text:
"This is the day that the world came together, to fight back against the global recession. Not with words but a plan for global recovery and for reform and with a clear timetable," said Gordon Brown at the end of the G20 summit last week.
This was somewhat exaggerated. There was no plan for global recovery or even a commitment to increased fiscal stimulus. It remains to be seen what kinds of reforms will actually materialise.
But recovery and reform will not necessarily hinge on what the G20 agrees to do. Roll back to the last major economic crisis - that which began in Asia in 1997 and spread to Russia, Brazil, Argentina and other countries. In September 1998 Federal Reserve chair Alan Greenspan warned: "It is just not credible that the United States can remain an oasis of prosperity unaffected by a world that is experiencing greatly increased stress." But the US economy kept booming right through the crisis, as a result of consumption driven by the stock market bubble. This continued until the bubble burst, pushing the US economy into recession in 2001.
It should not be surprising that the US economy has the potential to grow even while many other economies are contracting. Eighty-seven percent of what is produced in the US is consumed here. To be sure, the other 13% percent can make a difference - but US recessions are not brought on by falling exports. It is not comparable to the 47% of GDP that Germany exported last year, or even the 28% for Mexico.
Of course the current world recession is much worse and more widespread than the crisis of the late 1990s. The high-income countries that comprise the majority of the world economy, including the US, EU and Japan are mostly in recession. There are some big imbalances, built up over many years, that are adjusting at a pace that is not easy to predict - including the US savings rate, which had fallen to zero by 2007. And there are major weaknesses in much of the world's financial system.
Nonetheless the US is capable of recovering on its own, with a sufficient domestic economic stimulus and a sensible resolution of the major insolvencies in the financial system - regardless of what other governments do. The US recovery will in turn help the rest of the world.
The fact that the dollar is the key reserve currency of the world gives the US even more leeway. There are loud complaints from conservatives about our recession-induced free-spending ways, but investors world-wide are willing to lend the US government money at the historically low (both real and nominal) rate of 2.9% on 10-year Treasury bonds. This is not the sign of an impending fiscal crisis.
It is good that the G20 leaders are at least talking about increased international co-operation in order to deal with the world recession, and there are some areas - eg regulation of the financial sector or preventing illegal international capital flows and international tax avoidance - where increased international co-operation can be especially helpful. But even in these areas, many of the most important reforms can be implemented by individual governments.
The global nature of the "global economy" has been grossly exaggerated, as have been its implications. The world today is still much more a collection of national economies, and national governments - especially in the larger economies - have the potential to choose most of their economic policies much as they did 30 or 40 years ago.
The government of China, for example, has for decades controlled capital flows into and out of the country, regulated foreign investment in accordance with national development needs and plans, fixed its exchange rate and owned most of the banking system. In this way it was able to take advantage of "globalisation" - both international trade and foreign direct investment - to achieve the fastest economic growth in world history.
The contemporary idea of the "global economy" is based on a misapplied analogy to the historical development of national economies. For example, the US economy was much less stable, with more frequent and much longer recessions, before the creation of regulatory institutions, including most importantly the Federal Reserve in 1913 and the New Deal reforms of the 1930s. (The current crisis, which has occurred after decades of deregulatory reforms, appears to be the exception that proves the rule).
Thus, it is reasoned, we now live in a "global economy", and this too must be regulated to iron out some of the irrationalities and instabilities inherent in a market economy.
Of course there is some truth to this argument. The idea of a world reserve currency to replace the dollar, for example, most recently floated by China, is a potential reform that could improve world macroeconomic stability.
But the concept of the "global economy" is very often an exaggerated one, generating confusion and negative political consequences. Reforms that are both necessary and feasible at the national level, such as appropriate exchange rate, fiscal and monetary policies (especially in normal times) or capital controls, are rejected as incompatible with the "global economy".
At the same time, reformers often mistakenly look to supra-national institutions that are mainly deregulatory, unaccountable and regressive - the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and World Trade Organisation are prime examples - to resolve the problems that these institutions have themselves helped to create.
Finance ministers (or Treasury secretaries) that are beholden to powerful interests at home are even less accountable to the public when making decisions in these bodies that are another step removed from the electorate of member countries. If they won't do the right thing at home, they are far less likely to do it at the IMF or the World Bank. For the present, at least, reform at the national or perhaps regional level is a much better bet.
Indeed, "globalisation" under inappropriate rules and policies has contributed significantly to the current crisis. Even the EU, a project that compares favourably to the "race-to-the-bottom" economic integration of the Nafta variety, is currently hampering the Eurozone's recovery. The restrictions on budget deficits and the ultra-conservative central bank set up by the Maastricht treaty are making it more difficult for Europe to counteract this recession.
Efforts to redraw the rules for global commerce in a more equitable and rational manner - such as those of the UN commission headed by Joseph Stiglitz - are a vital part of creating a better future for the generations to come. But the world cannot wait for the time when the governments of the rich countries are willing to cede decision-making power to institutions - such as the United Nations - that they cannot completely dominate. Nor does it have to wait.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C., on Monday named The Ames Shovel Shops complex to its 2009 list of "America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places."
The Ames Shovel Shops complex was in the national spotlight Monday for the first time since the 19th century, when a third of the world's shovels were manufactured at the Easton factory.
The nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C., on Monday named the shovel shops complex to its 2009 list of "America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places."
"In southeastern Massachusetts, the Ames Shovel Shops complex, an intact 19th-century industrial village that resembles a picture-perfect New England college campus, is threatened by a plan to demolish several of the site's historic buildings and radically alter others to pave the way for new mixed-use development," the trust said in a statement.
The shovel factory's owners, Robert and George Turner, are seeking a comprehensive permit from the Easton Zoning Board of Appeals to convert the former factory site, which now contains warehouses and offices, into affordable apartments.
Nord Wennerstrom, a spokesman for the National Trust, said the designation does not bring any money or legislation to save the complex, but puts a national spotlight on it.
Since 1988, there have been 211 sites named to the annual list, Wennerstrom said, and only six have been lost to development.
The Ames Shovel Shops was nominated for the designation by the Easton Historical Commission. Last year, the commission successfully nominated the complex for inclusion on the Preservation Massachusetts list of the "most endangered historic resources" in the state.
Commission member Greg Galer said the state and national designations are confirmation that the Ames Shovel Shops site is not just a local landmark, but also important to the nation's history as well.
"It's a site of great national significance. It's clear that its importance extends well beyond Easton," said Galer.
Other sites on the 2009 list include the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles; the Manhattan Project's Enola Gay Hangar at Wendover Airfield in Utah; Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple in Oak Park, Ill., and Mount Taylor in New Mexico, a sacred site for dozens of American Indian tribes.
The Natural Trust said the list highlights important examples of the nation's architectural, cultural and natural heritage that are at risk of destruction or irreparable damage.
The announcement of the 11 most endangered historic places was made adjacent to the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles by Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and actress Diane Keaton, a trustee of the organization.
"The 22nd annual list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places reflects the extraordinary diversity and fragility of our shared heritage," said Moe.
"These 11 sites highlight many critical issues, including the importance of preserving architectural icons of the recent past and preservation as one of the most effective forms of sustainable development. Places like these help tell all of our stories, and losing them not only erases a piece of our heritage, it also represents a threat to our planet."
For more information on the endangered places, visit www.PreservationNation.org/11Most.
The Enterprise


text:
These chocolate chip lava cookies are so much more than just cookies. In fact, Jen over at Juanita's Cocina who shared this recipe calls them NON-cookies, because the term cookie just doesn't do justice to their awesomeness.
While they have many of the makings of traditional chocolate chip cookies, the ooey, gooey chocolaty addition in the middle makes them volcanically delicious. You bake them up in muffin pans so that they're thicker than regular cookies, and oh boy do they ever explode in your mouth.
My only hesitation with this recipe is that it only makes 10 cookies. That's definitely not enough, so I recommend doubling it ... at least.
Chocolate Chip Lava Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed tightly
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 Tbs. vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, divided
Preheat the oven to 350 and spray the muffin cups in a muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Place 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips into a plastic ziploc bag and seal the bag shut. Arrange the chocolate chips so that they're positioned in one layer within the bag. Laying the bag flat in the microwave, heat the chocolate chips for 30 seconds. Turn the bag over and heat for an additional 15-20 seconds or until the chips are completely melted. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, using a hand mixer, cream the butter and both sugars in a large bowl until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Add in the flour, salt, and baking soda and mix until just combined. Fold in the remaining cup of chocolate chips.
Using half of the cookie dough, scoop 1 1/2-2 Tbs. of dough, flatten it into a small disk, and place it in the bottom of a muffin cup. (You should get 10 cookies out of the mix.) Cut a small tip off of the ziploc bag and squeeze a bit of the melted chocolate over the cookie. Scoop out another disk of cookie dough and cover the melted chocolate, forming a sandwich in each muffin cup.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are just brown and the top appears done. As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, run a knife around the edges of the cookie to loosen. Allow to cool completely before serving.
When serving, you can also microwave the cookie for 15 seconds in order to remelt the middle of the cookie and warm it through.
Image via Juanita's Cocina


text:
Summary of Navigating the Waters of Foreign Exchange and International Payments
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text:
Monday, September 19, 2011
edit 2011/11/11:
VR, in 'Cafeteria conservatism and the New Testament ': "The treatment of wealth and poverty in the New Testament fail to rule out all conservative positions as unChristian, but some versions of it strike me as unacceptable. For example, the ethics of Ayn Rand and the ethics of Christ simply can't be reconciled. Greed is not good. ..."
How is someone else's alleged greed any of your damned business? [Do you not have enough to concern yourself with in your own shortcomings and sins?]
How does someone else's "greed" -- whether the term is used to refer to real greed, or whether it is used to refer to the false "liberal" redefinition of the term -- harm you or anyone else?
It wasn't "greed" -- it wasn't citizens wanting to keep for their own use as much as possible of the fruit of their own labor -- which rounded up, stole the wealth they had created, and deported to the wilds of "Indian Territory" a significant number of my ancestors; it was government which did that -- it was democracy (and, in fact, it was Democrats!) at the behest of actual greed who did this. [Fourthermore, it was not simple greed which motivated those Democrats all those years ago -- it was not *simply* an unbalanced desire to possess more than they already possessed; no, it was covetous greed which motivated them, for they coveted what others already possessed and desired to take it from them.] Yet, this [covetous] actual greed was itself powerless to harm my family, it required government guns to round them up and steal their farms and homes and wealth.
And, just as Democrats of 170-180 years ago (in the life-time of my great-grandfather) were actually greedy for the wealth of others, and used the force of the US government to dispossess those people, so too, today's Democrats are actually greedy for the wealth of others, and seek constantly to use the force of the US government to dispossess those persons. Those old Democrats used all sorts of false reasons and reasoning to justify their theft; but they were pikers compared to today's Democrats, for today's Democrats seek to turn reality on its head when they declare: "That you keep resisting our efforts to take from you what is your just proves how 'greedy' you are!"
25 comments:
- Foxfier said...
"You're greedy"=> "I covet what you have."
- September 19, 2011 at 1:27 PM
- Nick said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- September 19, 2011 at 4:26 PM
- Nick said...
Good post! It fits right in (as I suppose it's meant to) with the liar Obama's current "tax the rich" proposals, which of course gets the MSM going with the propaganda machine about those "selfish" rich people who must "pay their fair share".
And it's not just about the "rich". You're "greedy" if you want to keep all that you actually earned, rather than passively consent to the state's theft of your wealth, no matter how much or how little income you make.
- September 19, 2011 at 4:27 PM
- Ilíon said...
Sure, I wrote it with the wicked (morally evil) schemes of the "liberals" and their leftist puppet-masters in mind. But, the immediate prompt for it was that I was sick and tired of a specific "liberal" bastard calling me greedy! because I argue against the "liberal"/leftist agenda of demonization of "the rich" as the pretext for confiscatory taxation.
- September 20, 2011 at 1:11 AM
- Ilíon said...
Perhaps I ought to update the OP to provide the specific context which lead to me formulating/articulating this principle.
- September 20, 2011 at 1:12 AM
- Foxfier said...
I generally just add a link in the comments along the lines of "inspired in part by." It makes a good general point, no need to distract from it.
- September 20, 2011 at 11:33 AM
- Gyan said...
What does 'greedy' mean to you?
To me, it means 'wanting more and more and never being content'.
Thus, a billionaire who is still working to get more money is greedy, isn't he?
Now as a unintended side-product of his getting more, he may benefit a lot of people. But *he* is still greedy and his working and getting is not morally good.
What do you think?
- September 20, 2011 at 11:14 PM
- Foxfier said...
To me, it means 'wanting more and more and never being content'.
Sounds like the gov't to me.
Thus, a billionaire who is still working to get more money is greedy, isn't he?
If a billionaire is just trying to get more money-- as opposed to other motives-- then he would be. Thing is, "more money" isn't the reason anyone I know who's successful actually works. The most common purpose is generally "make my business what I imagine it could be."
Of course, a lot of folks I know who are "rich" are only rich on paper-- it's kind of like figuring that an egg farmer has a yearly income of X eggs, and then expecting that he'll have that many eggs on hand.
But *he* is still greedy and his working and getting is not morally good.
Deciding that, among many possible motives, someone is motivated by the one that would be sinful is not morally good. Not very good for figuring folks out, either.
The desire for power is much more worrying.
- September 20, 2011 at 11:48 PM
- Ilíon said...
"What do you think?"
I think that your thinking has been colonized by leftist shibboleths (as has nearly everyone's).
"What does 'greedy' mean to you?"
'Greed' is an inordinate desire for, or fixation upon acquiring, some Good Thing. But, as soon as we say 'inordinate', we have to ask ourselves, "Inordinate with respect to *what*?"
The "liberal" answer to the question is (as always), "Inordinate with respect to what *I* think is fitting for you to have and/or desire to have". To which the proper response is some variation of … well, a certain famous four letter word.
"Thus, a billionaire who is still working to get more money is greedy, isn't he?"
Whether he is or is not, how is it in any wise your business or my business or the business of Reid, Pelosi and Obama? If you are his pastor or confessor, it may well be; if you are his wife or children, it certainly is; but if you are you or me, it is no business of ours?
Didn't Someone once famously advise us all to deal with the board in our own eyes before worrying about the speck of sawdust in someone else's eye?
- September 21, 2011 at 12:37 AM
- Ilíon said...
"The desire for power is much more worrying."
Bill Gates, with all his wealth, cannot compel me to do anything -- unless, like Warren Buffett, and even moreso George Soros, he greases the right government palms and whispers in the right government ears.
- September 21, 2011 at 12:41 AM
- Ilíon said...
Nikk: "And it's not just about the "rich". You're "greedy" if you want to keep all that you actually earned, rather than passively consent to the state's theft of your wealth, no matter how much or how little income you make."
The "liberal" bastard whose accusation was the immediate prompt of the OP knows nothing about me ... except that I oppose altogether the leftist assertion of The State's ownership of you and me and that rich guy over there. He doesn't know whether I am rich or poor or somewhere in between. He doesn't know whether I was "to the manner born" or born in poverty. He doesn't know whether I ever worked my way out of the poverty into which I was born, or did not.
And, he doesn't care. All he cares about is that I oppose his statist designs on my life and well-being.
- September 21, 2011 at 12:51 AM
- Gyan said...
You haven't provided the 'conservative' answer to
"Inordinate with respect to *what*?
Greed was a major preoccupation of ancient and medieval thinkers. So there must be decent answers to this question.
- September 21, 2011 at 10:46 PM
- Gyan said...
"Whether he is or is not, how is it in any wise your business or my business"
If we can't make judgments regarding greed, then equally we can't make judgments regarding lust, promiscuity et al.
The most common purpose is generally "make my business what I imagine it could be."
I may imagine to own half of USA,am I not greedy?
- September 21, 2011 at 10:55 PM
- Foxfier said...
Are you really that incapable of imagining any motive other than "own a lot of stuff"? Or just a troll?
Either way, not worth trying to explain further-- may as well try to explain craftsmanship or pride-of-skill, two related notions.
- September 21, 2011 at 11:15 PM
- Ilíon said...
Gyan: "You haven't provided the 'conservative' answer to "Inordinate with respect to *what*?"
You have a point?
Until the silly persons who worry about other persons' alleged greed (which seems to include you), acknowledge the futility of shreiking "Greed!" without some reference-point, why should I?
Now, we all know that shreiking "Greed!" has great rhetorical value, and has for thousands of years, for it plays on the avarice of its listeners. But, once those listeners stop listening to their own greed, and ask themselves, "With respect to *what* is this allegation of 'greed!' being made?", then the accusation is blunted.
Gyan: "Greed was a major preoccupation of ancient and medieval thinkers."
Let's see: the elite social arrangements of the ancient world especially, but also of the medieval world to a lesser extent, were based upon looting one's fellow man. All aristocrats are the grandchildren of murdering thugs -- and they have a vested interest in showing that the *next* group of would-be aristocrats are morally illegitimate.
Gyan: "So there must be decent answers to this question."
Or course there is; and I've already written it in the thread elsewhere which prompted the observation made in this post.
Gyan: "If we can't make judgments regarding greed, then equally we can't make judgments regarding lust, promiscuity et al."
You're not really paying attention, are you? You're not *trying* to consider the question (the truth, in fact) that concerning oneself with someone else's alleged greed is one of the ways that one puts oneself under the control of those who are greedy for power.
- September 22, 2011 at 6:26 AM
- Ilíon said...
"Or just a troll?"
There are no trolls at my blog (for I simply delete anything such persons post), and I do not appreciate the insinuation that one of my guests is one.
Gyan is an apparently new idea. That's frustrating from our perspective, yrt understandable from his.
To put it another way, should I start insinuating trollishness to someone who refuses to comprehend that no computer program will ever be a person (because it's logically impossible for one to be)?
- September 22, 2011 at 7:55 PM
- Foxfier said...
To put it another way, should I start insinuating trollishness to someone who refuses to comprehend that no computer program will ever be a person (because it's logically impossible for one to be)?
If you're going to insist on misstating an argument from another place, then I really don't care what you call it. As I pointed out on my blog in the relevant argument, impossibility isn't relevant-- it's a matter of proving something in that logic format, and you can't prove a starting premise. Feel free to go back and show the line of reasoning that proves a machine can't be a person, rather than just saying it over and over again. The entire point of the other post is that sort of show-your-work idea play, not announcing what you believe.
Gyan is either having a very hard time realizing there are options besides the one he sees or is attempting to get a response; seeing as several other options were offered and he returned to the original accusation, that points to an attempt to spark a specific response.
- September 22, 2011 at 8:21 PM
- Gyan said...
Do you mean that humans are so damaged or deluded or covetous that the imputation of Greed always lacks an objective content? from the smallest child to the greatest philosopher?
Pls understand that I am not American and I do not speak in the context of current American affairs.
- September 22, 2011 at 11:06 PM
- Mike said...
The people who are using this as an "aha! moment" seem to lose sight of the fact that the covetous envy of the one denouncing the greed is not absolved by the greed of his target.
Of course, to a typical liberal that's nonsense since the oppressed are free to break any moral rule to protect themselves and advance their interests.
- September 23, 2011 at 11:25 AM
- Ilíon said...
So, your answer is "Yes"?
- September 23, 2011 at 8:55 PM
- Ilíon said...
Mike T: "The people who are using this as an "aha! moment" seem to lose sight of the fact that the covetous envy of the one denouncing the greed is not absolved by the greed of his target."
This is all true. But, the deeper truth they are ignoring – and insist upon ignoring even after it is pointed out to them -- is that the alleged greedy person's alleged greed is none of their damned business.
A person's greed damages her (*) own soul; but unlike envy, greed per se injures no one else, nor seeks to do so. And, it is not even the 'greed' per se which injures the greedy woman's (*) soul, but rather the underlying improper or unbalanced valuing of Good Things in relation to The Good. Cure the greedy woman of her greed for accumulating wealth (**), without resolving her underlying problem of unbalanced priorities, and she'll simply latch onto something else upon which to focus so that God remains hidden to her sight.
(*) I am, of course, mocking "gender inclusive language".
(**) Which greed not only harms no one else, but actually materially benefits all other persons.
- September 25, 2011 at 9:34 AM
- Ilíon said...
... Most specific sins, by the very nature of sin, actively seek to injure others, especially the innocent. Greed is one of the few sins which not only produces general societal good, but for which the damages the sin per se generates do not rebound upon the innocent.
- September 25, 2011 at 9:38 AM
- Ilíon said...
Gyan: "Thus, a billionaire who is still working to get more money is greedy, isn't he?"
Ilíon: "Whether he is or is not [greedy], how is it in any wise your business or my business?"
Gyan: "If we can't make judgments regarding greed, then equally we can't make judgments regarding lust, promiscuity et al."
I doubt I'll cover all the things wrong with Gyan's counter-claim, but, for starters:
1) I didn't say anything about whether it is or is not possible in principle to determine whether someone is 'greedy'? I expect that I did say that in practice it is exceeding difficult to make a valid determination.
1a) Rather, I rhetorically asked how/why/on what ground someone else's alleged 'greed' (in contrast to the sort of covetous envy which opportunistically disguises itself as moral and political opposition to "Greed!") is the business of anyone else individually or corporately. The implied answer to the question is, of course, "It isn't, and there isn't".
2) Making a determination of someone else's 'greed' is almost entirely subjective – it has next to nothing to do with whether he is or is not objectively greedy (and, just what *is* the objective measure, anyway?), but rather, the "measure" is based upon the accuser's own feelings about the other's possession of wealth.
3) On the other hand, making a determination that another is promiscuous does have an objective measure against which to make the determination. That most people in present-day society wish to fudge on the measure, so as to escape admitting that they themselves are promiscuous, is a different matter.
- September 25, 2011 at 2:28 PM
- Gyan said...
"Which greed not only harms no one else, but actually materially benefits all other persons."
By the Invisible Hand of Adam Smith, I suppose you mean.
There was an example given by a Catholic Misean. He went to buy a used car and chosed a car. The salesman asked him how much do you want to pay for it.
The Catholic Misean replied that I want to pay zero dollars. The salesman was confused or bemused by this reply and so the Catholic Misean enlightened the salesman that a buyer always wants to pay the least while the seller always wants to get the maximum and there is nothing wrong in wanting so.
He imputed the salesman for wanting one trillion dollars for the used car.
I commented that the Catholic Misean attitude was un-Christian (in lacking Charity) and also sub-pagan (in lacking justice).
One simply does not want to pay zero for something if one is not disordered.
- October 3, 2011 at 3:37 AM
- Gyan said...
"Greed is one of the few sins which not only produces general societal good, but for which the damages the sin per se generates do not rebound upon the innocent."
Greed is subtle.
- October 3, 2011 at 4:27 AM


text:
BEIJING (Reuters) - As evidence mounts that China's economy is losing momentum, economists are fast abandoning their rosy recovery forecasts and bracing for what could be the country's slowest growth rate in 23 years.
In the space of five months, analysts have swung from confidently predicting a modest pick-up in the world's second-biggest economy to pondering the chance that China will miss its own 7.5 percent growth target this year.
Concerns that Beijing's growth target may be under threat came to the fore on Thursday, when a preliminary survey of Chinese factories showed manufacturing activity shrank for the first time in seven months in May after both new domestic and export orders fell.
"Yes, the 7.5 percent target is under threat," said Ken Peng, an economist at BNP Paribas in Beijing.
"China does not have a recession, but there will not be a recovery."
Unlike previous years when any wobble in the Chinese growth engine was countered with heavy government intervention to stabilize activity, economists are counting on things being different this time.
There will be no big-bang stimulus like the 4 trillion yuan ($652 billion) package unveiled after the 2008/09 financial crisis to spur growth, analysts say. Instead, leaders appear to be banking on China adjusting to a new norm of slower and hopefully better-quality growth that requires less state planning.
Sources close to Beijing told Reuters this week that China's plan to spend $6.5 trillion to urbanize its economy is running into snags as the government weighs the pros and cons of another spending binge that would escalate local debt problems and likely add to inflationary pressures.
Just how much growth will cool without policy action is difficult guesswork, but a string of underwhelming Chinese economic data have led some economists to contemplate worst-case scenarios of growth sinking below 7 percent in 2013.
"What investors are worried about is whether the situation in China right now is a lot more menacing than growth slowing to the 7 handle," Tao Wang said in a note this week after cutting her 2013 gross domestic product forecast to 7.7 percent, from 8 percent.
It was always a close call.
Forecasts of a mild economic revival in China were predicated on activity picking up to 8 percent in 2013, quickening a shade from last year's 7.8 percent, which was the worst showing in 13 years.
And calls for an economic cooldown now centre on growth dipping below 8 percent, but still above the government's increasingly-vulnerable 7.5 percent target.
The last time China's growth sunk below 7.5 percent was in 1990, when the economy expanded by just 3.9 percent.
Even before Thursday's dismal survey results of Chinese factories, a host of banks had started slashing their 2013 growth estimates for China, and more are set to do so.
Bank of America-Merrill Lynch pared its growth forecast this month to 7.6 percent from 8 percent, Standard Chartered cut its estimate to 7.7 percent from 8.3 percent, and ING last month reduced its prediction to 7.8 percent from 9 percent.
BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse and Societe Generale are all in the midst of revising their 2013 growth forecasts.
To complicate matters, analysts cite different reasons for what is hobbling China's economic growth, which unexpectedly eased in the first quarter after an initial promising rebound fizzled in just three months.
Lackluster wage growth, which is at a five-year low, is the biggest drag on consumption, some say. A government campaign to curb wasteful public spending is also hurting retail sales.
Others say anemic growth in factory output and trade is offsetting resilient investment, while some argue that government infrastructure spending has waned amid tighter state controls over alternative financing.
Global demand also has remained stubbornly weak, with the euro zone now in its longest-ever recession, offsetting some signs of improvement in the United States.
One of the rare points of agreement is that China's property sector - the one industry that the government wants to slow - is ironically on a rebound.
The other is that China's days of double-digit economic growth rates are over, and that the economic structure needs to be changed to let consumption overtake investment as the most important driver of growth.
"What the last couple of months has shown is that we have exhausted this China growth model and what we need now is the next China growth model," said Alistair Thornton, an economist at IHS. ($1 = 6.1340 Chinese yuan)
Editing by Kim Coghill


text:
If murder is the worst crime, then solving cases where someone's life has ended violently and prematurely should be a top priority for law enforcement agencies in Metro Vancouver.
But a Vancouver Sun investigation has found that over a 12-year period, 290 murders remain unsolved across the Lower Mainland.
The Sun compiled information for a comprehensive database from 2002 to the end of 2013 from police releases, news archives and court files.
Canada's largest murder squad — the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team — worked with The Sun to verify the 178 murders on our list for which IHIT has sole responsibility.
The Vancouver Police Department has conduct of another 90 unsolved homicide cases in the same time period, including files from West Vancouver and Port Moody that the VPD was contracted to investigate.
Not surprisingly, most of the unsolved murders took place in Vancouver or Surrey — the two largest cities in the region. Vancouver had 86 cases over the 12-year period, while Surrey had 76.
But smaller cities in the region also have many unsolved murders. Burnaby has 22. Abbotsford — twice declared the murder capital of Canada at the height of the gang war — has 24.
The victims in a startling 86 per cent of the unsolved cases were men.
Sixty-three per cent of the total number of victims — or 184 — had links to either the drug trade, gangs or organized crime. The most common form of death was gunfire — with fatal shootings accounting for 168 of the 290 victims.
Carol Kinnear's daughter Brianna is the victim in one of the unsolved cases. The 22-year-old, whose boyfriend was gangster Jesse Margison, was shot to death in Coquitlam on Feb. 3, 2009 as she drove a friend's truck.
"It's basically over five years now and it's become a cold case. I think they're just working on other stuff," Carol Kinnear said.
"I want everyone who's involved not to forget. It's sad to know that there's people out there that can bring us answers."
Police officers investigating murder cases say that while the public might be alarmed by the number of unsolved files, there are several reasons why there are so many murder cases in Metro Vancouver where charges have never been laid.
They point to B.C.'s charge approval standard, which is the highest in Canada.
Supt. Kevin Hackett, the veteran Mountie in charge of IHIT, said in the vast majority of his agency's open files, investigators have identified a suspect.
"I would think that in 90 per cent of our investigations, if not more, not only do we have an idea, we could likely, if we lived in another jurisdiction arrest them and charge them," Hackett said in an interview.
In every other province besides Quebec, police have the power to lay charges where they believe on "reasonable grounds" after a thorough investigation that an offence has been committed, according to Justice Canada.
But in B.C., Crown prosecutors decide if and when a charge is laid using a two-pronged approach. First, the Crown must be convinced that there is "a substantial likelihood of conviction," based on the police report outlining the evidence.
And secondly, the Crown decides whether it is in the public interest to lay a charge.
If, for example, a suspect in a slaying has already been convicted in another killing and is serving a life sentence, the Crown might decide there's no public interest in having a second trial. So the file remains open.
"Let's say we've charged one guy with murder and we have evidence to potentially charge him for two or three more, but Crown says it's not in the public interest so we are not going to charge him," Hackett explained. "It's solved because we know who did it and we could charge him and yet it's unfair that it remains unsolved and it drives your clearance rates down, when actually we could throw it to Crown or lay an information and they would just stay it. And they have a point — if he's doing 25 years."
Still, Hackett says, IHIT has an excellent relationship with prosecutors despite the charge approval standard.
If you're on a mobile device, please click here to see the chart.
Murders are investigated a variety of ways in the Lower Mainland. IHIT is the largest agency by far, with 84 investigators plus support staff covering homicides cases for RCMP detachments from Squamish to Chilliwack, as well as municipal forces in New Westminster, Port Moody and Abbotsford.
Vancouver police investigate their own murder files as a stand-alone agency, but have a close relationship to IHIT.
Vancouver Sgt. Dale Weidman said the two agencies even work together on files in some cases.
"If you have a murder in Vancouver and a murder in Langley, for example, and we think it's the same suspect, we work with them," he said.
The VPD has had an agreement with West Vancouver police since 2008 to also probe murders in that city.
As part of the deal, a West Van cop is seconded to Vancouver's homicide team.
"So they get full-time use of that detective and obviously we have an opportunity to expose our detectives and officers on an ongoing basis to the skill set of homicide investigation," West Vancouver police Const. Jeff Palmer said. "In exchange for that, that detective and VPD homicide investigate any homicides in West Vancouver."
He said the main reason for the move out of IHIT to VPD was cost effectiveness.
"The predictable budget item is that you have a detective over there, gaining experience but you also know that is your expense," Palmer said.
Within IHIT, member agencies contribute officers and money that is calculated on a five-year 'rolling average,' with 25 per cent based on the population and 75 per cent based on each city's crime statistics.
Port Moody Police were originally in IHIT, then opted out and contracted with the VPD for three years.
But after three still-unsolved gang slayings in Port Moody in 2012, the force has now gone back to IHIT. The outstanding cases are being looked after in part by Port Moody officers and in part by the VPD investigators originally on the cases.
Delta is the only other municipal police force that conducts its own murder investigations.
Deputy Chief Lyle Beaudoin told The Sun the arrangement has worked well, with Delta police getting convictions in 73 per cent of its 22 murder files over the last 20 years.
Delta has five unsolved cases in The Sun's database, two of which are linked to organized crime, two where Beaudoin can't say if they're gang-related or not and one with no possible gang or drug connection.
Beaudoin said that while Delta is not officially part of IHIT, the municipal force has an excellent working relationship with the larger homicide squad, as well as VPD's major crime section.
"We meet at a team commanders' meeting quite regularly every month and we go over cases and best practices," Beaudoin said, adding that Delta's team commanders "are very in tune with what's going on in the Lower Mainland as well as with the whole picture relative to homicide."
The VPD's clearance rate has ranged over the years from a high of 75 per cent in 2012 to a low of 32 per cent in 2003 — the year three people, including a member of a notorious gang family, died in a shootout at the Loft Six nightclub.
Vancouver also keeps track of what it calls "solve rates" — a much higher percentage of cases each year where police believe they know who's behind a slaying whether or not charges are laid.
IHIT's clearance rate peaked at 70 per cent in 2004, its first full year of operation, with charges getting laid in just 30 per cent of cases last year.
For both agencies, the majority of unprosecuted cases have links to gangs or the drug trade.
Hackett says it isn't particularly informative to look only at clearance rates, especially when they are calculated differently from agency to agency and region-to-region.
"It is a very dangerous game I think to solely look at stats in anything you do whether it be in the medical field or any other professional field as equating success," he said.
As one of the hundreds of relatives waiting for justice in her daughter's case, Carol Kinnear has felt hope when she's seen news of arrests in years-old cases.
And she understands that police have tough jobs securing enough evidence to get charges laid and hopefully convictions in murder cases.
But she feels neglected at times when months go by and she hears nothing from police.
"Even if they don't really have anything they can tell me. It would be nice to know just that they are still working on it," she said.
IHIT has tried to give top priority to cases where the perpetrators are believed to be continuing threats, to public safety even if an investigation is more resource-intensive as a result.
Hackett said the resources poured into the probe of United Nations gang members who had targeted the Bacon brothers is a prime example. Several UN members pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder. Two others, who remain fugitives, are charged in two murders plus the Bacon conspiracy.
"Whether we solve one or two murder charges associated to that effort and all that cost, you can't quantify all of the other murders that you have perhaps stopped. But if we put that same amount of effort, resources and that same amount of funding into 10 or 12 of our other unsolved, perhaps we would have had 10 more murders solved and increased our solve rate," Hackett said.
"So if it was just stats driven, then you could fall into the trap of accounting for more widgets, but have we really addressed what's most important, which is taking out the most dangerous threat to public safety?"
Hackett said "the irony is that when you focus on the most violent — they are also the most difficult to get the evidence for."
If IHIT washed its hands of the tougher cases to get higher clearance rates, "be prepared we may get a child sitting in the back of a car in a parking lot get hit with a ricochet bullet and then they might not be as concerned about having a 68-per cent-clearance rate or a 70."
Hackett says the way IHIT is structured has become a model for other homicide teams in North America.
The squad consists of eight-person teams that are sent to the scene of new murder files to collect all the "perishable evidence."
They're supported by specialized investigative support teams who have expertize in areas like file management, legal applications or doing investigations.
One of the newer specialized teams is looking specifically at cold case files within IHIT to try to come up with new avenues of approach. Since it started in March 2012, charges have been laid in four cases from 2004 to 2012.
Hackett knows victims' families can get frustrated when years pass without charges. His team tries to reach out to relatives as much as possible and has just hired a staff member specifically to liaise with those families.
"We want to keep the families updated with honest communication about the likelihood of advancing cases," he said, even when the message is hard to hear. "But I think you do them a disservice if you give them false hope."
Hackett is passionate about the work IHIT does and the skill and determination of his investigators, whom he says are driven to seek justice for the families of murder victims.
"We embrace that. That's so important. That's what motivates us, grounds us, keeps us going."
Kinnear still doesn't know the motive for her daughter's point-blank execution. Was the killer trying to send a message to Brianna's boyfriend? Or was the hit intended for the owner of the vehicle, who had been convicted of selling drugs with both Brianna and Margison? Or was Brianna caught up in something all on her own?
The grieving mother had tried for years to get Brianna away from Margison.
As important to her as getting justice for her daughter is "knowing why this happened," Kinnear said, her voice breaking.
"Every year I put the memorial in the paper and every year I think I can't keep doing this — another year with no answers. Like I don't want 20 or 25 years to go by."
Have a tip on one the unsolved cases?
For a VPD case email: firstname.lastname@example.com or phone 604-717-2500
For an IHIT case: email firstname.lastname@example.com or call 1-877-551-4448
For other cases call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477
Follow me: @KBolan
Follow me: @MikePHager


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The Fourth Season
Note: This review for 24: Season Four comes several months after the initial DVD release. The reason is that I have not gotten a chance to watch season four until now (I have a huge backlog of DVDs to watch, who doesn't?) and I am reviewing a personal copy. Having just finished it, and with the DVD release of season five, hopefully, coming out at the end of the year, I thought I would share my opinions about season four, which are for the most part very positive.
For those who are not familiar with the series, 24 is a somewhat unique drama about a fictional government agency called the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU). Mostly set in the CTU Los Angles branch office, the CTU agents and computer savvy technicians sift through various leads and evidence to uncover and thwart potential and actual terrorist activity. CTU is a huge operation that interacts with other federal agencies like FBI, NSA, DIA, as well as local, county and state law enforcement on a daily basis. The series uses a unique format you will not find in most television programming. A single season consists of twenty-four episodes, with each episode counting for a single hour in the show's universe. An entire season will span only a twenty-four hour period. During which, a lot of things can happen.
Headlining the cast is Kiefer Sutherland, who was recently awarded an Emmy for "Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series" for his performance in season five as Jack Bauer (he also had a nomination for season four, but lost to James Spader, Boston Legal). What the series does best is putting together an intrinsic, gripping, and engaging storyline with lots of twists and turns, high tech gadgets, intense gunfights and action sequences, devious good and bad characters, and an exposure to a dramatic, yet fictional world about the war on terrorism. For more details about the series please refer to DVD Talk's reviews of 24 season sets.
In my review of 24: Season Three, I had a minor gripe about the series being slightly redundant and due to this reason, season three started off shaky. The fact of the matter is the redundant nature in Jack Bauer going through one day with nonstop action is what makes the series so compelling. I probably should have complained about how annoying Kim Bauer is or something along those lines. Regardless, season four sees no flaws in the redundant department. (Yes there is some redundancy, but what works, works). The issues with season four are more or less with its characters and some poor attempts with drama. We will get into this later.
Season four begins with Jack Bauer in a completely different position. In season three Bauer had to use heroin while undercover and he developed an addiction. Because of his addiction, the new CTU director Erin Driscoll (Alberta Watson) released him from his job. Eventually Jack finds himself as the special assistant to the Secretary of Defense James Heller (William Devane), who, by the way, is fantastic in his role. Life is completely different for Jack, working behind a desk in the nation's capital. He also ventures into a love affair with Heller's daughter Audrey Raines (Kim Raver), who is married, but separated from her husband Paul (James Frain). Audrey is a senior policy analyst at the Department of Defense and can be found by her father's side more often than not.
On this particular day, a chain of terrorist attacks occur, starting with a bomb on a train that seems to have no purpose. Later in Los Angeles, Jack goes to CTU to confirm some budget related items while the secretary and his daughter make an impromptu visit to Heller's son Richard. At Richard's place, the secret service envoy is attacked and Heller and Audrey are kidnapped by terrorists with the intent to execute him on a live webcast over the internet. When the kidnapping occurs, Jack jumps back into his old position on a "provisional" basis, despite director Driscoll's concerns about him. As the story progresses, old and new faces alike join Jack to stop the terrorists from reaching their ultimate goal. I won't go into anymore details about the plotline, but let's just say there is a lot of stuff to follow.
Some of the new characters include Edgar Stiles (Louis Lombardi), a talented computer technician who has to deal with his own personal problems while trying to provide continued support to the CTU field agents, Sarah Gavin (Lana Parrilla), a computer technician with an attitude, Curtis Manning (Roger R. Cross), CTU Los Angeles' second in command, Bill Buchanan (James Morrison), the CTU regional director with a personal tie to Michelle Desseler, and Charles Logan (Gregory Itzin), the President of the United States who has a devious political mind. Some of the old faces include Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub), David Palmer (Dennis Haybert), Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard), and Michelle Desseler (Reiko Aylesworth).
The lead villain Harbib Marwan is played by Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy) and Vosloo makes an excellent bad guy providing his character a cool and almost charming demeanor. For strong supporting villains, the Araz family is also very strong in their roles. The Araz family moved to the United States and became naturalized citizens with intent of preparing for this one day. At the head of the family is Navi (Nestor Serrano), a father who believes his cause is more important than anything else. Dina (Shohreh Aghdashloo) is the striking woman married to Navi. She is strong, cunning, and devilish. The cause is important to her and she will kill anyone without hesitation who gets in the way. The exception is her son Behrooz (Jonathan Ahdout), who after witnessing his Caucasian girlfriend being murdered, decides killing thousands of people is not worth it.
Overall what works for season four of 24 is the nonstop action and the overly gripping storyline. How everything unfolds with lots of twists and turns make the season an exciting adventure you will not want to miss. However, while I praise season four, not everything is perfect. There are some elements that I think the season would have been a lot stronger without (or at least toned down). In an attempt to add relationship drama to storylines, there are two love triangles.
While these are great for soapy melodramas, they just did not seem to fit in right with the ambiance of 24. First of all, Jack loves Audrey, Audrey loves Jack, but she also loves her husband Paul, who loves her. There is an entire subplot that deals with this relationship. While it does add some drama to the events, sometimes it felt overplayed and hokey. The other bit of drama comes from Tony, Michelle, and Bill. The two guys both like Michelle and she likes them. It is a wishy-washy subplot that ends with butterflies and rainbows.
Some other points I did not care for dealt with the characters and their personal issues. For instance, Erin Driscoll's daughter has severe medical problems and she is forced to decide what was more important, caring for her daughter or running CTU during the crisis. What I did not like about it was how Watson portrayed her character. She made a great director, very cold and distance, but when she tried to show compassion with her daughter, it felt all wrong.
Overall, season four of 24 presents a strong set of twenty-four episodes with a sadistic plot against the United States of America with only Jack Bauer and the valiant employees at CTU to save the day. If you have not had a chance to pick up this season set, I highly suggest you do. Within the first minute or two, you will be sucked in and forced to watch the entire season set nonstop! And thankfully when you are done watching the season episodes, there are a ton of special features to keep you in Jack's exciting world.
Episode Guide
1. 7AM to 8AM
2. 8AM to 9AM
3. 9AM to 10AM
4. 10AM to 11AM
5. 11AM to 12PM
6. 12PM to 1PM
7. 1PM to 2PM
8. 2PM to 3PM
9. 3PM to 4PM
10. 4PM to 5PM
11. 5PM to 6PM
12. 6PM to 7PM
13. 7PM to 8PM
14. 8PM to 9PM
15. 9PM to 10PM
16. 10PM to 11PM
17. 11PM to 12AM
18. 12AM to 1AM
19. 1AM to 2AM
20. 2AM to 3AM
21. 3AM to 4AM
22. 4AM to 5AM
23. 5AM to 6AM
24. 6AM to 7AM
The DVD
The video in this release is given in an anamorphic 1.78:1 ratio widescreen color format. The picture quality is quite good. It suffers from a slight grain, but detail remains to be sharp and clear. However, there are moments when the picture suffers compression artifacts and hints of edge enhancement. This is most noticeable during the darker scenes. Overall it is a great looking picture.
The audio track in this release is in English 5.1 Dolby digital surround and Spanish 2.1 Dolby digital surround. In general, the sound quality is very good and it provides an audible and clean track. The dialogue is usually a little flat while music and sound effects come off rich and vibrant. Additionally the 5.1 track is dynamic and makes good use of the surround sound capability.
There are subtitles included in English and Spanish, as well as support for closed captioning.
There thirty-nine deleted scenes and alternatives takes included in this set. They can be viewed as standalone features with optional audio commentary when accessed on the special feature disc or watched during episode play. In the case of the latter, special subtitles can be turned on that will allow you to access the deleted scenes or alternative takes as relevant to the episode. The episodes that include deleted scenes and alternative takes are "7AM to 8AM", "1PM to 2PM", "4PM to 5PM", "5PM to 6PM", "6PM to 7PM", "7PM to 8PM", "8PM to 9PM", "9PM to 10PM", "10PM to 11PM", "1AM to 2AM", "4AM to 5AM", "5AM to 6AM", and "6AM to 7AM".
The season set also features episode commentaries for half of the season's episodes. They include "7AM to 8AM" with Joel Surnow and Mary Lynn Rajskub, "12AM to 1PM" with Joseph Hodges and Jon Cassar, "2PM to 3PM" with Stephen Kronish and Peter Lenkov, "3PM to 4PM" with Evan Katz and Shannen Doherty, "4PM to 5PM" with Nestor Serrano and Stephen Kronish, "8PM to 9PM" with Tim Iacofano and Shohreh Aghdashloo, "9PM to 10PM" with Roger Cross and Bryan Spicer, "10PM to 11PM" with Bryan Spicer and Arnold Vosloo, "12AM to 1AM" with Jon Cassar and Sean Callery, "1AM to 2AM" with Paul Gadd and Kenneth Kobett, "4AM to 5AM" with Matt Michnovetz and Duppy Demetrius, and "6AM to 7AM" with Bob Cochran and Scott Powell.
Located on the special features disc are a collection of featurettes. The first item is "Season 5", which includes "Season 5 Prequel", which takes place twelve months after the end of season 4 and it is an exclusive teaser about Jack in Chicago between season 4 and season 5, and "Fox Movie Channel Presents: Making a Scene", which details the making of the "Season 5 Prequel".
"Breaking Ground Building: The New CTU" is a behind the scenes featurette about the production of the CTU set for season four.
"Blood On The Tracks" is another behind the scenes featurette that focuses on the production and related events that dealt with putting together the opening scene for season four, the terrorist attack on the train.
"Lock And Load" is the third and final behind the scenes featurette, which is about the scene in episode "12PM to 1PM" when Jack rescues Heller and Audrey.
"Extended and Deleted Scenes" is a collection of thirty-nine deleted scenes and alternative takes, which can be viewed with optional audio commentary.
"24: Conspiracy" is a collection of twenty-four mobile phone episodes put together as a promotion for season four. The storyline is about the CTU branch in Washington DC. Each episode is one minute long. The episodes can be watched individually or in one lump with the play all feature.
"The Longest Day Music Video" is a music video of the same name.
"Inside Look" is an extended preview about The Sentinel.
"24: The Game Trailer" is a trailer for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game.
Final Thoughts:
Since 24's first season, the series became an instant success. Millions of viewers tune in to watch the latest day in the life of Jack Bauer and his fellows at CTU stop the latest murderous and intrinsic terrorist plot against the United States of America. 24 is television you do not want to miss out on. If you still haven't gotten around to watching season four, I highly suggest you purchase a copy, sit down, and watch the season in its entirety. And of course, if you are new to 24, start with season one for the best viewing experience. Regardless, 24: Season Four comes highly recommended.


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I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! We celebrated Easter Sunday with brunch at my house this year. It was nice but it's so much work entertaining people, even if it is your own family. It's important to me to have a very clean house and to have the clutter put away and the plants watered (ha!) and the table set and flowers arranged in vases. It's not all necessary, but it's part of my gift to those who visit. I want to give them the best of what we have. Does that make sense?
Anyway, it's exhausting and that's why we only have people over a couple times a year :-) This year we had my in-laws, my mom and stepdad, and my siblings over. For brunch I made mini frittatas with sausage and potatoes and brown sugar pancakes. My mother-in-law made a wonderful punch and my mother brought over fruit salad. We had orange juice and coffee and for dessert I made these yummy carrot cake sandwich cookies that I saw on Every Last Cookie, which I served on my new cake stand. For thank you favors I sent our guests home with ducky and egg iced sugar cookies!
These cookies were like having your own personal carrot cake. The cookies were loaded with spices, oatmeal and carrots. The recipe called for raisins but I forgot to add them because I was chatting with Ingrid while making these and I got distracted. Truthfully, I think she was sending me subliminal messages NOT to add them because she doesn't like them but I think the chewy contrast of the raisins would be nice. ha ha! They're a soft cakey cookie then you fill them a simple cream cheese frosting. I made them a day in advance and refrigerated them so the flavors could meld together and the cookies softened. I would say these were a hit and if you like carrot cake these are for you! They make a ton so there's plenty to share. The only thing that could make these better would be this mascarpone cream cheese filling!
Carrot Cake Cookiesfrom Martha's Cookies Cookies:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1⁄2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 1⁄2 cups finely grated carrots (about 2 large carrots)
- 1 cup raisins (optional)
Cream Cheese Filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1⁄2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until well combined.
Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; stir to combine. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; mix on low speed until just blended. Mix in oats, carrots, and raisins. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour. (I did not chill the dough and they were fine).
Preheat oven to 350°F. Shape tablespoons of dough into balls, and place on prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until browned and crisp, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting: Place cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Using a rubber spatula, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add butter and continue beating until smooth and well blended. Sift in powdered sugar and continue beating until smooth. Add vanilla and stir to combine.
Once cookies are completely cooled, using an offset spatula, spread about 2 teaspoons of frosting onto flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich together with remaining cookies. Cookies can be refrigerated in airtight containers up to 3 days.
Makes about 40 sandwich cookies.
I have this little guy in display all year round. Isn't he the cutest?!
How did you guys celebrate this weekend? What did y'all eat?!


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You are here: Hunting > Ask The Biologist > Articles
By Bob Humphrey
Deer maladies are tough to diagnose without a hands-on examination.
QUESTION: Can you tell me what's wrong with this deer? — Alex W.
ANSWER: That's a good one. Without actually seeing the deer, the best I can do is offer a few possibilities. The most common reason for lumps or protrusions on deer are fibromas, essentially benign skin tumors.
However, they typically occur on the skin's surface, and are often discolored. Like any mammal, deer also occasionally contract sub-dermal tumors. This could be either one.
However, a couple things lead me to think otherwise. One is that the lump appears to be symmetrical — centered under the buck's jaw, which fibromas and other tumors typically are not. The other is the right antler is non-typical, suggesting an injury or other malady.
Occasionally deer suffer injury or birth defects that allow food to become impacted over time. More often it is a defect in the palate, which allows impaction in the nasal cavity but between the lower jaws. Then again, it could be something else like a cyst, swelling from an injury, or a tumor.
When Bucks Attack: Although rare, whitetails have been known to hurt people.Find Out The Answer!
Bob Humphrey is the Biology & Deer Behavior field editor for Buckmasters Whitetail Magazine and holds similar titles with other major hunting publications. He currently lives in Maine with his wife and two children. Click here to email your questions to "Ask the Biologist."
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Brewed by: Stift Engelszell Trappist Monastery
Style: Belgian strong dark ale
Purchased: Bangor Wine and Cheese
My wife picked this bottle up for me as a Christmas gift. Stift Engelszell is a Trappist Monastery located in Austria. Engelszell is the newest Trappist brewery, having just been approved to produce Trappist beer by the International Trappist Association in May of 2012. There are only seven other Trappist breweries in the world.
Gregorius pours very dark and shadowy but has a red/amber hue when held up to the light. Pour produced almost no head, just a thin off white ring around the glass, although steady carbonation is visible.
I'm picking up some dark fruit aromas, cherries and plums. Smells bready with some chocolate and honey notes swirling in there, the alcohol is noticeable but light.
This beer is pretty hot; the alcohol is right up front but does mellow through the sip to allow the other flavors to show through. Dark fruits are the next thing I notice, followed by chocolate. This beer reminds me of an alcohol soaked cherry dipped in dark chocolate.
Overall a beer I would drink again with some age on it, I really enjoyed the flavor, reminded me of a cherry cordial but was just a bit too boozy. I plan on finding another bottle of this to put in the beer cellar for a year or two, with some time it should mellow out a bit.


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Thank you so much for taking the time to join in our last Challenge "Back To School", we enjoyed seeing all your beautiful creations.
Before I tell you about the next challenge, we have a winner to announce
To obtain your winners Badge Click Here, it will bring you to the button page to choose.
Please email us at sdelightsATtiscali.co.uk to claim your prize within 2 weeks!
*Remember you need to add this challenge image to your post or sidebar and linked back to this challenge:
New Challenge:Birthday Theme-Host Janice
so I thought it would be a perfect theme to get me in the mood.
As long as it clearly is a project with a Birthday theme or feel it will be acceptable.
As long as it clearly is a project with a Birthday theme or feel it will be acceptable.
-You do NOT have to use Scrapper's Delights Digi Stamps to play along, but we would love to see them.Here is how you play...
If you do use one of Scrapper's Delights products you may add your project twice so as to have another chance at winning some fantastic gifts!
-You need to share a direct link to your creation, not just your main blog page this makes it a lot easier for us to comment on your project too, using the Linky Tools feature at the end of the post.
-If you'd like to be considered to be a Guest Designer for next month then please add GD/ before your Title.
If you would like to use one of Scrapper's Delights products you can click on the badge....All products are fantastic quality and at wonderfully affordable prices XXX
My Store
Here are some Lovely inspiration from my wonderful Design Team
Our Guest Designer this month is Aunty Sue
we are so thrilled she wanted to do another month I even made her a badge
Thank you hun :) XXX
Here is her project for this challenge isn't she sooo pretty!
Here are some past projects I could not resist showing again lol
Now it is your turn we can not wait to see your projects!


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Google announced that it has acquired Motorola Mobility and replaced its chief executive with a long-time Googler.
Google chief executive Larry Page penned the Google statement made on its Official Google Bog, commending Motorola for being an innovator and made a "big, early bet on Android." Motorola did create the first cell phone, he continued, and mobile still has a lot of potential.
U.S. & World
"Motorola has become an incredibly valuable partner to Google," Page said. "Many users coming on line today may never use a desktop machine . . . That's why it's a great time to be in the mobile business,"
Sanjay Ha, Motorola's CEO, has stepped down and been replaced with Dennis Woodside, a Googler who's been with the company since 2003. Woodside came to Google as head of business operations, then later was named president of its Americas region, according to Bloomberg Business week. Currently he's named as one of Google's senior vice presidents on its corporate website.
He's already assembled a transition team, including "strong new hires" to take over the struggling mobile manufacturer -- and this is after he was approached by Apple's Tim Cook to head its sales division, according to the Next Web.
Woodside obviously is a true Googler -- if he's resistant to Apple -- so it will be interesting to see what kind of innovations the search titan and Motorola engineers can create.


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Yes, you read the headline correctly.
A gas price war in Houston's south side dropped prices to 78 cents on Sunday.
The battle took place between two gas stations located across the street from each other at Old Spanish Trail (OST) off of 288.
It was Johnny Quick at 78 cents versus Texaco at 79 cents.
Despite Johnny Quick having the penny advantage, the real winners were the drivers who waited in long lines to fill up their tanks for less than $11.
"This cheap gas out here baby," said Mae M. She said she waited in line for 20 minutes to fill up her vehicle.
The prices are subject to change at any time. But if you have the patience to wait in line, then you might as well fill up for cheap.
"Y'all better get out here and get some of this gas," said Mae.


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Results tagged ' Matt LaPorta '
Because the Sky is Blue and the Sun is Orange
Gosh I am so jealous of the Florida Gator baseball team right now. This program has come from the swampy bottom muck to the clouds in their 96 season history. Ironically, the Gators have been to the College World Series 7 times, all after I left the shadows and clay of Alfred A. McKethan Stadium. A former teammate of mine once bragged, "The sky is blue and the Sun orange because God is a Gator fan". Starting to believe that right now.
What is even more amazing is the Gators had to defeat their Southeastern Conference nemesis Vanderbilt (Sorry David Price) to possibly get another shot at the championship in a best-of-3 shootout with either fellow SEC foe South Carolina, or Virginia. 12 SEC titles do not mean a thing at this point as the Gators and either the Gamecocks or Cavaliers will start with an even keel going into the finals.
Doesn't seem like 25 years ago I pulled up my stirrups and buttoned my uniform up for Coach Joe Arnold. Did you know that before the modern era of Gator baseball, Coaches worked with the squad on a part-time basis, usually holding other coaching spots in the Gator's other athletic teams.
I heard early Gator baseball legend tales about former Gator baseball player and eventual Coach Lance Richbourg who went on to play for the Boston Braves (and others)
Richbourg only played on the Gator's baseball squad for one season, in 1919, but in between his stints in Major League Baseball always seemed to find a way back to the green grass of Gainesville, Florida. Richbourg compiled an outstanding 39-21 overall record in his 3 seasons as the Head Gator (1922, 1923 and 1926).
Since that time M L B well known names like San Diego Padres SS/2B David Eckstein, Cleveland Indians OF/1B Matt LaPorta, Kansas City Royals 1B Ryan Shealy and Texas Ranger SP/RP Darren O'Day. Former OF Brad Wilkinson, former Rays 3B Herbert Perry and countless others have also had the honor of donning the blue and orange.
There have also been some highly recognizable past names associated with the blue and orange like SP John Burke who was the first ever draft choice of the expansion Colorado Rockies. Or maybe you have heard about former Gator Johnny Burnett, who on July 10, 1932 against the Philadelphia Athletics put up some astronomical slugging numbers as he pounded out 9 hits in an 18-inning contest.
One Gator has even won the coveted American League MVP trophy while also becoming a 2-time Home Run and RBI crown winner while with the Cleveland Indians. Al Rosen might just go down in history as the premier Bull Gator. That is until possibly this 2011 crew make their M L B marks.
But it is this 2011 Gator team that deserves the spotlight right now. A squad that has toiled, sweat and scraped their way to within 3 games of that elusive National Championship dream. 3 finals games will decide their destiny, their eventual fate, and possibly accumulate a few late night fantasies into reality.
Tonight I will raise a glass (more than once) to the hurlers and sluggers of the Blue and Orange who have graced the NCAA Baseball 4-years straight, but this season are finally seeing the hard work, dedication and sacrifice come to fruition. 3 more vital games that everyone in Gator Nation, including us who played so long ago, will watch with anticipation, excitement and most of all pride.
No matter what the outcome. No matter if there is defeat or exhilaration after those hard fought games within the confines of TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska, these Gators have already won…..our hearts.


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Labels: Misc, My Friends
Gadgets which were in the picture from a long time but never picked up. Here is a list of the ones which are getting popular nowadays.
- 3D (Avatar)
- Tablet (Apple iPad)
- Desktop PC (HP Touch Smart PC & Apple iMac)
- Video Conferencing (Cisco)
- Size Zero Gadgets (Apple iPad)
Labels: Interesting, My Thoughts, Tech
Major Internet Developments over the past decade.
- Text to VOIP (Yahoo Chat to Skype VOIP Calls)
- Chatrooms to Social Networking (Yahoo to Orkut to Facebook)
- Content Provider to User Generated Content (Portals to Web Cast like YouTube)
- From News Portals to RSS Feeds.
- From no Apps to Apps Stores all the way.
Labels: Interesting, Misc, My Thoughts, Tech
Gadgets which are dying
- HD DVD (Blu Ray)
- VHS (DVD, Blu Ray)
- PDA (Smart Phones, Net Books, iPads)
- Film Camera (Digital Camera)
Labels: Interesting, My Thoughts, Tech
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


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For my first Follow Friday of a genealogy blog, I felt I couldn't go wrong with choosing, "Massachusetts Meanderings and More...Seeking Ancestors in Connecticut and Massachusetts" by Bonnie MacDonald, a professional genealogist from Washington state. She began her blog in February outlining her plans for a three-week research trip to three New England states and attending the New England Regional Genealogical Conference (NERGC). Fortunately, I found out about her blog when she was at the conference, and decided to Follow her, and she didn't disappoint.
After her NERGC write-ups, her real trip began. Bonnie visited archives, libraries, societies, town halls, many, many cemeteries (many off a well-traveled road), and was fortunate to stay at a lot of B&B's. Even though she was less than three hours from me, she went to many places I've never heard of. But there were some places I've been, and we have ancestors buried in the same cemetery in Lancaster and Hartford. She even took a photo of a memorial stone of my ancestor, Rowland Stebbins. (Thanks Bonnie.)
I eagerly looked for her post to see how she was managing during our cold, wet spring. Like a trooper, she was out there hunting for her ancestor's gravestones or trying to find a place to eat. At one point, when she was really close to me, I wrote to see about meeting, but it didn't work out for us. In one of her more recent posts, she was surprised the had two followers, I had hoped she would have 100 or more.
There are good hints as to how to prepare a research trip, lots of reference materials and many photos. Regarding the preparing for a trip, Bonnie did not know about the two holidays in one week, for Massachusetts. Patriots Day (on Monday), and Good Friday (on Friday) changed her plans because many town and state buildings were closed. If you like travelogues with lots of information, you will love this.
Even if you don't have ancestors in Massachusetts or Connecticut, I hope you take a look at her blog, and follow her.


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About Us
DeVries Global is a consumer communications agency, a micro-network with offices across North America, Europe and Asia and a client-centric consumer marketing innovator. In Greater China, our 70 experts work in Beijing, Shanghai and Taipei. We are recognised for outstanding key opinion leader relationships, creative ideas that move business and strategic activation mastery. We are leaders in beauty, fashion, prestige, technology and lifestyle business categories. We are particularly proud of our time-honoured partnership approach to working with clients.
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90sBabyB's Juego & Rock - Flight Home [9BMC Submitted]
@90sBayBmusic, @90sbabysrock, @juegotheninety
off of the upcoming mixtape "Down on Denison" contact: email@example.com for booking and inquiries
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
Comments will only be displayed by verified emails. No Spamming or Racism.


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Ah yes, Blue Ribbon restaurants. They're some of our favorites: Blue Ribbon Sushi, Blue Ribbon Bakery, Blue Ribbon Brooklyn, Brooklyn Bowl, and the list goes on. And just recently opened, Blue Ribbon Sushi Izakaya. But if you want to try Blue Ribbon's famous Best Fried Chicken before you can make it to one of chef and co-owner Eric Bromberg's magnificent eateries, you can do as your palette pleases this weekend with the chef himself at The Great GoogaMooga, a music and food festival in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.
What makes your event GREAT?
Best Fried Chicken
What will you be serving?
Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken with our
Mexican Honey and Pickled Cucumber Salad
Best three words to describe why people should try it:
Chicken came first!
What are you personally looking forward to this weekend other than your own event?
Hall and Oates!
We love saying "GoogaMooga." Feel free to entertain us and use it in a sentence… however you like.
Pardon me sir, do you have any Googa Mooga?!
The Great GoogaMooga is an "amusement park of food and drink" and live music going on this Saturday and Sunday in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Go on, get your Googa on!


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Nice collection!
my saiga 223 and 7.62x39
Last edited by sigsauer_; 07-23-2009 at 05:35 PM. Reason: no pics
Nice collection!
If you want more gun control, use both hands.
How do you know they are evil, do they tell you? Nice collection!
Johny Cash style. All dressed in black. Thats sick in a good way
very nice collection! as they say in the white house "black is beautiful!"
show off,nice clooection
Nice collection, thanks for the pic
AC/DC Back in Black.
Tree huggin' dirt worshipper!
what no FAL????


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Goode's out of touch
Have I got this right? Virgil Goode voted against HR 3214 (the Debbie Smith Act) because, although it would provide law enforcement officers with additional tools to apprehend rapists, he was troubled because "I support the death penalty"?
Let's not even get into the morality, the usefulness as a deterrent or the cost-effectiveness of the death penalty. I thought that even death penalty advocates like Goode only wanted it to be applied to guilty criminals. DNA is a useful tool for both determining guilt as well as establishing innocence. HR 3214 would help law enforcement officers and the courts to be sure that, if somebody's going to die at the hand of the government, they really did what they're accused of doing.
To understand the support this bill got, it should be noted that Goode voted against it as it passed 357-67. It was backed by the Bush administration. It was co-sponsored by 7 of Virginia's 11 Congressmen, including Congressmen Tom Davis, Bob Goodlatte, Frank Wolf, and Randy Forbes. All of the other 10 Virginia Congressmen, both Republican and Democrat, voted for it on the floor. Senator John Warner has co-sponsored the corresponding bill in the Senate - SB 1700.
Goode is just out of touch with mainstream Virginia values. You don't let rapists walk the streets to attack women, and you don't kill innocent people.
Harry Landers
Free Union


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Even though it appears the political landscape is shifting in favor of gay marriage and the Supreme Court recently heard arguments on the legality of the Defense of Marriage Act, getting married still poses some unique challenges for same-sex couples.
There are a series of questions and issues gay couples must face when planning their wedding that hetero couples simply don't have to worry about.
We spoke with Bernadette Coveney Smith — founder and president of the New York- and Boston-based gay wedding planning company 14 Stories and the same-sex wedding style website Fourteen— about the major challenges and questions gay couples must face as they plan the happiest day of their lives.
'Are You Gay Friendly?'
One of the biggest challenges couples address when deciding who to invite to the wedding is which of their family members and friends are supportive of same-sex marriage.
"Some people don't mind if their nephew has a 'roommate,' but they do have an issue with gay marriage," Coveney Smith explained to us. "It's more an issue with gay marriage than with the relationship."
The question also comes up in relation to vendors, since 29 states don't recognize sexual orientation in their anti-discrimination laws, meaning that it's perfectly legal for a florist or country club in Texas to tell an LGBT couple that they refuse to plan the wedding because they're gay or transgendered.
"There's also more subtle discrimination: Not returning phone calls or emails, or all of a sudden becoming booked once they realize it's a same-sex wedding," Coveney Smith added.
So unless they hire a wedding planner to do it for them, the couple must come out to every vendor, venue, and photographer they contact. "Many of the vendors I refer my clients to are also gay-owned businesses, so they speak the language, they understand the culture, and they're obviously more than happy to work on a same-sex wedding," Coveney Smith said.
Thinking beyond the traditional 'Bride and Groom'
The wedding industry is very bride-focused: Forms and contracts refer to the "bride and groom," vendors say "bridal party," people sit on either the "bride's side" or "groom's side." And most traditional "bridal" magazines portray the norm as one woman and one man.
It's up to the couple how they decide to break those traditions. Choosing what to wear can be a very personal choice, for instance. Do two lesbian brides want to wear two suits, a suit and a dress, or two dresses? Do two grooms want to wear the same tux, or one white and one black? Or does the couple simply want to wear whatever they like?
Tradition also dictates the bride walks down the aisle, but for couples with two brides or two grooms, the answer isn't as obvious. "We often will have the couple walking in holding hands, or if the space works, we'll use two aisles and eliminate the question of 'Who's the bride?' all together," Coveney Smith explained.
And even though most gay weddings are not in a place of worship, that doesn't mean certain religious traditions aren't included in the ceremony that need to be updated for a same-sex marriage. If a gay Jewish couple is getting married for example, the tradition of the man breaking the glass might evolve into the couple breaking two glasses or taking turns breaking the glass together.
Decisions after the wedding may be complicated, too
Since same-sex marriage is still illegal in certain states and countries around the world, deciding where to go on the honeymoon can be a challenge.
"If they travel together internationally or throughout the country, that marriage is mostly invalid. So they basically have to carry around this extra paperwork [proving their relationship in the case of a medical emergency], which costs thousands of dollars in attorney fees," Coveney Smith explained.
This also affects couples taking one another's name, or creating a new name together. Said Coveney Smith: "If they get a legal marriage in New York and then go back to Texas — that name change wouldn't apply just by presenting the marriage license. They'd have to actually go through the court system to change their name."
And the issue only gets more complicated when children are involved, leading to more paperwork, attorney fees, and issues to address such as second parent adoption.
Stay true to who you are
Even though all of these issues pose a serious challenge to same-sex couples when they're planning their wedding, Coveney Smith encouraged them to remain optimistic and stay true to who they are.
"Don't have a boring wedding if you're not a boring couple. If you really like drag queens (like some of my clients do) then have a drag queen. If you really like go-go dancers, have go-go dancers at your wedding," she said.
"Your wedding should be an expression of who you are, and it should be really fun."


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Jose Bautista's Injury: The View From 25 Feet Away
I haven't witnessed something like this before. I haven't even seen something like it live on television since Moises Alou cracked his ankle doing nothing more risky than rounding the bag at first.
Jose Bautista of the Jays took a mammoth swing and put a ball – foul – into the furthest reaches of left field at Yankee Stadium tonight, 400 feet away, easily. And then he crumpled over in pain.
At first this looked to be a hamate bone break in the wrist. The Jays have since indicated there is no fracture and the injury seems to be a tendon. It isn't necessarily that much better news for the battered Jays but psychologically it's better than a break. We'll see what the MRI says tomorrow
It does, however, bring invoke anew the endless accusations that Bautista is/was on Performance Enhancing Drugs. I've addressed this twice before with some first-hand recollections of the day a really knowledgable baseball man forecast all of Joey Bats' success.
I'd like to re-post here what I wrote in May of last year, with a slight update on the whereabouts of the source. There are a lot of reasons a guy's tendon might be strained or stretched or torn, but I think there's something akin to "provenance" for Bautista that merits re-telling.
And while pausing only to thank you for again making this blog Top 10 in the MLB.Com "pro" division despite its spotty schedule, here's what I wrote a season ago:
I first told this story in the fall of 2010 as Jose Bautista crossed the 50-home run plateau and was victimized by assumptions about PED's or corked bats or, I don't know, deals with the devils. With the Jays' slugger now having crossed the 20-home run plateau before the first of June (2011) I think I should tell it again.
I used to run into Jeff "Mickey" Manto all the time when he was the journeyman infielder (he played in 11 major league seasons and changed teams 10 times; he once went from Boston to Seattle and back to Boston in one season; he played for 15 minor league teams). Manto averaged 26 games per stint in his big league career, so whenever I'd see him on a field somewhere one of us would say "uh-oh – about to change uniforms again."
So on March 3, 2007, I stepped off a flight from New York and went directly to the Pirates-Yankees exhibition game in Tampa and who's the first person I see? Pirates batting coach Jeff Manto (naturally, it was his last year on the job). I asked him what he could tell me about his Pirate hitters that I didn't know; who I should watch for; who might surprise me.
He pointed at the guy in the batting cage. "If we can get him to replicate his swing three days in a row, Jose Bautista could hit 25 homers a year. In fact, I think he could hit 40. He is just so easily frustrated when it doesn't go right that he blames himself and forgets what he's learned. Or ignores it. But of all these guys I have, if you want one of them who will eventually do something special in this game, I'd pick him. I wouldn't be very surprised."
Bautista had 569 at bats last year in Toronto and ended at 54-124-.260. If you took his rates of production during his first four full seasons and gave him 569 at bats each year, he'd have averaged 20-73-.238 – so the power was there; this was not Brady Anderson coming out of nowhere. As I noted last year, until George Foster suddenly hit 52 homers for the 1977 Reds, his career high for blasts was 29 – and he was already in his seventh season in the National League. Cecil Fielder spent four years unable to crack the line-up of the Blue Jays, topped out at 14 homers, went to Japan for one year, and came back to hit 51 for the 1990 Tigers.
It is a rare thing to see a slugger grow from good to great – but it's not impossible. So lay off Bautista. And if you see Jeff Manto (the 2011 minor league hitting instructor for the White Sox) say hi for me, and congratulate him on his prescience (oh and the other kid he really liked back when he was his first manager in the minors, some guy named Ryan Howard), and tell him the Pirates shouldn't have dumped him as battng coach, nor should they have dealt Bautista for catcher Robinzon Diaz.
Update: Manto was promoted, this year, to batting coach for the White Sox. You may have noticed he helped Adam Dunn re-find his mojo. The man knows his batters.
14 Comments
Why would you suspect a Hamate fracture……Please stick to what you know
I felt badly for Jose Bautista, he appeared to be in great pain. I don't like to see athletes get hurt during a game. I watched the re-post from MLB.com and I can see the way his wrist was twisted with his follow-through. There was such a strange motion about it when I watched the bat in his hand. I'm glad he didn't break any bones but muscle and tendon take a longer time to heal. This is not what the Jays need right now. First it was their pitching staff and now it's their batters. Jeff Manto and some other individuals know instinctively when they are in the presence of greatness. Those are the people to trust with their judgment in spotting talent on the ball field. I congratulate Mr. Manto on his promotion and wish him all the best. I must apologize for causing a stir tonight when I made note of you wearing a ring in your new avatar pic. I had never seen you wear any jewelry on set except for a watch and it was out of the norm. I'm just a stickler for details and I made note in a tweet. Then the hailstorm of tweets followed suit. I hope your timeline wasn't clogged too badly. Maybe next time I'll just stay mum and let my head explode in private angst. Again I'm really very sorry for that. LyK
I saw Keith briefly on YES. Looking good!
Another great article. I really with you and DP would collaborate on a project together…until then i'll have to settle for his show and your sporadic blog posts…I'll deal with it. Knowing you are at a lot of yankee games i've got a question that isn't necessarily baseball "pure" but something that bugs the hell out of me…I've noticed Cano goes to his back pocket and grabs a handful of seeds and throws them in his mouth alot at the plate? Does he not use pine tar? The fact he would be basically eating the tar is puzzling enough, but don't the seeds get stuck to his batting glove? Seems it would mess up his grip…thanks for your time.
Ask most doctors. There is a LOOK to the way steroids make people bulk up… and Jose fits the profile. It's not proof, and it's not 'evidence'. But it's still suggestive.
Keith, are you going to rename your seats "Jose Bautista's wrist seats" instead of "Derek Jeter's ass seats"?
Keith Obermann Sucks. He sucked at ESPN, MSNBC and his new job cleaning toilets at Yankee Stadium.
Congrats on the Yankees getting Ichiro.
Ouch, get well soon Jose.
Frankly, we haven't analyzed this to the point that we stand firmly on that calculation. But from Edge Studio's perspective as a premier voice production and training facility, we can attest that, for many reasons, the voice over field continues to grow, and the need for voice over talent is booming.
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text: Irene left behind the Czech Republic to pursue opportunities in the United States and so far she's excelled as a swimsuit and lingerie model and hostess in south Florida. In her spare time Irene enjoys hanging out at the beach, reading, skiing and traveling. To find out what else Irene is into check out her interview featured in the members area.


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Are you of Scots Irish descent? Many of the vocal voices of Scots Irish immigrants are from the Southern American States, but an Irish researcher is reaching out to interview descendants of Ulster Presbyterians who stayed in New England. If this sounds like your family tree, then please continue reading!
Roe of Seattle Pacific University sent this message to the Londonderry
Historical Society "For the past ten
years or so, I have been studying present day Scots-Irish, and currently I am
in the midst of a study focused on the Scots-Irish in the New
England/Northeastern states. The Scots-Irish story has been dominated by
Southern voices (like Barry's), and I am trying to provide a means for learning
about the New England/Northeastern Scots-Irish experience.
study is designed to "listen" to personal and family stories of Scots-Irish. I
am looking for men and women, 18 years of age or older, to participate who are
(1) of Scots-Irish ancestry rooted in the Northeastern U.S., (2) consider
themselves to be Scots-Irish, (3) are interested in their Scots-Irish history
and family stories, and (4) are willing to describe their experiences—to be storytellers
in fine Scots-Irish tradition.
will be responding in writing to a series of questions about their family roots
and their present day activities, opinions and identity as Scots-Irish.
Confidentiality, of course, will be maintained. The entire experience should
take no more than one hour, although all are encouraged to write in as much
detail as possible, so some may decide to spend more than an hour on their
responses. Feedback from past participants indicates that most enjoyed
describing their Scots-Irish roots, and so our expectation is that this study
too will be a motivating and enjoyable experience for all."
Michael D. Roe, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Dean, School of Psychology, Family, and Community
Seattle Pacific University
Seattle, WA 98119 U.S.A.
(206) 281-2252
(206) 281-2695


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Three Keys to Motivating Unmotivated Teens
Dr. Regina Rei Lamourelle Kathleen Cushman, Jann Gumbiner, Jerry Blumengarten
Many parents and teachers struggle with what they believe are unmotivated teens. In this segment our guests share insights into what can be done to find the spark that can motivate a teen to find their passion and path in life.
|Play Episode
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