C. –Alop
- Center for Human Rights & Peace Studies, Lehman College, City University of New York
- Mujeres de Guatemala –AMG Fundación
- Paz y Solidaridad CCOO Aragón
- Protection International
- Asociacion de Investigación y Especialización Sobre Temas Iberoamericanos
- Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, World Organisation
- Against Torture –OMCT Federación
- Internacional de Derechos Humanos –FIDH Guatemala
- Solidarity Network -GSN- (UK)
- Red en Solidaridad con el Pueblo de Guatemala –NISGUA- (USA)
- Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network -BTS-RES- (Canada)
- Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network -ARSNEl
- Movimiento Sueco por la Reconciliación –SweFOR- (Sweden)
- Collectif Guatemala (France)
- Projet Accompagnement Quebec-Guatemala -PAQG- (Canada)
- La Plataforma de Solidaridad con Chiapas y Guatemala de Madrid


text:
Passwords have an abnormal double nature. The more grounded and more secure the secret key the more probable it will be undermined by human shortcoming.
It is broadly realized that passwords are the most widely recognized methods for get to control. It is likewise basic learning that passwords are the least demanding approach to trade off a framework. Passwords have two essential capacities. To begin with, they enable beginning section to a framework. Next, after access, they give authorization to different levels of data. This entrance can run from open information to limited competitive innovations and pending licenses.
The best passwords are a long and complex blend of upper and lower case letters, numbers and images. The inclination for individuals when utilizing these configurations is to record them, store them on a hand held gadget, and so on in this manner pulverizing the honesty of the secret word.
The respectability of passwords can be dodged through "Human Engineering." People can accidentally make grave mistakes of judgment in circumstances that they may see as safe or even supportive. For instance, a watchword is imparted to an absent minded worker and a framework can be endangered. In more foreboding cases, a swindler or programmer can telephone a guileless representative and present themselves as senior officials or help work area faculty and get that people secret key. Individuals have likewise been hoodwinked by guests asserting crises, coaxing or notwithstanding debilitating the representatives work if a watchword isn't given.
These human omissions can be tended to through representative preparing and composed strategies that give strong direction and systems in these conditions. Preparing in data security, including secret key conventions, ought to be compulsory for each worker of the venture. Administration support of this preparation and the security strategy is basic to its prosperity. To be successful, preparing ought to be dull with quarterly audits of the organization arrangement. There can likewise be visit updates, for example, pennants, about secret word security that show up amid logons.
Administration must not just help safety efforts, they should likewise give a composed and implemented strategy explanation. These composed approaches ought to be created with help from the I.T. office and in addition the human asset and legitimate divisions. Composed strategies ought to be a piece of the's first experience with the organization and ought to be audited no less than two times every year. It is likewise important that the worker approve the archive demonstrating that they got, read, and comprehended its substance. Firms that disregard these practices do as such at their own particular hazard.
Implementation is a critical accomplice to preparing. A strategy that isn't upheld is far more awful than no arrangement by any stretch of the imagination. Actually, indiscriminate implementation or absence of requirement can expand an organization's obligation in numerous legitimate activities. To work, a strategy must have "teeth". There ought to be a scope of results for slips whether it is a solitary occasion or different or blatant episodes. This can extend from a verbal cautioning the distance to end.
In rundown, passwords can be kept more secure by perceiving the human factor. Through administration activity, correspondence and preparing, and in addition composed and implemented approaches and methods, organizations can have more control over their data resources and keep their customers and accomplices significantly more secure.


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Guild Newsletter
The Guild Newsletter is published quarterly and is distributed to the Districts at each of the quarterly Whole Guild Meetings which are held in January, April, July and October, in rotation between the districts.
Articles for inclusion in the next newsetter should be sent via email to
They will be published on receipt on this website and included in the next available edition of the newsletter. They can be accessed from the tabs at the top of this page.
Please ensure that all items for inclusion are sent in by approx. a fortnight prior to a meeting to allow time for the collation and printing of the Newsletter. The deadline is always shown in the current edition.
The current edition can be read online via the appropriate link in the Newsetter menu, as can PDF copies of previous newsletters.


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Our BV Vectra mobile C-arm system is intuitive to operate. Its high quality images support you in providing excellent care. This compact system is dedicated to orthopedic surgical procedures, including trauma, spine, and pain management.
For immediate assitance with your product purchase, please use the phone number below.
Philips Singapore
Call: 1800-7445477


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Aviation Insurance
Every pilot needs insurance, but hardly anyone enjoys shopping for it. That process usually involves multiple phone calls, lots of paperwork and some frustration. Not anymore. By combining the latest technology from Global Aerospace with the expertise of seasoned insurance professionals at The Loomis Company, pilots now have access to easy online purchasing, low prices and unique benefits for active pilots.
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"The Home Song Stories" by Australian scripter-helmer Tony Ayres won the Halekulani Golden Orchid for best feature at the 27th Hawaii Intl. Film Festival. Awards were announced Thursday.
An autobiographical drama based on Ayres' difficult childhood migration to Australia, pic stars Joan Chen who also received the fest's Achievement in Acting award.
Feature documentary award was presented to Hawaii-based co-helmers Don King and Julianne King for "Beautiful Son," a chronicle of their efforts to help their autistic child.
The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema award was taken home by Stepane Gauger's verite-style "Owl and the Sparrow," a Vietnam-U.S. co-production in which a young orphan escapes to Ho Chi Minh City and is befriended by a zookeeper and an airline stewardess. Pic previously won trophies at the Los Angeles and Heartland film fests.
Gwak Gyung-taek's "A Love" won the audience award for best feature, while Julianne King's "Beatiful Son" took home the audience prize for best documentary.


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4-15-12 Nationals Park
It was Sunday and we were back for our second of two games at Nationals Park.
It's such a pretty stadium:
Wait, not really:
Actually, after talking it over, it was unanimous between myself, Amy, and fellow ballhawk Nick that this is now our least favorite stadium.
At least this was a Sunday game, and there was no giveaway, so it wouldn't be crowded early. There was just one problem. As we stood in line, we watched the video board which shows a live feed of the field. There was no cage, and no activity at all going on. We stood in line and debated what to do. Finally, Amy asked the head supervisor if there was going to be batting practice, "Yeah, they'll be out, I don't know what time, but they'll be out." At first I thought he was just making it up and had no clue. But I decided that since we had stayed overnight, it would be a waste just to go home. I took the supervisor at his word, and at 10:58 AM, 2 minutes before the gates opened, bought us tickets.
When we entered the field, there wasnt much action.
The Nationals came out and warmed up, but there was a few ballhawks that joined me in the second deck today, and I was unable to get a ball.
To make matters worse, the Nationals didn't take batting practice, so after an hour passed, I still had nothing to show for my efforts.
I was able to get ball #1 with an assist from fellow ballhawk Nick Pelescak. He said he saw a coach take two balls and toss them into the empty seats in foul territory. So, at noon when the rest of the stadium, we ran over and Nick grabbed the first ball, and after looking around for the second, I spotted it under a seat three rows back. Thanks for the assist Nick.
It was a nice clean ball, so I didn't number it. I've decided to stop numbering Easter Eggs and Glove Trick balls, since they have little to no importance except in my overall numbers. I've decided to hang onto them to either get them signed or sell eventually to finance some more trips.
Anyhow, this is the spot where I found ball #1:
The Reds finally started taking BP around noon, and I glove tricked my second ball from the gap in center field.
Before doing so, I looked around and there were no kids around at the time to hand the ball to, and no one was standing over the ball as if to 'claim' it. However, as soon as I started lowering my glove, this ballhawk went off and started screaming at the groundscrew who were fifty feet away in the center field service tunnel to get him the ball, in hopes that they would get it before I could:
What's worse is that he's a ballhawk, as he had Nationals stuff on and tried to get a ball in the second deck earlier, and then switched to Reds stuff in center field. Luckily, I glove tricked the ball on the first attempt before any staff member could retrieve it. Maybe he was mad because Nick owned him on a toss up in the second deck earlier, and saw Nick and I talking and figured we were friends. I don't know.
My third ball was a clean catch in center field here near the end of batting practice:
It was the only home run that came into the center field seats.
That was it for batting practice. Before leaving I looked in the bullpen and saw that there were nine balls sitting there. Four were super easy glove trick balls directly below the overhang.
However, I didn't even try. I waited patiently.
Eventually, Ryan Hannigan came out about twenty minutes after BP and tossed every single ball up to fans. I got the second one he tossed up for ball #4 on the day.
We left before the game started as it was a long drive back to Pittsburgh. I only snagged seven ball over the two games, but we still managed to have fun.
Olivia loves baseball trips and checking out the kids playgrounds in the different parks.
Here's today's baseballs:
2012 Stats:
Game: 4 balls
Season: 40 balls
Lifetime: 1584 balls


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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Everyone involved with Major League Soccer – including fans, players, coaches, owners and club staff members – breathed a huge sigh of relief when a new five-year collective bargaining agreement was signed last Saturday, clearing the way for the 2010 season to kick off as scheduled this week.
Thankfully, it's now time to turn our attention from the off-field speculation to the on-field performance.
The New England Revolution opens its 2010 schedule this Saturday, March 27, when the club visits last year's MLS Cup runner-up, the LA Galaxy, at The Home Depot Center. Kickoff is set for 11 p.m. ET and the match will be nationally-televised live on Fox Soccer Channel. Local radio listeners can tune in to the action on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
Despite being separated by just six points in the standings at season's end last year, the Revs and Galaxy had contrasting 2009 campaigns.
LA cruised into the playoffs as the Western Conference's top seed with a record of 12-6-12 (48 pts.) and parlayed its' home-field advantage into a meeting with eventual champion Real Salt Lake in MLS Cup 2009. The Revolution, meanwhile, needed a series of results in other matches – and a result of its own – in the season's final weekend to qualify for the postseason with a record of 11-10-9 (42 pts.).
Unfortunately for the Revs, their annual first-round playoff meeting with the Chicago Fire ended in disappointment for the second year running, with a 3-2 aggregate loss to their Eastern Conference foe.
Saturday night's season opener against the Galaxy will go a long way in erasing the memory of last year's playoff loss, as the 2009 season can finally become a distant memory while the 2010 campaign comes into focus.
"The past is the past – you've always got to put it behind you," said second-year defender Kevin Alston. "It's a new season, a new day, a new game. We can't worry about things that happened in the past, we've just got to go out there feeling brand new."
Alston and his teammates will have to be particularly fresh if they hope to contain 2009 MLS Most Valuable Player Landon Donovan, who recently returned from an offseason loan with English Premier League club Everton. Donovan excelled in his stint with the Toffees – even earning the club's player of the month honors for January – and his performances prompted Everton to inquire about a permanent move.
The move did not materialize, however, and Donovan is back on the west coast of the United States. After adjusting to the dramatic time change, he is expected to be in the lineup against the Revs on Saturday night.
Steve Nicol is well accustomed to the danger Donovan presents – the 28-year-old scored the 2009 AT&T Goal of the Year against the Revs – but New England's head coach doesn't necessarily believe that Donovan's recent experience with Everton makes him any more lethal than he already was.
"Whether he'd been away or whether he'd stayed, it wouldn't have made any difference," he said. "He was always going to be a threat."
Alston got his first taste of playing against Donovan last season in the 2-1 loss at Gillette Stadium on Aug. 8, and witnessed first-hand what he called the Galaxy captain's "wonder goal."
"He's just a really smart player," Alston said of Donovan. "He's fast, he's one of the fittest guys out there, he's very technical – he's just a good all-around player."
Of course, soccer is an eleven-a-side sport and it can be deadly to focus too narrowly on one player. While the Galaxy will be without international icon David Beckham – who was lost for 5-8 months after suffering a torn Achilles tendon while on loan at AC Milan – there are plenty of other players who were instrumental in carrying LA to the league's title match last year.
Goalkeeper Preston Burpo – set to make his first start for the Revolution on Saturday night after arriving in an offseason trade – noted that beyond Donovan and Beckham, the Galaxy has a deep roster filled with contributors.
"It's a shame Beckham's not around," Burpo said. "He's a great player for the league, for the Galaxy, and having him on the field is exciting and it's more of a challenge."
"With that said, they're going to be a tough team," he continued. "Donovan's been flying over in Europe, they've got some good leadership with (goalkeeper Donovan) Ricketts, (Gregg) Berhalter, Eddie Lewis and (Dema) Kovalenko. So we're just going to concentrate on what we're trying to do and stay compact defensively."
While the Galaxy remains largely unchanged from last year's MLS Cup runner-up finish, the historically steady Revs went through more roster turnover this season than in years past. Gone are veterans Jay Heaps (retirement), Steve Ralston (signed with AC St. Louis), Jeff Larentowicz (trade), Chris Albright (trade) and Wells Thompson (trade).
But with every ending comes new beginnings, and offseason additions like Burpo, Cory Gibbs, Zack Schilawski, Joseph Niouky, Seth Sinovic and Zak Boggs are ready to contribute. After seeing extended time in preseason matches, many of those newcomers could find themselves in the starting lineup on Saturday night.
Despite the new faces, team chemistry shouldn't be an issue.
"I think we've come together well," said Alston. "We learned a lot about ourselves (this preseason)."
"I also think it's good that we have new faces" he continued. "It's kind of like we feel refreshed. Everyone wants to get out there and make their mark and start the season off right."
Perhaps an infusion of fresh talent is just what New England needs to match LA, which swept the season series with the Revolution for the first time since 1999 last year. Included in that series was a 1-0 loss to LA when New England visited The Home Depot Center on July 4.
No matter the circumstances on Saturday night, one thing's for sure. As all early-season meetings seem to be, it will be a battle.
"It's going to be a grind, for sure," said Burpo. "The environment will be hostile."
"But to finally start the season, everyone's looking forward to it," he added. "Without a doubt."


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It Could Happen Here: 'Pharos the Egyptian' and Invasion Literature
Does every nation that calls the tunes in international affairs experience guilt – and fear -- through literary 'invasions' for years to come?
Being English in the late-Victorian period must have been about as terrifying as being a breakfast roll in a corner-shop next-door to a building site. To judge from the literature of the time at least, the country was in constant peril of invasion. The average Briton looking for a schlocky read down at the railway station had a wealth of choice in the sub-genre we now call 'invasion literature'. Essentially, this is early military fiction in which Blighty is invaded by enemies, usually written by right-wing reactionaries, the point of which is to 'shock' the country into waking up and recognising the threats posed by the other European powers. In short, late-Victorian England was trembling in its red-white-and-blues over the possibility of invasion by somebody.
And why shouldn't it have been? Not just because of the real-life threats of a newly-unified and belligerent Germany under Bismarck, or the possible resurgence of war-mongering France under some new Napoleon, or even the un-named Germanic nation that invades southern England in The Battle of Dorking (the novel that really kicked off the genre in 1871, with epic fighting taking place in safe, settled Surrey), but also from a host of imagined invaders such as the all-conquering Martians in War of the Worlds (who also merrily burned and maimed their way through Surrey in 1898). These books show that the average Victorian Joe Sixpack positively expected airship-equipped Jerries and heatray-wielding skywogs to drop from the clouds and into Piccadilly Circus at a moment's notice any time they popped out to get some milk and a copy of Punch.
But there was a subtler strain of these literary invaders, too: novels in which powerful supernatural creatures arrived from more distant shores, showcasing the British unease with their supposed superiority over Johnny Foreigners from the colonies. Invariably, these invaders come from the 'mysterious east', as the Victorians termed anywhere east of the main industrialised European countries. These were lands that had become weak and backward and ripe for exploitation, despite once boasting great civilisations and occult knowledge.
The archetype, of course, is Dracula (1897). A single creature invades England, intending to cause its destruction. He comes from the East- in this case a ridiculously orientalised and under-researched Transylvania (the book almost single-handedly cemented the region's reputation as a mysterious and superstitious place for centuries to come). He manifests himself as an urbane and refined gentleman from an ancient family, from a culture that has centuries of good breeding and ancient knowledge, but in truth he is a hedonistic creature with many animal-like tendencies and characteristics. The subtext is clear: Easterners are clever, but evil. They may seem civilised, but below the surface, they are animals, and can't be trusted.
A similar novel is The Beetle by Richard Marsh. Again, a single supernatural being comes to England to wreak havoc; this time he's from Egypt, another 'eastern' land of ancient civilisations and brooding power that had more lately become, to European eyes, decadent and weak. The Beetle is often paired with Dracula -- they were released within months of each other and deal with similar topics -- but to my mind The Beetle hits a lot closer to home.
Certain sources of unease that might have been niggling at the back of the Victorian psyche are called into play in this novel, for by its year of publication, 1898, Britain had become the de facto occupier of Egypt. I guess you don't conquer a quarter of the world's population without acquiring a few hang-ups. Even after decades of convincing themselves that they were 'better' than the races they subdued, it must have been extremely strange for the Victorian English psyche to find themselves ruling Egypt, the home of one of the most revered inspirations for Western civilisation.
So while our hypothetical Victorian reader is waiting anxiously for the next instalment of his favourite pulp to be published in The Strand magazine, it's possible that he gets a certain illicit thrill from the notion that, just perhaps, the vanquished nations lucky enough to have fallen under the protective blanket of the Pax Britannica might somehow yet get their revenge on their aggressor: it could happen here.
In Guy Boothby's Pharos the Egyptian (1923), this subtext takes centre stage much like a fat woman dressed as a Viking does in a Victorian opera. Boothby seems to be mostly remembered today for his Dr Nikola books, which were about a Moriarty-like international criminal (who was later the inspiration for James Bond's many nemeses). But Boothby was also a well-travelled Australian whose just-below-the-surface unease with colonialism consistently crept into his books. In Pharos the Egyptian, he created a character who is the living (sort of) embodiment of the notion of the downtrodden Eastern nations wreaking a terrible revenge upon the colonial powers.
The book's narrator is one Cyril Forrester, a well-off artist. Through him, we get a fascinating glimpse into the day-to-day life and rituals of an upper class Victorian. His life is a revolving door of parties, dances and 'home concerts'. Old Cyril has barely to leave his flat for ten minutes and his 'letter-bowl' is practically overflowing with invites to social events (up to five a night, too -- this man has options!)
Alas, Cyril Forrester's carefree dandy-days come to an end when he meets a creepy, wizened old man cackling at a suicide drowning in the river below Cleopatra's Needle in London. Like any good Englishman, Forrester is outraged at this beastly behaviour, but the man doesn't stick around to be berated for his inappropriate chortling. Over the following weeks Forrester becomes inexorably drawn to this strange old man, largely because he keeps turning up at the same social functions that Forrester attends, but also because he always appears with a knockout brunette in tow.
This woman is a half-Hungarian named Valerie, and she is a typical late-Victorian heroine: that is to say, she is bland, boring and beautiful. She has virtually no characteristics except that she is beautiful and plays the violin extraordinarily well, and Forrester (sigh) falls in love with her. As usual in these novels, it's the kind of love that seems entirely based on her looks, since we get virtually no insight into anything else about her personality that might attract her to him. She plays a key role in binding Forrester to Pharos, which is the name of the old man.
Illustration by John H. Bacon found on Forgotten Futures.co.uk
In fairness to Boothby, his characters get around, and from here on the novel spans a variety of colourful locales. Outside Naples, Pharos meets our hero at the ruins of Pompeii, where he comes over a tad strange at what was once the house of a former acquaintance… and by 'former' of course, I mean back in Roman times. He waxes lyrical, in fascinating detail, about life in Roman Pompeii. Forrester, however, has obviously never read The Ring of Thoth by Arthur Conan Doyle, so despite this howler, he doesn't cop it that Pharos is obviously some kind of immortal Egyptian creep who has obviously lived through the times he's yammering about. Instead, he proves strangely susceptible to the old man's silver tongue and his claims that their previous dodgy encounters involved serious misunderstandings.


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New year, same debate: Cabrera's 'value' is tops again
Like Trout in '12, Machado has case for AL's best, but Miggy leads MVP Award race
The lines of argument over the 2013 American League Most Valuable Player Award are already forming. They are looking altogether too much like last year's.
Do we have to do this twice? Wasn't one conventional stats (Miguel Cabrera) vs. advanced metrics (Mike Trout) enough?
Yes, it was. Actually, it was already one too many.
The Spanish philosopher George Santayana once wrote: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." This passage has often been misquoted to read "history" rather than "the past." But the real issue here is that Santayana clearly would be a Miggy voter, especially this year.
Whatever superlative you attached to Cabrera's Triple Crown-winning 2012 season, you have to find something even more glorious to say about his work this season. Barring serious injury or the slump he doesn't seem likely to go through, his production this year will be of historic quality.
Still, there will be challengers, because statistics are now sophisticated enough to allow for more than one reasoned interpretation of baseball reality. The AL MVP Award candidate pulling this kind of support this summer is the brilliant young third baseman of the Baltimore Orioles, Manny Machado.
And no one should make light of this candidacy, simply because Cabrera has the overwhelming offensive production.
There is a deeper reason that this argument is not the correct argument to be made. The problem here is not with numbers. The problem is with semantics.
The award is Most Valuable Player. The award is not Best Player.
Maybe Trout was the best player in the AL in 2012. Maybe some of the advanced metrics proved that case.
But the most valuable player in the AL in 2012 was Cabrera. He and his first-place standing with the Tigers proved that case.
The Detroit Tigers won the AL Central with Cabrera. Without him, they could not have won the division. The Angels finished third in the AL West with Trout. Without him, they still would have finished third. The concept of "most valuable" is neatly contained in this small package of information.
The voting members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America were not divided evenly in their view of this matter -- 22 of them voting for Cabrera, six voting for Trout. Many of Trout's supporters believed that a serious miscarriage of justice had taken place. They had numbers, after all, that proved that Trout was the better player.
In fact, the MVP voters were acting as the English language suggested they should in the accepted sense of what "valuable" meant. And they were in step with the votes of the recent past.
The Most Valuable Player Award is now an award for individual excellence within the context of team achievement. That isn't written on stone tablets anywhere, but it is the current reality of the selection.
The last eight men who won an MVP Award all played for division-winning teams. Eleven of the last 12 MVP Award winners played on teams that qualified for the postseason.
And again, under a standard understanding of what "most valuable" means, that is an acceptable direction for the voters to take. But the days when an Ernie Banks could win back-to-back MVPs while laboring on behalf of sub-.500 Cubs teams are probably no longer with us.
A lot of people spent a lot of time and considerable brainpower last year attempting to prove that Trout was the best player in the AL. Maybe he was. But that was never the real question.
So when you see the beginnings of the Machado for AL MVP Award campaign, and you hear the rumblings of, "You know he's a much, much better defensive third baseman than Cabrera," you worry the 2013 AL MVP Award saga will turn into a mere sequel.
Given a second-half performance that resembles what he has done over the past two seasons, Cabrera will once again win the AL MVP Award. The one thing that could change that would be the Tigers failing to win their division and/or failing to qualify for the postseason. There are some very good numbers suggesting that this won't happen.
Who is the best player in the AL? That's a fascinating question. But it is still not the question being asked by the MVP Award. The answer to that question, as the second half of the 2013 season beckons, is still Cabrera.


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"toram" Related Articles
Ubuntu toram – How to make Ubuntu Boot to Ram
This tutorial explains how to fix the Boot to Ram or "toram" feature that is currently broken in Ubuntu 7.04. Boot to Ram will enable a user to copy the entire Ubuntu live environment to system ram and run the Ubuntu Operating System entirely from there. You can then remove the CD or USB device and continue to do your work from system memory. BootToRam is also commonly referred to as CopyToRam.


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Ashley Olsen Reportedly Dating 47-Year-Old 'Moneyball' Director
Just like acting and fashion design, it looks as if the penchant for dating older men runs in the Olsen family.
Mary-Kate Olsen, 27, has been in a relationship with 44-year-old Olivier Sarkozy for nearly two years, and now her twin sister is following in her footsteps. Ashley has reportedly started seeing 'Moneyball' director Bennett Miller. He is 47.
Us Weekly reports that multiple sources have confirmed the pairing, with them last seen at the Feb. 7 funeral of Philip Seymour Hoffman. Miller had directed the actor to his only Academy Award, for 2005's 'Capote.'
"They were introduced and have started dating," a source reveals. The new couple also was seen dining in West Hollywood, Calif., together in late January.
Ashley, who dated 'Hangover' actor Justin Bartha from 2008 to 2011, recently split from businessman David Schulte. Rumors have Mary-Kate possibly getting engaged to her beau, the brother of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy.


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Iran demonstrators clash with police, Rev Guard
Rick Moran
learned a thing or two about how to break up demonstrations during the last go
around with the reformers and have applied the lessons with vigor.
Thousands of opposition supporters have clashed with security forces
in the centre of the Iranian capital, Tehran.
Police used tear gas and detained dozens rallying in solidarity with
uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. There was one report of a death in Tehran.
The BBC also received reports of similar protests being held in the cities of
Isfahan, Mashhad and Shiraz.
Earlier, the police placed opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi under house
arrest, according to his website.
It said the move was intended to prevent the former prime minister attending
the march in Tehran, which the authorities had prohibited. The road leading to
Mr Mousavi's house was also blocked by police vans.
Fellow opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi, a former speaker of parliament and a
senior cleric, is also reportedly under de facto house arrest.
The situation got ugly, quickly: CNN
Uniformed security forces and pro-government Basij militiamen had earlier
advanced on crowds who chanted "Death to the dictator!" during demonstrations in
the city's Imam Hossein Square — the planned starting point of a scheduled
rally, a witness said.
"We definitely see them as enemies of the revolution and spies, and we will
confront them with force," said Cmdr. Hossein Hamedani of the Revolutionary
Guard, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.
Thousands of security personnel lined Revolution Avenue, allowing the march
to continue but preventing the marchers from congregating in Azadi Square —
considered a rallying point by opposition groups.
"You can't take two steps without running into security personnel," one
witness said. "They're all over the place."
Several protesters who were diverted by police to side streets were beaten
with batons and gassed by security officers who were waiting at those locations,
witnesses said.
That the protestors were able to organize at all is a testament to the adage
"Where there's a will, there's a way." It takes more than guts to join a protest
these days in Iran – as evidenced by what happened to so many after the last go
The opposition says more than 80 of its supporters were killed over the
following six months, a figure the government disputes. Several have been
sentenced to death, and dozens jailed.
Can the Iranian opposition rev up the demonstrations again? They may try, but
unlike Egypt, Iran has the state security apparatus that would have no problem
massacring their own people – the basij and the Revolutionary Guards. It will
take a lot of moxie to participate in protests when you know the security forces
could open fire at any time.


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Friday, January 28, 2011
Weekend Open Thread - Revolution Edition...
Morning Update/ Market Thread 1/28
Equity futures are mixed to slightly higher before the open this morning with 4th quarter trumped up GDP coming in weaker than the consensus was expecting. The dollar is up slightly, bonds are down, oil is up, gold is down slightly, and most food commodities are roughly flat.
Quarter four GDP came in at 3.2%, this is up from Q3's 2.6%, but is short of the 3.5% expectation. Here's Econoday falling for and then disseminating the banker's disinformation:
The economy regained momentum in the final quarter of 2010-and in most of the right places. Fourth quarter GDP accelerated to a moderately healthy 3.2 percent annualized gain, following a 2.6 percent increase the prior quarter. The latest figure fell short of analysts' median forecast for a 3.5 percent boost. But the detail is stronger than the headline number.
The last quarter of 2010 was led by sharp improvement in net exports to a gap of $392.2 billion from $505.0 billion in the third quarter. Exports rose an annualized 8.5 percent while imports dropped 13.6 percent Also boosting GDP were personal consumption expenditures, up an annualized 4.4 percent; business investment in equipment & software, up 5.8 percent; and residential investment, up 3.4 percent. Nonresidential structures posted a modest rise.
Weakness was led by a sharp slowing in inventory investment to $7.2 billion from $121.4 billion in the third quarter. Government purchases slipped 0.6 percent.
The bottom line is that final sales have picked up significantly. Final sales of domestic product strengthened to a 7.1 percent increase from 0.9 percent annualized in the third quarter. Growth in real final sales to domestic purchasers (takes out net exports) picked up to 3.4 percent, following a 2.6 percent boost in the third quarter.
Year-on-year, real GDP in the fourth quarter is up 2.8 percent, compared 3.2 percent in the third quarter.
Economy-wide inflation as measured by the GDP price index softened to 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter, following a 2.1 percent increase the prior quarter. The consensus expected a 1.5 percent gain.
Today's report is clearly positive for forward momentum in the recovery despite a slightly disappointing headline number. Demand is picking up and inventories are not out of control-a very good combination. Still, growth is moderate and there are no signs of pending excessive growth.
No excessive growth? Well, if it were real, which it's not, it would be very high growth, nearly unsustainable over just a very short number of years. But since its monetary growth and not real growth, it represents a quickening of the death of our currency. Oh boy, let's cheer that on!
The UGLY in this report is exactly what is being touted as good! Exports rose at an 8.5% rate, while Imports fell at a 13.6% rate! That's huge, but what, exactly, would cause something like that to occur? A booming economy? NO! Monetization and the devaluation of your dollars is what causes that. And from the other trumped up data with no transparency, the monthly TIC flows and trade data, our monthly trade deficits are still running in the $40 billion range. If these numbers are true, how come our trade deficits aren't coming down? Oh, that's right, because it's all monetization and has nothing to do with actual production. And if the "consumer" is really as strong as is being touted, how come imports are falling at 13.6%!!! This entire GDP report is NOT BASED IN REALITY. It is representative of the FRAUD and DISINFORMATION in our nation, it is vastly overstated, and it is a product of WHO controls the production of money. Pure garbage.
And note how clever Obama was (his speech writers and teleprompter programmers) in calling for a doubling of our exports from 2009 to 2014. Using the rule of 72 (or 70), to double something in only five years requires approximately a tremendous 14.4% growth rate. According to this report, indeed, we're not too far from that target! Imagine that, doubling exports in only 5 years! So, what's really going on? They know that printing larger quantities of money devalues it. What they are saying is, "We are going to cut the value of your money in half in only five years!"
That's exactly what the President told you just the other night. That's how he can smugly assure you that "growth" will occur and he certainly acts as if he's got a little secret that you don't and thus his "confidence" in being able to, with a straight face no less, proclaim that he will double exports in only five years!
OMG! I can't think of a faster and surer way destroy the middle-class, to jack up the cost of everything priced in dollars (hello food and energy), and to destabilize the entire globe (hello Tunisia and now Egypt and Syria).
But it's all good when despots are overthrown, right? Did everyone catch that after Egyptian police shot a rioter and the shooting made it onto the internet that the internet in Egypt was promptly taken down? Now it's being reported that the internet in Syria has been taken down. That is one of the 10 sure signs of a despot regime, they kill communication in an attempt to stay in power. And Obama anointed this very same power to himself disguised, of course, in the name of fighting the war on "terror." People in a highly functioning society should NEVER allow any individual such power, NEVER.
The Employment Cost Index came in steady showing a .4% quarter over quarter rise, on a 2% annual "growth" rate:
Wage inflation is no threat to accommodation by the Federal Reserve which closely watches the employment cost index. The ECI rose a very mild and lower-than-expected 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter compared with the third quarter. Compared with fourth quarter 2009, the ECI rose 2.0 percent for the second lowest year-on-year fourth-quarter reading ever. The lowest reading ever was plus 1.4 percent in fourth-quarter 2009.
Details show 0.4 percent increases across the board for both wages & salaries and for benefits in both the civilian-worker and private-industry breakdowns. It was not, to say the least, a big pay-raise year for the American worker whose wages & salaries rose only 1.6 percent. This is the second lowest reading ever behind fourth-quarter 2009's plus 1.5 percent. Workers did get a bit bigger boost of 2.9 percent on the benefit side.
No, I don't trust this data either and believe that in real terms people's wages are sliding down, not going up. This data suffers from all sorts of bias and should not be considered meaningful in the real sense. Still, it shows that the Export data is monetary. We are exporting money, we have already exported most meaningful jobs. True and sustainable price inflation requires rising wages. Wages aren't rising in America, they are rising in other parts of the world. Double exports for America, you halve the value of the money, and double the cost of buying things from other parts of the world for Americans whose wages are absolutely not keeping pace. In fact, if anything that 13.6% import figure is probably very close to what the actual inflation rate is. Think about that – it represents a 5.3 year doubling time, how sustainable is that, and what are the ramifications throughout the world?
"Consumer" Sentiment is released to us debt peons at 9:55 this morning.
The global state of debt saturation was caused by greedy bankers – period. They seized control of the ability to create money and this is their doing (although our greedy politicians let them). Now we have a doubling of food commodity prices in
only six months and riots/ revolution that is spreading quickly. Those two events are not put together enough, yet the bankers who brought it to you, like JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon, are angry and tired of being berated, lol. His latest child-like temper tantrum comes, you'll notice, while meeting in posh circumstance in Davos, Switzerland.
And just because nobody seems to care anymore, I want to point out what it is that's occurring there. The world's top bankers and financiers are meeting. What are they doing at this and other meetings? Why they are colluding, that's what the term is for businesses who meet and develop joint strategies together and who work to price fix, which is exactly what they have done to the bond market, the stock market, commodity markets, interest rates, nearly everything. Collusion and price fixing… Those things are illegal if you do them, just so you know.
And it used to be that we, the people, had laws that prevented USURY. Remember that quaint little concept? Remember when the gangsters would lend money at a usurious 20% and then break kneecaps if the sap borrower didn't pay? Well now that's all legal, well, except for the kneecap part. Although many people who can no longer discharge credit cards with usurious rates in bankruptcy, and those who are losing their homes, their health, and their families, might just rather wobble than to go through banker induced slavery and debtor hell. And again, due to the lack of moral concepts, the exponential rise of debt and the killing of your money system gathers pace. You've been told, "exports will double." Now you just have to be smart enough to know what that means.
Credit card rates at record highs near 15%
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Interest rates are now hovering near record highs, at an average rate of 14.72%. And if your credit is bad enough, you could even end up with a rate as high as 59.9% APR.
That's because while the CARD Act helped crack down on certain fees and requires more disclosures, it didn't cap every credit card holder's worst enemy: interest rates.
Sure, the new rules prevent banks from raising most interest rates retroactively, but there's no limit on the rates they can charge new customers.
"Rates are going up because card issuers know that once you get a card they can't raise the rates, so they're raising rates on the front end to ensure they get the revenue from that interest," said Beverly Harzog, credit card expert at Credit.com.
APRs have climbed more than 20% over the past two years and hit an all-time high of an average 14.78% in mid-November, based on weekly data CreditCards.com collects from 100 of the nation's top credit card issuers.
And there's no end in sight. While interest rate caps have been proposed -- including a proposal earlier this month from New York Congressman Maurice Hinchey that would limit rates at 15% -- none have been passed into law so far.
My oh my, talk of an interest rate cap? That'll go nowhere as long as the private banks are in control of producing money – which in the scheme of history, and of their own doing, won't be too much longer.
There was yet another very small movement of the McClellan Oscillator yesterday, expect a large directional move possibly today or tomorrow. I note that the McClellan has turned positive once again.
Divergences still in place, the Transports are still not confirming the Industrials – a very high risk time as even my own dollar negativity (which is longer term) has reached a very high point, and we know that nothing, except trumped up markets, moves in a straight line.
Just to keep you spatially aware, below is a long term monthly chart of the dollar. It has been descending, and appears that it wants to touch that lower rising trend line once again, now in the 76.7 range:
We're not too far from that now, the reaction of the dollar from here will be important. And note that this index does not represent REAL movements of the dollar's worth, it simply represents itself relative to other currencies which are also attempting to devalue themselves. Thus, for the dollar to move lower, it actual means that we're winning the race to the bottom. With goals like doubling our exports (as measured in dollars), it's no wonder we'll eventually win that race. Oh wait, Zimbabwe already crossed the finish line… well, there's always second place!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Morning Update/ Market Thread 1/27
Equity futures are down only slightly following a very large Weekly Unemployment number. The dollar is down, bonds are flat, oil and gold are lower, while food commodities continue to soar.
It takes a lot of nerve to stand up in front of a nation on one day and talk about how our economy is "growing" again and how we're going to control our runaway deficits, only to have the "Fed" confirm on the next day that they are pressing on with their $600 billion money printing campaign, AND that the treasury says our deficit is going up by another $500 billion to nearly $2 Trillion, AND that tax revenues as a percent of GDP will be the lowest since 1950!
And that last part, "as a percent of GDP" tells you everything you need to know… GDP is only rising due to money printing, financial engineering, and accounting fraud (lobbyists just got FASB to back away from Mark-to-Market again). Meanwhile tax revenues are down because the economy sucks. The economy sucks because we are saturated with debt and being robbed in the biggest heist that has ever occurred in the history of mankind. It is completely laughable that pumping up the stock market will improve the REAL economy.
Meanwhile, back at the Office of Disinformation, the DOL couldn't find its rear with both hands. Jobless Claims soared from 404,000 to 454,000 with the consensus only 405k! That's a 12.6% jump! Now, does anyone really believe that large of a change really occurred in one week? I sure don't, this type of reporting is proof that the DOL is BROKEN. Here's Econoday:
The Labor Department is blaming snow storms in the South for a very disappointing and totally unexpected 51,000 rise in initial jobless claims to 454,000 for the January 22 week (prior week revised 1,000 lower to 403,000). But unfortunately the jump also reflects what the Labor Department calls "normal" volatility in the numbers at this time of year, which is the heaviest time for initial claims (Labor Department comments provided by Market News International).
The four-week average jumped 15,750 to 428,750 which is nearly 15,000 higher than a month ago and which suddenly points to trouble for the monthly employment report. Continuing claims also rose, up 94,000 to 3.991 million in data for the January 15 week. The unemployment rate for insured workers rose one tenth to 3.2 percent. In unadjusted data for the January 8 week, the department reports that 9.41 million people claimed unemployment benefits, down from 9.63 million in the prior week.
Heavy weather may be playing a major negative role in January economic data. Hopefully it will be just a one-time effect that will quickly reverse. Markets are showing limited reaction, at least initially, to today's report.
Riiight, it was the weather, lol! It has nothing to do with inane policy, inaccurate statistical methods, or anything like that.
In fact all of the rise as reported by the DOL is due to Seasonal Adjustments as "The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 482,399 in the week ending Jan. 22, a decrease of 67,491 from the previous week." Actual claims decreased, but due to their own adjustments the number is forced to shoot up. To much noise is being created by the DOL. My position is that allowing humans that much latitude is an invitation to manipulation. Again, we must keep these numbers in perspective; our population is growing 1% a year and we need to create many jobs just to stay even. That means that any number in this weekly report above 350k is a job losing proposition. Our economy is not creating jobs, it is losing massive numbers of them still. It is complete disinformation to claim job creation as President Obama does every time he talks.
Durable Goods Orders also put in a significant miss, falling 2.5% in December which follows a -1.5% print in November. This shows negative real growth and it is accelerating downwards. Consensus was looking for improvement to a positive 1.5% move. That didn't happen, but again numbers like this expose the game for what it is. Durable Goods Orders are first a dollar amount… for this number to be negative in the face of a falling dollar and zooming commodities tells you that REAL Durable Goods Orders are significantly lower than even this horrid report. I know, let's make excuses:
Durables orders are living up to their reputation as one of the most volatile monthly series in the U.S.-and the latest report was disappointing. Durables orders in December unexpectedly dropped 2.5 percent, following a revised 0.1 percent fall the month before. Weakness was primarily in nondefense aircraft orders. Excluding transportation, new orders for durable goods were more favorable, advancing 0.5 percent after a 4.5 percent surge in November. By industry, strength was mostly in machinery with others industries generally down but after healthy gains the prior month.
By major industries, transportation fell a monthly 12.8 percent in December after declining 13.1 percent the month before. The latest decline was mainly in nondefense aircraft which plunged a monthly 99.5 percent-again, essentially Boeing orders likely falling due to delays in its Dreamliner delivery dates. Also, within transportation, motor vehicles actually increased 1.7 percent while defense aircraft & parts fell back 10.9 percent.
Outside of transportation, strength was narrowly focused with machinery jumping 10.6 percent (November in parenthesis, up 0.3 percent). Other industries were down but generally after a notable gain the month before. Primary metals fell 4.7 percent (up 13.8 percent); fabricated metals down 1.0 percent (up 2.9 percent); computers & electronics down 1.2 percent (up 6.5 percent); electrical equipment down 0.1 percent (up 8.6 percent); and all others down 1.1 percent (up 0.8) percent.
Business investment in equipment continues to show strength outside of aircraft. Nondefense capital goods orders excluding aircraft in December rose 1.4 percent after gaining 3.1 percent the prior month. Shipments for this series rose 1.7 percent, following a 1.4 percent increase in November.
Overall, the report should be considered in light of ex-transportation showing the overall trend over two or three months. Essentially, manufacturing is still on an uptrend though one not as robust as believed last month.
Aircraft are a very important part of our manufacturing base, it and military hardware are all we have left of significance, and that has been slipping away.
The Chicago Fed Index came in barely positive, but with its 3 month moving average negative by .22%. It's important to understand what this index is saying:
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) is a monthly index designed to better gauge overall economic activity and inflationary pressure. The CFNAI is a weighted average of 85 existing monthly indicators of national economic activity. It is constructed to have an average value of zero and a standard deviation of one. Since economic activity tends toward trend growth rate over time, a positive index reading corresponds to growth above trend and a negative index reading corresponds to growth below trend. (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago)
Note first that this number comes from the "Fed." Also note that it is predicated on "trend," whatever that may be. Who says what the trend is and how it is measured? What inflation data is used to measure it? In other words, it's a GARBAGE report, meaningless. And even with that it still is showing below trend "growth." More disinformation and a worthless product brought to you by the people who create the money and benefit from it. In my world, economic statistics would not be allowed to be produced by those who have a direct interest in the outcomes.
Pending Home Sales are released at 10 Eastern and will be reported inside of the Daily Thread.
The market continues to show a very strong correlation to money printing. Yesterday commenter Steve posted a very pertinent chart showing the market activity since QE1 and QE2 were begun. It clearly shows that when a nation prints money and throws it at the market, the market will go up:
Investing in such a market is a huge risk. Traditional Technicals say its way overdone, and thus it is a dilemna. For me, it's not worth the risk as I am not privy to their inside information.
This effect is the same effect encountered in Zimbabwe when it had the best performing stock market on the planet… for a time. It is a looting effort. It allows the people WHO create the money to escape with what riches are left. As their looting continues, just as in Zimbabwe, real people starve. In this case our "Fed" is starving the entire world that is on the margins. And also just like Zimbabwe, when the direct money printing ends, the market will collapse. It is nothing but an empty shell being inflated by nothing real. Fraud on multiple levels, disinformation in our statistics, money printing, accounting and control fraud. It's all FRAUD. The rule of law? Not even close.
Still, that's just complaining, what's an investor to do? Ask yourself, "What would a despot do?" Um, let's see, load up the private jet with GOLD, and leave the country!? What, you don't have a G20 sitting on the tarmac at the local airport? Well, you can at least own some gold… and that from someone who is most definitely not a gold bug, but did recommend owning gold ever since it was priced around $350 an ounce (same goes for silver).
The uptrend line on gold is currently around $1,300 an ounce, not too far from here, and yes, I think you buy the dips, but don't go hog wild if it breaks that trendline. If it does, the first area of support on the chart will be around $1,250:
Will holding precious metals make you rich? No, but it's really all you have, as even real estate is not safe and has large carrying expenses unless it produces a very good income. Always remember WHO owns the majority of the gold (the banks) and don't be fooled by their rhetoric about use as a backing for a nation's money system. What's most important is WHO controls the quantity. It is a complete and total MYTH (Disinformation) that gold works to keep the quantity of money under control. It never has.
Watch this Alan Parson's "Gold Bug" video in today's context with the advantage of hindsight (EU riddled with debt, nations bankrupt)… WHO wanted and created a European Union? Note the opening gala, and note who they hired to M.C. it. Interesting in light of today's events, and an interesting choice of titles for that activity, no?
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Morning Update/ Market Thread 1/26
Equities are slightly higher following Obama's misdirect-you State of the Union speech and in front of today's FOMC disinformation announcement. The dollar is close to level, bonds are slightly lower, oil is flat, and gold is still in correction mode with food commodities continuing to impoverish those on the margins – funny how food riots and revolution by starving people in Tunisia is okay and even touted by the President… he sees it as democracy taking out despots, while I see it as a banking cabal impoverishing the world. Always glad to see a despot get the boot, but is that going to put food on Tunisian's tables? More on the President's speech in a moment…
Meanwhile, the unethical, corrupt, and hypocritical Mortgage Banker's Association reported that Purchase Applications fell yet another 8.7% in the prior week, refinancing activity supposedly also fell a whopping 15.3%, pulling their composite index down 12.9%! They were already near historic lows, the MBA's math and reporting methods are ridiculous. Here's Econoday:
HighlightsA 20.8% year over year decline? These numbers put the lie to supposed improvement in the housing market, not to mention the economy as a whole. I think a lot of activity is based on foreclosures, many are cash deals done by investors and not by families intent on living in them. In other words, the housing market, I believe, is even worse than the numbers make it appear, which is already pathetically weak.
The run of weakness in purchase applications deepened severely in the Janauary 21 week, down 8.7 percent to take the index back to its lowest point since October. Heavy weather and the shortened holiday week put the focus on the unadjusted index which fell a less severe 3.1 percent for a still substantial 20.8 percent year-on-year decline.
Refinancing activity also fell heavily, down an adjusted 15.3 percent for the lowest level since January last year. Rates are affordable but well off their lows, up three basis points in the week to 4.80 percent for 30-year mortgages.
The recent jump in rates motivated the fence sitters in December, at least for existing home sales in data released last week. But the ongoing slide in the purchase index points to a January setback.
New Home Sales are released at 10 Eastern, and the FOMC Announcement comes at 2:15 Eastern.
Obama touted economic "growth" in his speech last night. He repeated his last year's radical and crazy call for our nation's exports to DOUBLE in just five years (!) and he trumpeted how with the "growth" in the past year we are well on our way to meeting that goal! I literally can't laugh hard enough at such nonsense. There's only one way we accomplish that goal, and that's by cutting the value of our money in half! That's because exports and GDP "growth" are measured in dollars. Sure, if one throws $112 billion a month, month after month into the system then we're going to see the number of dollars "grow." But that's entirely different than REAL economic growth, and thus the disinformation and game playing continues.
Now, don't get me wrong, Obama is an excellent speech giver when he has teleprompters directly in front of him. And last night's speech sounded just like a most excellent campaign speech – long on talk, short on specifics, and EMPTY when it comes to paying for us "winning" the future. No mention of our debt saturated condition, no mention of bankrupt states, bankrupt cities, bankrupt nations around the globe, or WHO made them that way. Everything's rosy, America is the greatest nation on the planet, and therefore we're going to win the future, launching somehow forward from this "Sputnik" moment in time.
And just look at our shining example of maintaining the rule of law! According to him, we're doing a terrific job of that too! Of course none of the criminals looting our country, past and present, are being prosecuted, but again, we continue to gloss over that. All happy talk in an attempt to convince the "consumers" of America that it's okay to open your wallets and bury yourself as deeply in debt as your income can possible stand. President of Marketing should be his real title, Disinformation Minister/ Czar is his role in reality. Otherwise, it was a very fine speech - well delivered, his timing from one teleprompter to the other was excellent.
And I like positive people and positive talk about the future as much as anyone. And if we weren't beginning from a completely impossible math situation then I'd be happy as the proverbial clam. But while we are now at least talking about what appears to be the elephant in the room, the deficit, it turns out that the elephant in the room is much, much bigger than anyone in the Administration admits, and in fact is a Trojan Elephant with the central bankers playing the part of the Greeks.
The disinformation will continue as long as the money printing can cover it up. We are not too far from losing confidence as it is, again I simply point to a doubling of food commodities in the past six months. No talk about that, gee, I wonder why that is as I watch wheat put in a new high.
There was a small movement in the McClellan Oscillator yesterday, expect a large directional move today or tomorrow. But I would not expect a large move until after the FOMC provides their "Fed" disinformation this afternoon. Interest rates at zero, and print to the moon, we have exports to double and only four years left to do it!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Morning Update/ Market Thread 1/25
Stocks are lower this morning as the markets continue to display warning signs despite higher highs in the Industrials. The dollar is higher, bonds are higher, oil has descended below its uptrend line, and gold is lower along with most food commodities this morning.
The Case-Shiller 20 city Home Price Index fell in the month of November by 1.0% month over month, and is down 1.6% compared to a year prior. These numbers represent an acceleration of falling prices, however, the more narrow 10 city Index did not show the same price deceleration, at -.4%, and thus gives those looking for rainbows and Skittles something to dream about. Below is the entire S&P Case-Shiller Report, I think you will find it interesting:
Case-Shiller November
Below is the wishful spin from Econoday:
Home-price contraction eased in November according to Case-Shiller data that show a 0.4 percent adjusted dip for the composite 10 index in November compared to a 1.0 percent drop in October (revised one tenth lower) and declines of 0.8 percent and 0.5 in the two prior months. Note that Case-Shiller data are based on a three-month average which suggests that November may have actually showed a gain. Unadjusted data, which are also watched for this report, show a steeper decline of 0.8 percent which however is still improved from October's 1.3 percent drop.
But the results aren't that encouraging, showing declines across most cities led by Detroit, Atlanta, and Chicago. Year-on-year comparisons show an adjusted 0.4 percent decline for the composite 10 index and an adjusted 1.6 percent decline for the composite 20. Further data on home prices will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET today with the FHFA house price index.
Looking at four different news sources, I see headlines that make this report seem both like an improvement and as worsening. How should it be read? In my opinion, the wider the spread of data the more accurate the picture, and thus the 20 city Index is what should be given the most credence. Regardless, home prices are still falling and those are sizable moves not to be ignored or wished away.
Home prices are going to continue to be under pressure throughout 2011 as the number of Option-ARM resets crescendos in the middle of this year.
Consumer Confidence and the FHFA Home Price Index are released at 10 Eastern this morning and will be reported within the Daily Thread. The FOMC meeting begins today, we will be duly impressed with their confidence inspiring print to infinity verbiage tomorrow at 2:15 Eastern.
Yesterday's rally came, of course, on the back of more billions in POMO money. Can't wait to see what the market does when that stops… and it will at some point. Volume on the advance was weak, and looked corrective in the Transports and NDX. The Transports are well off their highs, they are going to have to have use some serious POMO dollars to pump the Trannies if they wish to avoid a DOW Theory non-confirmation. Of course commodities are often a tell, and oil is now established in a down trend after breaking its uptrend line overnight, and putting in a lower low:
Despite yesterday's rally the McClellan Oscillator remains negative. This means that the majority of stocks are in a downtrend, it is one of the key ingredients to fulfilling the Hindenburg Omen. Conditions now have a very similar feel to the top that was made in '07, with people calling for $250 a barrel oil, $5 gasoline, and a dollar that is worthless while food riots break out around the globe. Again I am left to wonder what happens when the "Fed" has bought the entire market? Hmmm, I still don't think this is going to end well…
Monday, January 24, 2011
Morning Update/ Market Thread 1/24 – Desperate People…
Equity futures are roughly flat just prior to the open with the dollar higher, bonds higher, oil sharply lower, gold falling, and most food commodities marching still higher. Oil is very close to breaking its daily uptrend line.
There are no economic reports today, just POMO after POMO. Actually, this Wednesday will stand out due to the fact there is no POMO that day. $7 to $9 more billion is planned for today – sickening. The data will start coming tomorrow with Case-Schiller data, the House Price Index, and Consumer Confidence. The FOMC meets again this week and will announce they are leaving interest rates at zero and printing your money into oblivion on Wednesday. The first cut at Q4 GDP comes on Friday, so it should be a very interesting week, especially for the economic disinformation that is flowing like the mighty river Nile.
Speaking of economic disinformation, this week the world's foremost dispensers of economic Kool-Aid meet in Davos:
Super-Cycle Leaves No Economy Behind as Davos Shifts to Growth
Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) -- For only the third time since the Industrial Revolution, the world may be entering a long-term growth cycle that will lift all economies simultaneously, driving bond yields and commodity prices higher.
The depth and scope of the expansion will be a focus for discussion at this week's annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Evidence of a broadening global recovery will enable U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, investor George Soros and 2,500 political, business and academic leaders to shift their emphasis away from crisis- fighting.
With the economic and investment outlooks "much better" than in recent years, "people are talking about how to get back to business as normal and what comes next," said Jitesh Gadhia, a delegate to the conference and the London-based senior managing director at Blackstone Group LP, which runs the world's largest buyout fund.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and London's Standard Chartered Bank are among the financial companies sending executives to the meeting. Their economists predict a growth spurt in coming decades led by emerging nations that will be strong enough to boost developed countries.
That's right… global growth! The emerging nations are going to pull developed nations up by their boot-strap! Sure, why not? And maybe Santa will bring me that new Aston Martin I've always wanted! Vroooom!
What could go wrong with that scenario?! Let's see, food prices double in 6 months. People starving, riots, bankrupt nations, states, cities, revolutions spreading… oh, and governments being overthrown Iceland style!
Got to love the fighting Irish who are so angry at what was the current regime for taking banker "bailouts" that sold them and their retirement plans down the river, that they are throwing them out on their rears and forcing a new election. I can guarantee you that the next government will unwind whatever damage the world bankers are currently doing to that country, appropriately so.
Just remember that desperate people do desperate things. Take a look at this morning's news. Four police shot inside of their own Precinct offices in Detroit. Two police shot in Port Orchard, WA at the local WalMart. Three more officers shot in St. Petersburg Florida. Now we're also learning of a bomb exploding at the Moscow airport in Russia, 31 killed and more than 100 wounded. It seems to me that there are more and more desperate people. Keep printing that money, nothing bad will happen… sure. Just remember those "other" events have roots that run deep. When the desperate people get organized, real change will come, just as it did in Tunisia. That's why you're likely to see attempts to break lines of communication in the future. Of course none of these events will be related to the economic disinformation and outright thievery that's occurring and begins at the very top – at least that's the picture painted by the bankers, politicians, and media that they own and control. No worries, look over there, the DOW rose 20 points today (shhh, don't remind anyone that it took $9 Billion in POMO to get it, just shut up and fork over $15 for that hamburger).
Major top in the markets coming? You bet. There are signs aplenty that we are forming one right now. People are already forgetting the recent Hindenburg Omen, the VIX sell signal that occurred just four trading days ago, and no one is talking about the decline of the Transports while the Industrials continue to make new highs. That's a setup for a potential DOW Theory non-confirmation, something that is almost always seen very near major market tops. Again this morning the Transports are sinking with the Industrials making new highs… the same thing occurred in 2007 just before the real fun began. The McClellan Oscillator is still very negative and is declining despite the rising DOW Industrials. This is showing that breadth is narrowing and it is yet another divergence in the marketplace.
How long will POMO hot money be able to create the illusion of "growth?" I don't know for sure, but I am guessing until "other events" force those meeting this week in Davos to stop it.


text:
Childsplay is a memory game program. If you want to sharp your memory, I think it's a good game although it's designed for kids. The game is very simple. There are few pictures hided behind the frames. Just click any frame then you will see a picture. You have to remember this picture.
Click another picture. If the second picture that you opened is the same with the previous one, then these 2 pictures will be taken out. So, you only have less pictures to open.
If the second picture that you've opened is different, you have to open another picture but you have to remember this one also.
Continue the step until you find the same picture.
The idea of this game is how to open the same picture together. For example, if you are now opening a 'Car' picture then the next picture must be a 'Car' also. If it's correct, the 2 displayed pictures will be taken out otherwise you have to click the other frames until you find the 'Car'. Then click back at the frame that which has a 'Car' picture before.


text:
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South African Journal of Occupational Therapy
On-line version ISSN 2310-3833
Print version ISSN 0038-2337
S. Afr. j. occup. ther. vol.42 n.1 Pretoria 2012
Fieldwork education: Putting supervisors' interpersonal communication to the test
Marianne de BeerI; Charl VorsterII
IPhD. Head: Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Pretoria
IIPhD. Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Limpopo, Medunsa Campus
Various factors have an impact on the development of the clinical reasoning skills of occupational therapy students during their training. The aim of this study was to investigate how the interpersonal communication skills of the supervisors impact on their students' ability to learn clinical reasoning skills during their education in the physical field. Thirty final year students at the University of Pretoria and 14 supervisors from six different hospitals formed the study sample. A mixed research design was employed. Data were collected by means of focus groups and one-on-one interviews conducted with fieldwork educators and students on their inter-subjective experience of supervision. It was then analysed by a clinical psychologist using the Interpersonal Pattern Analysis diagnostic instrument, and finally compared with the grades students obtained for their clinical reasoning skills in the final practical exam in the physical field.
The findings of this study indicated that the supervisors of students who received good grades, were predominantly linear in their approach, showed limited empathy and confirmation, were rigid in their expectations and solved problems effectively. Supervisors of students who received lower grades were mainly circular in their approach, were flexible and partly empathetic, validated students and also solved problems effectively.
Regarding the interpersonal approach to human behaviour there is no one role or pattern of interaction that is more effective in all contexts. A style or a pattern that may be highly effective in one kind of relationship may be ineffective in another. What is emerging here is that a style which is characterised by flexibility and empathy is not necessarily an effective teaching style, whereas one characterised by a linear approach, rigidity and limited empathy may prove to be significantly more effective.
Key words: Fieldwork education, supervision, clinical reasoning, interpersonal pattern analysis, occupational therapy
"Full text available only in PDF format"
1. Mulholland S, Derdall M. A strategy for supervising occupational therapy students at community sites. Occupational Therapy International, 2005; 12 (1): 28-43. [ Links ]
2. Bonello M. Fieldwork within the context of higher education: A literature review. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2001; 64(2): 93-98. [ Links ]
3. Hummel J. Effective fieldwork supervision: Occupational therapy student perspectives. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 1997; 44: 147-157. [ Links ]
4. Scaffa ME, Wooster DM. Effects of Problem-based learning on clinical reasoning in occupational therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2004; 58(3): 333-336. [ Links ]
5. Mattingly C, Fleming MH. Clinical reasoning: Forms of inquiry in a therapeutic practice. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis, 1994. [ Links ]
6. Schell BA, Cervero R. Clinical reasoning in occupational therapy: An integrative review. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 1993; 47: 605-610. [ Links ]
7. Chur-Hansen A, McLean S. On being a supervisor: the importance of feedback and how to give it. Australasian Psychiatry, 2006; 14(1): 67-71. [ Links ]
8. Barr EM. The relationship between student and clinical supervisor. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 1987; 50(10): 329-331. [ Links ]
9. Christie BA, Joyce PC, Moeller PL. Fieldwork experience II: The supervisor's dilemma. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 1985; 39(10): 675-681. [ Links ]
10. Levy LS, Sexton P, Willeford KS, Barnum MG, Guyer MS, Gardner G, Fincher AL. Clinical instructor characteristics, behaviour and skills in allied health care settings: A literature review. Athletic training Education Journal, 2009; 4(1): 8-13. [ Links ]
11. Stormont DA. "The significance of the interpersonal relationship in practicum supervision: What is it about Fleur?" 2001. <http://www.aare.ed.au/98pap/sto98234.htm> (31 January 2011). [ Links ]
12. Kumbuzi, VRPM, Chinhengo TPT, Kagseke F "Perception of physiotherapy and occupational therapy students' supervision of field attachment in Zimbabwe". Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal. 2009; 20. <http://www.dinf.ne.jp/doc/english/asia/resource/apdri/vol20_l/brief-reports2.htm> (8 June 2010). [ Links ]
13. Vorster C. Impact: The story of interactional therapy. Pretoria: SATOTI, 2011. [ Links ]
14. Van den Berg L. Psychological well-being and interactional patterns of behaviour: an empirical investigation. Unpublished doctoral thesis, Department of Clinical and Applied Psychology, University of Limpopo (Medunsa Campus), 2008. [ Links ]
15. Terre Blanche M, Durrheim K, Painter D, editors. Research in Practice: Applied methods for the social sciences. 2nd ed. Cape Town: University of Cape Town Press, 2006. [ Links ]
16. Denzin N, Lincoln Y, editors. Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks: SAGE, 2008. [ Links ]
17. Bernard JM, Goodyear RK. Fundamentals of clinical supervision. 3rd ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2004. [ Links ]
18. Gutman SA, McCreedy P Heisler P Student level II fieldwork failure: Strategies for intervention. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 1998; 52 (2): 143-149. [ Links ]
19. Scheerer CR. Perceptions of effective professional behaviour feedback: Occupational therapy student voices. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2003; 57(2): 205-214. [ Links ]
20. Dunbar-Krige H, Fritz E. The supervision of counsellors in South Africa: Travels in new territory, 1st ed. Pretoria: Van Schaik, 2006. [ Links ]
Marianne de Beer PhD
This paper is based on the research at the University of Pretoria for the PhD in Occupational Therapy.


text:
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