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Tag: Sister Helen Prejean
Reconsidering Life Sentences for Juveniles who Kill
In the 1993 book "Dead Man Walking," Sister Helen Prejean tells the story of people directly impacted by capital punishment – convicted murderers counting down to their own executions, wardens and guards dutifully operating the machinery of death, and victims who are consumed by rage and grief.
Prejean's book, upon which the popular movie was based, is much more than a memoir. Well-researched and annotated, it carefully explores the legal, ethical and philosophical issues raised by the most controversial form of punishment in the United States. But the power of the book comes from its candor – from the fact that Prejean began her journey without a clear perspective or opinion on the death penalty.
I read "Dead Man Walking" when it was first published. I had recently graduated from law school and was clerking for an appellate court judge. Although only vaguely interested in criminal law, I finished it quickly, engrossed by Prejean's account of her experiences as a spiritual adviser for men on death row and moved by her struggle to find common ground with the families of victims.
I thought of this last weekend after reading Ethan Bronner's article in The New York Times on reactions to Miller v. Alabama, the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that mandatory life without parole sentences for juvenile offenders are unconstitutional. With more than 2,000 offenders across the country who may be resentenced as a result of Miller, Bronner focused on a single case – a pregnant teen killed by her 15-year-old boyfriend – and prominently featured an interview with the victim's sister, Bobbi Jamriska, who is active in the National Organization of Victims of Juvenile Lifers.
Unlike Prejean's book, but typical of most coverage of criminal sentencing, the Times article explicitly pits juveniles serving life sentences against victims' families; it asserts without attribution that the decision in Miller threw "thousands" like Jamriska into "anguished turmoil at the prospect that the killers of their loved ones may walk the streets again." Such hyperbole only perpetuates the notion that the ideal resolution is always to warehouse young offenders – without opportunity for review of their sentences – forever.
I do respect Mr. Bronner's work, but I don't agree with the way he handled this piece and I told him so.
In response to my email, he wrote in part: "… For some reason, you took the article to be an endorsement of Ms. Jamriska's perspective. It was an attempt to put a strong case forward for both sides in this issue -- that of the juvenile offender and the brain science that says juveniles must be judged differently from adults, and that of the victim's family. It was important to me to represent both sides. I'm sorry it didn't come across that way to you."
Fair enough, yet contrast the Times piece with a recent video from the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, in which parents of murder victims express sympathy for juvenile offenders and, ultimately, forgiveness. One mother, Mary Johnson, related that it was healing to watch O'Shea Israel, the youth who had killed her son 20 years earlier, develop into a respectable adult after his release from prison. As the two stood side by side, Johnson explained, "He's not that 16 year-old boy that has taken my son's life. He's now a man. He's turned his life around, and I know it's genuine."
Jamriska and others have voiced a legitimate concern that post-Miller resentencing hearings will force victims' families to "relive the horrors again."
One option is for these hearings to be narrowly focused on the offender – the young person's background, the circumstances of the crime, and his or her role in the offense – rather than publicly reexamining the pain and loss experienced by the victims. Another option is for victim impact statements and other documentary evidence introduced at the original sentencing hearing to be considered anew, making it unnecessary for the victims' families to be physically present in court. Although hardly perfect, such procedures may provide the first steps toward an acceptable solution.
An additional issue may be addressed through reasoned discussion and education. In the Times article, Jamriska repeats a common refrain heard among victims and others who oppose the reconsideration of life sentences for youth: "I don't care if you're 5 or 50, you know that killing is wrong" – with the implication being that as long as an offender understood the wrongfulness of the act, the punishment should be the same regardless of his or her age.
Yet, there's a difference between capacity and culpability.Yes, most adolescents understand intellectually that to kill another human being is wrong. That is precisely why we condemn it and punish those who commit it. But because of the lesser culpability or blameworthiness of young offenders, the punishment should not be as harsh as it is for adults.
By the end of "Dead Man Walking", Prejean's story has come full circle. She begins her narrative suspicious and judgmental of the men on death row; she sees only their brutal crimes, not the human beings behind them. Once she has connected with them, however, she is conflicted and avoids their victims. Prejean finds peace only after she has reached out to those victims, met with and listened to them – and they to her.
In the wake of the Miller decision, we must be sensitive to victims' families and try to understand their desire for retribution – but at the same time we must emphasize that imprisoning juveniles for life is not the answer.
The words of Mary Johnson, who befriended O'Shea Israel, continue to resonate:
"The young people that have been given life without parole – we need to think about them as though they are our children. Give them the opportunity – if they've been worked on in the prison and have worked on themselves – give them the opportunity to come out and prove themselves, as O'Shea has done."
Sister Helen Prejean would agree. Perhaps one day Bobbi Jamriska will as well.
Professor Birckhead's commentary is also posted at the Huffington Post.


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|Simple skyscraper buildings produced procedurally
|Voxel castle produced by the new procedural building system
The system is inspired primarily by the work of Müller, Wonka, Haegler, Ulmer and Van Gool in their paper Procedural Modeling of Buildings where they present a grammar based system for the specification of buildings (See Miguel Cepero's Procedural World blog for another interpretation of this work), this essentially enables a set of rules to be written which when interpreted by a parser results in geometry being created representing the building for rendering.
Language Choice
I wanted the system to be easy to play with so it was essential that the runtime be able to reload and parse these rules dynamically without having to recompile or even re-run the program so coding them statically into the C++ source was out, but rather than write my own parser I decided to make use of the Lua language and integrated that into my project instead. This gives me an out of the box solution for runtime loading and parsing and provides a far more powerful language feature set than I could hope to achieve in any home grown system.
Lua also has the advantage of being a model of simplicity to integrate with C++, syntactically similar enough to be quick to learn and well supported with documentation and tutorials on the internet. There are even various editing environments with support such as Notepad++ and Sublime providing out of the box syntax highlighting (there is also a Visual Studio extension to provide Lua syntax highlighting although at this time it appears to not support the 2012 edition I am using).
The Fundamentals
In essence, I am representing each type of building or structure with a Lua file, when a building of that type needs to be generated the Lua file is loaded and an entry point function called "Axiom" executed. From here on the Lua environment has control making it's entire feature set available to richly describe the shape and construction of the building. The output of this process is a Signed Distance Field (SDF, i.e. a 3D array of signed distance values) that can then be plugged in to the sparse voxel octree builder to produce a data structure the GPU ray caster can process to render images such as the castle above.
I expose a number of C++ functions to the Lua environment (22 at this time) that the script can call to perform useful intermediate processing operations and to output the final primitives that the SDF is constructed from.
The fundamental concept the script operates on at any one time is a 3D bounding box called a Scope, when the Axiom function of the script is called there are globals called xPos, yPos, zPos and xSize, ySize, zSize pre-defined with the 3D position and size of the current scope respectively which can be used to either emit an output shape or create additional scopes for further processing. Each additional scope created is given a name which is the name of the Lua function to call to produce it's contents. When that function is called it will in turn have the position and size globals pre-set to represent it's own position and size thus allowing each function to act on it's own area of 3D space without having to worry about where it came from or what transforms it's parents have been through.
Learning by Example
If that sounds confusing, a simple example might help:
function Axiom() Scope(0, 4, 0, xSize,ySize-4,zSize, "Castle"); Scope(0,0,0, xSize, 4, zSize, "Ground"); endhere the main Axiom function is taking the original scope it's been given (which encompasses the entire 3D bounds of the building to start with) and creating two further scopes for later processing. The first is called "Castle" and is at position (0, 4, 0) with the same size as the global scope in the X and Z axis but four metres shorter than the global scope in the Y axis.
The second scope it creates is called "Ground" and is at the origin of the current global scope (the origin is in the minimum corner of the box in (x,y,z) space) with the global scope's size in X and Z but is four metres tall in Y (the height). Essentially this is dividing the total space of the building into two horizontal slices, a 4m tall one at the base which will become the ground and a second sitting on top of that into which the building proper will be generated. The global scope is automatically destroyed when the function exits as it's not needed any more.
As it stands this script won't actually output anything, we need to add more code so it knows what to do with those two new scopes:
function Castle() Box(5, 0, 5, xSize-10, ySize, zSize-10); end function Ground() Box(); endnote here how the name of the scope is simply the name of the Lua function to call - a great advantage of a dynamic language like Lua that would be impossible in C++. In this simple example I've made the Castle function output a box 10m smaller than but centred within the scope in the X and Z axes and the full height of the scope in Y while the Ground function simple creates a box that fills the scope.
Note the handy shortcut for the ground's box - having a shape fill the current scope is a common requirement so overloadings of many functions such as Box are provided that assume the origin and scope size as defaults.
Running this simple script now produces this:
not perhaps the most convincing of castles but hopefully you can see how the script produces what you see here. It's important to remember though that it's not geometry that's being generated - there are no vertices and triangles being created by that Box function; instead for each point in the 256x256x256 SDF grid I'm using in the viewer it's calculating how far that point is from the surface of the boxes and storing that.
The brick and stone texturing is a result of the default appearance set when scripts are run, appearances are essentially a pair of textures one of which is used for flat surfaces and another for vertical ones - surface in between receive a blend of the two textures depending on their slope. It is possible to specify different appearances when creating shapes but I'll let these examples stick to the default for now.
A Slightly More Complex Example
I don't want to turn this post into a reference manual for the construction system as that would be quite verbose and probably not terribly interesting so I'll jump straight forward to a more advanced example, making a tower with a crenelated top:
and here is the code that produced it:
function Axiom() Scope(xSize/4, 4, zSize/4, xSize/2,ySize-4,zSize/2, "SquareTower"); Scope(0,0,0, xSize, 4, zSize, "Ground"); end -- Produces a square tower with a crenelated top function SquareTower() Box(xSize, ySize-3, zSize); -- Body of square tower SquareBoundary(merlonDepth, ySize-3, 3, xSize, zSize, "WallRampart"); end -- Produces four long thin scopes forming a square boundary edge function SquareBoundary(thickness, yPos, height, xSize, zSize, scopeName) Size(thickness, height, zSize); Scope(0, yPos, 0, scopeName); RotateToY(180); Scope(xSize, yPos, zSize, scopeName); Size(thickness, height, xSize); RotateToY(90); Scope(xSize, yPos, 0, scopeName); RotateToY(270); Scope(0, yPos, zSize, scopeName); RotateToY(0); end -- Produces a low wall topped by crenelations function WallRampart() Box(xSize, ySize*0.5, zSize); Size(xSize, ySize*0.5, zSize+crenelWidth); MoveTo(0, ySize*0.5, 0); Appearance("StoneWall"); SubDivZ({ "rep", merlonWidth, "Merlon" }); end -- Produces a single merlon function Merlon() Box(xSize, ySize, merlonWidth-crenelWidth); end
hopefully it's length doesn't scare you off, assuming you're still with me you can see that the basic structure is the same; functions are often creating new scopes at a given position relative to their parents and based on the parent scope's size. Points that I think are worth noticing include:
- The SquareBoundary() function shows how other Lua functions can be called just like normal to do additional work and allow code re-use without having to create intermediate scopes
- The RotateToY() function demonstrates rotating scopes, all translation and rotations are inherited automatically to child scopes
- The Appearance() function is used here to change the appearance for subsequent shapes, in this case changing to an appearance that doesn't have the rock floor texture so we don't get rock on the flat top surfaces of the merlons.
- The SubDivZ() function illustrates a more powerful way of subdividing space, in this case creating as many instances of the Merlon scope with a given width as will fit along the Z axis of the current scope.
At the moment the system is only capable of generating two basic geometric solids from it's scopes, either the boxes you've already seen or cylinders along the X, Y or Z axes. These basic shapes can be combined however to create far more interesting shapes using a technique called Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG) where the results are combined using one of a range of boolean operators.
There are three primary operators available:
|Union is the default which merges the shapes together
function Axiom() Box(0, 0, zSize/4, xSize/2, ySize/2, zSize/2); CylinderZ(xSize/4, 0, 0, xSize/2, ySize, zSize); end
|Subtract removes the second shape from the first
function Axiom() Box(0, 0, zSize/4, xSize/2, ySize/2, zSize/2); CylinderZ(xSize/4, 0, 0, xSize/2, ySize, zSize, CSG_Subtract); end
|Intersect produces the portion of solid that is common to both
function Axiom() Box(0, 0, zSize/4, xSize/2, ySize/2, zSize/2); CylinderZ(xSize/4, 0, 0, xSize/2, ySize, zSize, CSG_Intersect); end
CSG has been around for a long time and I've used it before on CPU based ray tracer projects where it's relatively straightforward to implement operating on the intersecting spans of rays, but it's a whole lot more complicated when operating on geometry as the finite numerical precision of floating point numbers often leads to problematic fragments and slivers of geometry, problems with non-sealed hulls and issues with coincident surfaces.
Dealing with SDFs however eliminates these problems as the sample space is regular with no problems of open or closed surfaces. (See Iñigo Quilez's page on Modeling with Distance Functions if you are interested in this)
In addition to the regular boolean operators, working with SDFs provides some other interesting options:
|Adding signed distances together to create a blend
function Axiom() Box(0, 0, zSize/4, xSize/2, ySize/2, zSize/2); CylinderZ(xSize/4, 0, 0, xSize/2, ySize, zSize, CSG_Add); end
here a basic addition is being applied resulting in a blend between the box and the cylinder shapes, likewise subtraction and other arithmetic operations can be used.
Advanced Parameters
The flexibility of Lua also makes it simple to add additional optional parameters to function calls. By allowing a table to be passed at scope and shape creation time context specific values can be given:
CylinderY(0, ySize-10, 0, xSize, 10, zSize, { topRadius=0; appearance="RoofTilesBrown" });
here the cylinder has been given a zero top radius factor to turn it into a cone and the appearance for the shape changed to a brown roof tile effect producing the top of the castle's turret:
|Turret roof formed by a cylinder with zero top radius
Finally it's also perfectly possible to apply arbitrary functions to areas of the SDF in much the same way as the geometric primitives do, but instead of generating values we can modify the values already present to produce interesting or bizarre effects that would be difficult to achieve with geometry directly (or at least without massively tessellated geometry)
NoiseShape(-4, -4, -4, xSize+8, ySize+8, zSize+8, CSG_Add, { noiseScale=0.5, noiseAmplitude=1.5 } );
here a Noise modifier has been applied to an area of the scope to warp the values already generated for the keep:
|Regular keep without the modifier applied
|Same keep with the Noise() modifier applied just for fun
Variations on a Theme
So far everything presented here has been undeniably procedural being based on rules and parameters but it has also been entirely deterministic. If I feed one of these Lua scripts into the system five times I will get exactly the same building out each and every time which is going to make it somewhat tedious to produce the wide variety of buildings and structures with which I hope to populate my voxel worlds.
The real power of procedural systems though of course is their ability to produce endless variations of something by supplying different input parameters or seeds. For my building system there are only two primary inputs that dictate how the final architecturee looks: the first is the bounding box for the building comprised of the size of the plot onto which the building must fit and the height it's allowed to reach. These would be defined by the higher level town or city planning systems driven by factors such as population density, building type and the distance from the centre of the conurbation, the bounds are simply passed to the Axiom function as the size of the root scope. By writing the Lua script properly it can be made to work with a wide variety of overall building sizes, functions such as SubDiv() are really useful here to enable repetition along unknown length regions without undue scaling or stretching.
The second factor that has a more significant impact on the form of the building is the seed value that is used to initialise the random number generator. This is calculated from the position of the building on the planet so the same building in the same spot will always look the same but the same script file used to generate a building at a different location may look completely different. The Rand() function is used in the script to make decisions that can change the architecture: deciding whether to put a square tower, a round turret or nothing at all on a corner of the castle for example or whether there is a gateway on a given wall. Rand() can also be used to vary the size of scopes and shapes, so for example once the choice of tower or turret is made it's width and height can be further randomised within sensible limits leading to a wide variety of final apperances.
Wrap Up
Hopefully this has been an interesting glimpse into what I hope will be a powerful system for synthetic formations, I've certainly learnt a lot about Lua and it's integration with C++ along the way which has been rewarding in itself, but feeling like the system I've created is open and flexible enough to produce interesting, realistic(ish) or even fantastical structures is satisfying.
There is even scope here to release a stand alone version of the viewer tool these screenshots are from so you too could experiment with creating architecture from Lua - as long as people can accept it's limitations of course
Anyone interested?

subset: commoncrawl


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Hello Everyone!
Renata and I are very excited to announce that we have a new variation almost ready for you: Love, Letters and Lies!
What do we mean by almost? Well, any day now, and definitely by the time this Giveaway ends on December 26th.
As a teaser (we don't really like to tease, but this time we must), below is the back cover script, an excerpt, and our Giveaway! Oh, and, of course, the cover. What would a book be without a cover? (Now there's an interesting question!)
We hope you enjoy!
Love, Letters & Lies
Elizabeth Bennet is not the type of woman to be forced into marrying anyone, especially not the insufferable Mr. Darcy. When, through no fault of her own, she ends up in a compromising situation with him, she does everything she can to keep their scandal secret and avoid matrimony. Unfortunately, not everyone is willing to go along with that plan.
Darcy doesn't want to wed an aggravating country miss with no connections, but honor dictates he offer. When, shockingly, she refuses, he's relieved. Upon reflection, that relief turns to indignation, for no other woman would think of turning him down. Indignation soon grows into preoccupation… or could he be in the grip of some other, even stronger emotion?
Love, Letters and Lies is a Pride and Prejudice Variation of approximately 92,000 words.
... Leading up to this point, Elizabeth is residing in Netherfield Park to look after Jane, who is ill from riding over in the rain. Jane has finally fallen asleep and Elizabeth has gone to the library to find a different book to read, having already read poetry to her sister for hours. Elizabeth is now ensconced in a large armchair behind a wide decorative pillar and is not visible from the other side of the room…
Elizabeth had nearly dozed off by the time she reached Lettsom's recommendation for where to find flies but came more fully awake at reading a rather gruesome description of how best to catch and pin butterflies. Precisely where to stab a pin into the beautiful creatures constituted more of a foil to poetry than she required. She was about to close the book and seek another when footsteps sounded in the hall. In moments, someone entered the room.
The conscientious servant come to see if the room still required light? No, the firm footsteps in the hall most likely meant one of her companions sought a late night read. As the tread was too heavy to be feminine and Mr. Bingley didn't strike Elizabeth as the reading sort, she could only assume the intruder on her solitude was Mr. Hurst at best and, at worst, Mr. Darcy.
Whoever it was, for the moment, fortunately, they browsed the shelves near the door. Should she announce herself or remain hidden and hope to go unnoticed? If the gentleman made his way between the pillars to the far side of the room, she would certainly be seen. Better to alert him to her presence now. She eased forward in the chair and opened her mouth to speak.
New footsteps sounded, the light patter of slippers heard only once they tapped on the wood planks just inside the library door. Mrs. Hurst come to join her husband in selecting a book to read in bed? Elizabeth closed her mouth over her greeting and eased back again. Perhaps, if they came around the pillar, she should feign sleep?
"Good evening, Miss Bingley," Mr. Darcy's voice said.
Elizabeth cringed. Worse than the Hursts. Two of her least favorite people.
"Good evening, Mr. Darcy," Miss Bingley replied in a honey-coated voice.
Elizabeth stifled a gasp. Heaven above, she did not want to bear witness to a tryst. But surely, despite his many faults, Mr. Darcy wouldn't—
"I do not mean to intrude," Mr. Darcy said. "I will make my selection and depart, so you may make yours."
"I'm not here for a book," Miss Bingley said. "I must speak with you."
"Then you should do so in the morning, not alone with me, late at night." Cordiality bled from Mr. Darcy's voice.
"You won't wish anyone, even a maid, to hear what I must say."
Grimacing, Elizabeth realized she'd long since missed her chance to inform them of her presence. She curled more tightly into the chair. She could only pray they didn't come to the back of the room.
"I find it difficult to believe you and I have anything to discuss privately, Miss Bingley," Mr. Darcy said. "If you will excuse me?"
A shuffle of footsteps and swishing skirts ensued.
"Please step out of my way," Mr. Darcy said, voice touched with anger now.
"Not until you hear me out," Miss Bingley declared.
"Say what you feel you must."
One of them, likely Miss Bingley, drew in a long breath and let it out again. "I don't know how to say this, but you have shown an unbecoming interest in Miss Elizabeth."
Elizabeth grimaced, muffling a groan which threatened to turn into a laugh. Interest in her, indeed. Only Miss Bingley would conjure such an idea, born of how badly she coveted Mr. Darcy. Or, rather, Mr. Darcy's connections and wealth.
"I? In Miss Elizabeth? Preposterous."
Elizabeth pursed her lips. Despite how his sentiment mirrored her own, Mr. Darcy's tone held scorn enough to sting.
"You watch her," Miss Bingley accused.
"Not particularly."
"Oh, really?" Miss Bingley countered. "When I stood up and walked about the room, you ignored me. When I invited her to join me, you put down your book and paid attention." She sounded aggrieved. "Your gaze is always on her."
"I do not think so."
Even Miss Bingley, Elizabeth thought, must hear the frost in Mr. Darcy's voice.
"Oh, yes, it is." Miss Bingley sucked in another breath. "You even commented to me once that she has fine eyes."
Elizabeth widened those eyes in shock.
"She does. May I not make an innocent observation?"
"You may, but you didn't," Miss Bingley snapped. "Your observation would be innocent if you didn't pay particular attention to her."
"I do not."
"Don't you? Miss Bennet is very pretty, but you haven't said so. When we spoke about how pretty she is, all you said was that she smiles too much. More importantly, you don't watch Miss Bennet constantly."
Heat rose in Elizabeth's cheeks. She considered standing and coming around the pillar. Her appearance would be nearly comical now. To her, at least.
"What do my comments about one sister have to do with the other sister?" Mr. Darcy asked, words clipped. "Miss Bingley, this is a highly inappropriate conversation. Let me make one thing clear. You are my friend's sister and I will treat you with respect, but I have no interest in this kind of exchange. My opinions of other women are mine. Your observations are distasteful. If you do not depart this library immediately, I shall."
Light footsteps sounded. The door slammed. The lock clicked.
Before Elizabeth could fully register that Miss Bingley had locked them in, her slippered steps sounded again, still in the library. They pattered across the other side of the room at an alarming rate.
"What are you doing?" Mr. Darcy exclaimed as another click sounded. Frigid air swirled in. "What did you throw out? Was that the key?"
Elizabeth stood, alarmed by the consternation in Mr. Darcy's voice. The howling November wind whipped through the library. All around the room, curtains stirred and swayed. Flames, candle and fireplace alike, danced, emphasizing light and shadow. Firm, masculine footfalls crossed to the door. The knob rattled.
"Why did you lock us in?" Mr. Darcy demanded.
"I am tired of waiting for the proposal that will never come," Miss Bingley cried. "I am completely suitable to be your wife, yet you ignore me."
"I beg your—"
"Well, now we are locked in a room together," Miss Bingley continued, speaking over Mr. Darcy. "No one but you ever comes to this wing. If you shout, no one will hear you over the sound of the wind. Even if they do, we are locked in here together. Come morning, you will have to marry me." Miss Bingley's voice rang with triumph. "You cannot spend the night alone with me without consequences."
Elizabeth had heard enough. She squared her shoulders. "But he is not alone," she said, stepping around the pillar to take in two startled faces.
Now, for the Giveaway!
We're giving away two kindle copies to two winners! To enter, just leave a comment below. You may leave any comment you like, of course, but we do have a couple questions:
Should Elizabeth have remained hidden?
How do you think Miss Bingley will react to finding Elizabeth there?
Good Luck in the Giveaway, everyone, and have a happy, safe, wonderful rest of 2018! ~ Summer & Renata
*Giveaway runs through December 26th. Winners will be announced the following weekend.


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Christmas & Artful Stamps
Viewer Comments
What kind of ink do you use on the stamps and do you have to heat set it? Love the cards!
Reply from Paper Wishes Customer Service:
From Ann:
Pigment inks need to be heat set if they will be using Spectrum Noir (or other alcohol-based pens) on the stamped image. It's also a good idea to heat set them to prevent smearing since pigment inks have a longer drying time than other inks.
Thanks for another great webisode! Love these tutorials! Have the artful set - just wish you had made the word "important" separate from the banner. Since I want to use the banner a lot, I think I will cut out the word "important" with an exacto knife. It should be easy to do, and I can fit a lot of other phrases into the banner.
Congrats, Ann, and best wishes to you!
Wow; just love the look of the Artful Stamps so many things come to mind for uses. Thanks again for a great "Art" lesson.
I truly love the webisodes and wait anxiously for each week's session. I am a scrapbooker only and do not make cards. Please show more two page scrap booking layouts. Thanks for all the great ideas!
this may be my all time favorite webisode!! i love both stamp sets, and the examples were divine. good job!!
June 9,2012!!Great day for a wedding. That will be our 50th wedding anniversary. Hope the day will be as much a blessing for you as it has been for us.
Ann, you are getting married on my birthday! I'm so excited for you. And how clever of you to make your invitations-adorable! The new stamps are gorgeous!!
As usual, terrific ideas to use. Thanks so much!
Wonderful ideas in this webisode! I love HOTP stamp sets, and think I need to have both if these. Ann, I also loved your "save the date" card :)
Beautiful stamps. Wonderful techniques. And Ann, you and Felix make a handsome couple. Also, my SIL's maiden name is Barba. She's from Cebu in the Philippines. Best wishes, and TFS!
I love the stamps. I have lots of them but I do not use them like I should. I have trouble getting clear images. How do I do this? Some tips on using stamp, both clear and wood mounted. thanks
Reply from Paper Wishes Customer Service:
To get clear images press directly down then lift directly up. It is important not to press down too much for you'll smudge the image. Practice makes perfect! You might go to our Stamping101.com website to get more information and to see videos of stamping. We hope this helps.
Great ideas! Can't wait to get these stamps!
LOVE these stamp sets!! I like that one set is suitable for using for other than Christmas. I placed an order!!
Thanks for the great webisode! I get great ideas to use. God bless!
Love Love Love Love the scrapbooking page with the ornaments with pictures in them. You did a great job Ann on this page, just BEAUTIFUL. These stamps are great you can do so much with them. A must have!!!! Really enjoyed this webisode. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!
Thank you for the examples you explained so well! The things you make with those stamps are so beautiful! Great inspiration!
I love both of the sets. I have the Christmas stamp set in my basket and I already have the Artful set. I am so impressed by the detail and beauty of the artful set. Great job Folks! Question, how did Ann cover the word in the banner since it takes up so much of the inner space? I would love to know. Thanks for another helpful and inspiring Webisode, you are the best!
Reply from Paper Wishes Customer Service:
From Ann: Stamp the banner on a piece of scrap paper and cut out the inside word (to become a "word mask"). Then ink up the stamp again, placed the word mask on the paper you're going to use, and stamp over it, aligning the words. Remove the word mask, and the word is no longer on the banner. The little paper masks the word "Important!" and creates a blank banner to stamp any greeting.
Love these two stamp sets and all you can do with them. Went right in and ordered them and some other stamp sets, too! Thanks so much for carrying quality products. Love the videos and all the tips you share! Big Hugs to all involved!!
I absolutely loved this webisode and can't wait till I get the stamps. I also like the fact that although the cards are not difficult to make they look like you spent hours on them.
Thanks for the wonderful inspirations! I love both stamp sets and can't wait to get them and put them to good use!
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Campus is closed to visitors who do not have an approved appointment. Face coverings must be worn at all times when on campus.
by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
From the classroom to the lab to the stage, musician/dancer/classics devotee Christina Errico '15 gives her all. But, she advises, even the most ambitious students need to also make time to relax and enjoy the ride.
Archaeology and classical studies.
Clubs and organizations:
D-Tones, Dance Theatre Group, Chimaera Club, College Choir, Catholic Campus Ministries Choir, Eta Sigma Phi and Alpha Lambda Delta.
On choosing Dickinson:
Dickinson is one of the only schools on the East Coast that offers an interdisciplinary archaeology major. When I visited the campus I fell in love and ended up applying Early Decision.
Favorite book:
Anything by C.S. Lewis.
Favorite movie:
Pride and Prejudice, but Eat Pray Love is a very close second.
I'm obsessed with knitting, and I like to play the tin whistle.
Favorite place on campus:
The classics library in East College.
Favorite professor:
[Associate Professor of Music] Amy Wlodarski, because she pushed me. She made me realize my potential as a writer and student.
Favorite Dining Hall food:
Pierogies and onions.
Most important thing I've learned so far:
We all came here to learn, but we also came to have an experience. So just let it happen. You want to look back on your college experience and think they were four of the best years of your life, not the most stressful.
In a perfect world . . .
. . . everyone would have an equal opportunity to do something worthwhile with their lives. And no one would be allergic to anything!
See more Student Snapshots.
Published February 15, 2014


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2008 Subaru Outback Review
Pros & Cons
- Fine ride and handling balance, enjoyable power delivery from XT Limited's turbocharged engine, excellent build and materials quality, sure-footed in snowy or light off-roading conditions, outstanding crash test scores.
- Tight backseat for a midsize car, automatic transmissions sap performance, stability control not available on lower trim levels.
Get More For Your Trade-In
Edmunds' Expert Review
Although still a good choice for smaller families seeking an all-weather wagon with strong crash test scores and polished performance, the 2008 Subaru Outback loses ground to roomier crossovers that offer better overall value.
Vehicle overview
With its too-cute commercials featuring Paul Hogan a distant memory, the Subaru Outback is left to get by on its own merits. But not to worry, mate, this old gal has been holding up much better than Mr. Crocodile Dundee's acting career.
Starting out in the mid-'90s as a interim measure for Subaru to grab some of the then-rapidly growing SUV segment, the early Outback was essentially a toughened-up version of the Legacy wagon. Two-tone paint, a raised suspension, all-wheel drive and beefy tires gave the proper "go-anywhere" look.
TV commercials showed the Subaru Outback deftly zipping through twisty, muddy trails, with midsize SUVs left struggling in its wake. This "stopgap" vehicle carved out a niche of its own, serving those who wanted a measure of all-terrain capacity without the needless bulk, clumsy handling and dismal fuel mileage of a traditional SUV.
Today's Subaru Outback has dropped the awkward SUV styling cues of yesteryear and now embraces its midsize wagon body. In fact, for 2008, Subaru has discontinued the Outback sedan. As the Legacy and Outback are essentially the same car, it simplifies things. Want a sedan? Look at the Legacy line. Looking for a wagon? Then consider the Outback offerings.
Although there are three available engines, our favorite is the powerful yet smooth turbocharged 2.5-liter flat-4, which is available only on the XT Limited trim. Standard on this trim is Subaru's SI-Drive system, which allows the driver to tailor engine performance for economy or performance by choosing from three modes -- Intelligent, Sport and Sport Sharp. We've found that the Intelligent mode makes for sluggish response, while the Sport Sharp mode provides rapid yet smooth response to throttle inputs.
Firm suspension tuning along with responsive steering and the grip afforded by the all-wheel-drive system give the Outback a nimble feel through the turns while still providing a comfy highway ride. On the downside, rear-seat room is tight compared to those of rival wagons and crossover SUVs.
We still like the idea of the Outback, as it does indeed offer a likable compromise of wagon and SUV attributes. However, with crossovers such as the Mazda CX-7 or Toyota Highlander offering more room and power, the 2008 Subaru Outback just isn't the value it once was. And if you don't need the Outback's nearly 9 inches of ground clearance, you might also consider other wagons, namely the all-wheel-drive versions of the Volkswagen Passat and Dodge Magnum.
2008 Subaru Outback models
The 2008 Subaru Outback comes only in a midsize wagon body style with increased ground clearance and standard all-wheel drive. Instead of offering a dizzying amount of option packages like some other carmakers, Subaru offers a dizzying amount of trim levels. For the 2008 Outback, there are no less than seven trims: base, 2.5i, 2.5i L.L. Bean, 2.5i Limited, 2.5i Limited L.L. Bean, XT Limited and 3.0 R L.L. Bean.
Standard equipment on the base trim includes 16-inch steel wheels, roof rails, air-conditioning, a tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel, a satellite radio-ready audio system with CD player and an MP3 player jack, keyless entry, an outside temperature display, and full power accessories. The 2.5i adds 17-inch alloy wheels, a limited-slip rear differential, roof-rail crossbars, heated exterior mirrors, deicing wipers, a power driver seat and front-seat heaters. The 2.5 L.L. Bean is a little more upscale and features dual-zone automatic climate control, an in-dash CD changer, a navigation system and specialized floor mats. The 2.5i Limited drops the nav system, but adds a double-panel sunroof and leather upholstery. Spring for the 2.5i Limited L.L. Bean, and, as you'd guess, you get all of the above features as standard.
The Subaru Outback XT Limited and 3.0 R L.L. Bean models feature more powerful engines, but are equipped basically the same, meaning loaded, with the exception of a navigation system, which is optional. The XT Limited has a dark interior with faux aluminum interior trim and red electroluminescent gauges, while the 3.0 R has faux wood accents complemented by a real mahogany/leather steering wheel.
2008 Highlights
Performance & mpg
Every 2008 Subaru Outback trim features all-wheel drive. All the 2.5i models are powered by a 2.5-liter, horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine rated for 175 hp and 169 pound-feet of torque. Base and 2.5i models can be equipped with either a five-speed manual transmission or a four-speed automatic; 2.5i Limited and L.L. Bean models are automatic only.
The Outback XT Limited boasts a potent turbocharged version of the 2.5-liter engine good for 243 hp and 241 lb-ft of torque. It's available with the five-speed manual or a five-speed automatic. The luxury-themed 3.0 R L.L. Bean features a 3.0-liter six-cylinder engine. Known as the H6, this engine is capable of 245 hp and 215 lb-ft of torque, and is matched solely to the automatic transmission.
Antilock brakes, front-seat side airbags, full-length side curtain airbags and anti-whiplash front head restraints are standard on every 2008 Subaru Outback. Stability control is available on all trims except the base and 2.5i. In NHTSA crash tests, the Outback earned a perfect five stars across the board for its protection in frontal- and side-impact collisions.
Something of a cross between a billy goat and a luxury sedan, the 2008 Subaru Outback provides sure-footed composure on trails and snowy roads while keeping its occupants comfy. The base engine is just adequate while the turbo four and H6 provide rapid acceleration and stronger passing and merging performance. Unfortunately, the Outback's automatic transmissions still leave much to be desired, as they sap power by upshifting too early. Automatic-equipped XT Limited and 3.0 R L.L. Bean models fare a little better in this regard, as their SI-Drive system offers the Sport Sharp mode that quickens throttle response and delays upshifts.
The Outback's cabin has an uncluttered and classy ambience thanks to simple controls, tasteful faux wood and aluminum accents and high build quality. Seat comfort is generally good, though adults may find the backseat tight on legroom and shoulder room compared to roomier wagons and crossovers. Car seats are easy to install, as that rear seat is broad and flat. With the rear seats up there is 33.5 cubic feet of cargo capacity, flip them down and 66 cubic feet are available.
Consumer reviews
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Construction Consumer Products Metals & Materials Safety Environment Transportation Chemicals Energy Medical Quality
ASTM Board Meets in London
In addition to the formal board sessions, which began on Oct. 14 and concluded on Oct. 17, board members and staff met with leadership of trade associations and corporations from various industry sectors in which ASTM standards are globally influential: metals, consumer products, chemicals, building construction, manufacturing and more. Thirty-one outreach visits were held with representatives from industry and government as well as with nongovernmental organizations. ASTM was also pleased to welcome current International Organization for Standardization (ISO) president, Terry Hill, as a luncheon speaker.
"Meeting in London presented excellent opportunities for our board and senior staff to engage our members and stakeholders and forge new relationships and initiatives that advance the global mission of ASTM International," said ASTM President James A. Thomas. "ASTM International is fortunate to count hundreds of members - as well as thousands of users - from the United Kingdom."
The London board events included a half-day workshop showcasing the role of standards in the important goal of reducing carbon in the built environment. Co-hosted by the Royal Institute of British Architects and ASTM International, the event was held on Oct. 16, 2012.
The program, Achieving Low Carbon Construction in Buildings: The Importance of Standards, was introduced by ASTM's 2012 chairman of the board, Kenneth F. Yarosh, global service line manager for the specialty chemicals business of Dow Corning Corp., Midland, Mich. Six presentations were divided into two panels led by ASTM board members Ralph M. Paroli, Ph.D., and Thomas A. Schwartz, P.E. Paroli is a director at the National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Schwartz is senior principal, president and chairman of the board at Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc., Waltham, Mass. Richard Waterhouse, chief executive, RIBA Enterprises, London, U.K., delivered the closing remarks.
Amy A. Costello
Amy A. Costello, P.E., is an environmental sustainability manager at Armstrong World Industries Inc., a global floor, ceiling and cabinet design and manufacturing corporation based in Lancaster, Pa. Costello serves on ASTM Committee E60 on Sustainability and is chairman of the new ASTM Subcommittee E60.13 in Sustainable Manufacturing. She is also a member of the ASTM board of directors.
"Developing products and developing standards go hand in hand," said Costello in her presentation, "Roles of Standards and Norms in New Product Development for Low Carbon Buildings." "Standards govern basic acceptance criteria for new products; products developed based on existing standards are easier to launch."
Electrified Ceiling Grid - Standards were enabling tools in Armstrong's 2011 launch of the DC FlexZone Grid system, a ceiling grid wired throughout with low voltage direct current electrical power. The grid system accommodates direct use of on-site renewable energy and enables plug-and-play for devices as well as the ability to repurpose and reconfigure without rewiring. Armstrong is a founding member of the EMerge Alliance, an open industry association developing standards leading to the rapid adoption of DC power distribution in commercial buildings. EMerge Alliance completed the needed standards for using DC electricity in ceilings.
Owen Jenkins
Owen Jenkins is research director at CIRIA, London, U.K. A construction industry research and information association, CIRIA's mission is to improve the performance of all involved in construction and the environment through best practice guides, websites, events and training.
"The awareness of low carbon targets and the understanding of low carbon building tactics were the focus of Jenkins' presentation, "Raising Awareness and Instilling Confidence in New Approaches." While there are varying interests in relation to low carbon construction, Jenkins explained, "We are all together on this, in the same boat, but we come at it from different perspectives."
Joe Martin
Joe Martin is executive director of the Building Cost Information Service of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, London, U.K. BCIS provides cost information to the construction industry and also offers consultancy and research support to public and private sector clients. Martin is a member of ASTM Committee E06 on Performance of Buildings and its Subcommittee E06.81 on Building Economics.
In his presentation, "From Counting Cost to Counting Carbon: Life Cycle Costing and Life Cycle Embodied Carbon," Martin examined calculating cradle to gate embodied carbon emissions.
RICS Information Paper - Martin is a part of the RICS Embodied Carbon Working Group, which developed the paper, "Methodology to Calculate Embodied Carbon of Materials, 1st Edition." The information paper offers professional guidance in measuring all the carbon emitted through the construction, occupation and end of the life of a building. It was produced in response to the UK government's Low Carbon Construction Plan (published June 2011) that called for the construction industry to support the development of embodied carbon measurement tools.
Craig Simmons
Craig Simmons, director and co-founder, Best Foot Forward, Oxford, U.K., is in charge of software design and methodology development as well as project oversight. Best Foot Forward is a sustainability consultancy that helps organizations to cost-effectively reduce their environmental impact.
Within the context of up to 56 percent of UK emissions potentially influenced by building design and refurbishment, Simmons addressed the topic of embodied carbon in construction and the need for standardized measurements.
Survey - "There is a clear need for standardization," said Simmons, who was key in a survey conducted in early 2012 to inform the development of the Greater London Authority's new guide to accounting and reporting embodied carbon emissions in construction. "Only about one third of respondees had ever used a third-party standard. Most were using in-house developed standards." Simmons' findings also showed that only 60 percent of respondees had ever calculated embodied carbon. Carbon is not routinely considered as a risk or a cost, revealing a need for better guidance on carbon-cost benefit analysis.
Low Carbon Olympic Games - London 2012 were the first Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games to map a complete carbon footprint of the games over the entire project term. An estimated 40 percent footprint reduction was achieved, a notable accomplishment for an event where the original carbon footprint study found that the largest segment comprised embodied carbon in construction materials. In the Olympic Stadium alone, there was a 50 percent footprint reduction.
Martin Townsend
Martin Townsend is director, BREEAM, at BRE Global, London, U.K. BREEAM is a global design and assessment method for sustainable buildings. BRE Global, a part of BRE Group, is an independent third-party approvals organization that offers certification of products, services and systems internationally.
Apart from reducing risk, saving money and offering supply chain solutions, Townsend noted, "Standards are there to inspire; they allow industry to be agile." He highlighted the BRE Innovation Park Watford.
BRE Innovation Park - A low to zero carbon demonstration community, BRE Innovation Park Watford is home to some of the world's most sustainable buildings, landscape designs and hundreds of innovative low carbon materials and technologies. Since opening in 2005, BRE Innovation Park Watford has attracted some 60,000 visitors. The aim of the Innovation Park network is to provide a bridge for exchanging knowledge, to enable collaboration and unlock exporting potential.
S. Shyam Sunder
S. Shyam Sunder, Sc.D., is director of the Engineering Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md., where he is responsible for NIST's programs in fire prevention and control, earthquake hazards reduction, windstorm impact reduction and construction safety teams. He is also responsible for NIST programs in manufacturing enterprise integration, smart grid systems, green manufacturing and construction, collaborative manufacturing research pilot grants and manufacturing fellowships. Sunder is a member of the ASTM board of directors.
Buildings are the largest energy consumer, using 72 percent of U.S. electricity and 55 percent of U.S. natural gas, explained Sunder in his talk, "Building Energy Efficiency - A U.S. Perspective." And the carbon footprint of buildings is large, approximately nine percent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. Sunder presented a future vision for new and existing buildings, and discussed the role of measurement science and standards. NIST was instrumental in the founding of ASTM Subcommittee E06.81 on Building Economics.
Net-Zero Energy Residential Test Facility - In September 2012, NIST unveiled a new laboratory designed to demonstrate that a typical home for a family for four can generate as much energy as it uses in a year. The unique facility looks and behaves like an actual house, simulating the activities of a family of four living in an energy-efficient home. Following the initial yearlong experiment, the facility will be used to improve test methods for energy-efficient technology and develop cost effective design standards for energy-efficient homes.
Rick Wheal
Rick Wheal, Ph.D., is an associate director at Arup, London, U.K., and a sustainability consultant specializing in renewable energy technologies, sustainable design and research. Arup offers professional services in building design, economics and planning, infrastructure design, management consulting and specialized technical services.
In his presentation, "Touching the Earth Increasingly Lightly," Wheal provided examples of initiatives in the built environment where low carbon is a focus, such as the Sydney Opera House; the Crystal, a sustainable cities initiative in London; the University of Hertfordshire; and the Low2No approach to construction in the city of Helsinki, Finland.
Low2No - Low carbon to no carbon, or Low2No, is an approach to engineering and onstruction that results in a sustainable built environment and creates the preconditions for ecological urban life. The first urban scale iteration of the Low2No model is a city block near Helsinki's city center. The block combines a 50 percent energy use reduction and on-site energy production with low carbon commercial and service offerings to make Finland's most innovative sustainable mixed-use development.


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Review of ROMANCE IN THE IVORY TOWER, II
Abusus Non Tollit Usum or Do Not Throw Out the Baby with the Bath Water
Review of Paul R. Abramson: Romance in the Ivory Tower: The Rights and Liberty of Conscience, MIT Press, 2007, 176 pp.
Reviewed by Joseph S. Fulda
The original publication of this review is located at http://www.springerlink.com
DOI: 10.1007/s12119-007-9017-3
Forthcoming in SEXUALITY AND CULTURE, vol. 12 #1, March 2008, pp. 68-70
The Conceptual Aims and Practical Goal of the Book
Abramson wrote this book with two aims in mind: (1) To avoid giving offense to any, while (2) arguing for "safeguarding the right to think and choose, according to one's conscience, as it applies to faculty-student romance" and the choice of whom to romance, more generally. The explicit goal of the book is to "reverse [the] situation" where when "you lose your heart, you could lose your job."
The False Issue and the Real Issue
Abramson does not deny that conflicts of interest are possible, but believes rather that such solutions as "recusal, disclosure, and third-party evaluations" are the answer, not simply banning romance. Moreover, Abramson does deny-and we agree-that were universities honestly motivated by conflicts of interest, they would not routinely place inappropriate pressure on faculty to favor athletes (who bring in money), and argues that when it comes to banning romances the issue is, once again, money. Money. Listen to Abramson on p. 30:
Why, you may wonder, do companies prohibit romance in the first place? …[T]he truth of the matter is that the primary motivation for the nonfraternization policy is the belief that it reduces civil liability in sexual harassment lawsuits …the rhetoric about power differentials and favoritism notwithstanding. …How, you may wonder, can this be true? Or more specifically, what does romance among consenting adults have to do with sexual harassment? The real answer is precisely nothing. …The big question, then, is why should consensual romance be denied in the service of protecting against sexual harassment lawsuits?
And, on pp. 32-33:
Is this fair? Or more important, is this legal?
It is, of course, patently unfair. The only real question is whether it is legal, or more significantly, treated as legal?
Before going on to Abramson's own answer to this question, it is well to remark that he is not against saving money per se; he advocates that consenting partners sign a "love contract" releasing the university from liability. But the current approach, he likens to banning purses and laptops because some may be stolen or eliminating parking lots and cars on campus when problems arise in these domains.
The Framework of Abramson's Argument
Space and the desire to leave something for the reader to discover on his own preclude us from giving more than a bulleted outline-a sketch-of Abramson's argument, with one hopes not too considerable damage to the subtleties and nuances-for which, of course, the reader of this review must purchase the book. Here is the sketch: • The First Amendment protects both the free exercise of religion and precludes the establishment of a national religion or preference between religious systems.
• The draft of the Amendment originally written by Madison included a third clause regarding "the rights of conscience."
• The constitutional archives, by which Abramson means the entire corpus of writings of the Founding and Framing eras, are not ultimately dispositive about whether the oft-mentioned rights of conscience were parallel to, underlay, or were a synonym for the free exercise of religion and the proscription of preference between religious systems-or perhaps some combination of all three.
• The constitutional archives are not ultimately dispositive as to whether the free exercise clause extends to behavior not injurious to others, but leans in that direction.
• The Ninth Amendment protecting unenumerated rights can certainly be read as extending to the rights of conscience broadly considered.
• Anchoring the liberty of conscience in the First or Ninth Amendments grants it affirmative protection as something inherently worthwhile, while recognizing a zone of privacy merely walls it off from certain intrusions.
• For something as fundamental as the liberty of conscience, extending both to beliefs and behavior not injurious to others, a firmer footing than the negative right to privacy is desirable.
• Sexual and romantic choices are ultimately matters of conscience and were pretty uniformly so regarded at the time and place of the Framing.
• Universities receiving federal funds ought to recognize the liberty of conscience in its entirety, because it is the right thing to do and because it is mandated by the Constitution's core principles if not perhaps by its text and if decidedly not by the history of that text's interpretation.
The Flaws
A few small problems mar this book, and one significantly larger issue. The small problems include, inter alia, the absence of citations for legal cases, the repeated use of "discrete" for "discreet," and the reversal of meanings given "impartiality" and "partiality."
The larger issue is that Abramson sees fit to properly ally the rights of religion and conscience in the choice of romantic partners throughout most of the book, but towards the ends adopts a strange (given his first aim) and entirely unnecessary (given his second aim) and, indeed, counterproductive hostility towards religion.
The Decalogue commands respect for parents, but a core religious teaching is that children may entirely disregard their parents' wishes when it comes to a choice of spouse. Moreover, even the young are not to be married without their consent. This lesson is taught in Genesis where Rebecca, a child prodigy who spoke and reasoned at 3 years of age, had to be consulted before Milcah and Laban released her to Abraham's servant Eliezer as a mate for Isaac.
This hostility undermines his own parallel throughout the book's body between religion and conscience and I cannot divine what impelled him to do this to his own argument.
Still, the book remains largely persuasive and deserves a fair hearing from the (anyway) largely secular academy to which it is directed.
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KABUL, Afghanistan - Abuse and torture of political prisoners in jails is still happening, despite government measures to stamp it out.

Evidence has emerged of prisoners being suffocated, subjected to electric shocks, abuse of genitals, and being suspended from ceilings. The one consolation is that there has been some abating of the practices, which are considered to be still widespread.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), on Wednesday delivered a report on the treatment of prisoners in seventy seven facilities in 28 out of thirty four provinces based on interviews with more than 600 prisoners.

The report concludes that on average, nearly one in three of the 600 prisoners interviewed, provided "credible and reliable" accounts of suffering.

In the previous reporting period, covering 2015 and 2016, the ratio was closer to four in 10.

Beatings represented the most common form of torture and ill-treatment, according to the data, which also noted that "the vast majority" of prisoners held for alleged links to extremist group ISIL (also known as Daesh) or other opposition forces, said they had been tortured or ill-treated to force them to confess - and that the abuse stopped once they did so.

Significant differences in the treatment of prisoners were found depending on where they were held, with one Afghan National Police facility in Kandahar, linked to a 77 per cent torture rate - well above the 31 per cent Afghan National Police facility average.

The Kandahar findings included allegations of "brutal" forms of torture such as "suffocation, electric shocks, pulling of genitals and suspension from ceilings", UNAMA and OHCHR said, while underlining that abuse allegations in Afghan National Police detention centres had fallen - from a 45 per cent average – since 2016.

The report, which finds that youngsters are at higher risk of suffering mistreatment, discusses how prisoners' rights are violated in other areas.

These include a lack of legal safeguards to prevent torture, difficulties in gaining access to lawyers and the continued absence of accountability for perpetrators, with very limited referrals to prosecution.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, said the report's findings demonstrated that the embattled government's policies put in place to combat torture and ill-treatment were having an effect, but they were far from sufficient.

"A year ago, on this day, the government of Afghanistan committed itself to the prevention of torture by acceding to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture," Ms. Bachelet said Wednesday.

"I urge the Government to work swiftly to create a National Preventive Mechanism to ensure independent, impartial scrutiny of the treatment of detainees. A well-resourced watchdog of this sort, which is able to make unannounced visits to places of detention and raise awareness of what constitutes torture and ill-treatment according to international human rights law, can go a long way towards the ultimate goal of fully eradicating torture."

Also highlighted in the report are concerns over an Afghan National Army-run detention facility in Parwan, in the north-east of the country.

These include overcrowding and the use of solitary confinement as the sole disciplinary measure, despite progress and "tangible results" made by the government in implementing a national plan to eliminate torture.

"We welcome the steps taken by the Government to prevent and investigate cases of torture and ill-treatment over the past two years," Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN Special Representative for Afghanistan said Wednesday.

"However…there is still a long way to go to eradicate this horrendous practice among conflict-related detainees," he added. "Respect for the rule of law and human rights is the best way to create the conditions for sustainable peace."

(Photo: AP/Musadeq Sadeq)


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Gillian Layne you are the winner of my Valentine's Day Week contest. Please email me at: www (.) christie-craig (.) com and let me which book you will be wanting.
Thanks everyone for playing along! Happy Valentine's Day!
Oh, on Friday, I will be guest blogging over at Jenyfer Matthews blog site: http://www.jenyfermatthews.com/blog/ Please pop over and learn how I deal with people who need to be gently educated on the romance genre. Okay...maybe I wasn't so gentle, but they deserved it!!! Bless their hearts.
CONTEST! Post a comment today and be entered to win the prize of: one of my books, a "silly" pen, a pack of note cards, and some yummy chocolate.
Also, please pop over to: http://www.examiner.com/x-3098-Houston-Romance-Novels-Examiner
and read my interview. (You might learn things about me that you didn't know.) If my interview isn't on the front page hit the word "previous" and it will take you to my article. Now for my blog . . .
I don't consider myself an honest-to-goodness expert. Not because I don't feel qualified in the topic. Why, if I've earned a degree in any subject in this college called life, I'd have a masters in . . . The Matters of the Heart. The only reason I don't think I'm a true expert is because love is a tricky son of a witch. Love sometimes befuddles me. It comes in all stages and degrees. It makes us laugh; it makes us cry. It makes us bare our souls and it turns some of us into stone—cold fear hits at the first glimpse of this mighty emotion, and some lock their hearts away, refusing anyone passage into their lives.
Love is all-consuming, it's beautiful, it's the cream in life's cream puff. It's the prize in the box of life's Cracker Jacks. It makes us strong; it makes us as vulnerable as a new born child left alone in a snowstorm. Love is the thing that most people, facing the end, will measure their lives upon. Unfortunately, in so many cases, love comes with an expiration date.
Some could argue that short-term love was never really love at all. But try telling that to the person in short-term love. Some think that it takes two hearts to be a true love. But try telling that to the person who has given their heart and received nothing back.
Some believe it takes years for love to grow; others believe love happens at first glance. Some believe that you can truly love only once. But tell that to a young mother and widow, who finds a hero willing to help raise her child and build a life with her. Tell that to the elderly couple who found each other in a nursing home.
Some will insist that love heals all wounds—that with love there is nothing that cannot be conquered or overcome. Others will tell you that that little tidbit is the biggest pile of horse crap they've ever heard. That love alone is never enough.
So love confuses me. However, this so called masters degree in love that I feel I've attained stems from both personal experience and from an in-depth study. In my study, I've written not one but almost fifteen theses on love. Yup, I'm talking about romance novels.
I've created 19th century heroines, who found their hearts taken by Native Americans who refused to love. I've penned stories about women who fell in love with a man determined to take the child she considered her own. I've created heroines who talked to dead people and fell in love with a half-fairy whose only fear were ghosts. I've written about a nervous puker falling head over heels in love with a sympathy puker. Every character, every story taught me something about love.
Personally, I'm known the beauty of this sweet emotion. I've experienced the chills and the thrills of lust which is so often love's companion. I've been used and abused by the one person who was supposed to love me. I've suffered from a broken heart. I've watched my parents with over twenty years in a marriage, walk away from each other and the life and love they had built. I watched a beloved aunt, divorce the same man three times--and marry him four. I've held hands with my sobbing grandmother as she watched them lower the body of my grandfather, the man she'd devoted her life to for over sixty years, into the cold ground. I've lived with, and loved my own hero for twenty-four years. I know the sweet intimacy of making love to same man for the thousandth time.
So what has all this taught me, what is it that I really believe about love?
I believe love and relationships are like the plant in my window sill—without food and water, it will flat-out die.
I don't believe love solves problems, but I believe love can instill in us the ability to work through them--even if it takes three divorces and four marriages to find what works.
I don't believe love is 50/50, but it'd better be about give and take or it will pack its bags and skedaddle.
I believe the "firsts" that we experience in love—the first touch, the first kiss, the first "TIME" are mind-blowingly awesome. Almost as wonderful and seeing an elderly couple—married for fifty years—holding hands as they make the last of their journey though life . . . together.
I believe a lot of people walk away from a real love so they can re-experience those firsts. Sadly, they have forgotten that the real prize is the kind of love they just left—that what our hearts are really seeking is someone to make this journey with.
I believe love comes with a price—death being the highest, but it's a price worth paying.
I believe some people suck at love—the cheaters, the abusers—and they don't deserve it.
I believe love is a gamble—we sometimes can't tell the keepers from the creepers—but it's a gamble worth taking—no matter how many times we get our butts burned.
I believe love is an enigma.
And last but not least, I believe love makes fools of us, but only a fool doesn't want it.
So there are my thoughts on love. What do you believe? Would you please share?
Come on, this is Valentine's Week and today I'm giving away one of my books, a pen, a pack of note cards, and some chocolate. So . . . don't be shy. Post a comment to be entered in my contest. And make sure you come back tomorrow to see the winner posted at the beginning of my blog.
Crime Scene Christie


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"Nelli Palomäki questions the definition of portraiture, which she has chosen to work with in conventional black and white. She states that her models remain elusive. The portraits may bear a certain relationship to their subjects' features, but their faces look different. Palomäki questions the notion of identity and resemblance by sharing her doubts with us. She sees her portraits as pieces of puzzles that might represent her memory. " —Nathalie Hershdorfer
Nelli Palomäki's Julia at 5 was featured in reGeneration 2: Tomorrow's Photographers Today, the second book in the Aperture series shining a spotlight on the next generation's rising stars. It is a portrait of her sister's daughter, whom Palomäki has been photographing since she was three. Working with this subject who she knows very well, the artist captures the honesty and fragility of children's behavior being photographed; the way they don't yet control their body and face as adults do, and at the same time some of them seem as independent as adults are. Palomäki's work seeks the perfect picture, but allows the portrait to surprise her, whether with its strength or failure. As the artist states "If I succeeded in taking the perfect picture, I would hardly continue shooting."
Nelli Palomäki (born in Forssa, Finland, 1981) is pursuing her MA in Photography at the University of Art and Design Helsinki. She has had solo exhibitions in Germany and Finland, and participated in group shows in Sweden, Spain, France, and Russia, among others. Her work is held in the collections of Helsinki City Art Museum, Finland; StatoilHydro Art Collection, Norway; and the Hasselblad Foundation, Sweden, among others. She has been awarded the Victor Fellowship from the Hasselblad Foundation, and is represented by Gallery TAIK.
You may also be interested in:
Paulina, Ukraine, 2005
Michal Chelbin$900.00
Eva, Le Porge, France, 2003
Jock Sturges$600.00


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Migraines May Raise a Woman's Odds of Depression
Link seen with any history of the debilitating headaches, study saysURL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_122209.html (*this news item will not be available after 05/22/2012)
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Migraines are intense, throbbing headaches often accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to light or sound. They are three times more common in women than in men.
The study, by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, suggests that women with any history of migraines were about 40 percent more likely to develop depression than women without a similar history.
"We believe the most important aspect of our study is that migraine patients and their physicians should keep this potential link in mind," said senior study author Dr. Tobias Kurth, a neuroepidemiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Kurth noted that doctors who treat patients who have migraines might consider asking some specific questions about depression.
The researchers analyzed data from more than 36,000 participants in the U.S. Women's Health Study who did not have depression and had answered questions about their migraine history. The women, aged 45 or older, were categorized either as having active migraine with aura (visual disturbances such as flashing lights or temporary loss of vision); active migraine without aura; prior history of migraine; or no history of migraine. The women also provided information about any depression diagnoses during the study's follow-up period.
Kurth and his colleagues found that more than 6,400 of the women had current or past migraines, and that during an average 14 years of follow-up, nearly 4,000 developed depression.
Women with any history of migraines were 36 percent more likely to develop depression than women with no history of the headaches, and there was no difference between migraines with aura and migraines without aura. The researchers also found that women with only a past history of migraine had 1.41 times the risk of developing depression.
Although the results suggest a link between migraines and depression, they do not show cause and effect.
Kurth said further research is necessary to determine why migraines might increase the risk of depression. "There is not really an easy answer," he said, adding that future studies might look at whether there is a specific common biological mechanism linking both diseases.
Dr. Richard Lipton, vice chair of neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and director of the Montefiore Headache Center in New York City, applauded the research.
"This is a very strong study because of the cohort design, the large sample and the long-term follow-up," he said.
Lipton noted several study limitations, however. The results don't apply to men or to younger women, he said, and it is possible the number of women with depression was even greater, since the diagnosis was based on self-reporting.
The study is scheduled for presentation at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting in New Orleans in April. Funding was provided by the U.S. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the National Cancer Institute.
Research presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
Copyright (c) 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
- More Health News on:
- Depression
- Migraine
- Women's Health


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Monthly Archives: September 2015
Happy Book Birthday to CALL OF THE SEA by Rebecca Hart (@Rebelhart69) – Hey, that's me! #romance #pirate #irishLore
Im over the moon excited to announce that CALL OF THE SEA, my debut romance novel, is available from Roane Publishing starting today.
The novel has a snazzy new cover and an expanded ending, so if you read it when it first came out, it may be time to check it out again. I also have some review copies available, so if you would like one, just drop me a note.
Here are all the release details:
Genre: Historical Paranormal Romance
Release Date: September 21, 2015
Keywords: Historical Romance, Paranormal Romance, shapeshifter, selkie, Pirates, Irish Lore, 17th Century Romance, Sea Stories
Description: Elysandra Winters has always yearned for a life of adventure on the rolling seas and is willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill her dream. When her Privateer father continually refuses to allow his only daughter to sail, Ellie defies him, disguises herself as a boy, and goes in search of a captain who will give her a chance to prove her worth.
Thanks to the cursed selkie blood coursing through his veins, Daniel O'Rourke needs the sea to survive. After giving up on his humanity and spending three years in seal form, he decides to give his human side another chance. Daniel goes in search of a job and a sense of normalcy, earning himself a position aboard Captain Winter's ship, The Siren's Call. However, his new captain's first assignment has nothing at all to do with sailing, and everything to do with his headstrong young daughter.
Years later, when the leader of a band of bloodthirsty pirates murders Captain Winters, Daniel and Elysandra's lives come crashing back together with the force of a hurricane. Both experts in deception, they must find a way to trust each other in order to quell the raging storm between them, and have any hope of hunting down the captain's killer.
Get Your Copy Here:
Roane Publishing (Print and Digital)
Also available at these fine retailers:
Createspace (Best Option)
Amazon (UK)
Barnes and Noble (Coming Soon)
All Romance eBooks
Kobo (Coming Soon)


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Snapshots from Seoul: Noryangjin Fish Market
As the seafood hub of a town that loves seafood, Noryangjin market in Seoul, South Korea, sees plenty of aquatic action. Daily seafood auctions take place in the wee hours of the morning between 1 and 6 a.m. every day, and while not as cutthroat or exciting as the wholesale tuna auctions that take place across the sea in Tokyo's Tsukiji market, it's still no place for the faint of heart or the open-toe-shoed.
Founded in 1927, Noryangjin Fish Market moved to its current Central Seoul location in 1971. Walking down the chilly aisle at 5 a.m. as the wholesale auctions are wrapping up but before the retail customers arrive in throngs is probably the best time to go, though I've heard the relative calm of the afternoon affords you more time to poke your way through the cavernous space. You've still got to watch yourself as you pick through the 700+ individual stalls or you're likely to get flopped in the face by a flying flounder or sprayed by a splashing spinefish.
Nearly all the seafood in the market is held live in aquariums, tubs, and styrofoam boxes of whose range of shapes and sizes is only bested by that of the fish contained within them. Boxes of prawns the size of your forearm. Tanks of cuttlefish with mesmerizing changing colors and patterns. Octopus of all sizes from no bigger than a gold ball to longer than a man. King crabs with four-foot leg-spans and giant wriggling sea cucumbers blindly bumping into the plexiglass walls of their enclosures.
If you're hungry (and who isn't hungry after walking through a cavern that smells of fish at 5 a.m.?), there's no better place to get fresh seafood. Walk up to any one of the stalls and talk to the owner and they'll arrange for you to pick out a fish of your choice, kill it for you on the spot, then pass it off to a servers from one of the many restaurants that line the market's perimeter. The chef will serve the flesh raw, sashimi-style with soy sauce and wasabi, while the bones and other tissues will be boiled into a spicy soup flavored with Korean chili and plenty of green onions and fermented soy bean. Wash it all down with some ice cold soju. Breakfast of champions, indeed!
Check out the slideshow for a look at what to expect in the market.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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Somehow the idea of Angelina Jolie as Cleopatra just seems to make sense. And the casting story for the female lover of the ages blew like sand across the desert on Thursday.
It started with a Book Buzz article in USA Today that quoted producer Scott Rudin's office saying such a Cleopatra project "is being developed for and with Jolie."
Odd wording. But this makes sense since Rudin has purchased the rights for "Cleopatra: A Life," author Stacy Shiff's upcoming buzzworthy work. Nevermind that Jolie's schedule is packed with movies and saving the world for the next 25 years. Let's talk about making this Cleopatra thing happen.
When questioned about the Queen of the Nile's look, author Shiff said, "we have little idea of what she actually looked like." Wrong answer. We all know she looked like either Elizabeth Taylor or Angelina Jolie. Everyone knows this.
Shiff eventually warmed up and said that Jolie had "the perfect look." How she managed to change her mind in the course of three paragraphs is beyond us, but at least it's the right answer. Angelina Jolie is Cleopatra just like Madonna is Eva Peron. It's a Hollywood fact. Bow down to it.
Heck, we saw the look before in the dire film "Alexander." The movie sucked, but her immortal image lives. Imagine what she could do with a character like Cleopatra!
Of course, this would lead to the inevitable thought of Brad Pitt as Mark Antony or Julius Ceasar. By Zeus, that needs to be banished immediately. You agree if you sat through "Troy." The closest Brad Pitt should ever come to Roman battle attire again is a field trip to the Met with Maddox.
In the Name of Ra, Make Angelina Jolie Cleopatra
Somehow the idea of Angelina Jolie as Cleopatra just seems to make sense. And the casting story for the female lover of the ages blew like sand across the desert on Thursday.


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The racy video for Miley Cyrus' new single has a TV watchdog group hot under the collar.
The Parents Television Council lambasted the former Disney Channel star's vamped up image in the clip for "Who Owns My Heart?," reports MTV.
In the video, the 17-year-old singer lies blindfolded on a bed in skimpy underwear before putting on revealing club clothes to hit the dance floor at a mansion party with a crew of older men.
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council, said the former "Hannah Montana" actress was sending the wrong message to her impressionable fans.
"It is unfortunate that she would participate in such a sexualized video like this one," Winter said. "It sends messages to her fanbase that are diametrically opposed to everything she has done up to this point."
As Cyrus has gotten older and started to separate herself from her more wholesome image, she's run into controversy several times. She caused a stir with a provocative pole-dancing act during a performance of her hit "Party in the U.S.A." at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards and on her most recent album, "Can't Be Tamed," she's made a more visible attempt to show her adult side.
"I'm a completely different person [than when I released 2008's Breakout]. I'm much more confident. You know, I've always been a confident person, but I was going through a lot then," she said in an interview with MTV News in June. "There's so many people in your life telling you who you should and shouldn't be," Cyrus said. "And that's what Tamed [is] about. It's about being who you are to the fullest. And now I know who that is."
Selected Reading: MTV, EW, NY Daily News


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By: BLAKE NICHOLSON, Associated Press
The administrator of the agency that oversees federal farm programs, such as disaster aid after severe weather, is urging farmers and ranchers who plan to participate to register early.
Farm Service Agency Administrator Juan Garcia is encouraging producers to report farm records and business structure changes to a local FSA office before April 15. Enrollment for disaster programs authorized by the new farm bill is to begin by that date.
"We expect significant interest in these programs," Garcia said in a statement Tuesday. "Early registration should help improve the signup process and allow us to expedite implementation of the programs. I strongly encourage producers to complete their paperwork ahead of time."
One of the disaster programs authorized by Congress is the Livestock Indemnity Program, which industry officials say should help ranchers in the Dakotas who were hurt by an early October blizzard. The storm that hit with surprising intensity Oct. 4-5 killed more than 43,000 cattle, sheep, horses and bison in South Dakota and more than 1,000 farm animals in North Dakota.
"The Livestock Indemnity Program serves as a safety net for producers who suffer catastrophic weather-related losses. It is always important, but will take on added importance this year," said Julie Ellingson, executive vice president of the North Dakota Stockmen's Association.
The five-year farm bill was approved by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama last month, and the federal Agriculture Department agreed to expedite the Livestock Indemnity Program — which could cover as much as two-thirds of a rancher's loss — after pressure from congressional delegations in both Dakotas.
An industry-led relief fund has raised more than $5 million for South Dakota ranchers affected by the storm but that won't be nearly enough, and the Livestock Indemnity Program will be "a really big piece of the puzzle" in helping ranchers recover, according to Silvia Christen, executive director of the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association.
"We've done a lot with the Rancher Relief Fund, and banks and financial institutions have done a good job helping ranchers," she said. "But at the end of the day, those producers who lost 40-50 percent or more of their herds, they need more help to recover."


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Thursday, March 17, 2011
Another source for early voyageurs contracts
To do so, they had to submit to the government the names and home-towns of the voyageurs they hired.
From the back of Grace Lee Nute's book, the Voyageur, published in 1955, I have a little information on these 'licenses to trade.'
She says: "Abstracts of these licences have been made and indexed for the period from 1768 to 1776.
"Consolidated returns of licenses cover the years from 1777-1790.
"These also have been indexed -- a copy of the abstracts and index is filed with the Minnesota Historical Society, and other copies may be found in several libraries in Canada and United States.
"For those interested in the licenses for the French period (that is, when the French owned and controlled the fur trade companies in Montreal) the following references will prove useful:
"E.Z.Massicotte, 'Repertoire des Engagements pour l'Ouest Conserves dans les Archives Judiciares de Montreal' [Trans: List of Engagements for the west saved in the Judicial [?] Archives of Montreal] in Rapport de l'Archiviste de la Province de Quebec, 1929-1930, pp. 191-466."
In this three-page article written in French, Massicotte explains how the early fur traders of the French regime of the 1600's hired men to trade to build their posts and to trade for furs.
He shows an example of an early voyageurs' contract, and translates the contract, which is the "Engagement de Joseph Durbois a Antoine Pascaud."
The article is followed by another, which is the actual "Repertoire des Engagements pour l'Ouest Conserves dans les Archives Judiciaires de Montreal (1670-1778)."
This is what the information looks like: on p. 313, "1734 -- Engagement de Charle Milots au sr. Beaulieu pour fair le voyage au poste des Ilinois -- Etude Lepallier" [Engagement of Charle Milots by Sieur Beaulieu to make the voyage to the post of Illinois -- Notary Lepallieur."]
These contracts were always signed by Notaries or Lawyers.
Here's another, from page 442 -- "1744, 23 avril -- Engagement de Jean Baptiste Baulieux a Charles Teyssier et Compagnie pour aller a Missillimakinac [Michilimakinac] -- Etude Adhemar."
There are many other lists of voyageurs' contracts in various volumes of the Rapport de l'Archiviste de la Province de Quebec -- which is a magazine-type listing of items held in the Quebec Archives.
I borrowed the volumes from the Biblioteque and Archive National at www.banq.qc.ca but later found all issues of this series of books in the University of Victoria library.
If you want to view these lists of voyageurs to find your own ancestors, take a look in your local university library before you order the volumes from the Library and Archives of Quebec.
See also: "Conges et permis Deposes ou Enrigestres a Montreal sous le Regime Francais," in Rapport de l'Archiviste de la Province de Quebec, 1921-1922,"
"Le Conges de Traite sous le Regime Francais au Canada," in Rapport de l'Archiviste de la Province de Quebec, 1922-23.
I'm pretty sure there are other lists in these volumes as well; I just don't seem to have kept the lists (I remember looking at five or six of these lists, under various names).
'Conges de Traite' and 'Conges et permis' are very old terms in the fur trade -- terms that come from the early French fur trade.
I first read the word in David Lavender's book, Winner Take All: The Trans-Canada Canoe Trail [McGraw-Hill, 1997], a book I consider to be basic reading if you want to learn about the early fur trade in eastern Canada and United States.
Lavender says, on page 141: "In an effort to keep the boys down on the farm [or in Montreal], the officials tried licensing.
"Only a limited number of men bearing conges (permits) signed by the governor or the intendant .. could go into the interior to trade.
"Predictably the system failed. Frontenac handed out special permits to favorites and grafters, and men unwilling to grease his palm simply went west without licenses."
So you see that you may well NOT find your voyageur ancestor in these lists.
A personal note: as I was reading Alexander Caulfield Anderson's Fort Alexandria journals, I ran across the word, 'conge.'
I did not expect to find this term in Anderson's journals; I thought the word long dead.
However, I think the word had a new meaning -- it did not refer to voyageurs' contracts but to something else more like 'regale.'
In November 1844, Anderson wrote: "1st November, Friday, being All Saints' Day, I gave the men their conge which they availed themselves of only partially, mending and clearing up by way of pastime."
I wonder where Anderson learned the word?
Was it generally used in the fur trade of the Hudson's Bay Company, or did he learn it from NWC ex-employee Peter Skene Ogden?
3 comments:
Here are some more resources found in Rapport de l'Archiveste de la Province de Quebec series:ReplyDelete
Issue for 1930-31: Engagements 1746-1752;
Issue for 1931-32: Engagements 1753-1758;
Issue for 1942-42: Engagements, 1778-1797;
Issue for 1943-44: Engagements, 1798-1801;
Issue for 1944-45; Engagements, 1802-1804;
Issue for 1945-46; Engagements, 1805-1821; and
Issue for 1946-47: Engagements 1758-1778.
Keep an eye open, as there may be more I didn't spot!
Online database with 35,000 fur trade contracts can be accessed at:ReplyDelete
Covers the c. 1720 to 1822 period - has a Montreal focus is terms of place of hire and notaries involved. Nicole
Thank you for this information, Nicole! I don't know if anyone else is looking for this information, but I will certainly access it -- I will also pass it onto other family members who can do the same. We appreciate all the help we can get! -- NancyReplyDelete


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Budget Woes, Partisan Politics & Trickle-Down Economics: A New Face on Failed Policy
Making headlines through the barrage of Republican primary monotony (lovingly dubbed "endless suffrage" by John Stewart) and health care deliberations, the opening salvos were fired in what will most likely become a protracted budget scuffle on Capitol Hill. The federal … Continue reading


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With cold winds chilling even Dubai's mild winter climate I made my favorite winter tea today. Something I only do back home in Bavaria, when it is "really" cold.
Maybe you also enjoy trying this recipe, regardless your location?
Apple Cranberry Tea
10 portions
What to Buy
4 red or yellow apples
1 organic lemon
5 gm ginger
15 gm cranberries
30 ml agave syrup
3 l water
How to Make It
Cut the apples in chunky pieces, leaving the skin on. Slice the ginger and lemon with their skin. Place the apples, cranberries, ginger, and lemon in a large pot, top with water and simmer on low heat for around 1 hour. Season with agave syrup to taste and strain before serving. You will see the tea being slightly thickened by the apples' pectine.
Chef Gabi's Tip
I often make this tea without cranberries, but with additional 1 quince, or some elderberries. Whatever is available. Also I sometimes replace the ginger with cinnamon stick.
Apples are rich in pectine and help to bind and flush out toxins. Ginger is great to strengthen immune power and aids digestion.
To learn more about cranberries please see also here.


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In March 2012 the GRASSI Museum of Applied Arts in Leipzig opened the third part of its new permanent exhibition.
Entitled 'From art nouveau to the present day', the exhibition features more than 1,500 fascinating artefacts from art nouveau, art deco, functionalism and post-1950 East German design. Joining the existing exhibitions 'From antiquity to historicism' and 'Asian Art. Impulses for Europe', this third section marks the completion of a collection that offers an unparalleled journey through 3,000 years of art history.
Opening times:
Tuesday-Sunday & public holidays 10am-6pm
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