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Dramatically boosting California's film tax credit program, Gov. Jerry Brown announced Wednesday a plan to triple the pot of money for entertainment companies that shoot in the Golden State.
Under AB 1839, the state's annual tax credit program will rise from $100 million to $330 million, a move that keeps California on par with New York, which hands out $420 million a year to the entertainment industry.
Brown's support for financial subsidies for Hollywood comes after the governor appeared hesitant to expand the program. In January, Brown likened film tax incentives to an "arms race between one state and another state," and his office had refused to comment on AB 1839 in recent months.
At the same time, Los Angeles-area politicians, including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, have made a significant public relations push to garner support for an expanded program and kept runaway production as a growing concern for the state.
On Wednesday, Brown's office tweeted a photo of the governor sitting with a group of state legislative leaders, including Senate President pro Tempore-Elect Kevin de León. "This law will make key improvements in our Film and Television Tax Credit Program and put thousands of Californians to work," Brown said in a statement.
Under AB 1839, which still must pass the Senate, the program's cap will be lifted to $330 million, effective next year. The lottery system will be replaced, and instead projects will be picked on the production's job-creating capacity. Additionally, blockbuster films and some new types of television dramas, both currently ineligible for the program, will be able to apply.
Numerous unions representing film and television workers spoke out in support Wednesday of the new program. "This is a huge victory for our industry, for our members," said Steve Dayan, secretary/treasurer of Teamsters Local 399, which represents casting directors, animal handlers and other workers.
Paul Audley, president of Film L.A., which oversees film permits in Los Angeles County, predicted the new program will "have a really strong impact on what we're able to draw back to California."
AB 1839 was authored by Assembly members Raul Bocanegra, D-Pacoima, and Mike Gatto, D-Silver Lake.
Under the state's film tax credit program, which first launched in 2009, production companies can apply to receive the tax credits, which can be used toward expenses on a shoot. Studies vary on the effectiveness of the tax credit program, with at least one study released earlier this year finding that the state gets back only about 65 cents for each $1 of tax credit.
The same study, released by the California Legislative Analyst's Office, cautioned that increasing the amount of state subsidies may not bring the entertainment industry to California.
Kris Vosburgh, executive director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a state group devoted to taxpayer issues, on Wednesday accused the state legislature of "picking out one sector because it's sexy" and said subsidies aren't the way to address California's economic problems.
"You can't overcome the fact that, overall, this is a high tax state with a crushing regulatory environment. Good business people see that, and they're leaving," Vosburgh said.
Brown's bill comes days after North Carolina legislatures moved to wind down their own film tax credit program amid concerns that the film industry was being singled out over other industries.
But joining with entertainment workers in Burbank to celebrate Brown's announcement, Garcetti drew a distinction between California and North Carolina, calling the Golden State's program more responsible than other states' plans because it was more selective when handing out financial incentives.
He also praised the job-building potential of AB 1839, calling it "huge."
"This is one of the quickest, most quantifiable ways to get jobs back to this region, almost overnight," Garcetti said.
Since taking office last year, Garcetti has led an aggressive push to increase the state's program, appointing a film czar to oversee production issues in the city and gathering signatures of support for AB 1839 from Los Angeles County mayors. The state study showed that more than 90 percent of the state's entertainment jobs are located in Los Angeles County.
Extending his jobs-building agenda, Garcetti on Wednesday also said he would announce his plan to raise Los Angeles' minimum wage to $13.25 by 2017 next week, on Labor Day, in Martin Luther King Jr. Park in South L.A.
"It concerns me that 20 percent of Los Angeles lives in poverty," Garcetti said. "That people can work full time and not support themselves."


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Abu Sassaka, Crimes against humanity, criminals, IDF, Israel, Israeli crimes, Israeli Defense Forces, Israeli occupation forces, Israeli settlements, Israeli soldiers, Israeli-occupied territories, Jerusalem, Jewish settlers, Mahmoud Aloul, Murdered, NevaehWest Reports, Occupied Jerusalem, Occupied Palestine, olive tree saplings, Palestina occupata, Palestine, Palestine & Gaza, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian cause, Palestinian resistance, President Mahmoud Abbas, Protest, protesters, Resistance, settlement minister, settlements, West Bank, Ziad Abu Ein, Zionism, Zionist entity
This gallery contains 3 photos.
The Settlement Minister in the Palestinian Authority (PA), Ziad Abu Ein, died after a confrontation with Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) during a West Bank protest, witnesses and medics said. President Mahmoud Abbas called Abu Ein's death a "brutal act".
Ahmed Bitawi, the director of the Ramallah hospital, told AFP Abu Ein "was martyred after being beaten in the chest."
Mahmoud Aloul, another leading member of the Fatah movement, told AP the incident occurred when he and Abu Ein joined dozens of protesters carrying olive tree saplings during a protest against land confiscations near the West Bank village of Turmus Aya.
Abu Ein was in charge of a Palestinian Authority department, whose work concerned Israeli settlements and the Israeli separation barrier. Previously, he served as deputy minister for prisoner affairs.
Abu Ein's death follows violent overnight clashes near Shilo, an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank located 28 miles (45km) north of Jerusalem.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Christopher Bailey was in a demure state of mind while designing the Burberry Pre-Fall 2012 collection. Colors are muted, waists are nipped while hemlines run longer, and half of the evening gown options have sleeves. A whiff of the '30s also runs through, between the chrysanthemum print dresses and the ruched bow belts that played a part in almost every look.


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PTP Precision Time Protocol
The Precision Time Protocol (PTP) IEEE 1588 enables the exact cycle synchronisation of several devices in an Ethernet system. When the clocks of the devices such as cameras, PCs and sensors, are synchronised, future software image triggers can be synchronised with 2µs. The GigE Vision 2.0 standard has incorporated PTP IEEE 1588 and warrants maximum compatibility between machine vision hardware and software suppliers in future.
PTP offers precision in the microseconds range and - as far as precision is
concerned - is positioned in-between the competing standards Network Time
Protocol (NTP, a few milliseconds) and Global Positioning System (GPS,
nanoseconds). Component cost is comparatively low. PTP is defined in IEEE 1588
and has developed into a widely known network standard with a growing
community of supported hardware and
software suppliers.
Synchronisation of several cameras
Cameras supporting PTP are put in a special PTP mode which manages and defines the synchronisation of the camera clocks. The device clock of the master is output with the timestamp of the camera and synchronises several cameras. When the PTP mode is set to 'master', 'slave' or 'auto', the camera synchronisation starts in the network provided one device is configured as master.
How is PTP synchronisation obtained?
The process starts with the "master" camera which sends a "sync" message via multicast messaging. The "slave" camera calculates the time difference between its internal cycle and that of the master camera. In addition, Delay Request Message (by the slave) and Delay Response Message (by the master) are sent to synchronise the slave clock with the master cycle. When the time difference of the clock is 2µs, the cameras are in synchronous mode. In addition to the exchange of synchronisation messages, the clocks are constantly readjusted by filters and statistical methods in order to eliminate deviations due to the physical layers, the network, repeater or switch.
Planned software trigger with exact synchronisation
When all device clocks are synchronised, it is either possible to obtain image sequences from all cameras at a previously defined image frequency with exact synchronisation, or to capture future individual events in synchronous manner by simultaneous software trigger. In contrast with asynchronous triggering, synchronous triggering requires knowledge of the future trigger time. By using a GPS timer, multiple camera systems can be synchronised to "real-world time". In this set-up every camera in a system is synchronised with the GPS master which in turn is synchronised to the "real-world time" using GPS.
Learn more:


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Shuswap Lake, also popularly known as Shuswap County or the Shuswap Lake System, is located in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, north of the Okanagan. Prominently shaped like an H, with the Shuswap Lake Main, Anstey Arm, and Seymour Arm and Salmon Arm, like its big four arms.
Shuswap offers more than a thousand of kilometers of shoreline to explore. It promises hours of various wonderful beach activities, enticing tourists from different areas, locally and internationally, to stay longer and check in one of those comfy and homey beach rentals nearby and to try out fun stuff like swimming, fishing, boating and other water related activities and adventures. These folks can spend hours and hours exploring Shuswap's pride, the largest houseboat fleet in Canada, and one of the largest in the world, which also plays a major part in the kind of adventure that visitors seek in this part of the world.
Apart from its interesting and breathtaking landscapes, Shuswap also boasts of an impressive four distinct seasons, along with the exciting and worthwhile activities that went with each one.
If Shuswap guests are looking for some new and exhilarating activity, they might as well stay for a couple of days more in one of the Shuswap vacation rentals or for the more adventurous, they can try one of the 14 campsites found in the area. Highly recommended are Two Mile Creek, Marble Point, Hermit Bay and the Shuswap Lake Provincial Park, which is the best option in terms of vehicle accessibility. They can also explore the rest of the lazy and cozy town, they can join hiking activities hosted at the Herald Provincial Park, or perhaps sign up for self-guided nature walk at the Reinecker Creek. For those who seek even more adventure, they can opt for cross-country skiing during winter time and stay in one of the attractive vacation homes or cabin chalets found at the Larch Hills Cross-Country Area, operated by the Larch Hills Ski Club.
Another recommended Shuswap activity is the wildlife viewing as this area is rich in parks. Most notable of all is the Marine Park in Peter Jannink Nature Park which has a public wharf, a picnic site and a public viewing area. They can try out one of the vacation rentals near various golf courses around Shuswap Lake. Some of the most popular include Anglemont Estate Golf Course, Canoe Creek Golf Course in Salmon Arm, or the Shuswap Lake Estates Golf & Country Club in Sicamous.
No Shuswap visit is ever complete without trying the MV Phoebe Ann, a barge-like vehicle that stops at numerous lakeside locations all year round. It has the capacity of 40 passengers, along with a bunch of kayaks and canoes.
Blind Bay, Anglemont and Adams Lake are some of the nearby vacation regions that guests find interesting to visit as well.
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From frisky foreplay moves to the trick to having a mind-blowing orgasm, we got our trusted sexperts to spill their favorite secrets. Ready to have the best sex of your life? Read on.
From frisky foreplay moves to the trick to having a mind-blowing orgasm, we got our trusted sexperts to spill their favorite secrets. Ready to have the best sex of your life? Read on.
When he's least expecting it, tell your man you need some change. Then stick your hand in his pocket and touch his penis through the fabric, pretending that you're really digging around for that coinage you need. When he's good and hard, whisper something in his ear like, "Is that a roll of quarters in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?" He'll practically bust out of his pants.
—Susan Block, PhD, sex therapist and author of The 10 Commandments of Pleasure
Try the oral-sex technique "The Screw." As you're moving up his shaft with your mouth, turn your head a bit from side to side, letting your tongue follow a corkscrew pattern. When you get to the frenulum — that part of the shaft just beneath the head — be sure to lick it for a few seconds before moving all the way up to the top. Then repeat, moving down his shaft. What will drive him wild about this is that you aren't just going up and down — you're also going sideways. It's 3-D!
—Paul Joannides, author of The Guide to Getting It On
Before you get it on, take a bath together. Bring out the candles and fluffy towels, then put two drops of patchouli oil, three drops of sandalwood oil, and three drops of lavender oil into your bathwater. Patchouli and sandalwood are awakens sensuality, and lavender induces relaxation. The combination of scents and warm-water sensations will completely prime your bodies — and minds. For a truly sensual and erotic experience try thiswater-friendly sex position.
—Nitya Lacroix, author of The Art of Tantric Sex
The next time you go out with your man, wear your sexiest outfit.
Sometimes you have to remind your guy that you're a prize, not an appendage. It really turns most guys on to know they have someone other men want to be with. And it can be a tremendous ego boost for you, too. When you feel sexy, you are sexy. Once you return home from your diva-date, you won't be able to keep your hands off each other.
—Susan Block, PhD, sex therapist and author of The 10 Commandments of Pleasure
Shake up your pre-sex routine by pressing his penis against surprising parts of your body.
Try these frisky ideas. Hold his penis against your inner thigh to tease him like crazy; touch the tip of his penis against your breast, and rub his frenulum against your nipple; or bring the side of his shaft against the outside of one of your cheeks, then put it up to your lips and cover it with wet kisses.
—Ian Kerner, PhD, author of He Comes Next
Give your man a massage without using your hands. Before you begin, slowly undress your partner, but make sure that he stays warm. Then, keeping your hands at your side or behind your back, stroke his body (all except for his penis) with your face, hair, and breasts. Once he's totally relaxed, rub your breasts against his penis and he'll happily rise to the occasion. —Nitya Lacroix, author of The Art of Tantric Sex
Have a romantic dinner without utensils so you can feed each other. There's something sensual about placing food in your partner's mouth. After a meal like this, serve yourself for dessert.
—Ellen Kreidman, author of The 10 Second Kiss
Look at yourself naked in a full-length mirror for five minutes a day and focus on what you love about your body. If this feels awkward, get ready or blow out your hair while standing naked in front of the mirror. By getting used to your unique shape, you'll gain confidence that will naturally spill over into your sex life and make you twice as enticing to your guy.
—Barbara Keesling, author of Discover Your Sensual Potential
Try one of these outfits since they'll help you get in the moment. If you're feeling like a flirty, girlie tease, put on a white cotton undie set or sexy lingerie
and pull your hair into a ponytail, or don a schoolgirl-like plaid miniskirt with an oxford shirt tied above your navel. To become an X-rated seductress, wear something red or black in sheer fabric or lace, then add crimson lipstick and nails. Outfits not only help you get in the moment, they also give him a visual turn-on and inspiration.
—Jamye Waxman, author of Getting Off
Cup your hand around his member, creating a "bun" around his "hot dog." Then kiss the part of his penis that's exposed while breathing hard. Your hand will trap your exhalations and make his penis feel superhot. With your other hand, work his testicles. He'll think he has died and gone to heaven.
—Paul Joannides, author of The Guide to Getting It On
Encourage your man to touch you when you have your favorite tight jeans on (and don't let him take them off). His hand can glide over your crotch more easily, and the material will transmit the sensations over a wider area.
—Paul Joannides, author of The Guide to Getting It On
Stock up on sex toys like velvet-lined handcuffs and silk blindfolds. You can never go wrong with a vibrator. Ask him to buzz it against your clitoris or tell him simply to sit back and watch you handle it. It will feel amazing for you, and he'll be turned on just by seeing you so turned on.
—Susan Block, PhD, sex therapist and author of The 10 Commandments of Pleasure
Share a passionate 10-second kiss every single day. A lot of couples keep having sex but stop really kissing. And that's a shame, because it's such a wonderful, intimate act. So just go up and lay one on him. Instantly, you'll feel passionate instead of platonic. What a rush!
—Ellen Kreidman, author of The 10 Second Kiss
One of the most explosive nerves in the body is located at the top of the inner thigh. Start by licking your finger (the wetness increases the stimulation) and slowly drawing it from the mid–inner thigh to the top. Then follow the path you just traced with your tongue, teasing your way to the upper region. Because the skin here is tender, it's important to watch how he reacts. If he flinches, you're exciting the nerve to the point where it feels too ticklish. If he flinches, give the area
firmer kisses.
—Lori Buckley, PhD, of The Better Sex Video Series
Try re-creating the away-from-home atmosphere in your own bedroom. Buy sheets with the highest threads-per-inch count you can find (look for 200 and above), and invest in some thick, fluffy robes to lounge around in. You'll both feel like you're on an incredible vacation from the rest of the world.
—Ellen Kreidman, author of The 10 Second Kiss
If you're turned on at an inopportune time and in semi-public place, act on your feelings. Although it feels a little bit naughty, a quickie will help you stay faithful. People often have affairs solely for the illicit rush from doing something "bad." Quickies allow you to experience all of the having-an-affair thrill with none of the cheating.
—Ellen Kreidman, author of The 10 Second Kiss
Watching his every move while you're hooking up is a great way to explore more of the emotional side of intercourse. Start by kissing with your eyes open and looking at each other during foreplay. Gradually build up until you can sustain eye contact throughout both of your climaxes. You'll experience your orgasm in a totally different way.
—Barbara Keesling, author of Discover Your Sensual Potential
You might be surprised how easily you can become synchronized. Lay your hand on his chest, and have him do the same. Since heart rate speeds up during orgasm, if you stay hand-to-heart connected while you do it, you'll feel how wild you're driving each other.
—Barbara Keesling, author of Discover Your Sensual Potential
Great sex is all about angles — the angle of his erection and your pelvis determine exactly what hot spots he'll hit and how tightly he'll feel gripped. That's why pillows can be passion's best friend. Try one under his butt while you're on top or supporting your tailbone in the missionary position. You'll be surprised how many new sensations you both experience just by adding a pillow. —Paul Joannides, author of The Guide to Getting It On
Moan, let out animalistic noises or shout his name — whatever you have the urge to do. If you're embarrassed, just know that you're doing your partner a favor. The more you express your pleasure, the more you make him feel like the stud of the universe. Bonus: Your orgasms will be even more powerful if you really let 'er rip vocally.
—Susan Block, PhD, sex therapist and author of The 10 Commandments of Pleasure
Our 4-Week Oral Sex Challenge Is Right This Way
20 April Fools' Pranks to Play On Your Partner
We Guarantee You've Never Seen a Breakup Like This
Hello and Welcome to Lube Week


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Raise your hand if you've ever wasted vacation days that didn't roll over into the next year. Yup, that's what we thought. According to a recent survey from travel website Expedia.com, employed Americans typically earn 14 vacation days a year—but leave two days on the table.
For the most part, we're guilty of skipping vacations for two reasons, the survey notes: It can be tough to coordinate family schedules, and a holiday can often seem too darn expensive to justify.
Both are fair challenges, but taking time away from the office is a boon for your mental and physical health. In fact, women who don't take regular vacations (fewer than one every six years) are eight times more likely to develop heart disease or suffer a heart attack compared to those who travel at least twice a year, according to data gathered in the Framingham Heart Study.
More From Prevention
More from Prevention: How To Relax On Vacation
Plus, the build-up to the big event can actually be the most rewarding part of a trip, according to research from the Netherlands. Researchers concluded that people with a looming vacation enjoyed a boost in mood for eight weeks prior to take-off. Even if they're brief or inexpensive, a few trips to look forward to each year might very well keep you happier at your desk.
Convinced you need to take more holidays? To help you maximize that precious time off, we asked travel experts Rick Griffin and Sandi McKenna, co-hosts of Midlife Road Trip, for their top tips.
Create and maintain a "bucket list." Jot down the resorts, cities, and hiking trails you've been dying to check out—whether they're exotic destinations or merely a few hours from your house. The list will keep you inspired during blah work days, and can serve as a blueprint for future vacations.
Ask for time off—even if you might not travel. You get paid to take vacation days, so use them up. Even if a trip isn't in the cards, use the holiday to tackle projects around the house, try a new class or two, or explore your own environs through the eyes of a tourist.
Save big with social media. Engaging online is a great way to meet fellow travelers and get unfiltered reviews of various destinations, McKenna says. Scan Twitter and Facebook travel clubs for the latest deals, group trips, or other creative ideas that may not have crossed your mind (Volun-tourism? Yes, it's a thing.)
Add a little padding. Take one or two extra days after you return home to decompress—and get caught up on laundry and grocery shopping—before going back to work. These extra days will ease you back into your normal routine, and give you an opportunity to "reflect" on your travels, Griffin says. Take a few hours to organize photos from the trip, Griffin suggests, to keep that holiday spirit alive.
More from Prevention: 6 Ways To Make the Most of Your Vacation
Questions? Comments? Contact Prevention's News Team!


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Every swimmer dreams about coming in first in all their races. However, it isn't possible for every swimmer to come in first. You can increase your chances of coming in first in your races by choosing the right swimsuit that will help you to achieve your goals instead of impeding them. Speedo is a big name in swim gear and offers the Speedo Rapid Splice in several styles so you can enjoy all the benefits a suit has to offer.
For women, the Rapid Splice provides you with adequate coverage with a feminine cut. The back features thin straps over the shoulders that lead to a wider strap that spans the back. This design offers optimal support and a fit that will help you glide through the water easily. For men, the Rapid Splice line comes in both the brief and jammer versions. In general, both these suits will fit well and provide the support and streamlining you need to do your best in the water.
Like many of the other team-friendly competition suits, the Speedo Rapid Splice line comes in a range of colors. While the suits come in black only as the primary color, you can have your choice of colors for the accents, including red, blue, green and orange. Because the swimsuits are primarily black, you can order the suits with your team's logo printed or embroidered onto the suit to further customize them and make your team stand out from the crowd.
The Benefits
The Speedo Rapid Splice swim team suits provide you with many benefits over other types of suits available on the market. For instance, the suits are made from 74 percent nylon and 26 percent Xtra Life Lycra. While most suits are made from Spandex for its stretchy qualities, Xtra Life Lycra is better for swimsuits. This material is highly resistant to deterioration, which is common in swim team suits due to the chlorine, perspiration, sunscreen and other elements they are exposed to. This special Lycra material also holds its shape much better than Spandex, lasting 5 to 10 times longer.
The Speedo Rapid Splice comes in a variety of styles and colors so you can pick the right one for your team. You can even add your own team logo to further personalize the suits. One of the best reasons to purchase this suit for your team is for its longevity of life. When you are spending so much money on your swim team suit, you want one that will last as long as possible.


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Lady Samurai Hoodie$119.99
100% made in EU
Packeta pickup points and courier delivery
100 days return policy
Super cozy, thanks to loose and comfy fit, ribbing at neck and extra soft fabric, it will become your fave hoodie ever! You can dive into this awesome hooded sweatshirt and stay warm all day long. This piece features an all over print, which people will die for! Wear it with whatever you like, pair it with some jeans and conquer the world! Unique fabric melt makes these goodies so enjoyable.
Our strategy
Conscious growth
As our brand grows, we are faced with a challenge: the more we produce, the greater our impact is on the environment. We strive to reduce our overall impact, regardless of the number of products we sell.
One place - minimum emmissions
We use centralized business system. That means we design, manufacture, package and ship in one building(Poland). No unneccessary transport between places saves HUGE amount of CO2 emmisions. We are very proud of that.
Ethically & with purpose
Countering fast, cheap fashion we design our clothes to last. Not only that, but we produce on demand and that saves a lot of our planet's precious resources. As much, as we love our planet we do not forget about people. We do not source our manufacturing to China for cheap and non-ethical labour.


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Book and CD-ROM Collection
Welcome to the virtual life drawing studio of the Twenty First Century!
The iconic Virtual Pose ® series is dedicated to presenting the human figure in a way that allows a deeper understanding of shape, form, and gesture. For professional and student artists alike, Virtual Pose ® (affectionately known as "VP") is the next best thing to working with a live model, and the ultimate reference for amateur artists who have no access to studio sessions.Virtual Pose ® features figure models in artistic poses that can be smoothly rotated, at will, a full 360 degrees on-screen, zoomed-in on, panned, printed, and projected. All is needed is a free QuickTime VR (QTVR) viewer: a couple of MAC/PC compatible options are available to the artist. Virtual Pose ® is iPhone/ iPad compatible.
In all, six volumes would be published, including "Virtual Pose ® Children & Teens," which featured clothed children and teen models. Eventually, Virtual Pose ® would go totally green by offering new, as well as remastered content, via online download only.
This website is dedicated to the art of drawing, painting, and sculpting the human figure and contains tasteful artistic nudity which may not be appropriate for viewing in certain countries. Also, we ask that you do not enter this site if you are younger than 18. Parental Guidance is suggested.
Copyright © 1998 - 2020 by StudioView Interactive, LLC.


text: In Freedom From Speech, author and First Amendment lawyer Greg Lukianoff offers a troubling and provocative theory on why we can expect challenges to freedom of speech to grow in the coming decades, both in the United States and abroad. Lukianoff analyzes numerous examples of the growing desire for "intellectual comfort," such as the rise of speech restrictions around the globe, as well as the increasing media obsession of punishing "offensive" utterances, jokes, and opinions within the United States. To provide a preview of where we may be headed, Lukianoff points to American college campuses, where speakers are routinely disinvited for their opinions, where students increasingly demand "trigger warnings" for classics like The Great Gatsby, and where students are told that they cannot even hand out copies of the Constitution outside of designated "free speech zones." Lukianoff explains how global populations are increasingly arguing not for freedom of speech, but, rather, freedom from speech.


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Due to my Manly Man Fibre Channel Series Part I , Part II , Part III and Part IV, my email box is getting loaded with a lot of questions about various Oracle over NFS combinations. The questions run the gamut from how to best tune Oracle9i on Red Hat AS 2.1 to Oracle10g on Red Hat RHEL 3 (all on NAS/NFS of course). And then it dawned on me. When I say I'm a fan of Oracle over NFS, that is just entirely too generic.
It Ain't Linux Unless It Is a 2.6 Kernel
Honestly folks, Red Hat 3.0-or worse yet, RHAS 2.1? Sheer madness. I'm more than convinced that there are a lot of solid RHEL 3.0 systems out there running Oracle. To those folks I'd say, "If it isn't broken, don't fix it." But RHAS 2.1? That wasn't even an operating system and to be hyper-critically honest, the "franken-kernel" that was RHEL 3.0 wasn't really that much better, what with that hugemem 4×4 split garbage and all. SuSE SLES8 was vastly more stable than RHEL 3.0. But I digress. Look, if you are running on a pre-2.6 Kernel Linux distribution you've simply got to do yourself a favor and plan an upgrade! Now, back to NAS.
What Oracle on NFS?
I'll be brief, I wouldn't even think about using Oracle9i on NAS. I know there are a ton of databases out there doing it, but that is just me. The Oracle Server code specific to NFS (Operating System Dependent code) has gone through some serious evolution/maturation. I've watched the changes specifically handling NFS mature from 9i through 10g and now into 11g. Simply put, I didn't like what I say in Oracle9i-specific to NFS that is. Oracle9i is a perfectly fine release-albeit the port to 64bit Linux was pretty scary. I guess I wasn't that brief. So I'll continue.
So, Oracle9i on NAS is a no-go (in my book), what about Oracle10g? There again, I'll be brief. In my opinion, Oracle10gR1 on NAS was about as elegant as a fish flopping around on a hot sidewalk-not a pretty picture. Yes, I have my reasons why for all this stuff, but this blog entry is purely an assertion of my opinion.
Thus far, I discussed 9i and 10gR1 Linux ports. I cannot speak authoritatively about the Solaris ports of either vis a vis fitness for NFS. If I was a betting man and had two dimes to rub together I would wager them that even the Solaris releases of 9i and 10g were probably pretty shaky on NAS. That leads us to 10gR2.
Oracle10gR2 on NAS is solid-at least for Linux clients. I have seen Metalink stories about Legacy Unix ports that have RMAN problems with NFS as a near-line backup target. Again, I cannot speak for all these sundry platforms. They are good platforms, but I don't deal with them day to day.
Don't jump the gun…tomorrow AM…
In this May 5, 2007 post on toasters, a list participant posted the following:
We are about to start testing Oracle 9i (single instance) with NetApp NAS (6070) filers. We currently have Oracle running on Solaris 9 with SAN storage attached and VERITAS.
I wouldn't touch that project with a 10 foot pole. If that database is stable, I wouldn't switch out the storage architecture-especially on that old of an Oracle release.
I've also had a thread going with Chen Shapira who has blogged about Oracle troubles on NAS. Her point throughout that blog entry, and the comments to follow, was that they've suffered uptime impact that never really solidly indicts to the storage, but there seems to be a lot of fingers pointed that way. Having read of the types of instability his systems have suffered, I suspected old stuff. It came out in the comment section that they are on RHEL 3.0 64-bit. Now, like I've said, RHEL 3.0 is carrying a lot of Oracle databases out there I know, but I wonder how many on NAS? When I say Oracle on NFS, I'm mostly saying Linux Oracle10gR2 releases on Linux 2.6 Kernels—and beyond.
I made a blog entry on this topic back in October of last year as well.
Old Operating System Releases
I take criticism (by true believers mostly) when I point out that running Oracle on a Legacy Unix release that is, say, four years old is not a reason for concern. I wish I could say the same thing about the current state of the art in the Linux world. Dating back to my first high-end Linux project (The Tens–A 10 Node, 10TB, 10,000 User Oracle9i Linux Cluster Project in 2002), I've been routinely reminded that Linux stands for:
(L)inux (i)s (n)ot (u)ni(x)
Now, that said, you'll find much less dissatisfaction with Oracle in general on 2.6 Linux Kernel based systems, but in my opinion, that goes extra for NAS deployments


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In the heart of Sorrento
Located in the heart of Sorrento, Palazzo Starace is just twenty meters away from Piazza Tasso, the main cultural center of Sorrento.
Palazzo Starace is within short walking distance of the main square, the port from where you can reach the islands of Capri and Ischia, the Circumvesuviana Station, that connects Sorrento to Pompeii and Herculaneum, the fishing village of Marina Grande and the historical center of Via San Cesareo.
On the third floor of a distinguished historical building, Palazzo Starace Guest House offers the opportunity to stay in Comfort Rooms, Superior Rooms and Apartments.
International breakfast is served in our quaint kitchen on the first floor.
Whether it's for an intense weekend or a long stay our goal is to make your holiday in Sorrento exciting and memorable.


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Lil Wayne Hospitalized for Seizures
Mega-selling rapper Lil Wayne was admitted to Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai hospital Tuesday night - and released on Wednesday morning, TMZ reports. Later that day, Wayne tweeted to his followers, "I'm fine. Thank u."
Wayne, 30, previously revealed that he's epilectic, which is why he suffers from occasional seizures.
The rapper, who is scheduled to start two months of tour dates in July, spent six days in March at Cedars, reportedly in intensive care. He has been hospitalized several times with seizures.
You can't miss this season's season finales?
Wayne said recently in an interview, "The reason being for the seizures is just plain stress, no rest, overworking myself. That's just typical me, though."
View original Lil Wayne Hospitalized for Seizures at TVGuide.com
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Search Buddhist Channel
Buddhism Roots Deeply in America
by Andrew Lam, New America Media, Oct 18, 2009
Los ANgeles, USA -- While the Dalai Lama was snubbed by President Barack Obama, who refused to meet with him last week, there was an open door policy everywhere else in our nation's capital – from congressional receptions to synagogues and schools.
One scene in particular is striking: the most famous monk of the 20th Century on the dais, lecturing on wisdom in the modern world as hundreds of enthralled monks and laymen look on below. The scene harks back to the golden era of Tibet, with the halls festooned with hundreds of strings of colorful Tibetan prayer flags, except the event took place at American University.
In the last half of the 20th Century, America cunningly exported itself overseas, marketing its images, ideologies, products and religions with ingenuity and zeal, but what it has not been able to fully assess or prepare for are the effects in reverse. For if Americanization is a large part of globalization, the Easternization of the West, too, is the other side of the phenomenon.
I take it as some cosmic law of exchange that if Disneyland pops up in Hong Kong and Tokyo, Buddhist temples can sprout up in Los Angeles, home of the magic kingdom. Indeed, it comes as no surprise to many Californians that scholars have agreed that the most complex Buddhist city in the world is nowhere in Asia but Los Angeles itself, where there are more than 300 Buddhist temples and centers, representing nearly all of Buddhist practices around the world.
Last week CNN reported that, "programs and workshops educating inmates about meditation and yoga are sprouting up across the country." There are more than 75 organizations working with some 2,500 people, most of them prisoners, and they inspired a documentary called "The Dhamma Brothers."
This December, Thomas Dyer, a former Marine and one-time Southern Baptist pastor, will head to Afghanistan as the first Buddhist chaplain in the history of the U.S. Army.
The Supreme Court is currently deciding on Salazar vs. Buono. At issue is whether a cross that stood in the Mojave National Preserve is a religious symbol or not. The National Park Service had turned down a request to have a Buddhist stupa erected a few years back. The question to ask then: Why should the Christian cross be accepted in a national park as an icon that transcends religion but not a Buddhist symbol? And, what would the high court say about religious plurality if it decides that one religion is to take precedence over another on public lands?
Yet, despite Buddhism's message of inner peace and compassion, it, in its own way, is a very radical spiritual practice for its refutation of the existence of a creator. In essence, the serious practitioner aims to extinguish the self by defeating his own ego and, thereby, seeing beyond the illusion spun by the ignorant mind.
The ultimate Buddhist experience entails neither god nor self, neither "out there" nor "in here," for that membrane that separates the practitioner's being and that of the world, upon awakening, has been lifted. All that remains is - ohm – absolute awe and bliss. Imagine, if you will, Moses not turning his face away from the burning bush that is god but approaching it then fully merging with that terrifying fire.
As ties deepened between the two continents, as immigration from Asia continues, and as the Dhamma [Buddha's teachings] spreads beyond all borders, we are entering what many thinkers and philosophers call the second axial age, an age of pluralism where the various spiritual traditions co-exist.
In these global days, no single system can exist as a separate entity, nor can its borders remain impervious to change, all exist to a various degree of openness and exchange. And the old Silk Road along which so many religious ideas traveled has been replaced by a far more potent thoroughfare: unprecedented global migration, mass communications, and the information highway, which transcends geography.
I once kept on the wall in my study two very different pictures to remind me of the way East and West have changed. One is an issue from a Time magazine on Buddhism in America. In it, a group of American Buddhists sits serenely in lotus position on a wooden veranda in Malibu overlooking a calm Pacific Ocean. The other is of Vietnamese-American astronaut named Eugene Trinh's space shuttle flight. The pictures tell me that East and West have not only met, but also commingled and fused. When a Vietnamese man who left his impoverished homeland can come very close to reaching the moon, while Americans are turning inward, trying to reach nirvana with each mindful breath, I think that East-West dialogue has come a long way.
Andrew Lam is the author of Perfume Dreams:Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora


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The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear two challenges to state and federal laws dealing with the recognition of gay and lesbian couples to legally wed.
Oral arguments will likely be held in March, with a ruling expected by late June.
One appeal to be heard involves the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denies federal benefits to same-sex couples legally married in their own state. The second is a challenge to California's Proposition 8, a voter-approved referendum that took away the right of same-sex marriage that previously had been approved by state courts.
Currently, Maryland, Washington, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and the District of Columbia issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Minnesota voters also rejected an effort to ban such unions through a constitutional amendment.
Five states - Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey and Rhode Island - currently allow civil unions that provide rights similar to marriage.
Here is a timeline showing the progression of same-sex marriage across the country.
– September 21, 1996 – President Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act banning federal recognition of same-sex marriage and defining marriage as "only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife."
– December 20, 1999 – The Vermont Supreme Court rules that gay and lesbian couples should be given the same rights as heterosexual couples.
– November 18, 2003 – The Massachusetts Supreme Court rules that a ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
– February 20, 2004 – Sandoval County, New Mexico, begins issuing same-sex marriage licenses, but they are nullified by the state attorney general that same day.
– February 12 – March 11, 2004 – Nearly 4,000 same-sex couples get marriage licenses in San Francisco.
– February 24, 2004 – President Bush announces support for a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
– February 27, 2004 – New Paltz, New York, Mayor Jason West performs same-sex marriages for about a dozen couples.
– March 3, 2004 – In Portland, Oregon, the Multnomah County Clerk's office issues marriage licenses for same-sex couples. Benton County follows, on March 24.
– June 7, 2004 – The Supreme Court of Ulster County, New York, issues a permanent injunction to stop Jason West, the mayor of New Paltz, New York, from marrying same-sex couples.
– March 11, 2004 – The California Supreme Court orders San Francisco to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
– May 17, 2004 – The first legal same-sex marriages in U.S. history are performed in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
– July 14, 2004 -A proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage fails in the U.S. Senate. A procedural vote to move the measure to the Senate floor for final consideration fails 48-50 - 12 votes shy of the 60 required by Senate rules.
– August 12, 2004 – The California Supreme Court orders San Francisco officials, including Mayor Gavin Newsom, not to license additional same-sex marriages, pending resolution of the constitutional challenges to state marriage statutes.
– September 30, 2004 – The U.S. House of Representatives votes against amending the Constitution to prohibit gay marriage.
– October 5, 2004 – A Louisiana judge throws out an amendment to the state constitution banning gay marriage, because the ban also includes civil unions.
– November 2, 2004 – Eleven states pass constitutional amendments defining marriage as being between a man and a woman only: Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah.
– March 14, 2005 – A Superior Court judge rules that California's law that limits marriage to a union between a man and a woman is unconstitutional.
– April 14, 2005 – Oregon's Supreme Court nullifies the same-sex marriage licenses issued there in 2004.
– May 12, 2005 – A federal judge strikes down Nebraska's ban on protection and recognition of same-sex couples.
– August 5, 2004 – A Washington judge rules the state's law defining marriage is unconstitutional.
– January 18, 2005 – The Louisiana State Supreme Court reinstates the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage that was thrown out in October 2004.
– September 6, 2005 – The California Legislature passes a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. The legislature is the first in the U.S. to act to sanction gay marriages without being forced by a court order.
– September 14, 2005 – The Massachusetts Legislature rejects a proposed amendment to its state constitution to ban same-sex marriages.
– September 29, 2005 – California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoes the bill legalizing same-sex marriage.
– October 1, 2005 – A Connecticut law goes into effect that allows civil unions, and an amendment is included that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
– October 7, 2005 – The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court hears a case challenging a 1913 law prohibiting nonresidents from marrying in Massachusetts if the marriage is prohibited in their home state. The law has been used in recent years to prevent same-sex couples from getting married.
– November 8, 2005 – Texas becomes the 19th state to adopt a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
– January 20, 2006 – A Maryland judge rules the state's law defining marriage is unconstitutional.
– March 30, 2006 – The highest court in Massachusetts rules that same-sex couples who live in other states cannot get married in Massachusetts unless gay marriage is legal in their home states.
– May 16, 2006 – Georgia's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage is struck down in Fulton County Superior Court. The court says a measure approved by voters in 2004 violated a rule that limits ballot questions to a single subject. Appeals are pending.
– June 6, 2006 – Alabama voters pass a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
– July 6, 2006 – The New York Court of Appeals rules that a state law banning same-sex marriage is legal, and the Georgia Supreme Court upholds the state's constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
– November 7, 2006 – Constitutional amendments to ban same-sex marriage are on the ballot in eight states. Seven states pass theirs - Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin - while Arizona voters reject the ban.
– December 21, 2006 – Civil unions are legalized in New Jersey. The law goes into effect on February 19, 2007.
– January 1, 2008 – The civil unions law signed by New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch in April 2007 goes into effect.
– May 15, 2008 – The California Supreme Court rules that the state's ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional. The decision goes into effect on June 16.
– October 10, 2008 – The Connecticut Supreme Court rules that the state must allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.
– November 4, 2008 – Voters in California approve Proposition 8, which will amend the state's constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Voters in Arizona and Florida approve similar amendments to their state constitutions.
– March 23, 2009 – The Vermont state Senate votes 26 to 4 to legalize same- sex marriages. The bill goes before the state's House of Representatives on March 27, 2009. Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas says he will veto a same-sex marriage bill if it comes across his desk.
– April 3, 2009 – The Iowa Supreme Court strikes down a state law banning same-sex marriage.
– April 7, 2009 – Vermont becomes the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriages after both the state Senate and House of Representatives overturn a veto by Gov. Jim Douglas. The Senate vote is 23-5, while the House vote is 100-49.
– April 27, 2009 – Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Iowa as the court ruling comes into effect. Dozens of couples across the state apply for marriage licenses and at least three marriages are performed.
– May 6, 2009 – Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Maine, as Gov. John Baldacci signs a bill less than an hour after the state legislature approves it.
– May 6, 2009 – New Hampshire lawmakers pass a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. The House passes the bill in a 178-167 vote after the Senate approved the legislation in a 13-11 vote.
– May 26, 2009 – The California Supreme Court upholds the passage of Proposition 8, banning same-sex marriage. However, 18,000 such marriages performed before Proposition 8 will remain valid.
– May 31, 2009 – Nevada legalizes domestic partnerships. The state Assembly votes 28-14 to override Gov. Jim Gibbons' veto.
– June 17, 2009 – President Barack Obama signs a memorandum granting some benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.
– July 7, 2009 – A new District of Columbia law recognizing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere takes effect.
– November 3, 2009 – Voters in Maine repeal the state's law allowing same-sex marriage.
– December 15, 2009 – The Washington, D.C., City Council votes to legalize gay marriage, 11-2.
– January 1, 2010 – Same-sex marriage becomes legal in New Hampshire.
– March 3, 2010 – Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Washington, D.C.
– July 9, 2010 – Judge Joseph Tauro of Massachusetts rules that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional because it interferes with a state's right to define marriage.
– July 15, 2010 – A federal appeals court upholds the District of Columbia law, rejecting an anti-same-sex marriage referendum.
– August 4, 2010 – Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker of the United States District Court for the Northern District Of California decides in Perry v. Schwarzenegger that Prop 8 is unconstitutional.
– January 31, 2011 – Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signs the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act. It will go into effect June 1, 2011.
– February 1, 2011 – The Iowa House of Representatives passes Joint Resolution 6, an amendment proposal banning same-sex marriage, by a vote of 62-37.
– February 16, 2011 – Hawaii's Senate passes a measure to legalize same-sex unions. Gov. Neil Abercrombie says that he will sign the bill, which will take effect January 1, 2012.
– February 23, 2011 – The Obama administration instructs the Justice Department to stop defending the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act in court.
– April 25, 2011 – King & Spalding, the private law firm hired by House Speaker John Boehner, backs out of defending the Defense of Marriage Act.
– May 12, 2011 – Delaware Gov. Jack Markell signs legislation allowing civil unions between same-sex couples in the state. The bill will take effect January 1, 2012.
– June 14, 2011 – Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York proposes the Marriage Equality Act, a bill to legalize marriage for same-sex couples.
– June 14, 2011 – The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California upholds a lower court ruling that invalidated Proposition 8's ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. The ruling had been challenged when the lower court's judge was found to be gay.
– June 24, 2011 – The New York Senate votes to legalize same-sex marriage. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signs the bill just before midnight, and the bill goes into effect July 24, 2011.
– July 2, 2011 – Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee signs legislation making that state the fifth to allow civil unions between same-sex couples.
– September 30, 2011 – The Pentagon issues new guidelines allowing military chaplains to perform same-sex ceremonies.
– January 1, 2012 – Civil unions become legal in Delaware and Hawaii.
– January 30, 2012 – Legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in the state of Washington passes a House committee vote and heads to the Senate. Gov. Chris Gregoire is in favor of the bill.
– February 1, 2012 – The Washington state Senate passes a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, by a vote of 28-21. On February 8, 2012, the House approves the measure by a vote of 55-43.
– February 7, 2012 – A three-judge panel with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rules that Proposition 8, the voter-approved same-sex marriage ban, violates the Constitution.
– February 13, 2012 – Same-sex marriage is signed into law in Washington state by Gov. Christine Gregoire. The law will go into effect in June unless opponents halt its implementation by putting it on the November 2012 ballot.
– February 13, 2012 – The New Jersey state Senate passes a bill to legalize same-sex marriage by a vote of 24-16.
– February 17, 2012 – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoes a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. New Jersey lawmakers have until the legislative session ends in January 2014 to override Christie's veto and would need a two-thirds majority in both houses to succeed.
– February 23, 2012 – The Maryland Senate passes a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. The bill passed the Maryland House vote earlier in the month, and Gov. Martin O'Malley has promised to sign it into law. The law will go into effect in the summer if it survives a likely court challenge.
– May 8, 2012 – North Carolina voters pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, putting a ban that already existed in state law into the state's charter.
– May 9, 2012 – Excerpts from an interview with ABC air in which President Barack Obama endorses same-sex marriage, the first such statement by a sitting president. He feels that the legal decision should be up to the states.
– May 30, 2012 – A lawsuit is filed in Illinois by nine same-sex couples, challenging the constitutionality of a state law that denies same-sex couples the right to marry.
– May 31, 2012 – The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston rules that the Defense of Marriage Act discriminates against gay couples.
– June 5, 2012 – The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco denies a request to review an earlier court decision stating that California's Proposition 8 violates the Constitution. A stay on same-sex marriages in California remains in place until the issue is exhausted in the courts.
– October 18, 2012 – The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules that the Defense of Marriage Act violates the Constitution's equal protection clause, deciding in favor of widow Edith Windsor, an 83-year-old lesbian who sued the federal government for charging her more than $363,000 in estate taxes after being denied the benefit of spousal deductions.
– November 6, 2012 – Voters in Maryland, Washington and Maine passed referendums legalizing same-sex marriage. This is the first time same-sex marriage has been approved by a popular vote in the United States. Voters in Minnesota rejected a ban on the practice.
– December 5, 2012 – Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, signs Referendum 74, the Marriage Equality Act, into law.
– December 7, 2012 – The U.S. Supreme Court announces it will hear two constitutional challenges to state and federal laws dealing with the recognition of gay and lesbian couples to legally wed. Oral arguments in the appeal will likely be held in March, with a ruling by late June.
Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships:
Civil unions grant couples most of the rights of state civil marriages, but provide none of the federal benefits of marriage, such as Social Security benefits. These rights include spousal support, medical decision-making privileges, access to a partner's insurance, and hospital visitation rights. Many cities and counties across the nation offer domestic partner registries that are open to gay couples or unmarried heterosexual couples.
Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage by State:
Civil Union or Domestic Partnership
Limited Domestic Partnership, Reciprocal Beneficiary, Designated Beneficiary
Domestic Partnership Health Care Benefits for State Employees
Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage Outside the U.S.:
Remember who started this marriage thingy? God did. Remember who he joined together? A women and a man. At no time did God join people of the same s@x. That should make it quit clear to all of us.
I suppose if one is so worried about what God would say about their marriage, one should not marry a gay person.
Let each person worry about their own eternity; it is on them, and not anyone else.
Actually it's kinda funny, but God didn't create marriage we did. And to boot what you are describing is holy matrimony, which is a religious concept. Far unlike marriage which is a civil contract, with no religious ramifications.
In the end, gay marriage doesn't affect me, or my wife. But it does affect my little brother who is gay. And it could in fact affect my kids or grandkids. I will be damned if I will sit back and see a law stand that will unfairly affect my family line. Gays deserve the right to marry each other, and I hope their divorce rate is less than the so called "blessed" unions that are currently created.
I just don't understand how this nation got built by the dumb idots who never went to college
Chomsky said americans do not attend college for an education but for a degree, and todays colleges more and more depend upon students purchasing those degrees with credit.
The only thing they get is training and in his words; "Many graduate dumber or to be kind, less educated than they were on first day of entrance.
If you want to know why today the social and economic fabric of nation is being run down just look to those which lay claim to of been educated within the last 50 YEARS.
As Solon said centuries ago to the city of Athens residents who pandered to political tyrants: " You each may be crafty souls, but as a group no more than fools."
And he was talking to the educated elite of his times.
Google this...
Leaked Audio Captures Romney Asking Employers To Tell Their Employees How To Vote
"What God has joined together let no man put asunder."
Philip, you are the ignorant one. By YOUR reasoning, anyone who does not follow YOUR little book is not legally married. So, the 5 1/2 billion on this planet who do not follow your archaic are living in "sin"? What of the Chinese? The Indians? Your "god" is as powerful as Zeus, and look how much fear THAT name generates today. Marriage is a legal contract, and NO religion, or deity, is needed to verify it. Even if you do get married in a religious ceremony, you must FIRST get a CIVIL license to get married. Sorry, but civil law trumps your 2000 year old book filled with 3000 year old stories. Here's your homework ... name one, just ONE court case where the decision was based on your bible, and the bible was used as evidence in a case.
Barack Obama is not good
Mitt Wrongly is the death of this nation, hes not only bad for this nation but for this world!
Holy Matrimony is a term that Christians use to describe Marriage. Therefore, both can be used interchangeably.
God is in fact the one who insti tuted marriage/holy matrimony. Man was the one who had to add on a contract, of course we all know why... money!
Er, that fact? It's not actually a fact.
I predict Romney will win by 1 electoral vote
Gm@Mary, true, except God requires all marriages to be registered with local authorites before they meet with his [God's] approval.
Heb. 13, vs 4: "Let marriage be honorable among ALL, AND THE MARRIAGE BED BE WITHOUT DEFOLEMENT, for God will judge fornicators and adulterers." (Getting legally married plays an important part in having a marriage that is accepted as "honorable")
@Mirasol. Good morning. Nice to meet you. Where ya from? I'm from Colorado Springs. 🙂
Firstly, Adam was created approx. 7,037 years ago according to the bible, so you are off by about 4,000 years. (you said the bible covers 3,000 years of history)
Secondly, even US Supreme Court cases have been won using the bible as evidence. Many of our rights to speak freely were won using the bible as evidence.
You froget that most of our leaders believe in the bible, and even swear by it. President Obama swore an oath on his bible when he took office, for example.
Did you know that the uS Congress prays to God before every session?
Right to speak freely won by using the Bible as evidence? Really? Please cite your source.
The right to love and be loved is a value I was brought up with living in America. As a US citizen involved with the betterment my community and country, I never realized the underlying hate and indifference so many of my fellow Americans have. What's ironic is the hate and indifference is very often packaged as a religious and moral value.
I'm a good man. The type of person who will always be there in your time of need. The type of person who will take care of your sick mother when you can't be there. The type of employer who will strive to make your life better. The type of employee who will contribute to the success of the company as a whole and always support my colleagues.
I am also a gay man that has fallen in love with a kind and generous soul from Mexico. We have been together for seven years. Unfortunately, he has not been able to obtain a visa of any sort yet (97% rejection rate), and our love, union and marriage is not recognized by the US government. Our families are divided and I am now exiled to another country to follow my heart. This is causing some very real hardships – my parents are aging and need me, us, to be with them. I want to come home and contribute to my country – as I always have. However, DOMA and the immigration laws dictated by it, will not allow that to happen.
The sad truth is that our country, and its people, are being hurt by DOMA, and far too many valuable taxpayer dollars are being spent to enforce it.
Open your hearts, open your minds. Support legislation that enables people to love and contribute to our great nation. Supporting hate and discrimination is a waste of valuable energy and resources.
my partner's mother was diagnosed with lung cancer today, after 22 years I always hoped she'd see us marry. I'm crying today.
There is nothing more stupid than a state that bans gay marriage. Legal in 50 states is the only answer.
How did South Africa (2006) beat the U.S. on this? Sad.


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According to TechCrunch, Facebook is testing out default emotive status updates that might encourage users to throw in additional context to what they're doing.
More and more, Facebook is getting into the business of emotions. When Facebook introduced Timeline, it was compelling users to share bits and pieces about their lives and to be the de facto platform for cataloging life's milestones. The social network has also introduced emojis into its messaging platform. Still, it appears that Facebook wants us to share more about ourselves, and to do so the platform is experimenting with structured status updates that asking how we're feeling.
If this update rolls out to everyone, users can add details like how we're feeling, what we're watching, what we're reading, what we're listening to, and other minor details that may seem small but actually are of critical importance to Facebook.
These emotive status updates are like mini life events, and by encouraging you to add more details about your life, Facebook is able to better gauge your immediate interests that can't be figured out by simple "Likes." In fact, Mark Zuckerberg during the Q4 earnings call, mentioned in passing a key detail about Facebook's strategy moving forward. Facebook in 2013 is making an effort with scraping the content that you're publishing on its platform. For instance, based on an example Zuckerberg provided, he said that if you haven't identified your location, but shared it in an update, Facebook will be able to figure out where you are. This same strategy applies to this personalized status update that Facebook is experimenting with. If you're sharing immediate interests via emotive status updates, Facebook would be able to better target its ads accordingly.
In response to discovering the test, Facebook had this to say:
"It's just a new way for people to visually represent what they're doing and how they're feeling through their Facebook posts. It will only be available to small set of people. This isn't integrated into Graph Search. It's just a small test to see if people are interested in sharing their actions in a more visual way."
What are your thoughts on this type of status update?
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I can't let 2015 fade into the night without making mention of a remarkable man who passed away in a little town in central Poland on December 20, the day before the winter solstice.
I had the privilege of meeting Marian Bereska first in 2009, when he finally was willing to tell his story of how he and is mother Janina together hid five Jews from the Radomsko ghetto in their little house.
(Below: Janina Bereska with young Marian)
For seventy years, he'd kept this story to himself. He hadn't told his wife, his children, or any of his neighbors or friends in the town where he'd lived his entire life. In the postwar years, under Communism, secrecy about the past had become a habit. For a while it appeared that Marian Bereska would carry his secret to the grave.
I will always remember that remarkable winter day in an empty hotel dining room in Radomsko, with snow falling outside the windows– when Marian met with me, his grandson Szymon (who helped persuade his grandfather that it was safe now to tell his story), my journalist friend Maciej Ziembinski, and my translator Tomasz Cebulski, to tell us his story, even sketching out the dimensions of the bunker in my little black notebook—the trapdoor in the kitchen, the second door to the potato cellar. His mother Janina was a young widow with young children (Marian was eight). They hid five people—Berek Ofman, his schoolmate Regina Epstein, her parents, and her cousin– in their bunker for two years. Young Marian procured food for the hidden guests, trading linens for bread. They came close to disaster more than once. In occupied Poland, the Nazi's penalty for anyone found hiding Jews was death for the entire family.
When I asked Marian why he and his mother had assumed the brutal risks of harboring fugitives during the German occupation, he brushed off my query: the question had no meaning. They saw people who needed their help. They responded.
As we move into the New Year, at a time when so many around the globe and in our communities are on the move seeking safety, shelter, sustenance– it's worth pausing to think about those like Marian and Janina Bereska who said yes to rescuing strangers, even at grave risk to themselves. Rest in peace, Marian.
photo: Marian Bereska in 2011, Warsaw, with Leo Ofman, son of Berek Ofman, who was rescued with 4 others by Marian and his mother Janina. This was the day of the ceremony in which Marian received the Medal of the Righteous Among the Nations, from Yad Vashem on behalf of his mother and himself.


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Ping-pong ball, Kane haunt gallant Flyers
Oh, that damn ping-pong ball.
With a little luck in the 2007 lottery, the Flyers would have had the first overall draft pick that summer and would have selected winger Patrick Kane.
The Flyers had the worst record that season, but they lost the lottery to the Chicago Blackhawks, who chose Kane.
The same guy who broke the collective hearts of the Flyers and their loyal fans Wednesday night at the Wachovia Center.
Kane scored 4:06 into overtime to give the Blackhawks a 4-3 win that clinched their first Stanley Cup since 1961.
"It stings. It hurts," said Flyers winger Scott Hartnell after a heroic, two-goal performance. "It'll give us more fuel in training camp next year."
Kane had three goals and five assists in the Finals. On Wednesday, he also had a pair of assists as Chicago won the series, four games to two.
The Flyers played gallantly and had a remarkable playoff run, highlighted by their comeback from a 3-0 series deficit against Boston in the conference semifinals.
But Chicago was the better team. The Hawks showed it by thoroughly outplaying the Flyers in the last two games.
The first period figured to set the tone, and the Hawks were dominating. At one point, they were outshooting the Flyers, 16-3. They finished with a 41-24 advantage in shots, and they controlled the game with their passing, fore-checking and speed.
But the Flyers, to their credit, would not go away. They sent it into OT when Hartnell scored with 3:59 left in regulation, and they almost won it when Jeff Carter had an open net with 1:29 remaining.
Carter couldn't get the shot up, and Hawks goalie Antti Niemi, who was sprawled on the ice, was able to make the save,
Throughout the game _ and most of the series _ the Flyers had only one line working. Danny Briere, Hartnell and Ville Leino combined for all three goals and seven points. Leino tied an NHL rookie record with 21 playoff points, and Briere fell one point shy of the NHL record for points in the Finals _ 13 by someone named Wayne Gretzky in 1988.
The Briere line was plus-15 in the series.
The Mike Richards-Carter and Simon Gagne line was a combined minus-21 in the Finals.
So where do the Flyers go in the off-season?
Probably shopping for a goalie.
Michael Leighton had a very good season and was superb in the conference finals (three shutouts) against Montreal, but he was shaky in the Finals _ and allowed a bad goal to Kane, who was deep inside the left circle, nearly at the goal line, when his shot appeared to go through the goalie's legs for the Cup-winner.
The hunch here is that the Flyers, who have said they want to re-sign Leighton, will now explore the goalie market. Montreal's Carey Price (not my No. 1 choice), Vancouver's Cory Schneider, Nashville's Dan Ellis and Los Angeles' Jonathan Quick and Jonathan Bernier are among the candidates.
But that's for another day.
The Flyers, seventh-seeded in the East, should be saluted for a sensational two-month playoff march in which they overcame injuries, deficits and higher-seeded teams as they came within two wins of their first Cup since 1975.
"We went through a lot this year as a group," Richards said. "I can't analyze the season right now, but like I said, we went through a lot. We've gone through a lot together. When you go through stuff like that, I think it brings the group closer together."


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« July 2012 |
| September 2012 »
The more we hear of the wretched voices from Tampa, the clearer and more compelling becomes the need to take every step we can to re-elect President Barack Obama.
Posted by John Roosevelt Boettiger on Thursday, 30 August 2012 | Permalink
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I occasionally come upon an unfamiliar word or phrase that particularly tickles my fancy. Today's example, courtesy of an old and well-read friend, is sockdolager.
A sockdolager is a hard hit, knockout or finishing blow or remark; something exceptional or outstanding.
As in Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckelberry Finn: "The thunder would go rumbling and grumbling away,..and then rip comes another flash and another sockdolager."
J.R. Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms (1848) offers us another related usage, one hopes for the sake of the fish among us referring to an obsolete instrument: "Socdolager, a patent fish~hook, having two hooks which close upon each other by means of a spring as soon as the fish bites."
I discovered from the Online Etymology Dictionary that sockdologising "was nearly the last word President Abraham Lincoln heard. During the performance of Tom Taylor's 'Our American Cousin,' assassin John Wilkes Booth (who knew the play well) waited for the line 'Well, I guess I know enough to turn you inside out, you sockdologising old man-trap,' and as the audience laughed, Booth fired the fatal shot."
Another use of the term is in a tale told by Davy Crockett during his years as a member of Congress. He characterized as sockdolagers two comments addressed to him by a learned farmer and constituent, one Horatio Bunce, who persuaded Crockett that he had inadvertently violated the Constitution by his support of a bill passed by the House of Representatives in the preceding year. It's a good story, and may be found here.
Davy Crockett
Posted by John Roosevelt Boettiger on Thursday, 30 August 2012 | Permalink
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Reflecting on the sentencing three days ago of Anders Behring Breivik, I was struck once again by the humanity of the Norwegian system of justice, particularly when compared to that of the United States.
Lisa Guenther is an associate professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University and the author of a forthcoming book, Social Death and Its Afterlives: A Critical Phenomenology of Solitary Confinement. Her essay is reprinted from The New York Times of 26 August 2012.
Living Death of Solitary Confinement
By LISA GUENTHER
There are many ways to destroy a person, but the simplest and
most devastating might be solitary confinement. Deprived of meaningful
human contact, otherwise healthy prisoners often come unhinged. They experience
intense anxiety, paranoia, depression, memory loss, hallucinations and other
perceptual distortions. Psychiatrists call this cluster of symptoms SHU
syndrome, named after the Security Housing Units of many supermax prisons.
Prisoners have more direct ways of naming their experience. They call it "living death," the "gray box," or "living in a black hole."
In June the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil
Rights, and Human Rights, headed by Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of
Illinois, held the first Congressional
hearing on solitary confinement. Advocates and experts in the
field were invited to submit testimony on the psychological, ethical, social
and economic issues raised by punitive isolation. Among the many
contributors was Anthony Graves, who spent over 18 years on
death row in Texas, most of them in solitary confinement, for a crime he did
not commit. Graves describes his isolation as a form of "emotional
torture." Two years after his exoneration and release, he still feels
trapped in isolation: "I am living amongst millions of people in the world
today, but most of the time I feel alone. I cry at night because of this
feeling. I just want to stop feeling this way, but I haven't been able
We tend to assume that solitary confinement is reserved for "the
worst of the worst": violent inmates who have proved themselves unwilling or
unable to live in the general population. But the truth is that an inmate
can be sent to the hole for failing to return a meal tray, or for possession of
contraband (which can include anything from weapons to spicy tortilla
chips). According to the Bureau of Justice, there were 81,622 prisoners in some form of "restricted housing" (code
for solitary confinement) in 2005. If anything, these numbers have
increased as isolation units continue to be built in prisons, jails and
juvenile detention centers across the country. Given that 95 percent of
all inmates are eventually released into the public, and that many of these
will be released without any form of transition or therapy, solitary
confinement is a problem that potentially affects every one of us.
In my own statement for the Senate subcommittee, I made a
philosophical argument against solitary confinement, drawing on my research in
phenomenology. Phenomenology is a philosophical method for uncovering the
structure of lived experience by describing what it is like from
a first person perspective. Rather than attempting to prove a set of
objective facts, phenomenology tracks the way that a meaningful experience
of the world emerges for someone in the total situation of their
Being-in-the-world. It's not that facts are unimportant, but rather that
they are not meaningful in themselves; they become meaningful when they are
experienced bysomeone in relation to a wider context or
horizon. What happens when that horizon shrinks to the space of a 6-by-9
Consider the following testimony from prisoners interviewed by
the psychiatrist Stuart Grassian in Block 10 of Walpole Penitentiary in 1982:
I went to a standstill psychologically once —
lapse of memory. I didn't talk for 15 days. I couldn't hear
clearly. You can't see — you're blind — block everything out —
disoriented, awareness is very bad. Did someone say he's coming out of
it? I think what I'm saying is true — not sure. I think I was
drooling — a complete standstill.
I seem to see movements — real fast motions in
front of me. Then seems like they're doing things behind your back — can't
quite see them. Did someone just hit me? I dwell on it for hours.
Melting, everything in the cell starts moving;
everything gets darker, you feel you are losing your vision.
I can't concentrate, can't read . . . Your
mind's narcotized . . . sometimes can't grasp words in my mind that I
know. Get stuck, have to think of another word. Memory is
going. You feel you are losing something you might not get back.
Deprived of everyday encounters with other people, and cut off
from an open-ended experience of the world as a place of difference and change,
many inmates lose touch with reality. What is the prisoner in solitary
confinement at risk of losing, to the point of not getting it back?
The prisoner in a control unit may have adequate food and drink,
and the conditions of his confinement may meet or exceed court-tested
thresholds for humane treatment. But there is something about the
exclusion of other living beings from the space that they inhabit, and the
absence of even the possibility of touching or being touched by
another, that threatens to undermine the identity of the subject. The
problem with solitary confinement is not just that it deprives the inmate of
her freedom. This harm is already inflicted by our prison system, and
depending on how you feel about justice and punishment, depriving people of
freedom may be justifiable. But prolonged isolation inflicts another kind
of harm, one that can never be justified. This harm is ontological; it
violates the very structure of our relational being.
Think about it: Every time I hear a sound and see another person
look toward the origin of that sound, I receive an implicit confirmation that
what I heard was something real, that it was not just my imagination playing
tricks on me. Every time someone walks around the table rather than
through it, I receive an unspoken, usually unremarkable, confirmation that the
table exists, and that my own way of relating to tables is shared by others.
When I don't receive these implicit confirmations, I can usually ask someone —
but for the most part, we don't need to ask because our experience is already
interwoven with the experience of many other living, thinking, perceiving
beings who relate to the same world from their own unique perspective.
This multiplicity of perspectives is like an invisible net that supports the
coherence of my own experience, even (or especially) when others challenge my
interpretation of "the facts." These facts are up for discussion in the
first place because we inhabit a shared world with others who agree, at the
very least, that there is something to disagree about.
When we isolate a prisoner in solitary confinement, we deprive
them of both the support of others, which is crucial for a
coherent experience of the world, and also the critical challenge that
others pose to our own interpretation of the world. Both of these are
essential for a meaningful experience of things, but they are especially
important for those who have broken the law, and so violated the trust of
others in the community. If we truly want our prisons to rehabilitate and
transform criminal offenders, then we must put them in a situation where they
have a chance and an obligation to explain themselves to
others, to repair damaged networks of mutual support, and to lend their own
unique perspective to creating meaning in the world.
We ask too little of prisoners when we isolate
them in units where they are neither allowed nor obliged to create and sustain
meaningful, supportive relations with others. For the sake of justice,
not only for them but for ourselves, we must put an end to the over-use of
solitary confinement in this country, and we must begin the difficult but
mutually rewarding work of bringing the tens of thousands of currently isolated
prisoners back into the world.
Posted by John Roosevelt Boettiger on Monday, 27 August 2012 | Permalink
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Posted by John Roosevelt Boettiger on Monday, 20 August 2012 | Permalink
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compassion, consciousness, Einstein, understanding


text:
Johnson holds off Earnhardt in Dover
DOVER, Del. - Jimmie Johnson held off teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. down the stretch to win for a record eighth time at Dover International Speedway.
Johnson had shared the mark of seven wins on the concrete mile with Bobby Allison and Richard Petty. Led by Johnson, the entire top 10 Sunday was made up of Chase for the Sprint Cup championship drivers.
"To do anything that Richard or Bobby has done is quite an accomplishment," Johnson said.
Joey Logano, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five. Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, who won the first two Chase races, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer completed the top 10.
Earnhardt had one of the fastest cars, but he missed pit road and gave up the lead early in the race. He had a strong enough No. 88 Chevrolet to get back into the race and contend for his first win of the season but couldn't pass Johnson.
"We left everybody in the mirror. We were clicking off some laps," Earnhardt said. "But just not fast enough to get to Jimmie."
Kenseth kept his points lead even as he fell short in trying to become the first driver to win the first three Chase races. He holds an eight-point lead over Johnson as the Chase shifts to Kansas.
"I know that 20 is going to be awfully strong for the rest of the stretch," he said.
Johnson dominated as he usually does at Dover and led 243 of the 400 laps to help extend his Chase record with his 23rd career win in 93 starts in NASCAR's version of the playoffs. He swept Dover in 2002 and 2009 and won races in 2005, 2010 and 2012.
Johnson has his sights set on a bigger piece of NASCAR history. He's in the hunt for his sixth Cup championship, which would put him one behind Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. for most in series history.
He caught a huge break when Earnhardt slowed during a green-flag pit stop and missed the entrance to pit road. He went from holding a 3.7-second lead on Johnson to trailing by more than 9 seconds after he finally made his stop.
Johnson took the lead -- and took off. Even smart pit strategy that included a late four-tire stop wasn't enough to boost Earnhardt past his Hendrick Motorsports teammate.
"The mistake I made coming on to pit road and missing pit road completely (cost us)," Earnhardt said. "If I had not given up that track position and had a smart enough race to keep the lead when it counted, right at the end we might have won the race. It would have been hard to get by us just like it was hard to get by Jimmie. "


text:
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When Measurement Gets Politicized: The Case of Public Pension Liabilities
Filed Under (Retirement Policy, U.S. Fiscal Policy) by Jeffrey Brown on Apr 13, 2011
Many academic economists, including me, often weigh-in on public policy issues. One of the things we quickly learn is that academic discourse and political debate can be quite different. One example of this is that academics are quite good at isolating specific questions (e.g., "holding all else constant"), while political debates often combine issues in an attempt to "spin" the discussion for or against a certain idea.
The public pension debate is a prime example. There are at least four very important – but conceptually distinct – issues that often get discussed. Three of these are areas where there are legitimate grounds for disagreement. The fourth, however, is a pure issue of measurement over which there is virtually no disagreement among academic economists (regardless of ideology). But others have succeeded in politicizing the issue, and the implications of this are important and unfortunate.
What are the four issues?
Question 1: Should public sector workers continue to be offered Defined Benefit plans, or should they be offered Defined Contribution plans instead?
Question 2: If we continue to offer DB plans, should we fully pre-fund them?
Question 3: Assuming we do at least some pre-funding, how should the assets be invested?
Question 4: What is the value – in today's dollars – of the future pension benefits that we owe?
These are all distinct questions. Two people could completely disagree on whether public workers should be offered DB or DC plans, but they might still agree that if a DB is offered, it ought to be fully funded. Or they could agree that they both like DB plans, but then disagree on the optimal portfolio allocation. Indeed, for each of the first three questions, there are a number of intellectually defensible answers, and smart, well-educated, good-intentioned individuals can disagree simply because they place different weights on different factors. Fair enough.
But question 4 is unlike the other three. Question 4 is not a question about values or weights or the perception of pros and cons. Question 4 is a measurement issue, pure and simple. Financial economic theory – and centuries of experience with financial markets – provide clear principles on the right way to discount future pension liabilities. Namely, you pick a discount rate that reflects the risk of the liabilities themselves. Every academic financial economist I have ever asked (and there are many, including several Nobel Laureates) agrees on this point (and this is true regardless of their personal political ideology). Furthermore, they agree that the right answer to this question is *completely* unrelated to how a plan invests its assets (question 3), or whether the plan pre-funds (question 2), or whether the individual prefers a DB or a DC plan (question 1). They agree that it is a simple measurement issue. Just like 1+1=2, and this is true for both liberals and conservatives.
Unfortunately, a large number of non-academics – ranging from the Government Accounting Standards Board to some plan administrators to some ideologically-motivated "think tanks" – have managed to turn a clear measurement issue into a muddled ideological and political issue. In essence, they have begun to argue that 1+1 is actually equal to 1.5, not 2. And they further imply that those who say 1+1 is equal to 2 are just out to destroy DB plans.
They do this by saying that those who would discount public pension liabilities the correct way (using a risk-adjusted discount rate -which results in an estimate of about $3 trillion of under-funding in public plans – rather than the intellectually vacuous but "official" estimates of about $1 trillion) are just out to make DB plans look "more expensive." They accuse scholars of trying to inflate the costs of DB pensions for some political reason, such as a desire to privatize the system.
All of this is nonsense. Many of these same economists disagree on the answers to questions 1, 2 and 3, but we all agree that we ought to at least start with an accurate measurement of the size of the pension liability. Whether one believes DB plans are the greatest human invention of all time, or the worst sin ever committed, should have no bearing whatsoever on how we calculate the present value of our future pension liabilities. It is also true that how we invest our assets has no bearing on the size of the liability (after all, a dollar invested in stocks today is still worth the same as a dollar invested in bonds today).
Unfortunately, this politicization of a fundamental economic principle is not merely an intellectual frustration to academic financial economists. Understating the true economic costs of future pension promises has real consequences. It distorts decision-making. It artificially stacks the debate in favor of some reform options and against others. It promotes excessive risk-taking. And, perhaps worst of all, it disguises the true cost of government to current taxpayers.


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Slots of Golf Tournament to Benefit Ernesto Fonseca
Phoenix, AZ - The Road 2 Recovery Foundation's Seventh Annual 'Slots
of Golf' Supercross Celebrity Golf Classic at Badlands Golf Course on
May 5th, 2006 will benefit Ernesto Fonseca who suffered severe injuries
at practice on March 7th, 2006. The Road 2 Recovery Foundation will
partner with the Women's Motocross & Supercross Foundation to help
Ernesto Fonseca. This event will be held in conjunction with the Amp'd
Mobile AMA Supercross Series, which concludes in Las Vegas, NV on May
6th, 2006.
This now legendary tournament teams a Supercross rider with each foursome for a memorable day of golf. Past riders who have participated include: Jeremy McGrath, Travis Pastrana, Chad Reed, Kevin Windham, Ricky Carmichael and Jeff Emig to name a few. This year's event promises to have another star studded field of celebrities teeing it up with their fans.
The Road 2 Recovery Foundation is dedicated to helping AMA licensed motocross members with financial assistance if they sustain career-ending injuries as well as providing motivational, emotional, and spiritual support to these individuals and their families. The Road 2 Recovery is recognized as a 501-c3 tax-deductible charitable foundation.
The Women's Motocross and Supercross Foundation (WMXF) is a non-profit organization 501(c)(3) founded in 2003 to enhance the motocross/supercross racing community. WMXF's mission is to support any racer or crew member who suffers injury as a result of participation in or preparation for a professional motocross/supercross event, provide support to those in the motocross/supercross community who suffer serious misfortune not directly related to competition, provide financial support to benevolent organizations that support the sport of motocross/supercross, and serve as a group of women who contribute to the well-being of families in the professional motocross/supercross community.
For further information and event inquiries, please contact Jenny Coombs at 480-250-4446, firstname.lastname@example.com or www.road2recovery.com.


text:
Author recalls ride on balloon months before deadly accident
Posted: 6:35 PM, August 02, 2016
HOUSTON – A Houston area author recently wrote a blog about the tragic hot air balloon accident near Austin, months after she took a ride on the same balloon, with the same pilot.
Mary Ann Perez McNulty and three of her girlfriends went on the ride last January.
View the original article and see the video on the Click2News website ~~~


text:
(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
Contact us for information about using this image.
Advice books, almanacs and periodicals of the 1800s encouraged farmers to improve farming techniques and try new methods. Many farmers did not readily adopt these new ideas. Agricultural reformers in this period enjoyed
far greater success in creating a vehicle to bring farmers together and highlight innovative and high-performing agricultural practices: the regional fair. Fair organizers rewarded farmers who produced top-of-the-line livestock and crops with prizes and publicity. Fairs enjoyed enormous popularity across the country and quickly became an agrarian institution. The Franklin County Agricultural Society founded the Franklin County Fair in 1848. The "Live Wire Fair" was already in its sixty-eighth season when organizers added this impressive entrance to the Fairground in 1916.
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Franklin County Agricultural Society Membership of Lester L. Luey
Jerry "The Avery Steer" Banner at the Fair
Coliseum Building, Eastern States Exposition
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text:
knockout daily exfoliating cleanser knockout daily exfoliating cleanser
Knock your pores to the floor with this acid cleanser!
- sulfate-free formula
- AHA & BHA complex: lactic, glycolic & salicylic
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- 100% said it exfoliated & their skin felt clean from makeup & impurities
- 97% said their pores were deeply cleansed
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- 100% would recommend it to a friend
**based on a consumer panel study of 30 subjects
- vegan
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- apple extract: known to increase skin hydration
- lactic acid: exfoliates dead skin cells & is gentle enough for those with sensitive skin
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- Using a dime-sized amount, add water & work into a lather.
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Please refer to product packaging for the most up to date list of ingredients and country of origin.
net 124 mL / 4.19 Fl. Oz.
Ingredients: Water/Aqua/Eau, sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate, cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine, sodium cocoyl glutamate, glycerin, pyrus malus (apple) fruit extract, lactic acid, glycolic acid, sodium chloride, propanediol, decyl glucoside, acrylates crosspolymer-4, citric acid, phenoxyethanol, polyquaternium-10, eucalyptus globulus leaf oil, mentha piperita (peppermint) oil, caprylyl glycol, ethylhexylglycerin, hexylene glycol, salicylic acid, sodium hydroxide, limonene, tetrasodium glutamate diacetate, linalool, sodium acetate, sodium glycolate, sodium formate.