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Iraq War Killer Media Success Story
The Iraq War Was Not a Media Failure
by David Edwards - Media Lens
Ten years ago today, on March 18, 2003, Tony Blair delivered a speech to parliament prior to a vote that resulted in MPs authorising war on Iraq.
The war began two days later.
Last month, a Guardian leader recalled Blair's role:
The war began two days later.
Last month, a Guardian leader recalled Blair's role:
'A decade ago, Tony Blair was lifting his sparkling rhetoric to new heights, whipping up fears of an imminent threat, claiming to hear echoes of Munich, and encouraging dreams of a post-Saddam world where tyranny was in retreat. As the forgotten and fraudulent second dossier was being foisted on journalists, he was perfecting the lines that would soon carry a belligerent majority in the Commons, lamely indulged by Iain Duncan Smith's excuse for an opposition. Most politicians, and too much of the media, swallowed it all wholesale. The public, however, smelled a rat.'
They certainly did. At the time, however, a Guardian leader described Blair's March 18 performance as 'an impassioned and impressive speech by the prime minister which may give future generations some inkling of how, when so many of his own party opposed his policy so vehemently, Tony Blair nevertheless managed to retain their respect and support...'
The editorial added:
'Mr Blair spoke powerfully. He was serious in tone, respectful to backbenchers, and at times he reached levels of oratory that he rarely achieves in the Commons. He seemed to sense that, though the argument has not been won, it is swinging his way.'
About one-fifth of the article, four sentences, offered oblique, minor criticisms of Blair's 'failure to respect the arguments... In particular he remains deaf to the revulsion against the gratuitous actions' of his US ally with its 'disdain for international opinion'.
Remarkably, the rest of the piece, almost half, contained 14 sentences of discussion on constitutional history:
'But the historians will also look at yesterday's debate because it marks a really important moment in constitutional history. Over the centuries, the decision to go to war has rested, first, with kings alone, then with monarchs in the privy council, more recently with the council acting on the advice of the prime minister, sometimes (as in the Falklands war) largely with the cabinet. Yesterday, all this took a fresh twist. Though the formal prerogative power to declare war remains with the Crown, the de facto authority passed yesterday to MPs.'
The change 'gave parliament the power to stop the war before it begins. Parliament did not take its chance, alas.'
This was the extent of the Guardian's outrage and dissent the day after Blair had successfully urged parliament to commit one of the biggest, most brazen war crimes of recent times. In this March 19, 2003 editorial, there were no sarcastic references to Blair's 'sparkling rhetoric', to his 'claiming to hear echoes of Munich', or to the Conservatives' 'excuse for an opposition'. When it mattered, the Guardian took Blair seriously, respectfully, offering not a word of criticism of anything he had actually said.
The Guardian could have joined the millions of people in the UK and across the world excoriating Blair for waging a needless, illegal and immoral war of aggression without even the fig leaf of United Nations support. It could have denounced yet another superpower assault on a country already devastated by war and 12 years of US-UK-led sanctions; a country that represented precisely zero threat to the West.
Like the rest of the corporate media, the Guardian had been unable to declare the 'threat' from Iraqi weapons of mass destruction the fraud it clearly was. The 'WMD issue' was a classic 'necessary illusion' required to justify a war that the United States, with ruthless opportunism, had decided to fight shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks. WMD provided a fictional but functional link to 9/11, allowing US neocons to exploit the suffering of that day to enable this second, very much larger atrocity. As Alan Greenspan, former chair of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, wrote:
'I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.' (Greenspan, The Age of Turbulence, Penguin, 2007, p.463)
Instead, the Guardian offered a deceptive 'balance':
'[It] is necessary to be as hard on many of the opponents of war as on its proposers, as well as to clear away the misleading idea that evidence that Saddam is concealing weapons of mass destruction is at the centre of the argument. It is at the centre of the manoeuvring, yes, but not of the argument. Among those knowledgeable about Iraq there are few, if any, who believe he is not hiding such weapons. It is a given.' (Martin Woollacott, 'This drive to war is one of the mysteries of our time - We know Saddam is hiding weapons. That isn't the argument,' The Guardian, January 24, 2003)
The truth of the Guardian's muted 'opposition' to Blair and his war was revealed two years later when the lies and catastrophic loss of life were evident to all. Even then, a Guardian leader, 'Once more with feeling,' advised voters in the upcoming general election:
'While 2005 will be remembered as Tony Blair's Iraq election, May 5 is not a referendum on that one decision, however fateful, or on the person who led it, however controversial...' (Leader, 'Once more with feeling,' The Guardian, May 3, 2005)
The editors concluded:
'We believe that Mr Blair should be re-elected to lead Labour into a third term this week.'
Last year, in an article titled 'Return of the king to heal divisions within the Labour tribe,' the Guardian's chief political correspondent, Nicholas Watt, reported that the former prime minister was the 'star guest' at a Labour party fundraiser, which 'provided the perfect opportunity for Blair's return to frontline British politics'.
The 'Great Club' Responds
The day after his speech, the Guardian's Simon Hoggart wrote of Blair:
'[Y]esterday he was roaring, alive, quivering with ferocious tension, like a sub-lieutenant about to lead a battalion into battle... This was one thunderous performance, passionate yet coherent, furious while icily controlled... He blazed with conviction.' (Hoggart, 'PM goes over the top and survives skirmish in no man's land,' The Guardian, March 19, 2003)
The rest of the UK press responded along the same lines, confirming Independent editor Chris Blackhurst's assertion that politicians and journalists constitute 'a giant club'. The 'club' has enormous influence and often reaches a broad consensus, but can by no stretch of the imagination be considered 'mainstream'.
In a leader titled, 'Master of the House,' the Daily Telegraph commented:
'Any fair-minded person who listened to yesterday's debate, having been genuinely unable to make up his mind about military action against Saddam Hussein, must surely have concluded that Mr Blair was right, and his opponents were wrong.'
The Independent's editors wrote:
'Even those who most disagree with war on Iraq have to salute the leadership qualities of the man who is about to commit British forces to it. If there was one occasion in his premiership to which Tony Blair needed to rise, it was yesterday's critical Commons debate. He did so. Tony Blair's capacities as a performer and an advocate have never been in doubt. But this was something much more... this was the most persuasive case yet made by the man who has emerged as the most formidable persuader for war on either side of the Atlantic. The case against President Saddam's 12-year history of obstructing the United Nation's attempts at disarmament has never been better made.' (Leading article, 'Whatever the anxieties over this conflict, Mr Blair has shown himself to be a leader for troubled times,' The Independent, March 19, 2003)
The Times's Magnus Linklater:
'It was a speech to admire for its willpower and its moral conviction rather than the elegance of its prose...
'But the fascination of his speech lay more in the drama it conveyed than in its content - the argument, after all, is by now deeply familiar.' (Linklater, 'And you thought the art of eloquence was dead - well, cop an earful of this,' The Times, March 19, 2003)
Indeed, who cared about the content? This, sadly, was a familiar theme.
Indeed, who cared about the content? This, sadly, was a familiar theme.
The Sun, of course, declared:
'With passion in his voice and fire in his belly, Tony Blair won his place in history alongside Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. In the most momentous speech of his political life he set out the pressing reasons why there must now be war on President Saddam.'
Even the anti-war Mirror wrote:
'Even though the Mirror disagrees strongly with Tony Blair over his determination to wage war on Iraq, we do not question his belief in the rightness of what he is doing. It is one thing to have principles others disagree with, another altogether to have no principles.
'Mr Blair and Robin Cook have helped to restore the integrity of parliament at this crucial stage in the nation's history. Both have made compelling arguments on each side of this debate - and both have been listened to with respect.'
In fact there was every reason to question Blair's belief in the rightness of what he was doing.
All of these responses focused on the emotional intensity of Blair's speech, on his power as a performer. We commented at the time:
'What is so remarkable is that none of them, on the eve of surely one of the most cynical, barbaric and outrageous war crimes in all history, were able to expose the fraudulence of what Blair actually had to say.'
For example, Blair said in his speech:
'We are asked now seriously to accept that in the last few years, contrary to all history and intelligence, [Saddam Hussein] decided unilaterally to destroy these weapons. I say such a claim is palpably absurd.'
But it was Blair's comment that was palpably absurd. In our response, we noted that UNSCOM weapons inspectors had reported that Iraq had been 'fundamentally disarmed' of 90-95 per cent of its WMD between 1991-98, without the threatening 'stick' of war - the 'carrot' of lifted sanctions had been sufficient. In March 1999, a UN panel described how 'the bulk of Iraq's proscribed weapons programmes has been eliminated'. Blair clearly understood that the ignorance and conformity of the British press was such that even a lie of this magnitude - one which was itself 'contrary to all history and intelligence' - could pass unchallenged.
Blair also said:
'Looking back over 12 years, we have been victims of our own desire to placate the implacable, to persuade towards the utterly reasonable.'
'We' were the victims, not the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children who had died under US/UK sanctions, not the one million Iraqis about to die as a result of Blair's war. In May 2000, senior UN diplomat, Denis Halliday, who had set up and run the UN oil for food programme in Iraq, told us of US-UK policy:
'I've been using the word "genocide", because this is a deliberate policy to destroy the people of Iraq. I'm afraid I have no other view at this late stage.' (Interview with David Edwards, May 2000)
In February 2000, Halliday's successor at the UN, Hans von Sponeck, also resigned in protest at the impact of sanctions. In his book, A Different Kind of War, von Sponeck wrote:
'At no time during the years of comprehensive economic sanctions were there adequate resources to meet minimum needs for human physical or mental survival either before, or during, the Oil-For-Food programme.' (Von Sponeck, A Different Kind of War, Bergahn Books, 2006, p.144)
Since 2006, von Sponeck's book has been mentioned once in the entire UK national press. It has never been reviewed.
But according to Blair, 'we' were the victims of 'our' reasonableness, with Iraq flatly refusing to cooperate to disarm. Former chief UNSCOM inspector, Scott Ritter, took a different view, one that was effectively banned from the media in 2002-2003:
'If this were argued in a court of law, the weight of evidence would go the other way. Iraq has in fact demonstrated over and over a willingness to cooperate with weapons inspectors.' (Ritter and William Rivers Pitt, War On Iraq, Profile, 2002, p.25)
Blair added: 'That is why this indulgence has to stop. Because it is dangerous.'
Invading Iraq was very much more dangerous. By 2006, the Lancet reported that 655,000 Iraqis had lost their lives as a result of the invasion. This was rejected out of hand by the Bush and Blair governments (although not privately; the UK Ministry of Defence's chief scientific adviser considered the Lancet study 'close to best practice' and 'robust'). The corporate media were happy to swallow the UK government's alleged 'reservations', to the extent that a recent Guardian news piece claimed that the invasion had 'led to the death of almost 200 British troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis'.
In response, Canadian media analyst Joe Emersberger challenged the Guardian readers' editor, Chris Elliott, arguing that it is beyond dispute that 500,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the war. Elliott replied:
'It is not beyond all rational dispute that "that the Iraq war caused over a half million Iraqi deaths." It may be true but we don't know for certain because it is a disputed figure. However, what is beyond all rational dispute is that "tens of thousands of Iraqis died". What cannot be said for certain is how many tens of thousands – we may not know that for some years.' (Email to Emersberger, March 1, 2013)
We replied on March 4:
'Hi Chris
'I read your response to Joe Emersberger with interest. A review coming out in the Lancet next month, a new study submitted to the New England Journal of Medicine, and this article all suggest that Joe's comments are valid.
'In light of these, your statement, 'Whereas there is worldwide agreement that tens of thousands of people have died' is technically correct. But the evidence, including from the study by the Iraqi Ministry of Health cited by Joe via Mother Jones, is overwhelmingly clear that hundreds of thousands are dead, not just tens of thousands. When the Iranian leader downplayed the Holocaust in the same way, it was widely condemnedand not considered adequately respectful of those who died.
'There are studies that suggest a three-fold association of increased lung cancer rates being associated with smoking and other studies that suggest 9 fold or higher. But if a tobacco company publicly wrote that there is worldwide agreement that there is at least a 30% increased risk of lung cancer associated with smoking, there would likely be criminal prosecution in the US, for example.
Best wishes
David Edwards'
David Edwards'
Estimates of the number of displaced persons, both internal and external (mainly in Jordan and Syria) range between 3.5 million to 5 million or more. John Tirman, Executive Director and Principal Research Scientist at the MIT Center for International Studies, reports:
'Virtually all first-hand accounts blamed violence as the cause of moving, or threats of ethnic or sectarian cleansing of neighborhoods.
'The ravages of displacement, which remains at about 3 million, are bad enough. But it is also another indicator of the scale of mortality. All wars since 1945 have ratios of displaced to fatalities of 10:1 or less, typically more in the range of 5:1. If this typical ratio holds for the Iraq War, that indicates mortality of about one million Iraqis.'
Tirman supplied a few more statistics:
'Population of Iraq: 30 million.
'Percentage of Iraqis who lived in slum conditions in 2000: 17
'Percentage of Iraqis who live in slum conditions in 2011: 50
'Number of the 30 million Iraqis living below the poverty line: 7 million.
'Number of Iraqis who died of violence 2003-2011: 150,000 to 400,000.
'Orphans in Iraq: 4.5 million.
'Orphans living in the streets: 600,000.
'Number of women, mainly widows, who are primary breadwinners in family: 2 million.
'Iraqi refugees displaced by the American war to Syria: 1 million
'Internally displaced persons in Iraq: 1.3 million
'Proportion of displaced persons who have returned home since 2008: 1/8
'Rank of Iraq on Corruption Index among 182 countries: 175'
On March 18, 2003, Blair lined up other familiar deceptions, insisting that the fear that an invasion would generate more attacks on the West was a red herring. Why? Because al-Qaeda had already attacked the US, without provocation, in September 2001. But as Osama bin Laden had himself said, al-Qaeda violence was a direct response to the horrors the US had visited on Iraq through war and sanctions before 2001, and on the Palestinian people over decades.
In his speech, Blair also dismissed the idea that Western sanctions had caused the mass death of Iraqis, claiming Saddam Hussein was solely to blame for the suffering. As we have seen, the senior diplomats who actually ran the sanctions programme, and who resigned in protest at its disastrous effects, had dismissed the claim as nonsense.
Conclusion - Hard-Wired Not To Resist
What was truly shocking in March 2003 was that Blair was able to weave this obvious web of deceit and be greeted, not even with whispers of dissent, but with thunderous applause and praise by the political-media 'club'.
It was this appalling speech that had 'helped to restore the integrity of parliament', according to the anti-war Mirror. Blair's 'patent sincerity has impressed, banishing his reputation as a fickle politician without convictions', according to the Independent. And yet, for any rational viewer or reader, the cynicism, and the silence about that cynicism, was jaw-dropping.
Much has been made of different newspapers being 'for' and 'against' the war in Iraq. But in fact all newspapers and broadcasters failed to raise even the most obvious objections to the case for believing the war was necessary, legal or moral. In March 2003, the way journalists feign fierce dissent while tossing feeble challenges for political executives, fellow 'club' members, to swat away, had never been more obvious.
The Iraq war showed how the 'free press' is structurally hard-wired not to obstruct US and UK regimes bent on war. The corporate media - entrenched in the irrational and dangerous assumption that it should accept frameworks of debate laid down by 'mainstream' political parties - took key illusions seriously. As a result, the fraudulent discussion about Iraqi WMD raged on and on with the real world left far behind.
And this was no passive media 'failure'; it was an active, resilient determination to promote 'the view from Downing Street' and Washington. In 2002 and 2003, hundreds of Media Lens readers and other media activists - including journalists, academics, lawyers and authors - sent many hundreds of rational, referenced emails to newspapers and TV stations. Time and again, their crucial evidence and sources were simply ignored. The idea that coverage of the Iraq war represented a terrible 'failure' for the corporate media is an exact reversal of the truth. Iraq was a good example of how these media consistently excel in their structural role as defenders of powerful interests.
The real 'failure' was the emergence of undeniable evidence that the media had all along been boosting Bush-Blair lies. But even this would have mattered little in the absence of Iraqi resistance and the vast death toll generated by the US determination to divide and conquer that resistance. If Iraqis had quietly accepted the conquest, the talk would not have been of 'media failure' but of 'humanitarian success', with all criticism dismissed as 'carping'. This was indicated very clearly by the BBC's then political editor Andrew Marr in April 2003, when he commented that the quick 'fall' of Baghdad, with Iraqis 'celebrating', had put an end to all 'these slightly tawdry arguments and scandals. That is now history'. (Marr, BBC 1 News at Ten, April 9, 2003)
It is a bitter, even surreal, irony that the media 'failure' on Iraq is being lamented by journalists who have since repeated the same performance on Libya, Syria, Israel-Palestine, Iran, Venezuela, WikiLeaks, climate change, and much else besides.
Suggested Action
Suggested Action
The goal of Media Lens is to promote rationality, compassion and respect for others. If you do write to journalists, we strongly urge you to maintain a polite, non-aggressive, non-abusive tone.
Write to the following editors:
Alan Rusbridger, editor in chief of the Guardian
Twitter: @arusbridger
Chris Blackhurst, editor of the Independent
Twiiter: @c_blackhurst


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DeLauro, Murphy want 'fiscal cliff' negotiations finished before end of year
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-New Haven, wants the so-called "fiscal cliff" tax increases and spending cuts taken care of before the end of the year and Friday said she is encouraged by the latest reports on negotiations.
The 3rd District congresswoman however, told a group of senior citizens in Branford that she would not agree to certain changes in Social Security and Medicare as part of any resolution.
U.S. Senate-Elect Chris Murphy, who was in Bridgeport Friday visiting a transitional home for homeless female veterans, said he also wants an agreement worked out before the cascade of tax increases and cuts materializes and does not advocate letting them go into effect to force the parties together.
Murphy however, said if the fix were delayed for a short time after the beginning of the year, the consequences would not necessarily be as dire as many feel.
"I imagine if a deal gets done in January or February, the consequences won't be catastrophic, but we shouldn't play chicken like that. We should get a deal done in the next two weeks. I think 70 percent of the people I represent want a deal done that is one part spending cuts and one part revenue increases on the very wealthy and we should follow their lead," Murphy said.
Murphy said any fix after the first of the year would be retroactive, including funds scheduled to be sent to Connecticut.
As for the effects on the stock market, "I think the market is smart enough to know that even if we were to not get something done (quickly), the market knows that is temporary. There might be a little bit of a disruption," he said.
There are no surprises on DeLauro and Murphy's positions as both feel the election indicates support for a balanced approach of tax increases for wealthiest Americans, some spending cuts and investments in infrastructure to work toward deficit reduction and stimulating the economy.
"I'm encouraged to see more and more Republicans in Washington are admitting that people in this country do want a balanced budget," Murphy said.
DeLauro spoke specifically to the future of entitlement programs.
"Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit. It didn't create this deficit. ... it should not be used as a slush fund for deficit reduction. We should reject any of that. It is as true today as it was in the 1980s. It has its own trust fund," she said.
The congresswoman said the focus should be on improving the benefits. She said the cost of living increase for 2013 will be $243, some $20 a month, which is not enough for seniors.
DeLauro's major proposal to save Medicare is to allow the government to negotiate Medicare drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies. The law creating this program in 2003 disallowed such negotiations, something that the Veterans Administration does for its patients.
"I do not support any cuts in Medicare benefits. We can find ways to save money, but it is not by cutting benefits or shifting the cost onto the backs of older Americans," DeLauro said. She said Medicare is already means tested and the Affordable Care Act has a 3.8 percent tax on unearned income that will be imposed on the wealthy starting in January to help pay for the program.
DeLauro was not sure if the cut in the payroll tax will be continued, while Judith Stein, executive director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, who also attended the meeting in Branford, had mixed feelings about continuing to cut a tax that funds Social Security.
DeLauro said the future of Social Security would be assured by raising the amount of payroll income that is taxed.
Stein said there are a number of proposed changes to Medicare to save money that she opposes.
She said the age should not be raised to qualify for Medicare from 65 to 67 because of the workers who can't continue to do physically difficult work as they age. Pushing off Medicare coverage to a more advanced age would also add to the number of uninsured or possibly increase costs for the Affordable Care Act.
Stein said there is talk of caps on Medicare payments, such as the 60-day home care payment after hospitalization and additional caps on outpatient physical speech and occupational therapy in all settings.
"Those come hardest on our most vulnerable people with Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries who absolutely need home care long term and just some physical speech and occupational therapy in order to keep from needing more care," Stein said.
Her organization in October won a major suit against the federal Department of Health and Human Servicer's policy that only paid for therapy in nursing institutions and in home settings if the chronically ill showed continual improvements. This has now been lifted.
"This for years was the major obstacle to Medicare coverage and it is legally incorrect," Stein said.

subset: commoncrawl


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Charissa Thompson, sideline reporter for the Big Ten Network, broke her ankle doing step aerobics and will wear a cast. She's not DL'd yet, so keep her in your lineup. This is officially the slowest news day in history.
Instead of boring you with more details about this non-event that will only discourage you from reading further or encourage those with a bizarre fetish to hyperventilate, we'll skip ahead to our regularly scheduled DUAN!-ness.
Thanks for your continued support of Deadspin:Exposed. ur greatest thx man lol
sent from my iPhone


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text: Quick View Compare Baby Farm Animals Stamp Set SKU: SS-0688 $22.95 is part of the Kindness Matters Collection from Fun Stampers Journey. Who doesn't love baby animals? This set screams springtime. This set also has a coordinating die set, DI-0546 Baby Farm Animals. Contains 19 stamps. Made in the USA of high quality... Add to Cart


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RIM Adds 15,000 Apps to BlackBerry 10
Arguably the biggest struggle RIM will have when it releases BlackBerry 10 at the end of this month: making sure there are enough apps on the platform.
So in preparation for the operating system's debut on January 30, the company held a Port-A-Thon this past weekend. The 36-hour event let developers port over their existing apps to the BlackBerry 10 platform, and earn cash -– and developer devices -– in the process.
Starting at 12 p.m. ET last Friday, RIM invited developers to a "porting party" to bring their apps to BlackBerry 10 before launch. Experts of the OS were on hand to help with porting questions.
The event actually ran a little long –- 37.5 hours -– but in the end, RIM was able to reach its goal of approving an astounding 15,000 apps over the course of one weekend.
well there you have it.37.5 hours in, we hit 15,000 apps for this portathon.Feel like I've run a marathon.Thanks to all the devs!
— Alec Saunders (@asaunders) January 13, 2013
RIM gave developers $100 for each app approved for BlackBerry App World. The first 200 developers to port between five and 10 apps scored a BlackBerry Dev Alpha device, while the first 10 developers to submit more than 10 approved apps received a paid trip to BlackBerry Jam Europe to celebrate the launch of BlackBerry 10.
RIM's latest OS is set to debut on Jan. 30.
[via The Verge]


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When people say the Olympics has "sold out", what they may actually mean is that the Olympics are more about "selling out" to corporate sponsors than ensuring people actually see the games live…
There are a number of reasons that Olympic stadium seats are empty in these 'sold out' Olympics. Here is the reason I find the most compelling:
Sponsors, media rights holders and government officials aren't using their tickets; or, they are using their tickets for only a portion of the allocated time (tickets secure the holder a seat for an entire 'session', which usually lasts several hours).
The Olympics cost sponsors, media rights holders, government officials and committees (IOC, national Olympic committees and sporting authorities) a lot of time and money, and part of their reward includes allocations of tickets.
So the question is, how do tickets that won't be used get allocated efficiently now and at the next games? Part of the answer may come from Wimbledon, helpfully, the home of the 2012 Olympic games:
"Wimbledon operates a ticket resale system, with tickets surrendered during the day resold and the proceeds donated to charity.
When spectators decide to leave before the end of a day's play, they are encouraged to place their ticket in special boxes located around the ground.
These tickets are then re-printed and sold at the resale kiosk, which opens mid to late afternoon."
This is a positive Public Relations opportunity
Well that's straight forward: Olympic sponsors / ticket holders could quickly register the tickets they won't be using each day online… The organisation that releases the most amount of tickets through the system (and therefore raises the most money for charity) could receive some kind of recognition, as a way of rewarding organisations that would otherwise be leaving seats empty.
At these games, though, a more basic system can come into play – if sponsors have tickets they won't be using, give them away! Just about anyone on the street would gladly receive the gift. It's much more sporting than just letting a ticket go unused because you couldn't find someone schmooze-worthy to take!
If you represent an Olympic sponsor (General Electric, Johnson and Johnson, Kodak, Lenovo, Manulife, McDonalds, Omega, Panasonic, Samsung, Visa, Sinopec, CNPC, China Mobile, Volkswagen, Adidas, Air China, PICC, State Grid…) and/or you've got an innovative method of ensuring ticket allocations are used, post it!
Zàijiàn! Tim


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The word "innovation" appears 122 times in the Canadian Federal Government's Budget for 2012-2013, which in case anyone missed it, is entitled "Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity - Economic Action Plan 2012". According to businessdictionary.com, innovation is "The process by which an idea or invention is translated into a good or service for which people will pay, or something that results from this process." In a budget that some have called "transformative" because of its overall trend towards a smaller role for the federal government in Canadian society, one area where governmental activism will actually grow over at least the next three years is through attempts to increase innovation in the Canadian business community.
The government is clearly frustrated by the limited success of its programs to spur innovation in Canadian businesses, which have been focused largely on tax credits and other incentives since 2006. Chapter 3.1 of Budget 2012 doles out a tongue-lashing, including this:
"Despite strong policy fundamentals to support innovation in Canada, Canadian businesses do not take full advantage. Canada continues to lag behind peer countries in terms of overall innovation performance, including private sector investment in research and development (R&D), and the commercialization of research into products and processes that create high-value jobs and economic growth."
The government's solution is to spend even more money on the problem, but this time focusing on directed grants ($1.1 billion over five years) and venture capital ($500 million) that it hopes "will promote business innovation through improved support for high-growth companies, research collaborations, procurement opportunities, applied research and risk financing." This includes funds to continue to refocus the National Research Council of Canada, the largest research organization in the country, on industry-driven research projects.
Two questions for all Canadians are whether business innovation is really an issue that large-scale government programs can solve, and whether the proposed solutions will have unintended, long-lasting negative impacts on basic research in the country, which is seen widely as a great success?
The prestigious scientific magazines Science and Nature have both raised concerns about the increasing shift of funding in Canada from programs for basic research to those for business-driven, industry-relevant research, all in pursuit of the goal of promoting business innovation. The legitimate argument is that without continuing discoveries in basic science, engineering, medicine and other disciplines, there will be fewer new ideas and inventions to commercialize, and this will ultimately make Canadian companies less competitive. Basic research and business innovation are linked inextricably in this way.
Perhaps a truly innovative Budget 2012 would have recognized that most innovation in business likely would come from company employees with a good idea rather than from government-directed, industry-focussed research programs or institutions. A much cheaper and effective program, that would allow basic research to continue to thrive in the country, might focus simply on providing individuals or groups in companies with what they need to bring their ideas to fruition.
Maybe this would mean a leave of absence to develop their ideas in a government or university research lab. Maybe it would mean some funding to buy materials to test the idea on company premises. The point is that, in the case of business innovation, small government solutions might be better than big government ones.


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By: GILAD ATZMON
By Gilad Atzmon
Once again we've learned today that in the Jewish State, Goyim's blood translates into political power. In order to win the Israeli election, Benjamin Netanyahu feels the need to present the Israeli voter with a substantial pile of Palestinian corpses.
Like in the case of previous IDF's genocidal operations, the current Israeli Pillar of Cloudalso has a Biblical connotation. In Exodus 13:21-22, you will find the following: "By day the Lord went ahead of them in apillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light,"
Seemingly, the current Israel murderous assault against civilians is consistent with the Zionist secular interpretation of the Old Testament. " …then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy." (Deuteronomy 7:1-2). However, this time it isn't God who guides his chosen people. It is actually a democratically elected war criminal that was chosen by God's favourite people.
Some 'progressive' minds amongst us insist that we should never refer to the Jewishness of the 'Jewish State'. But I am afraid that considering the emerging level of Israeli barbarism and some clear Biblical connotations, such a critical tendency is inevitable.
The Wandering Who? A Study Of Jewish Identity Politics, Jewish political interest and Israeli barbarism in the context of Biblical Jewish secular interpretations.


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Amarista poised for another year in utility role
PEORIA, Ariz. -- With a glut of outfielders in camp, and the Padres likely to carry five on the 25-man roster, there will be little need for Alexi Amarista to appear in the outfield as he did in 2013.
But he will most likely be seen just about everywhere else.
San Diego manager Bud Black said recently that the plan was again for the Padres to use Amarista, 24, in a super-utility role, where he will bounce around the diamond.
"Alexi's game, for me, is his versatility," Black said. "You look at all the components of his game, he's capable at second, capable at short, capable at third, capable of all three outfield spots," Black added. "He's a very dependable player on defense. On offense, he's done some things to win some games for us. He can move around the diamond, he doesn't scare off, he plays with energy. He's a good all-around player."
Last season, Amarista appeared in 23 games at second base, nine at third base, 13 at shortstop and 95 in the outfield -- mostly because of injuries to outfielders Cameron Maybin and Carlos Quentin.
Amarista was acquired early in 2012 from the Angels, where manager Mike Scioscia gave his former pitching coach, Black, some high praise for Amarista.
"When I talked to Mike, when we made that trade, he said, 'Pepe, this guy is a great fit for the National League.'"


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Freestyle is a type of dance-pop music that evolved from Hi-NRG, Electro, and Hip-Hop in the early 1980s — primarily in New York City and specifically the South Bronx. Due to the ethnic and musicological background of some of its producers, performers and many of its fans, Freestyle was originally often referred to as Latin Hip-Hop. After enjoying a period of crossover popularity in the second half of the 1980s, Freestyle stopped being a major musical force in mainstream but was kept alive by a cult largely comprised surprisingly perhaps, largely of Filipinos.
In the early 1980s listeners could still discern the unique cultural contributions that made pre-corporate Hip-Hop a complex Afro-Caribbean-Hellenic-Italo-Teutonic gumbo. The syncopated rhythms of Electro-Funk owed their popularity to Nuyoricans' central importance in the emerging subculture. Electro-Funk branched into something distinct (what came to be known as Freestyle) in 1982 and '83, with the release of songs like Planet Patrol's "Pay At Your Own Risk," C-Bank's "Get Wet," and Shannon's "Let the Music Play" and the production efforts of figures like John Robie & Arthur Baker, The Latin Rascals, and Mark Liggett & Chris Barbosa.


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'Zero Dark Thirty': A tense but too-long tick-tock
- USA TODAY review: **1/2 out of four
- Stars: Chris Pratt, Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Kyle Chandler; director: Kathryn Bigelow
- Rated R; runtime: 2 hours, 37 minutes; opens Wednesday in New York and Los Angeles
The movie audiences are anticipating in Zero Dark Thirty takes place in the final half hour.
It takes two long hours before Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan is invaded and America's most wanted terrorist is captured and killed. The time leading up to this tense sequence carried out by Navy SEALs is spent in clinical procedural wrangling in a no-frills style.
While this decade-long look at the inner workings of the CIA (** 1/2 out of four; rated R; opening Wednesday in New York and Los Angeles) is intriguing, the movie would have benefited by more character development and additional editing.
Director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal (the duo behind the brilliant The Hurt Locker) re-teamed for this film, which, while ambitious, lacks the visceral punch of that 2009 best picture winner.
Each segment is introduced by a chapter title in the lead-up to the assault on bin Laden's suburban Pakistani compound. It follows a dedicated team of CIA analysts, particularly Maya (Jessica Chastain), who works a hunch for years. Inspired by an actual CIA analyst that Boal found while researching the film, Maya is resolute about bin Laden's whereabouts, while her colleagues waver in their certainty. She impatiently keeps track of the raid's bureaucratic delays, in glaring red marker (over 100 days).
But Chastain's performance doesn't always match the laser focus of her character. There is an irksome blankness to her portrayal. In contrast, her fellow operative Dan (Jason Clarke) comes across much more vividly.
If Maya is based on a real person, why does she come off as a robo-CIA agent? Perhaps that's by design, a statement on the culture of the organization, since others in the CIA sometimes refer to her as "the girl." But as an audience, we need to know more about this lead character in order to root for and feel for her.
Early on, there are scenes of graphic torture in which Dan punches and eventually waterboards a suspect (Reda Kateb). The brutal behavior is meant to be key to bin Laden's capture. However, Senate Intelligence Committee chair Sen. Dianne Feinstein has denied that waterboarding helped in this case. This is a movie that claims to be faithfully based on facts, but the filmmakers can't have it both ways.
Natural lighting and a handheld camera provide stunning shots, and dramatic sound design (particularly when helicopters descend on the bin Laden compound) adds to the tension. When the raid finally happens, it's riveting, as seen through night vision goggles.
The story is long and is more admirable than enjoyable as it jumps around the Middle East. Some of the side missions and digressions seem unnecessary, particularly the re-creation of terrorist events like the London bombings.
There's an emotional detachment to the film that undercuts its potency. Zero Dark Thirty is more technically proficient than emotionally involving.


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| 9.4°C Belfast
"Unsafe sexual behaviour" and a lack of testing is being blamed for a failure to cut the number of cases of HIV among gay and bisexual men in the last decade.
The number of cases of the virus in England and Wales among men who have sex with men (MSM) has stayed the same over 10 years despite a significant increase in availability of testing and treatment, according to a new study.
One in 20 gay and bisexual men in the UK now has HIV, rising to one in 12 in London, according to the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Health Protection Agency (HPA), which carried out the research.
Dr Valerie Delpech, the HPA's head of HIV surveillance, said: "We are seriously concerned about the level of ongoing HIV transmission and the significant impact this is having within the MSM community.
"The most plausible explanation for these results is continuing unsafe sexual behaviour coupled with insufficient HIV testing, showing us just how vital safe sex programmes engaging MSM remain."
The study, published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, found no evidence of a decline in levels of HIV over the last decade, with new infections plateauing at 2,300-2,500 annually from 2006 onwards. Undiagnosed HIV infections in gay and bisexual men increased from 7,370 in 2001 to 7,690 in 2010.
Despite a 20% reduction in the average time between infection and diagnosis, from four years to 3.2 years, 38% of infections in 2010 were still diagnosed after the time patients should have started antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.
Over the same time period HIV testing of gay men and bisexual men increased by 370% to 59,300 per year and the number receiving HIV care rose from 69% to 80%.
A Department of Health spokesman said: "HIV continues to be a serious health issue, especially for gay and bisexual men, and people from African communities.
"We urge people at risk to get tested. Free and confidential HIV testing is widely available from the NHS. We will set out detailed plans for sexual health and HIV services shortly."


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Abiel Tomás Parra Hernández
Open Web Philosophy
Passionate about the Complexity of Human-Computing Interactions
Tagsmozilla mexico, mozilla hispano, mobile, rust, mozilla science lab, techspeakers
技能artificial intelligence, compilers, hci, interaction design, mobile, theory of computer science, ux, web developement
語言英文, 西班牙文, 法文, 義大利文
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abielparra
- Twitter: QuarryCero
Stefania Ioana Chiorean
Abiel wa sone of the MozTechSpeakers I mentored through the cohorts of the program. He had one of the best evolutions. Started pretty shy as his English is a bit rusty, went to confident at the end. I did appreciate his work to share homeworks, to prepare his speeches and also to care about the feedback we gave him. Always responsive. Also has good technical skills and good choices in topics.
Frédéric Harper
Abiel was part of the Tech Speakers program for the last cohort: he was dedicated and gave me a very good impression. Looking forward to see Abiel at conferences and on the stage as he is an amazing Mozillian!
Luis A. Sanchez Romero
Abiel had been involved a lot with the local Rust community https://www.meetup.com/Rust-MX/ and with the organization of the first Rust day in Mexico https://2017.rustday.mx/ he also is a Tech speakers.
Jorge Antonio Díaz Lara
Gran entusiasmo en participar con la comunidad y con los proyectos de la Fundación.


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Nordin didn't listen
Thanks for speaking to me by telephone last week. My assistant showed me the article by Barbara Nordin on a complaint by Ron and Sharon Soltau. As one might expect from a heading such as "Fearless Consumer," the article is strongly biased in favor of Soltau.
Nordin did not check Soltau's statements for accuracy, so his misleading statements go unchallenged. Also, she omits much of what my assistant and I said to her. I did in fact answer her questions calmly and completely, by telephone and email, so her description of my response is inaccurate. Her last sentence, in particular is false. As a matter of fact, in the course of our conversation, Nordin became heated and abusive, which struck me as poor behavior for a journalist.
My assistant and I met with Ron and Sharon Soltau several times, visited the site with them, copied their sketches and site plan, obtained the architectural guidelines from Wintergreen, drew several sketches, took notes of our conversations, and revised the sketches. We gave them prints of all the sketches and revisions along the way. The Soltaus gave their verbal approval several times to what we were doing. Toward the end of the design phase, the Soltaus changed their minds on several important points. Because they had asked for a guaranteed maximum fee, it was impossible for us to continue working on their project.
The Soltaus apparently said that they hired another architect, and that their construction drawings have been approved by Wintergreen. So why do they continue to complain? Is it because Nordin's column provides an outlet for spurious accusations? Does your newspaper thrive on conflict and dispute, at the expense of private individuals and businesses?
Robert Boucheron


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Podcastification is all about PODCASTING - how to do it. How NOT to do it. Interesting news items from the world of podcasting. Tips, tricks, and best-practices to help you start a show, keep your show going, or make it better.And it's all done with a little fun and light-hearted humor. Carey Green is the host, a guy who runs a podcast production and show notes creation company - so you can imagine the hundreds of scenarios he gets the privilege to see... and he's passing all that info on to you, week by week. Join the fun by subscribing to Podcastification. Reach out to the Podcast Fast Track Team at email@example.com
Aug 18, 2017
No show notes for this one - but if
you're going to be at
I'll be there too! Look me up.
I'm doing a Q&A session about
show notes Friday at 9AM.
Recent Facebook Posts
Podcastificating the world, one listener at a time. Podcastification is a fun look at podcasting, its challenges and triumphs, and the tech, tips & tricks, and news stories that impact the world of everyday podcasters like you and me. I'm a regular guy who's been swept up in the podcastificating world of podcasting. I've build a business to support podcasters and content providers and love passing along my hard-learned lessons about podcasting, production, and editing, as well as my take on the technology that's available and the news that's affecting the podcasting space. Short episodes. Fun episodes. Very sparsely populated with interviews here and there. Let me know what you think. I'd love your rating and review. And if you need help with your podcast production, show notes, etc. – my team is here to help. www.PodcastFastTrack.com
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Last year NYC based mom Ellen Hwang threw an amazing transit-themed birthday party, that we wrote about here. This year she did a candy-themed party. The invite looked like a stick of gum, wrapped in foil, and even smelled like mint! There were candy themed games like a pixie stick drop, pass the Lifesavers, and a gumball obstacle course. There was also jewelry making, using enamel and resin charms of tiny cake slices, gummy bears, jewel-like gum drops, cupcakes (all purchased on Etsy). And the big hit was the candy button game, where kids had to answer a candy trivia question (like name 5 Lifesavers flavors…) and when they got the answer correct they got to punch a "button" and there was a prize inside. At the end, the kids filled their favor bags with whatever they want from the candy/treat station.
And if you're wondering how to do any part or all of this, Ellen wrote about how she did the whole party, on her blog. There's even a step-by-step post for the candy button game. And truly, it doesn't seem impossibly complicated.
(By the way, we'd love to see your pictures—preferably horizontals—of silly, funny, clever, or otherwise show-stopping birthday cakes you or someone you know has made. And if you're further inspired, we'd love to see the whole party. Send us an email to email@example.com. Please include your name, how you would like to be credited, the occasion, the recipe, and the inspiration or story behind the cake. Images must be 550×380 pixels wide.)


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Like in Twilight, there are lot of cheeseburger talk in this one.
Rob just had an In-and-Out cheeseburger and Kristen is 'harboring hostility' over this because she wants one, too. Oh and Rob has another one by his side…which he finished up through the movie.
Its like a Rob and Kristen radio comedy show with Kristen giggling, laughing and saying "Shut up" to Rob the whole time. Think Oprah backstage interview. Oh and of course, there's Rob and his different voices throughout.
Bella's wig was ridiculed throughout the whole time. Lots of "follicle issue" in this film, wig and sideburns. Rob: Why do I have such long sideburns?
Rob: "You look like Damian Marley"
Kristen: "I look like Jacob.
Rob commented all throughout that that there is "too much kissing" in this movie. Lol It only proves he is "prudish and conservative"
More food talk. Shawarmas, butterscotch and chipotle.
They talked about the LA Convention with the girls shouting. "Take your shirt off" and "Bite that pillow".
Edward is more secure than Rob. He can handle 'the Jacob threat', while Rob stays upset.
Kristen said she filmed the entire 'third wife" flashback scene. She had two braids and wore a fake tan. "I did all those. That's me."
Bella's bed is small. Rob says its "so tiny, its very bouncy, very annoying. Every time my feet would hang at the end and stuff."
According to Rob, Taylor was not with them because ,"he didn't want to be here. He has personal things to do. He is working out right now." Kristen was just laughing
They talk about Bella and Edward's relationship a lot. Kristen is always defending her character. But the way they bicker is so cute.
They are happy for Anna's Oscar nomination. They both hated the grad party. Lol
Kristen's Bella cast, ruined Rob's toe in Twilight prom scene. "it never recovered." Lol
Rob talks about Jackson's lips being an 'unusual' color. Some kind of "orange"
A brown or grizzly bear visited the set, and ate blueberries.
Rob hates Jacob. "He is so gross, so brazen. I don't really like Jacob. Look at him with his tattoo…" Yuck! He is the worst guy in the world.
I won't give you too much spoilers on the 'leg hitch' and the' proposal scene.' But there are lots of 'Aww' from Kristen while Edward is proposing.
According to Rob Taylor is a sport. "He has his shirt off the entire time, its so embarrassing."
Kristen and Taylor filmed scenes of their characters as older folks- should have been shown when they were kissing.
They were making fun of Booboo's name and Kristen realized this and said 'this is not okay'. They never called him as his character Seth.
Kristen defended Bella's statement at the last meadow scene.
Memorable Quotes
Rob: "Xavier would make a wonderful hamburger. He is just dripping with spread right now. We're not in the scene, so it's irrelevant. He is just running around shouting
Rob: You do a different thing when you get bitten by a vampire, which is so much sexier.
Kristen: Shut up!
Rob: No one cares about girl vampires.
Rob: "The two-headed snake from Appaloosa."
Rob: I do not get your decision making process to leave here. I've got to break up with you immediately. It's like please don't leave me…
Kristen explains Bella's decision: She's allowed to have other relationships.
Rob: Why? No, she's not allowed to have other relationships. If I ever saw my girlfriend go around with these bunch of guys with little shirts, bellies out and their fake tanned nipples…fake tattoos.
Kristen: Edward is a little bit more mature than you.
Rob: Mature? Nah
Kristen: He can handle it. He's a little bit more secure.
Rob: Can I ask you something? Did the weather affect the shooting today?
Kristen: I kept telling her, vampires don't cry Nikki.
Kristen: The musings of RPattz in the commentary of Eclipse.
Florida Scene. Kristen spoke too soon…lol
R: You were supposed to wear a bikini in this scene.
K: They would never let Bella wear a bikini.
Rob: Peter also uses his wig as a cereal bowl. It's completely solid.
Kristen: The milk makes it stick in place.
Rob: I think a human army can defeat a vampire army.
Kristen: Really? With guns?
Kristen: I'm kind of a a starer but… When Rob asked her if she watch when people kiss.
Rob: Jacob got you a dog, I got you a $3M diamond. I'm your boyfriend.
No that's not an actual diamond, you can actually find that in a cracker.
Kristen: There it is, the leg hitch.
Rob: Ooh
Kristen: Let's see some of that chest hair.
Tent Scene.
Kristen: Look at them cradling.
Rob: Looks like you're milking him.
Kristen: Like kneading, pushing…
Bella/Jacob Kiss.
Kristen: (teasing Rob) Oh she's getting into it.
Rob: Shut up.
Edward, Victoria Fight - Bella cuts herself
Kristen: Come and get it.
Rob: Eat it, Uhmm yummy. Butterscotch.
Kristen: chicken.
Rob: Chipotle.
Kristen: This is going to go down in history, Rob. 'chipotle'
Bella/ Jacob Scene.
Rob: Is that Jacob screaming.
Kristen: Taylor was really good in that scene, but we have to redo the scene so we could see his eyes. (Set was too dark.)
Kristen: See … you still can't see his eyes.
Rob: How much of his eyes do you want to see? (jealous much Rob- lol)


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Just saw Jim Prevor's "modest" proposal to solve the PMA-United Fresh conundrum. I've got to say that he has chutzpah and no lack of self-assurance. Perhaps I envy that in him.
Who has the chops to finally decide this thing, after 18 months of fruitless negotiations between leaders of PMA and United Fresh? Of course, it is Prevor himself, along with two members from the boards of United Fresh and PMA, along with Ed McLaughlin of Cornell and an unspecified "neutral party" to chair the group. To save effort, why not let Prevor make the call all by himself?
As Hall and Oates sang, I can't go for that, no can do.
Even if the fair-mindedness and objectivity of the non-association folk could be assured (what's up with this unnamed "neutral party"?), I don't think PMA and United Fresh would want to cede their "fiduciary responsibilities" to three outsiders. If the best efforts of United Fresh and PMA boards fell short, let the record speak for itself. There is no need for a hastily constructed backroom solution.
Plus, I don't think there is an immediate and great appetite for another ill-fated and secretive run at the merger. Next time make it more inclusive and public that is, if there is a "next time."
Comments are starting to roll in for the Arctic GMO apple, and they are as you suspect. Mostly doubtful. Wary. And against.
Check out the rulemaking page here, which already has recorded more than 640 comments.
Here is a quick sampling:
From Kevin:
NO MORE GMOS. Do you understand that? I will be voting in CA to make labeling of GMO food mandatory. Also, why is there even an option to be making suggestions and statements to the US Govt from any country or citizen outside the US? Your world government isn't here yet, fellas.
From Matt:
Stop this insanity! Let an apple be an apple, not an untested science experiment.
From Marie:
USDA should NOT approve GMO apples. In fact, ALL GMOs need to be labeled as such. If we have to know what's in our mattresses and pillows, surely to God we can know what is in our food. Thank you.
From Sherrill:
Please, no more genetically engineered crops. There has to be a reason these have been banned in many other countries.
TK: Gee, not a lot of science in these comments. There is palpable emotion, though.
As to the last point about GM food "banned in many other countries," producers in Italy are pleading with their leaders to say yes to GMOs.
From the USDA FAS report:
200 Italian scientists and farmers have written an appeal to President Napolitano and Prime Minister Monti. The letter specifically asks that Italy be given the possibility to compete in agriculture â both scientifically and economically â by putting a stop to the anti-GMO policy in Italy.


text: Matt Sorum has had a lifelong passion for drumming and has covered the musical spectrum, including rock, country, pop and jazz bands. He uses the LP Jam Block, LP Cyclops Tambourine and the LP Rock Ridge Rider Cowbell to add that little extra to any of these genres. This pack contains the LP Jam Block, LP Cyclops Tambourine, LP Rock Ridge Rider Cowbel and theLP Mini Everything Rack.


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That favourite childhood memory of yours — you know, the one that still seems like just yesterday, the one that you can still smell and taste — may actually be the result of a select few neurons firing deep within your brain.
According to a recent MIT study, Strong memory fragments known as engrams may actually be the result of a small number of neurons residing in the hippocampus, the brain's memory centre. The team employed a technique known as optogenetics — one that electrically stimulates genetically-modified neurons that are designed to light up when active — to identify in mice the neurons responsible for long term memories. "We demonstrate that behaviour based on high-level cognition, such as the expression of a specific memory, can be generated in a mammal by highly specific physical activation of a specific small subpopulation of brain cells, in this case by light," says Susumu Tonegawa, a researcher at MIT.
The MIT team tested its hypothesis by first identifying the subset of brain cells within the Hippocampus that activated only when a lab mouse was learning a new maze route then combined the memory-making genes with one that produced a light-activated protein. This way, neurons responsible for new memory formation would literally light up whenever the cells were active.
The team then exposed a group of mice to a new maze environment with certain areas deemed "off limits" and enforced with a mild electrical shock. The mice quickly learned to solve the maze without venturing into the off limits areas while activating a certain subset of hippocampus neurons.
When the mice were dropped into a new maze with different electrified areas, every time they made a misstep, the same neurons that fired when the mouse was shocked in the previous maze, did so again in the new one. Not only that, in the new maze, the mouse entered into a defensive crouch faster and more readily than in the first. This shows that the mouse not only remembered the pain from the previous maze, it also learned from the experience and changed its behaviour because of it. Basically, the mouse remembered how much the shock sucked due to these neurons firing and therefore reacted faster.
"Showing that the reactivation of those nerve cells that were active during learning can reproduce the learned behavior is surely a milestone." Charles Stevens, a professor in the Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory at the Salk Institute, told R&D Magazine. The ability to know which specific bits of our brains activate when used could be applied to a variety of neurodegenerative disorder studies such as Alzheimer's by identifying which specific regions of the brain aren't working as they should. [MIT via R&D Mag – Image: Sebastian Kaulitzki / Shutterstock]


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DHHR | BPH | Text size A A A
Ryan White Treatment Modernization Act Part B funds are used to fund the WV Health Insurance continuation Program for West Virginia's HIV infected residents.
The program is designed to help eligible persons with HIV infection maintain their existing health insurance when they might otherwise lose their coverage because of financial stress, a reduction of work hours, an unpaid medical leave or a termination of their employment. The program does not pay for Medicare Supplemental insurance or Medicare premiums.
The Insurance Continuation Program is administered through a contract with the AIDS Task Force of the Upper Ohio Valley. The ATF administration allows for timely payment of the insurance premiums, easy enrollment through the medical case managers located throughout the State and for maximum exposure and promotion of the program through contact with approximately 900 HIV infected West Virginians annually. The ATF also relies on referrals from AIDS service agencies and providers throughout the State.
To be eligible for the Insurance Continuation Program, a person must meet ALL of the following criteria. Applicants must:
For more information about the Health Insurance Continuation Program contact Jay Adams.
Phone: 304-232-6822
EMail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Address: Jay Adams, HIV Care Coordinator
PO Box 6360
Wheeling, WV 26003


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Professional Community for Car Dealers, Marketing, Advertising and Sales Leaders
This is out of the ordinary, I know. Me… a guy who achieved success in retail from being an early advocate of Internet lead management, video, and digital marketing… talking about the benefits of a traditional marketing medium. Stranger things have happened...
Just because I believe in the…Continue
Added by Joe Webb on May 26, 2015 at 1:30pm — No Comments
You are ready to traverse through a crowded sea of vendors at the upcoming NADA Convention in New Orleans. Your flight and hotel are booked. You have already looked over the workshop schedules. With that, you maybe still recognize even more can be learned by examining vendor offerings in the exhibit hall than from listening to the…Continue
Added by Joe Webb on January 22, 2014 at 5:00am — No Comments
TrueCar has had a rollercoaster ride in the automotive retail industry over the past few years. However, it appears things may be taking a turn for the worse (both for TrueCar as well as its participating dealer clients). Read on, as I reveal their new policy changes that will have a negative impact on dealers, as well as my in-depth interview with a top eCommerce Directors about this change.
Added by Joe Webb on August 22, 2013 at 8:51am — 19 Comments
While training a 13-store dealer group this week, I had the pleasure of meeting a salesperson and manager who assured me they were tip-top at taking sales calls. I was ecstatic. It isn't everyday you're brought in to advance dealerships in need of Internet and phone help and immediately run into someone that has such confidence in their expertise that it would (if I believed them) eliminate their need for any training. How wonderful. (I hope you can accept the…Continue
Added by Joe Webb on August 16, 2013 at 12:29pm — 2 Comments
It amazes me how the humble nature of the automotive Internet revolution for dealers from the past has changed to ego-driven displays of self-aggrandizement. It wasn't too long ago that you would speak to dealers who were more excited to learn than they were to pound their chest and roar to the crowd about their own accomplishments.
As another Digital Dealer Conference came and went last month, I think it is time we realize that no one has the whole "Internet thing" figured out.…
There is a crisis going on at our dealerships. And it's called "Addendums". This is a sore subject with many, as everyone has different viewpoints as to the functionality of addendums. You're required to keep reading this blog. It costs you $50, but it's required. Everyone has to pay that reads it.
Sounds pretty stupid, huh? Dealers are using addendums to generate additional profit per vehicle (likely because they are…
Added by Joe Webb on March 27, 2013 at 10:28am — 17 Comments
Depending on the amount of friends you are connected with on the social media sites, often the thought of reviewing the posts of others seems daunting.
Even with Facebook, for instance, sorting through friends' posts (even with FB determining what you want to…Continue
Added by Joe Webb on January 15, 2013 at 6:30pm — 9 Comments
Like many people, worthless emails reach our inbox every single day. Recently, there has been one common theme that every piece of spam or advertisement email has in common. That is the email Header.
It is very commonplace to insert a Header into all dealership emails. The majority of mystery shop responses we receive include the dealership's header emblazoned across the top. While we understand that it immediately brands your dealership to the person opening the email, we believe…Continue
Added by Joe Webb on July 31, 2012 at 1:16pm — 7 Comments
Disclaimer: I must preface this by saying it not intended to make any enemies or friends. This is not meant to hurt anyone's business, call out how they perform for their clients, highlight weaknesses or put stock in one product over another. This was nothing more than a simple experiment.
I was out to dinner with my wife recently when I ran into an old college acquaintance. Very quickly I discovered that she works in our industry…Continue
Added by Joe Webb on July 3, 2012 at 6:44am — 4 Comments
If Support…
Added by Joe Webb on May 23, 2012 at 8:30am — No Comments
How long do you follow up with your Internet leads? What about your inbound phone calls that you haven't set appointments for? You might answer these questions with numbers from 90 to 120. 15 to 30. 60 days. Forever. You answer this way because that is the process you built in your CRM. Allow me to tell you that this isn't happening.
There is one thing a CRM cannot do and that is stop your sales team from taking the easy way out. (That takes management). My team…Continue
Added by Joe Webb on September 19, 2011 at 10:00am — 8 Comments
In light of some of the potentially-frustrating or miraculous changes impending on ADM (depending on which way the cookie crumbles), I thought I would take a moment to talk about the Peter Principle.
For those that don't know, the Peter Principle is the idea where someone is promoted to the point of incompetence. They simply work their way into a job with duties their not capable of fulfilling. It is a virus that happens far too often in our industry. Someone is good at…Continue
Added by Joe Webb on December 16, 2010 at 7:12am — 3 Comments
Added by Joe Webb on June 27, 2010 at 3:54pm — 2 Comments
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Uses BoeFly, Shouldn't You?
Small Business Loans the Easy Way
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The Dodgy Coder pushed out an article on Saturday asserting in the most interesting and unscientific manner that JavaScript is the most annoying and most frustrating of programming languages currently in existence.
And how was this conclusion made? Basically, a comparison was made between how many people were using a given programming language, and how many inane questions about that language were posted to StackOverflow. So, if 17% of the programmers in the world use Java, then 17% of the questions on StackOverflow should be Java related. However, since only 7.6% of StackOverflow questions were Java related, Java is underrepresented, meaning that Java is well understood. Alternatively, JavaScript has a Tiobe representation score of 2.191%, while 6.4% of StackOverflow questions were related to the client-side monster. Clearly, people using JavaScript are running into problems.
Why the problems with JavaScript?
It's an interesting, if not highly unscientific, glimpse at what's happening in the programming world. And seriously, the conclusion can't be that JavaScript is hard, because it's not. The real problem is that JavaScript isn't anybody's first language when it comes to programming.
The consequences of client side scripting
And what is the consequence of this? It means that highly competent Java or C++ programmers find themselves humbly asking questions on the Internet that start out with a preamble such as: "I've done this a thousand times using Java, but how do you do it using JavaScript?"
What's the alternative?
Maybe the emergence of HTML5 based technologies, or the uptake of frameworks such as GWT or Vaadin, will reduce the need for enterprise developers with strong Java or C skills to post cries for help on StackOverflow, but in the meantime, learning the basics of JavaScript might not be such a bad investment of an enterprise developer's time.
www.dodgycoder.net: StackOverflow's Programming Language Bias
Now Go Learn some JavaScript:
JavaScript: The Definitive Guide
JavaScript: The Good Parts
JavaScript, A Beginner's Guide
Murach's JavaScript and DOM Scripting


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Σ Sigma Hosting is mainly a video tutorial website
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Video Discription
Customizing Website Builder themes is the quickest way to a personalized website! This video provides a tour of the application's design tools and how they work.
It's important to note that this video assumes you've already done an initial log in to Website Builder.
If you haven't done these initial setup tasks, some screens in this video may not be familiar to you yet.
To open the application, on your account page, click Website Builder/InstantPage and then click Manage next to the domain name that you want to build your website on.
The Website Builder dashboard displays first each time you log in.
There's another video explaining this, so let's open the designer; click Edit Site.
The theme you selected displays in your browser. Think of your theme like a canvas on which you'll create your website. Each theme has pluses and minuses, so it's a good idea to take your theme for a "test drive" first.
Try to change a minimal amount of the template to your text and images, just until you're sure it's the one for you. This is important; because while you can change your theme at any time, if you do, none of the text and images you've added to the screen will be preserved.
On the left side of the screen are all of the tools you can use to customize your theme. So if your theme is the canvas, this toolbar is your palette.
If you want to minimize the toolbar, say to see more the screen, click the three-bar icon.
If you want to hide it completely, click the push pin.
Want it back again? Just click the green tab on the left side of the screen, then click the three-bar icon again.
To create your personal website, you can customize your Website Builder theme in two ways: adding new items to the theme using the toolbar, or editing the existing placeholder items included in the theme.
To add things to your website theme, just click the related item on the toolbar and it's placed on the screen for you.
The blue dotted line around the tool indicates that it's moveable and editable.
To move the item anywhere on the screen, click and hold on the dotted lines and until your cursor switches to arrows.
Holding your mouse button down, you can drag and drop it anywhere you want on the screen.
Technically though, you don't have to add anything to your theme to create your personal website. You can always create a personalized from any theme by simply editing the existing placeholder items on the screen.
Select the item you want to edit; you'll see the blue dotted line again, as well as its edit menu.
For example, this is the edit menu for a text box. You can click the pen and paper icon to change text properties, such as color and size; click the settings icon change the textbox properties, click the copy icon to duplicate the textbox, or just delete it.
Let's recap: To customize a theme and create your personalized website, you can add new items to the theme using the toolbar, or just select and edit the placeholder items included in the theme.
Really. It's that easy.


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As of today, this blog is going to be moving over to my own URL address! I am so happy and proud to present to you the new nuckingfutsmama.com! Please visit me over there for lots of nucking futty fun as well as a giveaway later this week! Be sure to bookmark the new site so that you don't miss a beat! Peace and love to all of my FABULOUS readers!
Filed under: Uncategorized | 8 Comments »


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A hangover is an opportunity.
I'll let that sink in for a moment.
You may not be thinking this now, but a hangover is an opportunity to see and taste the world in a new way. It's a chance for spontaneity and whimsy, for an experience to be enjoyed rather than simply endured.
What follows is a therapeutic collection of recipes, a gastronomic comedy, a burlesque homage to the possibility of snatching hope from failure, triumph from despair, laughter from tragedy. If you really can't be bothered—an attitude, by the way, that I entirely understand—just gobble some painkillers, drink some water, and head straight back to bed. But if you've got an appetite, then read on.
Come. Let us boldly step into this brave new world.
Before it's going to be possible to even think about tackling your hangover, you need to work out what type of hangover you have, as each as its own specific characteristics.
The Sewing Machine Hangover
It's long and it's very sharp. It hurts. And it's jabbing you with military precision at various points in your head, sometimes right between your eyes, sometimes in your temples, and sometimes in the top of your skull, which today feels as thin and as delicate as an eggshell. You need something to eat that is soothing and comforting. Like the Elvis Presley Peanut Butter, Banana, and Bacon Sandwich. [Editor's Note: Or the next closest thing–frozen bananas coated in chocolate, crumbled bacon, and chopped peanuts]. Scrambled eggs. Croissants. Nutella. Hot chocolate. Boiled eggs.
The Broken Compass Hangover
This a distinctly psychological type of hangover, one that Kingsley Amis might have described as being profoundly metaphysical. In his authoritative and masterly tome on the subject of alcohol, On Drink, Amis wrote that a metaphysical hangover of this sort combines "that ineffable compound of depression, sadness, anxiety, self-hatred, sense of failure, and fear for the future. " Hence your lack of direction and certainty, and your general air of desperate confusion, restlessness, fear, and loathing. You also feel utterly directionless and indecisive. Life does have meaning, you just need some spice to make things nice. Respite comes in the form of Mexican or ranch-style eggs (huevos rancheros), hot sauce, or a highly charged, pepped-up variety of Bloody Mary.
The Comet Hangover
If, dear space cadet, you have The Comet, you're enveloped in a fuzzy atmosphere of ice, rock, and gases, swirling through star dust, and are generally away with the fairies. In many ways you feel fine. But you also feel indistinct and occasionally, though not horribly so, a little hysterical. You sense that you've somehow lost a direct connection with the world. A line from any song or even just a single thought may seem to be stuck in your brain, like "Who the hell invented Tuesdays?" To be frank, you need something to cut through this type of cosmic crap–try recipes with fizz, crunch, or bite, such as lime soda, Greek yogurt with granola, or Stilton and pears on toast [Editor's Note: Or Stilton and pears on a tart.]
The Atomic Hangover
If you're blown away by The Atomic, you have the feeling of a nuclear explosion having detonated inside your skull. I suspect that if you look in the mirror you might still see a mushroom cloud above your head, evidence of the explosion that has taken place inside you. The blast has left an enormous crater. As a consequence, your head hurts and it feels as though your insides have been stripped out. You have no nausea, but an enormous appetite. The best thing you can do, other than to replace the fluids you have lost, is to eat. A lot. Tuck into hearty recipes, which will repair some of the devastation that the booze has wrought, such as a chorizo omelet, potato hash with bacon, breakfast porridge, even tagliatelle alla carbonara.
The Cement Mixer Hangover
If you have the deeply nauseating Cement Mixer, you feel as though someone has ripped your head off and thrown a cement mixer inside you before sealing you up again. You need to turn that cement mixer off. Immediately. But how? Well, to start with, I suggest that you eat something to soothe your stomach and make the world stand still again. Try something from a gentle menu of comforting things. The perfect tea and toast. French toast. A sweet lassi. Rosti and poached eggs. A banana smoothie.
The Gremlin Boogie Hangover
This hangover is greatly feared, as it represents the very nadir of the hungover state, the dark immobile sludge at the bottom of a vast sewer. It combines both acute physical and psychological symptoms. It is a living nightmare. Indeed, it could also be called "Apocalypse Now," as its intensity is such that you feel you could be a doomed figure in an Hieronymus Bosch painting or, indeed, the living embodiment of one of Francis Bacon's distorted portraits. If, poor little lamb, you have the hugely distressed Gremlin Boogie, you may have any number of the following: nausea; a swimming, aching head; cold sweats; trembling hands; shivering; coughing; prickly eyes; and stabbing pain across your body. In between the pain and the fever, there are nightmarish visions of what might have happened last night, things that you're not quite aware are true or not. You have terrible pangs of guilt. Moments of existential clarity and a sense of really getting to the bottom of your "self" are mixed with a general sense of doom and futility. These, you might feel, are the end times for you: either the world is about to end or your own continued participation in it seems at best tenuous. I'd recommend having breakfast. You may not feel like it. You may doubt that it is even possible for you to eat. However, exceptionally clean, healthy food should help to banish the nausea, restore your pulse, and ease the cold sweats. Try a melon, feta, and ham salad. [Editor's Note: Or a prosciutto and mozzarella sandwich and cantaloupe soup.] Or smoked salmon eggs Benedict smothered with hollandaise sauce. Carrot, orange, apple, and ginger juice. And if you really can't face breakfast, then perhaps lots of rest and plenty of water is the only cure for you.
Author's and Publisher's Note: The author and the publisher wish to point out that it is you who has gotten yourself drunk. We will not accept any responsibility for either your drunken condition, your hungover state, or any implications for your health arising thereof. That being the case, it is also not our responsibility to cure you of your condition. Any accidents or misadventures you may have while attempting to do so yourself are made entirely at your own risk. Good luck!
Editor's Note: The editors at Leite's Culinaria wish to point out that the author of The Hungoevr Cookbook, (and no, that's not a typo, it's how they spelled it–clearly, they did their research for the book!) from which the above notions and whims are excerpted, has conjured what he deems "a very short series of fun visual tests and a brief questionnaire designed to provide you with a definitive diagnosis." That is, a definitive diagnosis in terms of how severe your hangover, whether you're dizzy from the Cement Mixer or blown away by the Atomic. It may sound a little gimmicky, sort of like Ralphie in A Christmas Story sending away for the Secret Society decoder. Except this little tome really is worth sending away for or traipsing down to your local bookseller. Really. Trust us.
Excerpted from The Hungoevr Cookbook © 2010 Milton Crawford. Illustration © 2010 300million. All rights reserved.


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Product Details + Appointments
Mint Staple Silk Kurta Shirt with Cream Churidar Trousers. (Additional colours available). This item will be custom-made to your measurements to achieve the perfect fit.
Better still, visit us and try this outfit for yourself.
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Discuss your style options and discover our new arrivals.
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Our bespoke design service lets you customize any outfit to suit your personal style.
This includes colour, neckline, length, embroidery, and sleeves styles.
Vanshik Menswear
020 8012 7957


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Item Description
Ho! For Kansas! Eldridge Brothers' Express & Daily Post Coach Line
Author: Eldridge Brothers
Date: Unknown date
This printed notice for the Eldridge Brothers' coach line advertises the fare to Lawrence as $3.50. They had routes from Kansas City to Lecompton, Lawrence to Osawatomie, and Lawrence to Leavenworth City. The notice includes information about the coaches, food, and changes of horses.
Location of Original: KSHS Call Number: Port Vault K 388.3 El24h 1857
Item Number: 100649 Number of images: 1
Keywords: Eldridge, Shalor Winchell, 1816-1899; Stagecoaches; Transportation
pg. 1


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[This is a side question to Supervenience in mathematics.]
There are graph properties that are not FO-definable, but MSO-, TC-, or LFP-definable. There may be other graph properties that are not MSO-, TC-, or LFP-definable, but maybe in another, even more expressive language.
To claim that a graph property is not definable at all, would mean, that there is no language (in the class of all languages) in which it is definable. But what is this class of all languages? Is it definable?
One doesn't have to be bothered by undefinable properties, because "whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent" (Wittgenstein). But alas, there's an alternate way of defining graph properties: by Turing machines.
One might try to identify the set of graph properties with the set of (equivalence classes of) Turing machines which take adjacency matrices as input, eventually halt, and give 0 or 1 as output, giving the same output for "isomorphic" matrices.
This set of properties isn't decidable (because of the halting property), but it's definable.
Does it make sense to ask, whether there are graph properties (as Turing machines) that are not definable in any conceivable (logical) language?


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Las Positas College Stats, Info and Facts
|Institution Type:
|Campus Setting:
|Far West Small suburb
|Highest Degree Offered:
|Associate's degree
|Level of Institution:
|At least 2 but less than 4 years
Las Positas is a very caring College. They put their students first. They make sure they are in a very comfortable environment.…
There are several excellent teachers and staff that I have interacted with. For vocational training and support, I believe that this school is a top tier college.…
excellent learning facility easily accessible wonderful teaching staff…
las positas is a good campus with knowledgeable professors. unfortunately it isn't very challenging. it could be very easy to get stuck at this school.…
Las positas college is a great school. The resources provided are very helpful. I enjoy the environment at the school.…
The Mission of Las Positas College is to foster growth and success, both in its students and in its community. The College strives to fulfill this Mission by offering high-quality, comprehensive educational programs and services. It augments and strengthens its Mission by partnering with local businesses and organizations to promote the welfare of its students and the economic and social health of its service area.
Las Positas College:
Enables students to transfer to baccalaureate-granting institutions;
Prepares students for career entry and advancement;
Provides basic skills and English as a Second Language instruction;
Delivers quality, substantive student support services; and
Fosters student success through committed, exceptional faculty and staff.
Las Positas College offers its students a strong instructional foundation for its students and aims to cultivate in them:
The ability to think critically;
An understanding and respect for difference and diversity;
In addition to the awesome faculty, the student life is great here too. I moved to this area just a few months ago and have already made a great number of friends through classes and student organizations.Read More
Many people categorize junior college as a continuation of high school. I do not agree. The majority of my professors here have been extremely helpful and I find that most really do want their students to succeed and do well. I have enjoyed my experience, and have done very well for myself.Read More


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Sekong, LaosKirsty Turner
Sekong is the ideal place for those who really want to step off the well worn tourist trail and get to know the real Laos. This pretty area is situated in the southeast part of Laos in the Sekong River Valley, and the river is a good spot for fishing and swimming and perhaps even a boat trip down the river to one of the nearby villages.
This is a great place for hiking and trekking and as you walk through the countryside you will wander through lush rice paddies, fruit orchards and tropical forests which are home to a large number of unusual animals and pretty plants and flowers.
A number of different ethnic tribes live in the Sekong River Valley and the countryside is full of small villages belong to people such as the Lave, Lanam, Kaleum, Dakchung and Thateng. This is a good place to get to know the different tribes and discover their unique lifestyles.
A great way to pass the time is by getting up at around 5a.m to watch people fishing in the river and walking along the banks. The Buddhist monks wander through the villages early each morning to receive alms and you will see processions of orange robed monks carrying large metal bowls.
Part of Sekong's appeal for most people is its remoteness and the fact that not many travelers make it this far. Don't expect to find a large number of fancy guesthouses or restaurants selling international food here. But for those who do decide to stay, the gentle pace of life and friendliness of the people can be very addictive. However, people who need their creature comforts will be able to find a hotel or two here and it is possible to hire a motorbike to explore.
Sekong is blessed with electricity around the clock, but if this seems a little too decadent pay a visit to the nearby village of Tha Teng, which is extremely picturesque and without electricity or running water offers a real insight into the traditional Lao way of life.


text: Modern parents now have the option of using baby monitors to listen to or even watch their babies from afar. Many parents find that monitors buy them peace of mind—allowing them to roam freely around the house while still keeping close tabs on their babies. If you choose to use a monitor, you may want to keep the following considerations in mind:


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You've seen the trailer for found footage horror mockumentary Apollo 18 — now search for more clues in this Russian poster about the alleged 1970s mission to the Moon that went horribly wrong.
First off, we have to wonder if this is really a poster made for Russian movie-goers, or merely a US poster that aligns with the movie's plot. While watching the trailer, a few of you pointed out that the US crew of astronauts appeared to stumble across the corpse of a Russian cosmonaut, could this be that body? And speaking of the body, how are his eyes still watery? Is this remnants of a space epidemic that defies the laws of lunar physics? Also check out the downed lunar rover in the reflection. Can anyone get a read on where it's from? What else can you see in this creepy poster?
Apollo 18 will be in theaters April 22.


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|A Short History of West
|Hartlepool has a unique rugby heritage. The game took hold at the end of the 19th century as workers flocked to the area to dig the docks, and build the railways to the Durham Coalfield. Many were from Wales and Yorkshire and they brought the game with them forming a couple of dozen clubs of which West and Rovers became the best known outside the area. Clubs in the early 1900's included the Seamans Institute, Hartlepool YMCA, Heortensians, Throston Wanderers and Elwick Rd Old Boys.
West Hartlepool Rugby Football Club was formed in 1881, which ought to mean that we are on course for our 130th anniversary in 2011, but the more pedantic may point out that the club actually stopped playing in 1908. The committee switching allegiance to the round ball game forming a club called Hartlepools United to play on West's Victoria Ground! The rugger remnants briefly formed a club called Greatham before reforming as West three years later.
Captain of England
Before that three year blip the club had produced its first international in Sammy Murfitt, originally from Humberside, followed by our most famous international - Jack Taylor. He captained the side for 10 years including the famous defeat of the Barbarians in 1902. During that season we also beat Leicester, Northampton, London Welsh, Hawick and Lansdowne. Crowds were in the region of 10,000 at that time.
These were golden times capped, quite literally, when Taylor captained England against Wales with fellow "Westies" Duthie and Bradley alongside him. It was also the the time when West and Rovers teamed up to take on the mighty New Zealand tourists. Legend has it that this was the game when a newsagent's mis-spelt sandwich board gave the side the moniker of the "All Blacks." It is said he should have used the words "All Backs" to reflect the open running style of the whole team.
But that was before the collapse of 1908 and the rigours of the First World War.
Better times came when the timber trade led to the town being one of the busiest ports in the country. The Aarvold family arrived and adopted West with young Carl going on to play for England and the Lions and to become a judge. Brother Brian remained in town and continued to play for the club.
We amalgamated with the original Tech Old Boys in the 1920's and adopted Gordon Arthur who was better known as Rootie - presumably it had different conotations then! And so began a long and continuing connection with the Arthur family.
The club continued to play at the old Greyhound Stadium alongside the Victoria Ground [now the site of a Morrisons superstore] with the club, and changing accommodation, close by in Raby Road almost next to the Hartlepool ;Mail Office and the Engineers boxing ring.
Nothing spectacular happened to the club before, or immediately after, the Second World War except that a lot of players had a jolly good time of a winter's weekend.
Then came 1970 and the National Knockout Cup - a brave step into marketing for the game! We qualified by virtue of winning the Durham Cup promptly claiming a big scalp in Headingley who had John Spencer and Ian McGeechan in their side.
Suddenly some of the bigger boys thought we were worth adding to their fixture list, and it appears to be true that the better the opposition the more you improve. Our move to Brierton Lane coincided with those better fixtures where the foundations of success were laid by prudent management, both on and off the pitch.
The Mighty Whettons
In 1982 the famous Kiwi twins the Whettons join the club to prove that big lads can run very quick. Nobody at West was surprised that they went on to become World Cup winners.
Two years later saw us win the newly set up Northern Merit Table, and the next season we narrowly went down to Bristol in the quarter final of the cup.
Heady days indeed, and the seeds were sown for more success when the National Leagues finally arrived. We started in League Three, won promotion in 1990, moving up to League One for season 1993-94. But the thirteen teams were cut to 10 and we were one of those to lose out.
We quickly made amends and spent three happy years in Division One until the advent of professionalism. We enjoyed a brief flirtation at the highest level but went down only to return, under the stewardship of World Cup finalist Mike Brewer, whose team of pros beat London Scottish in a memorable "winner takes all" game at Brierton Lane. That squad was made of Australians, Italians, Frenchmen. Kiwis, Welsh, plus a couple of local boys, who all quickly adapted to life in Hartlepool and who stay in touch. Of course, Kiwis Brett Cullinane and Jamie Connolly are still in the town.
But there was a big price to pay as we fought to keep up with the millionaire backed clubs with Brierton Lane the sad casualty. Our last season in the Premiership, as it was now called, was back at our first home - Hartlepool United's Victoria Ground - by now renamed Victoria Park.
Statistics from this era can be found by searching here .
Rovers Take Us In
It wasn't the happiest of seasons. Financial constraints, the imposition of stewarding and lack of social facilities, didn't suit those who had enjoyed the family atmosphere of Brierton Lane. Almost inevitably we were relegated and, without a home of our own, we were "taken in" by our old rivals Hartlepool Rovers for a season. True to tradition many Westies refused to set foot in the New Friarage while some Rovers members tore up their memberships in annoyance!
The professional club was disbanded and John Stabler, one of our most talented fly halves, came back to bale out his old club. One week before the start of the season in National One he had nine players, but somehow we got through the season and actually won at Orrell which was a remarkable achievement.
There then followed a succession of relegations as the club struggled to pay off the debts of professionalism.
Now a new chapter is being written at Brinkburn - the former home of West Hartlepool Grammar School for Boys which provided so many players for West. It is now the home of Hartlepool Sixth Form College who are our partners in dveloping sport on the site.
As a result the club has stabilised. We have four senior teams, a social side and are busy forming a women's team. The Minis and Juniors are also doing tremendously well at Brinkburn winning a host of County honours.
We're also still producing top class players with Micky Young, the Leicester and England Saxons scrum half, the most recent.