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2012 Girls' Indoor Track All-Scholastics
Meet the standout performers who earned All-Scholastic honors for their work this winter:
Vanessa Clerveaux, Brockton, Senior
A tri-sport athlete (volleyball, cross-country), Clerveaux was nothing short of dominant in the 55-meter hurdles, winning titles in Division 1 (8.05), All-States (7.98), and at the New England championships (7.97), and was also a part of Brockton's championship 4 x 200 relay team. She will attend Eastern Michigan University.
Marika Crowe, Lincoln-Sudbury, Senior
She was the master of the 1,000 this winter, winning the All-State and Division 1 titles. She was also part of the Warriors' 4x800 state champion relay team. Crowe runs cross-country as well as outdoor track and will continue her running career at Vanderbilt.
Jen Esposito, Mansfield, Senior
The Lady Hornets' senior won the Hockomock League and Division 2 titles in the 55-meter hurdles, and also was a member of the league champion 4 x 400 relay team. Her runner-up finish in the 55 hurdles at the All-States (8.03) gave her school records in five events. She will attend Elon University.
Carla Forbes, Newton North, Junior
In addition to being part of the Lady Tigers' 4 x 400 championship relay team, Forbes won the 55-meter dash at the Elite Meet (7.17) and Division 1 championships (7.21), and won long jump titles at Elite, Division 1, and All-States. In March, Forbes won the triple jump (42 feet, 5¼ inches) at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in New York.
Kendal Knous, Franklin, Senior
For the third straight year, Knous won the 600-meter state title (1:34.04) and Hockomock League championship on the way to receiving all-scholastic honors. The future Wake Forest Demon Deacon is also a varsity soccer player and member of the National Honor Society.
Julie McConville, Hingham, Junior
McConville helped Hingham win the Division 3 title with a victory in the two-mile (11:00). She was also crowned All-State champion in the two-mile with a time of 10:48, and currently holds the school record. She plans to run in college while studying biology.
Rebecca Robinson, Arlington, Senior
The senior sprinter won the 300-meter run (39.51) at the All-States for the second year in a row, and is also the Division 2 (40.44) and Elite Meet (39.92) champion. Robinson is also a three-time MVP and four-time Hockomock all-star soccer player, as well as a Special Olympics coach. She will attend Syracuse in the fall.
Briana Robitaille, Attleboro, Senior
Robitaille won the All-State title in the 55-meter dash in 7.20 seconds, and clocked the fastest time in Massachusetts (7.17) with her second-place finish in the New England meet. She holds school records in the 55 meters indoors and the 100 and 200 meters outdoors.
Catarina Rocha, Peabody, Junior
The state's cross-country runner of the year kept up the pace in the winter, winning the All-State mile title in 4:50.38. Rocha also won the mile at the Division 1 and State Coaches Invitational. Rocha was the Division 1 cross-country champion in the fall.
Steph White, Billerica, Senior
The captain of the Indians' track and field team, White is a shot put specialist who won the Merrimack Valley Conference meet, the Elite Meet (38-5½), and the Division 1 meet (39-3½), and took fourth at the All-State meet with a throw of 40-1, which tied a school record. She will attend Worcester State next fall.
4 x 200, Brockton
Vanessa Clerveaux and Milan Neville, returning sprinters from last year, teamed up with sophomores Cydney Franks and Nikayla Simpson to take the Division 1 4 x 200 relay title (1:44.15), and All-State championship (1:44.31). With that, Clerveaux and Neville, both seniors, hand the baton to Franks and Simpson.
4 x 400, Newton North
With three-quarters of their championship relay squad back from last year, it was no surprise to see the Lady Tigers dominate again. Senior Kayla Wong and freshman Isabella Reilly joined juniors Carla Forbes, Meghan Bellerose and Madison Nadeau to win the Division 1 title (4:00.84) and All-State championship (3:56.77).
4 x 800, Lincoln-Sudbury
Madison Aeton, Marika Crowe, Brianna Bisson, Bryn Miller, and Meredith Kohler combined to form one of the state's quickest distance relay teams. Their winning times of 9:27.43 in Division 1 and 9:23.14 at All-States were five seconds better than the runners-up.
Scott Holster, North Attleborough
After serving as an assistant last season, McDavitt, a North Attleborough graduate, took on a larger role with her former coach, Holster, to help deliver the school's first state indoor title since 1986 and the Division 2 relay title. After a 4-1 finish this season, Holster improved to 60-12 in his 16 seasons.
Chuck Martin, Norwell
In his 23d season as a coach — 19 at Norwell — Martin guided the Clippers to a 7-1 record, a share of the Atlantic Coast League title, the Division 4 relay title, and the Division 4 state championship. He also coaches cross-country and outdoor track.
Erin McDavitt, North Attleborough
After serving as an assistant last season, McDavitt, a North Attleboro graduate, became co-head coach and delivered the first state indoor title to North Attleboro since 1986. North Attleboro won the Division 2 Relays and Division 2 titles and finished 4-1 in the Hockomock.
Eugene Metto, Melrose
Metto's girls went undefeated this season at 6-0 en route to the Middlesex League Small championship. The 12-year coach is a triathlete — a three-time finisher at the Iron Man USA competition at Lake Placid — and an assistant football coach for the Red Raiders.
Charles Russell, Brockton
Russell led Brockton to an 8-1 dual-meet record and a Big 3 championship in his fifth year as a coach. His 4 x 200 relay team was dominant in winning the Division 1 and All-State titles. Russell is also an assistant coach for the boys' cross-country team.
Atlantic Coast — Brockton: Elisheba Boyd, Celine Canuto, Vanessa Clerveaux, Cydney Franks, Talia Halliday, Tori Hancock, Jaqueline Milan, Patricia Monteiro, Chidera Onyeoziri, Briana Polvere, Silvana Rodrigues, Nirayla Simpson. Dennis-Yarmouth: Jordan O'Dea, Lisa Torres. Falmouth: Sarah Bunker, Hadley Coker, Greer Gilbert, Lauren O'Neil. Marshfield: Kate Cowie-Haskell, Ellen DiPietro, Jocelyn Hubbard, Courtney Ternullo. Norwell: Allie DeBenedictis, Nikki Dempsey, Danielle Griffin, Allison Weiler. Plymouth North: Nicole Borofski, Claire O'Donnell. Plymouth South: Lauren Richard. Sandwich: Tori Sivco, Mikhaela Tropp.
Bay State — Braintree: Mary Donahue, Abby Randall. Milton: Molly Dempsey. Natick: Hanna Carson, Laurie Femmel, Danielle Mitchell. Needham: Hallie Armstrong. Newton North: Meghan Bellerose, Carla Forbes, Evie Heffernan, Madi Nadeau, Kayla Wong. Norwood: Danielle Ringler. Walpole: Gina Conti. Wellesley: Carly Daniel, Emily Ryan, Carlijn Wagenaar. Weymouth: Nostia Amazan, Molly Barker, Melissa Darling, Bridget Jaklitsch, Jen Kimball, Julie Tevenan.
Big Three — Durfee: Courtney Cabral, Briana Daponte, Sarah Skillin. New Bedford: Jessica Barros, Ellie Bucknell, Samantha Bucknell, Naquida Gomes, Melissa Isidor, Olivia Leahy, Kenzie Offley.
Boston City — Latin Academy: Britney Firmin, Roxlind James, Barbara Okafor, Carliana Teixeira. O'Bryant: Monique Cox, Emily Prado, Adrienne Thornton.
Cape Ann — Hamilton-Wenham: Emily Senning. Ipswich: Samantha Brown, Hannah Steele. Lynnfield: Scout Benson, Lexi Bounfiglio. Masconomet: Lauren Drohosky. North Andover: Julia Mehlman. North Reading: Emily Murray.
Dual County — Lincoln-Sudbury: Marika Crowe. Notre Dame (Hingham): Ali Balcom, Mary Claire Dachille, Isabella DiMare, Kaleigh Erickson, Marypat Henry, Taylor Kennedy, Olivia Lanagan, Molly O'Leary, Shauna Owen, Amanda Reilly, Kelsey Whitaker, Ali Zaccheo. Waltham: Maria Baras, Danielle Frazier, Katie Maehl, Emily Williams. Wayland: Kela Butts. Westford: Katie Pietras, Emily Ruggiero. Weston: Olivia Brackett, Julia Kee, Kayla Lawrence, Abigail Pohl, Charlotte Walmsley, Edom Wessenyeleh.
Eastern Athletic — Bishop Feehan: Maddie Benson, Elizabeth Hanon, Bryanna Harum, Abigail McNulty, Kathleen Powell, Morgan Silveria, Caroline Steiner. Bishop Stang: Emily Morse. Coyle & Cassidy: Julie LeClair, Megan Ritchie. East Bridgewater: Stephanie Carey. Mashpee: Samantha McRae, Rashida Plummer. Somerset Berkley: Kelsie Lazaro, Megan Lazaro, Morgan Steele.
Greater Boston — Cambridge: Simone DeJonge. Medford: Chrstine Feely.
Hockomock — Attleboro: Shelby Cuddeback, Briana Robitaille. Canton: Victoria Tondre. Foxborough: Liz Holmes, Kivone Howard, Kristina Ketchum. Franklin: Alex Giese, Kendal Knous. King Philip: Caitlyn Croke, Stacey Wojcik. Mansfield: Jen Esposito, Marissa Horn, Julia Jones, Maddie Oldow. North Attleborough: Sydney Bennett, Samantha Kroll, Nichole Sarkis. Oliver Ames: Laura Daley, Emily Grotz, Olivia Mileika, Michaela Nichols. Stoughton: Jade Paul.
Merrimack Valley — Andover: Hanna Chapmann, Courtney Comeau, Maggie Mullins, Terra Organisciak. Billerica: Steph White. Central Catholic: Lanie Jowett, Ali Sanz. Chelmsford: Ali Wood. Lowell: Bryanna Allison, Grace Ndungu. Tewksbury: Jess Bridle.
Middlesex (Large) — Belmont: Rebecca Harris, Julia Lenef. Lexington: Ali Boreiko, Mary Domings, Tulie Finley-Moise, Kristen Fiore, Camila Isern, Saaya Maeda, Olivia Manickas-Hill, Cassie Peterson, Emily Walker, Emmy Wheaton. Reading: Erin Cunningham, Megan Donohue, Vanessa O'Connor. Winchester: Kianna Phillips, Jackie Vahey. Woburn: Kara McCormack, Colleen O'Melia, Molly Persky.
Middlesex (Small) — Arlington: Megan Hourican, Rebecca Robinson. Burlington: Trusha Bhatt, Amber Wilson. Melrose: Olivia Downey, Lilah Drafts-Johns, Kelleigh Lombard, Sarah McDonald, Shannon Munro, Margaret Simko, Bionca St. Fleur. Stoneham: Bridget Gaughan, Abby Kendall, Amanda Mohammadi. Wakefield: Elizabeth Bray, Jessica Duffy, Kelly Ledoux-Walsh, Patricia Malone, Melanie Miksis. Watertown: Lauren Basile, Calista Diehl, Talia Flores, Meaghan Kelley. Wilmington: Rachel Alatalo, Alex Bischkoff, Kelly Hartsough, Cali Peffer.
NEPSAC — St. Mary's: Brianna Anderson, Carol Dimaiti, Suzanne Haefner.
Northeastern — Beverly: Allison Collins, Nicole Demars, Caitlin Harty, Dave Jellison, Wendy Marciano, Kristen O'Connor, Katie Pietrini. Danvers: Samantha DiBella, Catreida Dominick, Xanthi Pantazelos. Lynn Classical: Carla Altema, Saffi Bangura, Krista Cuozzo, Rebecca Potter. Marblehead: Lil Cummings, Paige Ferrucci, Madeline Piela, Janaja Randall, Kelly Roland, Maura Turbiridy, Olivia Veneia. Peabody: Heather McLean, Catarina Rocha, Pamela Zabala. Revere: Racquel MacDonald. Salem: Dasha Corpuz, Deema Hijeh. Saugus: Mary Dixon, Breana Evans, Casey Hyde, Mikayla Perrella. Swampscott: Alison Carr, Emily Cerra, Tess Gorman, Sarah Kelley, Vy Lee, Emma Walsh, Melinda Wilson. Winthrop: Mark D'Amico, Jordan Griffiths, Ashely Jurovich, Cecelia Moreira, Amy Sena.
Patriot — Duxbury: Emily Doyle. Hingham: Gabriella Candelieiri, Molly Clark, Olivia Cunda, Katelyn Elinoff, Caroline Leonard, Julie McConville, Meghan Patrolia, Morgan Sullivan. Middleborough: Jillian Perry, Traci Perry. North Quincy: Emily Bryson. Pembroke: Chelsea Savage. Scituate: Katelyn Fougere, Maria Garman, Hannah Hoffman. Silver Lake: Allie Supple. Whitman-Hanson: Abby Baker, Rachael Baker, Gianna Cacciatore, Mel Collins, Nicole Galewski, Samantha Richner.
Tri-County — Archbishop Williams: Sarah Saccoach. Arlington Catholic: Julie Basile, Tayla Caggiano, Lauren Camelio, Laura Kalton, Danielle Sheehan, Shannon Simmons. Bishop Fenwick: Taylor Anderson, Taylor Cunningham, Arianna Maida, Hannah Smith. Cardinal Spellman: Emily Crowley, Liz Jordan, Meghan O'Leary. Marian: Devan Egan, Maria Schwab.
Tri-Valley — Ashland: Hannah Daly, Carly Muscaro. Bellingham: Alana Kelley. Holliston: Rachael Everett, Jill Rosati. Hopkinton: Shelby Aarden, MaryKate Cavanaugh, Jackie Chirco, Emily Jarvis, Lindsey Manning, Jessica Scott. Medfield: Cassidy Baird, Kristina Gustafson, Cami McCurdy, Kaela McKenzie, Taylor Worthy. Medway: Meredith Reynolds. Norton: Emily Sargent. Westwood: Christa Cosenza, Samantha Kitchen, Sheila O'Sullivan, Liz Ralph, Andrea Simi, Nora Smith


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PER: Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad
On-line version ISSN 1727-3781
PER vol.16 n.2 Potchefstroom Jan. 2013
Payment for ecosystem services
A H Benjamin
LLB (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro); LLM (University of Illinois), PhD (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul). Justice, High Court of Brazil (Superior Tribunal de Justiga) Brasilia, Brazil. Chair, IUCN Commission for Environmental Law. Founding president of the Brazilian Consumer Law and Policy Institute and the Law for a Green Planet Institute. Visiting Professor at the University of Texas School of Law. Chair of the Brazil-U.S. Law Society and co-president of INECE (International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement). Member of the UN Secretary General Legal Expert Groups on Crimes against the Environment, and CONAMA, the National Environmental Council of Brazil. He is emeritus editor-in-chief of the Brazilian Consumer Law Review and the Brazilian Environmental Law Review. Email: email@example.com
This address focuses on the legislative design for payment or ecosystem services (PES) since most countries do not have specific legislation that addresses the subject. Brazil is in the process of drafting national legislation on ecosystem services and there are several important issues that can be learnt from this experience.
Keywords: Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES); Brasilia, legal framework for payment for ecosystem services
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to speak on the theme of this workshop that I find most relevant to the development of environmental law around the world. Indeed, Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) can be seen as one of the most important issues in environmental law nowadays. It is a topic that is still emerging and frankly not well explored by the legal scholarship. In this introductory speech, I will focus on the legislative design for PES since, as we speak, most countries do not have specific legislation that addresses the subject. Brazil for instance is in the process of drafting its national legislation on Ecosystem Services and there are several important issues that can be raised from this experience.
What are Ecosystem Services?
In a new area of law, and in this case in a new area of environmental law, the first aspect to be addressed is the definition of what we have in mind. This means that legislators will have to define the concept of Ecosystem Services (ES), with the contribution of lawyers and environmental law scholars.
So, what are ES? Environmental scientists might have their view of what ES represent from the scientific perspective, but this is not what we will focus on here.
It is according to legal constructions that we will be able to reach some sort of agreement on the definition of ES and that we will be able to make sure that this definition does not conflict with existing legislation and with the other environmental problems that we face.
It is also important to define one word within the expression PES, which is the word payment. To do this we need to answer the following four questions: Payments to whom? Payments for what? On what basis? And for how much?
The basis for payments
Let's start with the basis. What are the constitutional constraints or the constitutional formulations at the national level (for example in Brazil or South Africa) that any legislative effort to define and organise the payment of ES will have to respect? Many countries already have clear constitutional provisions either alluding to or including a definition of the environment or of natural resources (e.g. the constitutional language addressing genetic resources). In including such language within their text, those constitutions have often addressed issues of ownership. In a number of countries water and even watersheds, for example, are considered State property.
I am referring to the constitution as the basis for payments since these fundamental issues related to the environment should be addressed not by a statute but by a constitutional provision, since any law passed by Parliament will have to be examined for legality in the light of the provisions of the constitution already in place.
To whom should the payments be made?
Based on the definition of ES, we need to address to whom any payment has to be made. The constitutions that I have compared do not use the terminology of ES, but there are constitutional provisions which allude to essential ecological processes, which is a concept not far from ES. If a constitution already recognises state or public ownership of such ecological processes, then it will be complicated to assess PES and to privatise those payments. Indeed, if the State owns the essential ecological processes, how can we justify the payment for such processes to private individuals? It seems that the decision will be based not on ownership but rather on people's level of management of those natural ecosystems. (For instance, in managing those ecosystems indigenous and local communities (ILCs) often end up protecting those components of nature that we want to secure.) Of course, it is easier to recognise payments to private individuals for ES if the constitution does not recognise public or state ownership of those natural resources. However, it is also important to stress that sometimes, even when those constitutional provisions recognise the private ownership of natural resources, the constitution might say (and some constitutions do) that the intangible aspects of natural resources, the socalled ecological processes, belong to everyone, meaning to all of the citizens of a particular country.
Payments for which services?
The other question that parliamentarians will have to address when working on PES is to determine what the payment will be for. Is a PES a payment for not doing what the legal system allows the person to do? Or is it payment for not violating the obligations that are imposed on private owners in accordance with the Constitution and the laws put in place? Determining what the payment will be for is an important question because the risk is that we may end up paying for people to comply with legal requirements that are in fact applicable to everyone. This would mean that at end of the day, instead of strengthening compliance, there will be an incentive for people to pretend not to comply, or to threaten not to comply with the law in order to be paid for conserving nature while actually doing what the legislation in place already requires.
How much should be paid?
Finally, there is the issue of how much to pay, and it is even more than that since it has to do not just with the amount to be paid but also with the nature of the payment. Is this a direct payment (in Dollars, Real, Euros or other currencies) that will be given to those that are eligible for that payment? Or do we envision payments that can better protect the environment as we want it to be, for example through tax incentives or subsidized credits?
It is a fascinating and a necessary topic to explore. We know that traditional command-and-control models for protecting the environment have not succeeded as well as we wanted them to. However, they have not failed either. We therefore need to complement the systems that are in place while at the same time recognising that there are difficulties; technical difficulties, but also difficulties in harmonizing a new concept with a system that has been in place for not more than 40 years.
I will end with one example in which we will see that, depending on the way in which we draft any statute in respect to PES, we may inadvertently cause tragic collateral damage to nature as we attempt to protect it. Think in terms of Protected Areas: governments are required to pay compensation to property owners when they expropriate land in order to establish Protected Areas like national parks, reserves, national forests and so on. If the land is private, the State has to pay compensation. We pretty much know how to assess this type of payment: look at the market value for that type of property, and that's the amount that the government will have to pay as compensation. If we add to that an amount of compensation for the intangible ES, depending on how we do it, we might end up with a bill that will be so high and which will make it so expensive for governments to expropriate land in order to protect a critically endangered species, that governments, especially in periods of economic crisis, will hesitate to do so and will eventually not even consider taking those direct actions to protect nature.

subset: commoncrawl


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CEV, national federations and leagues join forces to design the future of Europe's elite club competition
The meeting followed up on a previous get-together that was held last February but this time it gathered representatives of the national federations/Volleyball leagues of those countries whose teams are currently competing in the CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League.
CEV President André Meyer was joined by CEV Senior Vice President Aleksandar Boricic, CEV Vice President Jan Hronek, ECC President Riet Ooms, and CEV Marketing Advisor Zoran Avramovic for a Working Group that was attended by delegates from 11 countries (Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, and Turkey).
The Working Group started with a review of the items discussed with the clubs last February and CEV President André Meyer was particularly proud to stress that some actions were already undertaken before the start of the 2014 edition. LED advertising boards were introduced this year, while the procedure for the Drawing of Lots held in Vienna was simplified and made much more understandable. The annual European Volleyball Gala was turned into a real show where some major Volleyball stars were honored so as to improve on their image and public awareness.
CEV President André Meyer then drew the attention of the participants to a series of figures recapping the positive development of Europe's elite competition when it comes to TV exposure and the attendance in the various stadiums hosting CL matches.
Starting from these facts and figures taken from the last editions, a discussion followed and all participants agreed upon the necessity to improve on the quality of what already stands apart as the best Volleyball competition on the world stage. This improvement may be achieved in many ways, by reviewing the criteria for admission or the competition formula, as well as by working more closely with sponsors and partners for a more extensive promotion – across all media – of the CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League.
With this in mind CEV President André Meyer stressed the importance of a close cooperation with the CEV sponsors and partners; only a few days ago it was announced that Turkey's DenizBank had bought the title sponsorship of the CEV Volleyball Champions League for three seasons, while Champion, Mikasa, and Gerflor are all long-time partners of CEV and have all shared its efforts in order to turn the CEV Volleyball Champions League into a role model to look at.
"If we want to work on a different concept for this competition, we have to make sure that this complies with the philosophy and vision of our sponsors and partners" Mr. Meyer said. "On the other hand, we will continue to stimulate their involvement and exploit their know-how."
The participants all expressed their intention to work on solutions that would increase the number of world-class matches but, at the same time, guarantee also the possibility to as many countries as possible to participate in this elite competition. "We will study more actions with our partner the sportsman media group" said Mr. Meyer, "so as to improve on the current TV exposure of the CEV Volleyball Champions League. On the other hand, we will also invite the clubs to work even harder than they have done so far so as to make a real show out of every single game they are hosting. The CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League shall turn into something more than "just" an elite Volleyball competition" he added.
The ideas and proposals that came out in this Working Group will be submitted to the respective CEV Commissions in order to study their feasibility and possible implementation. This constructive dialogue with all national federations, Volleyball leagues and their respective clubs will continue before changes or amendments to the current format and regulations are adopted by the CEV Board of Administration.
Such provisions may be endorsed in due time so as to guarantee their implementation already for the 2014/2015 season.
"It was a very positive and fruitful meeting" concludes Mr. Meyer, "where we could clearly see that all parties are ready to join their forces and work hard. I could see that we are all driven by the same forces and share the same motivation to continue our work for the good of the sport. The commitment I have seen among the participants of this Working Group is the best pre-condition for any action we may undertake in the future as we know that there is a general consensus on what we are discussing and the plans we are working on."


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warriorsstepup wrote:Damn, would be my same reaction. I know he had the skill, but I did not think he was capable of doing all this, apparently dude is on a mission to prove he is an elite player who was over-shadowed by Westbrook, and Durant.
Its crazy what he is doing right now, I am speechless.
I agree.
Now, granted, the old argument is to cut down who he's put up these numbers against and with all due respect to Detroit, Atlanta, and Portland... the Hawks are the only playoff team in that discussion (and they might not even be an 8 seed in the West). The revamped, young and exciting Trail Blazers put an L in Harden's column, but regardless, he's still putting up 35.3 points, 6.3 boards, and 6.3 assists to start the season.
How far will the points drop?
Because I gotta believe, at 38ish minutes a night, he's gonna continue to put up the secondary numbers. So how long can he score over 30 per game? And when are the nearly 5 turnovers per game gonna catch up to him?
Aside from an 8-for-24 game against the Blazers, Harden's scorching the net this season. Easily over 50% at 23 attempts per night from everywhere on the floor. That's Jordan-like.
(while we're on the subject, Jeremy Lin is on a tear too: 15 points, 7 dimes, 6 boards, 2 steals per game.)


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Law School Admissions / disclosure statement?« on: March 10, 2012, 03:44:05 AM »
So, I am not worried about my LSAT or my GPA so much as I am worried about the disclosure statements. I am in fact, very worried about them. I am now 22 years old and have been clean for 3 years (yes from drugs, I know I'm an idiot). When I was 19, I was arrested for PCS (controlled substance) which is a Class 4 felony. I was given a deferred prosecution agreement alleging that upon completion of the probationary term, the matter will be completely dismissed. Does the fact that I have completed treatment, attend meetings regularly, completely stayed out of trouble, done well in school, and done volunteer work have any merit? I have no idea how law school admission people look at this type of thing. I have nothing in my history pertaining to any kind of fraud, violence, or DUI. My main problem was a particular drug. I do not have any desire to misrepresent myself and in a way feel proud of how far I have come from where I was just a few years back. Also, I am sure the BAR in any state can pull all of my information including juvenile charges (have a couple of those as well nothing serious). I guess my questions are, When I say I have not been convicted of a felony (that's all some places ask) am I lying? I don't feel that I am , because the matter was dismissed. I understand that I will still have an arrest record, but typically isn't there a huge difference between charged and convicted even in they eyes of law school admission people? Could the fact that I have overcome the problem actually help me in any way or will it be a detriment in the majority of cases? Or will it not matter so much since it was 3 years ago now and will have been 4-5 years ago by the time I apply to law school? I will not give up, I just am extremely worried about this and was hoping someone could help me put this matter to rest.


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Top 10 education issues for 2010
Since Friday is the day for lists on The Sheet, here is one showing the 10 most important education policy issues for 2010, as determined by the non-profit American Association of State Colleges and Universities. I have shortened the analysis; for a fuller one, click here.
1) Fiscal Crises Facing States
The biggest force behind much of the policy action that will occur in 2010 is the quarter-trillion-dollar collective deficit that has devastated states' budgets in the past 24 months. Public colleges and universities throughout most of the country are slicing and dicing budgets because state governments have lowered--dramatically in some cases--public funding. This has been most obvious in California, where tuition increases are the highest ever and where enrollment caps have kept ten of thousands of students out of classrooms.
2. President Obama's American Graduation Initiative
The president called for the United States to lead the world again in college graduates by 2020 and to have every American enroll in at least one year of college or career training after high school. There is no consensus on whether the country has actually fallen behind but billions of dollars are being invested in raising graduation rates,
3. Tuition Policy and Prices
This includes how college price increases affect access to higher education for not only the neediest students, but also middle-class students and families battered by the recession. Mid-year tuition increases are one way schools are trying to offset state budget cuts. In Virginia, for example, several public colleges and universities in Virginia have imposed mid-year tuition increases for the 2009–2010 academic year ranging from $100 to $300.
4. Enrollment Capacity
With public two- and four-year colleges and universities across the country recording peak enrollments in 2008, and with state budget cuts continuing, concerns are rising over capacity issues are some schools.
5. State Student Aid Programs
According to The College Board's 2009 Trends in Student Aid report, preliminary numbers indicate a flatlining of total state grant aid during the 2008–09 academic year. The total amount of grant aid held constant at $8.4 billion from the 2007-08 to the 2008-09 academic year. Moreover, the proportion of state aid for students with financial need continues to erode from 90 percent in 1992–93 to 72 percent in 2007–2008. State legislators may have to make difficult decisions in upcoming years on how to fund these programs.
6. Federal Focus on Community Colleges
A major portion of the federal American Graduation Initiative focuses on community colleges, calling for an additional 5 million students to graduate from these institutions by 2020. Further, the creation of the initiative's Community College Challenge Fund injects approximately $9 billion in challenge grant funding into the sector for innovative programs such as workforce partnerships and $500 million to develop online courses. Another $2.5 billion is slated for investment in upgrading community colleges' facilities so they can expand their infrastructure to meet the challenge of graduating considerably more students. The total cost of the program is expected to be $12 billion over the next decade.
7. Expansion of Statewide Data Systems and New Reporting Metrics
In the year ahead, states will strive for continued progress in the development of comprehensive data systems designed to measure student growth and success, with momentum fueled by federal support. In addition, many national organizations, state policymakers, and institutional leaders will continue to develop and promote improved metrics for understanding and reporting student progression. Compared to the federal IPEDS graduation rate measure currently in use, the new measures are more inclusive, disaggregated and multifaceted—better able to suggest strategies for improvement.
8. Veterans Education (Implementation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill and State Issues)
As the Post-9/11 GI Bill (formally known as the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008) enters its first full year of implementation in 2010, states are evaluating how this federal program meshes with state-level assistance programs for veteran students. Complicating the matter is the claim-processing backlog that has plagued the Post-9/11 GI Bill since its inception in August 2009. At the time of this writing, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has closed its Education Call Center for two days a week to allow staff to process education benefit claims.
9. College Readiness
There is great variation among states in the rigor of academic standards. As a result, many students can pass all required tests for high school graduation, but still need remedial work in college; many of these students will ultimately not reach their education goals. Some recent progress has been made through the American Diploma Project, through which 35 states are now working to raise high schools standards and align them with college and employer expectations. However, the nation's long tradition of local autonomy in public education has led to resistance to federal involvement in developing rigorous national standards. Also, in 2009 there was a major breakthrough in the development of national (not federal) college and career-readiness standards, which should undergo continued progress over the coming year.
10. Teacher Effectiveness
Issues of teacher quality and effectiveness will be front and center in 2010 as the federal government and states work to improve student readiness and success. Recognizing the well-documented assertion that teacher quality is the most important school-based factor affecting student learning, Education Secretary Arne Duncan's "Race to the Top" requires states applying for funds to develop longitudinal data systems that link K-12 student achievement with teacher data. Data on teacher effectiveness are to be used to identify and reward effective teachers as well as to inform professional development. States are also being challenged to use teacher effectiveness data to rate the quality of their teacher education programs so that such programs can be improved. Also in 2010, teacher education issues will be central as the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (also known as "No Child Left Behind" during the Bush administration) is discussed.
Follow my blog on the Post's Education news fan page on Facebook or the PostSchools feed on Twitter. For all our news and blogs, please bookmark http://washingtonpost.com/education.
Valerie Strauss
| January 8, 2010; 8:30 AM ET
Tags: education policy
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OVERLAND PARK, KS -- Two large club operators, Bally Total Fitness, Chicago, and Life Time Fitness, Chanhassen, MN, recently announced club openings. The Bally club already is in operation while the Life Time club is slated to open in early 2010.
Bally's new club in Miami opened on Sept. 1, the day the company announced it had emerged from bankruptcy. The 40,000-square-foot-club features an Olympic-style roof-deck swimming pool, an outdoor rooftop running track overlooking the Miami cityscape and a Total Martial Arts facility that offers classes for both adults and kids.
"This new facility will be one of our top locations nationwide," Bally CEO Mike Sheehan said in a company statement. "We are proud to provide the best value in fitness and offer our members a premium workout experience at a great price."
The club also will offer a variety of group exercise programs, including yoga, Pilates, Zumba, kickboxing and a Powerflex program, in addition to a cycling studio.
"From the amount of fitness space to the top-notch equipment, this top-tier Bally club will be a great addition to the Miami community," Steve Butler, zone vice president for Bally, said in the company statement. "This facility is very family friendly, and we are excited to bring local families to Bally for fun activities and fitness."
Life Time Fitness announced that it is scheduled to open its newest club next January in the Cleveland suburb of Beachwood, OH. It will be the company's fourth club in Ohio and first in the Cleveland area.
The new club will include more than 400 pieces of equipment, group exercise, yoga and Pilates studios, a cycling studio, and indoor and outdoor aquatics centers.
"At Life Time Fitness, we aim to deliver the highest possible quality facilities, services and programs at an exceptional value," Jeff Zwiefel, Life Time's executive vice president of operations, said in a company statement. "We are excited to extend this commitment to the residents of Beachwood and surrounding communities. This large, very unique facility will provide 24/7 access complemented by a wide array of health, fitness, recreation and entertainment services designed to meet the needs of the entire family."During its second quarter earnings call in July, the company announced it planned to open three new clubs in 2010. The company has already completed its new club openings—three—for 2009. Originally, Life Time had planned to open as many as 11 clubs this year.


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World Bulletin / News Desk
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has overcome a respiratory infection, but is still being treated for breathing problems after cancer surgery in Cuba last month, a government minister said on Saturday.
Official statements have sounded upbeat about the socialist president's condition in recent weeks, following rumors he was gravely ill in a hospital in Havana and might be unable to keep governing after being re-elected in October to a third term.
"(Chavez) has overcome the respiratory infection, although he still has a certain degree of respiratory insufficiency," Information Minister Ernesto Villegas told reporters in Chile, where Latin American and European leaders are meeting.
"Vice President (Nicolas) Maduro has estimated that Chavez could come back in weeks, but we haven't wanted to put a time frame on the president's recovery," Villegas added.
Earlier on Saturday, Maduro said Chavez, 58, was in his "best moment" since his operation 45 days ago.
"What we can share with you is that the commander is in his best moment that we have seen in all of these days of struggle," Maduro said in televised comments before dawn on Saturday, after returning from Cuba to meet with the president.
Chavez has not been seen in public since undergoing his fourth and most complex surgery to treat an illness that might jeopardize the future of his self-styled revolution.
He has never said exactly what type of cancer he has, only that the initial tumor found in mid-2011 was in his pelvic area and was the size of a baseball.
In contrast to Chavez's previous visits to Havana for treatment, officials have not published any evidence of his condition. In 2011, with great fanfare, they broadcast videos of him reading a newspaper, walking in a garden and chatting with his daughter.
In the absence of such proof this time, many Venezuelans are questioning the terse official bulletins that provide few details about his condition or treatment.
Maduro said earlier on Saturday that Chavez had ordered a series of economic decisions that would help boost Venezuelan exports, comments that came amid speculation the government was preparing a devaluation of the bolivar currency.
"He gave a series of orders that the economic team will share in the coming hours with the people of Venezuela, which are focused on building Venezuela's export capacity," he said.
He did not elaborate.
A Finance Ministry source who asked not to be identified said on Saturday the ministry was not planning on making any announcements right now.
Devaluation would make exports more competitive by lowering local production costs and spur domestic industries by making imports less competitive with locally produced goods.
It would also improve state finances by providing more bolivars per dollar of oil exports, following heavy spending in 2012 on homes for the poor and pensions for the elderly that helped Chavez win re-election.
But it would also push up consumer prices in a country that already has one of the highest inflation rates in the region.
A lack of dollars in recent weeks has left many businesses struggling to import the products they need. Some goods such as wheat flour and sugar have disappeared from supermarket shelves, partly because of import bottlenecks.
Business leaders insist a devaluation would help address the problem.Last Mod: 27 Ocak 2013, 17:59


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Videos | March 19, 2009
Robot Madness
JPL hosted the 3rd Annual Southern California NASA Explorer Schools Robotics Competition as a way to teach students about robotic exploration.
Transcript:Robot Madness
Students used Lego robots to compete on a Mars-like obstacle course during an annual robotics competition at JPL.
Longer: JPL hosted the 3rd Annual Southern California NASA Explorer Schools Robotics Competition as a way to teach students about robotic exploration.
Keywords: Legos, robot, robotics, NASA, JPL, Mars, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Video transcript:
Southern California NASA Explorer Schools Robotics Competition
The Location:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Pasadena, CA
March 17, 2009
The Competitors:
21 Teams
12 Schools
4th – 12th Grades
The Mission:
Use Lego robots to explore and return samples to base camp on Mars.
This is a very elaborate super structure here, okay, they've got like a forklift coming into the mineral formation. Oh, dead on.
I really like robotics a lot.
I like Legos and robots and it's fun programming them and building them.
It looks like they're actually going to reach over and grab that hut. One minute. There you go.
Nice, and a little extra help. Excellent, good job.
I feel that the students that participate in our club and who came to the competition, this is one way for them to really show what they've learned and what they love to do. And it really gives them a chance to shine and be in the spotlight.
Good, a little action, and nice going.
You have to find the right program and the right setting. You need a successful program to have your mission accomplished.
The computer always does what you tell it to, but that's not always what you want it to do.
Plenty of time to deliver the methane sensor. Oh, hooked the volcano.
They've been great team-building skills. I think that's huge, the social aspect. They have learned to apply mathematic skills. It's integrated, it's real, it's every day.
There's a flip system here, and no question about it, nice work.
They've been able to take what they've learned and they investigate the ongoing missions in space now, and they can discuss it with their parents and other students in a really mature and knowledgeable way.
They've got a volcano. Oh my goodness.
They step up and they learn so much and they feel like experts and they have had the experience of a lifetime today.
Some people might think robotics is nerdy but I just tell them it's not. It's cool, you actually get to program it and build it and once you see it in competition you feel proud.
To learn more about student robotic competitions:
For educational resources:


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Sputnik Ball
$ 12.95
Show a clear acrylic cylinder, with three balls in it, ( two yellow balls, with a red ball in the middle). Both yellow balls are dropped into the clear cylinder, which is covered with another silver cylinder just big enough to fit around the crystal one. The red ball is genuinely placed in the performer's pocket. With a magic pass the ball is transferred invisibly, from the pocket to the cylinder. When the silver cylinder is lifted off the clear one, the red ball re-appears between the two yellow ones. Once again the crystal cylinder with the ball can be given for examination, and the silver cylinder and pocket shown to be empty.


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Width x Length
DIN Format
Color Group
Besides its having an unusually wide product range, it was above all two other important factors that convinced us to exclusively carry the Kapa product line in our range of goods:
Most producers use polystyrene foam for the foam core of their laminated sandwich panels. Because this inexpensive plastic foam has the disadvantage that when it comes into contact with adhesives or paints that contain solvents it tends to dissolve, Kapa produces its core using only the solvent-resistant polyurethane foam.
The manufacturing process itself also differentiates the Kapa line from conventional sandwich panels: the Kapa boards are manufactured in a continuous "in line" process, which means that the foam is not cut from a block and then covered (lined) but instead the foaming process takes place between the covering layers. For this reason the Kapa materials have markedly better facing qualities (surface flatness) than the other competing products.
Kapa offers a variety of boards with special attributes for a wide range of uses. In addition to the Kapa line - the versatile universal product – there are also coloured panels for presentation purposes, water-repellent boards for short-term outdoor use or boards with increased flexural strength for large-scale programmed laminating work. For all Kapa boards on offer there are corresponding edge protectors, connecting profile strips as well as hangers available.
When aesthetics and the environment are taken into account, HONEYCOMB BOARDS must be seen as an interesting alternative to Kapa boards. Depending on the planned usage, other possibilities abound as well: thick cardboard or corrugated board, FOREX or DIBOND, plastic boards (e.g. polystyrene) or other sandwich panels.
Applications: Kapa boards are best suited for backing photos, posters, outlines or pictures. Because they are the optimal backing material for creating presentation areas and surfaces, Kapa boards are used extensively in constructions for trade shows and exhibitions or in the making of signboards for advertising displays. They are, of course, also used at seminars and other comparable events. Considering their light weight the boards are incredibly stiff and both these factors make them easy to transport as well as to mount or affix. Because paper can be so easily attached to the board with TACKS or PINS, it can also be used as a nice plain pin board.
Because Kapa boards can be cut without the use of a machine they are a popular material for creating displays, three-dimensional decorations or simple backdrops and scenery. In architectural circles they are known as "Modelbaupappen" (modelling boards) as they are extremely suitable for use as light, stabile foundation boards as well as for the scaled representation of walls and ceilings (1:100; th=3.5 mm, 1:50; th=5-10 mm, 1:20; th=10-20 mm).
Cutting: Kapa boards can be simply cut with a CUTTER held at a flat angle. Really angular cutting edges can be attained by using special knives like FOAMWERKS CUTTING TOOLS in conjunction with a straightedge. With a little practice it is possible to achieve good results cutting the boards if you make sure that the blade you are using remains horizontal as you pull the knife through the material.
When being cut with a cutter or some other knife, the Kapa boards reveal another advantage they have over the customary sandwich panels: they do not crumble or fragment!
You can even get a clean cut when using a fine-toothed circular saw blade running at high-revs. Round shapes can be achieved by using a JIGSAW or a SCROLL SAW as well as a FOAMWERKS CIRCLE CUTTER or FOAMWERKS HOLE DRILL. Freestyle cuts can be made with the FOAMWERKS FREESTYLE CUTTER.
Due to possible deformation of the material or the appearance of rough cutting edges, the use of guillotine shears or laser cutters is not advised. Thermic cutting is simply not possible.
Bending: Round-shaped pieces are made from Kapa boards in the following manner: cut a wedge into the reverse side of the board at the approximate point where the bend will be (this is best accomplished with a FOAMWERKS V-GROOVE CUTTER). For this kind of work cardboard covered boards like Kapa line are the best. Before the actual bending, the board should be exposed to moist air in order to hinder any cracking or splitting of the face surface.
Gluing: Because the Kapa boards have a PUR rigid foam core they are largely resistant to solvents. For model making, TESA ALL-PURPOSE GLUE or other SOLVENT-CONTAINING adhesives should be used. Temporary joining should be done with TACKS or PINS.
Conjoining: Corners can be easily connected without the use of a mitre square. For a butt joint with continuous abutting face, the first step requires using a cutter or an art knife to cut through the cardboard cover layer and the foam while leaving the bottom cover layer untouched. The second cut then serves to remove the foam layer thereby leaving an "L" shaped gap. Note: the FOAMWERKS RABBET CUTTER can do this process in one simple step! The second board, after cutting away a measured piece of its cover layer to allow the fit, is then glued into the resulting gap. Other open edges or joints are covered in model making by MICROSTRIPES, DRAWING (PHOTO) BOARD or FOAMWERKS ADHESIVE TAPE. This type of seam covering is especially important if the model is to be out in the light for an extended period of time because the PUR foam edges tend to yellow after a few months.
Printing and Painting: Kapa boards can be printed on with great results using either silk-screening or digital printing techniques. Paints containing solvents can also be used because the Kapa board's PUR rigid foam core is solvent resistant. The Kapa plast is especially good for use in digital plate printing because it is extremely dimensionally stable and printing work can be completed using 15% less ink than would be the case with Kapa line.
In cases where the boards are to be completely coated (painted or sprayed) or where dispersion paint is to be used on them, Kapa mount (with aluminium lamination) should be your choice or, alternatively, both sides of the board must be treated because otherwise warping will occur.
Pasting, Lining, Attaching, Covering, Affixing: Photos, layouts, maps or pictures can be attached to Kapa board by hand without too much effort. In the process, a larger sized board should be chosen so that it can then be subsequently cut to the appropriate size. The self-adhesive Kapa fix is the best choice for such attachments. Alternatively, double-sided adhesive film can also be used - it does not contain any trace of solvent and is therefore not harmful to photo paper. Spray glue is a further possibility.
Making attachments to Kapa fix: first, remove all dust and lint from the object to be affixed. Then pull back a small piece of the adhesive cover sheet at one particular point. Then begin carefully attaching your object at that point. Continue removing the cover sheet little by little while continuing to attach the object to the newly exposed adhesive surface. Do not use a sharp-edged object to spread the picture material because that can cause damage to your object's surface (use a SQUEEGEE-TYPE APPLICATOR or a PRESSURE ROLLER). Applying the paper to the board takes a certain amount of touch because the adhesive film is very clingy: you really have only one try to place the paper correctly. Wrinkles of any real size cannot be smoothed over although small bubbles can be punctured with a pin and flattened. The use of double-sided adhesive film or spray glue for attachments involves a similar process.
Attachments of the type being described are subject to one basic problem: under the influence of moisture or temperature swings the picture material and the carrier material will react differently in terms of expansion and retraction. This can cause warping. In order to avoid this eventuality it is advisable when dealing with larger examples to cover the reverse side of the Kapa board with a material similar to that of the picture material or to only use those Kapa boards which have been given surfaces at the factory which will not by their nature warp. In practice this means all boards which have aluminium strengthened cover layers (KAPA MOUNT, -FIX, -BOND). When single side attachments consisting of moisture impermeable material are made to other boards – or the boards themselves are plastic covered – only water-free adhesives should be used. In every case, the carrier material and the attachment material should be allowed to remain in the same room conditions for at least half an hour before any work is begun. If a transparent protective film is planned for the attachment material it is imperative that this should be affixed before attempting the attachment to the board. When using a machine for attachments (e.g. a laminating machine with rollers) the pressure of the roller should not be set too high because this can cause damage to the Kapa board foam core. The aluminium strengthened boards, on the other hand, do allow for a relatively high amount of pressure. If hot-melt film with a mounting press is the attachment method being used, a temperature of 80 °C should not be exceeded.
Tips for Displays: To hang a Kapa board, METAL HANGERS can be used. Simply position the hanger and push the hooks through the cover layer into the foam core – taking care in the case of 3 and 5 mm boards not to push the hooks through the foam core and into the bottom layer cover. Before throwing a board away the hangers can be removed and reused.
If the boards need to be protected from being banged into or if they are to be hung like a picture then we advise framing them. Framing can be done with FRAME-PROFILE STRIPS made from rigid PVC or aluminium.
To create a free standing Kapa board, simply cut out a triangular support and two narrow stabilizing strips, glue the strips on the reverse side of the board leaving a gap slightly smaller than the support thickness, slide the support between the strips and glue it into place.
A further possibility for creating freestanding displays of Kapa boards is slot connections. With these there is even no need for adhesives if the workmanship is both clean and precise: the bottom edge of the display backing board should have two slots cut into it while the two feet (supports cut into any desired form)) should have the slots cut into the upper edge so that the two members can be slotted together. The width of the slots depends on the thickness of the board being used – the slots should be slightly smaller. This display method also works extremely well in the creation of larger three-dimensional decorations.
Basis weight for Kapa Boards (approximate):
Board type/thickness
|3 mm
|5 mm
|10 mm
|15 mm
|20 mm
|Kapa line
|570 g/m²
|635 g/m²
|850 g/m²
|1090 g/m²
|1260 g/m²
|Kapa mount
|800 g/m²
|870 g/m²
|1070 g/m²
|n. a.
|n. a.
|Kapa fix
|975 g/m²
|1050 g/m²
|1260 g/m²
|n. a.
|n. a.
|Kapa color
|775 g/m²
|870 g/m²
|n. a.
|n. a.
|n. a.
|Kapa plast
|720 g/m²
|810 g/m²
|1040 g/m²
|1230 g/m²
|n. a.
|Kapa graph withe
|580 g/m²
|670 g/m²
|n. a.
|n. a.
|n. a.
|Kapa graph black
|n. a.
|690 g/m²
|n. a.
|n. a.
|n. a.


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I had the pleasure of attending a 30th birthday meal and after-party for a very good childhood friend of mine.
If you haven't had the opportunity to visit Gilgamesh you really should make it a priority as it really is beautiful. Glass, dark wood, fresh, bright, vibrant and classic are the things that spring to mind when thinking of this restaurant. It's a hidden gem in Camden and if you didn't know what type of restaurant it was you wouldn't hard pressed to gather a very different impression of what to expect based on its location.
The food genre is pan-Asian. Well presented and perfect.


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Knitting - Knitting Yarns, Patterns, Needles, & Accessories
Knitting is one of the UK's best loved pastimes. At Abakhan we employ a team of Knitting-mad experts to ensure that our range of Knitting Yarns, Knitting Patterns, Knitting Needles and other accessories is without doubt the very best in the UK. While we stock the entire range across our network of stores we also want to make it as easy as possible for you to purchase your accessories and so below you'll find everything you need - and all from the comfort of your armchair!
- 14 Colours
- 30 Colours
- 14 Colours
8 Colours
King Cole Bamboo Cotton DK 100g£3.89 per ball.
- 5 Colours
- 6 Colours
Hayfield Bonus Chunky 100g£1.99 per ball.
James C Brett Cotton On DK 50g£2.15 per ball.
Tivoli Puffy Special Baby Yarn 100g£4.39 per ball.
Latest reviews for Knitting
Average Rating :
Total Reviews:5
King Cole Bamboo Cotton DK 100g
Subtle Sheen
Lovely to crochet with and a subtle sheen gives a pleasing effect.
James C Brett Rustic Aran 400g
Thick Aran
A thicker Aran yarn than Hayfield. It needs more yarn than mentioned in Hayfield Aran patterns. Knits up cables beautifully - with a slightly felted appearance.
Sirdar Wool Rich Aran Clearance Pack 1000g
A Huge Bargain At The Sale Price
Ordered 'Bloomsbury' pink. A nice subtle 'adult' pink. The 60% wool content gives this yarn a soft luxurious feel. While the 40% acrylic will make it long lasting (I hope). The package arrived torn. The delivery driver apologised and made sure that the content was all there. No harm done.
Italian Yarn Sumatra 50g
Excellent Wool
Beautiful wool. Easy to use
Rico Creative Ricorumi DK 25g
Love It
This is gorgeous yarn in little cute balls. I bought a book and a few colours and will definitely be back for more


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Michael Ramirez cleverly puts one of Barack Obama's most mind-numbingly stupid orations into the context of the Olympic games. You think you won that gold medal? Ha! You'd be nowhere without the guy who build the medal stand!
Of course, if we were in the U.S., the medal stand probably would have been built by a small business that is threatened with extinction by the Obama administration's hostile policies.


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Our huge hard and heavy fest BANG YOUR HEAD!!! is set to take place next summer, too, of course: visit us from July 12 to July 14 at Balingen (close to Tübingen/Stuttgart) and enjoy a colorful line up of approx- 40 Bands.
Confirmed so far: ACCEPT, POWERWOLF, DORO, AMORPHIS, OVERKILL, RECKLESS LOVE, CRASHDIET, CRAZY LIXX, ECLIPSE and many more...
Find further information at www.bang-your-head.de. Tickets at www.shop.bang-your-head.de.
Copyright © 2015 Sasse Werbeagentur / ROCK OF AGES Festival - all rights reserved - based on TB Mollise by ThemeBrain.com - Impressum und Disclaimer


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Carlo Rizzante
Nice read, thanks.
I've to admit that I've hardly asked myself those three questions. So, I should do, and see if I can improve my negotiation skill.
But I would also add that necessarily time invested in explaining a client the "what and how" is time well invested. Some aren't just good clients and those ones better do not get them aboard. Just move on.


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Your Farm Inc. provides an online community where producers, agribusinesses, academics, agri-marketers, grower associations and members of the farm media can interact, contribute and benefit. The Web site features idea exchange forums, access to experts on topics of interest and links to information about agricultural commodity prices, weather and agricultural news. It also will include general news and sports stories.
To kick off Your Farm, an online searchable database of Farm Service Agency payments is posted on the site. Your Farm is free of charge.


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Mission Statement, General Purpose & Philosophy
Our Mission Statement
Our mission is to develop and maintain a parking infrastructure that gets people where they need to be as courteously, safely, and efficient as possible.
General Purpose of Parking Management Team
The Parking Management Department exists to provide assistance in enforcing the Parking Vehicle Regulations. The team is also expected to assist the University by giving attention to safety and customer service issues for students, faculty, staff, and visitors. All team members are expected to work toward fulfilling the mission statements of the Parking Management Department and Prairie View A&M University.
Our Philosophy of Parking Enforcement
We enforce the Student Affairs mission of eliminating obstacles that can hinder the educational progress of students. The purpose of Parking Management at PVAMU is to provide a safe and sensible environment for faculty, staff, students, and the community to access parking surfaces and facilities. The Parking Management Department diligently enforces the parking regulations while preserving the priority of customer service: a challenging but attainable balance.


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ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The Detroit Lions have hired Marcus Robertson to be their secondary coach.
He was on the staff with the Tennessee Titans from 2007-11, beginning as an assistant secondary coach and eventually becoming the secondary coach.
Robertson played 12 NFL seasons, his first 10 with the Houston Oilers-Tennessee Titans franchise before finishing his career with the Seattle Seahawks.
After his playing career ended, he returned to the Titans as director of player development.
Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press


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Hidden Services, Current Events, and Freedom Hosting
Around midnight on August 4th we were notified by a few people that a large number of hidden service addresses have disappeared from the Tor Network. There are a variety of rumors about a hosting company for hidden services: that it is suddenly offline, has been breached, or attackers have placed a javascript exploit on their web site.
A Hidden service is a server – often delivering web pages – that is reachable only through the Tor network. While most people know that the Tor network with its thousands of volunteer-run nodes provides anonymity for users who don´t want to be tracked and identified on the internet, the lesser-known hidden service feature of Tor provides anonymity also for the server operator.
Anyone can run hidden services, and many do. We use them internally at The Tor Project to offer our developers anonymous access to services such as SSH, IRC, HTTP, and our bug tracker. Other organizations run hidden services to protect dissidents, activists, and protect the anonymity of users trying to find help for suicide prevention, domestic violence, and abuse-recovery. Whistleblowers and journalists use hidden services to exchange information in a secure and anonymous way and publish critical information in a way that is not easily traced back to them. The New Yorker's Strongbox is one public example.
Hidden service addresses, aka the dot onion domain, are cryptographically and automatically generated by the tor software. They look like this http://idnxcnkne4qt76tg.onion/, which is our torproject.org website as a hidden service.
There is no central repository nor registry of addresses. The dot onion address is both the name and routing address for the services hosted at the dot onion. The Tor network uses the .onion-address to direct requests to the hidden server and route back the data from the hidden server to the anonymous user. The design of the Tor network ensures that the user can not know where the server is located and the server can not find out the IP-address of the user, except by intentional malicious means like hidden tracking code embedded in the web pages delivered by the server. Additionally, the design of the Tor network, which is run by thousands of volunteers, ensures that it is impossible to censor or block certain .onion-addresses.
them if we can.
As for now, one of multiple hidden service hosting companies appears to be down. There are lots of rumors and speculation as to what's happened. We're reading the same news and threads you are and don't have any insider information. We'll keep you updated as details become available.
EDIT: See our next blog post for more details about the attack.
Time to move to Qubes on
Time to move to Qubes on LiveCD/DVD!
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1rlo0uu ?
My antivirus didn't detect anything weird going on. Does that say anything about the security of the system? The browser seemed to work normally afterwards...
You AntiVirus will not
You AntiVirus will not protect you against new exploits or malware.
Anonymous, unless you are
Anonymous, unless you are totally protecting yourself, like with VPN and TOR it does not matter, if that exploit does show your true IP. That is why you use VPN to encrypt all your traffic.
Read this excellent post from the Grugq http://grugq.github.io/blog/2013/06/14/you-cant-get-there-from-here/
Whonix is neither Window,
Whonix is neither Window, nor does it know your home IP, so in theory the VM should not be able to disclose it through this security issue. The code is still beging examined at the time of me writing this though, so I suppose we cannot be 100% sure of what this could affect.
The vulnerability being
The vulnerability being exploited by this attack was fixed in Firefox 22 and Firefox ESR 17.0.7. The vulnerability used is MFSA 2013-53
People who are on the latest supported versions of Firefox are not at risk.
Although the vulnerability affects users of Firefox 21 and below the exploit targets only ESR-17 users. Since this attack was found on Tor hidden services presumably that is because the Tor Browser Bundle (TBB) is based on Firefox ESR-17. Users running the most recent TBB have all the fixes that were applied to Firefox ESR 17.0.7 and were also not at risk from this attack.
This does appear to be
This does appear to be correct.
See https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2013/08/04/investigating-security-vul… for Mozilla's statement.
And see https://blog.torproject.org/blog/new-tor-browser-bundles-and-tor-02414-… (dated June 26) for when we put out the patched bundles.
TOR gave in to the internet
TOR gave in to the internet cops.
wouldn't you for a few million dollars???
they only shut down the
they only shut down the biggest pedo host in the tor world.
No they didn't there are
No they didn't there are sites that have more GB's than everything combined on "Freedom Hosting" and "Freedom Hosting" had also a lot of legit sites like TorMail.
Oh really?
Oh really?
I think they targeted FH
I think they targeted FH because it would inflict the most noticible, immediate damage on the Tor network.
I hope my Tormail address is not gone permanently.
wate when will these
wate when will these websites be back up like tormail & also will the cops see everything?
So what does this mean for
So what does this mean for the people who legitimately used TOR mail for social purposes, and had nothing to do with the criminality in question?
That's probably why FH had
That's probably why FH had so much of it. They used TorMail and other legit sites as a cover if you will. (Sorta like Prohibition-era mobs running speakeasies beneath, say, bookstores)
They have also revealed a
They have also revealed a Firefox exploit which presumably affects the tor browser bundle. That's the relevant news here. We've got to know about that exploit, so now we can expect that bug in Firefox to be fixed.
Of course, there is nothing really surprising in this. Like most developers, the guys developing Firefox tend to focus more on implementing new features and improving performance than on making their product as secure as they can make it. It is just more fun to do something that has some effect on the user experience than to review lots of code.
100% agreed
100% agreed
> It is just more fun to do
> It is just more fun to do something that has some effect on the user experience than to review lots of code.
Yup. As funny as running firefox on 512MB-machine with slow CPU, or even building\installing 100+ dependencies. And with no alternative, since rendering engines nowadays are also complex and fat, which automatically increases entropy, i.e. increases probability of a bug.
Firefox binary is larger than my system kernel.
What about Midori and
What about Midori and QupZilla?
Anyone who's used these delightfully fast and light browsers would surely understand my wishing that one of them could be adopted for Tor use (as well as be made to be at least as secure as Firefox for ordinary browsing; offer NoScript functionality, etc.)
So the canary died. And you
So the canary died. And you sit in your coal mine with a smug grin on your face lighting your cigarette? Quite narrow minded if you ask me.
The canary did its job. Now,
The canary did its job. Now, to work out how the canary might not have died, and adjust designs / practices accordingly. That's how these things work.
I'm minded to think that if an anonymous community arises such as the Tor hidden services community, that community can either police itself, or expect to be policed. We didn't bother worrying about the fact that Tor hidden services were being used for the distribution of child pornography, so someone else worried about it for us. Is everyone really that surprised by this?
I think it's more that we
I think it's more that we didn't worry that it *could* be policed... Time to change infrastructures to one they don't own.
Best comment, by now! The
Best comment, by now!
The crux of the matter is the fact that many gullible people here and elsewhere haven't been caring about who runs, funds and developed Tor in the first place, and how those people are not what they pretend to be.
And silk road is probably
And silk road is probably next, and after that, maybe whatever you use tor for.
KP is an excuse. They just
KP is an excuse. They just want to "regulate", and unless there will be sever push back, today is the first day of Tor's demise. So unless it will be fortified ten fold, Tor is done for, and it is time to develop new, secure, free world, detached from oppression of thugs.
How dare the they identify
How dare the they identify and take down a site that knowingly stored and served child porn!
It's much better now that
It's much better now that they can't find the evidence of the child abuse that keeps happening, don't you agree?
Except in all likelyhood;
Except in all likelyhood; the child porn servers were being run by the FBI themselves to discredit Freedom Hosting. It's not as if it has not happened time and time before:
It's a simple tactic; you try to pubically accuse person/company x of doing something society overwhelmingly condemn. In order to trash their public reputation; no one will then dare criticise the actions and the huge holes in the flawed accusation. For they will fear they will themselves be accused of condoning such activities person/company x was accused of.
Anyone can find what you are
Anyone can find what you are talking about in the torrent.
it's attack of vulnerability
"Anyone can find what you
"Anyone can find what you are talking about in the torrent."
What torrent?
No, the demise of Tor is not
No, the demise of Tor is not imminent. The Office of Naval Intelligence developed it, and the State Department uses it for diplomatic traffic. The U.S. government also promotes its use to oppressed populations (at least those we support) internationally. Tor is not going anywhere. Tor mail is another matter. That was probably the target.
Absolutely. If Tor services
Absolutely. If Tor services can be compromised and shut down because of some illegal child porn activity that someone doesn't like and with it simultaneously shut down a lot of other sites not involved in child porn... then the Tor network can no longer be considered a safe option for whistle blowers, reporters, activists and others. This week, its child porn, next week it may be a whitle blower or an activist...
Basically, you're all
Basically, you're all morons.
Tor sights have never been immune to some of the most common attacks, such as DDoS attacks, and the fact you're connecting your web services (Apache+PHP+MySQL+Whatever else) to the clients via Tor does not automatically make those more secure, nor does it make the clients more secure.
Tor itself did its job. There is no reason to suspect that Tor is in any danger of compromise. The problem lies on both sides of the Tor connection.
Maybe "[we're] all morons"
Maybe "[we're] all morons" but at least we know:
Sites = Websites,
Sights = What you can see with your eyes.
that is a has nothing to do
that is a has nothing to do with the argument at hand...try and stay focused
Oh hey, this reminds me of
Oh hey, this reminds me of the last time we had this thread:
Tor did its job? The sole
Tor did its job?
The sole purpose of Tor is to provide anonymity, to both users and hidden service providers.
Now we know that users of Tor can be identified, and hidden servers aren't hidden after all.
I'd call that a big fat FAIL.
Pardon my french, but why do
Pardon my french, but why do you assume that it is TOR that got compromised ?
For all we know, the feds might have broken into FH's servers (and out of any VMs FH might have employed for security) and leveraged this position to bypass TOR.
It's actually not even that hard - there's probably a lot of heterogenous code on any shared hosting, some of it less secure than other.
Or, and in my opinion, most likely, they just had a rat in the datacenter. The weakest link is usually the one made of meat.
There are now law and rules
There are now law and rules when it comes to track down pedofiles . They do not deserve to be protected by the law . FBI done an amazing job , and saved many kids from EVIL sick molesters.
Roger, Jacob, Karen, Tom,
Have to be honest, having
User-friendliness, the more
User-friendliness, the more people who use tor, the more anonymous it is.
Not very anonymous when you
Not very anonymous when you are rooted by FBI 0 day. Tor developers need to wake up and see that we want a fucking anonymity network and anonymity and security software, not something that slows down our internet while we watch cat videos on youtube. Unfortunately they have been more and more going in the direction of user friendlyness even at the significant expense of user security and anonymity, and I just wonder how friendly it will be in prison for all of the people who just were deanonymized because of user friendly software.
With all due respect, up
With all due respect, up until recently, Javascript WITHOUT Flash and/or Java was through to be safe.
Actually, I would have to say it still IS safe unless there is a big freaking hole in Javascript somewhere.
Right. There are a lot of
Right. There are a lot of parts of Firefox that are potential attack surfaces. Javascript is one big one, but there are other big ones. We shouldn't focus solely on Javascript or we'll end up surprised by the next vulnerability.
Thought to be safe? By
It is, in my view, foolish in the extreme not to assume that "the bad guys", whoever they are, have frequent access to 0-day vulnerabilities in the major JS implementations. This seems likely to continue for the forseeable future, especially given how much browser makers have been focusing lately on improving JS performance (which almost inevitably results in the introduction of new vulnerabilities.)
^ This. JavaScript is
^ This.
JavaScript is considered THE number one reason of virus infections.
Virtually EVERY exploit kit worldwide uses JS to see if the target is vulnerable in the first place, even if the actual exploit doesn't use a JS vulnerability.
Activating it is batshit insane crazy with suicidal tendencies.
If you browse the clearnet without NoScript, you are a risk to yourself and the rest of the internet,
if you do illegal stuff with JS enabled, you are a risk to yourself and the rest of the internet and are asking to be put into prison.
"If you browse the clearnet
"If you browse the clearnet without NoScript, you are a risk to yourself and the rest of the internet,"
Isn't it about time that at least /some/ of the most basic protections that NoScript offers, such as against XSS, be incorporated into Firefox itself? (and, for that matter, other browsers as well)
What about people in Iran
What about people in Iran and China who want to watch cat videos and the like on YouTube?


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Friday, July 30, 2010
How to Edit Text Faster on Windows by Updating Key Bindings
The following post sets out one way of binding the navigation keys to convenient keys on the keyboard on Windows. The approach means that I don't have to move my hands from the home keys position (i.e., JKL;) when switching between entering text and moving the cursor.
By jeromyanglim on Friday, July 30, 2010 Labels: computers, programming 8 comments
Monday, July 19, 2010
How to Process Inquisit Raw Data in SPSS
This post provides advice for processing and importing raw data from Inquisit into SPSS. It is also relevant to importing Inquisit data into other data analysis packages.
By jeromyanglim on Monday, July 19, 2010 Labels: Inquisit, SPSS 0 comments
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