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Corey Henderson, co-founder of Notches, identifies the long term goal of Notches as being "to give users the confidence that the reviews they find on a site powered by Notches present the whole universe of opinions on anything." Recently, I met up with Corey Henderson and Tim Marman, co-founders of Notches, to learn more about their ideas and to discuss the company's unique vision, as well as where they see themselves within the growing universe of next generation, Internet products.
More about Notches
Notches is a platform for reviews — with the grand goal of being to eventually encompass all reviews of everything. Notches is striving to aggregate all the reviews of everything out there, to make it easy for users to obtain and compare reviews for an item, as well as to be secure that they are looking at the entire, relevant, normalized universe of opinions for that particular product.
Unlike PowerReviews and BazaarVoice, Notches …
- Brings all of the reviews for a given product together, into a centralized platform, to be analyzed, normalized, and summarized,
- Further prunes the cross-site review set to prevent gaming of the results,
- Eliminates (or de-emphasizes) reviews that have become old,
… while providing an API that allows any person, or company, to obtain and/or contribute to an open and accessible review platform.
Corey further explains,
"Ultimately this is about making sure online users get quality reviews on anything they are researching, from products, services, restaurants, movies, music, anything. By providing a single system for everyone to use, we can be confident that you'll be getting as close to a complete picture of what thing is best…"
Challenging Notches
There are many challenges Notches is and will be facing as their platform evolves and matures, such as…
- Assessing and maintaining reviewer reputation,
- Eliminating "nonsense" reviews,
- Squashing spammers,
- And constantly evolving and improving the various platform algorithms (e.g. normalization).
One critical challenge that should not go unmentioned, central to all successful businesses, is the revenue model. Currently, Notches plans to drive revenue through "affiliate programs where companies like Expedia or Amazon pay (Notches) for referrals" along with "advertising, that will be included on some of (Notches') mini-sites."
More Notches
To help demonstrate many of the capabilities of the Notches platform, Corey and Tim have released two, fun mini-apps. Both of these demo products are built with the same Notches API that is available to today's developers. So, if you are a developer, dive in, and please share what you create with Notches.
On Facebook, you will find Notches' product that allows users to read and write reviews, as well as request reviews from other Facebook friends.
For Twitter, Notches has created another product that enables the obtaining and posting of reviews — especially handy when you are on the road and want some quick feedback for a particular restaurant.
The Twitter app, while not currently the best for consumer reviews via Twitter, again provides a simple introduction to both the Notches consumer features and developer API capabilities.
Expanding Universe
Notches is moving quickly in their "primary mission to work with a wide variety of partners, building tools, apps and communities around reviews" to further "showcase different aspects of (their) platform."
Soon, from Notches, you can expect to see…
- a widget to connect Notches to reviews on blogs,
- new showcase applications within the vacation and travel market spaces,
- various collaborations with microrevie.ws, hobby sites, and college portals,
… and much more.
Continuing Modular Innovation
The Modular Innovation trend seen within many of the cutting edge, next generation products, services, and platforms is often described via the instructive categories of…
- Sharable,
- Flexible,
- Interoperable,
- Portable, and
- Utilizable (or Convenient).
As a matter of fact, in talking more about the origins of Notches, Corey is eager to point out…
"The original thinking, that has since become Notches, came way back when web services were first introduced as a concept. We saw that best of breed services, loosely coupled, would become the model of development in the future."
… and "Notches is simply aspiring to be the best of breed review service" in the realm of Modular Innovation and the next major evolution of the Internet.
So, where in the spectrum of Modular Innovation does Notches currently reside?
Central to Notches is Interoperability, both with other technologies as well as empowering other individuals to connect to Notches via their API. Notches leverages best of breed services and standards, from the hReview microformat to Rapleaf's API.
Implicit to the Notches platform are the broader characteristics of Sharability and Portability. Due to the centralizing nature of the aggregation qualities of Notches, everyone has access to all of the normalized versions of the submitted reviews, from every Internet-capable device, courtesy of the Notches API.
The Flexibility of Notches is primarily at the Interoperability level of the product, accessible via the API. However, more Flexibility in terms of "making sure that users can control the reviews they write" (Portability and Sharability) are still being worked on and understood to be "fundamental" components.
For the reasons already outlined above, the showcase products and collaborations that Notches is producing, each in their own right, are a Modular Innovation simultaneously making Notches' platform more Utilizable as well as Convenient to experience from various alternate services and products (including mobile devices).
Notches makes a very good showing within all of the core categories that make up Modular Innovation, especially Interoperability; which bodes well as Notches strives to build a successful, self-sustaining product with the supporting "community delivering incredible user-centered tools and reviews."
Watching Notches
The origin of the company's name comes from the basic premise that one item is always a notch above or below another — there is no tieing when it comes to Notches.
It is in this competitive spirit that Notches is attacking its market, its niche, potentially even paving the way for more business entrants within the microformat space, and creating a world within which "users should not have to look at multiple review sites anymore."
Just as exciting as it is to observe a new company entering the growing wave of Modular Innovation, it will also be interesting to watch Notches as they grow and advance.
Go and try out Notches today (here and here) & enjoy!
Jeremy Horn
The Product Guy


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Tea Party darling Scott DesJarlais, a family-practice physician and Republican congressman from Jasper, Tenn., is in a bit of a pickle just now. It seems all that jawing he had done regarding abortion (he's strongly anti) didn't quite square with some admitted "mistakes" he made a few years earlier when he encouraged his wife, and maybe a girlfriend, too, to go ahead and end their pregnancies, according to sworn testimony from DesJarlais in his divorce case.
And then there is the little issue of the many women, none of them his wife at the time, he had been sleeping with along the path to his marriage's conclusion, according to the testimony. Not a good pro-marriage strategy. But that's his and his wife's business, not really for us nosy people who live for this sort of scandal.
And what about the donors to his campaign? According to the Washington Times and OpenSecrets.org, he's got lots of un-health-conscious PAC buddies, including the American Beverage Industry, National Beer Wholesalers Association, and American Crystal Sugar Company, as well as PAC doctor pals who ponied up the max: the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American College of Radiology, American College of Cardiology, American Society of Anesthesiologists, and the American Association of Neurologic Surgeons. Pretty impressive lineup.
Sex with willing women; abortions when they are convenient; friends in high places—that's all part of someone's American dream. Maybe appalling, but hey, live and let live. He's really just another politician who is a hypocrite—nothing to see there. Plus, please note that Dr. DesJarlais isn't letting a humiliating scandal get him down: as he says with an odd mashup of Dr. Phil and Dr. Seuss, "I'm ashamed of things that have happened, I'm moving on, and I'll be fine."
Given all of this, it is worth noting that he seems like a decent doctor. According to Tennessee state records, Dr. DesJarlais is licensed to practice medicine. He graduated medical school in 1991 and completed a single-year internship in obstetrics and gynecology, finishing in 1992. It seems he has not had additional medical training, and is not eligible for any specialty board certification. (Licensure is granted by states, whereas certification is granted by specialty boards to denote those who have satisfied additional requirements). For example, the required duration of training to become eligible to take certifying boards in obstetrics and gynecology is four years—three years longer than Dr. DesJarlais studied this discipline.
As a general practitioner, Dr. DesJarlais also apparently chose not to pursue formal specialization in the field of family medicine, which requires a three-year period of training. "Family practitioners" and "specialists in family medicine" are often confused, since their titles sound alike and they see a similar range of patients.
Some might consider his one-year-and-out approach a shortcut, but surely longer training doesn't guarantee a better doctor—Dr. DesJarlais seems well-liked by those patients who have rated him, 77 percent of whom would recommend him to family and friends. And to his credit, Dr. DesJarlais chose to practice in an underserved rural area—Jasper had a population of 3,279 in 2010—and responded to a dire need in American medicine.
(Note office bonus: Yiddish is spoken in his office.)
There is a line however, that Dr. DesJarlais has crossed that separates him from the standard-issue pond scum that runs for Congress and parties hard with the young ladies and behaves unfortunately, something all the back-pedaling and backslapping simply can't paper over: he has had sex with patients, according to his sworn testimony in his divorce case. At least two patients—one of whom did (or did not) become pregnant from his seed.
Doctors over the last 2,500 years have been a varied lot who occupy just about every square inch of the human grid. In all that time, probably the only thing we have agreed upon is this: sleeping with patients is verboten. Hippocrates himself wrote: "In every house where I come I will enter only for the good of my patients, keeping myself far from all intentional ill-doing and all seduction and especially from the pleasures of love with women or men, be they free or slaves."
There are a few medical articles that address the issue of doctors who have sex with their patients. The literature is not vast, but it is consistent.
Family-practice doctors ( Dr. DesJarlais's area of practice), along with psychiatrists and obstetricians, show up at the top of every list of physician-predators. According to these reports, the involved doctor usually is an older male. The number of doctors who have sex with their patients varies in the various studies but seems less than 1 percent—though one anonymous survey found that 7 percent, or one in every 15 doctors (including specialists of every stripe), admit to having had sex with their patients. This high rate has brought down a very strong interdiction from the American Medical Association, which has written, "Sexual contact that occurs concurrent with the patient-physician relationship constitutes sexual misconduct."
Sexual misconduct can lead to loss of professional license. Right now, there is no known formal investigation of the DesJarlais matter by the Tennessee Department of Health, although some left-wing organizations are calling for one.
It seems perhaps a trifle anachronistic in this permissive age that sex between mutually consenting adults is the one crime a doctor must not commit. Are physicians really this high-minded and moral? (Hint: maybe not). The explanation usually given is that the doctor is far too powerful a member of the patient-doctor duo —the one with the answers, the one with the pills, the one with the way to health. The patient is seen as vulnerable, helpless, a victim. Similar to the public attitude when Bill met Monica, people don't like an asymmetrical battle—the odds are too overwhelmingly on one side. There is no sport at all, no game, nothing but the unsettling sight of animal instinct.
This lopsidedness surely accounts for some of the problem, but there's more to it, something outside the morals and ethics and invocations of ancient Hippocrates. Doctors understand this: When we diddle, our power is not consolidated, but completely lost. Ours is a profession built on the premise of the stiff-upper-lipped discipline of the British officer who bears it all with quiet strength. We are taught to meet every challenge with Arctic reserve. It's the core of our professionalism (and drives many patients crazy).
Be it carnal infatuation or rabid political involvement or enthusiasms for any but the fixed set of Jane Austen-ian virtues—piano, reading, recitation—we are asked to stand down, shut up, and allow others to occupy center stage. Drama is not what we do. Our societal role is sobriety without the banker's humorlessness, erudition without the lawyer's prissy pride and haughtiness, rectitude without the minister's chill of piety. And so, when one of us leaks and lets erotic distraction subdue him, we all sink. Therefore Scott, I ask you—please for the sake of all 700,000 other doctors in the U.S., can't you just keep your pecker in your pants?

subset: commoncrawl


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Tobago maps: full island and Scarborough
Whether you're a local Trinbagonian exploring, or a visitor here on a leisurely vacation or an adventure holiday, you'll probably want to get your bearings and be able to get around.
The Discover Trinidad & Tobago maps can help you find your way. Click on thumbnails to see full-size, high-resolution map images.


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Vasectomy Not Associated With Prostate Cancer
Urology – February 28, 2009 – Vol. 25 – No. 04
There is no association between prostate cancer and age at vasectomy or years since vasectomy.
Article Reviewed: Vasectomy and the Risk of Prostate Cancer. Holt SK, Salinas CA, Stanford JL: J Urol; 2008;180 (December): 2565-2568.


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If mockups on the floor of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week are to be trusted, then the second iteration of Apple Inc.'s iPad tablet will have 128GB of capacity on its solid-state drive (SSD).
With 128GB of space, the iPad 2 could become a more viable contender against traditional laptops, including the US$999 MacBook and MacBook Air, which come with a 250GB, 5400-rpm hard disk drive and 64GB SSD, respectively.
"You already have a lot of consumers who use their iPads in lieu of their laptop for certain tasks," said Michael Gartenberg, a research director with Gartner. "It replaces them for many tasks. Obviously, bumping up the storage on the iPad just makes it that much more viable for what I want to take with me when I'm disconnected."
According to attendees blogging about the show , two mock-ups of the iPad 2 have shown up on the floor. One mock-up came from a company that sells docking stations; the other is from a speaker manufacturer. Each displayed new products with the mockups, both of which had iPad 2 and 128GB logos on the back.
One slide show on Indian technology site iGyaan, shows extensive details on the outside of a Chinese docking station manufacturer's mockup of the iPad 2.
Gartenberg said the iPad is already a challenger to the laptop and netbook market, and adding more capacity will simply make it more so. But it won't change the more basic trend of consumers needing less native capacity on devices, since they can store increasing amounts of data in the cloud.
"The one thing I can say for certain, whatever things we saw at CES this week — and there are a lot of impressive devices there — none of them are going to be facing the iPad in the marketplace," he said. "They're going to be facing the iPad's successor in the marketplace. I'm sure Apple plans to appropriately raise the bar."


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What Kings Construction Clients Say
KINGS CONSTRUCTION'S Specializations
Paving Contractor Near Northport
Should You Repave Your Northport, NY Driveway? Top Signs It's Time to Get In Touch with Paving Companies
Walkways, patios, parking lots, driveways; whatever type of surface you need to have paved, if you're looking for an asphalt paving contractor in Suffolk County, you've come to the right place! Offering more than 20 years of experience, fair and affordable prices, long-lasting results, and a proven track record of success, Kings Construction, Inc. has established itself as one of the premier paving companies in the area. If you're located in the Northport, NY area and you're looking for a paving contractor, put us first on your list of paving companies near me to call!
Signs You Need to Consider Installing a New Asphalt Driveway
Your driveway takes a serious beating. From the constant flow of vehicles and foot traffic to extreme weather conditions, a driveway experiences a lot of wear and tear. On average, a properly installed asphalt driveway lasts for around 20 years. No matter how old your driveway is – whether it was installed five years ago or 20 – you might need to have it replaced. How do you know when it's time to get in touch with a Suffolk County paving contractor? If you notice any of the following issues, you should start looking for paving near me.
Deep Cracks and Crevices
Is your driveway littered with cracks? Are crevices chiseled deep into the surface? While shallow cracks can be filled in and sealed, it's when they're deep that you need to start looking around for reputable paving companies near me to discuss repaving.
Deep cracks can occur for a number of reasons. Rainwater can seep into smaller openings and expand and contract with temperature changes, causing cavernous crevices to develop. If left unchecked, the problem will only worsen and eventually, you could be looking at serious structural issues. The only way to address deep-reaching cracks and crevices is by having your driveway repaved.
Drainage Issues
Is your driveway filled with puddles of standing water every time it rains or whenever your sprinkler hits it? If so, you really need to consider having it repaved. When properly installed, a reputable paving contractor will make accommodations to ensure water runs off properly to prevent puddles from developing. However, even if your driveway was properly installed, over time, it can develop divots and become uneven, which can result in pooling water.
When water collects on the surface of your driveway, or when it drains into certain channels, the life expectancy will shorten and serious structural problems will start to occur. Professional and experienced paving companies will take measures to ensure proper drainage when you're new driveway is installed.
Potholes are another telltale sign that indicates that you should have your driveway repaved. Unlike cracks and crevices, which develop as a result of age or water becoming trapped within the surface and expanding and contracting, potholes occur when the ground underneath the driveway starts to shift. As the ground shift, the asphalt crumbles, leaving potholes behind.
Potholes are a major structural problem and need to be addressed as soon as possible. Not only are they unsightly, but they can also cause damage to your vehicles; popped tires and issues with the suspension, for example.
A Rough Surface
When healthy and in good condition, the surface of an asphalt driveway will be nice and smooth. With constant exposure to the elements and repeated wear and tear from usage, the surface will start to wear down and become rough.
Take a look at your driveway? Is it smooth or rough? If the latter is the word you chose to describe its appearance, you should definitely consider getting in touch with a reputable Suffolk County paving contractor to discuss having it repaved.
Changes in Color
Asphalt should be dark black in color. If your driveway looks more grayish than black, you should definitely think about having it repaved. While it may seem merely superficial, discoloration is actually a sign that an asphalt driveway has reached or exceeded its life expectancy. Constant exposure to harsh UV rays and the weather can bleach asphalt. When that happens, it weakens and soon, it will start to crack, crumble, and ultimately fail.
For Fast, Affordable, and Reliable Driveway Repaving in Suffolk County, Contact Kings Construction, Inc. Today!
If the driveway of your Northport, NY home is exhibiting any of the above-mentioned signs, get in touch with Kings Construction, Inc. right away! As one of Suffolk County's leading paving companies, you can count on our team of expert professionals to deliver fast, affordable, high-quality results that will last for years to come. To learn more about our asphalt paving services or to schedule an appointment for a consultation, give us a call at 631-615-9309. We look forward to hearing from you and restoring the function and aesthetic appeal of your driveway.
- Learn more about Northport, NY 11768
- Open a Northport, NY map
- Find the Northport, NY United States Post Office
- Locate nearby Northport, NY pharmacies
- View the current Northport, NY weather report
- Browse a list of Northport, NY public and private schools
- Northport, NY is located in Suffolk county in New York State


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My penis has really gotten around. Traci Lords, Kenneth Anger, and Margaret Cho have all had their hands on it. It was for Margaret that I originally created it, and here's her review, from Alarm Press
"I went to a special effects specialist, who is a friend of my husband and made a very light yet very realistic flaccid latex penis. It was very hard to find a dildo that was like a flaccid penis!
I needed one that would fit into panties and still look like something when I stripped them off, so it had to be collapsible, and it is — fully collapsible and will stick onto my crotch with double stick tape!
The choreography is simple, just a classic fan dance really, but with a big surprise ending. The audience really doesn't know what to do. At first I try to seduce them, being very feminine and coy with myself, a very shy, teasing kind of dance. But then at the end, when I reveal I have this very real looking and startlingly plain penis, people really freak out.
I almost cried the first few times that I performed it because the audience reacted so strongly — screaming! People were literally screaming. I love that. So that is my most exciting number right now."
Screaming for my penis, that's what I like to see in print.
When asked by Lawrence.com about size, Margaret had this to say
"Q: Why didn't you borrow Mark Wahlberg's from "Boogie Nights�
A: That's too big. Mine is big, but it's not big like that."
Thank you Margaret.


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Built in 1965 by Francis J. Duane, a past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, the course at Hampton Hills reflects an … Read More
Hampton Hills is that perfect intersection where relaxation meets unpretentious elegance. A classically post modern structure, our Clubhouse is a … Read More
Hampton Hills brings together a variety of men and women of varied backgrounds who share a passion for golf and an appreciation for natural beauty. … Read More


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Apple Hits New All-Time High
CUPERTINO, Calif. (TheStreet) -- Apple(:AAPL) shares hit a new high on Tuesday, boosted by a price target hike from analyst firm Think Equity.
The consumer tech giant's shares, which recently surpassed $600 for the first time, briefly reached $614.91 during Tuesday morning trading. Apple's stock was trading at $614.25 shortly after midday.
Apple's latest uptick was fueled by ThinkEquity's decision to raise its Apple price target from $600 to $700. The new target is "based on a positive launch of Apple's new iPad and upcoming new products including the iPhone5 and iTV," explained ThinkEquity analyst Mark McKechnie, in a note released on Tuesday.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based firm has enjoyed stellar demand for its new iPad, selling a massive 3 million of the devices within the first few days of its launch.
Apple shares have gained more than 51% this year, far outpacing the Nasdaq's gain of 20.15%,
ThinkEquity also shrugged off recent chatter about the new iPad's heat generation. "Similar to early concerns around the iPhone 4S, we do not believe it will impact the ramp of the new iPad, and we see an intermediate 'fix' in the form of newer 28 nanometer chips from Qualcomm(:QCOM) in the second half of 2012," explained McKechnie.
Shares of Qualcomm, which is one of Apple's key component suppliers, were up 18 cents, or 0.26%, to $68.77 on Tuesday.
--Written by James Rogers in New York.
>To follow the writer on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/jamesjrogers.
>To submit a news tip, send an email to: email@example.com.
Check out our new tech blog, Tech Trends. Follow TheStreet Tech on your wireless devices.


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No Ants Were Harmed At These Picnics Of The Past
When summertime rolls around, we're all for eating outdoors, but the American heyday of the picnic may very well have been the 1950s.
Convenience food was newly popular; many mothers stayed home and had time to pack everything just right. Tupperware was taking off, picnic tables popped up on roadsides, and an outing in the fresh country air was often just what the doctor ordered.
And both the meal and the company could be customized to the hosts' tastes. "The picnic may be a romantic dejeuner sur l'herbe for two, or a gathering of the clan; it may be simple as a sandwich in wax paper, or as elaborate as appetite, inclination and purse will allow," wrote epicure James Beard in his 1960 Treasury of Outdoor Cooking.
Of course, his picnic style was pretty elaborate, requiring "the largest linen dinner napkins I have" and "good china plates" to go with meals like "Thermos of chilled martinis, olives, nuts, celery sticks, cold broiled chicken halves, Bermuda onion sandwiches on homemade bread, chilled peeled tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, apples or peaches," and last but not least, strong coffee.
But other mid-century picnic notions, like this 1950s Armour poultry ad, could involve a few beers, some cold fried or roasted chicken, corn on the cob and maybe a slice of cherry pie. Even the stable hand and horse trainer appear to be enjoying their simple improvised meal. We were wondering: What's in those tin cups?
The families that so often appeared in the ads from this era were happy and carefree. The couples were young and mostly white.
Two teens somehow make sharing celery and Morton salt look romantic in a picnic in the rain.
Picnics are not a 20th century invention. In fact, they have been paths of escape to the outdoors for centuries — think of the 19th century picnics of Jane Austen novels, with servants and candelabras and oriental rugs.
And it's far from a uniquely American tradition. The Japanese have their bento boxes and the Indians pack up tiffins to transport food to wherever they want to eat it.
So no matter what you pack for you picnic or what you pack it in, get out of the house and enjoy the brief escape from the ordinary.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


text: Organizations may stay away from employing an occasion coordinator. Believe that that setting workers specific jobs to drag off a corporate party will probably be enough to complete the task. Even so, there are several small details which can be overlooked every time a non-specialist is organizing an event. It may also be tough for… Continue reading The Importance of Hiring an Event Planner


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Start by checking the "Possible Causes" listed above. Visually inspect the related wiring harness and connectors. Check for damaged components and look for broken, bent, pushed out, or corroded connector's pins.
B1055 01 Audio Output 4 Right Rear Circuit Short to Battery
B1055 02 Audio Output 4 Right Rear Circuit Short to Ground
B1055 04 Audio Output 4 Right Rear Circuit Open
The cost to diagnose the B1055 Buick code is 1.0 hour of labor. The auto repair's diagnosis time and labor rates vary by location, vehicle's make and model, and even your engine type. Most auto repair shops charge between $75 and $150 per hour.
The Up-Level radio (UQA) supplies 4 channels of audio to an amplifier. The amplifier supplies 6 input signal channels to 8 speakers. The radio sets a current status for this Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) when a short to ground, short to voltage or an open is detected on any of the 6 speaker channel outputs from the radio.
Need more information on how to fix the B1055 Buick code? Get Access to Factory Service Manuals
Get the B1055 Buick code diagnosed by a professional: Find a repair shop in your area


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Leafs visit Buffalo with shot at back-to-back wins
The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to put consecutive wins together for the first time in over two weeks when they visit the Buffalo Sabres for Thursday's divisional clash at First Niagara Center.
The Maple Leafs halted a five-game slide with Wednesday's 4-2 victory against visiting Tampa Bay. The victory gave Toronto a 1-1-1 record on its three-game homestand, bring the Leafs' home mark to 7-6-2 this season.
Despite going 0-3-2 prior to beating the Lightning, Toronto is still seeded sixth in the Eastern Conference. The Maple Leafs are two points ahead of Carolina, New Jersey and the New York Rangers, who are locked in a three-way tie for seventh place.
After beating Tampa on Wednesday, Toronto will try to win consecutive games for the first since a three-game winning streak from Feb. 28-March 6.
Dion Phaneuf, Tyler Bozak and Nikolai Kulemin scored for the Maple Leafs in a 6 1/2 minute span early in the second period, as Toronto took down Tampa Bay at Air Canada Centre.
Joffrey Lupul added a first-period tally and Nazem Kadri recorded a career- best three assists for the Maple Leafs.
"He was always good defensively," Toronto head coach Randy Carlyle said of Kadri. "What happens in your transition from junior to pro hockey, it's the number of times that you expose yourself to the high-risk, high reward and where you do and when you do it on the ice."
James Reimer stopped 26 shots in the triumph, the first win for the Leafs since beating Ottawa on March 6.
The Sabres, meanwhile, were able to pick up an impressive win over the first- place Montreal Canadiens in their last game, but they also lost their top scorer to an injury in the process.
Steve Ott netted a pair of goals, including the game-winner 2:16 into overtime to help Buffalo earn a 3-2 win against the Northeast-leading Habs. However, Thomas Vanek also left the contest after getting hit with a slap shot from the stick of teammate Christian Ehrhoff.
The Austrian winger didn't return after getting hit with Ehrhoff's shot in the second period. Vanek, who leads Buffalo in both goals (14) and points (31) this season, did not participate in Thursday's morning skate and is not expected to play against the Maple Leafs.
Tyler Ennis scored the other goal and Jhonas Enroth turned in a solid 32-save performance to help the last-place Sabres beat the Canadiens. Ville Leino also contributed a pair of assists to the victory.
"It was a huge game for us, we needed this," said Ott, who recorded his first two- goal game since Dec. 29, 2009. "We finally found a way to close out games, and that's probably one of the reasons why we've struggled all season."
Toronto has won two of three meetings against the Sabres this season, including a 4-3 overtime victory in Buffalo on Jan. 29. That win came after Matt Frattin scored with 1.5 seconds left in OT, ending Toronto's three-game road losing streak in this series.
Buffalo is 5-6-2 as the host this season, while Toronto has a strong 9-6-0 road record.


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MHA Environmental Committee
Map to left shows the need for the reduction of harmful emissions for a healthier GTA.
Mandate of the Markland Wood Environment Committee of the MWHA:
- Tree Survey and Maintenance The committee takes as a given, Markland Wood's appreciation for the preservation of our trees. We see it as the richest legacy Markland Wood has. To that end, we suggest two approaches. First, a full survey of this resource and increase in the general knowledge of the proper arboreal care, and second, the raising of community consciousness to prevent the transmission of the Asian Long-horned Beetle must be increased.
- Renforth Creek Clean-Up Notwithstanding its acknowledged limited impact on the environmental quality of Markland Wood, the community participation and the consciousness raising was felt to be beneficial to the general sensitively to matters environmental.
- Develop a non-pesticide lawn education project Formulate a project to develop a solid community approach to lawn care and maintenance, always eschewing the use of chemical fertiziers or pesticides.
- Award 'good' car awards to recognize engines under four litres Develop a project promoting the use of automobiles and trucks in Markland Wood under four litres capacity. Perhaps little "The kids of Markland Wood thank you for their future breathing" lawn signs would be put up. Nothing negative would be planned for those who bought new vehicles with engines greater than four litres.
- Grant writing for Great Lakes Water Quality Protection Projects The community may adopt specific non-Markland Wood problem areas affecting the Great Lakes, perhaps together with Rockwood or Streetsville or Port Credit as examples, and participate in corrective activities using their own volunteer labour resources and obtain a few thousand dollars to purchase relevant materials or services through the GLWQ grant program.
- Green Toronto Awards Promoting Etobicoke names for Green Toronto Awards for 2006
- Markland Wood Car Pool Create a car pooling roster serving Markland Wood residents.
- Gas Fired Electrical Power Stations in Mississauga Monitor, participate in meetings and give constructive input to the new East Mississauga Power Generation Facilities
- Co-ordination with Positively Promoting Markland Committee It will be important at all times to ensure that there is good co-ordination between the work of the environmental committee and the PPMC.


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By buying this product you can collect up to 2 loyalty points. Your cart will total 2 loyalty points that can be converted into a voucher of 2,00 €.
New product
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Availability date: 11/02/2022
360 ° optimal protection for your iPhone 14 Pro from all shocks and inclement weather.
It works with MagSafe accessories, so you can charge up or mount up how you want to
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Waterproof & Shockproof Case for iPhone 14 Pro allows your iPhone to follow you in all your activities. Your smartphone becomes an all-terrain phone, while retaining all its features.
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|Laurent B. on 02/19/2023
La coque est bien étanche, elle n'est cependant pas simple à mettre, c'est assez serré pour mettre le téléphone. Pas pratique pour la mettre et la retirer plusieurs fois dans la journée.
Bonjour ,il est important que le téléphone soit maintenu de façon très serré dans la coque ,tant que pour votre écran reste ultra réactif au tactile et éviter une mauvaise emission de l'audio
Manual waterproof Shockproof case CaseProofDownload (351.22k)


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[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/06/03/art.carter.gi.jpg caption=" Republicans say Carter is playing the 'race card.'"]
(CNN) - The Republican National Committee is hitting back at former President Jimmy Carter's recent comments stating racial politics has played a role in some of the opposition the president has faced since taking office and in South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst during Obama's speech to Congress last week.
"President Carter is flat out wrong. This isn't about race. It is about policy," RNC Chairman Michael Steele said in a statement Wednesday. "This is a pathetic distraction by Democrats to shift attention away from the president's wildly unpopular government-run health care plan that the American people simply oppose."
"Injecting race into the debate over critical issues facing American families doesn't create jobs, reform our health care system or reduce the growing deficit. It only divides Americans rather than uniting us to find solutions to challenges facing our nation," Steele, the RNC's first African-American chairman, also said.
Carter's comments came in an interview with NBC News Tuesday, during which he stated, "I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he's African-American."
Carter made similar remarks at an event at his presidential center in Atlanta, Georgia, pointing to some protesters who have compared Obama to a Nazi. "Those kind of things are not just casual outcomes of a sincere debate on whether we should have a national program on health care," the former president said at the Carter Center, according to AP. "It's deeper than that."
Steele said such comments are indicative of Democratic efforts to "disparage all who disagree with them."
"Playing the race card shows that Democrats are willing to deal from the bottom of the deck. Our political system has no place for this type of rhetoric," said Steele.
(Steele will visit The Situation Room Wednesday afternoon at 5 pm ET)
Follow Alex Mooney on Twitter @awmooneycnn
No kidding Michael. He's playing it because it is accurate.
Jimmy Carter has no clue. The reason people are not agreeing with Obama is because his healthcare plan (?) is ludicrous. If it was because he was black, I don't think he would have been elected. Isn't everyone tired of hearing about "supposed racism"? I know I am.
Yes, and the Republicans trot out their one black leader in any position of power to make the statement. I don't believe the Republican leadership is racist per se, but Steele's comments miss the mark. The point made by President Carter, Maureen Dowd, and an increasing chorus of concerned citizens is that there is not mere opposition to President Obama's plan. Rather, there is outright hatred of President Obama personally. He is a socialist, marxist, kenyan masquerading as an American. He is "dangerous" to your children. He's trying to take away everything you own. He's an Nazi and a Communist (even if those ideologies were fiercly opposed to one another). The point is, while the Republican leadership may or may not have issues witha black president. They have stoked and whipped an Angry White Right into a frenzy by playing to racial fear. That was President Carters point.
Who does the RNC think they are kidding? Of course Racism is part of their problem with Obama. With Limbaugh and Beck as the spokeperson for the party, what do they expect the public to think. Racism has not gone away people and the fact the Obama won so decisively, has brought the feelings and prejudices to the surface. Michael Steele sounds like the House Slave telling the Field Slaves that "Massa is a good man so do what he says".
Michael Steele is a FOOL!!!
Nobody cared what carter said when he was one of our worst presidents, why try and make a news story out of this?
President Carter is saying what many people have been seeing. He said there is an element of racism. Just look at the some of the signs held up at the 9-12 event in DC. A large percentage of the so-called "birthers" didn't think Hawaii was a state. I haven't seen many, if any, minorities in this group. I am sure there are many people in this group who are not racist and have genuine concerns. However, I am also sure it gives the true racists in this county some wonderful cover to express their views..
Yes, 'Uncle Tom' Steele, Carter was "playing the race card" because it is becoming blindingly obvious that race IS an issue. Nazi chants and use of the German swastika at GOP-sponsored rallies are being egged on by your bosses, Rush and Beck. Did you notice in the 60,000 member march (although Rush said 2 million), there was hardly a single black face, nor many of any other minority? I'm a 59-year old southern white woman, and I have no problem seeing it at all.
If a black member of the House of Representatives had shouted "you lie" to President Bush, not only would the Republicans be enraged, but the Democrats would have too. Instead, Wilson's GOP brothers gathered around and supported him - a man who is unabashedly proud of being a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and who supported flying the Confederate flag above the State Legislature building in South Carolina. Sorry, Steele, in my view that is pretty racist!
Steel dosen't realize he is a token black. If Obama wasn't elected Steel would't be the RNC chairman. It's just like Palin was the token woman to counter Hillary. Steel is in his position to give the GOP cover.
While i disagree with former President Carter on many issues, I do firmly agree he is on the target with these remarks.
It has to as much with a natural resistance to change as it does a relative sense of "historical white american centrism" under attack by the election of an African-American President.
Carter has hit a nerve and the response by the RNC has been emotional, not rational.
His comments are worthy of national debate.
Steele is an incompetent idiot. He gets it wrong every time.
Sooner or later the republicans must do something.
Minorities should step up to plate on this one and say enough is enough. You can not play the race card everytime someone disagrees with the President. It is about policies and ideas. It is like the little boy crying wolf. I believe there is racism left in this country but not in the opposition to Obama. I can not stand Biden's ideas or policies either. He appears to be white.
Democrats will always use race as a crutch.
Obama didn't write HR 3200 or the Senate bill. White congressmen and senators did.
It's about policy, plain and simple.
If I had been debating the bill in the house for the past several months, and I heard Obama's speech, I would have yelled out as well.
Obama was lying and Wilson called him on it. Race had nothing to do with it.
Man, now they drag the old dog out from under the porch.
Carter is wrong, divisive and "intellectually dishhonest".
He is an old inconsequential, one term president trying to reclaim his glory days (at least as he saw them).
I believe President Carter is right!!!
Why is it now that when someone says that the irrational behavior we are seeing across this country is raciall motivated, all of a sudden they are playing the "Race Card". I truly believe all the protest and outrage are racially motivated. Look at the crowds!! They aren't diverse. The people at these protests and rallies look like inbreds. When Bush was in office, anyone that said anything against him were deemed as "unpatriotic. But now, with all these protesters and idiots bringing weapons to rally, the excuse is that these people are expressing the 1st and 2nd amendment rights. Please give me a break. Wake up America!! This country is made up of people from all walks of life and that includes race. So those of you that hide behind excuses to express your ignorance and hatred..I say to you...GET OVER IT!!!!
oh right – so to speak – republicans are protesting a little too much – look at the leadership a bunch of old white guys – the nasty comments of the tea baggers – who belong to organizations paid for the the right wing – the comments directed at Sotemayer – this is the old Nixon speech "I am not a crook" republicans =racist.
in the absence of any real defense they will claim racism. sweet. that is all they have because they most certainly won't talk about the elephant in the middle of the room. i wonder how they would feel to have the tables turned and be called racist because they want government accountability, wait won't happen, they throw that out the window.
President Carter is only stating what many people are thinking. I admire his efforts to bring this difficult subject forward.
When you can't defend the Koreshian cultist holy-roller born-again religion of liberalism in any logical manner ("no, really, me taking money out of your paycheck is GOOD for you... serious"), the last resort is hysterical spittle-flying cries of "YERARAYSISSST!!!"
Racism is the last refuge of undefendable liberalism.
When we vehemently disagreed with Bill Clinton over these very same issues, for the very same reasons, was that racism, too?
Can it just possibly be that Americans full-well KNOW what you're selling and they simply are not buying it anymore? Nah, couldn't be that! I mean, how could ANYONE disagree with the cult of "robbing Peter to buy Paul's vote with Gubmint Goodies?" Why, it MUST be racism.
2010 is coming, hope-smokers... beat the rush, pack your bags now.
President Carter is right. Just visit Mark William's, one of the Tea Party Organizers, blog.
I agree that it's not ALL ABOUT RACISM, but there is a great deal of racism surging lately. Signs showing President Obama as a witch doctor, a nazi, comments relating the president to a monkey, etc. What i've yet to see, even a little bit, is the leaders of these tea party movements standing up to these so-called 'fringe elements' and disowning them DURING THE EVENTS. If you are leading an event, and this is taking place, and you ignore and allow it, YOU ARE PROMOTING IT. End of story.
Our problems are serious enough that we need to get past this, but the truth is reality and Pres Carter was right. You don't go from have people admit that they could not see themselves voting for a black canidate in November and then accepting his as the nation leader several months later.
As Americans, we might not like the picture of racism that we see in the mirror, but let's stop insulting each other intelligence that it does not exist for President Obama.
The shame is futher compounded by our refusal to admit that we are not strong enough to work through political divides, social economic divides, and racial divides. Our Midevil thinking is starting to abound.
Like the Nazi party, the Democrats are using race arguments to squelch all dissenting political opinion. People now fear disagreeing with those in power for fear they will be labeled and politically sequestered as a "racist." Continued reliance on the race card alienates voters. Be smart Democrats. I'm one of you and I'm tired of feeling that race trumps freedom of speech.
This isn't about race. It is about policy," RNC Chairman Michael Steele said in a statement Wednesday. "This is a pathetic distraction by Democrats to shift attention away from the president's wildly unpopular government-run health care plan that the American people simply oppose."... As Jonny Mac would say "you can not be serious"... How about that 15% of the population who stated that they would not vote for a black man as president? Do you think they changed their mind overnight? Of course, it is all about race. And Michael Steele, if you seriously can not see it, you sir must be blind. How much minority did you see at tea parties??? Correct sir, the answer is none.


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And the winners are…
First for the throwdown – chocolate cupcake style. AND on National Chocolate Cupcake Day! How fitting. I made a half batch of the chocolate cake (I got 15 cupcakes) out of Confetti Cakes for Kids by Elisa Strauss. The recipe is definitely "fussier" than my go-to chocolate cupcake recipe. This one has sour cream and coffee in it. Neither of which are staples in my kitchen. I paired it with the Brown Sugar frosting because I was intrigued by that idea…
The batter came together quite nicely. It does take 3 bowls and like I mentioned, has some ingredients that I had to send hubby out to grab for me… It does have some great flavor combinations going on. It's got almond extract as well as vanilla and includes coffee. Both almond and coffee go great with chocolate. The batter was quite thick and very tasty. Hubby really enjoyed licking the beater 🙂 And this frosting is AMAZING. We both agreed, it's one of the best I've ever made. Think of a caramel Swiss-meringue buttercream. It paired perfectly with the chocolate cupcake.
Now to the Throw-down results. I'm basing this on 3 categories: Overall Taste, Ease of making, Moistness
So it's a TIE!?! I'll definitely keep my go-to chocolate cupcake for when I just want to whip something up. It's quick and easy and the results are great. But when I want to go the extra mile, I'll make the Confetti cupcakes. It does take more effort, but the results are worth it. I'm not going to post the recipe here, but definitely I definitely recommend checking out Confetti Cakes for Kids by Elisa Strauss.
Now on to the GIVEAWAY!! I almost forgot about it after these amazing cupcakes. Thanks to everyone who participated! Using Random.org, I chose 5 random numbers from 1-79 and the lucky winners are…
Megan – who's email begins with mybakingadventures
Chrissy – who's email begins with chrissyblogs
Grifam93 – who's email begins with aseminara
Jared – who's email begins with jared
MoonFreckle – who's email begins with angelaj
Congratulations to the winners!


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Editor's Note: Mark de Rond is an author and Reader in Strategy and Organization at Judge Business School, Cambridge University. His most recent book is "There Is An I In Team: What Elite Athletes and Coaches Really Know About High Performance". He is currently working on a new book on combat surgeons forced to work under difficult circumstances.
Story highlights
Army doctors in the field work in a microcosm of contradictions
Boredom can set it easily among highly motivated people, managing this is essential
Tensions within teams should be accepted as inevitable
Creating psychologically safe environments key to making better teams
Effective teamwork should be straightforward: provided people are capable, all they need is something to preoccupy them other than themselves. Something more important than themselves.
For surgical teams in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, this isn't usually hard to do. When resources are stretched, trauma bays full, and the injuries life-threatening, few teams anywhere else would come close to matching their effectiveness. Rarely does one see a better balance struck between routinization and flexibility, professionalism and compassion.
The problem is that it isn't always busy, and the unpredictability of combat doesn't allow them to fully relax even during quiet periods. Besides there is little else to do to take the edge off. Boredom sets in, and few things are more destabilizing than boredom. High performers after all thrive on being productive. Work is their opium.
This either/or relationship signifies much of their lived experience, as I discovered during a six-week deployment with combat surgeons in Helmand, and two months of observation of pre-deployment, in cadaver labs, classrooms, simulators, and barracks.
Like many of you, these surgeons live examined lives. They routinely compare themselves to others and expect this to be reciprocal. They are purposeful and tenacious. They are hungry for feedback, their achievement their principal addiction. What makes them good can make them difficult too.
While on tour, their world is a microcosm of contradictions: they compete even as they cooperate, they take pleasure in complex cases yet feel guilty about wishing for more of it. They tend to find their work meaningful yet are acutely aware of a sense of futility in treating Afghans who, by protocol, are transferred to local hospitals where their chances of successful recovery or even survival are often greatly reduced.
They prize perfectionism yet recognize the premium this places on fault-finding and on their, and others, willingness to own up to mistakes. Their tenacity can drive colleagues to exhaustion. Their restlessness allows them to be productive but risks them becoming easily bored. They understand the importance of diversity in teams, yet are annoyed by the range of behaviors and opinions diversity produces. Boredom can exacerbate these tensions enormously and destabilize ordinarily effective teams.
Why is this important for you? First, because the management of boredom is as important as that of resource allocation during busy periods when demand outstrips supply. Perhaps more so. Second, because even highly effective teams are likely to feel dysfunctional for at least some of the time as a result of these contradictory tensions. And one needs to be extremely careful not to confuse what feels dysfunctional with what really is dysfunctional.
Like most things this is easier said than done. A quick-and-dirty distinction between healthy and unhealthy tension is to distinguish between the stuff that's out in the open and what is not. The unhealthy bits tends to lurk in musty corners, such as gossip or private politicking or water-cooler attempts to belittle the work of others. Healthy tension often expresses itself in banter, teasing or impromptu competitions, like wheelchair hockey or a game of soccer.
Also, one must be careful not to fall prey to a common assumption, namely that of harmony as a precondition of team success. This assumption helps explain why so many invest so much in making sure team members "get along", not realizing that research strongly suggests that harmony is more likely to be a consequence, than a cause, of performance.
As the late Richard Hackman pointed out, even if interpersonal difficulties occasionally undermine team performance, it does not follow that the best response is to help team members fix their relationships. It is often far more effective to give them something challenging to do. Something to feel good about collectively.
Of course there are other ways of resolving tensions. Make people understand why tensions are a natural part of the fabric of team life, what behaviors are permissible at work, and which are not. Or one can take a leaf from Stan Preczewski's book. As chief coach of the U.S. Army Crew, he forced his dysfunctional varsity rowing crew to wrestle each other four days before a major race. It was a bold decision in that wrestling risked injury, but worked wonders in restoring a sense of confidence within the crew by allowing each to experience first-hand how strong and competitive the others really were.
Dialogue is another option. However, this is only ever likely to be effective if those involved feel psychologically safe, meaning they will not self-censor for fear of being seen as obstructive, negative, incompetent, not a team player, or for putting an otherwise amicable working relationship at risk. Medicine has particularly well-documented cases of self-censorship as having directly contributed to major incidents.
So how does one solve a problem like self-censorship? One way, clearly, would be to make the relevant environment feel safer psychologically, for example, by encouraging dialogue, by physically de-ranking, by insisting on rank-blindness, by relating past accounts of courageous behavior in face of opposition, by welcoming "donkey questions", or questions that those doing the asking should probably know the answer to, and generally by helping team members see the merit of abandon.
Or one could follow the example of aviation and, more recently hospitals, in implementing checklists, or lists of steps to take en route to accomplishing certain procedures and the sort of things everyone has pat down. Here junior team members are required to intervene when they see doctors skipping a step, however mundane, during a procedure. It is their job to do so, and possibly the next best thing to psychological safety.
The management of psychological safety and boredom are, I suspect, the most underrated, yet also most powerful, means to effective teaming.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Mark de Rond.


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CHICAGO (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Alan Dixon, an Illinois Democrat whose career in national and state
politics spanned more than 40 consecutive years in public office, died Sunday, his son said. He was 86.
Dixon, who served in the U.S. Senate from 1981 to 1993, died at his home in Fairview Heights the day
before his 87th birthday. A cancer survivor, he had recently been hospitalized for heart problems and
been battling infections, but his condition had recently improved and he'd returned home, his son
Jeffrey Dixon told The Associated Press. No official cause of death was released.
"He was a very caring, generous man to his family," his son said. "He always instilled values in all of
us to, 'Tell the truth, to smile all the time and they'll be nice to you.'"
Dixon got an early start in politics.
After being elected police magistrate in Belleville, he won an Illinois House seat in 1950. He went on to
serve in the Illinois Senate and as the state's treasurer and secretary of state. He won his U.S. Senate
seat in 1980 and served there until his surprising loss in the 1992 Democratic primary to Carol Moseley
Dixon was remembered Sunday for winning nearly every election he sought, as a leader who could bring
Republicans and Democrats together — starting the first bipartisan Illinois congressional lunches — and
his local approach to politics even as a U.S. senator. His style earned him the nickname "Al the Pal."
He returned constituent calls himself, was accessible to the public with weekend office hours and loved
beer, recalled Thom Serafin, a Chicago political analyst who served as a press secretary for Dixon.
"He was your Norman Rockwell U.S. senator who believed that if a constituent called him, he called them
back. He always said, 'I can't promise you the job, but I can promise that I'll work like heck,'"
Serafin said. "He was always the local guy. He was always Al."
In the U.S. Senate, Dixon served as the third-ranking Democrat and chaired a subcommittee of the Armed
Services Committee. Dixon had served in the United States Navy Air Corps.
Among Dixon's more controversial moves — which later led to his defeat — was voting to support the
nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1991 after law professor Anita Hill claimed
Thomas sexually harassed her. Braun, who had served as a Cook County recorder of deeds, said she
challenged Dixon because of her outrage over the treatment of Hill during the confirmation hearings.
Braun became the first African-American woman in the U.S. Senate.
Dixon later defended his vote by saying that Thomas was qualified and he doubted Hill, according to his
2013 memoir titled "The Gentleman from Illinois: Stories from Forty Years of Elective Public Service."
He described other factors leading to his loss, including that the economy wasn't robust and a 1992
banking scandal involving some U.S. House members that generated negative feelings toward public
officials in general.
"All of these matters contributed to some extent to the perfect storm undercutting my primary campaign,"
he wrote in the book. "Having said this, though, I want to emphasize that my basic undoing was the loss
of my traditionally liberal base and certain active women's organizations as a result of my Clarence
Thomas vote. No amount of explanation for my vote satisfied these groups."
Dixon, a Belleville native, returned to practicing law after his loss, something he did until just months
before his death, his son said.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, noted that Dixon was the first statewide
Democrat to voluntarily make a full disclosure of his net worth and that Illinois congressional lunches
he started still continue.
"Alan Dixon was known for his honesty, his hard work and his commitment to the state he loved," Durbin
said. "His friendships reached across the aisle and across our state."
Dixon is survived by his wife and three children. Funeral arrangements planned for Lindenwood University
in Belleville were pending, the family said in a statement.


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Lehigh Valley Hospital sets up tents outside ER for flu patients
A tent is set up to see flu patients outside of the emergency room at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township.
Lehigh Valley Hospital is opening an ancillary emergency department at its Salisbury Township campus to handle an anticipated influx of influenza patients, according to a news release.
The mobile surge tent, set up outside the hospital's existing emergency department, will begin accepting patients experiencing flu-like symptoms today, the Lehigh Valley Health Network release says. Patients with flu-like symptoms should still report to the main ER entrance for treatment, the release says.
According to the health network, setting up the ancillary department is a proactive measure intended to ensure the best level of care and protection for patients.
It's too early to tell how long the tent will remain open until more patients are seen, said spokesman Matthew Burns. The hospital needs to get a better understanding of patients' conditions, he said.
"It could grow, or it could only be there for a week," Burns said.
Other area hospitals are also experiencing an increase of patients with flu-like symptoms.
Dr. Jeff Jahre, senior vice president of medical and academic affairs at St. Luke's Hospital and Health Network, said an influenza strain difference could account for the hike in flu or cold cases. The last two winters weren't too bad, but "this year is worse," he said.
Flu season usually starts in January or later, he said, but the hospital has been treating individuals since early to mid-December. This year's vaccine "is effective with the strain that we know is predominantly circulating," but some individuals could be mistaking the flu for other seasonal viruses, he said.
It's not too late to get a flu shot, though, Jahre said. Some people still get sick after the vaccine, but it prevents them from getting as sick as they would without it, he said.
"Prevention is still always better than treatment," Jahre said. "The vaccine should always be taken advantage of."
Robert Church, director of the emergency room at Hunterdon Medical Center, said patient volume is up by 10 percent. About two weeks ago, he received a memo from the state medical department stating that Hunterdon County has the lowest rates for the flu.
The next day there were six positive flu cases, he said, and it hasn't stopped since then. The hospital has been getting five to 15 cases of flu per day, he said.
The ER has been "backed up" because most patients are experiencing vomiting and diarrhea along with the flu, Church said.
"We normally treat and release, but the ones that we are seeing are requiring IV fluids to get rehydrated," he said.
Reporters Precious Petty and Peter Panepinto contributed to this report.


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The Smallest Objects Can Make the Biggest Difference in Product Quality
They say it's the little things that make the biggest impact on overall product quality. This is never truer than in the case of my customer Rommel GmbH in Germany.
Rommel makes printed circuit boards which contain small control components that can have a major impact on the performance of the finished product. So as you can well imagine, no errors or mix-ups may be allowed to occur in the manufacturing process.
They use lasered Data Matrix codes to ensure that their PCBs are produced without errors. Their laser marking system uses an innovative laser scan head that features a moving deflection mirror, CO2 lasers and the In-Sight vision system to reach its precision goals.
The In-Sight vision system measures the board, reads the codes and inscriptions, and evaluates their quality perfectly in fractions of a second. The images and data that the vision system captures are easily handled using In-Sight Explorer software and the extensive library of proven vision tools. In addition, the rugged design of the vision system itself easily handles the stress and challenges of the production line.
Rommel's laser marking system is really innovative and setting new standards.


text:
• Guillot considering G1 Woodward, G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup for Whitney winner Moreno • Palace Malice, sixth in the Whitney as the favorite, remains on course for G1 Woodward; Princess of Sylmar turns in Saturday breeze wearing blinkers
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Grade 1, $1.5 million Whitney hero Moreno was sprightly Sunday morning, bouncing around in his stall a day after taking the field gate to wire in one of the most prestigious races of the Saratoga meet.
Moreno's landmark victory was a long time in the making. It took the Eric Guillot-trained gelding 10 starts to break his maiden, which he did over a muddy track on June 8, 2013 at Belmont Park. He then followed up the performance with a win in the Grade 2 Dwyer on July 6 at Belmont, but failed to find the winner's circle in eight starts thereafter.
Despite a string of winless efforts, Guillot, who trains Moreno for Southern Equine Stable, was not surprised by his star pupil's breakthrough victory in the 1 1/8-mile race.
"We finally got the fractions we needed," said Guillot. "I don't think this was a new peak for him. He was already at his peak."
What's next for Moreno is undecided, but Guillot, still savoring the biggest victory of his training career, pondered a few different options outside his barn on Sunday morning.
"We'll look at the [Grade 1, $600,000] Woodward [on August 30], or maybe give him a break and point to the [Grade 1] Jockey Club Gold Cup [on September 27 at Belmont]," he said. "It's a million-dollar race at 1 ¼ miles; he ran huge in the Suburban. From the 11 hole those fractions were very fast. I think 1 ¼ miles is his best distance."
Should he elect to run in the Woodward, Moreno may face reigning Horse of the Year Wise Dan, who remains possible for the race following a sharp five-furlong move Saturday over the main track.
Confronted with the possibility of going up against Wise Dan, Guillot simply said, "I'm not scared of anyone."
Guillot is hopeful that his charge is on a Horse of the Year trajectory, but admits that he'll have to do more to earn the honor.
"Palace Malice already has four graded stakes victories and a win in the Met Mile," said Guillot. "I think we need to win the Breeders' Cup Classic."
* * *
Though still mystified following Palace Malice's disappointing effort as the 3-5 favorite in Saturday's Grade 1 Whitney, trainer Todd Pletcher said Sunday morning the Grade 1 Woodward on August 30 would remain a target for the multiple Grade 1 winner.
Unbeaten in four 2014 starts to become a clear leader of the older horse division, the 4-year-old son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin finished sixth in a field of nine, beaten 10 ¾ lengths by Moreno, in the Whitney.
"It is a head-scratcher," said Pletcher. "Everything we've seen so far indicates that he came out of it well. He cooled out sound, he scoped clean, he ate up last night, his temperature is normal and he's sound this morning. We'll pull some bloodwork on him later in the week and see if that reveals anything. If that doesn't, I don't know what to do other than regroup and start training again."
Three of Palace Malice's four races this year had come at one mile, and he also won the Grade 2 New Orleans Handicap at 1 1/8 miles on March 29. He loomed a threat rounding the far turn under jockey John Velazquez but never got into contention as front-running Moreno pulled clear of the field in the stretch.
"We thought we would come away in a stalking-type position and we got to that point," said Pletcher, "but at the same time, as I was watching the race unfold I never felt like he was taking Johnny anywhere. At the top of the stretch when they snuck away, it was pretty obvious at that point [he wasn't going to win]. I still felt like in the middle of the turn he started to make a little bit of an impact."
The Whitney marked the biggest margin of defeat for Palace Malice since he was 12th, beaten 13 ½ lengths, in the 2013 Kentucky Derby. He came back a month later to capture the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes.
"Sometimes they throw in a dud, and right now it looks like that's what he did," said Pletcher. "We'll have to continue to check him over and see, but right now we'll just try again."
Pletcher said multiple Grade 1-winning filly Princess of Sylmar will wear blinkers in her next start, the Grade 1, $500,000 Personal Ensign on August 22. The 4-year-old daughter of Majestic Warrior, second in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps and Grade 1 Delaware Handicap in her most recent starts, wore blinkers for a half-mile work Saturday at Saratoga.
Breezing in company with stablemate Storm, Princess of Sylmar was clocked in 47.18 seconds, second-fastest of 85 horses on the main track. It was her first work at Saratoga since the July 12 Delaware Handicap.
"I thought it was an excellent work," said Pletcher. "[Blinkers have] been in the back of my mind for a while. I just felt like her last two races she was perhaps not as focused as we needed her to be. Based on what I saw in the breeze, she's very focused."
* * *
Leah Gyarmati will always have a soft spot for Grade 1 Longines Test winner Sweet Reason, who gave the trainer her first career Grade 1 victory in the 2013 Spinaway at Saratoga. Not quite a year later, the 3-year-old filly has won five of eight races for Gyarmati, three of them in Grade 1 company.
"You get lucky and a horse pops up and wins a big race; that happens here and there," said Gyarmati on Sunday morning. "But, to keep going with it, the consistency, and to develop on it and have her get better and come back and do it again, it shows how special she is. She might be one of those horses that is a once in a lifetime horse for a trainer."
Sweet Reason's latest Grade 1 victory came in the $500,000 Longines Test, rallying from near the back of a 10-horse field after stumbling at the start to catch Miss Behaviour and get up by a length, running seven furlongs in 1:22.31.
"She came out of it really well. She cleaned her tub and had a nice, long sleep. She looks great," said Gyarmati. "The pace was good but not incredibly fast. It wasn't falling apart at the end, so it made me a little nervous about whether she was going to get through and, if she did get through, would she have enough steam and time to get there before the wire comes. Things have to happen for that style to be a winning one."
The Longines Test was the first start for Sweet Reason since winning the Grade 1 TVG Acorn on June 7 at Belmont Park. She is now 3-for-3 at Saratoga, including her debut victory last August, having won by a combined 13 lengths.
Gyarmati was unsure what race would be next for Sweet Reason, who was idle for two months following a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Gazelle on April 5.
"There are quite a few options and some of them are two-turn options," she said. "We just have to map it all out and see how she came out of the race. She seems to do well with a little bit of time between races, because she really does lay it all out there when she runs. I think last year I maybe put the races together a little too close, so I want to make sure I don't repeat that. There's still time [to run back] here. It just depends on what races come up and how she came out of this race."
* * *
Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap winner Palace will now target the Grade 1, seven-furlong Forego on August 30 at Saratoga but also could await the Grade 1, six-furlong Vosburgh on September 27 at Belmont Park, trainer Linda Rice said on Sunday.
Palace, a 5-year-old New York-bred, became a Grade 1 winner on Saturday when he tracked down Happy My Way to win the Vanderbilt by one length. It was the fifth stakes win for Palace, whom Rice and owner Antonino Miuccio claimed for $20,000 in October 2012.
"Obviously, I'm going to point in the direction of the Forego and decide if he's up to that at the time," said Rice. "Six [furlongs] is a better distance for him; I guess it depends on who shows up and to whether he needs more time. It's back a little quick. I've run him from the True North to the [Belmont Sprint Championship] to this one. We've got what we needed, which was a Grade 1 victory. It will be a choice whether I skip the Forego and go straight to the Vosburgh. His owner lives up here and would love to run in the Forego."
Rice trained Palace's sire, City Zip, and she noted the similarities between father and son.
"When Bakken scratched [from the Vanderbilt], it looked like there was one lone speed, which was concerning," said Rice. "[Palace] broke a step slow, too, which didn't help. But [jockey] Cornelio [Velasquez] was aggressive with him early. It's great when you can sit back and let him do his thing. He's pretty versatile, pretty much like his father who could win on the lead, or, like when we won the [2000] Hopeful here in a dead-heat with Yonaguska, he came from 15 lengths back. He was versatile, and Palace is, too. It's kind of extra special, winning a Grade 1 here with his father and winning a Grade 1 with Palace."
By winning the Vanderbilt, Palace established himself as a stallion prospect, Rice said.
"I feel like, with him being a sprinter, having won a Grade 1 with him on the dirt, it makes his career as a stallion," said Rice. "Now, if we could go forward with the Vosburgh, Breeders' Cup Sprint, or maybe the Forego, that could bring him to a higher level. At this point, in my mind - and I've already had inquiries as of 5 p.m. yesterday - that cemented his value as a stallion, and I'm tickled about that."
Palace drew post position 1 for the Vanderbilt but was able to work out a good trip under Velasquez. The same can't be said for his stablemate La Verdad, who was fifth as the favorite after leaving from post 1 in the Grade 2 HRTV Honorable Miss Handicap on Monday.
"She bled a little bit in that race," said Rice. "Everything went wrong - the post, the mud, taking her off the pace. When I watched the head-on [replay], I could see that [jockey] Jose [Ortiz] was trying to get off the rail because there was stream of water on the inside, like trying to avoid mud puddles. Nothing went well, but we had a lot of good days with her, and I guess we were due to have a bad one. Hopefully, she will rebound in the Ballerina [Grade 1, seven furlongs on August 23 at Saratoga], and, of course, we have [the Grade 2, 6 ½-furlong Gallant Bloom Handicap on September 20] at Belmont as well."
* * *
Mr Speaker, a Grade 1 winner on the turf, remains under consideration for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers after turning in a fast breeze on Saturday on the main track at Saratoga.
Winner of the Grade 1 Belmont Derby at 1 ¼ miles on grass in his most recent start, Mr Speaker breezed five furlongs in 59.76 seconds, the second quickest of 46 moves at the distance on Saturday. It followed a 50.70 four-furlong breeze on the Oklahoma training track July 19 and a 48.88 four-furlong breeze on the main track July 26.
McGaughey said Mr Speaker, a Phipps Stable homebred, could run in the Grade 3, $300,000 Saranac at 1 1/8 miles on the turf September 1 if he doesn't run in the Travers at 1 ¼ miles on the dirt.
"I don't know what we are going to do with him," said McGaughey. "I have three weeks to make up my mind. We'll see how he comes out of his work. We'll work him again."
In addition to his win in the Belmont Derby, Mr Speaker has posted victories in the Grade 3 Dania Beach on the turf and the Grade 3 Lexington over a synthetic surface. In his lone dirt start, he was seventh in the Grade 2 Holy Bull.
"He'll run a mile and a quarter, but the question is whether to run him a mile and a quarter on the dirt," said McGaughey.
Mr Speaker likely will breeze again next Saturday or Sunday, according to McGaughey. * * *
Jess's Dream, one of the highly anticipated 2-year-olds in racing, arrived at the barn of trainer Kiaran McLaughlin at 7:15 a.m. Sunday after a 24-hour van ride from the Stonestreet Training Center in Ocala, Fla.
The colt is the product of a dream mating between Horse of the Year Curlin (2007, 2008) and super filly Rachel Alexandra, the Horse of the Year in 2009. Both champions were raced by the late Stonestreet owner, Jess Jackson, who dreamed of pairing the two before he died in April 2011.
Jess's Dream shipped with three other 2-year-olds - by Tapit, More than Ready and another Curlin - and he laid down for a nap not long after arrival.
"He arrived in good shape with the other three; a little tired, but they shipped great and we're happy to have been selected to train him," McLaughlin said as the feisty Tapit colt bucked and screamed in his stall, while Jess's Dream snoozed next door.
Jess's Dream was born January 22, 2012. His name chosen in a contest and revealed in the winner's circle at the Spa following the running of the 2012 Curlin Stakes.
McLaughlin said the colt will gallop on the main track at 9:20 a.m. Monday.
"We'll get him started tomorrow - show him a new place, canter," McLaughlin said. "He could race this fall. He's been working in Florida at the farm."
McLaughlin knows a horse with such a magnificent pedigree fires the imagination of racing fans, and he, too, is excited.
"I think the nice thing is Stonestreet is very knowledgeable, sharp people, all of them involved, from [owner] Barbara [Banke] on down," McLaughlin said. "They understand the game. Sure, there's a lot of hype, and there should be - two horses of the year being mated. We're all hopeful, but we're just getting started."
* * *
Already off to a hot start at the meet, trainer Graham Motion kept his momentum going with a pair of 2-year-old maiden winners on Saturday, two of the six horses he started on the Whitney Day card.
"I've never run that many horses in one day at Saratoga before," said Motion. "It was a good day. It was coincidence; it just worked out that way. We kind of took a shot in a couple of stakes, but I'm pleased. They all actually ran well."
Motion, 3-for-34 during the 2013 Saratoga meet, entered Sunday's card tied for second in the trainer standings with seven victories, including the Grade 2 Lake George with ju Daring Dancer and the Coronation Cup with Stars Above Me. He added to his win total with juvenile colts Strong Coffee and Pride of Stride on Saturday.
"It always amuses me when people come up to you when you're running a 2-year-old at Saratoga and they say, 'Do you like your horse?'" said Motion. "I mean, believe me, you wouldn't run your horse, a 2-year-old, at Saratoga if you didn't like it. It's like an oxymoron. We all like our horses if we're running them up here, but I'm always very reluctant to run them up here because I know how competitive it can be. I felt pretty good about running those guys yesterday."
A juvenile son of Warrior's Reward owned by Albert Frassetto, Strong Coffee was purchased for $120,000 in March. He came from mid-pack to reel in pace-setting Cordero and drew clear to a three-length victory in 1:44.32 for 1 1/16 miles on the Mellon Turf.
Motion said the effort is likely to earn Strong Coffee a start in the Grade 2, $200,000 With Anticipation on August 28, over the same course and distance.
"He really struggled on the dirt when I brought him up here," said Motion. "We always had in our mind that he was probably more of a grass horse. He comes from a grass family. We took him over to [the] Oklahoma [turf course] and he breezed like a different horse on the grass. He also needed the two turns."
Owned by Qatar Racing, Pride of Stride was a $150,000 yearling purchase last fall at Keeneland. Third by two lengths in his July 10 debut at Delaware Park to another Motion runner, Cleveland Sound, the chestnut son of multiple Grade 1 winner Candy Ride rallied on the outside to win by a length in 1:10.85 for six furlongs on the main track.
"We actually liked him the first time we ran him but he ran very greenly," said Motion. "We felt if he moved forward he would belong. The fact that up here you can run six furlongs is a big help, because you can't really do that anywhere else. I haven't thought about where to go next. I'm not sure if I'll run him back in the [Grade 1, $350,000 Hopeful on Sept. 1]. He looks like a horse that's also going to like two turns."
* * *
Familiar faces will meet in both divisions of the New York Stallion Series at one mile on the turf on Monday at Saratoga.
In the NYSS Cab Calloway for 3-year-olds, Mark My Way (8-5), Free Mugatu (3-1), and Social Rebellion (10-1) will be reunited after finishing 1-2-3 in the seven-furlong NYSS Spectacular Bid on the turf June 22 at Belmont. Mark My Way, a Chester and Mary Broman homebred trained by Linda Rice and ridden by Cornelio Velasquez, overcame a stumble at the start of the Spectacular Bid to prevail by a half-length over Free Mugatu, who was 1 ¼ lengths clear of Social Rebellion.
From that group, Free Mugatu is the only horse to have competed since the Spectacular Bid, finishing fifth on the dirt in the New York Derby on July 12 at Finger Lakes.
The Cab Calloway field also includes Winnitude (15-1), Prophet's Cat (8-1), Mental Iceberg (4-1), Forever Utopia (10-1), and Rivetto (20-1). Post time for the Cab Calloway, race 3 on the nine-race card, is scheduled for 2:04 p.m.
Three-year-old fillies will compete in the NYSS Statue of Liberty, which includes the top eight finishers out of the NYSS Cupecoy's Joy. Like the Spectacular Bid, the Cupecoy's Joy was contested at seven furlongs on the grass June 22 at Belmont.
Old Harbor was installed as the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the Statue of Liberty on the strength of her 4 ½-length win in the Cupecoy's Joy. Trained by Russell Cash, Jr. for Joseph Birnbaum, Old Harbor once again will have the riding services of Angel Arroyo.
In the order in which they finished, the other Cupecoy's Joy runners who have been entered back in the Statue of Liberty comprise Funky Munky Fever (10-1), Lady Kreesa (4-1), Missy Bay (6-1), Henry's Gal (15-1), Miss Narcissist (12-1), Champagne Ruby (20-1), and Selenite (8-1). Desert Valentine (30-1), Takeoff Your Hat (5-1) and Saythreehailmary's (12-1) complete the Statue of Liberty field.
The Statue of Liberty will open the Late Pick 4 on Monday as race 6. Post time is scheduled for 3:43 p.m.


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Under the direction of the Primary presidency, Primary music leaders and pianists have the following responsibilities:
- They plan, teach, and direct the music for singing time, including songs that will be part of the children's sacrament meeting presentation.
- They help with music for the nursery class and other Primary classes as requested.
- They may organize and direct a children's choir as requested.
- Members of the Primary presidency help the ward Primary music leaders and pianists understand how music contributes to Primary. The melodies, words, and messages of Primary songs can teach children the doctrines of the gospel and stay in their hearts throughout their lives.


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U.S. Official: Obama Invites Libyan Rebels to D.C.
TRIPOLI, Libya – The Obama administration reached out Tuesday to the Libyan rebels and said Muammar al-Qaddafi would "inevitably" be forced from power as the U.S.-backed NATO coalition launched a withering bombardment on the Libyan leader's stronghold of Tripoli.
The NATO airstrikes struck in rapid succession shortly after midnight, setting off more than 20 explosions in the most intensive bombardment yet of the Libyan capital. Plumes of acrid-smelling smoke rose from an area around Qaddafi's sprawling Bab al-Aziziya compound in central Tripoli.
And late Tuesday, NATO hit Tripoli again, aiming at least six airstrikes at the same targets and another farther away. Smoke rose from the area near Qaddafi's compound for the second night in a row. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The punishing attack came after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton declared the Libyan leader's ouster was inevitable. Speaking late Monday in London, she said: "We do believe that time is working against Qaddafi, that he cannot re-establish control over the country."
"The opposition has organized a legitimate and credible interim council that is committed to democratic principles, their military forces are improving and when Qaddafi inevitably leaves, a new Libya stands ready to move forward," she said.
The U.S. administration bolstered the standing of the rebel National Transnational Council, calling it a "legitimate and representative and credible" body and extending an invitation Tuesday for it to set up a representative office in Washington -- though the overture stopped short of formal U.S. recognition.
The international community has stepped up both the air campaign and diplomatic efforts against the regime in a bid to break a virtual stalemate between the rebels in the east and Qaddafi, who maintains a stranglehold on most of the west.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told journalists traveling with him Tuesday in Herat, Afghanistan, that he hopes a "solution" will soon come to end the fighting in Libya.
"We are trying to protect the citizens and the population against attacks, and to that end, we have taken out a significant amount of Qaddafi's military capacity," Fogh Rasmussen said. "I feel confident that this combination ... of high military pressure and real political pressure will eventually lead to the collapse of the regime."
Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said at least three people were killed and dozens wounded in the NATO strikes that targeted what he said were buildings used by volunteer units of the Libyan army.
NATO said in a statement the precision-guided strikes hit a vehicle storage facility that had been used in "attacks on civilians." It was not immediately clear if the facility was the only target hit in the barrage. Qaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound, which includes a number of military facilities, has been pounded repeatedly by NATO strikes.
"We thought it was the day of judgment," said 45-year-old Fathallah Salem, who had rushed his 75-year-old mother to the hospital after she suffered shock. He said his home trembled and the youngest of his seven children screamed in terror at the sound of the rolling blasts.
The U.S. launched the international air campaign on March 19 after the United Nations authorized "all necessary measures" to protect civilians following Qaddafi's brutal suppression of the popular uprising against his rule. NATO, which has taken over the airstrikes, says it has been doing its best to minimize the risk of collateral damage.
Critics argue that NATO has overstepped its mandate and is trying to bring about Qaddafi's ouster.
As the alliance has escalated and widened the scope of its strikes over the past weeks, many countries have moved to build closer ties with the rebel movement.
Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh announced Tuesday that his country had recognized the rebels' National Transitional Council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people and would soon name a permanent envoy in Benghazi.
Several other countries, including France and Italy, have recognized the rebel administration, while the United States, European Union and others have established a diplomatic presence in Benghazi.
Jeffrey Feltman, the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, said he had extended an invitation on Obama's behalf to the rebels to establish a representative office in Washington -- a move he called "an important milestone in our relationship with the National Transitional Council."
But he stopped short of formal recognition because of what he called the council's temporary nature, saying its "job is to go out of business as soon as possible." Council members stress they will represent Libyans only until Qaddafi can be defeated and democratic elections held.
"We are not talking to Qaddafi and his people. They are not talking to us. They have lost legitimacy," Feltman told reporters during a visit to the de-facto rebel capital of Benghazi.
Feltman also said he expects Congress to vote soon to allow frozen regime assets in the U.S. to be used for humanitarian aid in Libya.
Rebel leaders welcomed the diplomatic contact, but said only better weapons will help them defeat Qaddafi.
"It is just not enough to recognize (us) and visit the liberated areas," spokesman Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga told The Associated Press. "We have tried very hard to explain to them that we need the arms, we need funding, to be able to bring this to a successful conclusion at the earliest possible time and with the fewest humanitarian costs possible."
Rebels now control the populated coastal strip in the country's east and the western port city of Misrata, which Qaddafi's forces have besieged for months. They also control pockets in Libya's western Nafusa mountain range.


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Once upon a time the U.S. government offered good advice in uncertain times as the above poster from 1917 shows. The uncertainty of those days was not settled until the end of the 2nd WW and a period of stability (relative) achieved which saw previously undreamed of prosperity able to be claimed by all, even amongst a surging global population – until now that is.
"Food Security" is now a buzz phrase due to the avalanche of 'fast food' outlets and reduction of the availability of fresh nutritious food in what is now termed "food deserts". Obesity, diabetes and many other health issues can be a direct result of what we put in our mouths, and it can be seen that placing the stewardship of nutrition from "cradle to grave", into the hands of the "market" has led to the 'maladministration' of the health of society.
There is no doubt that an appreciation of the needs of starving millions prompted the "Green Revolution", sadly, it was brought about by blind adherence to applying petro-chemically derived "NPK" to 'industrial agriculture' on a scale large enough to feed the world. "Get big or Get out" was a mantra which drove the post war food industry where "supply security" was the focal point of farming. Theoretically the trickle down of this global prosperity and green revolution can feed the world, at population levels of "the last century". However, over 1 billion people still remain below the poverty line ($1.25 per day) and another 2 billion are said to be below what western society would call a "subsistence" level. There has been a stark reminder that the rules applying to "last century", no longer apply as the world adds 1 BILLION people to the planet every 12 years. Genetically modified organisms are now being touted to be the scientific answer, pushing food production into the realm of science fiction, and food monopolies into the bank balances of global corporations. Not only is the thought of the existing 7 billion becoming 9, 10 or more billion challenging enough, even with GMO, but no one has had a real handle of what effects a warming planet will add to the mix.
The "Arab Spring" of 2010 and ongoing has been attributed to many issues of democracy, governance, foreign interference etc, but as BoB Marley pointed out many years ago ;
"A hungry man is an angry man, A hungry mob is an angry mob"
The flash point came as the effects of the Russian drought hit, and all grain exports were stopped to service the domestic population. This caused a 40% increase in the price of basic global foodstuffs. What happened then was not new, but there is an additional factor which is appreciated by many of the world's leading scientists that the frequency and intensity of drought conditions will increase. The U.S. is now experiencing its second year of drought. Last year it was Texas, this year it is 85% of the whole country. A by-product of this is the collapse of the corn harvest, highlighting the stupid practice of corn being used as an ethanol fuel base feeding cars instead of feeding people.
Similar conditions can be seen in the Mediterranean where wildfires are raging through Greece, Bosnia and Spain, countries not new to wildfires but identified in I.P.C.C. climate reports as being particularly susceptible to warmer temperatures, a precursor to wildfires.
From an economic perspective Dmitri Orlov gives a dire warning, it is the "supply chains" that will be hit first. The 'Russian experience' demonstrated that shops and supermarkets were suddenly emptied of produce, then things got worse.
A GOOD IDEA. Grow your own food.
http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s867068.htm The ABC's Gardening Australia website gives an easy to learn example of how this can be achieved with the "No-Dig" garden which can be established on almost any type of surface. It is advocated by Permaculture and is practised in many countries where space is at a minimum. The English and European tradition of allotment gardens is undergoing a resurgence and makes it possible to share ideas and food within the community.
Community gardens have many benefits such as preservation of the environment, a place of encounter with many different types of people, an education forum for recycling, composting the 40% of food waste sent to landfill, healthy eating as well as information and reflection around issues like food sovereignty, food crisis and the ecological footprint. It is also important to consider that in the urban areas of many countries, public land is OWNED by the public, – it may well be time to consider what is the best use of that public land.
To see some very sharp visuals of "food security" visit ; http://www.adbusters.org/spoofads/big-mac-attack