text:
Ron Paul: The Books
by Walter Block & Brian Doherty | Posted August 14, 2012
Two prominent libertarian authors, Walter Block and Brian Doherty, have just published books about the same important subject: Ron Paul.
Liberty thought it would be a good idea to ask each author to review the other. No one knew how this would turn out — but here are the results. —Stephen Cox
* * *
Ron Paul's Revolution: The Man and the Movement He Inspired, by Brian Doherty. HarperCollins, 2012, 294 pages.
Reviewed by Walter E. Block
This is a magnificent book. It is riveting, hard to put down, informative. I experienced much of the Ron Paul phenomenon myself, up close and personal, yet I learned a great deal from Doherty's explication. In another life, he must have been a safari guide to the deepest jungles, or an inspired travel guide to foreign lands, or a gifted sociologist. He takes us on a trip through the libertarian movement as brought to us by Dr. Paul as no one else has been able to do.
If you are a Ron Paul fan, or are interested in his foray into Republican and Libertarian politics, or even hate the man and want to be informed about him, this is the book to get. Its main drawback is that it was released on May 15, which means that Doherty must have finished writing it early in the year (he covers the Iowa caucus in its last few pages); but so much has happened since then, and without this author to put all these recent occurrences together for us, it just isn't the same. This means that if Ron Paul becomes the next president of the US and appoints me czar of anything, I shall order Doherty to write a sequel to this important book of his.
Our author takes us on a historical tour of Ron Pauliana from his early days, to his medical career, to his beginnings in politics, his struggles as the Dr. No congressman, and his three campaigns for the presidency — one for the Libertarian Party, and two for the Republicans. But this book is far more than a biography. One of its many strengths is Doherty's incisive knowledge of the libertarian movement in all its esoterica.
Others are his numerous vignettes of the people who have given of themselves, lost jobs and alienated friends and family members, in their support of Paul. Doherty also offers candid assessments of Ron Paul himself; we get not only the palpable love that Doherty feels for Paul, but also some of Paul's warts; e.g., he refuses to take lessons from professional speakers, he keeps his religious faith to himself, and he almost absolutely refuses to tailor his message to his audience (of course without violating his principles — what kind of a politician is that?) — things I didn't fully appreciate even though I, too, am something of an intimate of Paul.
Doherty had me at the edge of my seat, practically panting with glee, as he described the dramatic Giuliani-Paul dustup about 9/11.
Doherty is not a professional economist. Yet his insights into the gold standard, budgets, the deficit, the debt, the fallacies of Keynesianism, the Austrian business cycle theory, the Fed, inflation, the Ponzi scheme of Social Security, the difficulties with socialized medicine, and much more — are clear and true. He is a journalist, not a libertarian theorist, and he is also insightful in his treatment of the niceties of legalizing drugs, the distinction between crony and real capitalism, the strengths and weaknesses of various "movement" organizations and leaders, "voluntaryism," anarcho-capitalism, and a host of other often complicated issues.
The dramatic highlight for me in this book was our author's depiction of the Giuliani-Paul dustup about 9/11. I witnessed this myself, firsthand. And I read what was said about it, in the aftermath. Yet Doherty had me at the edge of my seat, practically panting with glee, as he once again described this dramatic event. Doherty is nothing if not a magnificent storyteller, and this gift of his pervades the book.
This is a strange review for me to write, for at roughly the same time that his book about Paul was released, so was mine. Doherty and I agreed to review each others' books, and this is my contribution to the agreement. Although Doherty and I share a love for Ron Paul, our books are very different. I don't interview anyone; Doherty's book is chock-full of interviews. In contrast to Doherty's, mine shares no personal experiences with Paul and Paulians. Mine is not at all historical. I do not give any tour of the libertarian movement, as he does. Instead, my book is in part an attempt to garner publicity for Paul. I wrote articles that later became chapters in the book about whom he might pick for Vice President and whom for Supreme Court, not so much because I thought there was a clear and present need for such speculations, but more as an attempt to promote his quest for the presidency. In the book, I feature groups such as Jews for Ron Paul, to combat charges that he was anti-Semitic, anti-Israel. I offer a few "Open Letters to Ron Paul," where I have the temerity to offer him advice on, among other things, how best to deal with interviewers who simply will not allow him to speak.
Another part of my book features my sometimes, I admit it, pretty vicious attacks on people who "done wrong" to Ron Paul. These chapters are not so much aimed at liberals or conservatives, although I do take on a few of them. I can (sort of) forgive them their trespasses. What do they know about anything important after all? No, my ire was aroused to the boiling point by unwarranted criticisms emanating from libertarians, several with impeccable credentials in this philosophy. They, it seems to me, should have known better.
Let me close this review with two very minor criticisms of the Doherty book. For one thing, he (along with practically everyone else) characterizes the war of 1861 in the US as a "Civil War." But 'twas not a civil war. That term pertains to the case in which one party wishes to take over the entire country at the expense of its opponent. The wars in Spain in 1936 and in Russia in 1917 were true civil wars. While the North in 1861 did indeed wish to rule the entire nation, the South did not. It only wished to secede. So a more accurate characterization would be, the War to Prevent Southern Secession, or the War Between the States, or the War of Northern Aggression.
Second, Doherty (p. 254) claims that what enraged Ayn Rand about the publication in the Freeman of Milton Friedman and George Stigler's article, "Roofs or Ceilings" was that Friedman "was willing to grant the good intentions of his intellectual adversaries." No, she was angry at Friedman and Stigler because of "a paragraph on page 10, which seems to suggest the authors agree with the goal of equalizing income." Rand (very properly in my own view) called them "the two reds" (Snow, 2012). In the view of Skousen, 1998: "Ayn Rand labeled the pamphlet 'collectivist propaganda' and 'the most pernicious thing ever issued by an avowedly conservative organization' because the economists favored lifting rent controls on practical, humanitarian grounds, not in defense of 'the inalienable right of landlords and property owners.'" Miss Rand objected to Friedman-Stigler on both of the grounds just stated, and I concur with her on each.
But these are minor blemishes in an otherwise magnificent book. I loved reading it, and so will you, if you have even the slightest interest in Ron Paul and liberty.
Skousen, Mark. 1998. "Vienna and Chicago: A Tale of Two Schools."
Snow, Nicholas. 2011. "Making Sense of the Controversy." February 22;
* * *
Ron Paul for President in 2012: Yes to Ron Paul and Liberty, by Walter Block. Ishi Press International, 2012, 392 pages)
Reviewed by Brian Doherty
Libertarian economist Walter Block really, really likes Ron Paul, and thinks Paul ought to be (and thought when he wrote this book that he would be) the next president of the United States. As the title indicates, Ron Paul for President in 2012: Yes to Ron Paul and Liberty is a book of express, and strongly worded, advocacy. Block grants at one point that, well, libertarians can maintain their cred as true friends of liberty merely by not stabbing Paul in the back. But his general tone sells the message that anything other than pure adoration and belief in Paul's eventual victory qualifies as such stabbing, and he writes that he sees support for Paul as "a sort of litmus test for libertarianism." Anyone who does not share and express Block's own thoughts and feelings regarding Ron Paul with precisely the same, or nearly the same, strength and commitment seems to be, in Block's view, an objective enemy of libertarianism, and generally "despicable" (a favorite Block word for people or articles he thinks are anti-Paul).
Block's new book is a collection of his articles and blog posts, most of which appeared at the website LewRockwell.com, and were written mostly over the course of Paul's 2011–12 campaign. As Block writes in the book's introduction, "Each and every last one of these chapters is an attempt . . . to expand and expound upon his [Paul's] views, to publicize them, to promote his candidacy, to defend it against attacks from within and without the libertarian movement."
Block is a professor of economics at Loyola University in New Orleans by vocation, and by avocation the "Jewish mother" of what he sometimes calls the Austro-libertarian movement, the hardcore pushers of a Rothbardian plumbline of Austrian economics and anarchistic libertarianism. Here, this Jewish mother's mission is to tell libertarians, and the world, that they need to push for Paul. Although Paul is not 100% by Block's own standards — even Block admits the non-anarchist Congressman Paul is only a 97, and further admits to disagreeing with Paul on immigration and abortion — Block finds Paul's rise in public prominence in his 2008 and 2012 campaigns the greatest thing that's happened to the libertarian cause in, well, ever. Block believes that "the Texas congressman has acquainted more people with libertarianism, and converted them to this philosophy, then all of the other [libertarian thought leaders] put together."
Block is well placed to judge these matters regarding the libertarian movement. He's a grandmaster of modern libertarianism himself, fighting in the trenches of academic and popular writings on Austrian and libertarian issues for over four decades, since he was converted to Austrian economics at Murray Rothbard's feet. He's the author of the libertarian classic Defending the Undefendable, which rigorously argues for the legitimacy of such professions as the blackmailer, ticket scalper, slumlord, scab, and employer of child labor, professions which disgust many but which Block points out aggress against no one and provide real economic value and should not be interfered with by the state. That book's purpose is not to be shocking, per se, but to be rigorously intelligent in identifying the legal and moral meanings of the modern libertarian project, and Block performs the purpose brilliantly. As F.A. Hayek, not nearly as hardcore as Block himself, said of the book: "Some may find it too strong a medicine, but it will still do them good even if they hate it. A real understanding of economics demands that one disabuses oneself of many dear prejudices and illusions. Popular fallacies in economics frequently express themselves in unfounded prejudices against other occupations, and in showing the falsity of these stereotypes Block is doing a real service, although he will not make himself more popular with the majority."
Block finds Paul's rise in public prominence in his 2008 and 2012 campaigns the greatest thing that's happened to the libertarian cause in, well, ever.
Block tries to write, here as in all his popular writings, with a light hand. His version of lightness, though, often manifests itself as a very New Yorker-ish (not the magazine — a stereotypical New Yorker) heavy sarcasm, with bursts of manic silliness. But his point is serious, even when made with bludgeoning irony. The book contains defenses and explanation of Paul's stances on discrimination law, environmental protection, the dangers of the Federal Reserve, and ending the drug war, among other issues. Block advises Paul, from afar, about how to conduct himself during debates, while wisely allowing that, given Paul's tremendous success, he's obviously already doing most things right: "It is unlikely that [his success] is in spite of his presentation style." Block also indulges in some Paul fannish fun, such as skylarking about possible Supreme Court nominees or vice presidential picks for the congressman.
Since this book collects pretty much everything Block has written in the past four years that mentions Paul at all, it is a bit repetitive, and it sometimes drifts a bit into more general libertarian controversies, such as Block's daring defense of accepting money and jobs from the government. Block believes that as long as you stand against statist policies, "the more money you take from the coffers of the state, the better libertarian you are."
The book also contains Block debating or attacking other libertarians for falling short of Paulist standards; instances, he believes, are Randy Barnett's pro-Iraq War stance, and Wendy McElroy's disdain for any major-party political leader for the libertarian cause. Block often provides line-by-line eviscerations of other people's writings that he found mistaken or insufficiently respectful to Paul, whether from libertarian or nonlibertarian sources. (Block regards one of my Reason colleagues expressing on TV the opinion that there was no way Paul would win the presidency — and with a look on her face that he found objectionable, to boot — as a firable offence. He regards an organization that would not do such firing as unworthy of the libertarian label or libertarian support. Reason, of course,did not fire her.)
Block may be read by some as too hero-worshipping of Paul, and unrealistically optimistic about his chances. (Block, for example, seems to think the probability of Paul's victory can be calculated merely by assuming that every single GOP candidate has the exact same odds of winning.) But Block is objective enough to admit that despite his admittedly great success as a proselytizer for the cause, Paul is "not a leading theoretician, not a leading economist . . . not a leading intellectual" of the movement. So what is he? I think Block would agree with my assessment, as author of my own book about Paul and someone who has followed his career with interest and support since 1988, that Paul is a staunch student and fan of Mises and Rothbard who has learned and can transmit their lessons well, who found himself in the position — ironically through a major-party run for president — of selling radically anti-political libertarian ideas with greater efficiency and success than anyone else has managed for a very long while. Block is correct in thinking that Paul has been uniquely successful at his task, and most interestingly by finding a huge mass of normal Americans who never thought of themselves as libertarians before, or as anything specifically political at all.
Understanding what Paul did and said since 2007 ought to be of great interest to libertarians or students of libertarianism, or just students of American politics, and Block gathers a useful collection of information and arguments about the Paul movement as it happened, touching on many of the controversies that surrounded Paul, both within and without libertarianism. If one is a Paul fan seeking a grab-bag of commentary and explanations that is unabashedly pro-Paul — something difficult to find in the modern media environment — then he or she will at least have fun with this book, and likely learn a lot about some of the more complicated issues Block addresses, such as strict property-right libertarian environmentalism, and how to figure out, amid the maddening empirical complications of modern foreign policy issues, who is and who is not an initial aggressor, as opposed to simply a retaliator.
Readers not already 100% sold on Paul are likely to feel Block's suspicion and even contempt radiating at them. But 10, 20, or 30 years from now, when people look back on what the Paul movement may have meant for American libertarianism, this book will be a valuable document of the excitement and manic energy that Paul's presence inspired in many a libertarian, old and new.
Walter Block is Harold E. Wirth Endowed Chair and Professor of Economics, College of Business, Loyola University New Orleans, and senior fellow at the Mises Institute. He earned his PhD in economics at Columbia University in 1972. He has taught at Rutgers, SUNY Stony Brook, Baruch CUNY, Holy Cross, and the University of Central Arkansas. He is the author of over 400 articles in professional journals, two dozen books, and hundreds of op eds. He lectures widely on college campuses, delivers seminars around the world and appears regularly on television and radio shows. He has been a friend of Ron Paul's since the 1970s.
Brian Doherty is a senior editor at Reason magazine and author of, among others, the books Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement and Ron Paul's Revolution: The Man and the Movement He Inspired.
Share This
Joseph McNiesh
If Walter Block is a libertarian writer, then why did he collect a paycheck from state universities such as Rutgers (NJ), SUNY Stony Brook and CUNY Baruch? LIBERTARIANS ARE HYPOCRITES! Murray Rothbard lived in rent-controlled apartment and paid less than $100 per month rent.
Thu, 2012-09-06 17:18
Block is a believer that, when given the chance to take back some of your taxdollars from the gov't coffers, you absolutely ought to do so; as long as you continue to truly hold (and fight for) libertarian positions, whilst doing so. You can complain his position is hypocritical, but it is very similar to the one held by Ayn Rand as well as Ron Paul (both concerning social-security cheques), among others. Anyways, given your allcaps shouting, which implicitly leaves *yourself* outside the libertarian fold, there's not much point in talking with you further.
For the interested future reader of this article, though, there is some frission among libertarians because some of us believe that taking a benefit from the state is a slippery slope on the way to faux-libertarianism (mouthing the philosophy but without believing it... and unable to really and actually follow through on implementation of the libertarian philosophy when given the chance). Block/Ayn/RonPaul aren't those folks, clearly. More to the point, given how saturated our system is with statism, it would literally be almost impossible to live a life where one did *not* at some point gain some benefit, either directly as cash, or indirectly, from the nanny-state. Roads are by the nanny-state. Schools are by the nanny state. Special tax-loopholes are granted to the corporations we purchase from.
Point being, the difficulty here is a question of degree, for 99% of libertarians. Does driving on a road that was partially funded by taxdollars mean you are now evicted from libertarianism? No -- if, given the choice, you would welcome the removal of statist overlords from the transportation infrastructure. Does working for a partially-govt-funded college mean you are therefore not libertarian? No, but this is certainly avoidable, and therefore is a debatable thing. Does accepting welfare dollars by *fraudulently* lying on govt paperwork make you a non-libertarian? Does accepting bailout money by *bribing* congresscritters disqualify you as a libertarian? Yes and yes.
There is a related dispute in the world of the libertarians about whether liberty-candidates are morally justified in running on the Republican Party ticket or endorsing the Republican Party Nominee, when there is also the Libertarian Party, or if you prefer, the Objectivist Party. More on this in my other comment, below.
Mon, 2012-10-08 20:15
Jon Harrison
Paul's "tremendous success"? How are we defining success here? He's carried his congressional district many times, granted. He's attracted a coterie of devoted followers during his presidential runs. But he's never managed to win even a single primary. He may have captured a couple of caucuses, I don't recall offhand. In any case his views remain on the margins of our political thought, and his power to decisively influence the nation or even the Republican Party is almost nil. As for his communication skills, he is a rather bumbling speaker whose style lacks crispness. Even though I agree with him on many issues, I find myself squirming as he struggles to put his ideas across on television. He looks and sounds like an aging crank most of the time.
I say this not to demean the good doctor. Paul is a nice man with many serious ideas, and he did receive more of a hearing this political season than he has in the past. Yet he remains very much a fringe figure. Admittedly, some of the issues he pushes have risen to new prominence thanks to his efforts (and those of his son, Rand). But I just don't see much practical achievement in the Paul record. Is the bar for libertarianism so low that what Paul has achieved can be called tremendous success?
So the Civil War was not a civil war. This is the sort of thing that leaves non-libertarians scratching their heads (and some libertarians, too). I still don't quite grasp whether liberatarians purposely seek to alienate most of the rest of the citizenry, or do so purely as a reflex. It almost seems as if libertarians (and especially some of the academics among them) care more about creating and maintaining their own little world picture than they do about effecting change in the real world.
Doherty is not a professional economist, Block reminds us, but he nevertheless has clear and true insights into economic issues. I agree with that characterization, but not with the underlying thought, which is that Doherty's clarity comes in spite of the fact that he lacks a degree in the field. What science (or rather "science") is more wooly and ill-defined than economics? Sociology perhaps? Economists resemble elite particle physicists in terms of self-regard, and necromancers in terms of a solid, built-up foundation of knowledge and expertise.
Wed, 2012-08-15 13:30
"How are we defining success here? ... Is the bar for libertarianism so low that what Paul has achieved can be called tremendous success?"
Yup. That's the answer to your second question. As to your first, success is mostly defined in terms of getting votes, which is a reflection of educating people, and converting them over to a liberty-philosophy. Winning votes does not always translate into winning elections, though. You mentioned that Paul "never won a primary" but he did win the VI (29% Ron Paul vs 25% Mitt). Furthermore, it is arguably true that Ron Paul actually won in Maine this year, if the counting had been done fairly (google Charlie Webster Ashley Ryan Ben Ginsberg Ginger Taylor).
You also point out that Ron Paul didn't actually end up as the president. If your criteria is binary, then sure, Ron Paul is a total failure. Same for his long history in Congress -- he never passed a bill to end the wars, the Fed, the IRS, the DoE, the other DoE, HUD, or any other unconstitutional bureaucracy. By those measures, he was a tremendous failure -- but in the long run, as Ron Paul well understood, the war of ideas, and the spreading of liberty-philosophy, is what matters most. Ron Paul wasn't the first liberty-candidate (cf George Washington), and he won't be the last either (cf rlc.org pacliberty libertycandidates.com and tons of other places). More than anybody else, even more than Ayn Rand, the presidential campaigns of Ron Paul were the key to spreading the meme of individual rights.
I actually think that the 2012 presidential campaign will be viewed, historically, as the key to the resurgence of liberty (or perhaps as the last chance liberty ever had... if we fall into a dark age instead). Ron Paul was able to motivate dedicated followers across the country, who fairly used the existing (nasty!) rules of the state parties in their favor, and outright won the delegate battles in several states: IA MN NV ME LA. (Mitt did the same in ND and the VI, both places where Ron Paul beat him in the primaries.)
Some of those were later suspiciously overturned, to prevent Ron Paul from giving an uncensored prime-time speech; similarly, places that Ron Paul lost because of or at least partly because of cheating, such as OK and OR, were also rewritten at the last minute by establishment folks. But, even with all that, Ron Paul still had enough non-first-ballot-delegate-support (aka stealth delegates) in AK VI and a few other places to earn his speech. So, the elite bosses engineered a last-second rules-change, submitted at 5pm the Friday before the convention began, and rammed through on the first day without regard for the way the body voted (you can see video of the teleprompter-scripted outcome of the voting -- google Ben Swann DNC RNC teleprompter).
So where is the success here? Ron Paul did not get his speech that he earned, right? His delegates that he won were stripped away, either at the state level, or at the national level, by vindictive elite pooh-bahs, angry that he would dare to challenge their control of the election, right? Well sure -- 100% right. But... to do it, they had to reveal themselves.
They had to break fingers in Louisiana. They had to lock the credentials in the trunk in Oregon. They had to throw out the pauliticians that were Oklahoma delegates, *ignoring* vast evidence that state-level credentials were mis-controlled, and then turn right around and throw out the pauliticians that were Maine delegates, on the basis of much more flimsy evidence that *their* state-level creds were mis-controlled. They had to issue a gag order against anyone on stage, including his own son, speaking the name of Ron Paul on television.
They had to order John Boehner, the highest ranking elected Republican in the universe at the time, to cheat when 'passing' the rules-changes. They had to prove, on TV, that corruption exists at the highest levels of the Republican Party (Obama proved the same thing at his DNC in NC... as if it wasn't already clear since 2008 and for that matter long before). Ron Paul may have lost the nomination slot, but he outed corruption.
*Those* are his successes. Millions of votes for liberty, which will return in 2014, and 2016, and so on... plus proof of what we're up against. He never got an electoral college vote, in his three runs for the presidency. By that measure, he is a failure, and Tonie Nathan is a success. But the millions who will vote for Gary Johnson this November, are not doing it because he got intro'd by the first female winner of an ecVote, at the Libertarian convention... they are voting for Gary Johnson because they like Ron Paul's ideas.
To you, those "views remain on the margins... an aging crank... very much a fringe figure." But that is because you wanted instant gratification. Furthermore, it is the clear sign of a sick world that following the Constitution, preserving our inherent individual rights to life/liberty/etc, and NOT spending like drunken sailors (no offense to the navy!) could *ever* be considered marginal or crank-views or fringe-ideas. You claim to like the ideas of liberty: well, then, step up and support the liberty-candidates that espouse such ideas. Liberty is popular! Liberty is the mainstream worldview of the future, if we will just carry on; that is the legacy of Ron Paul.
Mon, 2012-10-08 21:08
Main menu
Search Liberty
Most Read
Monthly archive
- November 2010 (24)
- December 2010 (24)
- January 2011 (31)
- February 2011 (17)
- March 2011 (29)
- April 2011 (21)
- May 2011 (22)
- June 2011 (18)
- July 2011 (20)
- August 2011 (20)
- September 2011 (19)
- October 2011 (18)
- November 2011 (17)
- December 2011 (15)
- January 2012 (21)
- February 2012 (15)
- March 2012 (18)
- April 2012 (16)
- May 2012 (20)
- June 2012 (14)
- July 2012 (24)
- August 2012 (20)
- September 2012 (19)
- October 2012 (19)
- November 2012 (21)
- December 2012 (17)
- January 2013 (21)
- February 2013 (16)
- March 2013 (13)
- April 2013 (16)
- May 2013 (12)
- June 2013 (15)
- July 2013 (13)
- August 2013 (13)
- September 2013 (12)
- October 2013 (15)
- November 2013 (13)
- December 2013 (13)
- January 2014 (15)
- February 2014 (13)
- March 2014 (14)
- April 2014 (13)
- May 2014 (13)
- June 2014 (10)
- July 2014 (12)
- August 2014 (14)
- September 2014 (10)
- October 2014 (14)
- November 2014 (12)
- December 2014 (12)
- January 2015 (12)
- February 2015 (11)
- March 2015 (11)
- April 2015 (11)
- May 2015 (10)
- June 2015 (12)
- July 2015 (13)
- August 2015 (10)
- September 2015 (10)
- October 2015 (10)
- November 2015 (9)
- December 2015 (12)
- January 2016 (10)
- February 2016 (10)
- March 2016 (10)
- April 2016 (10)
- May 2016 (13)
- June 2016 (11)
- July 2016 (10)
- August 2016 (10)
- September 2016 (10)
- October 2016 (10)
- November 2016 (11)
- December 2016 (11)
- January 2017 (11)
- February 2017 (11)
- March 2017 (10)
- April 2017 (10)
- May 2017 (10)
- June 2017 (9)
- July 2017 (10)
- August 2017 (10)
- September 2017 (10)
- October 2017 (10)
- November 2017 (10)
- December 2017 (10)
- January 2018 (12)
- February 2018 (10)
- March 2018 (10)
- April 2018 (10)
- May 2018 (10)
- June 2018 (10)
- July 2018 (10)
- August 2018 (10)
- September 2018 (10)
- October 2018 (10)
- November 2018 (10)
- December 2018 (10)
- January 2019 (10)
- February 2019 (10)
- March 2019 (10)
- April 2019 (10)
- May 2019 (10)
- June 2019 (10)
- July 2019 (10)
- August 2019 (10)
- September 2019 (10)
- October 2019 (10)
- November 2019 (10)
- December 2019 (10)
- January 2020 (10)
- February 2020 (10)
- March 2020 (12)
- April 2020 (10)
- May 2020 (9)


text:
Ian Ayre: Liverpool will not sell Luis Suarez despite attack on Branislav Ivanovic
Luis Suarez will not be sold this summer despite his latest on-field indiscretion - biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic.
Last Updated: 22/04/13 6:08pm
The Liverpool striker has been charged with violent conduct by the Football Association, who will press for a ban of more than three games at Wednesday's Independent Regulatory Commission, and Liverpool have already imposed a fine.
But, according to Anfield managing director Ian Ayre, Suarez will remain at the club until the end of the long-term deal he signed last summer.
Asked whether the Uruguayan's actions would affect his Liverpool future, Ayre said: "Not at all. It affects his future in the sense that we have to work with him on his discipline - but Luis is a very important player to the club.
"He's a very popular player with his team-mates. As we keep saying, he signed a new four-year contract last summer and we'd all love to see him here throughout that contract.
"He's a fantastic player, top scorer and everything we'd want in a striker, so there's no change there. This is more about getting him back on the right track and it's largely down to Brendan Rodgers now to work with him on that side of his character."
Suarez was banned for a similar incident during his time at Ajax and was last season suspended for eight matches after the FA found him guilty of racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.
Liverpool defended their £23m forward throughout that process, and Ayre says the club's American owners are happy with the way the latest offence is being dealt with.
He said: "With any major incident at the club, we're in direct dialogue with the owners, always. I spoke to them last night and they were happy with the way we were handling the matter.
"I think the most important thing is that we acted swiftly. Luis issued his apology and then we spoke with him last night and then again this morning.
"We've taken action to fine Luis for his actions. Brendan has spoken to him and I've spoken to him, and Brendan will be working with him further on his discipline.
"You can see when you speak to him how sorry he is about it and he's certainly shown quite a lot of contrition to us - and as part of that, he's also asked we donate the fine to the Hillsborough Family Support Group. I think he felt like he let a lot of people down."
Suarez has apologised for his "inexcusable behaviour" after the incident during Sunday's 2-2 draw at Anfield.
The Uruguayan wrote on his Twitter page: "For my unacceptable behaviour the club has fined me.
"I have asked the club to donate the money to the Hillsborough Family Support Group for the inconvenience I have created to the Liverpool fans and to Ivanovic."
It is the latest in a series of unsavoury incidents in Suarez's career - including a previous biting incident in Holland - and PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor said the players' union would offer the striker help to deal with his temper.
"There is no doubting his football ability, that's why it is so disappointing and embarrassing when he lets himself down," said Taylor.
"We have to work hard on anger management now. We have trained counsellors in this field and we will be offering their services to Liverpool and the player to try to improve matters."
Suarez is also one of the candidates for the PFA Player of the Year award to be announced on Sunday, and Taylor confirmed that the latest controversy would not affect his position on the shortlist.
Taylor added: "It's decided on votes and it is a football matter but of course it is embarrassing that it should happen."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Scores of corruption cases in recent years have alarmed Homeland Security officials just as it is hiring thousands of border agents to stem the flow of illegal immigration.
SAN DIEGO — The smuggler in the public service announcement sat handcuffed in prison garb, full of bravado and shrugging off the danger of bringing illegal immigrants across the border.
"Sometimes they die in the desert, or the cars crash, or they drown," he said. "But it's not my fault."
The smuggler in the commercial, produced by the Mexican government several years ago, was played by an American named Raul Villarreal, who at the time was a United States Border Patrol agent and a spokesman for the agency here.
Now, federal investigators are asking: Was he really acting?
Mr. Villarreal and a brother, Fidel, also a former Border Patrol agent, are suspected of helping to smuggle an untold number of illegal immigrants from Mexico and Brazil across the border. The brothers quit the Border Patrol two years ago and are believed to have fled to Mexico.
The Villarreal investigation is among scores of corruption cases in recent years that have alarmed officials in the Homeland Security Department just as it is hiring thousands of border agents to stem the flow of illegal immigration.
The pattern has become familiar: Customs officers wave in vehicles filled with illegal immigrants, drugs or other contraband. A Border Patrol agent acts as a scout for smugglers. Trusted officers fall prey to temptation and begin taking bribes.
Increased corruption is linked, in part, to tougher enforcement, driving smugglers to recruit federal employees as accomplices. It has grown so worrisome that job applicants will soon be subject to lie detector tests to ensure that they are not already working for smuggling organizations. In addition, homeland security officials have reconstituted an internal affairs unit at Customs and Border Protection, one of the largest federal law enforcement agencies, overseeing both border agents and customs officers.
When the Homeland Security Department was created in 2003, the internal affairs unit was dissolved and its functions spread among other agencies. Since the unit was reborn last year, it has grown from five investigators to a projected 200 by the end of the year.
Altogether, there are about 200 open cases pending against law enforcement employees who work the border. In the latest arrests, four employees in Arizona, Texas and California were charged this month with helping to smuggle illegal immigrants into the country.
While the corruption investigations involve a small fraction of the overall security workforce on the border, the numbers are growing. In the 2007 fiscal year, the Homeland Security Department's main anticorruption arm, the inspector general's office, had 79 investigations under way in the four states bordering Mexico, compared with 31 in 2003. Officials at other federal law enforcement agencies investigating border corruption also said their caseloads had risen.
Some of the recent cases involve border guards who had worked for their agencies for a short time, including the arrest this month of a recruit at the Border Patrol academy in New Mexico on gun smuggling charges.
The federal government says it carefully screens applicants, but some internal affairs investigators say they have been unable to keep up with the increased workload.
"It's going to get worse before it gets better," said James Wong, an internal affairs agent with Customs and Border Protection. "It's very difficult for us to get out and vet each and every one of the applicants as well as we should."
The Border Patrol alone is expected to grow to more than 20,000 agents by the end of 2009, more than double from 2001, when the agency began to expand in response to concerns about national security. There has also been a large increase in the number of customs officers.
James Tomsheck, the assistant commissioner for internal affairs at Customs and Border Protection, said the agency was "deeply concerned" that smugglers were sending operatives to take jobs with the Border Patrol and at ports.
Mr. Tomsheck said the agency intended to administer random lie-detector tests to 10 percent of new hires this year, with the goal of eventually testing all applicants. His office has contracts with 155 retired criminal investigators, adding 36 since last fall, to do background checks.
In one of the new corruption cases this month, at a border crossing east of San Diego, a customs officer allowed numerous cars with dozens of illegal immigrants and hundreds of pounds of drugs to pass through his inspection lane, investigators said.
The officer, Luis Alarid, 31, had worked at the crossing less than a year, and the loads included a vehicle driven by Mr. Alarid's uncle, the authorities said. Mr. Alarid has pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to smuggle. Investigators found about $175,000 in cash in his house, according to court records.
In another recent case, Margarita Crispin, a customs inspector in El Paso, Tex., began helping drug smugglers just a few months after she was hired in 2003, according to prosecutors. She helped the smugglers for four years before she was arrested last year and sentenced in April to 20 years in prison and ordered to forfeit up to $5 million.
Although bad apples turn up in almost every law enforcement agency, the corruption cases expose a worrisome vulnerability for national and border security. The concern, several officials said, is that corrupt agents let people into the country whose intentions may be less innocent than finding work.
"If you can get a corrupt inspector, you have the keys to the kingdom," said Andrew P. Black, an F.B.I. agent who supervises a multiagency task force focused on corruption on the San Diego border.
Comparing corruption among police agencies is difficult because of the varying standards and procedures for handling internal investigations, said Lawrence W. Sherman, the director of the Jerry Lee Center of Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania and an authority on corruption.
But he described policing the border as "potentially one of the most corruptible tasks in law enforcement" because of the solitary nature of much of the work and the desperation of people seeking to cross.
Michael Chertoff, the homeland security secretary, declined an interview. But in response to questions at a recent news conference, he suggested that the breadth and depth of border security improvements would inevitably produce problem officers.
"There is an old expression among prosecutors," he said. "Big cases, big problems. Little cases, little problems. No cases, no problems. Some people take the view we ought to make no cases and then we would have no problems. I think that is a head-in-the-sand view, which I do not endorse."
A Veteran Gone Bad
The customs inspector stands just outside his booth, his hand waving a stream of cars through the Otay Mesa crossing just east of San Diego. They zip past, one after another, no questions asked, an unusually easy welcome into the United States where inspectors are known to grill citizens about their travels before allowing them through.
But time was running short for this Customs and Border Protection officer, Michael Gilliland, a revered veteran on the late shift expecting a special delivery — a vehicle with several illegal immigrants — in his crossing lane.
Rather than intercept them, he had arranged for their safe passage through his lane, federal prosecutors said.
Mr. Black, the F.B.I. agent from San Diego, shook his head as he watched a surveillance videotape of Mr. Gilliland.
"You're basically giving that smuggling organization an opportunity to conceal whatever else they want in that vehicle," he said, "whether its drugs, weapons, terrorists."
The smugglers use any ruse available to lure border workers but seem to favor deploying attractive women as bait. They flirt and charm and beg the officers, often middle-aged men, to "just this once" let an unauthorized relative or friend through. And then another and another.
Prosecutors believe this is how smugglers ensnared Mr. Gilliland, who eventually pleaded guilty to taking $70,000 to $120,000 in exchange for letting hundreds of illegal immigrants pass through his lane. He was sentenced last year to five years in federal prison. Two women he had befriended also pleaded guilty.
The case against Mr. Gilliland, 46, stands out for the number of immigrants he helped and the shock of a respected veteran gone bad.
To young inspectors, Mr. Gilliland was a mentor, quick with advice, even an embrace, a burly go-to type with 16 years under his belt.
"He knew the laws backward and forward," said Edward Archuleta, an internal affairs agent with Customs and Border Protection who once worked with Mr. Gilliland and eventually helped bring him down.
A tip steered F.B.I. agents to Mr. Gilliland's illegal activities, but it took agents two years to build the case. The evidence against him included secretly recorded phone conversations in which Mr. Gilliland coordinated with Mexican smugglers when to drive their cargo of illegal immigrants through inspection lanes.
One morning, while Mr. Gilliland was taking a break from his shift, agents called him over and told him he was under arrest. They had braced for Mr. Gilliland to become belligerent, but instead he collapsed into a chair, weak-kneed.
"My grandfather always told me that when you're born, the only thing you're born with is your word, and only you can give that away, your integrity," Mr. Gilliland said at his sentencing hearing. "And I'm sorry."
A Breach of Trust
The case against the Villarreal brothers — the former Border Patrol agents in San Diego — illustrates how hard it has been for investigators to hunt for and root out corrupt officers, many of whom know how to game the system.
The Villarreals would meet illegal immigrants near the border. The doors of their government-issue truck would swing open and Mexicans and Brazilians would climb in. Off they drove, Border Patrol agents at the wheel, but not to a station or jail, investigators said.
Instead, they said, the migrants were taken to a drop house in San Diego and later transported by others in the smuggling ring to cities and towns far from the border.
The case against the Villarreals had shock value, even to those on the inside.
"Just really brazen, broad daylight," said an investigator, who was granted anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss a continuing investigation. "They could say, 'We picked these guys up, we're taking them in.' "
As they closed in on the brothers, a squad of agents from several federal agencies met. Some had qualms about speaking openly in front of such a large group, fearing internal leaks.
Their fears were apparently borne out when, a couple of weeks after the meeting, the brothers quit their posts, left their badges at their family's home in National City, Calif., and have not been seen publicly since.
A lawyer for the family, Jon Ronis, declined to say where the brothers were and said neither they nor family members would comment. Mr. Ronis said Raul and Fidel Villarreal were ready to defend themselves if the government brought a case.
Federal officials declined to comment because the case was still open. But investigators described some aspects of it on condition of anonymity. When the public service announcement was being made for Mexico, for example, Raul Villarreal spoke excitedly about his role in producing it, even suggesting camera angles and lighting, said a person familiar with its production.
Just when and why the brothers turned against the Border Patrol is unclear, even to the investigators. There is speculation that Raul had grown disgruntled with the work, chafing at having been moved back into the field from his public affairs job, considered a comfortable, high-profile position.
The Villarreal case is especially alarming for the level of trust the brothers had earned within the Border Patrol. Their betrayal has had the effect, at least in some investigations, of leading the authorities to move in more quickly when agents are suspected of wrongdoing.
In the case of Jose Olivas Jr., a Border Patrol agent in San Diego who was discovered serving as a scout for smugglers, an arrest was made within a year. Mr. Olivas, an agent for 10 years who had worked as a liaison between the agency and the United States attorney's office, was sentenced in January to three years in prison.
The drawback to moving in fast, investigators said later, is that they probably will never know how deep Mr. Olivas's ties were to the smuggling organization. He suggested to a judge that he had been drawn to smuggling to help pay his bills.
Policing the Police
An internal Web site at Customs and Border Protection features a page devoted to a rogue's gallery of agents and officers recently convicted of corruption-related charges.
The intention, homeland security officials say, is to send the message that corruption will not be tolerated. That message has taken other forms, as well. When Mr. Olivas, the San Diego border agent, was sentenced to prison, several agents attended the court hearing at the behest of homeland security officials to shame him publicly.
"I am truly embarrassed just looking at them," Mr. Olivas told the judge. "I am truly sorry for the breach of trust that was given to me."
But if the department is serious about catching wrongdoers, investigators of corruption cases say it also needs to make fundamental changes in the way it polices the border police.
One result of the awkward marriage of agencies that begat the Homeland Security Department is that three internal affairs units, in addition to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, have a hand in corruption investigations. In the best case, having more than one unit investigate corruption can be a "force multiplier," in the words of one investigator, but more often, it can slow cases down and lead to confusion over who should take the lead, several investigators said.
The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general has nearly 170 investigators to police 208,000 department employees — including other large agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Transportation Security Administration, the Secret Service — and gets first crack at cases. When it passes on an investigation, the case is picked up by either the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's office of professional responsibility or the Customs and Border Protection internal affairs unit.
The F.B.I. also develops its own cases. Don Allen, a retired agent who until 2005 supervised a multiagency task force in San Diego investigating corruption among border officers, said internal affairs units did not always readily share information and often resented any sense of being big-footed by an outside agency. He said law enforcement agencies often "had a negative impression of the bureau."
Thomas Frost, an assistant inspector general with the Homeland Security Department, said the limited number of investigators meant his office focused on "those most important cases and what resources we can bring to bear."
He suggested it would be "more efficient" if his office had more investigative resources under its control so that it could better track "everything going on."
"Let's face it," Mr. Frost said, "part of the issue of the border is it is kind of a balloon. When you squeeze one part, another bulges."
Some Recent Cases
Jose Ramiro Arredondo, 33, a Customs and Border Protection officer in Laredo, Tex., was arrested in March after a smuggler who had been detained told the authorities that Mr. Arredondo had helped bring illegal immigrants across the border.
Miguel Angel Avina, a trainee at the Border Patrol academy in Artesia, N.M., was arrested in May on fraud and conspiracy charges related to his participation last year in a ring that smuggled at least 110 guns into Mexico, the government said. He has been dismissed from the academy.
Juan Luis Sanchez, 31, a Border Patrol agent, pleaded guilty May 20 to drug, bribery and fraud charges. He admitted transporting at least 3,000 pounds of marijuana in his Border Patrol truck from summer 2002 to January 2004 in exchange for $45,000 in bribes.
Jose Magana, 44, a Customs and Border Protection officer at the San Luis, Ariz., border crossing, was arrested May 12 on charges of conspiring to smuggle illegal immigrants. The authorities say he allowed people to pass uninspected through.
Luis Francisco Alarid, 31, a Customs and Border Protection officer, was arrested May 16 on charges of conspiring to smuggle illegal immigrants and drugs into the United States. Mr. Alarid allowed numerous vehicles with migrants or drugs to pass through his inspection lane since at least February at a border crossing east of San Diego, the authorities say. One vehicle, containing 18 illegal immigrants, was driven by his uncle. He has pleaded not guilty.


text:
LudoBites 5.0
Last July (09), after enjoying yet another fantastic meal at Chef Ludo Lefebvre's pop-up restaurant, I wrote: "To me, chefs ARE ROCK STARS, and the restaurants (at least the ones with open kitchens) are my favorite type of THEATER."
A year later, after dinner at the latest LudoBites arena, with it's open kitchen, sold out "venue" and lovestruck groupies (including myself), it's clear to me that Ludo is still the greatest rock star chef EVER.
If you've only experienced chef Ludo on Bravo TV's Top Chef Masters, then you probably think he's just another cocky, French chef with a bad attitude. Let me note, that on occasion, I've had a front-row ticket to his "immense annoyance" (he's a perfectionist) and it was a bit frightening. But luckily for me, since we're also good friends outside of the restaurant world, I often get to see the sweet, charming and generous side of Ludo.
Tattoos are a MUST for any serious rock star (be it musician or cook), and Ludo's inked flesh has been well-documented. We both share a love for Mötley Crüe, so my favorite design is definitely the Crüe album cover art on his forearm, but I definitely dig the LudoBites Coq tattoo he added a few months ago.
Grub Street asked about the new tattoo and Ludo said, "The rooster is the national emblem of France and he inspires me because the rooster wakes up every morning singing, even though he is standing in shit. It does not matter how tough things were the night before. I just have to wake and keep singing…and cooking."
Ludo's food is so creative (and amazing) that I actually think he deserves to be a bit cocky about it… and maybe even a bit cheeky. Sort of makes me think he deserves a fan club or something…
Grilled Squid, Heirloom Tomato Salad, Black Rice, Yuzu Red Onions, Umami Broth & Seaweed Tartare
Vadouvan Naan Bread, Salted Coconut Butter
Cheese Cupcake, Chicken Liver Mousse, Kumquats, Cornichon
Raw Wagyu Beef, Dried Miso, Somen Noodle, Peanut Vinaigrette, Candied Watermelon, Mint
Goat Cheese Soup, Bacon, Lardo, Tofu, Green Apple, Frisee Salad
Poached Egg, Potato Mousseline, Chorizo Condiment by Chef Ludo Lefebvre
Top: Grilled Octopus, Oregano, Grilled Hazelnut Polenta, Pineapple Aioli, Piment D'Espelette Gelee
Bottom: Hot Foie Gras, Chinese Barbeque Sauce, Miso Eggplant Terrine
Wild Striped Bass, Cauliflower, Black Garlic, Yellow Panna Cotta
Confit Pork Belly, Raw Choucroute Thai Style, Mustard Sorbet
Steamed Duck, Lemon Verbena, Crispy Skin Puree, White Peach, Radish, Balsamic
Cheese Plate of:
Goat Gouda with Pear Kimchi Chutney.
Epoisse with Whole Grain Mustard, Honey comb.
Bleu de Causses with Apricots-Lavender.
Bottom: Caramel Souffle, Blanco Grapefruit, Fleur de sel Ice Cream
Campfire Smoked S'mores, Guacamole Sorbet
LudoBites 5.0
Gram & Papas
227 East 9th Street
Los Angeles 90015
(213) 624-7272
Dinner shared with @JulieWolfson@LadyShark66@WithLoveSirine Peter & Melissa.
All my Ludo photos on Flickr
Follow @ChefLudo on twitter
Follow @FrenchChefWife on twitter
Follow @LudoBitches on twitter
Follow @GramAndPapas on twitter


text:
WASHINGTON - The Afghan National Army may have broken the U.S.-led economic embargo against Iran by using American aid to buy Iranian fuel for its military vehicles, generators and cooking processes, according to a military audit and experts on the region.
Recent safeguards installed to stop the possibility of the practice might not be enough, according to the audit, which came out in January.
While there is no direct evidence that the Afghan army actually purchased Iranian oil with American tax dollars, the report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction describes the possibility as a cause for concern.
Between a third and half of all fuel bought by Afghanistan comes from Iran, the audit stated, citing figures compiled by the Department of State. Another quarter of its supply comes from Turkmenistan, and is commonly mixed with Iranian fuel.
The report notes that the U.S.-funded fuel purchasing program between 2007 and 2012 provided at least $1.1 billion to the Afghan army. But the money has been so poorly tracked, the audit notes, that it is impossible to determine the origin of the fuel.
"The fact that the United States paid for the acquisition and delivery of imported fuel for the Afghan National Security Forces ... raises concerns that U.S. funds could have been used to pay for imports of fuel potentially in violation of U.S. economic sanctions against Iran," the audit stated.
In a related development, the U.S. Government Accountability Office on Monday issued a wide-ranging report on Afghanistan funding that noted, "Persistent corruption in Afghanistan undermines security and the people's belief in the government, as well as effective accountability of U.S. funds provided directly to the Afghan government."
Afghanistan gets around international sanction requirements on Iranian goods for reasons of economic necessity, and - on a more practical level - because the countries share a long border, and goods into Afghanistan increasingly pass through Iranian ports.
Jamie Graybeal, deputy public affairs officer for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, said the Combined Security Transition Command responsible for overseeing the fuel program "recognizes and appreciates" the concerns of the report.
"Despite actions taken by the Department of Defense to prevent the purchase of Iranian fuel with U.S. funds, risk remains for the potential violation of U.S. economic sanctions," he said by email.
He added that the command has conducted a review, but found no support for allegations that "DOD funds were used to support the Iranian petroleum industry, but we will continue to work closely with (the special inspector general) on this and other issues."
The report, however, raises questions about whether the primary means to address this concern - a requirement that all Afghan companies selling fuel to the Afghan National Security Forces certify that their fuel does not come from Iran - lacks the investigative teeth to ensure that it occurs.
Drew Pusateri, a spokesman for Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who leads the Senate Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, said by email that the senator was "concerned by the lack of oversight and accountability detailed in the report and will be reviewing it with her policy staff in the coming days."
A House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee will hold a hearing Wednesday on concerns with the fuel program, including the failure to be able to account for $475 million in 2012.
The audit also questioned whether the fuel program was excessive. It also said that Iranian fuel is less refined than fuel from other sources, and if used to power machines and vehicles provided by the United States and the international community, could lead to premature deterioration of the equipment.
Another major concern was that as the mission in Afghanistan begins to shrink, cash for the fuel program is supposed to expand to an estimated $2.8 billion between now and 2018. The report reflects a fear that without a reliable system in place by the end of 2014 to track the money, it's unlikely after that point that Afghan government officials will heed American concerns.
A recent United Nations report on corruption in Afghanistan, notes: "While corruption is seen by Afghans as one of the most urgent challenges facing their country, it seems to be increasingly embedded in social practices, with patronage and bribery being an acceptable part of day to day life."


text: [A stunning new grid of racing supercars from the nineties is the latest addition to the incredible on-track action at this summer's award-winning Silverstone Classic (25-27 July). The inaugural 90s GT Legends line up stars a mouthwatering field, topped by Ferrari F40s, Jaguar XJ220s, Lister Storms, Porsche GT1s plus no fewer than five fabulous McLaren F1 GTRs including at least one of the ten 'Longtail' versions, each valued at more than £3m. Photo credit Newspress]


text:
Dana Moore is a Division Scientist at BBN Technologies
Cloud computing is coming of age. It provides virtually unlimited computing resources in a wide variety of offerings. It offers new business models as to how to leverage, package, and access computing resources. An actual example illustrates some of the cloud's potential. Franz Inc, makers of advanced Semantic Web tools, wanted to test its software product across dozens of machines and databases. The problem was that Franz didn't have machines or the software and obtaining them was cost prohibitive -- in excess of $100,000 -- not to mention the delays in acquisition and configuration. However, the test was critical. It would demonstrate the product's value and provide a credible differentiation from the competition. What to do? Franz opted for a cloud solution, staging its service on Amazon's S3. The company ran its complex tests in a few days, and gained a wealth of insights and performance data to evaluate -- and at a cost of less than $200. For Franz, cloud computing changed the competitive analysis and understanding of performance in the large at a fraction of the cost and time.
Cloud Computing: What is It?
Cloud computing is nothing more nor nothing less than network-accessible, on-demand computing resources. The computing resources can range from low-level resources such as memory and disk space to high-level resources such as access to an Oracle database, or an entire CRM system, or offloading an enterprise payroll service. Gartner sees this as two major divisions -- the low end of cloud computing focuses on resources with virutalized systems, while the high end focuses on large scale services or Software-as-a-Service (SAAS). They are distinct, but both part of cloud computing. The resources, selected based on your needs, are available on-demand with charges based on actual usage. You pay for what you use.
Cloud computing is very much the opposite of most modern enterprise computing expense model which pay for a set of computer resources based on peak needs with significant latency, and bureaucracy, to increase the number of computer resources. Many enterprise resource stand idle waiting for the new product release or some other peak interaction period. And if your demand estimates are wrong, which most likely they often are, you have unhappy users or unhappy accountants (or both!). Cloud computing dramatically changes the cost profile from peak cost to average cost. It also changes the allocation cycle form weeks and months to minutes and seconds. There are also some dark clouds too. There are currently no cloud standards or, for that matter, long established cloud offerings. Confounding the dilemma, there are dozens of cloud offerings from almost every major computer vendor. Each vendor's offerings are different, some dramatically so. This reflects the nascent nature of cloud computing -- vendors experiment with service offerings, pricing, and the like. You can also be assured that not all will survive. And if that isn't enough, you can even establish your own internal cloud to more efficiently use your existing computing resources. No wonder there is some discomfort with this revolutionary change. But with most discomfort comes opportunity.
Put simply, cloud computing aims to better leverage computing resources from the mundane but critical needs of memory and processing to huge potential of massively networked applications. So where to start? First, let's acknowledge the most frequently encountered comment made by seasoned IT managers, which is "This cloud computing stuff is too ephemeral, too difficult to manage and control for me. I feel that my resources are too much 'out of sight' for me and my staff." This concern is perfectly comprehensible -- if you can no longer walk behind the machine and simply pull the plug; if you can't unplug the machine from the LAN, do you still control it? But consider a crashed disk drive on your desktop PC -- the data are in a sense "tangible." Everything on your drive is sitting right there in front of you, tantalizingly you, taunting you, and yet totally not "accessible." Our comfort with physicality must wane for in many ways it has been eclipsed by the current levels of abstraction and virtualization found in the modern enterprise. The only thing truly novel about cloud computing is how extreme it gets. We may smile at the naivete of the example, the dichotomy between "visible and tangible" versus "remote but accessible" is perfectly human; it's in our hunter/gatherer genes to want resources to be at arm's length. The notion is actually rather ironic though, given the distributed nature of our enterprise data farms and the offsite backup sites we purposely locate far from our primary data centers to assure survivability.
Two Ways of Thinking About Cloud Services
IT managers considering integration with or movement to cloud services divide rather neatly into two intellectual camps, one that normally thinks in terms of software as a service, and the other which thinks in terms of creating platforms as a service. Gartner, Wikipedia, and others discuss these two points of view which we will call "cloud-ists" and "compute-ists".
If you are a "cloud-ist", then you look at the phenomenon through the lens of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS,) and the idea is that anything your IT shop can offer -- anything from emulating a complete operating system to, payroll services, to CRM -- resides on systems "out there" on the net, provisioned and maintained by "someone else." One alias often heard as it applies this point of view is that cloud computing is tantamount to using OPM, in this case meaning other peoples' machines. This camp tends not to think below the level of a specific application or composite application that might be composed (the term "mashed-up" is often heard in this context) by using exposed APIs of specific applications
If you are a "compute-ist", then you see things more or less as existing in the mould of Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), where PaaS is pretty full scope. Wikipedia lists a host of capabilities under the sobriquet including application design, development, testing, deployment and hosting. Database facilities, and security are also directly exposed in a PaaS implementation, whereas in the SaaS view, they are most frequently not exposed. You can look at Google Application Engine (GAE) as exemplifying the SaaS viewpoint and Amazon Web Services (AWS) and representative of PaaS.
Both SaaS and PaaS expect to interact with the user via lightweight clients (commonly the client is entirely delivered through the browser), but PaaS can exist either inside or external to your own data center, and not necessarily off premise. The PaaS point of view might be more commonly found amongst government and academic IT managers, while the first is probably more common amongst smaller and newer companies, researchers and independent software developers.
If you're a "cloud-ist", you may well have heard of some impressive examples of using OPM. It's well known that the ability to accommodate sudden growth in the demand curve is a critical success factor. At this writing, one of the continuing and acknowledged problems confounding Twitter's market growth is the frequency of service outages caused by demand spikes. Balancing the need for reserve compute capacity with the need to preserve capital has confounded more than one promising startup. A well-known problem for an exciting new offering is the phenomenon of being "dugg" (mentioned on Digg's website) or "slashdotted" (being mentioned on slashdot.org) This creates a wellspring of excitement (generally a good thing) and drives an immediate and inordinate amount of traffic to a site (possibly disastrous). Being able to understand the effect of flash traffic -- and even better to mitigate against -- it is a significant differentiator between two similar services, and one which only a few years ago would have absorbed significant working capital. Observe this at work in the following example which illustrates the importance of understanding how your offering will respond to peaks in user demand, and getting the data nearly free.


text:
WASHINGTON — The applause rolled through the big chamber, growing louder as hundreds of Republicans and Democrats suddenly realized Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was back in the House. This time she had come to say goodbye.
WASHINGTON — The applause rolled through the big chamber, growing louder as hundreds of Republicans and Democrats suddenly realized Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was back in the House. This time she had come to say goodbye.
Fellow lawmakers gave her a fitting send-off: cheers, hugs, a cascade of tributes and plenty of tears in a rare moment of political unity.
A year since that fateful Saturday morning when Giffords was severely wounded during a shooting rampage in her home district, the Arizona congresswoman resigned Wednesday with a plea for civility — and a hint that she'll be back on the national stage. For now, the 41-year-old said, her movements and speech still halting, she needs to focus on her recovery.
For all the kind words showered on her, Giffords reflected in her resignation letter about a level of respect that seems like an aberration these days in a bitterly divided Washington.
In her five years in Congress, she said, "Always I fought for what I thought was right. But never did I question the character of those with whom I disagreed. Never did I let pass an opportunity to join hands with someone just because he or she held different ideals."
Said Republican Rep. Ted Poe of Texas in the first of many tributes: "Gabby is the spirit of bipartisanship that we should all learn from."
Giffords' friend Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., became emotional before reading Giffords' resignation letter in the well of the House. Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., held Giffords' hand. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, cried after Giffords slowly made her way to the podium and handed him the envelope with her resignation letter.
Last January, a gunman opened fire at Giffords' "Congress on Your Corner" event in Tucson, killing six people, including a 9-year-old girl and a federal judge and wounding 13, including Giffords who suffered a gunshot wound to her head. She has spent the past year recovering, showing up in the House just once last August to vote on raising the nation's borrowing authority.
That appearance stirred speculation about her political future and whether she would seek another term or even pursue an open Senate seat.
Giffords put that talk to rest on Sunday, announcing in a Web video that she would resign this week. On Monday, she met with survivors of the shootings in Arizona, , finishing the event that she had started outside a supermarket. On Tuesday night, she received thunderous applause and a hug from President Barack Obama at his State of the Union address.
Colleagues and friends stood with her, Flake by her side. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., had her back.
On Wednesday, Republicans and Democrats turned a morning debate over Giffords' last bill into a forum to praise her work and perseverance. Around 10 a.m., Giffords entered the chamber through the main door, the same one Obama used the previous night. Wasserman Schultz assisted her as she made her way down the aisle, greeted warmly by colleagues with kisses and hugs. She sat in the front row for a flurry of tributes. In the gallery sat her mother, Gloria, and husband, retired Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, the former astronaut.
"All of us come to the floor today ... to salute her as the brightest star among us, the brightest star Congress has ever seen," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said he received a call from Kelly on Sunday informing him of Giffords' plans to resign. He said Giffords' "strength against all odds serves and will continue to serve as a daily inspiration to all of us."
Said Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., "The House of Representative has been made proud by this extraordinary daughter of the House. Gabby, we love you, we have missed you."
Prolonged standing ovations and spontaneous whoops marked the tributes. Giffords briefly waved at Kelly and her mother when their names were mentioned.
Surrounded by colleagues and friends, Giffords stood in the well of the chamber to resign. Wasserman Schultz read her two-page letter to Boehner.
"Everyday, I am working hard," Giffords wrote. "I will recover and will return, and we will work together again, for Arizona and for all Americans."
She purposefully made it to the podium to deliver the letter to Boehner.
Moments later, the House, including Giffords, voted for her final piece of legislation — a bill to impose tougher penalties on smugglers who use low-flying aircraft to avoid radar detection and bring drugs across the Mexican border. The vote was 408-0.
"We haven't seen the last of Gabby Giffords," said Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas. "I believe ... whatever the future holds for her she has made this a better place."
The Senate, which recently passed a version of the bill, is expected to vote Thursday on the measure and send it to Obama for his signature.
Giffords submitted resignation letters to both Boehner and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer. It falls to Brewer to set a date for a special primary and general election to fill the Arizona seat. That will probably happen in the spring or early summer. In November, voters will choose someone for the full two-year term.
After the tribute, Kelly said his wife realized stepping down was the right thing to do.
"But I'm more optimistic than anybody else about her future. She just needs some more time, whether it's a year or two years or three years, I'm very confident she's going to have a long and effective career as a public servant," he said.
Asked about her daughter's future, Gloria Giffords said, "I kind of think she's transcended Congress. I don't know where she's going to end up."
"She's remembered every boy she's ever kissed, every song she's ever sang, every bill she's ever passed," she said. "So upward and onward."


text:
(Prior to delivering the sermon, Hazoor made an announcement regarding an eye injury that he has sustained due to a fall during his early morning walk. Hazoor said that to avoid the unnecessary distress that he has to endure when others are distressed for him it was imperative that those present and those watching him on TV did not make inquiries about the injury, did not write to him about it and simply prayed that it gets better soon, Inshallah. Hazoor said it was just an injury and it will get better, Insha'Allah.)
Hazoor continued with the theme of peace in his Friday sermon today. With reference to Quranic verses and ahadith Hazoor elucidated that Allah the Exalted watches over the state of hearts of all and that on the Day of Judgment, while Fire will consume some, others will be admitted in a state of peace and that Allah manifests Himself to each person according to their capacity. Hazoor explained the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be on him) said that he was most dismayed with that person who sought security and peace and having being granted it, destroyed it.
Expounding Surah Al-Tin by means of many scholarly commentaries Hazoor said that the reference to the Fig and the Olive therein was to the place of birth of Jesus (on whom be peace) and indeed Mount Sinai was where Moses (on whom be peace) was called upon and the 'abode of peace' was a reference to the Ka'aba and Muhammad (peace and blessings be on him) and that it was an evolutionary sign of the earlier prophets. Commenting on Surah Quraish and its particular mention of Allah granting security from fear and hunger, Hazoor spoke with personal experiences at how on several occasions his prayer made with the said Surah, brought him security and peace and indeed food, in the most astonishing manner. Hazoor said Allah the Exalted displays evidence of His existence through such matters; otherwise He certainly cannot be seen per sae. Hazoor said that the Holy Quran informed us that a time will come when the region where the Ka'aba stands will prosper abundantly, indeed Hadhrat Ibrahim (peace be on him) had also thus prayed and today that land is most prosperous and affluent. Those who make 'arrangements' for the hereafter are granted prosperity in this world that when a land is made exclusive to the prayer of God then despite being barren it is filled with Allah's grace and bounty.
Following are two of the several revelations of the Promised Messiah (on whom of peace) that Hazoor related:
"Today for Me you are eminent and trustworthy, My grace is on you for this world and for faith and you have been helped. God praises you and comes towards you. Beware! That God's help is near."
"God addressed me and said that I was to inform my community that those who have believed a belief that has no worldly adulteration, a belief that is not polluted with hypocrisy or cowardice and is a belief that is not deprived of any aspect of obedience, such people are God's chosen and God declares that indeed their step is the step of Truth."
The Jumu'ah (Friday) prayer is one form of congregational worship in Islam. It takes place every Friday. Regular attendance at the Jumu'ah prayer is enjoined on the believer. According to a Saying of Muhammad(sa) this congregational prayer is twenty-five times more blessed than worship performed alone. (Bukhari)
"O ye who believe! When the call is made for Prayer on Friday, hasten to the remembrance of Allah, and leave off all business. That is best for you, if you only knew." more
"… (He who) offers the Prayers and listens quitely when the Imam stands up for sermon, will have his sins forgiven between that Friday and the next" (Bukhari)


text:
So now we hear DOC/G is dead. Long live the DOP (Denominazione d'Origine Protetta) or PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) if you are in the USA. Well, that's not too confusing is it? This is part of the Single CMO (Common Market Organization) project to adopt nomenclature for all the countries in the EC (European Commission). Still with me?
In other words, now, in addition to tracking information about DOC and DOCG (and IGT) designations, we now will be following similar tracks via the EC model, DOP (or PDO) and also IGP (Indicazione Geografica Protetta) or PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) if you are in the USA, which parallel the IGT: Indicazione Geografica Tipica (Typical Geographical Indication).
Reminds of the days when the Euro replaced the Lira. For years, some Italians still had to convert Euros to Lire so they could tell what something was worth.
Maybe sake is not so confusing after all?
Luca, you got some 'splainin to do.
written by Alfonso Cevola limited rights reserved On the Wine Trail in Italy


text:
3 Vehicles For Sale
3 Vehicles For Sale
Due to huge successful sales in May, this week we are offering 90 DAY FREE CONSIGNMENT
No Consignment Fees at our 18 showrooms to help rebuild our inventory.
We have BUYERS for your high quality classic or exotic car. DO YOU HAVE ONE FOR SALE?
Please call us at (866) 383-1416 or chat with us now. This is a limited time offer - call us today!
We want to thank our patrons for continuing to do business with us during this period. Even though our showrooms are not open to public – yet, we continue to consign and sell classic and exotic cars and trucks. Please contact us via e-mail, chat or phone call if you wish to purchase a classic.
Wonderful Black 1941 Ford Pickup For Sale has a solid 85HP Flathead V8 under the hood and a 3 Speed Manual transmission ~ Read More...
CATEGORIES: Truck
Prodigious Blue 1941 Ford Panel Truck Restomod For Sale ~ Purchase for $71,000, this TH400 transmission is the perfect complement to it's 350 CID V8 engine ~ Read More...
Shocking Patina Black 1939 Ford F1 Rat Rod Pickup For Sale classic boasts a C4 Automatic and 239 CID Flathead 8BA V8 with EFI ~ This head-turner is available today for only $25,500 ~ Read More...
Looking for the perfect classic or exotic car? We have 3 amazing cars available for you today! Our inventory specialists make the process easy for you. Come visit us at Gateway Classic Cars of ST-LOUIS and find yourself in a bygone era of chrome, muscle, power and class. Thousands of classic car buyers chose Gateway Classic Cars because we take pride in offering the highest quality vehicles and over 20 years of excellence. Don't forget to join our email list and find out all about our newest additions to our inventory every week.
Our vehicles are published on several websites including ~ Autotrader Classics ~ Hemmings ~ ClassicCars ~ Carsforsale ~ AllCollectorCars ~ eBay ~ Facebook ~ YouTube
© Copyright 2020, Gateway Classic Cars | All Rights Reserved
Gateway Classic Cars
1237 Central Park Dr. O'Fallon, IL. 62269 | 618.271.3000 | 800.231.3616
3,308 Classic and Exotics For Sale Today
Our vehicles were viewed 3,454,744 times in May 2020


text:
I'm very excited to feature the first ever guest post here in Scandi Foodie!
I met the wonderful Cherie Hausler from Scullery Made Tea at the Barossa farmer's market a couple of weeks ago. Cherie's teas and delicious home-made treats immediately caught my attention, and I was keen to find out more about her business and life in Barossa.
I'm so happy to share Cherie's story and recipe for Wild home-cured olives with you. For further information about her business, and more of her delicious recipes, please visit her website at Scullery Made.
Thank you, Cherie!
All photos by Cherie Hausler.


text:
gravityisfake necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 61 diseños de 9 diseñadores freelance.
Affiliated Dermatologists, Inc.
We are two Southern California dermatologists in the prime of our careers who are undergoing a true metamorphosis. For years, the practice's "personality" has been: nuts n' bolts, medical-surgical dermatology, efficient but stodgy, old-school, somewhat boring (though skilled and caring). Now the founding partner has left...and then there were two--my partner (a woman) and me (a dude), both in our forties and raring to go! We love dermatology (what could be better than helping patients with everything from cancer to wrinkles?) and now would like to redefine ourselves in the public eye. We've never done any serious advertising, but that's all about to change.
We would like a logo that conveys both a sense of "elegance" and aesthetic appeal, as well as one engendering confidence that one will get the highest quality "medical" skin care. Beautiful and fluid, without being overly feminine to the point where guys will think it's not for them. Contemporary, fresh and new, but not gimmicky, frivolous or superficial.
The logo could be used for everything from business cards, stationery, ads, web design, interior design or exterior signage. We want to attract new patients for general dermatology (rashes, skin cancer, acne, warts, moles, etc.) as well as cosmetic procedures (like Botox, dermal fillers for wrinkles, chemical peels, facials, lasers). We also want to reach out to our existing patient base and let them know, "Hey, we're still here...and we've had a makeover! Come back and see us!"
OK...so we are looking for some sort of icon, or visual symbol--probably incorporating the text "Affiliated Dermatologists" somehow--but not necessarily in the symbol itself. That is, if the visual is engaging but doesn't really "mesh" with the text, the words could be physically separated from the icon/picture (like under it, for example).
Word associations/ideas: elegant, flowing, fluid, contemporary, cutting edge, fresh, energetic, robust, renewal, pretty but not fussy. We're relatively near the ocean, and I like the feel of "ocean", but one of our colleagues is "Coastal Dermatology", so it can't be too close to his look (http://www.coastalskincare.com/dr_kaplan.html). Many colleagues incorporate some semblance of a female image (http://www.venturaplasticsurgery.com/), but this is just one possibility.
Orange is probably not a good color--either for your skin or our logo!
Yellow might not copy well.
Don't be afraid to push the envelope! We want to attract attention, but not be so fringe as to scare away the seniors.
Good luck!
--Ed Searle
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


text:
Having a morning and bedtime routine is very important to me in running a somewhat smooth household-
I made these 2 checklists for my munchkins, its a list of the important things to do in the morning upon waking up and at night before going to sleep.
I printed and laminated them and attached a dry erase marker to each chart. In the morning, they wake up and as they complete each task, check it off with the dry erase marker, same thing at night. I then erase it at the end of each day once they are all sleeping so they can start again the next day.
Like this, they wake up by themselves and get into a routine of doing certain things which will hopefully start to come naturally to them (like making their beds!!!)
Feel free to print them if they suite your needs~ and hope you're having a fabulous summer!
Good Morning Checklist:
Good Night Checklist:
Have a great week,


text:
By using ePay, you are authorizing Robert Morris University to debit funds by way of an electronic funds transfer from your checking or credit card account. Clicking on the "Process Payment" button completes this authorization. You will receive an Email verification that will detail the status (accepted/rejected) of your payment.
If you wish to place a stop payment order on your payment request, you must contact your financial institution immediately. Until Robert Morris University receives the actual credit, payment is not considered made.
The invoice that RMU account owers may see online may not be identical to the one that you receive in the mail. The online invoice is a current account balance that takes into account all future projections for each specific term. Any payment that you make to your student account will appear in this invoice upon clearance with your financial institution.
By authorizing this electronic funds transfer you understand and agree that Robert Morris University is not liable for erroneous bank statements or incorrect debits to your account. You should refer to the terms and conditions provided by your bank concerning electronic transfers from your bank account. The policy and procedures of Robert Morris University (as listed on the website) and separately negotiated contracts with Student Financial Services apply to this Online Payment Service and are incorporated herein by reference.
In no event shall Robert Morris University be liable to any party for any direct,
indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive or other damages (including
without limitation, any lost profits, lost savings, loss of information, etc.)
that are related to the use or the inability to use the content, materials
and functions of the site or any linked website.


text:
Farming near Klingerstown, Pennsylvania: photo by Scott Bauer, 2005 (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture)
Wallace Stevens: from Two or Three Ideas, a lecture on Baudelaire's La Vie Anterieure, given at Mt. Holyoke College, 28 April 1951
I'm amazed at the poetry & prose difference in this remarkable man-- almost two people!
I tried to get the bailiffs in on old Yahweh but he was having none of it. That's the last time I go with Descartes et Fils.
Such prose isn't possible any more, I fear.
Very inspiring. Especially like the ghost town picture coming immediately after the final words...
As always Tom, apt and moving selection of word and image. Provocative in the best sense.
that opening (& then to the end of) of the
second x-cerpt:
"It is as if ... ."
brought tears to my eyes
-all three of them..
& then to read his USE of
"It was as if..." again and a
gain in first passage WOWOW !!
I particularly PAR-TICK-YOU-LARILY
appreciate that last compound-complex
(complex-compound?) sentence/thought of
second piece.
time for this My-Me to jump back
into a cpl of Master Poets ...
one now new to me and then back into
wasn't he an insurance salesman ?
(the other one was a clerk (or something) at
This will last. Six decades on, reading this, we can still live the experience that Stevens lived that day he stepped into the ruins and the doves rose up and vanished: an essential honesty of mind and heart, the feeling of awe before wild nature; and the melancholy recognition that humankind feels okay to be all-there-is. That last image is haunting and dream-like.
Ah, brilliant! I'd never read this, and am now frantically searching for a full copy. Elsewhere I'm planning a reading group on "Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction," and am thinking right now that this would be very good to incorporate.
"...all there was or so it seemed..." The seeming is important, I think.
And while we may work towards a resolution of life, it's not clear that this is a possibility.
Part of my trouble is I'm not so sure what my own terms are.
To be somewhere between being and seeming...
It's not such a great surprise, when one thinks of it, that the gods should have taken themselves off as we entered. One has experienced that sort of thing before, and it would be dishonest really, to deny the meaning of it to oneself.
And this is perhaps more responsibility than we ought to have been left with:
"There was always in every man the increasingly human self, which instead of remaining the observer, the non-participant, the delinquent, became constantly more and more all there was or so it seemed; and whether it was so or merely seemed so still left it for him to resolve life and the world in his own terms."
So there we have it. We can't chase off something that was already gone.
As a raw and vile youth (1967) one took part in a collaborative poem with a fellow callow contender for the laurels. In this poem God dares enter the picture, but is affrighted, as vampires are meant to be by whatever it is, crucifixes, silver stakes & c.
The poem in question reacts to the divine intervention with predictable rudeness:
God get out of here
And he runs off chirping and chucking into his handbag."
Now one can only call that bit inhospitable.
The poem in question goes on to add:
"What is happening here
is that the brain tissue is momentarily
a noodle."
That bit proves to have been prescient beyond its years.
Perhaps even Stevens did not phrase the central pathos here as well as Hazen has done:
"...the melancholy recognition that humankind feels okay to be all-there-is."
And yes, oh yes, "That last image is haunting and dream-like."
Also affecting to dwell upon this:
"...while we may work towards a resolution of life, it's not clear that this is a possibility."
And it's clearer every day now that this is not clear, and that it is growing unclearer with the hour.
Still one struggles on, as though there were not another option. The memory aflutter with phantom gods.
Darn, I thought something was going to happen.
Out in Bodie
the road still existed
out to the mine shaft
blowing about in the sun.
Thank you for reminding us that Stevens is one of our necessary angels.
One hears Stevens' voice intoning these syllables --
"What was most extraordinary is that they left no mementoes behind, no thrones, no mystic rings, no texts either of the soil or of the soul."
"It is as if we had stepped into a ruin and were startled by a flight of birds that rose as we entered."
light still coming into sky above black
plane of ridge, moon across from branch
in foreground, sound of wave in channel
the thought of being shaped,
change in any way but
the other, asked who it was,
continued there in it
wingspan of tern lifting from sandspit,
moon in cloudless blue sky above point
Steven Ratcliffe points to the contingency of the matter, the 'as if.' There's an absence of certain things— like mementoes—things not there, yet called into being by Stevens from his 'abodes of the imagination' and his 'memories of places that never existed.' We begin to wonder. We are looking into Stevens world, but from our own; or maybe it's the other way round. This is one of the most appealing things about this piece.
yeah ... & again:
"it is as if ..."
when the artist / poet discovers that
ego is merely an invention & then
in the dropping of (that) blockage
takes off upon his own trail ...
minus the Credentialists' Baggage
as if
there was / is no tomorrow !
now reading poems of Frank O'Hara
& am suddenly struck that he too
is Magic.
as Yeats put 'it' :
"don't be a magician
now to keg-up the new batch of beer we've brewed ... it shld be ready
to drink next Saturday. Y'all drop
on over for a frosty mug... yuh hear ?
The gods may be gone, but we are still here to populate our ghost towns. In imagination at least; still thinking that if we hang around the vacated sites long enough, something might even happen. Absence makes the heart grow full with longing for that darn something.
Susan Kay Anderson: Out in Bodie
Simply beautiful. It puts me in mind of two poems (translations mine)
My Earlier Life (Baudelaire)
I've been home a long time among the vast porticos,
Which the mariner sun has tinged with a million fires,
Whose grandest pillars, upright, majestic and cold
Render them the same, this evening, as caves with basalt spires.
The swells' overwhelming accords of rich music,
Heaving images of heaven to the skies,
Mingle in a way solemn and mystic
With the colors of the horizon reflected by my eyes.
It was here I was true to the voluptuous calm,
The milieu of azure, the waves, the splendors,
And the nude slaves, all impregnated with odors,
Who refreshed my brow with waving palms
My only care to bring to meaning from anguish
The sad secret in which I languish.
Memory (Excerpt) - Holderlin
But it is rich,
Full of dark light,
This fragrant cup
Of sleep; it's sweet
Under the shadow of slumber.
It's not good to think
The mortal is soulless.
But it's good to converse
In the voice of the heart
And hear much as love emerges
And acts, occurrences happen.
But where are my friends? Bellarmin
With his companion? Some are afraid
To go to the source;
Where the wealth begins,
In the sea. They,
Like painters, pull together
The beauty of the Earth and disdain
War not winged, and
Live for years alone, below
The leafless mast, where night does not shine through
The city's festivities,
Nor its strings and indigenous dances.
But now the Indians are
The people left,
There on the airy spit,
And mountains of grapes fall
To the Dordogne, which along
With the mighty Garonne
Empties to the sea
That comes from the stream. Abounding,
It gives memories to the waters,
And to the lovers' eyes entwined,
But what remains, the poet finds.


text:
Jefferson City Residents Spread Holiday Cheer with Life-Sized Christmas Cards
Related Story
JEFFERSON CITY - A quiet neighborhood in Jefferson City found a new way to spread holiday cheer. Residents on Dixon Drive have decorated their lawns with life-sized Christmas cards for the past 56 years.
Dixon Drive was the first neighborhood in Jefferson City to organize a community Christmas display. It's a tradition the neighborhood is known for, so much so that it is referred to as "Christmas Card Lane" during the holiday season.
George Kastler and his wife moved to Dixon Drive in 2008, but they were very familiar with the neighborhood's reputation.
"I remember riding through the neighborhood to look at the displays back in '77," Kastler said. "At one point in time, the display was so popular that I could not even get down the street. There was bumper to bumper traffic."
Kastler said this year the amount of traffic depends on the day.
"I've been watching, and there's an average of one car a minute to a minute and a half. So you're getting 30 to 50 cars an hour. And that depends on the day. Some days there's hardly anyone, then all of a sudden the next night it's like they (residents) all heard, 'oh did you go?' 'No, I didn't go, let's go!'" he said.
The displays will stay up until after New Year's. Lawns light up from 5 - 10 p.m.