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ESU Foundation records may hold clues to Sanders scandal
When people refuse to speak out, public records often become the only way to expose the truth.
In the ongoing case of Isaac Sanders, many people have declined to speak publicly.
Public documents have proven to be a lifeline in our efforts to report on allegations that the former vice president of advancement at East Stroudsburg University and director of the university's foundation sexually harassed students and that his superiors covered up for him.
For example, such records have brought to light a settlement signed by a whistleblower who worked for Sanders.
The university paid her nearly $140,000 in exchange for a promise that she would not file suit against ESU or discuss the "certain controversy" that characterized her time at ESU.
And, when no one from ESU or the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education was commenting about the case, a Right-to-Know request brought to light an internal email in which campus leaders acknowledged that Sanders was dismissed because they had verified and corroborated his "inappropriate conduct."
One of the main questions many people have wrestled with over the years is: Why? Why would Robert Dillman, the long-serving president of ESU who retired in 2012, a man esteemed in Monroe County for his moral probity and forceful leadership, allegedly put his legacy at risk?
In an attempt to answer this question, the Pocono Record submitted a Right-to-Know request in 2009 that led to a protracted legal battle and, finally, to the release of nearly 14,000 pages of East Stroudsburg University Foundation files.
Our working theory was that, if the allegations were true, Dillman may have wanted to protect Sanders because Sanders was his chief fundraiser.
Allegations against Sanders were surfacing at a sensitive time: the wrap-up of a fundraising campaign for ESU's Science and Technology Center, which was the linchpin of Dillman's legacy.
Here's what public documents tell us so far:
In March 2003, Dillman's dream hit a major roadblock. The Science and Technology Center, which would be the first new building to rise on the ESU campus in decades, was in trouble.
First budgeted at $23 million, the project went through a redesign. The news was bad — a 35 percent increase, from $23 million to $31 million.
Eventually, the total cost would top out at $41 million
Worse for ESU, the campus in East Stroudsburg had to cover all of that extra money.
Bottom line: In total, ESU had to raise $15.6 million.
That left two options: Scale back the project or come up with the extra cash.
For ESU, scaling back the size of the building was a non-starter.
"There is a history here of downsizing buildings to fit budget allocations that we do not want to repeat," Rich Staneski, then-vice president of administration and operations, wrote in an email to PASSHE in 2003.
ESU proposed a work-around: The ESU Foundation could raise the $15.6 million — eventually. But raising that much money could take a very long time. In order to keep momentum going, ESU asked the state to essentially float ESU a $15 million loan in the form of a bond.
The bond would be repaid by the foundation over 20 years at a cost of $1 million annually. If the foundation failed to raise enough money, the annual costs would come out of ESU's operating budget.
The idea met with some skepticism in Harrisburg, public records show.
"The Foundation has no experience with capital fundraising. Currently, they raise about $1.3 million per year, of which only $300,000 is discretionary," Mary Soderberg, who was then the vice chancellor for administration and finance, wrote on May 8, 2003, to then-Chancellor Judy Hample and several other top officials at PASSHE.
"To take on this capital campaign would mean that this would be a 20-year priority for the university."
She added: "Although the University can afford this obligation, it will limit their ability to deal with anything else. … This is a very large project and would be a significant precedent."
Where'd the money go?
At the time, the arrangement was not typical for PASSHE institutions. Member campuses like ESU are generally supposed to come up with 50 percent of the cost of the building, which is meant to demonstrate local support for a project and spread financial risk.
But in this case, ESU was allowed to use bond money — a loan from the state — to cover its side of the bargain.
In June 2003, the board of the foundation took a formal role in paying back the bond.
"The ESU Foundation is committed to the Science & Technology Center," the trustees wrote in a letter. "Therefore, it is the intent of the Foundation to serve bond debt in the amount of $1 million annually for a period of 20 years."
It is unclear how well the foundation was able to meet this commitment.
Soon after breaking the news that Sanders was under investigation, the Pocono Record analyzed publicly available records and spotted inconsistent payouts from scholarship funds.
Sources suggested that some of the money that ESU and the foundation needed to demonstrate their fundraising success to the state was actually illusory.
Grand commitments may not have been followed by actual payments, sources suggested. Money intended for one purpose, like a scholarship, may have been redirected to the campaign for the new building without the consent — or knowledge — of donors.
For example, $56,598 from the estate of Doris Imbt was misallocated, according to the termination letter that Dillman sent to Sanders. The gift was supposed to be restricted, and used only for the class of 1938 scholarship fund, but wound up in the ESU Foundation's general fund instead.
"The information supports that either you knowingly directed the deposit of the bequest into the unrestricted ESU Foundation fund," Dillman wrote to Sanders, explaining that the misallocation was one reason for his dismissal, "or at the very least, should have discovered the action and corrected it."
It remains unclear whether the misallocation was a simple clerical error or deliberate.
The Pocono Record requested files for six donors:
• Warren Hoeffner, after whom the Science and Technology Center was named;
• Jone Bush, a local scholarship donor;
• HD Justi, which gave money for a gymnastics scholarship that never materialized and led to years of notifications on the foundation's audit;
• Imbt and Betty Baltz, alumnae who left bequests to the university;
• Dillman himself.
Four years and several court battles later, we set a precedent regarding open records. A ruling, upheld by the state Supreme Court, held that the records of private entities, like the foundation, that carry out work on behalf of public agencies, are public documents.
We also received an embarrassment of riches: A document dump of 13,889 records for those donors that we were seeking, plus others, that make this investigative effort potentially unrecoverable.
This is where you come in.
The documents the foundation released to us take two forms. The first is, from what we can tell, what comes from the file folders maintained for each donor. Here we see correspondence, thank you letters, commitment forms, prospect research and other papers.
The other comes from the foundation's fundraising database.
Both types of records are redacted, per the court's orders. It is impossible to tell which records correspond to which donor.
Take a look.
Do any memos, letters, emails or database records strike you as interesting or unusual?
Do you see mention of scholarship money ending up in other accounts at the foundation?
Did money that was meant to be protected in perpetuity in an endowment get used for other purposes?
Are there any significant mismatches between amounts that were pledged for the capital campaign to ESU's Science and Technology Center and the amounts that actually materialized?
In short, we'd like your help in sorting through the morass.
If you spot something that needs attention, email us at firstname.lastname@example.com and cite the document batch and page numbers.
And if you want to contact us directly, please email email@example.com or call 570-420-4344.
The truth depends on it.


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Beauty queens vie for Miss America title in Vegas
Staff Writer
Columbus Monthly
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A parade of beauties from every state are primping and prepping to compete for the Miss America crown Saturday night.
The show at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip is the culmination of a week of preliminary competitions and months of practice.
Each of the beauty queens has already proven her poise, charm and volubility by winning her state crown.
After an opening number, the judges will announce 16 finalists.
The women will strut their stuff in swimsuit, evening gown, talent and interview competitions, with cuts after each round until a new Miss America is crowned.

subset: commoncrawl


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Campus Life
Student Activities
Get involved in one (or more) of over 250 academic and social clubs and organizations.
Student Services
Buying books for the quarter? Need help preparing for an exam? Interested in on-campus child care services? Check out the services listed below or click on the view more link to learn about other student services available.
Student Jobs and Careers
The Career Center assists students with career planning, choice of major and employment. The center can help with finding full-time career, part-time on and off-campus, temporary, summer, internship and cooperative education positions.
Housing and Dining
Cal Poly Pomona offers a variety of housing and dining options.
The university is committed to learning centeredness, accomplished through a network of academic communities, which include multicultural nations of diverse races, ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, national origins, religious and political beliefs, physical abilities, ages, genders and sexual orientations.
Campus Safety & Emergency Information
The university is proactive in making sure students are safe on campus and are aware of all of the resources available to keep them safe.


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For Individual Orders
Individual Orders:
Begin With the Basics - Learn about static electricity and how to make magnets and solenoids. Find out about direct current and alternating current. Then learn about electrical circuits that use batteries and lamps.
Forrest M. Mims III has written more than sixty books about science, lasers, computers, and electronics. Many of his books describe electronic circuits and projects that he personally builds and tests. When he isn't writing books, he does various kinds of scientific research, writes magazine and newspaper articles, and teaches experimental science at the University of the Nations in Hawaii.
SITE BEST VIEWED IN 1024 x 768 RESOLUTION
Copyright © 2003 FORRESTMIMS.COM All Rights Reserved.
Web Site Development & Hosting provided by KuzMedia, Inc.


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ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK (AP) – Fire crews are expected to start mop-up operations on a wildfire that burned 40 acres on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park and briefly forced the closure of Trail Ridge Road.
At last report Sunday, officials said they were close to containing the fire, which was first reported Saturday.
Park officials say the fire didn't threaten any structures or campgrounds, but people camping 5 miles north of the blaze decided to leave.
The cause is under investigation.
Fire officials say a 30-acre grass fire in Fort Collins damaged a garage and threatened eight homes.
The cause of that fire is also under investigation.


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Welcome to the Tuesday edition of "5 Things to Know for Your New Day."
Every weekday morning around 6, we'll hit the top five stories of the day, clue you in on a few other buzzy items, and let you know about some of the must-watch stories coming up on CNN's new morning show, "New Day."
Shock and survival: The three Jang children couldn't wait to get off the plane after 10 long hours. But then the seats in front of them collapsed on their knees. Luggage went everywhere. The helplessness and horror of a plane crash is a story few live to tell. But this morning, we hear from the kids in a CNN exclusive from Sara Sidner.
Watch the full interview with Esther, Joseph and Sarah Jang on New Day at 6, 7 or 8.
Decree and doubt: I am giving up many of my powers. That's the message from Egypt's interim president Adly Mansour. He also said there'll be elections in about six months. That's great news for those who wanted Morsy ousted. But it's hardly going to appease the Muslim Brotherhood members. Yesterday, clashes between them and troops killed 51 - the deadliest day of the unrest. Will today bring more of the same?
Reza Sayah will have the latest on the growing tension in the Arab world's most populous nation at 6 and 7.
He wasn't packing a punch: After a year of boxing training, all George Zimmerman knew how to do was throw a short punch, and he wasn't even good at that. A friend who trained Zimmerman told the jury that the former neighborhood watch leader was a big guy, but "soft, just physically soft." That's from testimony we heard yesterday.
We also heard from Trayvon's father who said the voice on the 911 tape was his son's. Other witnesses said, no, that was Zimmerman screaming. Comedienne Roseanne Barr has a great idea:
Zimmerman should re create the scream if it's his voice. Proof, 4jury
— Roseanne Barr (@TheRealRoseanne) July 9, 2013
An attorney for the Martin family, Daryl Parks, will join us at 8. HLN's Vinnie Politan will give us his analysis of the trial during the 7 o'clock hour.
Doting grandpa, paranoid terrorist: Who'd have thought bin Laden was living a life even weirder than Breaking Bad's Walter White? But thanks to a leaked report, we know some really fascinating bits about the world's most wanted terrorist's very ordinary days. He'd garden while wearing a cowboy hat. (We'll pause for a bit, while you picture that.) He also held vegetable growing contests for his kids and grandkids. They needed to be entertained somehow, since TV and the Internet were a no-no for them. And he once shaved his beard off. (We'll pause again. Go ahead, conjure up that visual.)
So Bin Laden's main anti-detection steps were wearing a cowboy hat and shaving his beard. Maybe he just wanted to freshen up his look.
— Samira Shackle (@samirashackle) July 9, 2013
Obama's had it?: Apparently, Afghanistan's Karzai dissed him one too many times. This morning, we learned that Obama's thinking of pulling all troops out of Afghanistan next year. Before, the U.S. and the Afghans were talking about maybe keeping a small number of troops to train Afghan forces. But looks like that number may be zero, a White House source tells CNN.
Those are your five biggies for the day. Here are a couple of others that are brewing and have the Internet buzzing.
- "Strong enough to walk through hell": Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight want to tell everyone they're doing OK. In a video posted on YouTube, the three Cleveland women who were missing for a decade just wanted to say thanks for the support. Oh, and the fact that everyone had (surprisingly) left them alone, keep that up.
- Pat being Pat: TV evangelist Pat Robertson has done it again. Just a couple of months after he seemed to condone men cheating on their wives, he's caused a tizzy on social media by suggesting a novel idea for Facebook: A 'Vomit' button, so he can click that whenever he sees pictures of a gay couple kissing. <SMH>
- Coach, move your feet: Jets coach Rex Ryan is better at avoiding bulls than he is Bills. The New York skipper went to Spain on vacation and donned the cute white outfit with red sashes and ran down the streets of Pamplona. We're sure the video of this event will never, ever be shown in summer camp when the Jets get back together. At least he did a better job avoiding a hit than he did against the Buffalo Bills last season.
Taking offseason training to a new level…Coach Ryan ran with the bulls while in Spain. http://t.co/k5EEknjv0q
— New York Jets (@nyjets) July 8, 2013
- Don't make momma mad: Some men in Sumatra were checking their traps when they discovered they had killed a tiger cub. Then the adult tigers discovered the men. Then the men discovered a tree, but one of the six was caught by the tigers. The five remaining hunters called on their cellphones for help but it was five days before the tigers were scared away.
- In lieu of flowers: 12. 11. 11. 12. 11. That's the number of losses for the Cleveland Browns the past five seasons. They had another loss recently. A diehard fan of the team, a season-ticket holder who died on July 4th, asked in his online obituary for six players from the team to be his pallbearers so that they can "let him down one more time." Not an original joke, but still funny - especially in an actual obit. A CNN affiliate reports the team will present his widow with a replica jersey bearing his favorite player's number.
@darrenrovell Obituary:"Man requests 6 Cleveland Browns pall bearers so the Browns can let him down one last time." pic.twitter.com/A792VZVMS0
— Matt Kill (@mkill2) July 8, 2013
There you go. All you need to know to get an early start to your morning.
Be sure to tune in to "New Day," from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET, join us at CNN.com/NewDay and go and have a GREAT NEW DAY
Roseanne Barr??? That has-been just wants her fame back. She has absolutely nothing of any value to add to this or any other situation. Recreate a scream made unexpectedly and under extreme duress? Wow, that's SO . . . brilliant!! Would she have dated to suggest that if it were Trayvon on trial for killing Zimmerman? Of course not. Hypocrite.
Im with Pat Robertson on his comment. Yes, Im all for the vomit button on the gay pride pics and all that. If you don't like my thoughts/views, don't say youre all tolerant. I have the freedom to my view as well.
This is news, but not a single mention about the IRS posting 100K SSN of 527s on a public access webpage?!
Why is the opinion of a comic treated as news? why is any opinion in the NEWS section? Just the facts please.
CNN...the IRS published thousands of SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS ONLINE.....is this not important news??????Are you covering up for them?????
What happened to media presenting fact and leaving opinions to the editorial pages? "Comedienne Roseanne Barr has a great idea", first and last time those words should ever appear together. Have you ever made a sound out of shock, surprise, fear or just in reaction to something and then tried to re-create it? It is often impossible to do. This is part of the reason the "experts" are not being allowed to testify in this case, because it is unreliable and at least one FBI expert has testified you can not determine the age of a person from a scream on a recording because a situation where a man feels threatened he can sound like a boy or when a boy is being aggressive can sound like a man. All that Roseanne's "great idea" would prove is that sh, like many have already determined what they believe and no matter what the evidence says or doesn't say they will not be swayed, but hey keep reporting the "news", it's what you are good at.
THANK YOU John for your excellent point! That was such inappropriate wording to include in the story.
I don't care who supports Zimmerman or wants him convicted but could you at least make sure your so-called legal experts are as objective as they claim to be. Your 'former US Attorney" is as biased as they come. She is no longer prosecuting....maybe a good thing.


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Conservative vector field
A conservative field or conservative vector field (not related to political conservatism) is a field with a curl of zero:
Its significance is that the line integral of a conservative field, such as a physical force, is independent of the path chosen. In physics, this means that the potential energy (which is determined by a conservative force field) of a particle at a given position is independent of how a particle was moved to its position.
The proof of this uses Stokes' Theorem. Since the curl is zero, any line integral around a closed loop is zero. If there are two paths from point A to point B, the first path from A to B, followed by the second path in reverse direction from B back to A, constitutes a closed loop, so its line integral is zero. But that's the sum of the first path integral and the negative of the second path integral, so the integrals are equal.
It gets its name from the fact that, if a force field, such as the gravitational or electric field, has a curl of zero, the principle of conservation of energy will hold. This follows from the fact that the accumulated force around any closed loop is zero, so no energy is gained or lost.
Irrotational and Solenoidal Vector Fields
An older name for a conservative field is irrotational. This refers to the fact that such a field lacks "vortices" that go around in circles.
An older name for a field with a divergence of zero is solenoidal. This refers to the fact that, according to Maxwell's Equations, the divergence of the magnetic field is zero, and "solenoid" is a traditional term for an electromagnet.
Both of these terms seem to have fallen out of use around 1960.[1][2][3]


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Surviving pilot in Idaho midair collision is aviation professor in central Washington
The surviving pilot of a deadly midair collision involving two small private planes in central Idaho is an aviation professor at Central Washington University.
Authorities say 52-year-old Amy Hoover of Ellensburg, Washington, landed her plane in a grassy area after the Monday morning collision about 30 miles east of Cascade. The other plane crashed and caused a small fire.
Hoover was taken by air ambulance to a McCall hospital, where she was treated and released. She is chair of the university's aviation department and owner of Canyon Flying, a backcountry flying company.
Hoover was flying alone, as was the pilot of the other plane, who died following the collision several miles from a backcountry airstrip.
The Valley County coroner has recovered the body but has not released a name.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.


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Westfaelische Wilhelms-Universitaet Muenster
Westfaelische Wilhelms-Universitaet Muenster
Schloßplatz 2
48149 Muenster
Scientific Lead
Dr. Marielle Vennemann
Phone: +48 (0) 251 83-55171
Fax: +49 (0)251 83-55158
Project Staff
Prof. Dr. Heidi Pfeiffer
Head of Department
Phone: +49 (0)251 83-55160
Fax:+49 (0)251 83-55158
MSc Hannah Holtkötter
PhD student
Phone: +49 (0)251 83-55159
MSc Kristina Schulze Johann
PhD student
Phone: +49 (0)251 83-55159
MSc Christian Lischka
PhD student
Phone: +49 (0)251 83-55145
Institute Presentation
The Institute of Legal Medicine with a current total of 40 staff has many years of experience in forensic case work and contributed substantially to the development and implementation of genetic technologies into forensic investigations in Germany. Members of the institute published groundbreaking works in various relevant fields, such as forensic molecular genetics of humans and non-human species, body fluid identification, and alternative DNA markers (X-, Y-, mtDNA- markers). The Münster group has an excellent track record in scientific publications with recently published contributions to the field of body fluid identification.
The institute combines three of the main forensic areas:
- Forensic pathology with autopsy suite and histology unit
- Forensic toxicology with drug and alcohol analysis
- Forensic molecular genetics with forensic DNA analysis and kinship testing
The section of forensic molecular genetics is a unit of modern and well-equipped laboratories and an excellent core facility on genomics is available part of the faculty of medicine so that further technologies are easily accessible, if needed.
A total of ten staff in the molecular genetics unit comprises highly experienced and dedicated personalities, which will all contribute to the success of the EuroForGen project.


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This month's Wired magazine features a profile of Lyfe Kitchen, which aims to serve up health- and eco-conscious fast-food on the scale of McDonald's. It's a fascinating and inspiring idea, something that could change the food system and public health for the better. Read the profile, it's worth the ten minutes.
The end of the piece focuses on the challenges to scaling up. Consider for example the challenge of seasonality:
No matter how energy-efficient the kitchen, no matter how technically astute the procurement practices—weather happens. Too much rain rots tomatoes. Oranges freeze. Texas onions shrivel in a drought.
The assumption is that the restaurants require a steady supply of the same ingredients month in and month out. After all, the menus will be the same year-round, right?
This got me thinking about the iPod shuffle. Bear with me here. I still remember wondering how small Apple would take miniaturization as we went from the iPod to the Mini to the Nano. The devices couldn't get much smaller, because soon there would be no room for a screen, and what good would an MP3 player be without visual feedback to select songs and see what is playing? The genius of the shuffle was to take that bug and turn it into a feature. What the heck, let's name the device after it: "No screen? No problem? This device is for shuffle mode!"
What does all of this have to do with Lyfe Kitchen? How about we make seasonality a feature, designing the menu and diner's experience to bring us closer to the farmers, closer to the weather. Make us a part of it and we'll take more pleasure in our food, missing fondly the items that are out of season, eagerly awaiting their return and enjoying the novelty of a new item that nature brought our way.


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Shit just got real in the War on Piracy with a US District Court judge handing out a year-long prison sentence to a New York resident for uploading a single, terrible movie.
To be fair, Gilberto Sanchez did somehow get his hands on an unfinished copy of the film that hadn't yet made it through post-production. He reportedly purchased it from an unknown street vendor in the Bronx and then uploaded it a month before it hit theaters, hence the stiff penalty.
"The federal prison sentence handed down in this case sends a strong message of deterrence to would-be Internet pirates," US attorney Andre Birotte Jr told The Hollywood Reporter. "The Justice Department will pursue and prosecute persons who seek to steal the intellectual property of this nation."
I can't begin to explain how unfathomably bad his idea was. What did he get out of this? A year in the clink. What did the public get out of this? A shitty version of a shitty film. And what did the US Attorney's office get out of this? Precedent. [Electronista]


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Former Washington Township, James Kirby Jr., leaves $10K for Pine Hill Park
WAYNE HEIGHTS — The late James Kirby Jr. — a former Washington Township supervisor — provided a $10,000 donation for Pine Hill Regional Recreation Park through his estate.
Mike Christopher, township manager, notified the current five-member board of supervisors about the $10,000 donation at Wednesday's meeting.
"It is the first donation from an estate we've received in a good many years," said Christopher.
Kirby died on Jan. 5, 2013, at the age of 75.
In addition to serving as a Washington Township supervisor Kirby also served on the Washington Township Municipal Authority.
"What a wonderful way for Jim to recognize Pine Hill," said Christopher, who added Kirby's wife, Mary T. Mickley-Kirby, told him that they would frequently spend time at Pine Hill.
Township officials do not know how they will use the money at the 174-acre park. Once a decision is made, Kirby's family will be notified.
"We all need to start deciding on how we want to use the money," said Jeff Geesaman, chairman.
Pine Hill Park
Pine Hill Park, which can be accessed via Mentzer Gap Road, features ballfields, a soccer field, playgrounds, a volleyball court, pavilions and 3 miles of walking, hiking and biking trails.
Dunlap Family Skatepark is also located on the property and has become a popular site for local skateboarders wanting to perfect their skills.
More recently, discussions have centered around building a pump/jump bike track — made out of dirt — at the park. On a pump track, riders on bicycles, use their upper-body strength to navigate the tract versus traditional pedaling.
On the Net


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401(k) contributions
It can seem impossible to add to your savings when there's so much use for money now, but rather than thinking of budgeting for retirement as an impediment, start seeing it as another tool to reach your goals, says Linda Descano, president and CEO of Citi's Women & Co.
When should you ideally start planning? "The day you start your first job," said Jean Setzfand, an AARP retirement expert. "If you're going to spend your last 35 years not working, you need to be saving for retirement during every one of the 35 or 40 years that you are working."
For example, a 25-year-old who contributes 5 percent of her $40K annual salary and ups her contribution to 10 percent later in life will save almost $1 million over the course of 40 years, according to AARP's retirement calculator.
More From Redbook
But someone who begins saving at age 40 and contributes 10 percent of her $65K annual salary will save $600K over 25 years—almost $400K less than her early-acting counterpart.
Even if you're only beginning to save now, the key is sticking to the plan from here on out. "Choosing to focus on the possibilities that contributing to retirement savings affords rather than the 'penalties' it imposes is empowering," Descano says. "The more empowered I feel, the more motivated I am to stick with something."
The workforce
Around 43 percent of women say that although they consider themselves to be career-focused women, they would choose to slow down their careers as soon as they had children, according to a LinkedIn survey. Plus, 65 percent admit they would like a more flexible work environment, which would help them better balance their career and family.
We know the decision of whether to return to work after having children, and if so how soon and how often, is anything but black and white. However, it's worth remembering that if women take off too much time from work after having children, they lose not only the annual salary they would be making but also time in their industry that would help hone their skills and keep their salaries rising, says Nicole Williams, a LinkedIn career expert and founder of WORKS by Nicole Williams.
The high cost of child care, sometimes nearly equivalent to a woman's salary, is a common argument for staying home, but it's important to look five years out, too. At that point, children are school-age, not in need of full-time supervision, and you may find yourself itching to return to the office. But that's easier said that done after having been out of the workforce so long, and can mean settling for a lower salary and position.
Health insurance
With the Affordable Care Act now in effect, the cost of health care is about to change. Studies show that many people—particularly low-income Americans—will save money under the new plan. In 2016, out-of-pocket health-care costs will drop from $1,463 to $34 per year for the 11.5 million Americans who get insurance through the Affordable Care Act's expansion of Medicaid, according to a study from the RAND Foundation.
Exact premium costs vary based on household size, income, and location, with individuals earning less than $46,000 or families of four taking home less than $94,000 qualifying for lower costs. To find out what your family's premium would be under Obamacare, use this premium estimate tool.
If you choose to opt out, you'll be required to pay a $95 fine or 1 percent of your income—whichever is higher. But more importantly, choosing to forego health insurance means paying out-of-pocket for medical services. Pricing runs the gamut, but even routine visits can easily cost $160 and emergency room trips may start at $1,000—numbers that can add up fast.
Failing to take advantage of technology when it comes to important things, like health care, can result in being uninformed, left behind, and, ultimately, forced to turn over your finances and health care to someone else.
"We know that under the Affordable Care Act more physicians are going to have to prescribe either over smartphone or tablet," says Suzie Mitchell, founder and CEO of Clear Writing Solutions, a company that markets digital devices to boomers, seniors, and caregivers. It's important to know how to use at least a desktop computer, or you may be forced to either hire help or rely on a family member.
Another area where technology can save you money? Paying your bills. A recent CreditCards.com report found that women are more likely than men to be charged a late fee, which can run as high as $30, for not paying their credit card bill on time. To avoid getting hit with these fees, sign up for automatic bill pay so the bill is paid on the same day every month and is never late.
If you don't feel comfortable having the money automatically taken out of your account every month, set up automatic bill payment reminders using a bill and account management service.
Monitoring credit
Failing to monitor your credit can make big credit-driven purchases—think homes and cars—even more expensive than they already are, said Eric Adamowsky, credit expert for CreditCardInsider.com. That's because poor credit results in paying a higher interest rate, and even if it's a seemingly small 1 or 2 percent difference, the costs add up over time.
For example, if you take out a 15-year $100,000 mortgage at a 6.5-percent interest rate, you'll pay $156,780 over the loan's lifetime, according to retirement planning company Mutual of America. However, take that same 15-year mortgage but apply a 7.5-percent interest rate, and you're looking at paying a total of $166,860—a difference of more than $10,000.
To stay in the loop, sign up for your free credit report. If your credit rating has already dropped, start by checking your report for any errors, such as fraud, incorrect or inaccurate information, or a stolen identity, and dispute those with all three credit bureaus. From there, Adamowsky recommends paying off your highest-interest credit card first. Bonus: Lowering your credit utilization ratio—basically the percentage of your credit limit you actually use—could give your credit score a quick boost.
Sarah Kaufman is the editor-in-chief of The Manilla Folder at Manilla.com, a platform that helps you manage your finances, utilities, daily deals, travel and rewards programs, and subscriptions—all in one place. Sarah is also a regular contributor to Yahoo! Finance, Good Housekeeping, Woman's Day, The Motley Fool, and other major sites.
More from Manilla.com:


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FreeBSD Manual Pages
VACCESS_ACL_POSIX1E(9) FreeBSD Kernel Developer's ManualVACCESS_ACL_POSIX1E(9) NAME vaccess_acl_posix1e -- generate a POSIX.1e ACL access control decision using vnode parameters SYNOPSIS #include <sys/param.h> #include <sys/vnode.h> #include <sys/acl.h> int vaccess_acl_posix1e(enum vtype type, uid_t file_uid, gid_t file_gid, struct acl *acl, accmode_t accmode, struct ucred *cred, int *privused); DESCRIPTION This call implements the logic for the UNIX discretionary file security model with POSIX.1e ACL extensions. It accepts the vnodes type type, owning UID file_uid, owning GID file_gid, access ACL for the file acl, desired access mode accmode, requesting credential cred, and an optional call-by-reference int pointer returning whether or not privilege was re- quired for successful evaluation of the call; the privused pointer may be set to NULL by the caller in order not to be informed of privilege infor- mation, or it may point to an integer that will be set to 1 if privilege is used, and 0 otherwise. This call is intended to support implementations of VOP_ACCESS(9), which will use their own access methods to retrieve the vnode properties, and then invoke vaccess_acl_posix1e() in order to perform the actual check. Implementations of VOP_ACCESS(9) may choose to implement additional secu- rity mechanisms whose results will be composed with the return value. The algorithm used by vaccess_acl_posix1e() is based on the POSIX.1e ACL evaluation algorithm. The algorithm selects a matching entry from the access ACL, which may then be composed with an available ACL mask entry, providing UNIX security compatibility. Once appropriate protections are selected for the current credential, the requested access mode, in combination with the vnode type, will be com- pared with the discretionary rights available for the credential. If the rights granted by discretionary protections are insufficient, then super- user privilege, if available for the credential, will also be considered. RETURN VALUES vaccess_acl_posix1e() will return 0 on success, or a non-zero error value on failure. ERRORS [EACCES] Permission denied. An attempt was made to access a file in a way forbidden by its file access permis- sions. [EPERM] Operation not permitted. An attempt was made to per- form an operation limited to processes with appropri- ate privileges or to the owner of a file or other re- source. SEE ALSO vaccess(9), vnode(9), VOP_ACCESS(9) AUTHORS This manual page and the current implementation of vaccess_acl_posix1e() were written by Robert Watson. BUGS This manual page should include a full description of the POSIX.1e ACL evaluation algorithm, or cross reference another page that does. FreeBSD 13.0 August 22, 2001 FreeBSD 13.0
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The New Testament, in an Improved Version: Upon the Basis of Archbishop Newcome's New Translation ; with a Corrected Text, and Notes Critical and Explanatory
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The New Testament, in an Improved Version: Upon the Basis of Archbishop ...
William Newcome
Keine Leseprobe verfügbar - 2018
Häufige Begriffe und Wortgruppen
according angels answered apostles appearance authority bear behold believe blood body brethren brother brought called cast cause Christian church cometh commanded concerning dead death delivered departed desire disciples doctrine earth enter epistle evil eyes faith Father favour fear flesh followed gave gentiles give given glory gospel hand hath hear heard heart heaven holy holy spirit hope Jerusalem Jesus Christ Jews John judge king kingdom known living Lord Lord Jesus manner Master means mind multitude Newcome pass Paul peace persons Peter pray preach prophets received righteous saith unto say unto seen sent servant sins spake speak spirit spoken suffer temple thee things thou thou hast took true truth voice Wakefield walk Wherefore whole whosoever witness write written
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Seite 213 - The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool : but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
Seite 30 - The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: which indeed is the least of all seeds : but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
Seite 7 - Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Seite 144 - He turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman ? I entered into thine house, thou gavest Me no water for My feet : but she hath washed My feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
Seite 95 - Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles ; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
Seite 26 - Behold my servant, whom I have chosen ; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased : I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
Seite 41 - How think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains and seeketh that which is gone astray ? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep than of the ninety and nine which went not astray...
Seite 55 - That upon you may come all the righteous blood, shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Seite 378 - Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts : and then shall every man have praise of God.
Seite 141 - A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good ; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil : for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.


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Posts Tagged 'Teenage Cancer Trust'
Photo Post: Teenage Cancer Trust conference in London, UK (summer 2010)September 19, 2010
Meeting The Goals Set By SaraAugust 30, 2010
Greetings Blog Readers…so happy you found us. Here is the latest bits of news Ihave to share.
Before my daughter, Sara, died from cancer at age 26 she asked me to distribute our documentary, Chasing Rainbows-Young Adults Living With Cancer, throughout British Columbia, across Canada, the USA and, Mom, if you have time, Europe. That was in the Spring of 2000. Here it is 2010 and I am so pleased to announce that I am getting to the place where I can say…"Sara, I have met those goals." By attending the IPOS/CAPO Conference in Quebec City, Canada and the Teenage Cancer Trust and Young Adult Conference in London, England in June of this year, I have now not only provided this valuable resource in English, but also in French, to willing psychosocial oncologists from Canada, Australia, France, England, Scotland, Romania, Italy and Sweden.
At IPOS/CAPO in Quebec City, a wonderful young adult cancer survivor, Karin DuBois, spoke in french at the Premier French Screening for Chasing Rainbows. Also, Dr. Martine Hoffman, from Luxemburg joined us. They both speak french fluently. I proudly introduced the film in my limited french. I was glad for their fluency during the Q and A part of the presentation.
In Quebec I met Katie Rzvi who runs www.thelittlepeople.ro in Romania. Check it out! Also, at the TCT Conference, I met Natalya Jagger, who runs www.btbuddies.org.uk for brain tumour survivors.
At the TCT Conference, I also met with Mark Wilkinson from www.jimmyteenstv.com who has created an amazing website for teens and young adults touched by cancer. He has agreed to upload the "Chasing Rainbows" DVD in its 43 minute format as well Chapter increments onto the site. We hope to have the upload completed by September 2010. It will mean young adults, their families, friends and the medical professionals who care for them can access the whole film on the internet. Wow! That will definitely fullfill Sara's distribution dream for the film for Europe…and around the world. I will keep you posted.
I met, Myrna Whiteson, the founder of the TCT at the Conference. www.teenagecancertrust.org TCT is putting teenage/young adult Units into hospitals throughout the UK. These Units are amazing! A floor or ward dedicated to teens and young adults only…their own entertainment room with videos, films and a pool table, plus a food kiosk that offers choices other than regular hospital food. The staff is trained on how to communicate and care for these young people and their specific needs. I hope this Unit idea can come to Canada sooner than later.
I also got to meet at the TCT Conference, the author of "Cancer in Young Adults Through Parents' Eyes", Anne Grinyer. I highly recommend her book. It is terrific resource for young adult cancer awareness.
What is next for me? Getting "Chasing Rainbows" translated into Spanish, Italian, Romanian, German, Hindi, Malay, Mandarin, Cantonese, etc. is the goal I am continuing to work on. I will be attending the LiveStrong Young Adult Alliance Conference in Austin, Texas on Nov 3-5th again this Fall. To have the film translated in Spanish by then would be fantastic! I love this conference…run by so many young adult cancer survivors…who also love to go dancing into the wee hours at the fabulous music clubs in Austin.
So, my dear daughter, Sara…I know you are smiling. Other young adults living with cancer are being seen heard more than the were in 1997 when you were first diagnosed. Your dream for making young adults with cancer feel less isolated and alone is coming true! Way to go! I will continue to do what needs to be done! Love, Mom.


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Calling all fashionistas! From the fashion director ofMarie ClaireProject Runway
(and super-star judge of ) comes this season's must-read style guide — "Nina Garcia's Look Book: What to Wear for Every Occasion."
All girls have experienced that fashion crisis moment as they stand in front of their closet, pondering what to wear for an important occasion. What makes the perfect first date outfit? How casual is too casual for that big job interview? Now, instead of calling our best friend in a panic for some last-minute advice, we will all be able to consult the expert!
Recently named Target's 2010 Style Expert, Nina combines her extensive fashion knowledge with common sense to provide girls with everything that they need to know to craft the perfect outfit! Nina shows you when it's important to follow the fashion rules — and when it's acceptable to break them!
More From Seventeen
So, don't stress out over what to wear when you're faced with some uncomfortable moments. (Like meeting your boyfriends' friends, for example!) Nina has you covered on everything from choosing that stand-out New Years' Eve dress that all your friends will envy to looking chic, yet office appropriate at that upcoming job interview!
Available now in stores and online, be sure to pick up Nina's must-have style guide! And don't forget to tell us how Nina's fashion do's and don'ts have helped you through some of your craziest fashion crises!


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Every year, USAID plays an important role in the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York. This year is the 66th session of the Assembly and our USAID Impact blog is dedicated to giving you updates.
This week from September 19-23, USAID Administrator Raj Shah and other Agency leaders will participate in several events. This year's Assembly has a special focus on non-communicable diseases, a major cause of death in both the developing and non-developing world. USAID recognizes that non-communicable diseases represent an urgent and growing global public health concern, and works with host countries and other donors to build sustainable health systems responsive to the full range of health issues.
On Monday September 19, Shah will appear at the second annual SocialGoodSummit, presented byMashable,92Y and the UNFoundation.
"Held at the heart of UN week, the Summit is where big ideas meet new media to create innovative solutions. The Social Good Summit unites a dynamic community of global leaders to discuss a big idea: the power of innovative thinking and technology to solve our greatest challenges. It ignites conversations between a live audience in New York City and thousands around the world participating via Livestream." We will be live streaming his participation on Impact. To find out the agenda of the Social Good Summit, click here.
Administrator Shah's appearance at the Social Good Summit will highlight USAID's response to the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa and will present new ways to get informed, connected, and engaged with the crisis using new media tools. You can watch his appearance live at 3:45 PM right here on the Impact blog.
The Agency will also be hosting two marquee events. On Tuesday September 20, we will highlight the innovative ways sport is being used to accomplish a wide range of development goals in an event to feature baseball legend Pedro Martinez and basketball legend Dikembe Mutombo. The following day, in conjunction with UK development agency DFID, USAID will highlight several game-changing programs, policies, and partnerships of countries that have made progress towards achieving the poverty-reduction MillenniumDevelopmentGoals, which were hashed out by world leaders before the UN General Assembly in 2000.
Dispatches, blogs, stories and video related to USAID's UNGA participation and programs will be found all week on the ImpactBlog.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube as we will also be providing real-time updates of events! We look forward to creating a conversation with you all on social media! If you are tweeting about the UN General Assembly, please use the hashtag #UNGA and if you are tweeting about the Social Good Summit, please use #SocialGood.


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A self-described "Southerner by birth and temperament and appetite," James Villas has given the people of his native North Carolina many reasons to be proud over the years. His latest cookbook, Pig: King of the Southern Table, is perhaps the most significant reason yet. Tarheels and tarheels at heart will be wowed by Pig's wide-ranging collection of recipes, which describe how to cook every part of the pig one could ever imagine wanting to eat (and then some).
Long before penning his culinary ode to North Carolina's favorite animal, Villas received his PhD in Romance Languages and Comparative Literature and served a stint as a university professor. Soon he left academia to follow his heart/stomach (they are one and the same after all) into the world of food writing. Villas spent the next 27 years of his life as Food and Wine Editor of Town & Country magazine. In addition, he has written for Esquire, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Life, and The New York Times, and published a baker's dozen of cookbooks, two novels, and a memoir. Mr. Pig himself was kind enough to chat with us about biscuits, barbecue and his heart-wrenching (for us readers) decision to never write another cookbook focused on swine. Enjoy…
Follow this link to read the interview with James Villas.
Filed under: BBQ & A, Cooking | Tagged: Interview, Words of wisdom |


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In an interview on March 22, two weeks before Mitt Romney would win the Wisconsin primary and effectively end the race for the Republican nomination, Milwaukee talk radio host Charlie Sykes asked about his embrace of Paul Ryan's budget.
"One of the things that the White House is also focusing on is dropping everything that they have on the Paul Ryan budget plan – the Democrats, the media, the White House – all piling up on the Ryan budget plan," Sykes said to Romney. "You have embraced that plan. You've endorsed that plan. The Democrats think that the Republicans have handed them a weapon because they're now going to say that you conservative Republicans, you want to balance the budget on the backs of the frail, the elderly and the poor. How will you respond to that?"
Romney answered, first, by arguing that Democrats had not earned the moral authority to make such arguments. "Well, we'd love to see how they plan on reducing the deficit and balancing the budget," he began. "So far, we've had – what? – three straight years without the Senate putting in place a budget? We have a president in the same party as the leaders in the Senate. Can't they put together their plan? At least the Republicans first of all have put together a plan. So it strikes me that before the Democrats can attack Republicans for a plan they have to put one of their own out."
Romney then turned to substance. "Secondly," he said, "the Ryan plan does not balance the budget on the backs of the poor and the elderly. It instead preserves Medicare and preserves Social Security. It's the president's lack of plan and lack of proposals for Social Security and Medicare that threaten their long-term solvency. So we're happy to debate on issues. The president will do everything in his power to try to hide from his record but we're going to talk about issues and his record and I think that's why he's in tough shape right now."
It was a clear and unequivocal defense of Ryan's entitlement reforms. No hedging, no qualification. Romney didn't challenge the assertion that he'd "embraced" and "endorsed" Ryan's budget. Instead, he countered the attacks by pointing out that the Democrats have abdicated leadership on entitlements even as they drive us further and faster toward a debt crisis. (Ryan's budget did not actually include Social Security reforms, but his previous reform blueprints have.)
We have thought about this interview more than once over the past few days, as Republicans – and others – have debated the wisdom of Romney choosing Paul Ryan as his running mate. While the prospect of a Romney-Ryan ticket has generated considerable enthusiasm among conservatives, it has also occasioned predictable hand wringing. The two main objections seem to be: 1) choosing Ryan would place the Ryan budget at the center of the presidential election for the final two months of the race; and, 2) adding Ryan would wreck Romney's careful efforts to maintain a comfortable distance from Ryan's entitlement reforms. The first point is true but not convincing. The second is false.
We'll start with number two. Last weekend, Politico reported: "A senior Romney adviser told the traveling press corps late last week that Romney still does not agree with the Medicare cuts in the Ryan budget, a fact that would be explored at length if the Wisconsin congressman were to be on the ticket. He would end up discussing that budget plan rather frequently, a fight Democrats would be eager for." And, on Wednesday, a second article in Politico quoted Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio saying that while there were positives and negatives to choosing Ryan, "Romney has been very careful not to embrace the Medicare cuts in the Ryan budget."
These claims are just wrong. Romney has praised Ryan's budget without qualification. Furthermore, Romney's Medicare reform proposal is almost identical to the Ryan-Wyden plan, the latest version of Medicare reform from Ryan. Don't take our word for it. Here is one rather authoritative analysis of Romney's proposal, written in response to the question: "How is this different from the Ryan plan?" The answer: "Shortly after Mitt presented the proposal described here, Congressman Paul Ryan and Senator Ron Wyden introduced a bipartisan proposal that almost precisely mirror's Mitt's ideas." That comes from the Romney for President website. Romney's "senior adviser" might give it a look.
What of the first objection – that a Romney-Ryan ticket would place the Ryan budget at the center of the 2012 elections at precisely the time voters will be paying closest attention? Our answer: It' s too late to stop that from happening. And: So what?
The Ryan budget will be at the center of the 2012 election no matter whom Romney picks. Democratic strategist Joe Trippi told THE WEEKLY STANDARD that his party plans to spend much of October talking about the Ryan budget. Paul Begala, who is advising Priorities USA, the pro-Obama super PAC, told the Huffington Post the same thing. This should surprise no one. Democrats have for months been calling Romney's plan the "Romney-Ryan" budget in their talking points. And Democratic candidates across the country have been demagoguing the Ryan budget for two years.
The demagoguery is predictable and lamentable. But it is in fact the case that the Ryan budget is, in a sense, the official Republican governing roadmap. After all, virtually all of the Republicans running for the party's nomination endorsed it in some manner, and 97 percent of congressional Republicans have voted for one version of the Ryan budget or another. Republicans own the Ryan budget. And so does Mitt Romney.
The question, it seems to us, is not whether Republicans and their presidential nominee own the Ryan budget, but how they choose to talk about it. Republicans shouldn't worry about having entitlement reform as part of the campaign debate; they should want it there. The 2012 campaign should be about leadership, and about the failure of Barack Obama to provide it on the big issues, including – especially – on entitlement reform, debt, and deficits. It's no longer the case that talking about entitlements is fatal. Marco Rubio ran on entitlement reform and won decisively … in senior-rich Florida. The more Rubio talked about entitlement reform, in fact, the better he did, according the campaign's internal tracking polls. Congressional Republicans voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Ryan budget twice and yet they are effectively tied with congressional Democrats on the generic ballot question.
A late-July Democracy Corps poll of likely voters in Republican-held battleground districts tested support for the Ryan plan. Voters were read a description of the plan – "what Republicans in Congress are saying about their budget" – and then asked whether they favored or opposed this budget plan.
"Our plan saves the country from a future of spending and debt by cutting an additional $5.3 trillion over the next ten years, bringing federal spending down the historic level of 20 percent as a share of the economy, and bringing deficits down by 2015. Our plan fixes the broken tax code by making it simple, fair and competitive, and eliminates special interest loopholes while lowering everyone's rates to promote growth. Our plan repeals the Obama administration's health care reform law and the Wall Street reform law, which cause uncertainty for job-creating businesses. Our plans strengthens Medicaid over the next decade by providing states greater flexibility to determine what is best for the people who live in their communities. Our plan will save Medicare for future generation by making smart reforms, giving future seniors the choice to purchase private plans or traditional Medicare."
The results? Voters supported the plan 52-37.
This does not mean, of course, that voters will support the plan. Indeed, the authors of the Democracy Corps memo believe that Democratic attacks on the Ryan budget will bear fruit for the members of their party. Our point is not that campaigning on the Ryan plan is an easy winner, but rather that if Republicans can convince voters that the plan will do what they say it will do, voters are more than open to supporting it.
So Romney, and Republicans, will be running on the Romney-Ryan plan no matter what. Having Paul Ryan on the ticket may well make it easier to defend the plan convincingly. Ryan's pretty good at that. And it's hard to see how Ryan on the ticket could hurt. What would make things worse is if Romney tries to run away from the Ryan plan, whoever's on the ticket. Then Romney will have been for the Ryan plan before he turned against it.
It will be safer to tell the truth, and defend the Ryan plan. Mitt Romney said it well in his interview with Charlie Sykes:
"Our country is now in a very precarious position. We're headed towards a Greece-like economic calamity. The debt that we're piling on the next generation is unacceptable. Medicare and Social Security could ultimately be threatened by our fiscal irresponsibility and we can't go on like this. And my conclusion is: It's time to tell people the truth. And if they want to vote for something less than the truth, that's their right. But I've got a campaign of telling people the truth and I believe the American people are ready for the truth and understand that all of the promises and the attacks and so forth that are part of the political process have to be pushed aside for the truth. And so my campaign's about telling people we've got to cut back on our spending and finally live within our means or we could face economic calamity where what we've gone through over the last three years would look like a cakewalk."
There are other VP picks under consideration who bring a lot to the ticket – especially, perhaps, Marco Rubio and Chris Christie. We'd be very pleased to see either of them on the ticket. But if your campaign is "about telling people we've got to cut back on our spending and finally live within our means or we could face economic calamity," then there's an awfully strong case for picking Paul Ryan as your running mate.


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Filed under: 9/11, 9/11 mastermind, 9/11 patsies, 9/11 Truth, alqaeda, black site, Child Abuse, CIA, Detainees, Extraordinary Rendition, federal crime, George Bush, gitmo, Guantanamo, human rights, human rights watch, interrogation, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, KSM, Military, Military Industrial Complex, Official 9/11 Story, Pakistan, Pentagon, prison camp, red cross, rendition, Torture, torture prison, war crime, War Crimes, War On Terror, White House, World Trade Center | Tags: Ron Suskind
KSM's children tortured with insects
Raw Story
April 17, 2009
Bush Administration memos released by the White House on Thursday provide new insight into claims that American agents used insects to torture the young children of alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
In the memos, released Thursday, the Bush Administration White House Office of Legal Counsel offered its endorsement of CIA torture methods that involved placing an insect in a cramped, confined box with detainees. Jay S. Bybee, then-director of the OLC, wrote that insects could be used to capitalize on detainees' fears.
The memo was dated Aug. 1, 2002. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's children were captured and held in Pakistan the following month, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.
While an additional memo released Thursday claims that the torture with insects technique was never utilized by the CIA, the allegations regarding the children would have transpired when the method was authorized by the Bush Administration.
At a military tribunal in 2007, the father of a Guantanamo detainee alleged that Pakistani guards had confessed that American interrogators used ants to coerce the children of alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed into revealing their father's whereabouts.
The statement was made by Ali Khan, the father of detainee Majid Khan, who gave a detailed account of his son's interrogation at the hands of American guards in Pakistan. In his statement, Khan asserted that one of his sons was held at the same place as the young children of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
"The Pakistani guards told my son that the boys were kept in a separate area upstairs and were denied food and water by other guards," the statement read. "They were also mentally tortured by having ants or other creatures put on their legs to scare them and get them to say where their father was hiding." (A pdf transcript is available here)
Khan's statement is second-hand. But the picture he paints of his son's interrogation at the hands of American interrogators is strikingly similar to the accounts given by numerous other detainees to the International Red Cross. The timing of the capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's son — then aged seven and nine — also meshes with a report by Human Rights Watch, which says that the children were captured in September 2002 and held for four months at the hands of American guards.
"According to eyewitnesses, the two were held in an adult detention center for at least four months while U.S. agents questioned the children about their father's whereabouts," the report said.
The use of insects isn't mentioned in a recently leaked International Red Cross report, in which Red Cross officials questioned detainees about their treatment at the hands of US forces and ultimately judged them to have been tortured. A second memo released Thursday, dated May 10, 2005, says the CIA told the White House insects were never actually used in interrogations.
"We understand that — for reasons unrelated to any concerns that it might violate the [criminal] statute — the CIA never used the technique and has removed it from the list of authorized interrogation techniques," Steven Bradbury, a principal deputy assistant attorney general, wrote in a footnote.
It's worth noting, however, that the Red Cross was denied access to individuals held at CIA black sites. Khan's son, Majid, was among those President Bush moved from the CIA's secret prison network to Guantanamo Bay.
The techniques Khan says were employed against his son also match those approved in the Bybee memo.
"What I can tell you is that Majid was kidnapped from my son Mohammed's [not related Khalid Sheikh Mohammed] house in Karachi, along with Mohammed, his wife, and my infant granddaughter," Khan said in his military tribunal statement. "They were captured by Pakistani police and soldiers and taken to a detention center fifteen minutes from Mohammed's house. The center had walls that seemed to be eighty feet high. My sons were hooded, handcuffed, and interrogated. After eight days of interrogation by US and Pakistani agents, including FBI agents, Mohammed was allowed to see Majid.
"Majhid looked terrible and very, very tired," Khan continued. "According to Mohammed, Majid said that the Americans tortured him for eight hours at a time, tying him tightly in stressful positions in a small chair until his hands, feet and mind went numb. They re-tied him in the chair every hour, tightening the bonds on his hands and feet each time so that it was more painful. He was often hooded and had difficulty breathing. They also beat him repeatedly, slapping him in the face, and deprived him of sleep. When he was not being interrogated, the Americans put Majid in a small cell that was totally dark and too small for him to lie down in or sit in with his legs stretched out. He had to crouch. The room was also infested with mosquitoes. The torture only stopped when Majid agreed to sign a statement that he was not even allowed to read."
Later in his statement, Khan alleges that the Pakistani guards revealed other abuses by American agents.
"The Americans also once stripped and beat two Arab boys, ages fourteen and sixteen, who were turned over by the Pakistani guards at the detention center," he said. "These guards told my son that they were very upset at this and said the boys were thrown like garbage onto a plane to Guantanamo. Women prisoners were also held there, apart from their husbands, and some were pregnant and forced to give birth in their cells. According to Mohammed, one woman also died in her cell because the guards could not get her to a hospital quickly enough. This was most upsetting to the Pakistani guards."
One blogger notes, "The first indications the children may have been tortured were reported in Ron Suskind's 2006 book The One Percent Doctrine."
"When KSM was being held at a secret CIA facility in Thailand, apparently the revamped Vietnam War-era base at Udorn, according to Suskind, a message was passed to interrogators: 'do whatever's necessary,'" Kevin Fenton writes at History Commons. "The interrogators then told KSM 'his children would be hurt if he didn't cooperate. However, his response was, 'so, fine, they'll join Allah in a better place.'"
Fenton has two questions: "Did the Khans invent the allegations or garble them in some way and then 'get lucky' two years later, when it was revealed the CIA was, at least, contemplating the techniques they alleged it used at the time in question?" and "Given that nobody heard of the CIA using insects for another two years, why would they invent these specific allegations, which sounded bizarre when they were made?"
New Gitmo Video: Child Detainee Cries During Interrogation
Tortured Patsies To Take Fall For 9/11


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Through a combination of common interest and serendipity, three people came together to create the CSS1 Test Suite:
Håkon Lie of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is a co-author of the original CSS1 specification. During the creation of this test suite, he contributed invaluable insight into the specification and checked each page for correctness and completeness. In addition, Håkon contributed some general test pages and some good ideas on flagging conformance.
Tim Boland of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) went to the effort of identifying more than five hundred testable statements in the CSS1 specification. Many of these statements were transferred directly into the final test suite, and much of Tim's work helped to verify that the test pages were correct in their assertions.
Eric Meyer of Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) had created his own test suite in order to create a set of compatibility charts for the Internet community's reference. The current test suite is very similar to Eric's original test pages; in effect, he took the existing set of test pages and modified them for public release, grafting Tim's and Håkon's work to his own.
The CSS1 Test Suite was first opened for public comment in late April 1998, being housed on CWRU's Web server at that time. In early May 1998, the Suite was moved over to the W3C Web server and announced to the general public in a press release by the W3C.
A history of changes made to the CSS1 Test Suite itself since its public release can be found in the Version History.


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Splashed across a little kid's cheeks, a smattering of freckles is charming. Later in life, though, extra facial pigmentation — in the form of brown patches or changes in tone and texture — sends a different, less adorable message: You're aging. Do people really notice each other's complexions that much? Apparently, yes. A 2006 Procter& Gamble Beauty study found that skin tone alone can impact a woman's perceived age — by as much as 20 years. So perhaps it's time to consider the slew of effective age spot treatments now available (some of them medical, some over-the-counter) that can deliver real, noticeable results.
Why do we get these spots, anyway?
Surprise: Age spots aren't caused by getting older. Instead, you can blame them (and nearly every other form of unwanted pigmentation) on what's become the 21st century's public enemy number one — the sun. "Sunshine is an attack on the skin, and one way the skin defends itself is to make pigment," explains Ranella Hirsch, M.D., a cosmetic dermatologist in Cambridge, MA, and president-elect of the American Society of Cosmetic Dermatology & Aesthetic Surgery. If a patient is skeptical about her spots being solar related, Dr. Hirsch asks her to move her bra over a quarter of an inch to expose the skin that the sun never hits. "And then she sees what I mean," she says. "If these changes really came from aging, you'd have them all over."
There's one way in which age spots are truly associated with passing years: The older most people get, the greater the amount of sun damage they've accumulated, so the spots are more numerous and more visible. "That's why sunscreen and sun avoidance are key to any therapy you try," says Debra Wattenberg, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.
Why don't all spots look the same?
Even though most spots are caused — or exacerbated — by the sun, they take different forms. See a dermatologist if a new kind of skin change shows up (to rule out anything dangerous such as melanoma), but here's a guide to help you determine what's what.
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Freckles: These are small tannish spots that are usually less than half a centimeter. They may come and go, fading in the winter and darkening in the summertime.
Lentigines: Known as age or liver spots, these small-to-medium brown areas multiply as you get older, popping up most often on the face, hands, and chest — all places with maximum exposure to sun.
Uneven skin tone: Rather than a few specific spots, this involves larger areas of pigmentation that make your skin look darker in some areas, lighter in others.
Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation: These are dark spots that develop after pimples, bug bites, or other flare-ups, and then stubbornly remain long after the initial inflammation has healed.
Melasma: More patchy than spotty, these brown outbreaks are hormone related, so they are likeliest to appear (on the cheeks, forehead, and around the lips) when a woman is pregnant or taking hormone replacement or birth control pills.
How can I treat spots at home?
Try hydroquinone. This bleaching agent, available in department and drugstores or by prescription, works by interfering with an enzyme that helps your skin produce melanin, the brown pigment that shows up as spots. (Dr. Hirsch recommends using hydroquinone in conjunction with a prescription-strength retinoid, such as Renova or Tazorac, which helps lighten by exfoliating the skin.) "Hydroquinone is the gold standard for pigmentary disorders," says Rebat Halder, M.D., professor and chairman of the department of dermatology at Howard University. Look for it over the counter in concentrations up to 2 percent; prescription versions will usually have 4 percent.
Tip: Be careful to apply it only on the specific areas you want to lighten. "Hydroquinone is bleach," says Dr. Hirsch. "It can't distinguish the skin you want to bleach from the skin you don't." For precise application, she recommends using a Q-tip — or even an inexpensive eyeliner brush — to dot it directly on the spots.
To try: AMBI Skincare Fade Cream ($5, drugstores) or Murad Age Spot and Pigment Lightening Gel ($58, sephora.com).
Consider the alternatives. If you are sensitive to hydroquinone or prefer not to use it (see "Is Hydroquinone Safe?" below), you can improve the appearance of spots (probably less dramatically) with other over-the-counter treatments, including kojic acid, licorice extract, mulberry, vitamin C, and soy. "These are excellent alternative or additional therapies for pigmentation," says Dr. Wattenberg. "They do not all directly inhibit the enzyme that produces melanin, but they often produce results and are worth a try."
To try: SkinCeuticals Phyto + ($68, skinceuticals.com), which is enriched with kojic acid; Avon Anew Alternative Photo-Radiance Treatment SPF 15 ($25, avon.com) with licorice extract and glycolic acid; or Kiehl's Bright Brightening Botanical Moisture Fluid ($40, kiehls.com), which contains licorice, vitamin C, and mulberry.
Retinols — the less potent, OTC form of retinoids — are also worthwhile options, especially if your skin can't tolerate the stronger versions. But keep in mind that results will be more about radiance and evenness (think softer, less noticeable spots), and less about the pigmentation being completely bleached away, says Dr. Hirsch.
To try: Neutrogena Visibly Even Night Concentrate ($12, drugstores).
To skip: So-called brightening or lightening cleansers. They won't hurt you — but they also won't do anything more than wash your face. "They're not on the skin long enough to make a difference," says Dr. Hirsch.
Protect your results. "Sunscreen is essential," says Paul M. Friedman, M.D., clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Texas at Houston. "Sun exposure can trigger production of the pigment you are trying to eliminate — and almost any treated dark spot can recur if exposed to UV light." And, yes, you still need the stuff if you have darker skin. A recent Johnson & Johnson study of hyperpigmentation in African-Americans found that participants who simply added an SPF 30 sunscreen to their daily routine (and used no other additional treatments) saw significant improvement in their pigmentation, skin tone, and radiance after eight weeks.
To try: La Roche-Posay Anthelios SX Daily Moisturizing Cream SPF 15 ($29, CVS), Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer SPF 30 ($14, drugstores), or Roc Retinol Correxion Hand Repair with SPF 15 ($15, drugstores).
What can my derm do to help?
These days? A lot. "Dermatologists and plastic surgeons have a whole arsenal of light-based treatments available," says Dr. Friedman, who recommends pigmented-lesion lasers such as ruby, Nd:YAG, or Alexandrite for specific spots, and the Fraxel laser for allover improvement of substantial irregular pigmentation. For more subtle, diffuse discoloration, Dr. Wattenberg prefers a series of intense pulsed light photofacials. Some spots can be zapped in one session; more stubborn or severe discoloration can require multiple treatments. Another option: glycolic, alpha, or beta hydroxy acid peels, which slough off the surface layers of skin, softening the appearance of uneven tone. Some doctors will combine peels with laser or light therapy, and they will almost always prescribe at-home treatment as well. "In-office procedures are quicker, but they work best when accompanied by home therapy," says Dr. Wattenberg. Costs for most in-office treatments vary depending on several factors (the size of the area being treated, the severity of your condition, and the going rates where you live); the average is about $500 per session for pigmented-lesion lasers; $1,000 for Fraxel; $150 and up for peels. (Bonus: Many of the treatments will also help with wrinkles.)
How can I fix my skin's texture?
Skin damage is cumulative — so by the time you've lived through everything from breakouts to years of sun exposure, while at the same time your cells are producing less moisture and collagen, even good complexions eventually become somewhat bumpy and uneven. Can you return to a baby-butt level of smoothness? Sorry, no — but you can improve your skin's look and feel.
The best way: Boost collagen with the right products. "We lose a lot of collagen as we age, so we definitely need to compensate," says Dr. Hirsch, who recommends prescription-strength retinoids such as Renova (No. 9) and Retin-A. They're so good at stimulating collagen, "they should be in the water," she jokes. If you wish for an even more dramatic change, talk to your doctor about the in-office peels and laser treatments that are used to treat age spots — most also have a positive effect on texture.
The at-home way: To get quicker (though less dramatic) results, use a home-peel kit, says Dr. Hirsch. Know that highly abrasive isn't better; in fact, those products will irritate sun-damaged skin, she says. Instead, stick to chemical options and avoid harsh, grainy scrubs.
To try: Good Skin All Bright 2 Step Facial Peel Pads ($30, Kohls).
Is Hydroquinone Safe?
This effective spot-bleaching ingredient is banned in some European and Asian countries, largely because of studies in which cancer developed in rats that consumed extremely large amounts of it over extended periods of time. And last year, the FDA announced that it was reexamining the safety of hydroquinone. However, most U.S. experts — including the American Academy of Dermatology — stand firmly behind the drug. "Hydroquinone has been used over the last 40 years, and there has not been a single documented case of either skin cancer or internal cancer associated with it," says Dr. Friedman. Like all drugs, it needs to be used properly, and he recommends that his patients apply it no more than twice a day for no longer than six months. Adds Dr. Hirsch: "When used as intended, and for a finite time, this drug is safe and is the most effective treatment available for pigmentation. Period."
Found! At-Home Age Spot Options That Work
Many products promise to fade spots, but do they make a difference? To find out, the Good Housekeeping Research Institute had volunteers try various treatments for a four-week period. At two- and four-week intervals, they were examined by New York City dermatologist David J. Goldberg, M.D., using a Visia (a complexion-analyzing machine). Testers also rated the products on performance, ease of use, and satisfaction. So which one hit the spot? The winner with both the testers and the doctor was Murad Age Spot and Pigment Lightening Gel ($58, Sephora). Most volunteers who used this mix of glycolic acid and 2 percent hydroquinone showed a visible improvement in skin discoloration after just two weeks. If you'd prefer not to use hydroquinone, try our runner-up, Good Skin All Bright Spot Treatment ($15, Kohls). Though this blend of glucosamine, mulberry root, and yeast extract didn't lighten as noticeably as the Murad product, testers did experience results and liked that it was "nonirritating."


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To some extent I am repeating myself, but I just had to get this down. The web is evolving and rules change. Both for the the people using the web and for the people publishing. First, consider these four words, describing a couple of things that are important (click the words to get the full story behind them):
Make it available and remember the long tail.
Communication channel. Not only a distribution channel.
Metadata, tags, RSS, widgets and descriptions.
Give the users control.
Then focus on keeping things simple and spend huge amounts of money on getting the usability right.
Then build your site using as much off-the-shelf software as possible. And remember that there are a lot of free, open source solutions that are very solid systems. A standard LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) or something similar as the basis. Consider publishing systems like WordPress and Drupal. Frameworks like Ruby on rails and Django. For media publishing consider professional solutions like Brightcove, vpod.tv, kyte.tv, Blip.tv etc. And don't be afraid to integrate with well proven sites like Flickr for images, del.icio.us for tagging, YouTube for video etc.
When you are making that system that lets your audience get some control you might have to build an API for them. Why not start with the API and build the initial system using that yourself?
Yes, I know. This isn't the definitive guide to build a killer web site, please feel free to add your best advice in the comments.