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TUSCALOOSA | Some snow is expected in Tuscaloosa early this morning, but it isn't expected to stick around. An upper level cold front moving across the area will include rain turning into snow around sunrise, said National Weather Service meteorologist Holly Britton in suburban Birmingham.
TUSCALOOSA | Some snow is expected in Tuscaloosa early this morning, but it isn't expected to stick around.
An upper level cold front moving across the area will include rain turning into snow around sunrise, said National Weather Service meteorologist Holly Britton in suburban Birmingham.
"Expect a trace to a half-inch across the Tuscaloosa area around 6 or 7 a.m.," she said. "We expect it to start coming down in a heavy snow shower, which will provide a quick burst of heavy snow in an isolated location. Where that happens, we could see a quick accumulation of up to inches in grassy or elevated surfaces like car roofs and porches. As soon as it stops falling, it's going to melt because the ground temperatures are so warm."
That means motorists might encounter slushy, wet roads but not much snow during this morning's commute.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch Wednesday afternoon for several counties, including Tuscaloosa, Lamar, Fayette and Pickens in West Alabama.
Over the past few days, heavy rains hit Lamar County particularly hard.
"Lamar County has really had the worst of it," said Roger McNeil, another meteorologist with the National Weather Service. "As you go further northwest the rainfall totals get heavier."
Yasamie August, a spokeswoman with the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, said officials had to block nearly two dozen roads in Lamar, Walker and DeKalb counties because of high water on Wednesday.
Today's winter storm watch will last through this afternoon and includes areas north of a line from
Aliceville to Jemison to
A winter storm watch means there is potential for significant snow, sleet or ice accumulations that could affect travel.
Tuscaloosa County Emergency Management Agency Director David Hartin said the rural western area of the county will receive less snow than the more populated eastern part.
"We could be inconvenienced a little by this," he said. "It could impact driving and visibility for a brief time period. People need to allow themselves extra time to get to their destinations."
The predicted snow follows days of rain that isn't expected to clear until Saturday.
Flooding of some areas near the Black Warrior River led to road closures in areas mostly southwest of Tuscaloosa.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Commerce Road, Fosters Loop Road, Riverbend Road, Whitfield Road and South Sandy Road were closed.
"These are areas that are typically impacted because of their proximity to the river," Hartin said.
Meanwhile parts of north
Alabama could receive 1 inch to 4 inches of snow, with most of the accumulation on grassy areas, the National Weather Service said.
Snow could continue possibly into Friday in some places in north Alabama, it said.
The biggest threat was northeast of Birmingham, particularly in higher elevations.
"We're not forecasting any widespread travel problems, but it's something to watch," McNeil said.
In Tuscaloosa, the Black Warrior River swelled in areas downstream of downtown. A flood watch was scheduled to expire Wednesday night, but a flood warning will extend until Friday. The Oliver Lock and Dam just west of downtown was predicted to rise to 133.7 feet by late Wednesday, almost five feet above the 129 flood stage, but was expected to begin falling by late Wednesday night, Hartin said.
Reach Stephanie Taylor at firstname.lastname@example.com or 205-722-0210.
Material from The Associated Press was used in this story.


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Pretty for Prom:
Volunteers rounding up dresses for needy local girls.
A great man has fallen:
Former publisher Quimby Melton Jr. dead at 91.
Quick action:
First responders save life of player who collapsed at Gordon.
Sunday sales:
Local convenience store owners lobby city for enhanced revenue.
Relay for Life:
Planning intensifies for annual cancer benefit.
A preview of the 2.12.2013 edition of The Herald-Gazette
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subset: commoncrawl


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From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Good news and bad news: The (relatively) good news for the Obama White House in the new NBC News poll is that the contours of the health-care debate haven't really changed that much since those raucous congressional town-hall meetings began about two weeks ago. The bad news, however, is that the American public continues to have concerns about the president's plans, and this comes after a big-time P.R. blitz from the president himself and supporters using millions in TV ads. Consider: 40% (a plurality) believe the plans would worsen the quality of health care, only 41% approve of President Obama's handling of issue, and 54% are more worried that the government will go too far in reforming the nation's health system than they are concerned the reform won't do enough to reduce costs and cover the uninsured. Still, there is an appetite for reform. A combined 60% of respondents say the system needs either a "complete overhaul" or "major reform." But that combination has declined 10 points since April, and the percentage wanting a "complete overhaul" has dropped 12 points since that time.
*** What's in it for me? In short, the president can't get across the "what's in it for us?" part of his health-care message. Folks with private insurance, in particular, are becoming more negative about his reform proposals. Clearly, the White House is seeing similar polling results as the president's last three town-hall meetings were about health INSURANCE reform and were an attempt to answer the "what's in it for me?" question so many folks WITH insurance have.
*** Rampant misinformation: One of the reasons why the public appears so wary about Obama's health-care plans is due to all the misinformation out there. Majorities in the poll believe the plans would give health insurance coverage to illegal immigrants (55%), would lead to a government takeover of the health system (54%), and would use taxpayer dollars to pay for women to have abortions (50%) -- all claims that nonpartisan fact-checkers say are untrue about the legislation that has emerged so far from Congress. Additionally, 45% think the reform proposals would allow the government to make decisions about when to stop providing medical care for the elderly, which also isn't true. When you have nearly half of the public believing that the government is willing to pull the plug on grandma, you're in trouble.
*** FOX vs. CNN/MSNBC: Here's another way to look at the misinformation: In our poll, 72% of self-identified FOX News viewers believe the health-care plan will give coverage to illegal immigrants, 79% of them say it will lead to a government takeover, 69% think that it will use taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions, and 75% believe that it will allow the government to make decisions about when to stop providing care for the elderly. But it would be incorrect to suggest that this is ONLY coming from conservative viewers who tune in to FOX. In fact, 41% of CNN/MSNBC viewers believe the misinformation about illegal immigrants, 39% believe the government takeover stuff, 40% believe the abortion misperception, and 30% believe the stuff about pulling the plug on grandma. What's more, a good chunk of folks who get their news from broadcast TV (NBC, ABC, CBS) believe these things, too. This is about credible messengers using the media to get some of this misinformation out there, not as much about the filter itself. These numbers should worry Democratic operatives, as well as the news media that have been covering this story.
*** The swing-vote coalition: Obama's overall approval rating in the poll is 51%, a two-point drop since last month and a 10-point decline since April. Obama continues to fare well with the coalition that propelled him to the White House -- among blacks, Hispanics, 18-29 year olds, urban residents, and those with post-graduate degrees. But according to our NBC co-pollsters, the president isn't performing as well with key swing-voter groups -- independents (46%-42% approve/disapprove), seniors (47%-45%), and suburban women. And seniors and suburban women are the primary users of the health-care system; they know the intricacies of the insurance industry more so than most folks, and so losing them may be DIRECTLY related to health care right now. One other thing worth pointing out: While the approval of Obama's handling of health care is at 41%, the public doesn't seem to trust the Republican Party at all on the issue; just 21% approve of the GOP's handling of health care.
*** Obama's and Biden's day: At 4:30 pm ET today, President Obama will deliver remarks from the White House honoring 2008 Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. An hour later, the president will host a conference with faith leaders to discuss health reform. Also today, Vice President Biden and Education Secretary Arnie Duncan head to the battleground state of Florida to argue how the stimulus has benefited the state (the administration says that 26,000 education jobs in Florida have been saved, and that the state has received $3.1 billion in stimulus funds for education and $8.3 billion in overall stimulus funds).
*** Obama's Thursday: Obama also will have an interesting Thursday. The White House tells First Read that the president tomorrow will be a guest on conservative talk-radio host Michael Smerconish's program, and they'll discuss health-care reform. Smerconish will broadcast his program from Diplomatic Room at the White House, and it will be the first radio show to be broadcast from the White House since Obama took office. Also on Thursday, Obama will participate in a strategy session -- by phone and online -- on health care with supporters from his Organizing for America list.
*** A thaw in the freeze? NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports that two North Korean diplomats will be meeting in Santa Fe, NM for the next two days with Gov. Bill Richardson. This is their first trip since 2007, when they helped arrange Richardson's trip to Pyongyang to recover the remains of U.S. soldiers. Mitchell adds that all this activity is the first sign of a real opening after a year of escalating tension, including North Korea's nuclear tests and missile firings. Also, The meeting with Richardson comes only one day after Bill Clinton and President Obama met at the White House to discuss Clinton's recent trip to Pyongyang, when he brought back journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee.
*** Bob Novak: The most immediate legacy of longtime columnist/reporter Bob Novak is the Valerie Plame incident. That's too bad. Novak was a trailblazer; he was among the first class of print reporters who made the jump to TV pundit/analyst. Novak opened the door for a lot of folks to walk through over the last 40 years. He was a columnist with a point of view, who grounded his writings with reporting. Too many ideological columnists these days simply spout off. Novak certainly could spout off on the capital-gains tax or the U.S. policy toward Israel, but he spent as much time actually reporting, actually working sources, actually trying to uncover a great political nugget or two. Was there anything more fun to read, as a political junkie, than his Saturday notebook column in the Chicago Sun-Times? Here's hoping some ideological bloggers/columnists out there today truly look at Novak's work in its entirety and learn from his ethic -- which was that you can have more success getting a point of view across if you actually do your homework and do real reporting. And then there were his vests... Nobody could pull off the three-piece suit like Bob Novak (or those red sweater vests at Christmas). RIP.
Countdown to Election Day 2009: 76 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 440 days
Click here to sign up for First Read emails. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7422971/
Text FIRST to 622639, to sign up for First Read alerts to your mobile phone.
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from the 9/24 AL Closer Report:
Matt Thornton/Octavio Dotel, White Sox (Bobby Jenks out for the season with a strained calf muscle)
A calf injury closes the book on Jenks' 2009 season. Bobby's ERA soared from 2.63 in 2008 to 3.71 in 2009, but it's questionable how much he actually declined. The 28 year-old's XFIP was 3.86 in '08, and a slightly-lower 3.77 in 2009. Jenks' K rate bounced back this year (5.55 K/9 in '08, 8.27 K/9 in '09), but a huge 17% home run/fly ball rate put a big dent in his season. He's basically the same guy: a good late-inning arm, if not an elite one.
With Bobby out of commission, Thornton and Dotel figure to get dibs on any save ops for the Pale Hose. Per Win Probability Added, Thornton (+2.87) has Dotel (+0.74) beat by a healthy margin. Same goes for XFIP (2.92 for Matt, 4.33 for Octavio). Thornton has whiffed 10.72 hitters per nine frames this year, firing a blistering 96 MPH fastball nearly 90 percent of the time.


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Award Keylogger Pro v2.19 | 3.5 MB
Award Keylogger allows you to monitor all users' activity on any computers in real time and record each computer's usage history. Award Keylogger makes it easy to view, in real time, the screenshots of the any computers, all typed keystrokes, visited Web sites, used programs. You can view a list of running processes and terminate undesirable ones.
Main Features:
• New! Run keylogger as a Windows service
• Easy-to-use, even for beginners
• Absolutely invisible/stealth mode
• Logs accounts and passwords typed in the every application
• Logs message typed in all instant messengers
• Visual surveillance, support screenshots view
• Slide show for screenshots
• Captures the contents behind the asterisks
• Captures mouse clicks
• Logs websites visited
• Captures AOL/AIM/Yahoo/ICQ chats
• Keyword Detection and Notification
• Records contents of password protected web pages, including Web Mail messages
• Logs Windows Clipboard
• Sends log by e-mail
• Uploads ALL logs into the separate folders by FTP
• Invisible for the firewall program
• Invisible in the Windows startup list
• Monitors all users of the PC
• User friendly HTML file format for emailed logs
• Invisible in Windows NT/2000/XP Task Manager and Windows 9.x/Me Task List
• Records Windows 9.x/Me/2000/XP/VISTA logon passwords
• Intercepts DOS-box and Java-chat keystrokes
• Supports international keyboards
• External log viewer
• Supports printing of the log
• Optimized for Windows XP
• Exports log to HTML
Home Page - http://www.award-soft.com
TO MAC USERS: If RAR password doesn't work, use this archive program:
RAR Expander 0.8.5 Beta 4 and extract password protected files without error.
TO WIN USERS: If RAR password doesn't work, use this archive program:
Latest Winrar and extract password protected files without error.


text: Post Office's 'Operation Santa' Kicks into Overdrive December 23, 2007 For nearly a century, the U.S. Postal Service has helped Santa to grant the yuletide wishes of needy children. At an "Operation Santa" center in California, volunteers patiently unfold letters and make a list of families for Santa's elves to visit. Post Office's 'Operation Santa' Kicks into Overdrive Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/17558430/17558383" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript


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Military, Products
By By Andrew Drwiega, International Bureau Chief | January 15, 2014
Send Feedback
AUSA Army Aviation Symposium and Exposition, Arlington, Va. — Maj. Gen. Kevin Mangum, commanding general of U.S. Army Aviation, revealed on Tuesday the full extent of his command's plans to hit the budget crisis head-on. Speaking on the first day of the Army Aviation Symposium in Washington, D.C., he said that Army Aviation would retire its fleet of Bell OH-58 reconnaissance helicopters. The role would be handed to the Army's Apache AH-64E attack helicopters supported by the rapidly expanding Shadow and Gray Eagle unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in a role that has seen rapid annual growth – Manned Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T).
Mangum said that the idea of prolonging the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior by putting "new shoes on an old horse for $10 billion" was rejected by the Army Aviation committee who collectively made the decision.
First flight of the OH-58F on April 30, 2013. Photo courtesy of U.S. Army
All Apache helicopters would be taken out of the reserve component, being replaced by Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks. Both Boeing Apache AH-64E and Black Hawk UH-60M procurement plans would be slowed and extended by 10 years so that the final aircraft in the process would not be fielded until the early 2030s.
The troubled Armed Aerial Scout program, which the Army has calculated would cost $16 billion, has been shelved indefinitely.
Planning to meet the aviation needs of an Army sized at the new level of 490,000 soldiers would require 15 Combat Aviation Brigades (CABs), said Mangum, a figure that had been derived from the Army's own studies.
However, while the 13th Combat Aviation Brigade was still in the process of being formed, there would be no further increase. In fact, when a worst-case scenario was contemplated where government cut the standing Army even further by significant numbers, Mangum said that that only 10 CABs may be required.
"I don't like lean, but there ain't going to be no fat," remarked Mangum.
Training has already suffered from budget cuts. "Since last year $250 million has been cut from the flying hour program," said Mangum. While the plan during his predecessor's time had been to increase the number of students passing through the Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., to around 1,500 per annum, a peak had been reached last year at 1,200. This year the number was expected to fall to just below 900 students.
Again, in a worst-case scenario, Mangum said that cuts could take place over a five-year window, adding that Army Aviation command "had planned for off-ramps" in case we don't have to face worst case.
"We must balance force structure, modernization and training to mitigate the impact of the Budget Control Act on Army Aviation," he asserted. Better to self-inflict the pain than have the force cut "salami" style where every aspect suffered. However, the determination to stand down the OH-58 and not pursue the AAS was clearly central.
Related: Military Helicopter News


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Orders will take a little longer to reach you. Find out more
The Van Doren Rubber Company opened in 1966 and its robust, effortless sneakers soon became a hit with the local skate scene. Today the brand is an international symbol of Californian style. The iconic range is enduringly cool and each pair has high-traction, durable soles.


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In the "As-a-Service" (AaS) economy, enterprises gain new power to plug into services that deliver simplified, intelligent operations. But roughly two-thirds of businesses appear unprepared for what's coming, according to new research sponsored by Accenture and published by HfS Research.
HfS Research surveyed 716 enterprise service buyers, advisors and service provider executives for insight into As-a-Service perceptions and priorities. Read on for more information and to learn how you can position your business for success.
In the past, the focus of operations outsourcing was primarily cost reduction and incremental process improvement. In the emerging As-a-Service Economy, leaders will be more agile and dynamic, with on-demand, plug-and-play services precisely targeted to both individual consumers and businesses.
The report identities the following eight ideals for moving from legacy operations to the AaS economy.
Forward thinkers across the industry seek catalysts for acceleration beyond traditional labor arbitrage and transaction processing into a more collaborative, entrepreneurial and value-driven business world. Recent insights we discovered include:
Large enterprises kicking the can down the road—Seven of 10 large enterprises do not expect their core enterprises to be delivered AaS for at least five years.
Smarter analytics, automation and proactive operations staff hold keys—Yet, one in three buyers has no plan around analytics, and very few buyers are investing in robotic process automation.
Leaders want change, delivery staff do not—About 53 percent of operations leaders view AaS as critical, compared to just 29 percent of middle-managers and delivery staff.
Service providers much more tuned into the importance of As-a-Service—About 83 percent of providers view AaS as critical, compared to 35 percent of enterprise buyers.
Marketing prioritized over domain investments—About 45 percent of service providers lack focus on making real investments in platforms and outcome-driven revenue models.
Business Cloud holds the most promise for delivering new value—Some 44 percent of senior executives would be willing to write off IT legacy investments and move straight to the cloud if they could find a solution that provides speed to value.


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MSBC Group Consult: Business Planning @ Aaniin CC Library
Markham Small Business Centre
Event Details
Please download the template documents in advance of the session, feel free to bring your laptop to work along with the presentation (note: there are three versions of the same Financial Template and Business Plan Template for services, products, or restaurant, choose the one most relevant to your business):
Having a tough time getting your business ideas on paper?
So you've got a feasible business idea, and now want to take things more seriously. How do you get your ideas on paper so that it's easy for other stakeholders to understand and for you to execute?
Learn to tailor your business plan to the right audience: are you taking it to a funder to try and secure financing; are you using the plan for your own internal guidance; or is it for both?
Gain an understanding of the key components of writing a meaningful business plan and how each section connects to one another to tell a compelling story about why your business will be successful, and how you will get there doing it! We will explore the core sections typically included in a business plan:
- Company Profile;
- Market Research;
- Marketing Plan;
- Operations;
- Finance.
This session runs approximately twice per month and is limited to a small group to allow for questions and answers directly with our business consultant.
We look forward to seeing you!
Thank you for your interest in starting or growing your business. We want to be able to give you and other businesses continuous support through the development and growth of your business. In order to provide businesses with this support, we need to collect data about your business, progress and growth.
When & Where
Aaniin Community Centre and Library
5665 14th Ave
Markham Small Business Centre
Markham Small Business Centre (MSBC) is an office of the City of Markham in partnership with the Government of Ontario, we are a member of the provincial Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs (ONE). MSBC provides free and confidential business advice and information to entrepreneurs and small business owners through:
- Group information/consultation sessions
- One-on-one appointments
- Educational seminars
- Responding to business inquiries
Specializing in start-up and early stage growth, on topics such as:
- Start-up regulations
- Business planning
- Marketing research and strategy
- Understanding business financing
- Business taxation
- Youth entrepreneurship grants and programs
Let us help your business start or grow: www.msbc.markham.ca | 905-477-7000 x6722 | firstname.lastname@example.com


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Why I'm Rejecting Rabbi Yoffie's Call for Progressive Jews to Support Israel's Bombing of Gaza
by: David Harris-Gershon on November 15th, 2012 | 9 Comments »
Rabbi Eric Yoffie has penned a Haaretz opinion piece directed at progressive, U.S. Jews that is so deluded and insidious, it's as though it was written in the same political and psychological vacuum inhabited by Netanyahu's government.
Yoffie, former head of the Union for Reform Judaism, argues that progressives should champion Israel's "get tough" Gaza stance. It's a call he makes using shockingly misguided and narrow arguments. It's a call I, and all progressives, should reject.
Here's why:
First, Yoffie fails to understand the strategic motivations behind Israel's current "Pillar of Defense" campaign. He thinks it's all about security – that the targeted assassination of Ahmed Jaabari, a top Hamas commander, as well as the countless bombs killing militants and civilians alike in Gaza are to protect Israeli citizens from a dangerous, militant Hamas.
They are not.
The truth is this: Israel has engaged in its current, escalating military campaign not to protect Israelis from a militant Hamas, but in order to ensure that Hamas in Gaza remains militant. See, while Jaabari was a known terrorist who had his hand in the Gilad Shalit kidnapping, he was also the Hamas leader both willing and capable of enforcing ceasefire agreements. In fact, as Gershon Baskin writes in "Assassinating the Chance for Calm," Jaabari was considering a ceasefire proposal the moment he was assassinated. And Baskin should know, for he was working closely with Hamas officials on the proposal itself.
So why would Israel assassinate a Hamas official, a move guaranteed to provoke extreme outrage and revenge, at a time when Hamas leaders were working on a ceasefire? The answer is simple and twofold: a) Netanyahu's government wants a militant Hamas in Gaza; it wants a situation in which Gaza becomes isolated from the West Bank, hoping eventually Greater Israel will be obtained with Gaza becoming a separate entity, and b) with Israeli elections set for January, electoral motivations are undeniably in play with regard to this sudden military barrage.
This has happened before, this tactic to destroy a cease fire and stoke militant extremism. And it's a tactic I know intimately. See, in 2002, my wife was injured in the bombing of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The bombing, carried out by Hamas, was a revenge attack for Israel's targeted assassination of a top Hamas terrorist, Sheikh Salah Shehada. The rub? This assassination came 90 minutes after Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Palestinian Authority's Tanzim had agreed on a long-term ceasefire agreement that included a historic call from all organizations to end all terror attacks on civilians.
In 2002, Ariel Sharon launched an Israeli offensive when Palestinians were on the cusp of an historic ceasefire. Today, Netanyahu has done something similar. Both moments share a singular motivation: ensuring that Hamas remains a militant enemy. It is a desire Hamas has been all too willing to oblige for its own political gain, willing to accept the self-destructive, symbiotic relationship Israel offers repeatedly. Yes, Hamas is equally culpable in accepting Israel's hand in continuing a cycle of violence. But that culpability does not validate Yoffie's position. Instead, it weakens it all the more.
The second reason to reject Yoffie's "progressive" call is due to his stunningly misguided read on the human toll in Gaza. While Yoffie is right to be concerned and devastated about the suffering of Jewish civilians being injured and killed by rocket attacks from Gaza, he is wholly blind to the suffering of those in Gaza. In fact, Yoffie paints a picture of a Hamas that brutalizes Israeli civilians with rocket fire, and an Israel that always responds ethically and "with modest force" such that Palestinian suffering is minimal.
Anyone with even a limited understanding of what life in Gaza is like right now knows that Palestinian suffering is intense and overwhelming. Millions of people are being terrorized by one-ton bombs falling incessantly in residential areas, and scores of civilians – including young children – have been injured and killed so far. And those injured are unable to receive proper medical attention due to medicine and supply shortages caused by Israel's blockade of Gaza, itself a brutal and ever-present stranglehold.
The third reason to reject Yoffie's progressive call is because of the psychological place from whence his entire stance actually comes. In the end of his essay, he reveals why he believes everyone should support tough, massive military responses:
Israel came into being so that Jewish children would never again have to huddle together in fear, terrorized by enemies of the Jewish people, while their parents stood by helplessly. Helping those children is a progressive cause. And doing nothing for them undermines the sovereignty of the Jewish state and strikes a fatal blow at the very raison d'etre of Zionism.
The tragic irony, an irony Yoffie even recognizes is his post? It's this: Jewish families are huddled right now, being terrorized by a barrage of Hamas rockets, precisely because of "tough" Israeli response for which Yoffie advocates. And it's a position he advocates not out of wisdom, but out of those psychological demons that still haunt us from the Holocaust – demons which magnify Jewish victimhood such that brutalizing another people becomes a justifiable, even necessary position.
It is neither.
As Dahlia Scheindlin writes, there was another way. There always is.
Follow me on Twitter @David_EHG
Author's Note: For those who might reject my last paragraph treating the psychology of perspective, read Daniel Bar-Tal's "Why Does Fear Override Hope in Societies Engulfed by Intractable Conflict, as It Does in the Israeli Society?"
For in it, he shows the correlation between Israeli Jews' fear of annihilation (as a people) and the unwillingness to empathize or negotiate with the Palestinians — making it a competition for victimhood, a zero-sum game.
Most interestingly, the study also shows that Israeli Jews who fear for their own personal safety are just as willing to compromise and negotiate with Palestinians as those who fear no personal harm. It's the national fear of destruction that paralyzes everyone.


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Airbus A350-900
In the belly of the whale
Airbus A350-900
The Beluga is the backbone of operations at aircraft manufacturer Airbus. Every day, the giant freighter transports airplane parts to production sites around Europe. Currently, its main cargo consists of components belonging to the world's most cutting-edge passenger plane.
It is 3:47 in the afternoon. For the third time today, Birger Thomßen peers into the white whale's gullet, right down its long snout into its giant stomach and almost all the way to its tail fin. Officially, this is an A300-600ST, but here at the Airbus plant in Hamburg-Finkenwerder, everyone calls it the Beluga. It is the biggest freight plane in the world.
The super transporter lands at the Airbus facility airport sometimes four times a day. Airbus has built five different models of the type A300-600ST plane since 1995, when they began transporting A330 or A380 components and sections and ferrying cockpits, passenger cabins, wings and rudders to their final assembly sites. Hamburg, Seville, Broughton, Toulouse – Airbus has sites distributed across half of Europe, and each one specializes in particular components. It's like a giant family whose members are separated by thousands of kilometers, and the Beluga brings them all together. As Birger Thomßen puts it, the giant aircraft is "the eye of the needle for Airbus."
Thomßen is one of four ground coordinators responsible for handling deliveries and shipments. The 33-year-old makes sure that the A350 components that are made in Hamburg arrive at their final assembly destinations safely and on time. Each loading and unloading process is a logistical challenge. The giant Beluga has to be towed into the cargo facility very carefully because its giant doors only allow for thirty centimeters on either side. Thomßen and his colleagues have to work under time pressure. All they have is ninety minutes because the Beluga's schedule is so tight. "A storm in Seville or dense fog in England causes problems for us here," Thomßen says.
At the moment, the super transporter is performing a particularly important role for the Airbus A350. The aircraft maker's most recent long-haul carrier is a record-breaker on many fronts: Made of a lightweight composite material called CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced polymer), it consumers 25 percent less fuel, while its innovative new turbine engines reduce its noise footprint by up to 30 percent. The A350 is a prestigious project, and without the Beluga, its production would be virtually impossible. Birger Thomßen is under delivery pressure, too. Lufthansa alone has ordered 25 type A350 aircraft, three of which are scheduled to begin flying from Munich to Delhi and Boston this February. Roughly 20 more will join the fleet this summer.
Today, tail segment 13/14 has to be prepared for shipment to Toulouse. "We produce two of the A350 tail segments right here in Hamburg," explains Thomßen, "with the site in Stade delivering the rudders." In Toulouse, assembly technicians connect the cockpit, rudder and wings to the fuselage while others complete the interiors of the passenger cabins by installing the latest FlyNet technology, more comfortable seats and a special lighting system that makes it easier for passengers to sleep on long-haul flights.
There's room here for up to 47 tons of freight, the weight equivalent of roughly ten full-size elephants
Thomßen, dressed in a safety vest, stands at a control panel ten meters above the ground. The cargo bay above the cockpit gapes in front of him like a giant cave. Thomßen peers into the round, black hole where nothing would be visible at all if it weren't for small light bulbs. The cargo bay is 37.7 meters long, 7.40 meters wide and more than seven meters tall, and comprises a surface area of over 1300 square meters. The Beluga can hold 47 tons of freight, the equivalent in weight of around ten full-size elephants. The tail section of the A350, the component being loaded today, weighs more than 22 tons and is over 15 meters long. Most importantly, however, it's only six meters wide. It will be a tight squeeze, even for a transporter this size. There's no margin for error. Even a small dent would cause damage in the million-euro bracket and production delays.
Three years ago, a special cargo facility, Warehouse 82, was built to ensure full control of such heavy and cumbersome freight. Secured against strong side winds, the aircraft is towed into the facility, where the Beluga Interface Rack, a white metal monstrosity on wheels, is driven right up to within centimeters of the super transporter. It encloses the fuselage like a sleeve, positioning the open freight door right in front of the three loading ramps, the main components of the Interface Rack. Each ramp is 70 meters long and can be moved sideways at the push of a button. Once in place, they form an extension to the two metal rails along which the freight is guided in the Beluga's belly. An automatic alignment system balances out every movement.
Once again, the snout of the whale is positioned perfectly in place. Standing at the controls, Birger Thomßen maneuvers the tail segment of the A350 into position. During flight, it rests on a supportive and protective cradle that looks much like an egg cup wrapped in cotton wool. Thomßen guides the sensitive freight into the cargo bay at five centimeters per second, and very gradually, the huge component disappears into the white belly of the whale, where it is ultimately locked into place with safety bolts. Done. In record time.
At 4:50 pm the Beluga Tango Charlie asks the tower for permission to take off. Soon after, the Beluga rises into the air and disappears behind gray clouds.


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Throw Blankets & Accent Pillows
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Can anyone here help debunk this odd even miracle please? Um confused here.
http://www.quranmiracles.com/2011/05/ev ... d-numbers/
We oppose Islam, not Muslims. We are against hate, not faith
which translates as: "we have chosen the Hafs version and used it to prove that Hafs is the correct version". This is just a variant of "the Koran is from Allah because it says it is from Allah", reduced to mere human machinations.We will do this according to the "Hafs" version, which is accepted generally throughout the world. You can check the results with a calculator by using any Quran in your home. (As a result, the presentations here prove the correctness of the "Hafs" version
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Posts Tagged 'China bubble'
2012 – The year of living dangerously
by Jim Quinn
of The Burning Platform
Posted on 8th January 2012
"In retrospect, the spark might seem as ominous as a financial crash, as ordinary as a national election, or as trivial as a Tea Party. The catalyst will unfold according to a basic Crisis dynamic that underlies all of these scenarios: An initial spark will trigger a chain reaction of unyielding responses and further emergencies. The core elements of these scenarios (debt, civic decay, global disorder) will matter more than the details, which the catalyst will juxtapose and connect in some unknowable way. If foreign societies are also entering a Fourth Turning, this could accelerate the chain reaction. At home and abroad, these events will reflect the tearing of the civic fabric at points of extreme vulnerability – problem areas where America will have neglected, denied, or delayed needed action." – Strauss & Howe – The Fourth Turning – 1997
IN DECEMBER 2010 I WROTE AN ARTICLE CALLED Will 2012 Be as Critical as 1860?, THAT PONDERED WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN WITH THE 2012 presidential election and the possible scenarios that might play out based on that election. Well, 2012 has arrived and every blogger and mainstream media pundit is making their predictions for 2012. The benefit of delaying my predictions until the first week of 2012 is that I've been able to read the wise ponderings of Mike Shedlock, Jesse, Karl Denninger, and some other brilliant truth seeking analysts regarding what might happen during 2012. The passage above from Strauss & Howe was written fifteen years ago and captured the essence of what has happened since 2007 and what will drive all the events over the next decade. Predicting specific events is a futile human endeavour. The world is so complex and individual human beings so impulsive and driven by emotion, that the possible number of particular outcomes is almost infinite.
But, as Strauss and Howe point out, the core elements that created this Crisis and the reaction of generational cohorts to the implications of debt, civic decay and global disorder will drive all the events that will occur in 2012 and for as far as the eye can see. Linear thinkers in mega-corporations, mainstream media and Washington D.C. focus on retaining the status quo, their power and their wealth. They believe an economic recovery can be manufactured through monetary manipulation and Keynesian borrowing and spending. They are blind to the fact that history is cyclical, not linear. In order to have an understanding of what could happen in the coming year, it is essential to keep the big picture in focus. As we enter the fifth year of this twenty year Crisis period, there is absolutely no chance that 2012 will see an improvement in our economy, political atmosphere or world situation. Fourth Turnings never de-intensify. They exhaust themselves after years of chaos, conflict and turmoil. I can guarantee you that 2012 will see increased mayhem, riots, violent protests, recessions, bear markets, and a presidential election that will confound the establishment. All the episodes which will occur in 2012 will have at their core one of the three elements described by Strauss & Howe in 1997: Debt, Civic Decay, or Global Disorder.
Debt – On the Road to Serfdom
The world is awash in debt. Everyone is focused on the PIIGS with their debt to GDP ratios exceeding the Rogoff & Reinhart's 90% point of no return. But, the supposedly fiscally responsible countries like Germany, France, U.K., and the U.S. have already breached the 90% level. Japan is off the charts, with debt exceeding 200% of GDP. These figures are just for the official government debt. If countries were required to report their debt like a corporation, their unfunded entitlement promises to future generations are four to six times more than their official government debt.
Any critical thinking person can look at the chart above and realize that creating more debt out of thin air to solve a debt problem is foolish, dangerous, and self serving to only bankers and politicians. The debt crisis took decades of terrible choices and bogus promises to produce. The world is now in the midst of a debt driven catastrophe. At best, the excessive levels of sovereign debt will slow economic growth to zero or below in 2012. At worst, interest rates will soar as counties attempt to rollover their debt and rolling defaults across Europe will plunge the continent into a depression. The largest banks in Europe are leveraged 40 to 1, therefore a 3% reduction in their capital will cause bankruptcy. Once you pass 90% debt to GDP, your fate is sealed.
"Those who remain unconvinced that rising debt levels pose a risk to growth should ask themselves why, historically, levels of debt of more than 90 percent of GDP are relatively rare and those exceeding 120 percent are extremely rare. Is it because generations of politicians failed to realize that they could have kept spending without risk? Or, more likely, is it because at some point, even advanced economies hit a ceiling where the pressure of rising borrowing costs forces policy makers to increase tax rates and cut government spending, sometimes precipitously, and sometimes in conjunction with inflation and financial repression (which is also a tax)?" – Rogoff & Reinhart
The ECB doubling their balance sheet and funnelling trillions to European banks will not solve anything. The truth that no one wants to acknowledge is the standard of living for every person in Europe, the United States and Japan will decline. The choice is whether the decline happens rapidly by accepting debt default and restructuring or methodically through central bank created inflation that devours the wealth of the middle class. Debt default would result in rich bankers losing vast sums of wealth and politicians accepting the consequences of their false promises. Bankers and politicians will choose inflation. They believe they can control the levers of inflation, but they have proven to be incompetent, hubristic, and myopic. The European Union will not survive 2012 in its current form. Countries are already preparing for the dissolution. Politicians and bankers will lie and print until the day they pull the plug on the doomed Euro experiment.
The false storyline of debt being paid down in the United States continues to be propagated by the mainstream press and decried by Paul Krugman. The age of austerity storyline gets full play on a daily basis. Total credit market debt in 2000 was $27 trillion. It skyrocket to $42 trillion by 2005 as George Bush and Alan Greenspan encouraged delusional Americans to defeat terrorism by leasing SUVs and live the American dream by putting zero down on a $600,000 McMansion, financing it with a negative amortization no doc loan. Paul Krugman got his wish as a housing bubble replaced the dotcom bubble. Debt accumulation went into hyper-speed in 2006 and 2007 as Wall Street sharks conducted a fraudulent feeding frenzy by peddling their derivatives of mass destruction around the globe. By the end of 2007, total credit market debt reached $51 trillion.
In a world inhabited by sincere sane leaders, willing to level with the citizens and disposed to allow financial institutions that took world crushing risks to fail through an orderly bankruptcy process, debt would have been written off and a sharp short contraction would have occurred. The stockholders, bondholders and executives of the Wall Street banks would have taken the losses they deserved. Instead Wall Street used their undue influence, wealth and power to force their politician puppets to funnel $5 trillion to the bankers that created the crisis while dumping the debt on taxpayers and unborn generations. The Wall Street controlled Federal Reserve provided risk free funding and took toxic mortgage assets off their balance sheets. The result is total credit market debt higher today than it was at the peak of the financial crisis in March 2009.
Our leaders have done the exact opposite of what needed to be done to address this debt crisis. The country is adding $3.7 billion per day to the National Debt. With the debt at $15.2 trillion, we have now surpassed the 100% to GDP mark. The National Debt will be $16.5 trillion when the next president takes office in January 2013. Ben Bernanke has been able to keep short term interest rates near zero and the non-existent U.S. economic growth and European disaster has resulted in keeping long-term rates near record lows. Despite these historic low rates, interest on the National Debt totalled $454 billion in 2011, an all-time high. The effective interest rate was approximately 3%. If rates stay at current levels, interest will be between $400 and $500 billion in 2012. Each 1% increase in rates would cost American taxpayers an additional $150 billion. A rapid increase in rates to the 7% level would ratchet interest expense above $1 trillion and destroy the last remaining vestiges of Bernanke's credibility. It can't possibly happen in 2012. Right? The world has total confidence in pieces of paper being produced at a rate of $3.7 billion per day.
Confidence in Ben Bernanke, Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress is all that stands between continued stability and complete chaos. What could go wrong? Debt related issues that will likely rear their head in 2012 are as follows:
- A debt saturated society cannot grow. As debt servicing grows by the day, the economy losses steam. The excessive and increasing debt levels will lead to a renewed recession in 2012 as clearly detailed by ECRI, John Hussman and Hoisington Investment Management.
"Here's what ECRI's recession call really says: if you think this is a bad economy, you haven't seen anything yet. And that has profound implications for both Main Street and Wall Street." – ECRI
At present, we observe agreement across a broad ensemble of models, even restricting data to indicators available since 1950 (broader data since 1970 imply virtual certainty of recession). The uniformity of recessionary evidence we observe today has never been seen except during or just prior to other historical recessions.- John Hussman
Negative economic growth will probably be registered in the U.S. during the fourth quarter of 2011, and in subsequent quarters in 2012. Though partially caused by monetary and fiscal actions and excessive indebtedness, this contraction has been further aggravated by three current cyclical developments: a) declining productivity, b) elevated inventory investment, and c) contracting real wage income. In summary, the case for an impending recession rests not only on cyclical precursors evident in productivity, real wages, and inventory investment, but also on the disfunctionality of monetary and fiscal policy. – Van Hoisington
- The onrushing recession will send housing down for the count. With 2.2 million homes already in the foreclosure process and another 13 million homes with negative or near negative equity, the recession will push more people over the edge. As foreclosures rise a self reinforcing loop will develop. Home prices will fall as banks dump houses at lower prices, pushing millions more into a negative equity position. Home prices will fall another 5% to 10% in 2012, with a couple years to go before bottoming.
- The recession will result in companies laying off more workers. It won't be as dramatic as 2008-2009 because companies have already shed 6 million jobs. The working age population will increase by 1.7 million, the number of people employed will go up by 1 million, but the official unemployment rate will drop to 7% as the BLS reveals that 10 million people decided to relax and leave the workforce. Surely I jest. The government manipulated unemployment rate will rise above 9%, while the real rate will surpass 25%.
- The American people rationally increased their savings rate to 6.2% in the 2nd Quarter of 2009. When you are over-indebted and the country heads into recession, spending less and saving more is a sane option. Consumer expenditures accounted for 69% of GDP in 2007, prior to the economic collapse. The "recovery" of 2010-2011 has been driven by Ben's zero interest rate policy, the resumption of easy credit peddling by the Wall Street banks, and consumers convinced that going further into hock to attain the American dream is rational. Consumer spending as a percentage of GDP has actually risen to 71% and the savings rate has plunged to 3.6%. The 20% drop in gas prices since April bottomed in December. This decline temporarily boosted consumer spending, but prices are on the rise again. With the State and local governments reducing spending, do the Wall Street Ivy League economists really believe consumers will increase their consumption to 73% of GDP and reduce their savings rate to 1%? If you open your local newspaper you will see the master plan. Car dealers are offering 0% financing with nothing down for 60 months. The GMAC/Ditech/Ally Bank zombie lives as subprime auto loans are back. The "strong" auto sales are a debt financed illusion. Ashley Furniture is offering 0% financing for 50 months with no payments through Wells Fargo Bank. When the Federal Reserve provides the Wall Street banks with 0% funding, banks are willing to take big risks knowing that Uncle Ben and the naive American taxpayer will be there to bail them out when it blows up again.
- With recession a certainty as fiscal stimulus wears off, home prices fall, employment stagnates, and consumer spending grinds to a halt, what will happen to the stock market? The Wall Street shills paraded on CNBC and interviewed by the multi-millionaire talking head twits assure you that stocks are undervalued and the market will surely be up 10% to 15% by 2013. It's a mortal lock, just as it has been for the last twelve years, with the S&P 500 at the same level as January 1999. The fact is the stock market drops 30% on average during a recession. The talking heads declare that corporate profits are at record levels and will continue higher. Not bloody likely. Corporate profit margins are at an all-time peak about 50% above their historical norms. Profits always revert to their mean. These profits are not sustainable as they were generated by firing millions of workers, zero interest rates for banks, fraudulent accounting by the banks, and trillions in handouts from the middle class taxpayers to corporate America.
In a true free market excess profits will draw more competitors and profits will fall due to competition. When corporate profits exceed the mean by such a large amount, you can conclude that crony capitalism has replaced the free market. Government bureaucrats have been picking the winners (Wall Street, War Industry, Big Media, Big Healthcare) and the American people are the losers. Corporate oligarchs prefer no competition so they can reap obscene risk free profits and reward themselves with king-like compensation. Mean reversion will eventually be a bitch. Real S&P earnings have reached the 2007 historic peak. To believe they will soar higher as we enter a recession takes the same kind of faith shown by Americans buying a $600,000 McMansion in Stockton with no money down in 2005. The result will be the same. Do you ever wonder how corporations are doing so well while the average American sinks further into debt, despair and poverty?
The brilliant John Hussman captures the gist of an investor's dilemma in his latest article:
"With 10-year Treasury yields below 2%, 30-year yields below 3%, corporate bond yields below 4%, and S&P 500 projected 10-year total returns below 5%, we presently have one of the worst menus of prospective return that long-term investors have ever faced. The outcome of this situation will not be surprisingly pleasant for any sustained period of time, but promises to be difficult, volatile, and unrewarding. The proper response is to accept risk in proportion to the compensation available for taking that risk. Presently, that compensation is very thin. This will change, and much better opportunities to accept risk will emerge. The key is for investors to avoid the allure of excessive short-term speculation in a market that promises – bends to its knees, stares straight into investors' eyes, and promises – to treat them terribly over the long-term."


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Dozens of protestors rallied outside Facebook's Menlo Park headquarters on Wednesday after FWD.US, the social welfare organization co-founded by Mark Zuckerberg, funded television ads in support of the Keystone XL pipeline and other oil drilling positions.
"Facebook, dislike, Keystone take a hike," the protestors chanted, according to a report from the Mercury Daily News.
When it was first announced, Zuckerberg and other FWD.US founders said the organization would focus mostly on immigration reform, education and scientific research. The new ads support none of those causes. Instead FWD.US formed two subsidiary organizations, Americans for a Conservative Direction and the Council for American Job Growth, and ads for those groups carry pro-drilling messages. The first ad, in support of Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.), attacks Obamacare and praises the senator for his support of Keystone XL and expanded oil drilling. The second ad, supporting Sen. Mark Begich (D-Ark.), praises his efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for expanded oil drilling.
FWD.US released the following statement about the ads to ThinkProgress: "FWD.US is committed to showing support for elected officials who promote the policy changes needed to build the knowledge economy. Maintaining two separate entities, Americans for a Conservative Direction [and] the Council for American Job Growth, to support elected officials across the political spectrum – separately – means that we can more effectively communicate with targeted audiences of their constituents."
A number of environmental and political groups have come out against the ads, including CREDO Mobile, which during this week's protest delivered a petition containing 18,000 signatures asking Zuckerberg to pull the ads. "The people on Facebook who made Mark Zuckerberg a billionaire need to know that he is using his fortune to bankroll pro-Keystone XL propaganda," Becky Bond, CREDO's political director, said in a press release. "And if Facebook is giving up ad revenue in order to protect the CEO from public scrutiny of his private political giving, then that's something that both users, employees and shareholders absolutely need to know."
CREDO also created an online advertisement calling for Zuckerberg to stop supporting Keystone XL. That ad was rejected by Facebook because it contained an image of Zuckerberg's face, according to a report from The Washington Post. Facebook said it routinely rejects ads that contain the co-founder's face as they "tend to be confusing for readers ... [who] may click on the ad thinking it is a message from Mark or from Facebook."
You can watch one of the FWD.US-backed ads below:
Related files on MNN:


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NSF award recognizes outstanding achievement in advancing environmental health
NSF Intl. and the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) recently announced that Capt. Craig A. Shepherd, RS, MPH, DAAS, is the recipient of the 2008 Walter F. Snyder Award. Shepherd was presented the award at NEHA's 72nd Annual Educational Conference in Tucson, Ariz., last month.
The award, given in honor of NSF's co-founder and first executive director, is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the advancement of environment health. Shepherd was recognized for the lasting impact he has made on environmental health over the course of his 30-year career as a U.S. Public Health Service Officer.
"Captain Craig Shepherd is an outstanding leader who has served with distinction throughout his 30-year career in the United States Public Health Service," said Rear Admiral Steven K. Galson, MD, MPH, acting surgeon general. "I was very pleased to hear Craig received the Walter F. Snyder Award. He defines our core values of leadership, service, excellence and integrity and has earned my utmost trust and confidence as the chief environmental health officer of the United States Public Health Service. His advice and counsel, leadership and direction, have advanced environmental health in this nation. My thanks to the committee who chose him in recognition of his leadership on environmental health issues and my most hearty congratulations to CAPT Craig Shepherd—well done."
Early in his career, Shepherd worked with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a milk/food specialist assigned to the Baltimore District Office. While assigned, he supervised and monitored food preparation numerous times at the request of the U.S. Secret Service for President Reagan, Vice President Bush and other national leaders.
He also served as director of environmental health services for the Nashville Area Indian Health Service. As director, Shepherd was responsible for managing a comprehensive environmental health services program for 24 Indian tribes scattered from Maine to South Florida to Eastern Texas.
"Not only has Captain Craig Shepherd demonstrated outstanding leadership, but he has also advanced the profession through extensive contributions made in the development of the CDC/HUD Healthy Housing Reference Manual and regularly contributing environmental health updates to the CDC website," said Nelson Fabian, executive director of the National Environmental Health Association. "Captain Shepherd is a strong advocate for the use of the ten essential environmental health services and has been at the forefront of advancing the environmental health profession, a core value of NEHA."
Shepherd has been recognized on multiple emergency response and humanitarian missions. During the hurricane season of 2004 and 2005, Shepherd served as a team leader for more than 40 environmental health and engineering officers that provided assistance to state and local health departments. Shepherd was also recently selected by Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona as the chief environmental health officer of the United States Public Health Service where he provides advice to the surgeon general on environmental health issues impacting the country, and oversees 360 environmental health officers stationed in numerous federal agencies nationwide. He was awarded the surgeon general's Exemplary Service Medal for his accomplishments and leadership aboard the USNS Comfort in 2007.
"Capt. Craig Shepherd's career achievements echo the principles of Walter F. Snyder and the mission of NSF Intl.," said Kevan P. Lawlor, president and chief executive officer of NSF Intl. "His humanitarian efforts in Haiti in 1982 and his emergency response to the drought in Chuuk illustrate his commitment to environmental health at home and abroad. His extended service to U.S. hurricane victims in 2004 and 2005 demonstrates the highest level of professionalism in environmental health. These are only some of the characteristics that make him an ideal recipient of this year's Walter F. Snyder Award."


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As fog cleared off the river, two deer bounded into the tall grass near the road. It's not an uncommon sight for many drivers, especially in October, November, and December. New data shows U.S. drivers on the average have a 1 in 116 chance of a collision with an animal, according to the State Farm® annual study. The company estimates there were over 1.9 million animal collision insurance claims in the U.S. between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.
Where are animal collisions most likely?
West Virginia continues to top the list of states where an individual driver is most likely to run into an animal, with a likelihood of one in 38.
Montana (one in 48 chance of a crash), Pennsylvania (one in 52 chance of a crash), and South Dakota (one in 54) are at the top of the list. Rounding out the top 10 states where drivers are most likely to collide with an animal are Iowa, Wyoming, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, and Mississippi. The months drivers are most likely to collide with a large animal in the U.S. are (in order) November, October, and December.


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I was recently browsing the discount tables at Chapters (I'm addicted to $4.95 hardcover books) and came across a little book titled The Big Book of Irony by Jon Winokur (Canadian cover price of $24.95. How can you resist?)
A book on irony seemed too good to pass up so I dropped my money on the counter and headed home with my new reading material.
Inside I found this wonderful little poem by Samuel Hoffenstein.
Your little hands
Your little feet
Your little mouth –
Oh, God, how sweet!
Your little nose
Your little ears
Your eyes, that shed
Such little tears!
Your little voice
So soft and kind
Your little soul
Your little mind!
Worth the $4.95 right there.


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Extreme Sports in ThailandKevin (เควิน) Khaosan
Just how extreme is this?
The only thing more amazing than the rapid development of extreme sports in Thailand is its roots. Thai extreme sports didn't emerge from grunge culture or a pursuit of hedonism and excess, but from a gauntlet laid down to society's youth at risk – those dabbling with drugs, underperforming at school or otherwise losing their way. The challenge was for change… The challenge was for greatness.
The man in charge of extreme sports in Thailand is the same man responsible for promoting them here in the first place – Khun Apichat Rutnin, former drugs rehabilitation officer, gymnast, and Secretary General of the Extreme Sports Association in Thailand. To him extreme sports represented an opportunity to challenge rule breakers to push the envelope and in 1994 he scoured department stores and other youth hangouts to invite youngsters to take part in informal in-line skating programs. Whether slum kids or middle-class errant youth, it made no difference – these kids got the right kind of addiction and with it the life changing drive and self-imposed discipline that comes from a passion for something good.
Fast forward to 1998 and the Asian X-games were held in Phuket. Out of nowhere, Thailand established its credentials as an extreme sporting nation and began a series of achievements that saw the country's extreme sportsmen and women travel the world in pursuit of competition and victory.
Today, the success of Khun Apichat's programs for the young at risk have guaranteed their continuation, but with 2,000 youngsters on his books, things obviously haven't stopped there.
"These days our focus has changed," suggested Khun Apichat. "Thailand's extreme sportsmen and women are at a level where they are competing with the best of the best. Our emphasis now is on 'sporting excellence' – on ensuring extreme sports in Thailand keep developing at the rate they have over the last years. What we need now are people with skills and experience willing to devote their time and energy to help us get to the next level and further."
And that's where you might come in…
If you have the skills and experience to offer (and you will know if you are good enough), this is a chance for you to turn your trip to Thailand into a genuine contribution both to extreme sports and the development of Thailand's youth. You will teach them the tricks you have learned and also pass on English language skills. In return you will learn Thai and get an insight into the Thai way of life few will ever experience.
At this stage the details have not been hammered out, but it might be possible to assist those able to stay for an extended period with visa arrangements, but even a couple of days will do. Although free accommodation won't ever be part of the package, it may be possible to arrange home stays for those offering training at centers outside Bangkok.
Think about this… does it get much better? At this stage we'd like to hear from people who are planning a trip to Thailand and feel they might have enough to offer to help out. Use the form below to let us know when you might be heading out this way.
Click here to contact the Thai Extreme Sports Association of Thailand.


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Dallas Mavericks Guard DeShawn Arrested for Public Intoxication
Looks like DeShawn Stevenson didn't want to let the champagne stop flowing after the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA title.
Police in Irving, Texas arrested the 30-year-old guard Tuesday night for public intoxication.
Stevenson, who averaged 4.5 points a game during the Mavericks championship run, was reportedly walking around an apartment complex, but had no idea where he was.
He also failed field sobriety tests.
The 10-year veteran, who joined the Mavericks in the middle of the 2009-2010 campaign, was released from jail Wednesday. The Mavericks had no comment on the matter.


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Drinking the Bottom Shelf: Ron Botran Anejo Oro Rum
Will Gordon drinks his way through the bottom shelf of the liquor store...so you don't have to.
Bottom Shelf Boozing
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More Drinking The Bottom Shelf »
A lot of the women I know have recently divested themselves of perfectly adequate boyfriends. I mostly don't care, because what does any of that have to do with me or college basketball, though I do appreciate the opportunity to pass along my sister's advice to the newly single: When a man tells you he likes history, it means he likes getting stoned in front of Hitler documentaries.
I don't know what the female equivalent is and I'm in no hurry to find out, so I've spent the past week working on rum drinks, because my otherwise reasonable girlfriend has heartbreaking affinities for beach trips and Allman Brothers concerts.
Now, I would rather bathe with the Allman Brothers than watch them sing, so that means my only shot at being accommodating during this dangerous upcoming Summer of My Girlfriend's Girlfriends' Discontent is to suffer through a few weekends on Cape Cod. So I need an expanded rum repertoire, just in case we're lucky enough to be rained in and I get to play heroic problem-solver and say, "Sorry that we can't spend the day sitting on hot dirt and hiding beers from whatever special unit of the state police is deployed to make sure I don't accidentally enjoy myself; would you like a rum drink?" Despite her perverse affections for dangerous bodies of nonpotable water and bands of 60-year-old brothers that I can smell from here, Emily was raised right. She will say yes to the rum drink.
Let's figure out what it should be.
We already know our light rum is Castillo. My favorite dark rum is Barbancourt, but that's no good when you write a column about cheap booze or when you're spending $250 a night to sleep in a cot in the lighthouse of the mini-golf course across the street from the fried clam stand across the other street from the parking lot that's not all THAT far from the back side of the ocean. A proper beach drink needs two colors of rum, and if I'm already in the hole $9.75 for a liter of light, that doesn't leave much left over for the dark.
Castillo makes a dark rum that costs the same as the light. I'd never tried it. I figured best case scenario, it would be a credible dark rum with clean flavor and passable complexity; worst case, it would be the simple and satisfying Castillo Silver with a shot of caramel. Turns out it was an unforseen third case: an overwhelming jumble of mismatched flavors dominated by weird lemon and dairy. I was almost impressed by how aggressively bizarre it was. How does a $9.75 liter of rum manage to contain so many different shades of disappointment?
Good thing my liquor store asks but $9 for a 750ml bottle of Ron Botran Anejo Oro. I bought it because I needed something to compare the Castillo to and because I'm a sucker for anything Guatemalan.
The Botran is far subtler than the Castillo. It's pretty much a one-note drink, but the note is a pleasant and unobtrusive butterscotch that goes down without a fight when taken neat and plays well with others when called in to rescue a rainy day at the beach.
I don't like to interfere too much with another man's drink, but I must insist that you don't drink rum and Coke on vacation. I've got nothing against rum and Coke, but it functions best as a whatever-gets-you-through-the-night drink. If you're going to rent a car and fight through Friday afternoon Cape traffic just to sit in the rain or worse yet the sun, you're going to want something a little more festive. Let's say two ounces of Botran Anejo Oro, one ounce of Castillo Silver, some pineapple juice, some orange juice, more lime juice than you'd think, and a little squirt of almond syrup. Yeah, it's not a real mai tai, but it's also not an $8 paper cup of Bud Light at an Allman Brothers concert.
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as per my request thread, what will be an everlasting and ongoing superramble ..... or one of the best stories ever written that disney can pay me for
as for the format, i tried something newer and simpler in it's presentation, and first off there's no center option so that's out the window
basically having a set number of parts (eight CHAPTERS to each BOOK) and at least a couple of chapters every month, since i have plenty else to be getting on with.
ANY comments are welcome, whether they are good, or bad, or asking why in the great blue yonder are you embarking on such and crazy eights odyssey???
and now, sit back, have a nice warm beverage beside you, and a very open mind i present to you .....
a wall of thorns.
As the ruined castle rises in the distance, with it's ghastly brazen light atop spitting out lightning bolts from atop, PRINCE PHILLIP rides his steed almost into the ground. Knowing full well the consequences of stopping, as rider pulls the reigns sideways to avoid another searing bolt, he looks back and raises the SWORD OF TRUTH, damning the evil that flies in the face of his reason. His horse snorts as the spiky thorns approaches, and he turns and looks at the oncoming wall of nature, and knows what to do.
The wind begins to pick up.
Bringing the SHIELD OF VIRTUE up to cover himself as he drives the sword forward to extend in size and length, PHILLIP thinks that the fairies did a good job of giving him these powers of truth and all that, as the three of them battle and spark with their own ferocious power combating the lightning from the distance away. PHILLIP draws in his breath and holds it, so determined to run straight into the approaching forest as horse and rider barrel towards it's fate. The sword glows white hot and the shield feels far too heavy to hold, but PHILLIP is steadfast and true …..
the wind blows stronger.
they crash into the forest of thorns and surprisingly sear through it with ease, creating a pathway through, all along with thunderbolts keep reigning down on them. PHILLIP looks up and sees the castle up ahead, being torn away from the blight of the constant forest, and into the clear starry sky. But then the lightning bolts stop, the fairies warn PHILLIP not to stop, and the castle behind them is no longer bathed in eerie green. Continuing through the thorns they race to their objective as it suddenly looms into view clearing the forest, a magnificent structure stands alone on the horizon, as the bridge that connects castle and kingdom is in his sights.
The wind howls into a gale.
PHILLIP dismounts as the fairies gather round him, flittering at his shoulders as they look up and to the sight beholden, a ghostly mist-like figure serenely floating across the sky with lightning echoing around it, as it flies above them and settles down in the last barrier of thorns across the castle entranceway, then forms into the shape of their oppressor. The great witch MALIFICENT stands firm and burns the thorns green.
the wind screams at her.
MALIFICENT defies them and raises her cane into the air, it crackles with evil energy turning the air electric, and the impossible happens. Now all PHILLIP and the fairies need to do is destroy this DRAGON MALIFICENT that stands in the way, he doesn't hesitate and drives his mount forward across the bridge, DRAGON MALIFICENT grins and sends a huge burst of dragon flame at the centre of the bridge. It shatters it into pieces and sends it all flying in directions, PHILLIP brings the shield back up to protect himself from the shrapnel. They ping off the metal with sparks aplenty, as horse and rider gallop toward almost certain doom, the gap in the bridge ever growing closer, but they jump the space as PHILLIP glances down at the blackness below. Unfortunately even this great steed can't jump this length and as it starts to fall short, the fairies realise and shoot their magic at it, suddenly PHILLIP'S face is going from sheer terror to slightly less terror.
With a sound of hoofs onto stone PHILLIP and horse land on the other side, but can't celebrate yet as DRAGON MALIFICENT shoots green flame at PHILLIP, barely bringing up the SHIELD OF VIRTUE up to block the deadly fire. He peers round it and looks into the eyes of the creature, it's nostrils flaring and it's ghoulish tongue licking between it's very sharp teeth, PHILLIP knows time is of the essence as the fairies fly to his sword and fire their magic onto it. But this wind is now a storm unlike he's felt, picking up dirt and dust and pebbles and thorns and everything else that's not tied down, even DRAGON MALIFICENT has trouble keeping her giant clawed feet on the ground as she balances herself with those really big wings of hers. The SWORD OF TRUTH is now fully magicked up and PHILLIP jumps off his mount and prepares to throw it deep into the heart of this monster …..
now SWORD OF TRUTH fly swift and true, that evil die and good endure …..
a magnificent burst of light emanates from high above in the night sky, way beyond even the sky and that is what causes everyone to stop and look up, men and horse and dragon and fairies. And this storm force wind is still getting stronger as something approaches, a great wave of something is racing towards where they are, well it approaches where everyone and everything is. This is enough for DRAGON MALIFICENT and suddenly decides that this is not the place to be, and driving her mighty wings a few times she lifts off and starts ascending into the night sky trying to get as far away from whatever is coming.
That's also the case for PHILLIP as he snaps out of his gazing and jumps onto his horse, he grips the reigns and demands the steed ride towards what was his objective and stampedes into the castle entrance, sensibly the fairies all decide that this is a good idea too and fly as fast behind him. They also decide to protect themselves and PHILLIP and create a protective bubble spell to surround themselves, and just in time too as the great wave crashes through the air and envelopes everything in sight, it blows trees and bushes and buildings and bridges and castles and everything down with an earth shattering scream ….. as if millions of voices cried out …..
it barely registered to PHILLIP that he was lying on the ground, covered in all sorts of debris, a few thorn vines a few pebbles some dirt. But what he can't register is where he is, he jolts up and looks around and thanks himself for it still being night time, but then out of the corner of his eye sees a form. He scrambles in the dirt and finds the SWORD OF TRUTH and desperately stands up with it in hand, and sees something formidable in front some meters ahead of him ….. MALIFICENT? With nerve endings already at their breaking point he takes one step towards the witch who almost took everything away from him, but in the ether another voice calls out to him, and demands what he is doing!
PHILLIP, are you alright?
It is a familiar voice.
it is such a familiar voice.
PHILLIP stops suddenly not even beginning to comprehend.
PHILLIP! What in the kingdom of the three are you doing?
his mind is all over the place, tries to will himself to skewer MALIFICENT but somehow he can't move his leg forward. Then he relaxes as a familiar hand is placed on his shoulder and all a sudden his mind goes blank, and slowly turns himself around shakily, and makes eyes contact with his one true love. A golden haired beauty who is apparently awake and standing right there, right there in front of him in a blue dress that seems so familiar, and some fairies fluttering on her shoulder. He is about to utter something when his steed clunks him on the head and whinnies, PHILLIP winces in pain.
He looks directly into PRINCESS AURORA'S eyes and stares into their soulful pools, he can't leave them but something is tugging at him, she smiles at him warmly.
you may be a great husband but as MALIFICENT said, not such a great horseman!
and I thought you were the kingdom's greatest rider?
he again reacts by bringing the sword up, his stance shaky but growing in strength, even the fairies are not sure if to do anything..
it's okay PHILLIP ….. she's not our enemy anymore!
Staggered by this statement PHILLIP steps back but that nagging tugging is still there, his poor brain simply cannot comprehend anything at this moment, and yet that annoying tugging persists as He swats it away.
hey! I thought you were on our side?
PHILLIP turns and looks to see where this strange exclamation is coming from his eyes cannot believe what is in front of him. For there stands what looks like a rather sizeable duck, a lankly looking creature with a long snout and floppy ears, and what appears to be a giant round eared mouse! All three are apparently dressed in the outfits of the royal guard, his horse whinnies again.
it's alright PHILLIP, this is where we are, the KINGDOM OF THE THREE. Everything is fine, apart from you falling off, but don't fret my dear as the fairies explained everything to us.
PRINCESS AURORA goes up to him and hugs him, she leans in further and gives him a gentle kiss, and whispers in his ear.
fall of your horse again, and we won't be married anymore!
Then playfully pushes him in the shoulder as she laughs, the three strange creates also laugh and move away, but it's MALIFICENT who stands there stoic. PHILLIP turns to her still with sword in hand but very limply. He tries to say something but MALIFICENT suddenly takes the sword into her hands.
i'll take this ….. after all, I can't have anyone swinging this about, I will put this in a safe place while you recover, along with the SHIELD OF VIRTUE.
Then unbelievably she presents it to the fairies who take it from her, then they flutter away with it into the castle.
you must realise PHILLIP, this world has changed and is very different from the one you inhabited before, I will try to explain it to you but will let you recover from the obvious shock. And anyway my prince, my days of trying to kill your wife the PRINCESS AURORA BRIAR ROSE are over!
and as his former enemy leads away the totally bemused PRINCE PHILLIP, AURORA looks on and smiles watching them walk into the castle, and looks up to the sky …..
….. at the MAELSTROM above that spins without sound and effect, and it's companion, a small barely made out shape that glitters golden like a seminal diamond in the sky …..
….. and an indecipherable glint of something flicks in her eyes!