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There's a popular theory that bird and mammal evolution kicked into high gear after the dinosaurs went extinct. But now it turns out lice were already diversifying long before the dinosaurs died out.
This is significant because lice would only start to diversify when their various hosts - in other words, birds and mammals - were themselves starting to diversify into lots of different species. We know that, in the last hundred million years, birds and mammals have spread into almost every available ecological niche, and most researchers assumed that this happened shortly after the dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago, thus opening up all this prime ecological real estate.
But now, new research by University of Illinois ornithologist Kevin Johnson suggests that lice started diversifying before the extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous. This, as he explains, means big things for bird and mammal evolution:
This study lends support to the idea that major groups of birds and mammals were around before the dinosaurs went extinct. If the lice were around, we know their hosts were probably around. Ducks do different things from owls, which do different things from parrots, for example, and it was thought that after the dinosaurs went extinct that's when these birds or mammals diversified into these different niches. But based on the evidence from lice, the radiation of birds and mammals was already under way before the dinosaurs went extinct.
Lice really do undergo some dramatic evolutionary transformations to better fit with their preferred host. Gopher lice, for instance, have special grooves on the tops of their heads that allow them to hold onto a single hair, while wing lice have unusually long bodies that allow them to squeeze into the barbs of the bird's feather. These adaptations essentially lock the lice into one particular host species, meaning they would only happen in the presence of mass diversification.
Beyond the basic elegance of the idea that birds and mammals started diversifying after the dinosaur extinction, there was also the fact that the oldest fossils that resemble modern species all date back to less than 65 million years ago. The newly found lice fossils are only indirect evidence of earlier diversification, to be sure, but it's hard to reconcile these lice fossils with the current paradigm. If radiation did begin before the dinosaurs died out, it also means we have to come up with some new explanation for why birds and mammals started diversifying in such great numbers.
Johnson also tackles another crucial question...did dinosaurs themselves have lice?
"Our analysis suggests that both bird and mammal lice began to diversify before the mass extinction of dinosaurs. And given how widespread lice are on birds, in particular, and also to some extent on mammals, they probably existed on a wide variety of hosts in the past, possibly including dinosaurs. So maybe birds just inherited their lice from dinosaurs."
Via Biology Letters. Original image "Cretaceous Sunset" by Kerem Beyit.


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Steve Harvey quizzed President Obama on "family, fatherhood and his plans for the holidays" in a one-on-one interview at the White House Friday.
Harvey said he wanted to stay away from politics and get to more personal topics in what he called a "man on man" interview. He spoke about the interview to News4's Pat Lawson Muse immediately after the White House visit.
"The greatest moment in that interview for me was he was talking about his grandmother, who he misses so," Harvey said. "She passed in her eighties and my mom passed in her eighties.
"And I said to the president, 'I heard a rumor that your mother and my mother had met, and they are on the front row watching us right now. And that was a pretty cool moment."
The full interview will air on NBC4 on Friday, Dec. 20 at 2 p.m.
Harvey said he asked the president about gifts he plans to give this holiday season, family and how he feels about his daughters dating.
"He has developed some theories about dating," Harvey told Muse. "I was pretty proud of my president on that one."
And the selfie that Obama famously shot with the Danish and British prime ministers at the memorial in South Africa for Nelson Mandela? "I thought it was perfectly fine," Harvey told Muse. "So what? It was a celebration of life."
As for Michelle Obama's expression in the picture? Harvey said one short moment couldn't capture what the First Lady was really feeling."
"I've met her. I don't know a sweeter person, " Harvey said.
Harvey also said when he visits the District, he takes a trip to the Florida Grill near Howard University. "I love D.C.," he said.

subset: commoncrawl


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NYE Looks
When it comes to New Year's outfits, the first thing that comes to mind is tight sparkly dresses and uncomfortable heels, but this year is different! Whether you're out at a New Year's Eve party, or a casual dinner with your friends, there's a way for everyone to be cute and comfy for a festive night out & for the New Year!
Wearing all black and adding in shoes, hats, and accessories to tie the look together is the perfect way to make everything come together flawlessly. For my first outfit, I decided to go simple and casual, while spicing up the outfit with a few bold accessories. I started this outfit with a pair of black ripped skinny jeans. Having a simple, comfortable, and stretchy pair of jeans is a must-have for every closet. I paired them with a fitted V-neck long sleeved top. Throw on a teddy coat with absolutely any outfit and it will keep you warm and looking cute! I also threw on my favorite pair of shiny red (and festive) Doc Martens. They bring a bold touch to any outfit.
As far as accessories go, I always resort to layered gold necklaces, gold hoops and a few gold rings to tie in the whole top half. Throwing on a sailor hat adds a trendy and fun touch to any outfit. You don't need a fancy uncomfortable dress to go out on New Year's Eve!
For my second look, I paired a black stretchy (easy to dance in!) skirt with a shimmery tank top. I also threw on a taupe suede jacket and black boots! This outfit mixes simple neutral colors with shiny New Year's vibes!
Blog By: McKella Tiziani | @mckellatiziani


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Pacific Swift 2008 Wilma HansenWilma Hansen´s school trip of 2008.
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It finally happened. And we're jumping for joy.
Audi revealed its new range of diesels for the US market, after years of Americans badgering the luxury brand to bring them over from Europe. Now there's a clean diesel option on some of the company's best-sellers here, the Q5 and A6, as well as the super pretty A7 and plush A8.
Shown in LA in a shade probably called "It's So Bright White," Audi can finally quit calls to install the excellent 3.0 TDI V6 in something other than the big ass Q7. The TDI makes 240 horses and 406 lb.-ft. of torque. In the big A8, where it will do battle with the Mercedes S350 Bluetec, it gets the car to 60 in a claimed 6.4 seconds, all while returning an EPA rating of 36 MPG highway.
The engine already proves relatively hushed in the Q7, so it's suitably refined and will seem at home even in the stylish A7 hatchback. Other than some badges, though, there's not much stylistically different with the TDIs with the standard gas engines.
The A8 shows up here in spring 2013, while the others will join it and the Q7 sometime next fall. This year's LA show is proof cool, efficient engines are finally here.


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I went to see Georgia Tech host Alabama in game 4 of the Atlanta Regional Saturday night. Tech won 5-2 behind some power pitching and a few timely hits. Alabama came back on Sunday to beat Mercer in the afternoon and then beat GT in the nightcap setting up tonight's winner take all game. Hopefully Tech will win and face the winner of Clemson and Auburn this weekend.
Eight spots were decided yesterday. There are seven other games tonight that will decide who advances to the Super Regionals. (Who came up with that name anyway? Call it the Super Sixteen, or Regional Championship Series or something.) You can find your favorite team in the official bracket.
Just one picture: Gorgeous night for a ballgame. You can see there was a lot of red in the stands.
Filed under: baseball | Tagged: Alabama, baseball, College World Series, Deck McGuire, Georgia Tech, NCAA, Regional, Super Regional | Leave a comment »


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Made in small batches of 45 pcs. Limited Edition.
Silver plated brass pin with hard enamel.
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For me, there is nothing more liberating, more magical, more fun, more cathartic, more completely and totally transcendent than writing. Maybe that sounds like hyperbole, but I've escaped into story for as long as I can remember. I started keeping a journal in second grade, because I was in love with Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books and thought that someday I might write an epic memoir. Since my life in the city of St. Louis and suburbs of Chicago was pretty boring compared to Laura's childhood on the American frontier, I started making up fantastical stories about colonies of cows living on the moon to amuse myself. In junior high, I turned the horrible everyone-is-mean-and-I-hate-myself emotions I was dealing with into poetry. When I was in high school, the poems became diatribes in zines, and then I turned back to fiction.
Eventually, I went to college for creative writing. I got both my bachelors degree and my MFA (Master of Fine Arts) from Columbia College Chicago. While I was in grad school, I met my first agent. A year after I graduated, she sold my first book, I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone, and a year after that, she sold the second, Ballads of Suburbia.
It was a dream come true, a goal I'd been working toward since second grade, and a HUGE learning experience, so I wanted to share some of what I learned with you, whether you're interested in pursuing writing as a career or just a hobby. (Fiction is my area of expertise, but a lot of this advice can be applied to writing in general.) This is such a broad topic that I couldn't possibly include everything (but you can always email [email protected] with more specific queries). In the meantime, here are some guidelines to help you along the way.
Keep track of your ideas.
Every poem, essay, screenplay, short story, or novel starts with inspiration. I'm guessing that if you read Rookie, you are already a very creative and imaginative person who gets ideas from listening to a song or looking at a picture, from watching the news or talking to your friends, from your crazy dreams about time-traveling monkeys or daydreams about how life might be if you'd made a different a choice somewhere along the line. If you don't already, YOU NEED TO WRITE ALL OF THESE IDEAS DOWN. I literally have, like, seven notebooks going right now—one journal for all those angsty feelings that seem too personal to share but someday may make good fodder, one for the main book idea I'm working on right now, three separate notebooks for the three other fiction ideas that I have brewing, one for my non-fiction ideas, and one adorable little tiny notebook that I carry with me EVERYWHERE in case I get an idea for any of these projects or a new one. I also have pen and paper by my bed in case I have a spark of brilliance while I'm half-asleep.
Daydream, read, repeat.
When I've got one idea that I'm trying to build, I try to think about it as often as possible: when I'm running errands, walking to a friend's house, or supposed to be working on other things. The daydreaming phase is really important. I also find it really useful to make playlists that align with my project, using songs that remind me of characters, settings, moods, or emotional turning points. Also, Pinterest has really helped collect images that inspire me.
Another important source for inspiration–perhaps the most important source–is other writing. I don't have many hard-and-fast rules here, but this is one of them: read as much as possible. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays, books that are in the same genre as ones you'd maybe want to write, and books that are totally different from what you usually prefer. The best, very free way (thank you, libraries) to learn how to write is to examine all of your favorite literary works and see how the narrative was put together. Go to see movies and plays and then read to compare. (You can find plays in the library, obviously, and movie/TV scripts at Simply Scripts and IMSDb.) Devour magazines and newspaper articles. Current events can provide great material for your writing (you might have heard that sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction). Check out books by writers about the process, like On Writing by Stephen King.
Discipline, discipline, discipline.
I know what you're thinking. What happened to freedom and liberation and stuff? Trust me, there is a lot of freedom within the discipline, but writing has to be part of your regular routine. Just like playing a sport or a musical instrument, if you don't practice regularly, you get rusty, and then getting back into it becomes hard and NOT FUN, so you get frustrated and might even quit for good. I set myself a schedule. I was a night owl writer, but now I do my best work in the morning. Everyone is different, and habits may change. Some people advocate writing a little bit every day. Since I view writing as my main job, I take weekends off (but just from the actual writing, I'm always looking for ideas or thinking about my stories). When I was in school, I used to write a little bit in my journal every day and then sit down at my computer and binge write all day on Sunday. If you follow any writers on Twitter, you might see people asking if anyone wants to do a #1k1hr. This is a word sprint with the goal being to write 1,000 words in one hour. I'm horrible at these things, because I'm more of a slow and deliberate writer. Instead I try to write in concentrated blocks–no Facebook, Twitter, or other internet-surfing. Find a place to write (a café, your bedroom) and a medium (a notebook or computer) that's conducive for you or else you won't be tempted to write as often as you should.
Find your own process.
When it comes to actually committing words to the page, every writer is different, and every project is different. Sometimes you might struggle to come up with the first sentence, staring for hours at a blank screen. (Take a break, step away, shower, whatever.) Other times, you might have manic bursts of inspiration. I wrote one book entirely by the seat of my pants, just typing up scenes as they came to me, even if they were out of order. On the other hand, with my current project, I spent weeks writing plot sketches, outlines, and character bios before I dove into the story.
For aspiring novelists specifically, one of my favorite books is Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell, because he has a whole chapter devoted to different techniques for what he calls the NOPs (no-outline people) and the OPs (outline people), or as they are more commonly called in the writing world: pantsters and plotters. I also recommend Save the Cat by Blake Snyder—it's aimed at screenwriters, and it is full of handy tips.
I think the writing software, Scrivener, is a great tool across the board. It works on Macs or PCs. You can write everything from screenplays to in-depth research papers to novels using it. Plotters can use one of its many outline modes to plot (I love the corkboard!), and pantsters can easily rearrange their various non-linear scenes. You can keep research and pictures in your project file, so you can easily study that girl who looks like your main character without changing computer programs. Then, when you are done, you can compile it into a Word document. Best of all, they offer a 30-day free trial and after that, it's only $40–cheaper than Word, and an excellent thing to ask for as a present.


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The Central Connecticut baseball team dropped the first game of a weekend series vs. Sacred Heart on Thursday, losing 8-7 in 13 innings. The second game of the doubleheader was suspended due to darkness and will be resumed on Friday at 1 p.m. in New Britain. Central leads 4-3 in the top of the seventh inning.
The Blue Devils are now 24-19 overall and 12-9 in Northeast Conference play with the game one loss. The Pioneers are now 26-24 overall and 12-9 in league action.
Game one was a wild 13-inning affair that saw the Pioneers score four two out runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the score 7-7 and send it to extra innings. It remained tied until the bottom of the 13th when Ted Shaw tripled to deep left centerfield and then scored on a wild pitch from Central closer Josh Ingham.
Ingham had come on to pitch in the ninth inning with two outs and the bases loaded with the Blue Devils leading 7-3. A pair of hits by the Pioneers cleared the bases and tied the game.
Central had taken a 6-3 lead with four-run top of the eighth inning, including a pair of unearned runs. Five hits and an error in the inning led to a three-run lead for the Blue Devils. They added a run in the ninth on to stretch the lead to four.
Sacred Heart's Jayson Sullivan, who would add a three-run double in the ninth inning, had a three run home run in the sixth that had given SHU the 3-2 lead. A two-run home run from junior Dominic Severino gave Central the 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. It was his second home run of the year.
Ingham drove in three runs in game one and Severino added two RBI. Sophomore Connor Fitzsimons and freshman Nick Hayes each added an RBI in the loss. The Blue Devils had 15 hits in the game while the Pioneers added 19. The two teams combined to produce 15 runs and 34 hits in the 13 innings.
In game two senior Anthony Turgeon gave the Blue Devils a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning with his first home run of the season. Sacred Heart tied it up with two runs in the bottom of the first inning.
The Pioneers took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI single from Keith Klebart.
Central took a 4-3 lead in the sixth. With one out Turgeon singled up the middle and then scored on a triple to right field from Ingham. Ingham scored on a base hit to right from freshman Pat Sirois.
Senior Tom Coughlin pitched the first five innings allowing three runs, all earned, on six hits while striking out three. Freshman Matt Blandino pitched the sixth inning.
The game was suspended in the top of the seventh inning due to darkness. It will resume on Friday at 1 p.m., and will be followed by game three of the series.


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All The Pictures From The GQ Men Of The Year Awards: Chris Hemsworth, Michael Fassbender & More
Chris Hemsworth and Michael Fassbender Win Big at the GQ Men of the Year Awards
Chris Hemsworth and Michael Fassbender Win Big at the GQ Men of the Year Awards
Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky hit the red carpet in London last night for British GQ's Men of the Year Awards. Elsa and Chris had a kid-free night out on the town. Four-month-old India Hemsworth was at home, though she's often spotted traveling the world with her famous parents, recently visiting far-flung locations like LA and Madrid. Elsa and Chris mingled at the bash with other celebs like Sacha Baron Cohen and Homeland's Damien Lewis. Stella McCartney also made the rounds with her husband, Alasdhair Willis. The whole celeb group was treated to a performance from NYC rapper Azealia Banks and jokes from hosts Jimmy Carr and David Walliams. Jimmy got things off on a cheeky note by saying, "Prince Harry would have been here tonight, but he didn't have anything to wear." Michael Fassbender took home a statue too as actor of the year.


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Tonight is the long-anticipated appearance of Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project at the Majestic Theatre. Friday and Saturday brings violinist Robert McDuffie playing Philip Glass's new "American Four Seasons" to the Symphony. And Sunday, at 3:15 p.m., is the last concert of the season for the San Antonio Chamber Music Society.The Sunday concert features three string quartets that couldn't be more different from each other. The first is by American Samuel Barber. The middle movement of this piece was later used by Barber to create his famous Adagio for Strings. Barber also arranged it for choir. You are probably familiar with the full string version, but it is quite interesting to hear it in its original format. While four strings don't have the power and lush sound of a string orchestra, this version offers a transparency and clarity that the other versions lack. Hearing it in context with the other movements is also fascinating.
The second quartet is by Elliott Carter. Carter is 101 years old and still composing! Carter is challenging. The music is dense, complex and dissonant. Quite different from the Barber! But, Carter is one of the giants of American composition and I'm looking forward to hearing this quartet.
The final work is a string quartet by Tchaikovsky. I like to think of this as a sneak preview to the Symphony's Tchaikovsky Festival coming up in late April and early May. (This is not the same quartet that Camerata San Antonio is performing as part of that festival.) Tchaikovsky is not known for his chamber music. Ballet, opera and symphonies were his main areas of composition. It will be interesting to find out if his brilliant melodies and passionate romanticism translates to the more intimate format of the string quartet.
I asked a member of the board of the San Antonio Chamber Music Society why they start their concerts at the odd time of 3:15 p.m. She said that it was a tradition that dates back to the early days of the organization, 68 years ago. Classical music is all about tradition…so why change?
Sunday, April 3 at 3:15 p.m.
Lafayette String Quartet
Ann Elliott-Goldschmid, Violin
Sharon Stanis, Violin
Joanna Hood, Viola
Pamela Highbaugh Aloni, Cello
Barber: String Quartet in B Major, Op. 11
Carter: String Quartet No. 2
Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 3 in E-flat Minor, Op. 30
Temple Beth-El
211 Belknap Place
Jack Fishman
Email: email@example.com
For more blogs by Jack Fishman visit: www.sasymphony.org/blog


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14 Pepper Street, E14 9QY
Pepper Street Apartments is situated within a quaint little village area full of cafes and shops by the river within walking distance to Canary Wharf. Classical architectural design with beautiful contemporary interiors give Pepper Street apartments a true home-from-home feel.
Important Information:
Check In/Check Out: Check In is available from 15:00pm. Check Out is at 11:00am.
Check In Procedure/Key Collection: This property operates a meet and greet service. Please advise of your estimated time of arrival prior to check in.
Pets Policy: No Pets Allowed
Child Friendly Facilities: Baby cots available at an additional cost of £15 + VAT each / Cost per week
Extra Bed Facilities: Additional Rollaway Beds available on request at an additional cost of £10 per night+ VAT / Minimum one week charge of £70 + VAT
Please Note: Prices advertised are indicative costs for the apartments. Event rates may apply for major attractions or events in the City and rate adjustments for the best available rate will apply at the time of enquiry.
Studio Apartments at Pepper Street offer a real taste of executive city living, with an open plan design, and all the facilities representing a home from home in the City.
The Studio Apartments boast not only a sleeping space, but a place to cater and dine in the fully equipped kitchen and living space.
Approx Size: 30 Sqm
The One Bedroom Apartments of Pepper Street provide executive space and facilities for both corporate and leisure travellers.
With a fully fitted kitchen, open plan living and dining area, modern bathroom, and separate bedroom area you will sink right into home.
Each apartment also contains Flat Screen TV, complimentary Wi-Fi throughout, and weekly housekeeping for your comfort and convenience.
Approx Size: 50 Sqm
(£) Additional charges may apply *
See apartment types for specific amenities to each category*
Full payment is due at the time of the booking. Payment is to be made on pounds sterling, Euro or Dollars only. Skyline Worldwide Accommodations Ltd accepts the following methods of payment:
• Valid Credit or UK Debit Card, which has an expiry date that is later than the date on which the intended stay in the Property will end. Please note that 4% + VAT admin charge will be added to the total if paying with American Express and 3.5% + VAT will be added if paying with any other credit.
• Company Cheque; the cheque is required to be cleared and in Skyline's accounts prior to the commencement of the stay.
• Bank Transfer; money is required to be cleared and in Skyline's accounts prior to the commencement of the stay. All prices quoted are in pounds sterling and subject to Value Added Tax ("VAT"), unless otherwise stated. You will receive an invoice as part of the booking confirmation. Failure to pay in accordance with the agreed Terms may result in suspension of accommodation. Skyline Worldwide Accommodations Limited reserves the right to charge interest at 4% above the Bank of England base rate from the due date for payment.
We will require a credit or debit card at the time of check in which will be charged for all additional charges incurred by any Guest ("Additional Charges"), such as: breakages, loss or damage to the Property or any of its contents; cleaning / specialist treatment charges where more than routine cleaning is needed or smoking has occurred in a non-smoking apartment; additional housekeeping services (details available upon request); check in and out inventory where requested by the Guests at £90 +VAT each; lost keys, electronic fobs or car park passes at £50 (inc VAT) for each fob; call out charge for locked out Guests at £70 +VAT per call out; any other financial loss to Skyline Worldwide Accommodations Limited e.g. where damage means the Property cannot be immediately re-occupied, plus the administrative costs. In case of any Additional Charges, a written statement will be sent to you at the time the debit or credit card is charged the sum of the Additional Charges. Where the level of Additional Charges are not stated in these Terms, the apartments will charge the actual cost of the cleaning, replacement, repair, services or loss (as appropriate) to you, together with the administration costs.
Although accommodation and location are confirmed in advance, the exact apartment number cannot be guaranteed prior to arrival. No refund will be payable in such circumstances. The number of people permitted to occupy the Property is limited to the number of beds. In some apartments extra beds may be provided and this will be at an additional charge to be agreed at the time of the booking. All Guest names should be submitted at the time of the booking. The property is not for use as the principal home or residence of the Guests and is for use as temporary accommodation, or as accommodation in connection with the business needs of you, your organization and/or the Guests only. The Guests only have the right to use the Property pursuant to these Terms and no relationship of landlord and tenant is created
Apartments are available for check in from 15:00 on the date of arrival. Out of hours check in is available for an Additional Charge, as is the provision of check in and check out inventories. If these services are required, please contact us in advance. The Guests are required to check out of the Property before 11:00 on the date of departure. Out of hours check out is available for an Additional Charge, as is the provision of check in and check out inventories. If these services are required, please contact us in advance. The Welcome Pack within the Property will confirm the procedure for check out.
All cancellations and/or notification of early departure must be received in writing. No refunds will be made for non-arrivals. A cancellation charge will not apply and a full refund will be given where appropriate written notice of cancelling the booking has been received by us. The notice periods are:
• for bookings of 3 to 6 nights, 72 business hours notice prior to the date of arrival.
• for bookings of 7 to 28 nights, 7 working days notice prior to the date of arrival.
• for bookings of 29 nights or more, 14 working days notice prior to the date of arrival.
Where insufficient notice is given, the cancellation fee will be the nightly charge for the apartment multiplied by the number of additional day's notice that should have been given. The amount paid for the cancelled nights that fall after the expiry of the notice period will be credited to the credit or debit card with which you paid. Should a Guest wish to depart before the booked departure date, the cancellation and notice periods at condition will apply, and you (the guest) will be charged the nightly rate multiplied by the number of days which should have been included in the notice period. Notice of early departure must be received by us in writing for any such refunds to apply. If the Guest wishes to extend the period of stay in the Property, written notice should be given as soon as possible. Any extensions will be based on availability at that time. An alternative apartment may be offered if the Property has been booked for another client for all or part of the required extension. We reserve the right to charge a different price for the Property for any period of extension. Payment for the extension period will be required immediately once we confirm the availability of the Property or alternative apartment(s) to the Guest. We reserve the right to charge a different price for the entire booking should any alteration to the length of stay change at any time for any reason.
When you book an apartment with Skyline Worldwide Accommodations Limited, the price includes: • the supply of water, electricity, gas, sewage (as applicable); 7.1.2. payments of Council Tax; • television license; • one broadband connection; • weekly housekeeping service (including general cleaning, changing of linen and towels, making of beds, removal of rubbish); • weekly supply of fresh bed linen and towels; and • routine maintenance, e.g. light bulb changes. We cannot be responsible for any failure or interruption of services to the Property, or for any damage, disruption or noise caused as a result of repair works or any other activity being carried out in another part of the building or outside.
Guests must comply with the regulations for use of the Property set out in the Information Pack. If any Guest breaches any of these Conditions or the regulations, we reserve the right to request the Guest to vacate the Property immediately, and without refund. Guests must not smoke in any of Skyline Worldwide Accommodations Ltd.'s apartments. Under no circumstances are pets of any sort permitted in Skyline Worldwide Accommodations Ltd.'s apartments or buildings. Skyline Worldwide Accommodations Limited does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage to Guest's personal belongings at any time. Guests are responsible for the behaviour of their children whilst at the Property. Guests must keep the Property, and its furniture, fittings and effects in the same condition as on the date of their arrival, and must leave the Property in the same cleanliness and general order as it was upon their arrival in order to avoid incurring any Additional Charges. Guests must notify us of all damages, lost or broken items, or any such matters requiring maintenance in the manner shown in the Information Pack. Guests' possessions must be removed from the Property on the date of departure. We will keep all lost property for a maximum of two months from the date of discovery; at any time thereafter it will be discarded.
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Sep. 3, 2013 2:51 PM | Sara Carter
Mr. President, if your Sunni leanings give you enough pause to gauge the imminent threat coming up through our southern border, then you should level with America. You should do a solid in closing our borders. You should stop this notion of disarming peaceful citizens who love their nation and their guiding principles. You should act now...
Iran is recruiting an "invisible army" of revolutionary sympathizers in Latin America to infiltrate the U.S. through the "soft belly" of the southern border, U.S. officials and national security experts told TheBlaze. And they're using one website in particular to do it.
The Iranian regime's conversion efforts are becoming increasingly aggressive, especially over the Internet, with the goal of conducting operations against United States interests in the Western Hemisphere, according to U.S. government officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the nature of their work in the region.
Islamoriente.com, which focuses on religion and politics, is one of Iran's main recruitment and conversion websites for Latin America on the Internet, TheBlaze has learned. The site, which launched in 2008, includes links to Iranian television for Spanish speakers, anti-American news stories, essays on reasons to convert to Islam, chat rooms and a personal message from the Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran.
Even as President Barack Obama waits for Congress to make a decision on Syria, the Iranian website wastes no time and has no shortage of stories ridiculing the U.S. administration for threatening to strike President Bashar Assad's regime, a staunch ally of Iran.
Jim Phillips, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and expert in Iranian affairs, said Iran's focus on Hispanic converts is a new evolution in Iranian operations in Latin America. Phillips said Khamanei's message titled "The Importance of Work and the Nobility of the Worker" in Islam, is significant because the Ayatollah is "normally a background player in these sorts of efforts and doesn't usually play such a public role."
"Historically, Iran has tried to recruit agents from the Lebanese Shi'ite diaspora in South America and West Africa," Phillips said. "This emphasis on Hispanic converts is something new."
In the past, "U.S. intelligence focused on Iran's relationship with Hezbollah but now with the people they are recruiting it could be much more difficult to gauge who is infiltrating the U.S.," Phillips added.
In August, the U.S. State Department decided to order a new review of Iranian terror activity in Latin America, based on a 500-page report issued by Argentinian prosecutor Alberto Nisman on Iran's terrorist strategy in the region. Nisman was the original prosecutor in the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association that killed 85 people and wounded hundreds more. Nisman believes Hezbollah, on orders from Iran, was responsible for the bombing.
The report states that Iran has attempted to infiltrate "for decades, large regions of Latin America, through the establishment of clandestine intelligence stations and operative agents which are used to execute terrorist attacks when the Iranian regime decides so, both directly or through its proxy, the terrorist organization Hezbollah. These actions have been taking place within the so-called 'export of the revolution,' which was never masked by Tehran and is, in fact, written in their own constitution."
Nisman's report supports the evidence U.S. officials say they've found in the region. Iran's revolutionary guard is focused on Latin America and has ramped up its efforts over the past decade, utilizing the same Internet tools they censor and ban from their own citizens. It is "part of their effort to build an invisible army to penetrate the U.S. and our interests without suspicion, and it's something we should be extremely mindful of," said a U.S. official familiar with Iranian operations in Latin America.
The official said recent Iranian activity in Latin America shows the importance of the region in Iran's political and ideological goals. Those goals are not only to cultivate anti-American sentiment in the region but also to build a network of support among Latin American converts in positions of power, the official said.
The Blaze attempted to trace the domain and creators of the server hosting IslamOriente.com but the site is protected by a privacy company based out of the U.S. Attempts to call the number on the website led to a voice recording from a telephone number out of Queensland, Australia, which said that the website is protected by privacyprotect.org.
According to a 2012 report from the Middle East Media Research Project (MEMRI), a think tank providing translation on video and Internet websites from the Middle East, privacyprotect.org is one among many U.S. companies that are used by Al Qaeda and other nefarious groups use to hide their information. MEMRI also attempted to trace the Iranian website to no avail.
Ayelet Savyon, the director of the Iran desk for MEMRI, told The Blaze that Iranian activities seem to be focused more on recruiting from the local populations with more sophisticated approaches.
"(Iran) is doing so in all parts of the world with the aim at targeting the U.S. soft belly," said Savyon, who is based in Israel. "Latin America is a long-term goal for them with direct national security implications for the U.S., and I do think it's of special interest to the U.S." She referred to The Washington Post's recent report revealing how Iranian embassies in Latin America use cultural attaches to recruit young impressionable students to special conversion programs in Iran.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who was elected in June to replace the openly anti-American Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said in a recent public address that his support for Latin America is strong. Rouhani told Vasquez Bucaro, the president of the Central American Parliament and the head of Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly, that he welcomes increased interaction between the two groups and Iran's legislature to strengthen their relations.
"Just because Iran has a new president, that hasn't changed their goals," Savyon said. "They are looking to recruit people who can support Iran's revolutionary values. Their agenda hasn't changed, only thing that has changed is the image they are trying to present to the world." A U.S. counterterrorism official said Iran's activities are being closely monitored by U.S. intelligence agencies and "there's no question that Iran has tried to cultivate ties with some of Latin America's left-leaning governments."
"As an element of this strategy, Tehran has mounted a charm offensive that includes using Internet propaganda to influence public opinion in these countries," he added. Another U.S. official, who has worked in Latin America for more than a decade, said Iran has dedicated a large number of resources to recruiting and converting people in Mexico, who have easier access to the U.S. border and can easily blend in with other migrants crossing the border.
In 2009, six U.S. officials confirmed in an earlier investigation conducted by this reporter that the designated terrorist group Hezbollah, which is supported by the Iranian government, had been using the same narcotics routes used by drug cartels into the U.S. That has not changed but now "Iran's goal is to recruit people that can be utilized against U.S. interests" and blend in without raising suspicion, the U.S. official said.
Hezbollah is based in Lebanon and was founded after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. It has grown into a major political, military and social welfare organization, which is controlled and financed by Iran and in 2006, it fought a 34-day war against Israel.
Hezbollah members and supporters have entered the U.S. through the southern border as early as 2002, with the case of Salim Boughader Mucharrafille, a Mexican of Lebanese descent. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison by Mexican authorities on charges of organized crime and immigrant smuggling. Mucharrafille had owned a cafe in the border city of Tijuana, near San Diego. In 2002, he was arrested for smuggling 200 people into the the U.S., including Hezbollah supporters, according to a 2009 Congressional report.
In 2005, Mahmoud Youssef Kourani, the brother of a Hezbollah chief, pleaded guilty to providing material support to Hezbollah after being smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border and settling in Dearborn, Mich.
"Now what they desire is a proxy terrorist group that can easily slip past U.S. border security," the U.S. official added. "Who's going to suspect an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, Mexico, or anywhere else for that matter, of being a jihadist?"
© 2013 - 2014, Gabriel Thy. All rights reserved.


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NEA ads hit hard in Colorado and North Carolina races
Candidates who undermine public schools and families are targets
WASHINGTON - October 12, 2010 -
NEA and its political action committees are running new television ads that go after candidates for failing to support public schools and families. The ads will air in Colorado for the U.S. Senate race and in North Carolina's 8th Congressional District.
The TV ad that began running in Colorado today is called "Math" and shows how anti-education Senate candidate Ken Buck's plan for public schools "doesn't add up." Buck wants to cut $1.1 billion from school budgets and fire 11,000 teachers and education support professionals, which will dramatically increase class size.
"If candidates are pushing policies and proposals that undermine our efforts to improve public education, we're definitely going to sound the alarm and let voters know," said Karen M. White, director of NEA's Campaigns and Elections Department. "We will also speak up if they take positions that harm families and communities because we know that our students will end up paying the price."
The "Day at the Park" ad that begins airing in N.C.'s 8th Congressional District tomorrow takes on Harold Johnson for supporting a 23 percent national sales tax. The tax would be a huge burden on families because it would force them to pay significantly more for everyday needs like groceries, gas and medicine.
NEA's political action committees are also sending out 225,000 pieces of mail this week to voters in the 8th District urging voters to vote for education champion Rep. Larry Kissell, a former high school teacher.
These latest ads and mailings are part of the NEA's $15 million independent campaign launched last week to elect education champions in key federal races nationwide. This week, the campaign is also sending 200,000 pieces of mail to Florida's 22nd District urging voters to support Rep. Ron Klein. Meanwhile, a radio ad that highlights the record of U.S. Sen. Patty Murray is running in the western part of Washington state.
"This is going to be a tough election, and there's too much at stake for educators to sit this one out. Our passion for creating great public schools for all students means we must get involved in this fight," said White.
To view or listen to the ads, visit: www.youtube.com/user/NEAFundCampaignAds.
Follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/NEAMedia
The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing
3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.
CONTACT: Brian Washington (202) 822-7823, email@example.com


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Do we like the film Vanishing Point? Maybe a little too much as we've posted the Vanishing Point finale, intro and assorted clips in between. So despite our best efforts to ignore the much-hyped 08 Challenger SRT8, we're going to budge a little because this particular story captures a little of that Jalopnik spirit. As an homage, Chrysler's Ralph Gilles and Erich Heuschele are going to be participating in One Lap of America in a white Dodge Challenger SRT8, with Giles as a fairly convincing Super Soul and Heuschele as a poor man's Kowalski. And this isn't any run-of-the-mill Challenger, it is the first street-worthy Challenger SRT8, the one that Hueschele points out "was the first car on Jalopnik," which of course makes it a piece of history. [Source: Chrysler]
More from Jalopnik
Jeff Glucker
Heuschele looks like he is one of the few people who knows the entrance to the Pit of Despair


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Netflix reported Q3 2013 results, including:
- 40 million global subscribers.
- $1.1 billion in revenue.
- EPS of $0.52.
Notable news:
- Original content represents less than 10% of the content budget.
- Netflix is now available in 41 countries.
- New original content In Q4 includes season 2 of Lilyhammer, and Turbo F.A.S.T., a new animated series co-created with Dreamworks
Netflix is forecasting Q4 global subscribers from 42.8 to 44.4 million, net income of $29 to $45 million, and EPS of $0.47 to $0.73.
You can view Netflix's letter to shareholders on the Netflix IR website.
Investors responded favorably to the news, and Netflix stock is trading at $354 per share.
Netflix posted a video recording of the Q3 Earnings Interview from earlier today, where Netflix's Hastings, Sarandos and Wells talk about original content, international expansion, personal profiles, binge watching, sports programming, competition, and more.
Netflix has come a long way in the past year...


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[[cross-posted from PFF Blog ]]
Should "South Park" be censored? What about "Nip/Tuck?" How about "The Shield?" If some members of Congress have their way, these cable shows (or the stations that air them) might soon be subjected to the FCC's indecency regime.
Recently, the respective chairmen of the Senate and House Commerce Committees, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), both reiterated their support for applying indecency regulations to at least cable and satellite channels on the basic tier.
In the last session of Congress, an attempt to impose indecency regs on basic cable was narrowly defeated by a 12-11 vote of the Senate Commerce Committee. Importantly, Sen. Stevens voted against the proposal then, but he's obviously ready to switch his vote now. And FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin, the next likely chairman of the agency, has repeatedly expressed support for a "comprehensive solution" to this issue as more people migrate to cable and satellite TV. "I am sympathetic to the many people asking why our indecency regulations apply only to broadcast," he told members of Congress during a hearing last year.
And, just yesterday, Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV) and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) dropped a new bill, "The Indecent and Gratuitous and Excessively Violent Programming Control Act of 2005," which says that "Broadcast television, cable television and video programming are uniquely pervasive presences in the lives of all American children; and readily available to all American children." Their bill goes on to propose the application of traditional broadcast controls to subscription-based media and would also mandate FCC controls on "excessively violent programming" during the hours that children might constitute a substantial portion of the viewing audience. (No word yet on whether "video programming" would also include DVDs, the Internet, or mobile content).
So, it appears that Congress and the FCC are ready to open this regulatory Pandora's Box and begin censoring subscription-based media. There are three things I find very troubling about all of this:
(1) Should Our Clear-As-Mud Indecency "Standard" Really Be Applied More Broadly?: The constitutionality of the FCC's indecency regime has always been suspect even in the context of over-the-air broadcasting. That is more clearly the case today than ever before. Take a look at the recent "Saving Private Ryan" decision that I blogged about here.
The decision is about as clear as mud and does little to clarify modern indecency "standards." Why else would 66 ABC affiliates refused to air the movie in the first place? And why else would PBS self-censor a war documentary about life on the front lines in Iraq for fear that its public TV stations could not afford the FCC fines?
Read my blog for more details about just how arbitrary this new indecency regime is and then ask yourself just how much more complicated things will get if we try to apply it all to cable and satellite television.
(2) Intruder in the Home or Invited Guest?: The best argument in favor of some level of broadcast TV or radio censorship is that over-the-air signals come into our homes uninvited. In Pacifica, the Supreme Court stressed this point, arguing that broadcasting was a "pervasive" influence in our society and "uniquely accessible" to children. (That's why Rockefeller and Hutchison use that language in their bill). Of course, even though over-the-air broadcast signals do come right through the walls of our homes, those televisions and radios didn't just walk in and plop themselves down in our living rooms. We put them there. So, in a sense, this "TV as invader" logic has always been a little weak.
But let's ignore all that for a moment and return to the question of how this logic might apply to cable and satellite. Cable and satellite television are subscription-based media outlets. They require that consumers take affirmative steps (and spend a fair amount of money) to bring video programming services into the home. Cable television, for example, requires a monthly subscription that averages just under $40 per month for expanded basic service. Satellite subscriptions cost even more. Add the digital tier, a few premium channels, and a couple of set-top boxes, and you're probably well over $60 bucks a month. Thus, considering how much time and money adults must expend to bring these media devices into the home, the "media-as-invader" logic completely breaks down when you try to apply it to cable and satellite. These technologies are not "intruders" in the home; they are invited guests.
Moreover, the parental responsibility argument has to count for something here. Once parents spend this sort of money to bring media devices into the home, it does not absolve them of their responsibility to be good parents and monitor how their children use them. After all, parents don't bring other products home–such as cars, weapons, liquor, or various chemicals–and then expect the government to assume responsibility from there. But that is essentially the logic that some members of Congress are using to justify censorship of subscription-based television.
The real danger here is that we're moving toward a regulatory regime that holds that once a given technology becomes popular, and therefore more pervasive in the home, its First Amendment status changes. In other words, "popularity = pervasiveness," and that ends up triggering Pacifica-esque indecency regs. This is a very troubling notion, and it clearly isn't the standard our government applied to print outlets (newspapers & magazines) as they grew in popularity. Nor is it the standard we apply to the Net. (More on that below).
Worse yet, if "popularity = pervasiveness" does become the standard the feds apply to subscription-based media, it would mean some of the most popular channels on basic cable or satellite (Comedy Central, FX, USA Network) would likely be forced to migrate to premium or pay-per-view tiers in order to avoid the growing indecency enforcement net. If that happens, it will produce two unintended consequences. First, many cable subscribers will be forced to pay more–perhaps considerably more–to get the channels they currently receive as part of their subscription to the basic tier. Second, if those channels and viewers do migrate to other tiers, it will likely end up raising, not lowering, the cost of the basic tier. That's because the more popular shows in the basic tier often help cross-subsidize much of the less popular channels in the basic tier. [Read this filing of mine from last year to get a better understanding of the how the economics work here.]
But here's the really interesting question: If large numbers of viewers do flock to premium or pay-per-view tiers to get their favorite programming, does that mean the "popularity = pervasiveness" calculus will eventually apply to premium channels as well? Many will scoff at the suggestion that premium channels (like HBO) might be censored at some point in the future, but just a few years ago the notion that Congress would regulate any channels on cable or satellite networks seemed absurd. But now the heads of both Commerce Committees and the next likely chairman of the FCC have all embraced the idea. So, if 85% of Americans subscribe to HBO, why not regulate it under this new "popularity = pervasiveness" standard? And why not apply that standard to Howard Stern as he moves his popular radio show to satellite?
Stated differently, exactly how much money will Americans have to spend to escape the indecency cops?
(3) Bit Convergence and the Slippery Slope: I've always been fond of Nicholas Negroponte's theory that in our all-digital world, bits are bits are bits. All media is converging; it's becoming increasingly difficult to separate broadcast bits from cable bits from Internet bits. Heck, you can even get TV dramas and soap operas delivered directly to your cell phones now. So, what does this mean for our nation's indecency laws?
Consider Fox's outstanding drama "24." I'm absolutely addicted to this show, but I've never watched it live on broadcast television. I rented the first few seasons on DVD from Netflix and watched them straight through. I've recorded the current season on my new cable PVR and will watch it all that way one day. Fox offers video streams of clips from the show on it's website too. You can easily imagine a day when they offer pay-per-view downloads of the show directly from their website. And now they've developed a cell phone "mobisode" version of the show too. In other words, we can now watch versions of "24" on broadcast TV (or retransmitted via cable or satellite,) on DVDs, on cell phones, or via the Internet.
In the future, all media will be like this; platform-agnostic and hyper-ubiquitous. There will no longer be "broadcasting bits" or "cable bits" or "cell phone bits." There will just be bits. Lots of them. Everywhere. And when IPTV (Internet protocol television) kicks into high gear and gains the sort of steam we're witnessing behind VoIP today, all hell is going to break loose. Once a media bit is encoded, encrypted, transmitted, etc., there'll be almost no way to figure out what kind of bit it is, or even, in some cases, to know where it originated.
In a world where most media is digital, and much of it is Internet-protocol based, attempts by Congress to expand indecency regs to subscription-based media could eventually come to threaten the Internet as well. The question that will eventually come before the courts is this: How do we rationalize the Court's traditional legal treatment of broadcast media with the legal treatment accorded to new media technologies and the Internet in particular? Stated differently, what happens when the Court's Red Lion and Pacifica jurisprudence collides with the Court's post-Telecom Act jurisprudence for the Net?
Remember, in cases such Reno v. ACLU and Ashcroft v. ACLU, the court struck down attempts to apply indecency regulations to the Internet and made it clear that the existence of less restrictive, private censoring mechanisms–namely, cyber-filters that parents could use to screen Net content–were good enough to strike down congressional attempts to sanitize the Net for what was only fit for a child. Of course, these private filters are only as good as their last update, and many can be quite cumbersome to use. Regardless, the important point here is that their existence was treated as reason enough by the courts to avoid a federal censorship regime for the Internet.
If it is the case that Net filters are good enough to block federal attempts to censor the Net, then it certainly must be the case that the same principle applies to cable and satellite. After all, the filtering controls on cable and satellite set-top boxes are much easier to use than Internet filters. Parental controls are usually just one button-click away on our cable and satellite remote controls. Every digital set-top box includes parental screening capabilities with password protection. This comes on top of the V-Chip capabilities already built into your television. So you have these two lines of defense in addition to any other rules you set up for media use in your home. This is certainly superior to what is available to filter Internet activity. So if private filters are good enough to protect the Net, they should be more than adequate to protect cable and satellite where they are even easier to use, and probably much more effective.
Of course, none of this makes much of a difference to the lawmakers proposing to cast a wider censorship net. Many of them are just grandstanding here and using the bully pulpit to whine about media content. But I suspect many others are true believers in media control and want to regulate media content in the subscription-based space the same way they have in the broadcast space for so long. Indeed, many of them probably understand that, with cable and satellite already in 85% of all homes, we are at a major crossroads in the history of media regulation in this country. As that number grows even larger and the hegemony of traditional broadcasters continues to wane, lawmakers will come to realize that the strings they have used in the past to control media outcomes and content are being rendered useless by the relentless pace of technological change.
That's why I believe these current efforts are more than just harmless grandstanding. These lawmakers are laying the groundwork for an all-out assault on new media. Digital media is largely outside of their control and they want to rope it in. And this isn't just about content regulation. It's about educational mandates, free airtime for politicians (or at least regulation of election-related speech on the Internet), and even a potential Fairness Doctrine for the Information Age. (Think that sounds far-fetched? Read Cass Susntein's last book Republic.com for a sketch of how it would work. He proposes mandatory "electronic sidewalks" for Internet websites that would force website operators to carry links to groups with opposing perspectives.)
Of course, when all this comes before the courts, I suspect it will get shot down very easily. Pacifica was a close 5-4 call for broadcasting, but I would think most judges would quickly dismiss efforts to apply Pacifica's "pervasiveness" logic to subscription-based media outlets. Unless they are prepared to revisit and reverse their Internet jurisprudence, I think that's were they have to come down on this.
So stay tuned. If any of this congressional nonsense goes through, it will tee up the most important First Amendment case in decades.


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Airbnb's Rental Nightmare Ends in Arrest and One Still Very Unlucky Customer
The San Francisco Police department confirmed that it has made an arrest in the incident involving an Airbnb host who had her entire life turned upside down when renters ransacked her apartment and ultimately stole her property and identity.
The San Francisco Police Department has issued a statement regarding the arrest.
The statement, which Airbnb sent to me, confirms that on June 28 two people were detained but released pending further investigation. Later on that evening, officers say they arrested Faith Clifton, a 19-year-old white female of San Francisco. Clifton has been booked into San Francisco County Jail on possession of stolen property, methamphetamine and fraud charges.
In the statement, the police department says it has been in contact with the victim and has been in contact with the company (in this case, Airbnb), which "provided as much information as possible in this matter," according to the police report.
While the incident occurred back in early June, it only came out recently thanks to an emotionally charged blog post written by the victim.
The woman, who wrote under the nickname EJ, blogged about how the apartment she rented to someone using Airbnb was completely trashed and vandalized. Her personal documents, her grandmother's jewelry and various other items were stolen during a well-executed raid that lasted for roughly a week while she was gone.
While she has been reluctant to talk to reporters, she spoke with The San Francisco Chronicle's James Temple about the whole experience.
Airbnb, which just raised more than $100 million in capital, has been in the hot seat to prove it has done everything possible to remedy the situation.
After numerous media reports, EJ wrote another blog post yesterday, saying that there is no end in sight to the nightmare, and corrected some of the company's statements, including that she was not aware of a suspect that was taken into custody despite the company saying so in statements yesterday.
Worse yet, she accuses one of the Airbnb co-founders of requesting that she "shut down the blog altogether or limit its access," and "suggested that I update the blog with a 'twist' of good news so as to 'complete[s] the story.'"
According to yesterday's blog post, she was also not aware of any arrests made.
"As of today, July 28, I have received no confirmation from either the San Francisco Police Department or the District Attorney that any culprit is in custody for my case. One month ago an individual was apprehended, however as far as I know, this person was transferred to a neighboring jurisdiction for prosecution of previous crimes, and no charges or arrest warrant has been issued for my case within San Francisco County."
The company has since pledged to provide its users with additional precautionary measures, one of which is to provide insurance options. Those options continue to be under consideration.
In a statement today, the company writes:
"We were shocked and disturbed to hear about this unfortunate situation and since that moment have done everything in our power to assist EJ. We have offered assistance with accommodation, transportation, and financial support to help EJ find some sense of security in light of such tragic circumstances. We have also been assisting the police with their investigation and have confirmed with the SFPD that they have a female suspect in custody that they are investigating for vandalism and theft. Safety and security are our utmost priorities and we are taking steps to prevent this from happening again."
It's unclear whether this incident will blow away, or if Airbnb's reputation will be forever tarnished.
HomeAway, which offers thousands of worldwide vacation rentals online through a number of sites, such as vrbo.com, says while they don't focus on primary residences, it has never had a situation like this occur.
Alexis de Belloy, VP of HomeAway, absolutely believes that it can be safe to both rent from and rent to strangers, but that it helps if the two parties have a chance to get to know each other beforehand.
"They want to know who is staying in their homes, and that contact and ability to exchange phone calls and emails allows people to get to know one another," he said.
It also has partnered with a property damage protection company that allows owners to insure their home for $39 to $59 for up to $10,000; however, insurance is not mandatory.
Apparently, the one thing Airbnb can not give back to EJ is her peace of mind.
"I am still displaced, bouncing between friends' homes, clutching my pillow and what's left of my normalcy. I spend my mornings recalling nightmares and breathing through panic attacks, and my afternoons scouring the city's pawn shops in the vain hope that I might recover some of my stolen treasures. I do not feel anything close to safe," she writes.


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Today I want to touch base on the second step of the PROCESS. That would be REMOVE. What does this mean exactly? Trust me the easiest and fastest way to tackle any project is empty the space you are trying to organize and do your sort/purge from ideally a different room alltogether or, if you have to, the middle of the room you are organizing. The important thing is to get things off shelves, out of drawers, off tabetops, off the floor, out of closets, etc.. Why? Removing items from where they have previously been stored will give you a fresh perspective on the space you want organized. It will enable you to re-evaluate how you want the space to look. You can't do this when it is cluttered up with stuff. It is also tough to rearrange furniture when the clutter still exists in the space. Get it out! Has your furniture always been in the exact same spot? Don't be afraid to try something new and change things up a little or a lot. Start with a clean slate and have fun with it!
Doing your sort/purge outside of the space also lets you objectively look at each item and determine whether or not you want to keep it. Often if this step happens in the space being organized people will keep something just because they have the room for it. While there isn't anything wrong with this, if it isn't something you have any intention of using don't keep it just because. Get rid of it! Please re-visit my purging post for more help in getting rid of your clutter.
Sort items into piles and there are many different ways to do this. Grad yourself some boxes and label them ~ donate, toss, sell, keep, re-locate. The purpose here is to organize "like with like". All similar items together. This way it will become clear to you what you own in over abundance that maybe you didn't even realize because it was scattered all over the place before. One lonely little box of envelopes doesn't look like much but when you match it up with the other 50 boxes you have well all of a sudden it is clear there is a problem.
The remove/sort/purge process is an important one. Don't take it lightly. The more you purge the less you have to find a home for. Only bring back into your space what you truly want to keep. Don't bring it back in to think about later. Deal with it before it goes back into the space. Make a decision and move on. Don't second guess yourself, it will only slow down the process. Stay true to the purpose of your space!!
Also don't even think about the containerizing stage (oh ya, baby!) until you've completed your sort/purge. You might not end up needing as much as you thought you did!


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Tony Hung asks "What's It Like to Blog After Staying Up For Almost 42 Consecutive Hours" and then answers the question himself:
So, what's it like blogging after being awake for almost 42 straight hours?
I guess its different for everyone.
My experience is that I ramble (look how long it took me to get to this part!). I find that its hard to put words together in a way that makes sense. There are periods that are punctuated by episodes of particular lucidness. Sometimes its followed by worry over what I'll need to do the next day. Finding the right words can get difficult. Its like trying to grab water from a stream, only your hands feel like a sieves.
Metaphors get mixed up. Similes get smacked around. Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors become sparring partners who pummel you with relentless ease. Distraction beckons with every stray thought, and overwhelming fatigue is the fuel which makes it into an overpowering force of nature. Motivation takes a back seat to every conceivable want, while logic and coherence become mere annoyances to getting your thoughts down on proverbial paper.
Oh … did I tell you that its kind of hard?
Blogging at full strength requires different parts of your brain working in harmony; I suspect blogging while extremely sleep deprived creates funny creations that don't often make sense. Who knows what I'll think once I wake up in a few hours and read this. Rambling drivel or interesting peek into a bloggers life?
Tony is the editor of the Blog Herald and blogger at his own blog, Deep Jive Interests, as well as a third year resident in Internal Medicine, married with a child. He worked a very long, never-ending shift, awake for 42 hours. Then he started blogging.
He asks his readers if they have ever tried blogging after days with little or no sleep, and many have responded.
If you have experience blogging with little or no sleep for days on end, do you have tips for Tony and others on how to get through your obligation blogging, work, or life without sleep?
I figure this is good preparation for the upcoming Blogathon 2007, 24 hours of constant blogging on July 28 for bloggers around the world raising money for their favorite charities? Will you be participating? How are you planning to stay away for 24 hours?
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Home Engineering Engineering Colleges Andhra Pradesh Sri Padmavati Mahila Vishwavidyalayam - SPMVV, Tirupathi ----- -----
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Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) has further delayed the Andhra Pradesh Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Common Entrance Test (AP EAMCET) option entry process. Earlier APSCHE had postponed the dates of AP EAMCET 2019 counseling in order to accommodate candidates whose class 12 results and merit ranks were changed. ...Read more
AP EAMCET is the gateway for various undergraduate courses to various institutes in Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Common Entrance Test (AP-EAMCET) on behalf of APSCHE are conducted by JNTU Kakinada. The state-level entrance examination is conducted for admissions to various undergraduate courses which are offered in technological institutes across the state of Andhra Pradesh. ...Read more
APSCHE has declared the AP EAMCET 2019 Result on their official website sche.ap.gov.in today i.e. on June 4, 2019 . Candidates who have appeared for the Engineering, Medical and Agricultural examination (EAMCET) can visit the official website of the APSCHE to check AP EAMCET 2019 Result. ...Read more


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Industry trade groups and consumer advocates opposed to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus' bill calling for a self-regulatory organization (SRO) to oversee advisors had their hopes quashed on Wednesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would receive a boost in funding in order to thwart an SRO.
During a hearing on Wednesday to discuss Bachus' bill, H.R. 4624, the co-sponsor of the bill, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., stated frankly: "Would I like to get more money for the SEC? Yes, I would. But we are not going to get the money for the SEC; it's not going to happen."
However, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., stated at the hearing that she is drafting legislation that would allow the SEC to collect user fees to help fund advisor exams.
A day before the SRO hearing, the House Financial Services General Government Appropriations Subcommittee allotted $1.37 billion to the SEC for fiscal year 2013—$195 million below President Obama's request—and an amount that industry officials agree will starve the SEC of the necessary funding to boost oversight of advisors.
The SEC requested $1.57 billion for fiscal 2013, an increase of $245 million above the agency's fiscal 2012 appropriation.
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., ranking member on the Committee, argued that Congress "can afford to increase the relatively small amount" of funding the SEC asked for.
However, Bachus countered that while some have argued more SEC funding "is the answer" to increasing advisor exams, the "SEC itself has admitted that even if the agency receives the full amount" it requested in FY 2013, the securities regulator "would be able to examine only one in 10" advisors.
While the bulk of those testifying were in favor of Bachus' bill, the Investment Adviser Oversight Act of 2012, Bachus stated during his opening remarks that he "stands ready to work with anyone who has an idea on how to improve" the bill. The "only goal" of the bipartisan legislation "is to deter bad actors and help protect American investors," he said. "I see no way to do that without timely examinations."
Bachus went on to say that "We want to do what's right. We don't want to unnecessarily burden advisors, but at the same time they need to be examined." Addressing lawmakers and those testifying, Bachus added that "We are all open to seeing that [an SRO is] not overbearing. This is not a markup, this is a hearing."
A markup on the bill was expected to occur on June 28, but industry officials attending the hearing speculated that date could be pushed off until fall.
The bulk of those testifying were in favor of Bachus' bill, which would authorize one or more SROs to oversee advisors—with all endorsing the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) as the preferred candidate. The supporters noted that the bill is a "good starting point" in addressing the gap in regulation that currently exists in advisor oversight.
Those supporting Bachus' bill, the Investment Adviser Oversight Act of 2012, were: Dale Brown, president and CEO of the Financial Services Institute; Thomas Currey, past president of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA); Chet Helck, CEO of the Global Private Client Group for Raymond James, who testified on behalf of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA); and Richard Ketchum, chairman and CEO of FINRA.
Those testifying against an SRO were John Morgan, Securities Commissioner of Texas, on behalf of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), and David Tittsworth, executive director of the Investment Adviser Association (IAA).
Morgan told lawmakers that state securities regulators were "extremely concerned" about the impact Bachus' bill would have on state-registered advisors and the clients they serve. "Above and beyond NASAA's concerns with the SRO model and its application to investment advisor regulation, state securities regulators are adamantly opposed to HR 4624 because we believe it would subordinate state regulators to an SRO [and] impose redundant regulation and new costs on small and mid-size investment advisors that are impossible to justify."
In a retort to a statement made that the bill would not create a new regulator for state-registered advisors, Morgan stated: "You are creating a new regulator for the states and we need to be excluded from this" bill.
Tittsworth added that "All state registered advisors would have to belong to an SRO" under Bachus' bill.
In his testimony, Tittsworth told lawmakers that the "substantial drawbacks to an SRO significantly outweigh any potential benefits." The drawbacks, he said, "include minimal transparency and accountability, insufficient oversight by the SEC and Congress, conflicts of interest, excessive costs, and the lack of meaningful due process protections and cost-benefit analysis restraints."
He also said that H.R. 4624 "unfairly targets" small businesses. "Because of exemptions in the bill, smaller advisers are singled out for additional regulation and costs. The substantial costs and bureaucracy of an additional, unnecessary layer of SRO regulation and oversight of advisory firms would have a significant adverse impact on small businesses and job creation."
Helck with Raymond James, who testified on behalf of SIFMA, stated, however, that the bill "will result in enhanced oversight of retail investment advisors and thereby better serve and protect individual clients." The bill's purpose, he said, "is not to foist new regulatory oversight on retail investment advisors, but to restore the oversight that is already supposed to be happening—but is not—while relieving pressure on the limited examination resources" of the SEC.
Helck said the term "SRO" in the "context of the securities industry" is a misnomer, stating that with an oversight body for advisors "We are not talking about 'self' regulation. We are not asking an industry to police itself. After many decades of legislation, oversight and regulation, regulatory organizations like FINRA are not controlled, or unduly influenced, by the industry they regulate."
On the contrary, he continued, "today, regulatory organizations like FINRA are widely viewed and respected as independent, self-funded organizations whose priority is to protect investors." As recently as 2010, he said, "Congress recognized this shift when it designated the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) as the regulatory authority to carry out expanded oversight of the municipal marketplace, and remodeled the MSRB's Board of Directors after FINRA's as a majority public board, in order to better protect market participants and the public."
SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro told AdvisorOne in a recent interview that oversight of the municipal securities markets is taking up a lot of the commission's time. With a lack of funding and more duties under Dodd-Frank, questions remain as to whether the SEC would be able to adequately police FINRA if it became the SRO for advisors.
Ketchum with FINRA stated that "no one involved in regulating securities and protecting investors can be satisfied with [the current SEC] system where only 8% of regulated firms are examined each year. It is completely unacceptable and represents a major gap in investor protection."
For now, the SRO debate continues. All those who oppose an SRO also agree that a boost in advisor exams must occur. The question that will continue to be debated is exactly how to do this.


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What you gonna do when "Big Rig" runs wild over you?
"The Ultimate Fighter 7" cast member Jeremiah Riggs (7-5), who also fought professionally under the Strikeforce and Bellator Fighting Championships banners, was recently announced as one of 14 contestants on USA Network's "Tough Enough" series bidding for a shot as a professional wrestler in the WWE.
The series debuts on April 4.
Riggs is no stranger to reality TV. Following his sting on "The Ultimate Fighter 7," in which he lost a preliminary round matchup via decision to Dan Cramer, Riggs appeared on VH1's "Daisy of Love," where he vied for the affection of show lead Daisy De La Hoya, who dubbed him "Big Rig" based on his time working as a truck driver in his native Mississippi.
Riggs was victorious in his Strikeforce and Bellator appearances. The 28 year old currently carries a five-fight win streak and is being billed by "Tough Enough" brass as "trying to become the first legitimate MMA fighter to crossover into WWE."
"Tough Enough" debuted in 2001 on MTV. After three seasons, the show was moved to UPN for a fourth and apparently final season, which aired in 2004. "Tough Enough" remained dormant until WWE elected to revive the series this year for its USA Network debut.
(Pictured: Jeremiah Riggs)


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Маруся за Корея
Тимо Глок:
Every year this is a bit of a strange race weekend because the track is not used very often outside of Formula 1. This makes it difficult on a Friday in particular as the track is always quite dirty and takes a while to come up to grip level. The weather can also be unpredictable, so the track condition can be a bit changeable also. It's quite a technical track with a lot of corners where you have to take quite a strange line. I had a good race here last year though, and also in 2010 until my race was cut short when I was taken out whilst on track for what would have been 12th place. I like the circuit so I'm looking forward to the weekend and I hope we can get back to our usual two-car finish again.Шарл Пик:
Japan ended in a disappointing way for me. With only a week between the two races, I have put that behind me and reset my mind to the Korean weekend. I've had a few days in Tokyo to do some training and prepare for another new circuit and I'm feeling good for the race ahead. From what I have seen of the track in simulation, it looks very interesting - especially sectors 1 and 3. Another anti-clockwise circuit also, which always adds an extra dimension in terms of the physical challenge. Most important now is keeping our focus and delivering our usual two-car finishes, so, as always, I will be playing my part in the team's objectives as well as I can.Джон Буут:
Timo had a very good race in Japan last week and has a good record here in Korea also, so let's hope that bodes well for our chances this weekend. In 2010 he was looking good for P12, mastering the treacherous conditions to put us in a vital position for the Championship. It would have been the team's highest finishing position that season, and indeed all the way up to Singapore this year, but unfortunately he was taken out. This just goes to show how important Championship position is for the newer teams, and how hard it is to get there. Continuing - and indeed building on - our current positive performance level is our absolute focus now to give us a greater degree of comfort as we count down the last five races. Also important is getting back to our normal record of two-car finishes. Charles was doing a very solid job in the race last weekend, so it was a shame that he had to retire. His track position ahead of Vitaly shows how much he has developed in line with the performance of the car and we are fortunate to have two highly competitive drivers to continue to help us achieve our team objectives.


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