text:
Doing Spy Stuff with Mathematica
July 8, 2010 — Jon McLoone, Director, Technical Communication & Strategy
I was reading about the IT problems of the recently arrested, alleged Russian spies, and I wondered if they could have managed secret communications better with Mathematica.
One of the claims was that they were using digital steganography tools that kept crashing. I wanted to see how quickly I could implement digital image steganography in Mathematica using a method known as "least significant bit insertion".
The idea of steganography is to hide messages within other information so that no one notices your communications. The word itself comes from a Latin-Greek combination meaning "covered writing", from earlier physical methods that apparently included tattooing a message on a messenger's head before letting him grow his hair back to hide it. In the case of digital steganography, it is all done in the math.
The first thing that we have to do is to pick an innocent-looking image to transmit to our spy masters, perhaps via some public online forum. This picture wouldn't look suspicious if posted on a poultry-rearing discussion site…
Amazingly, it is possible to hide another, larger, full-color picture within this image and get it back again with about a dozen lines of Mathematica code.
The key to the whole process is to use the least significant bit in each color channel of each pixel as a place to hide information. We start by clearing that bit to zero regardless of its current value by ANDing each byte with the binary word 11111110.
We have to force Mathematica to use a strictly 8-bits-per-channel integer representation, as it will naturally work in a much more accurate color space—hence the use of "Byte" in various places in our code.
In a sufficiently complex image, the human eye doesn't see the loss of information. The fact that one color channel on a particular pixel might or might not be darker by 1/256 than before cannot be noticed…
Even if we subtract the truncated version from the original to show only the values of the differences, you still don't see anything unless you have very good eyes and a very good monitor.
Only by exaggerating these differences to the maximum possible contrast do we see that the differences are not zero.
Next we must convert our secret content into a sequence of bits and insert each of them into these now-empty bits in the carrier. We can put one in each pixel channel; that's three per pixel in an RGB image.
To start the encoding we use ToCharacterCode to convert the characters into ASCII numbers…
Then we convert those to binary, padding them to a fixed number of bits even if the leading values are zero (or we won't know where one byte begins and the next ends).
We then flatten that list and pad it with zeros to equal the total number of pixel channel values in which we are able to hide information (image width * height * 3 for RGB images). Now that we have the right number of bits, we reshape the data into the dimensions of the image and add it on to the carrier image with the cleared bits.
Here is all of that put together…
To reverse the process, we will have to pull the least significant bit from every pixel channel, group them into words of 8 bits, and convert back to text.
Let's test it…
Now reverse the process…
You must export the image in lossless format like PNG, in the original image size. Any conversion to a lossy format, like JPG, or rescaling will destroy information in the low-value bits where we are storing our secret message.
Matilda the chicken is 450*450 pixels and has three color channels. That means that we can store 450*450*3/8 characters. Over 75,000. More than enough to hide the whole of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
The added information is no greater than the information that we removed. The file will still be about the same size and still look the same to the human eye.
In fact, on average, half the pixel channels are the same as the original image, around 1/4 of the pixel channels are one bit lower than the original, and 1/4 are one bit higher, so it is closer to the original than the truncated version.
This gives us a solution to transmitting any information, as long as we can convert it to 8-bit ASCII first. Mathematica provides a set of tools for this, so for extended-character-set transmission we can use this:
We can use conversion to ASCII to insert files or data in special formats. For example, we can insert a picture. Here we import a PNG file and then re-encode it as a string of ASCII in a JPG format.
This string is only around 32,000 characters, thanks to JPG compression, somewhat smaller than the Alice text, and so, amazingly, it is easy to hide in the carrier image. We can export the image to any lossless format; the JPG encoding of the secret part is only important when we come to interpret the decoded string.
Again the carrier image looks the same to us, yet hidden inside is a secret image of "Agent H" and "Agent B"…
None of this is cryptographically secure; it is all about not being noticed transmitting information. Cryptography should be applied to the secret message before inserting it into the carrier image. And of course none of this will help at all if you can't trust the recipient, are already under surveillance, or are silly enough to ask an undercover FBI agent to fix your laptop!
39 Comments
Posted by Mooniac July 8, 2010 at 5:35 pm
Posted by Jonathan Haddad July 8, 2010 at 7:39 pm
Posted by peter honeyman July 8, 2010 at 10:13 pm
Posted by Karen July 9, 2010 at 2:09 am
Posted by Woody July 9, 2010 at 3:42 am
Posted by Luboš Motl July 9, 2010 at 3:56 am
Posted by woland July 9, 2010 at 7:58 am
Posted by paintball luvr July 9, 2010 at 9:52 am
Posted by Herbert Exner July 9, 2010 at 10:27 am
Posted by Robert Pigeon July 9, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Posted by Bill Rowe July 9, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Posted by Thomas Gutierrez September 29, 2012 at 1:41 am
Posted by Luboš Motl July 9, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Posted by Carlos July 9, 2010 at 9:28 pm
Posted by Shears July 11, 2010 at 7:51 am
Posted by Lucile Lichtblau July 12, 2010 at 11:16 am
Posted by Chuck July 12, 2010 at 2:07 pm
Posted by gion July 19, 2010 at 3:43 am
Posted by Vrungel July 24, 2010 at 8:02 pm
Posted by Jorge Gamaliel Frade Chavez August 7, 2010 at 3:34 am
Posted by Peter Lindsay August 15, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Posted by Mudi Al Amir August 20, 2010 at 1:54 am
Posted by Consciousness and Spirituality September 1, 2010 at 2:36 pm
Posted by Adam February 9, 2011 at 11:05 pm
Posted by Craig Miles May 14, 2011 at 8:40 am
Posted by Keegan June 5, 2011 at 12:29 am
Posted by Aloras June 11, 2011 at 4:50 am
Posted by vami June 29, 2011 at 12:47 pm
Posted by Claudio July 8, 2011 at 9:02 am
Posted by Ilja August 3, 2011 at 3:55 pm
Posted by Mike August 12, 2011 at 1:04 pm
Posted by Kpss 2012 Önlisans September 9, 2011 at 4:29 pm
Posted by Sam December 27, 2011 at 6:50 pm
Posted by Jon McLoone January 3, 2012 at 6:11 am
Posted by Tobias May 8, 2012 at 9:05 am
Posted by Liam May 27, 2013 at 4:31 pm
Posted by Liam May 27, 2013 at 5:06 pm


text:
Miss Universe Winners 1952–2009
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is one of the most publicized beauty contests in the world with 600 million viewers.
The contest was founded in 1952 by California clothing company Pacific Mills. The pageant became part of Kayser-Roth and then Gulf and Western Industries, before being acquired by Donald Trump in 1996.
The current Miss Universe is Stefanía Fernández, from Venezuela. She won the title on August 23, 2009.
83 women, representing their proud countries will compete tonight for the Miss Universe 2010 crown. The top 15 had been pre-selected by the judges.
The 59th edition of the pageant will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. live broadcast worldwide. The prestigious event will be hosted by Bret MichaelsBret Michaels and Natalie Morales.
Stefanía Fernández will crown her successor at the end of this event. She has spent her reign traveling as an advocate for HIV/AIDS education, research and legislation. The woman crowned Miss Universe 2010 will continue to do the same.
Each contestant, representing more than 80 countries, will compete in three categories: swimsuit, evening gown and interview. Worldwide distribution of the competition has topped more than 190 countries in past years.
Past 5 Title holders:
Miss Universe 2009 Stefanía Fernández
Miss Universe 2008 Dayana Mendoza
Miss Universe 2007 Riyo Mori
Miss Universe 2006 Zuleyka Rivera
Miss Universe 2005 Natalie Glebova
Miss Universe 2004 Jennifer Hawkins
We've made a slideshow and a video on Miss Universe 1952–2009, enjoy!
|PowerPoint: Miss Universe Winners 1952–2009
|Video: Miss Universe Winners 1952–2009
|Download PowerPoint Presentation
|Watch on Youtube

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Yeah, I would not mind seeing these, but not much different that what everyone has mentioned.Palpatine - Duel with YodaYoda - A better one that can duel with PalpatineFX-7 (the multi-armed medic droid) to complete that scene Grievous - A tall version - 4 armsPadme - Buns style hairdoUtai 2 packCin Drailig (sp?)Cmdr Bacarra - resculpt
Bacarra is coming out in a BP dude.
Page created in 0.041 seconds with 18 queries.


text:
These Plastic Dad Picture Fame Suncatchers come 12 assorted suncatchers to a bag, are 5.25" x 6.75" in size with a 2.0" x 3.0" picture space, and include suction cup hangers. Suncatchers are ideal for kids ages 7 and up, and are designed to produce hours of fun assembling, and playing with them.
We also carry a complete line of Beads, Birdhouse Kits, Christmas Crafts, Craft Supplies, Kids Crafts, Misc Crafts, Wood Craft Kits, and much more.


text: Remember the Phantom Lapboard? Yeah, it's been so long that we've heard any news of it (despite them telling us that it was finally released), that most people have plumb purged it from their memory. According to Phantom Entertainment's recently updated blog though, the lapboard still exists and it's coming by the end of the year – for real this time! The Phantom Entertainment folks have paid for their first shipment of manufactured lapboards, and they'll be posting a delivery time frame soon. Good luck trying to generate buzz on your four-year-old almost-product, guys! [Phantom Entertainment]


text:
With Trout out, Scioscia works with lineup
ANAHEIM -- Mike Trout once again missed a game because of a tight right hamstring, and Mike Scioscia was once again forced to piece a lineup together.
J.B. Shuck, Erick Aybar, Josh Hamilton and Mark Trumbo have respectively made up the first four spots of the Angels' batting order in each of the two games Trout has missed. After that is when the Angels' depth really gets tested, with Howie Kendrick still working his way back from a sprained left knee and Albert Pujols shut down for the season with a partial tear of his left plantar fascia.
In Monday's series opener against the Indians, Hank Conger and his .373 career slugging percentage moved up to the No. 5 spot for the first time in his career.
On Tuesday, it was Kole Calhoun and his .330 career slugging percentage debuting there.
"There's some guys that we've had to flip around and put into some spots a little higher than they would be," Scioscia said, one night after a 5-2 loss that saw the Angels get three at-bats with runners in scoring position. "But we have a game tonight, and we have to find a way to score runs."
Scioscia won't start Trout until he proves he can run the bases, and the 22-year-old outfielder wasn't able to do that on Tuesday. Trout, who also missed the June 30 game with a sore right hamstring, said he continues to make progress since exiting Sunday's game in the sixth inning and is hopeful of returning as soon as Wednesday.
Trout sports a .333/.430/.574 slash line and will continue to hold a 40-game on-base streak -- the second-longest in Angels history -- unless he makes a plate appearance on Tuesday.
"It feels a lot better than it was," Trout said. "But it's one of those things that, for me, I don't want to be out there thinking about it. So I'll just give it one more day and see how it goes."


text:
AVG File Server
Business Edition
Quick to install
24/7 protection
Free email and
phone support
AVG File Server Business Edition's network virus scanner helps keep your customer and business data safe from hackers and malware: hassle and worry you just don't need. Hackers and malware can sneak in and disrupt your operations, costing you time and money. Worse still, hackers and malware can take down your business completely.
Protects your files &
business data
File Server Security
Your business files and customer data are critical to running a successful company. Our Windows file server security helps keep it safe, private and out of the hackers' hands with our network antivirus scanner.
Scan faster & work smarter with
the new AVG Scanning Engine
Smart Scanner
Our advanced scanning engine never sleeps and only scans your PC when you're not working so it doesn't get in the way. It does the hard work so you and your employees can focus on your business without costly distractions and delays.
Faster, more effective control
from a single location
Remote Management
Remote management lets your administrator remotely install, update, and configure AVG across your PC devices and entire computer network from a single location. AVG automatically updates itself too, so you can be sure your business is protected against the latest threats.
We protect thousands of Businesses every day
with AVG Business Edition products
Businesses that chose our
product for protection.
People that benefit from
our products.
Years of delivering
top-rated antivirus.
MS Windows Server 2008, MS Windows Server 2008 R2, MS Windows SBS 2011 Standard, MS Windows Server 2012, MS Windows Server 2012 R2, MS Windows Server 2016
Only 64 bit Windows Server Operating systems are supported.
MS SharePoint Services 3.0, MS SharePoint Server 2010 and higher
English, Czech, Slovak, German, French, Spanish (Latin), Spanish (EU), Brazilian Portuguese, Portuguese, Polish, Serbian, Dutch, Danish, Italian, Japanese, Hungarian, Malay, Russian, Chinese Traditional, Chinese Simplified, Turkish, Korean, Indonesian, Indian (English)
*The latest version of AVG Business Edition does not support isolated networks.
AVG File Server
Business Edition
Money-Back Guarantee
Buy without risk! If you're not satisfied in the first 30 days, we'll refund your money. Learn more
Buy online
or contact us at
Contact support
when you need us
See how AVG File Server Business Edition
compares to our other products


text:
For those who have the latest version of VS2015 on Windows 10, it seems a bunch of functions were deprecated that have been referenced in Madshi's Libs.
This is because the madchookX.lib's were compiled using an older version of VS - they cannot be recompiled under vs2015 otherwise it may not support older VS!
The solution is to reference legacy_stdio_definitions.lib in your project.


text:
08 December 2011
unofficially official
it's my unofficial biannual super happy 2-for-1 holiday sale, friends. buy one print, get one free. buy two prints, get two free and so on and so forth. super double happy, see? new prints added to the shop and everything. order the print (or prints) you'd like and then, in that handy 'message to the seller' section, specify which print (or prints) you'd like for your freebies. special runs one week only-- today through thursday, december 8th. and I promise to enclose a little extra special something in each package. baked goods excluded. but you know, if I could mail out a red velvet cupcake with each print order, I totally would.
p.s. proceeds from said sale to benefit the emergency we-need-to-get-back-home-asap fund. looks like we might be packing up our little car and heading east for christmas. if all goes as planned, we'll be sailing through five states sooner rather than later. it's a crazy, crazy idea. but then, when love and family are involved, sometimes a little crazy is required.
(sale details here)
at 4:14 PM
Labels: le shoppe, with the polaroid SX-70, yay
5 comments:
Love your work! I hope you reach your goal, and all goes well. Peace for the season. :)ReplyDelete
(p.s. I'm a new reader, but I'm pulling for you just the same.)
just made an order! i hope your shop is busy busy busy so you can reach your goal...sending good wishes to you and your family.ReplyDelete
cute etsy shop :)ReplyDelete
Can you come to Vancouver and teach a course on how to create such beautiful images....ReplyDelete
beautiful, hope the sales go well for youReplyDelete
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Event Calendar
Sneak Preview Screening "OYAKO: PRESENT TO THE FUTURE" followed by
a Q&A with director Toshi Inomata, producer Yoshiko Inoue and subject Bruce Osborn
Wednesday, April 2 at 7:00 pm
In Japanese with English subtitles
Japan, 2014 89 minutes
Directed by: Toshi Inomata
Produced by: Yoshiko Inoue
Film courtesy of Oyako Day Planning Committee
How does a commercial photographer from Los Angeles end up leading a social movement in Japan? Not surprisingly, it wasn't overnight.
The uplifting documentary "Oyako: Present to the Future" takes us on a 32-year journey through the lens of Bruce Osborn, an exuberant, infectiously creative artist who stumbled upon his lifework in the early 1980s, when he was inspired to shoot a series of portraits of punk-rock musicians with their parents. Bruce was fascinated by the idiosyncrasies of the Japanese "oyako" (parent-child) relationship, and instantly realized that the photos had given him entrée to observe Japanese culture at its most intimate. The revealing and sometimes humorous black-and-white portraits brought an overwhelming response from Japanese families - and thus a movement was born.
Bruce went on to meet and photograph over 4,500 oyako from a variety of professional and personal backgrounds, and to create Oyako Day with his wife Yoshiko in 2003, a would-be national holiday celebrating family bonds. For Bruce, it's been a way to document the changes in Japanese society; but as "Present to the Future" proves, the photos aren't just fun to shoot, they have brought estranged families back together again, brought laughter back to Fukushima following the 3/11 disaster, and brought out the best in everyone who has had the thrill of posing.
With appearances that include fashion designer Junko Koshino, alpinist Yuichiro Miura, journalist Shuntaro Torigoe, filmmaker Nobuhiko Obayashi and superheroes Ultraman Zero and Ultra Seven, as well as historic footage, hundreds of photos and two short dramas casting real-life parents and children, the documentary underscores the Japanese belief that we are not isolated individuals. While everyone seems to have a different opinion about the English translation of "oyako," Bruce prefers this one: "Oyako is the long, unbroken chain of life – each of us is a link to the past and a bridge to the future."
Please join us for this sneak preview of "Oyako: Present to the Future" before the film begins its journey to reach the public.
For more on the film: http://www.oyako.org/jp/top.html
Director TOSHI INOMATA started his career as a TV commercial director, and has directed spots for JAL, Kincho, Toyota, Kosé, Bourbon and the Visit Japan Campaign. He first worked with Bruce Osborn on the TV ads "Lulu" and "Hitachi," which won awards at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. He expanded his field of work to PVs, TV programs, films, and more. He is currently directing such documentary programs as "Yonimo Kimyo na Monogatari" (Fuji TV), the "Forbidden Kyoto" series (NHK), "Machi Densetsu Harajuku" (WOWOW), "Samurai on Horseback: Soma no Umaoi" (BS11) and "Modern Horror Special: Tomie" (Kansai TV).
Producer YOSHIKO INOUE is the president of Ozone Inc., which manages Bruce Osborn's commercial photography, exhibitions and publications. In addition, she is the planner and producer for Oyako Day, which she originated with Bruce in 2003. The event is held on the first Sunday of July and was recently declared an Official Day in Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Yoshiko and Bruce have been married for over 35 years and are the proud parents of two daughters.
Photographer and longtime FCCJ member BRUCE OSBORN began his photographic career working for the music industry in Los Angeles, before moving permanently to Japan in 1980. He has worked for a wide range of international and Japanese clients and publications, shot celebrities from all walks of life, received awards and widespread acclaim for his work in print and TV advertising, exhibited in dozens of shows and published several photo books. His lifelong project is his oyako portrait series, which continues to expand.
Please make your reservations at the FCCJ Reception Desk (3211-3161) or register below.You may attend the Q&A session without attending the screening, but you will not have seating priority. Please reserve in advance, still & TV cameras inclusive. All movie screenings are private, noncommercial events primarily for FCCJ members and their guests.
Karen Severns, Movie Committee


text:
At the risk of exposing all my professional insecurities, I am going to share with you a personal story in the belief that it will help you. Since the time I was 14 years old, I have been owning, selling and buying businesses.
Throughout this professional journey, I have had the privilege of having great mentors—wise individuals who gave me guidance on everything from what words I should use and not use to negotiate a deal, to what clothing I should wear and not wear, to how much I should drink and not drink, to sharing (or not sharing) my views on religion and politics. I was always told that at my age, I needed to always be proving myself, and if I let myself just be myself (wore jeans, took the tequila shots and made bad business jokes, etc.), it was going to be harder to get what I wanted. So as a result, I became what I thought I should be.
The interesting thing is that it worked. I wore the business suit, skipped out on the party and held my tongue. Instead, I opted to be bored in my hotel room, started using fancy words and just kept my mouth shut even when it took everything in me not to express my opinions. As a result, by following the traditional professional business conduct, I created a pretty good, positive cash-flowing business, and developed strong professional relationships. I got everything I wanted, right?
The problem is that I wasn't happy. I earned everything I sought after but resented what I had. As one of my friends pointed out, what I created was "two worlds and two personalities." The first was my personal world, where I was free to be wild, risky, brave, vulnerable, feisty silly me; and the second—my professional world—where I was reserved, intense, passive and compliant.
This split personality came to a head about two years ago when I was mentoring a few young advisors in their careers to do the same things I was mentored to do, fully knowing that I was likely helping them to create the same miserable predicament I was in. As a result, I decided to change my approach.
To change things, I went to my greatest mentor, my grandfather, who had built an international engineering business. He said: "The problem with you, Angie [and young people in general], is that you have the curse of unlimited potential. Along your professional journey, you are going to start believing you should be like everyone else. The difference between truly successful young people and those who never reach their potential is having the strength to just be authentic, and the courage to protect your brand."
What I learned from him was that young people (and everyone else) have two jobs for their professional careers. The first is to have the courage to be yourself, regardless of what people think about you. Seems simple, right? It took me a little while (and I still struggle with it at times), but when I stopped caring about who I thought I should be and started being who I really was, my business grew 400% in one year.
Don't get me wrong: I had people who were very offended by my proverbial potty mouth. But I also had people who appreciated it. I ended up finding strategic partners, clients and friends that opened up to me more, gave me better deals—and ironically, taking the tequila shot often worked in my favor. I attracted clients who were more like me and thus more fun to work with, which allowed me to just be me even more, and not to worry about it.
Secondly, and the step that is often skipped in today's "be yourself world," is that you also have to know how to "protect your brand." You have a responsibility to yourself (if you own your advisory business) or a responsibility to your firm (if you work for one) to ensure that "who you are" doesn't hurt the brand of the company you are building or helping to build. This means you have to know yourself, and your clients.
For example, I have an advisor client who prefers to get to know prospective clients over dinner and drinks, rather than sitting at a conference table. It's who he is, and his firm is known for this untraditional approach and attracts clients who like it. too. But if you are working for this firm and think alcohol is the devil, you have a problem. You need to be true to yourself, protect the brand he created, and find a new job where you are able to connect to clients in a way you can feel good about.
The most important thing about my grandfather as a person was his pride in being an American. In his toughest times, and in a world of outsourcing, he ensured everything his company produced was "Made in the USA." He will tell you this wasn't what everyone told him he should continue doing. But he will also be the first to tell you that by not being like everyone else, he stayed true to himself and thus protected his brand.
Although he will never say this (humility is also part of who he is), I am certain he smiled all the way to the bank, and when he got there, he could honestly look in the mirror and say, "I am exactly who I want to be—and my business and my life is exactly what I want it to be."
My advice to young people now is simply three things:
- Take only this advice and ignore the rest
- Be yourself. If you don't know who that is, you need to go find out
- Be professional enough to recognize those times when what you are building or whom you have to be is detracting from who you truly are. If you recognize this problem, be responsible and courageous enough to make a change—so you don't destroy your own business (or the one that someone else spent years creating) or yourself in the process.
(As a side note, my grandfather also said these principles work in developing fulfilling personal relationships, and being a father.)
I guarantee that if you do these three things you will harness all your unlimited potential; and achieve both success and happiness.


text:
Wall, Johann (d. 1860)
Johann Wall: first elder of Köppental-Orloff Mennonite Church, Am Trakt, Samara, Russia. When the threat of loss of military exemption faced the Mennonites of Prussia, Johann Wall and Claas Epp, Sr. were sent to Russia in 1853 to locate a place for settlement. With the help of Philip Wiebe and von Köppen they located land for 100 families on the "Trakt", Samara. The settlement was established in 1854.
Johann Wall and the Prussian Mennonites that joined him and Claas Epp, Sr. to settle in Samara not only had very strong convictions regarding nonresistance, but also adhered to some pietistic-chiliastic views regarding the second coming of Christ and the role which the children of God would play at that time. They were strongly influenced by Jung-Stilling and Clöter.
When Wall visited the Molotschna Mennonites in 1853 he was ordained elder in Orloff by B. Fast. His report of conditions found in the Molotschna settlement is interesting. He comments, "Extraordinary privileges obligate to extraordinary contributions;" and speaking of divisions among the Mennonites he paraphrases Paul's admonition to the Galatians (Galatians 3:1): "Oh, foolish Mennonites, who hath bewitched you . . . ?" Wall was succeeded as elder by David Hamm, who continued the struggle with the radical chiliastic element of the settlement.
Martin Klaassen's diary reports that Ältester Johann Wall died on 22 December/10 December (Old Style) 1860 in Köppental, Samara.
Bartsch, F. Unser Auszug nach Mittel-Asien. Halbstadt, 1907: 80.
Dirks, H. Mennonitisches Jahrbuch (1907): 73.
Friesen, Peter M. Die Alt-Evangelische Mennonitische Brüderschaft in Russland (1789-1910) im Rahmen der mennonitischen Gesamtgeschichte. Halbstadt: Verlagsgesellschaft "Raduga", 1911: 129.
|Cornelius Krahn
|Victor Wiebe
|Date Published
|May 2011
Cite This Article
MLA style
Krahn, Cornelius and Victor Wiebe. "Wall, Johann (d. 1860)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2011. Web. 28 Oct 2020. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Wall,_Johann_(d._1860)&oldid=134750.
APA style
Krahn, Cornelius and Victor Wiebe. (May 2011). Wall, Johann (d. 1860). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 28 October 2020, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Wall,_Johann_(d._1860)&oldid=134750.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 878-879. All rights reserved.
©1996-2020 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.


text:
Speak Asia is a Singapore based market research company that organizes online surveys for various products and companies. It launched it's services in India sometime back and there are a number of ads you see on TV and newspapers. People wonder, how Speak Asia works and how it makes money? Is it real or a scam?
Speak Asia charges Rs.11,000 ($250) to register. Once successfully registered, a set of surveys are provided to answer. For every survey you complete, you get paid Rs. 500 ($11.36)
Speak Asia currently offers 3 different methods to register.
- Email a scanned copy of your income statement which states that you earn over $1000 from one of the top 20 survey companies.
- Apply for a test in English. The examination fee is $60. The topics will range from general knowledge to comprehension. You can give test at Mumbai or Singapore.
- Pay $120 for 26 issues of online surveys or $220 for 52 issues and get direct entry to Speak Asia.
Here's the catch. The first two ways of signing up for the program makes some sense as they are accepting quality panelists, but the third way to sign up for the program sounds fishy. Anyone can register by paying the fee and I wonder how they can compromise quality for $220?
Here are some interesting facts and things that have been happening in the last few days.
Speak Asia's website states that they have their main office in Singapore and do not have an registered office in India yet. Wonder how they're still offering services in India? The documents listed in Speak Asia's website are rubbish. No legal documents of the company are available online.
Headline Today conducted a background check on Speak Asia sometime back and found out that the owner of Speak Asia is not based in Singapore and lives in Tax haven of British Virgin Island.
Interestingly, IndiaToday reported that the ownership of Speak Asia conforms to a typical offshore structure where multi-layered waterfall structure is created to hide the actual owner.
On 27th May, United Overseas Bank, based in Singapore has closed all accounts of Speak Asia.
Our bank account in Singapore has not been frozen… we are only moving our company account to another bank. We are approaching and evaluating various other banks in Singapore from where we will soon be able to disburse the payments to all panelists,Speak Asia said in a statement.
Here's a complete analysis done by Vijay at India Forums. Interesting. Must read!
For over a year, Speak Asia has collected Rs. 11,000 from lakhs of people assuring them of high returns within months, but not sure how far it is true. If you're planning to register, then I suggest you not to do so. Looking at the analysis, it can be scam. You never know!
Please share this across with all your friends and alert the ones who have already registered.


text:
( Select your state ) Follow Us:
Delta Dental member companies serve more than one third of the estimated 166 million Americans with dental insurance, providing dental insurance coverage to over 59.5 million people in more than 97,900 groups across the nation.
Alternatively, if you have group dental coverage (or are seeking group dental coverage) provided by your employer, please select the state in which your company's headquarters are located.
Please click on a state within the map. A new browser window will display the web site of your local Delta Dental member company.
© 2020 Northeast Delta Dental. All Rights Reserved


text:
Spirituality of Charlotte's Web
by: Lita Kurth on February 19th, 2012 | 4 Comments »
A woman probably has about 450 egg cells available in her lifetime; in the U.S., perhaps one or two of those become children.
A man, of course, has millions and millions of sperm, but again, only a handful become children; even for overachievers, a couple hundred is high – and still a tiny percentage. Most of those potential lives go nowhere or at least nowhere we know of besides the clothes washer. So all of us here have won the big lottery. We held the winning ticket for a life on earth. Here we are. What should we do? A great question, and often surprisingly hard to answer.
When my daughter was four, we watched a not-very-good video of Charlotte's Web: mediocre graphics, unmemorable music. But one part stuck with me and gave me new thoughts.
What is Charlotte's Webabout? A girl who's unwilling to accept the rules, the price tag of death that hangs on life, and in the case of her pig, an unfair, early death since Wilbur had been born a runt.
So the girl intervenes in the accepted order. We readers and viewers support this. We too hate death. We too hate the suffering of innocents and especially of the weak (although a lot of us like bacon and ham). But even though she eats ham for breakfast, Fern is willing to stand up and speak out for her pig, willing to take on received opinion, traditions about how things are and always will be. And she succeeds. She gets a stay of execution.
Then E.B. White takes us on a little detour to make some amusing points about writing and fame. Charlotte, the spider who writes, "Some Pig" on her web is obviously the talented one, but the public only notices and responds to the message. The public doesn't think about the production of words, who wrote them, for what
purpose and how well, but the content, the dream, the literal meaning. It consumes words raw. So, Wilbur the pig becomes a hero though he's nothing of the sort.
Later, after his triumph at the fair, Charlotte tells Wilbur she won't be going home with him. She has completed her purpose, written her message, laid her eggs, and now she will die. She accepts this, but Wilbur is brokenhearted. To Wilbur and to us, her end seems a terrible thing, but in the video, Charlotte sang a little song about how we are all children of Mother Earth and Father Time. For reasons unknown, we've been selected to walk around on earth, and it's a strange, mysterious situation. A gift and a commonality.
I've never been a big truster of nature. Sure, I love trees, ocean waves, and sunsets as much as the next person, but when the chips are down, Mother Nature is deaf and blind. She'd just as soon kill you as help you. It's pointless to plead. As Annie Dillard noted in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Nature has set it up so that most babies die: most baby fish, most baby spiders, most baby antelope, most baby everythings. "Nature, red in tooth and claw." Yeah, that about says it.
We humans are the first to break the chain. Like Fern, we've interfered in the order of things and made exceptions for the few. But Charlotte's Web helped me think of it differently, have a different perspective. Yeah, life is cruel and crazy. It's a crap shoot that I'm here at all. For some unknown reason, I get to live a human life as long as it lasts. There will be suffering, and I'll die in the end, but it's kind of a privilege to have been here at all, a child of those inattentive parents, Mother Earth and Father Time. What's it all about? I don't know. But it is a rare jackpot and while we're here, let's look around, think and talk, feel and write about this lottery we share and, as humans, influence. And maybe sometimes, let's interfere in the natural order, not with huge destruction or grand ambition, but because of compassion for one particular being.
Let me end with the words of the Korean spiritual leader, Ichi Lee, who created a Declaration of Humanity that fits wonderfully well with the Network of Spiritual Progressives' stated goals.
- I declare that I am a Spiritual Being, an essential and eternal part of the Soul of Humanity, one and indivisible.
- I declare that I am a Human Being whose rights and security ultimately depend on assuring the human rights of all people of Earth.
- I declare that I am a Child of the Earth, with the will and awareness to work for goals that benefit the entire community of life on Earth.
- I declare that I am a Healer, with the power and purpose to heal the many forms of divisions and conflicts that exist on Earth.
- I declare that I am a Protector, with the knowledge and the responsibility to help the Earth recover her natural harmony and beauty.


text:
The Oregon Ducks enter the offseason with uncertainty over coach Chip Kelly's continued tenure and possible NCAA sanctions.
But at the same time the team faces a future with a strong foundation that includes redshirt freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota and speedy sophomore running back De'Anthony Thomas.
Fifth-ranked Oregon finished this season 12-1 with a 35-17 victory over No. 7 Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl. It was the Ducks' fourth straight trip to a BCS bowl game and second straight win.
It is also the third season that Oregon has finished with 12 wins. The team's lone loss this season came to Stanford on Nov. 17.
But since a 48-24 victory over Oregon State in the Civil War, much of the focus has been on Kelly and whether he'll make the jump to the NFL.
At least three pro teams appear to have interest in Kelly, who devised Oregon's quick-strike spread offense, including the Cleveland Browns, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills. And the Ducks would no doubt love to keep him, too.
It seems inevitable that Kelly will leave. Last year in the offseason he entertained interest from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but decided to stay at Oregon because of ``unfinished business.''
Ducks fans at the Fiesta Bowl made their feelings clear by chanting ``We want Chip!'' during the victory celebration. Nike co-founder and Oregon mega-booster Phil Knight proclaimed to a reporter following the game: ``I was one of `em.''
The buyout for Kelly's contract with Oregon is $3.5 million.
``I'll listen and we'll see,'' Kelly said about his NFL courters. He also said he hopes to wrap up a decision quickly.
A person close to the team who spoke on the condition of anonymity because Kelly's future had not yet been decided told The Associated Press that offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich is considered the frontrunner to succeed Kelly as head coach, but Oregon state law says that the Ducks must interview at least one qualified minority candidate for the job.
Whoever the new coach might be will likely have to deal with the fallout from an NCAA investigation into the school's use of recruiting services.
The inquiry is the result of reports that surfaced in 2011 concerning payments Oregon made to two such services, including a $25,000 check sent to Willie Lyles and Houston-based Complete Scouting Services in 2010. Lyles had a relationship with a player who committed to Oregon.
Last month, Yahoo Sports reported that Oregon is headed toward a hearing with the NCAA committee on infractions because the two sides couldn't come to an agreement on appropriate sanctions. Yahoo cited two unidentified sources.
Earlier this year, Oregon requested a summary disposition in the case. The school presented a report to the infractions committee outlining violations the school believed occurred and appropriate sanctions. But that request was apparently turned down.
The NCAA does not comment on ongoing investigations.
``We've cooperated fully with them. If they want to talk to us again, we'll continue to cooperate fully,'' Kelly said. ``I feel confident in the situation.''
While Oregon awaits the hearing, which could be scheduled as early as this spring, the Ducks appear solid on the field for next season and perhaps beyond with rising offensive stars Mariota and Thomas.
Mariota set the team's single-season record with 38 touchdowns (32 passing, 5 rushing, 1 receiving), surpassing the previous mark of 36 held by Darron Thomas (2011) and Akili Smith (1998).
The first freshman named to the Pac-12's all-conference first team in 23 years, Mariota passed for 2,739 yards, completing a school-record 68.5 percent of his passes. He had 3,429 yards of total offense, second only to Smith's 3,947 in 1998.
The 6-foot-4 dual-threat quarterback from Hawaii credited Kelly for the season.
``The success, all that's happening with this offense is from him. To be able to just kind of go through that and to learn from it, you know, it's going to make me a better quarterback for future years,'' Mariota said.
Then there's Thomas, who scored on a 94-yard return of the opening kickoff Thursday against Kansas State. It was the longest all-purpose play in Oregon bowl history.
Thomas has a school-record 509 all-purpose yards on just 19 touches in his two career bowl games.
The Fiesta Bowl was the final game for several notable Oregon players, including running back Kenjon Barner, who broke out in his senior season after the departure of LaMichael James to the NFL.
Barner finished the season with 1,767 yards rushing, second-best in school history to James' 1,805 yards last season.
For his career, Barner finished with 5,848 all-purpose yards, 21 yards shy of James' career record. His 42 career touchdowns are also second to James (58) in the Ducks' record book.
The defensive side loses senior linebacker Michael Clay, one of the team's leaders. The senior had nine tackles in the Fiesta Bowl and was named the defensive player of the game.
``Right now, things are a lot more surreal than anything else,'' he said afterward. `` The last time playing with these guys, taking off the pads, the last time in an Oregon jersey. You're kind of surreal and in a daze right now.''
Kelly spoke after the Fiesta Bowl almost as though he was saying goodbye, too, although only time will tell.
``It's a special place with special people. They accepted me six years ago when I was at New Hampshire. Not many people knew about me,'' Kelly said. ``Gave me an opportunity to come here. It really means a lot.''


text:
((((((Hugs to All)))))) ~
If people exist, who doubt that the pain of parental grief is incomparable, Debbie Reynolds has proved them wrong.
Tuesday, 12/27, Debbie announced to the world that her oldest child and daughter, Carrie, had passed after suffering a heart attack on Friday 12/23 during a flight from London to Los Angeles. Carrie, who was 60, the Star Wars Princess, the brutally honest and hilarious author, actor and activist, and her mother were estranged for about a decade many years before. They were reunited and became even closer after Carries bipolar diagnosis.
In fact, they had been working on a documentary about Debbies life. Their homes were close to each other, separated by a hill. In one scene, Carrie tells the camera, while shes walking to her moms home, I usually go to her. I always go to her. When Carrie enters Debbies home, she calls out, Mommy! Mommy! Im home!
Wednesday, the day after Carries passing, Debbie apparently had a stroke, while planning Carries funeral/memorial service with Debbie's son, Todd, at his home. The shock, the stress, the anguish, the pain must have overwhelmed Debbie, and she passed at the age of 84 to join her beloved daughter.
Todd stated that his mothers last words were, I miss her so much. I want to be with Carrie.
As a grieving parent, and having met many grieving parents through various on line venues, I believe that most parents feel this way, after their child dies. We cant let go. We want to continue to be with our children.
In my parental grieving research and informal polling of grieving parents, I discovered that the incidents of severe medical issues, such as heart attacks, cancer, and autoimmune diagnoses, were significantly higher among grieving parents than the general population.
Stress is the Number One Factor in the exacerbation of every medical condition, and there is no greater stress than grieving for your child.
In fact, the overflow of stress hormones can cause a gripping of the heart, known as broken heart syndrome, which mimics a heart attack.
Debbie had spent 5 days under extreme duress, waiting for test results, praying for the best outcome, seeing her daughter attached to a ventilator, with machines and tubes and noise and trauma all around her. Debbie was likely sleep deprived and malnourished, which would be typical in this situation.
I can envision this, as it was my experience when my son, Michael, died. But I was much younger, and I had 32 years of experience in that same hospital setting with both of my children. Debbie didnt.
It was just too much for Debbie, who had had a previous mini-stroke and partial kidney failure and appeared frail in that scene from the documentary. It seems quite plausible that she died of broken heart syndrome.
Now, Todd is planning a funeral/memorial service for his sister and his mother. And Carries daughter, Billie, is grieving for her mom and grandmother. And they, and all of Carries and Debbies friends and fellow artists describe their current state as heartbroken.
May they find peace and comfort that Mother and Daughter are together eternally.
Broken Heart Syndrome:
Love & Light,


text:
Thoughts on the Harriet Miers Nomination and Withdrawal
Written on 2:25 PM by Jack B.
I haven't written a lot about the Harriet Miers nomination and now that she has withdrawn I'm glad I didn't. Honestly, I could care less about who the President nominates. It's not like my two Senators, Chuck E. Cheese Schumer and Queen Hillary, were going to vote for anyone Bush nominates. After all if they didn't vote for John Roberts, who was as well-qualified and well-prepared as SCOTUS nominee in history and who made his Senate questioners look like petulant children, then they aren't going to vote for anyone this Republican president puts up (unless said nominee was a known Democrat). So there's very little point in my caring about whom the President nominates – it's not like I can do anything about it.
But I do think this nomination and withdrawal of Miers is a teaching moment for this often arrogant White House. There is a line his base, the people who worked to get him elected, are not willing to cross. It's not good enough to say the President "knows" (wink, wink) that Harriet Miers can be trusted. The same promise was said of Anthony Kennedy and David Souter and conservative Republicans got burned with both. It's not even good enough for the President to say to his base they should just "trust him" - which with the bloated federal budget, pork barrel spending, non-existent government response to Hurricane Katrina and the quagmire in Iraq it's getting increasingly difficult to do. Conservatives wanted proof for one that George W. is the conservative he has always claimed to be.
And what do they get instead? A Supreme Court Nominee who seems to have been picked simply because:
1. She was a lawyer
2. She was a female lawyer
3. She was a female lawyer with no paper trail
4. She was George W. Bush's female lawyer with no paper trail
5. She was George W. Bush's friend AND female lawyer with no paper trail
Seems to me these are not exactly the qualifications that are most important things one wants in a Supreme Court Justice.
Let's face it – Harriet Miers was picked because she was a crony and a cipher. Cronyism can be overcome if the person is talented and qualified enough but Ms. Miers (who may indeed be a nice person and as smart as a whip for all I know) was NOT the best lawyer available. She wasn't the best female lawyer available. Heck, she wasn't even the best female lawyer from Texas available! So in a case like this calls of cronyism have merit. As for being a cipher – any one who can say with a straight face: "I have never thought about X, Y, or Z and/or have no opinion on it" is either lying (in which case they don't deserve to have a lifetime appointment to one of the most powerful positions in the country) or ignorant (in which case they don't deserve to have a lifetime appointment to one of the most powerful positions in the country). In either case, a cipher isn't going to cut it. And the less of a cipher Ms. Miers the more untenable she became both for the Democratic opposition and the President's own base. In other words, there wasn't a chance in hell she was going to get confirmed.
So what was the President thinking in nominating her? Was she a "stealth" conservative nominee designed to fool the Dems? A "moderate" in conservative cloak? Or just a red herring meant to fail? Who cares at this point? But the President must (hopefully) have learnt one thing in this fiasco – when it comes to Supreme Court Justice, unqualified cronies and unknown ciphers need not apply. In other words, John Roberts, si. Harriet Miers, non.


text:
You can never have too many options when it comes to guilt-free chocolate treats. Because of this -- and because we just wanted some new desserts in our lives -- we whipped up a few fun new recipes. Enjoy!
Entire recipe: 209 calories, 5.5g fat, 130mg sodium, 35g carbs, 0.5g fiber, 22.5g sugars, 3.5g protein -- PointsPlus® value 5*
Layer upon layer of decadent deliciousness. Prepare to fall face over flip-flops for this one...
Ingredients: 1/3 cup Cool Whip Free (thawed) 1/2 tsp. hot cocoa mix with 20 - 25 calories per packet (like Swiss Miss Diet or Nestlé Fat Free) 1/2 cup light chocolate ice cream 2 chocolate graham crackers (1/2 of a sheet), lightly crushed 1 tsp. chocolate sprinkles Directions: In a small bowl, stir cocoa mix into Cool Whip until completely mixed. In a parfait glass (or any mid-sized glass), evenly layer each ingredient: ice cream, crushed graham crackers, Cool Whip mixture, and sprinkles. Now dig in! MAKES 1 SERVING
1/6th of recipe (1 softie): 135 calories, 3.5g fat, 197mg sodium, 22.5g carbs, 2g fiber, 10.5g sugars, 3g protein -- PointsPlus® value 3* The sweet & salty trend has hit our beloved softies! For those times when you can't decide which craving to satisfy, chomp on one of these... Ingredients: 1/4 cup brown sugar (not packed) 2 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated), or HG Alternative 2 tbsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel & Brown), room temperature 2 tbsp. no-sugar-added applesauce 2 tbsp. fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original) 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract 1/3 cup whole-wheat flour 2 packets hot cocoa mix with 20 - 25 calories each (like Swiss Miss Diet or Nestlé Fat Free) 1/4 tsp. baking powder 1/8 tsp. salt 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats 1/2 oz. (about 24) thin salted pretzel sticks, broken into very small pieces 2 tbsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, thoroughly whisk brown sugar, Splenda, butter, applesauce, egg substitute, and vanilla extract. Add flour, cocoa mix, baking powder, and salt, and stir until smooth. Fold in oats. Spoon batter onto the sheet in 6 evenly spaced mounds. Use the back of a spoon to spread and flatten into 3-inch circles. Sprinkle pretzel pieces over batter and gently pat to adhere. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a softie comes out clean, about 10 minutes. In a very small microwave-safe bowl, microwave chocolate chips at 50 percent power for 1 minute. Stir and microwave at 50 percent power for 30 seconds; repeat, as needed, until melted. Stir melted chocolate and drizzle over softies. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate until chocolate drizzle is firm! MAKES 6 SERVINGS
HG Alternative: If made with an equal amount of granulated white sugar in place of Splenda, each softie will have 148 calories, 26g carbs, and 14.5g sugars (PointsPlus® value 4*).
Entire recipe: 199 calories, 5g fat, 97mg sodium, 35.5g carbs, <0.5g fiber, 18g sugars, 3.5g protein -- PointsPlus® value 5* A ginormous ice cream sandwich can easily make one's day 17 percent better. Try this and see...
Ingredients: 1/4 cup light chocolate ice cream, slightly softened 1 tsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips 2 full-sized chocolate-flavored rice cakes (like Quaker Chocolate Crunch) Directions: In a small bowl, stir chocolate chips into slightly softened ice cream. Spoon and spread mixture onto 1 rice cake. Gently top with the other rice cake to form a sandwich. Freeze for 15 minutes, or until ice cream is firm... or just bite right in! MAKES 1 SERVING
You shouldn't have to think too hard to come up with people who would like these treats. Click "Send to a Friend" now!
Happy National Chocolate Ice Cream Day, June 7th! We've given you not one, but TWO incredible ways to celebrate in this email. Which will YOU choose?
SmartPoints® value not what you expected? Click here for more info on how the values are calculated, plus more FAQs about PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® values on our website.


text:
Votes Reset + IP Check:Due to massive vote manipulations, the votes have been reset. Additionally we have implemented an IP check to prevent vote manipulations. Do not vote more than one time per day! If we find you cheating on votes, we eventually will delist your server. You can also now see, who voted for the server in the details of each server, just scroll down there. Note: We still will reset the votes each month to give every server a fair chance to become the top server.
|Selfhosted Scorched Earth | PVE 247 50 Mbit or above 0 50


text:
Russia Warned Over Unrest in Ukraine's Crimea Region
Troops Seize Airports, Roads Amid Fears Moscow Is Intervening in Ukraine; Kremlin Denies Involvement
Ukraine's new government appeared to lose control over the restive territory of Crimea on Friday after heavily equipped gunmen—possibly Russian soldiers—surrounded its two main airports and armed checkpoints were established on key roads.
Officials in the West reacted with alarm, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron and others working the phones to Moscow. President Barack Obama publicly told the Russians "there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine."...
To Read the Full Story


text:
BlackBerry Subscriber Exodus Accelerates
Financially, BlackBerry is back in the black, but when it comes to subscribers, the company is still bleeding red.
As encouraging as the smartphone maker's surprise fourth-quarter profit might be, it's clear the company faces some still-formidable challenges — particularly in shoring up its eroding subscriber base.
BlackBerry lost another three million subscribers in its latest quarter, with its customer base falling to 76 million subscribers. Until the third quarter, BlackBerry had posted subscriber increases fairly consistently. So the fact that it just posted a second consecutive decline — and one that was larger than expected — is cause for concern indeed.
Returning BlackBerry to its former glory is already a daunting task; pulling that off while subscriber numbers are declining only makes it more so. Obviously, BlackBerry subscribers are the most likely buyers of the company's new BlackBerry 10 handsets, so an accelerating decline in their membership is troubling.
"The subscriber decline is actually slightly worse than it seems since it includes BlackBerry 10 subs that do not generate service revenue," Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt told AllThingsD. "BlackBerry is losing subscribers at a more rapid rate in emerging markets, which up until a year ago was still a source of rapid growth. That's concerning as well."
Morgan Stanley analyst Ehud Gelblum took a more pragmatic view of the decline, suggesting it was inevitable and, perhaps, not quite so worrisome.
"We've all known that sub number was going to start coming down," Gelblum said. "The positive part that we only know now is that the subs they're losing are mostly low-end prepaid subs who weren't contributing much to the service revenue line and probably weren't likely candidates to buy a Z10 in the first place."
Appearing on CNBC on Thursday, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins downplayed recent declines in subscriber numbers, saying that services revenue per subscriber is the more important metric and the one that the company is striving to increase.
"The decline in the subscriber numbers is really associated [with] the former BlackBerry OS system, so we expect this to gradually continue with [a] single digit [drop], probably, in the next quarter," Heins said. "What we're really working on, and what we're looking toward, is new services based on BlackBerry 10, and then we will be looking at the monetary value of those services, rather than pure subscriber numbers."
In other words, this is all part of BlackBerry's transition to its new platform.
A fair point, I suppose, though it would certainly be more reassuring if the number of departures weren't quite so large. Down three million subs in a single quarter is sharp erosion and doesn't bode well for a company that's struggling to reverse its market-share loss. That's a number that is very clearly going in the wrong direction, and BlackBerry really needs to execute in the next quarter to stanch the bleeding.


text:
SUNY Canton's Upward Bound Program Impacts Local StudentsMonday, July 11th, 2011
Nearly 80 area high school students will spend five weeks of their summer vacation in SUNY Canton's Upward Bound program. For two returning participants, the program has changed their lives.
Upward Bound, a federally-funded TRiO program, is designed to help first generation, low-income or at-risk high school students obtain the skills needed to earn a college degree. The five-week experience allows participants a chance to experience and acclimate to college life by taking classes, engaging in various educational extracurricular activities and living on-campus in the residence halls.
Kaleb D. Morrow-Simmons, Huevelton, and April A. VanOrman, Gouverneur, are spending their third and fourth summers, respectively, with Upward Bound at SUNY Canton. Both credit the program with providing them the guidance, direction and faith needed to become successful students and people.
"Upward Bound helped me realize my potential and aspire to become something great," VanOrman said. "It has been a gateway for my future. It has been my savior."
A music lover, VanOrman dreams of one day being an editor of a newspaper, magazine or publishing company. She is a music enthusiast and is a section leader in Gouverneur's marching band, participates in jazz band and helps elementary school band members.
When Morrow-Simmons first attended Upward Bound, he admittedly was disinterested in school and learning. Upward Bound helped him mature and understand it was up to him to make the most of his education. When he isn't studying, he volunteers at Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center, is a member of the Seaway Valley Screaming Eagles rocket team that competed at nationals this year, and tutors fifth graders during study halls.
"I always knew I wanted to go to college and that it would take a lot of hard work, but I didn't know how to get myself there until I came to Upward Bound," he said.
The rising junior can't decide between pursuing a career in the medical field or embracing his entrepreneurial side. Students in this year's program will get a chance to hear about his business ideas in a seminar he is teaching with Upward Bound Instructional Director Hillary E. Wolfe.
"Each summer, I have the privilege of working with 80 students like Kaleb and April and witness a transformation within each of them," Wolfe said. "It's amazing how much they learn about themselves and their own abilities. By the end of the program, they understand that a successful future is both possible and inevitable because they are capable of achieving their dreams."
High school students from Massena, Salmon River, Ogdensburg Free Academy, Gouverneur, Huevelton, Clifton-Fine, Parishville-Hopkinton, Canton, and Norwood-Norfolk take part in the program. Wolfe noted the program's popularity has skyrocketed recently with a growing number of students placed on the waiting list each year.
VanOrman, Morrow-Simmons, and the other students will attend math, science, language, history and art-related classes each day. Special topic seminars such as 'Life Skills Financial Tricks,' environmental sustainability, people who have changed the world, learning to argue with style, social media, Business 101 for Entrepreneurs, social and professional networking and dining etiquette and elective classes will also be offered. All courses are taught by a number of SUNY Canton faculty and staff members as well as a few local educators.
Participants also enjoy a variety hour which includes watching foreign films, completing art projects, playing sports, visiting the public library, and volunteering. Other highlights include a social dance that was held on Thursday, July 7, the Wacky Olympics on Friday, July 15, an open house and family barbecue on Wednesday, July 27 and an awards dinner on Tuesday, August 2.
The program will conclude Friday, August 5 following a three-day trip to Boston for a whale watch excursion.


text:
When in doubt, go with defense: Go with Kansas
Defense wins championships, and that's why Kansas will win the NCAA Tournament.
The Jayhawks have the best defense in the country, allowing opponents to shoot just 35.9 percent from the field.
Even if the shots aren't falling for freshman star guard Ben McLemore and Co., Kansas won't be doomed because coach Bill Self has them playing such solid defense.
Center Jeff Withey is a dominant shot-blocker, averaging 4.0 per game, and those kinds of plays can be game-changers, start fast breaks for easy buckets and alter shots.
Kansas is the No. 1 seed in the South, and teams like VCU, Florida and Georgetown must have nearly-perfect offensive outings to dethrone Kansas, which lost to Kentucky in the national championship game last year. Kentucky lost everyone, but Kansas didn't and added McLemore.
McLemore can't be rattled. He is a heartwarming story, having endured poverty throughout childhood in St. Louis. So often he went hungry, and his persistence, passion and commitment is palpable.
He'll be a lottery pick in the NBA draft, so you know he wants to make the most of this opportunity.
Kansas is the only No. 1 seed that will make the Final Four. There were about eight teams worthy of No. 1 seeds and No. 3 seed Michigan State, No. 2 seed Georgetown and No. 2 Miami all have the resumes to land in Atlanta, but Kansas will topple Michigan State in the final.
Tom Izzo is one of the best coaches in the country, and his team is battled-tested from a physical Big Ten Conference season. Michigan State beat Kansas early in the season, too. The Spartans will feast on home cooking as they play their first two games at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Talk about a homecourt advantage.
Gonzaga deserved the No. 1 seed and will play with a chip on its collective shoulder since critics don't believe it should be a No. 1 seed because it plays in the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga beat Davidson, Oklahoma and Clemson in non-conference games.
Don't blame Gonzaga for its conference schedule. Praise coach Mark Few, who always has the Bulldogs rolling, and 7-foot forward Kelly Olynyk (17.5 ppg), known for his long hair as much as anything.
Gonzaga is 31-2 and knows how to win. The Bulldogs have won 14 consecutive games and heading into the tournament on a hot streak is a very good thing. The Bulldogs haven't lost a game in two months.
It will run through the West Regional before meeting buzzsaw Ohio State, which is out for revenge after losing a heartbreaker to Kansas in the semifinals last year. Gonzaga probably can't match the physical Buckeyes.
Miami is making history and should knock off No. 1 seed Indiana. Indiana is in the tournament on the heels of its Big Ten Tournament loss to Wisconsin and perhaps a bit of disappointment that it wasn't the No. 1 overall seed (that distinction went to Louisville).
You won't find Pac-12 teams going far in the dance as the conference's seeds are the most perplexing in the tournament. Neither Cal, UCLA, Colorado, Arizona or Oregon will win more than one game. The Ducks, who won the Pac-12 Tournament title over UCLA, inexplicably got a No. 12 seed while UCLA (No. 6), Arizona (No. 6) and Colorado (No. 10) all got higher seeds than Oregon at No. 12. The Bears were a No. 12 seed, too.
Maybe it was those horrid-green uniforms the Ducks wore Saturday in the Pac-12 Final that had the NCAA selection committee seeing green.
Just don't put all your eggs in the Pac-12 basket.
Your best bet is go with Kansas and the old adage that defense wins championships.


text:
Halloween Scavenger HuntRead More
This entertaining and safe for kids Halloween scavenger hunt can be played outside and inside the house. With the captivating clues and cooperative spirit of this hunt, it is sure to become a favourite to accent your traditional festivities.
Birthday Scavenger HuntRead More
Feel like doing something a little different and really exciting for your child's birthday this year? Have a birthday scavenger hunt! This hunt is a general scavenger hunt that takes place inside of a house where kids will have exiting time playing it!
Princess Scavenger HuntRead More
Since childhood, we are told fairy tales in which the princess is always the pretty, wise and good one. No wonder we wish to be one, even if just for a day! Thrill your little princess and her friends with this delightful Princess Scavenger Hunt!
Christmas Scavenger HuntRead More
Are you looking for Christmas Scavenger Hunt ideas? This Christmas you can host a wonderful Christmas scavenger hunt! This hunt is the perfect holiday activity and can also be used as an interesting way to give out some presents!
Kids Scavenger HuntRead More
Feel like doing something your kids will love and not soon forget? This is the perfect indoor/outdoor scavenger hunt for 1 to a small group of kids to have fun while searching for hidden clues. Simply download, print, and you are ready to play!
Christian Scavenger HuntRead More
Christian Scavenger Hunt may be used to preview upcoming lessons, or as a review for reinforcement either inside or outdoors. The movement and clever clues are sure to bring smiles to leaders and learners alike. The items focus on Old and New Testament.
Pirate Treasure Hunt CluesRead More
Our fun and imaginative pirate treasure hunt is perfect for one child at home, or it can be an exciting activity for young pirates at a birthday party. Children and adults will be amused with the clever clues while gaining knowledge about pirates.
Metaphor Scavenger HuntRead More
A metaphor is the comparison of one thing to another without the use of like or as. Good writers use metaphors to create powerful word pictures. Writing, "My boss is a bear," tells the reader succinctly and effectively what kind of person the boss is.
Independence Day Scavenger HuntRead More
Are you looking for a great Independence Day activity? This 4th of July unique Scavenger Hunt will give your family and friends an unforgettable fun experience. And you can try the lite version of the game completly free!
Team Building Scavenger HuntRead More
There is very little reason for leaders to think employees sincerely enjoy or learn from most team-building activities. Team-Building Scavenger Hunt was created to help make team building an interesting and rewarding activity.
Zoo Scavenger HuntRead More
Every child loves the zoo, but often the experience consists of a quick walk through with little retention of what was seen. This unique scavenger hunt can be used at home and at the zoo. It will prepare your child for the zoo experience.
Easter Egg HuntRead More
Easter inspires children to race about yards decorated with colorful eggs holding sweet treats. Our Easter Egg Hunt is designed for all family and is about using more memory than the usual free-for-all rush to find as many eggs as you can games.
Valentines Scavenger HuntRead More
Valentines Day is not just for sweethearts! It is celebrated by all ages and can be the theme for a wonderful party. Why not get the party started in a fun way, learning about the symbols of Valentine's Day while hunting for some sweet treats?
Beach Scavenger HuntRead More
Are you looking for a great beach activity? This beach scavenger hunt will give you, your family and friends an unforgettable day or party at the beach! It has 30 nicely created clues and will attract much attention from your kids.


text:
Send Me an Angel
This story appears in the June 2001 issue of . Subscribe »
When it comes to business financing, the past two years have had a Wild West feel to them. There were companies funded by venture capitalists and taken public in a matter of months, firms whose valuations soared heavenward at light speed, and entrepreneurs in their twenties cashing in on ventures they founded in their dorm rooms.
Then reality hit. Venture capitalists slammed on the brakes, and banks snapped their purse strings shut. Now hundreds of young companies and would-be entrepreneurs are left with start-up and expansion hunger pangs and no clear idea how to satisfy them.
While firms that are more established can turn to the $5 trillion in nonventure private equity available from brokers/dealers, private bankers and qualified institutional buyers, start-ups-especially those not located in the traditional investment hotbeds-will likely need to fall back on an old standby: the $30 billion angel investor arena.
The good news is, today's angel investors are much easier to find than their predecessors, because a growing number of them have created formal and informal networks. Even more encouraging is that a number of these groups are popping up in nontraditional regions.
According to Carol Sands, founder of Angels' Forum LLC in Palo Alto, California, these angel funds or networks fall into three basic categories:
1. There are "social clubs," which bring angels together to view a high volume of companies and then allow investors to execute their own investment deals. This format is a little less personal, and it places the onus on entrepreneurs to make presentations that stand out.
2. There are those that are organized and run like funds, where angels put up a certain dollar amount upfront and one individual manages the process and selects companies to present at regular meetings. Sands says these groups typically invest as a single entity but don't do follow-up work with the company; their only interest is the cash-investment relationship.
3. The final format, into which Angels' Forum falls, is a fund that utilizes a venture capital structure and process, but instead of investing other people's money, they invest their own. These groups invest in companies as a single unit, typically require a board seat and provide continuous assistance. For instance, at Beverly Hills, California-based Idealflow Angel Fund LLC, which targets technology companies nationwide, assistance comes in the form of a "virtual incubator."
These are the basic structures of the new networks, but there are also hybrids like Arizona Angels Investor Network Inc. According to Greg Cobb, managing director of the Scottsdale, Arizona, network, entrepreneurs interested in securing funding from his group must find a lead investor, who doesn't have to be a member of the network. That person handles due diligence, negotiates on behalf of interested investors, and is responsible for taking care of the LLC formed to invest in the business.
For more information on nontraditional angel financing, check out "Angel Funds and Networks".
Angel Funds and Networks
Nontraditional sources of angel financing
Structured Funds:
- Idealflow Angel Fund LLC
Founded: 2000
Structure: Fund investing as a single entity
Investment range: Varies with number of members (each one contributes $1 million per company and can be given permission to invest additional amounts)
Target companies: Early-stage tech firms
Geographic preferences: Asia and North America
- Sierra Angels
Founded: 1997
Structure: Members investing collectively but able to opt in or out of any investment
Investment range: $250,000 to $2 million
Target companies: Start-up or seed-stage tech firms
Geographic preferences: Nevada and Northern California
- Arizona Angels Investor Network Inc.
Founded: 1999
Structure: Network of angels who invest individually
Investment range: $500,000 to $1.5 million
Target companies: Early-stage firms in any industry
Geographic preferences: Arizona
- Gathering of Angels
Founded: 1996
Structure: Network of angels who invest individually
Investment range: $300,000 to $1 million
Target companies: Predominantly seed-stage tech firms
Geographic preferences: Atlanta; Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; Houston; Phoenix; Santa Fe, New Mexico
- New
Product Development Consortium
Founded: 1998
Structure: 130 CEOs of large multinational corporations
Investment range: Starts at $500,000
Target companies: Entities in all industries at the pre-seed stage (no company formed yet)
Geographic preferences: Global
- Silicon Pastures
Founded: 2000
Structure: Network of angels who invest individually
Investment range: $300,000 to $850,000
Target companies: Pre-seed-stage, early-stage and seed-stage companies and high-growth firms in all industries
Geographic preferences: Midwest (particularly Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin)
What's Brewing
- The Louisiana Business and Technology Center at Louisiana State University has created a venture forum that will meet quarterly beginning in September. Entrepreneurs can present to interested angel investors. For details on the process, call the center at (225) 578-4842.
- The Genesis Group in Rapid City, South Dakota, is currently raising money for the $5 million Genesis Equity Fund and expects to begin making investments in October. The fund will provide start-up and seed financing ranging from $75,000 to $275,000 to firms with the potential to reach annual revenues of at least $1 million. This privately operated fund also has connections to governmental business assistance groups and can direct entrepreneurs to these resources for help creating presentation materials.
- Charleston Angel Partnership is creating a $5 million fund targeting high-growth New Economy firms, particularly those in the health-care, biotech and telecommunications industries. Companies should be just beyond the start-up stage with a management team in place, have a developed business plan and be looking for $300,000 to $500,000. The group meets monthly, and all deals are initially screened by the partnership administrator. For details, contact the group at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
When Brittany Wenger checked her Facebook page a couple of weeks ago, she doubted she would find any Earth-shattering news.
But she was shocked when one of her friends posted a Time Magazine article featuring Wenger's picture and a description of how she changed the world.
The 19-year-old college freshman was named one of Time Magazine's "30 People Under 30" who have impacted the world in almost every capacity: including in the health, technology, education and humanitarian fields.
Although she just graduated from the Out-of-Door Academy last year, Wenger invented a new way to test for breast cancer that has sent shockwaves of excitement throughout the cancer research community.
She remains surprisingly humble about her award.
"I was shocked," the Bradenton teenager said. "I was up against college grads, and so many people doing amazing things. I can't believe that many people believed in the program."
Wenger was honored for inventing a new procedure for diagnosing breast cancer that has proven to be 99 percent effective when identifying cancer cells.
The most accurate test used now, known as a "fine needle aspiration," is an invasive biopsy that is used only at about five hospitals throughout the country. Sometimes it could not identify nearly 40 percent of samples.
Wenger's process differs from the "fine needle aspiration" in that it monitors complex brain activity instead of an unidentified mass.
It is able to detect subtle differences in normal cells and abnormal cells — changes that previously went unnoticed.
Her work already won her the 2012 Google Science Fair's Grand Prize and has earned her speaking spots with both breastcancer.org and soon with Britain's Royal Society of Medicine.
Cami Wenger said her daughter's unyielding curiosity helped to launch her career in science.
"She never grew out of the "why" phase," Cami Wenger said. "She would ask why is the sky blue? Why does the wind blow? After a while her dad and I couldn't answer her questions."
Nurturing science teachers ignited her love of research, and by the time she was a sophomore in high school, she was beginning work on her new breast cancer detection program.
She would set an alarm for every four hours when she wasn't at school, so she could check the slew of tests she set up to experiment with her process.
Now a freshman at Duke University, where she plans to double major in computer science and biology, Wenger is developing testing procedures for other cancers, like leukemia and ovarian cancer.
She said although there are fewer women in research labs than males, there is no reason a young woman should not give the field a try.
"There's nothing that says guys are better than women at science," Wenger said. "Explore every field, because there are so many interesting things in science."
Bradenton teen named to Time's '30 People Under 30'
When Brittany Wenger checked her Facebook page a couple of weeks ago, she doubted she would find any Earth-shattering news.


text:
Bo Xilai's Sentence Closes Chapter of Chinese History
China closed an important chapter of history with the sentencing of former Communist Party official Bo Xilai to life in prison. Jeremy Page tells us whether the sentence is in line with the charges Mr. Bo faced. Photo: Getty Images
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
I ... the the ... I mean as party official boss Xilai has been handed down a sentence of life in prison by a Chinese court ... and ever con joining me now is reporter Jeremy Page ... from Beijing ... I think a lot of people were speculating about the sentence might not be as heavy ... as a life in prison as self how surprising is it that that Bush Eli got a license ... well this is roughly in the ballpark that we're expecting ... ALM that that is is having a little bit of speculation because ... the charges were not as severe as some people that expected that didn't include a lot of the alleged ... legal abuses and other problems that will elect its ... cheering for schoolies tenure in Chongqing this week in the DRAM between two thousand ... and seven and two thousand and two thousand and twelve ... um so because of its merits cut to some people expected it ... lights a sentence ... but I think a key factor here is that ... it didn't really cooperate with the authorities during the trial ... you can have a very strong defenses very defiant ... and crucially he didn't plead guilty and usually in the Chinese system ... here you can get a reduction in sentence in exchange for cooperation with the prosecutors which means ... pleading guilty to charges ... so how does this and since they compare to other officials who have been convicted of corruption ... so again this sort of in the Red Bull pundits a little more severe if you look of the Las to put their members who were ... sent to jail for corruption ... I was too new to form a party chief in Shanghai in two thousand and eight to eighteen years ... I mention she's home ... the former ... mayor of Beijing ... he was given sixteen years back in Nam in nineteen ninety eight ... though he like many other senior officials was released only on medical parole and that is ... possible it's difficult to rise well ... ok and in fairly and honestly his wife um earlier was convicted and at that and that he was sentenced to a suspended death sentence for her charges ... on ... any reaction from anyone in the family I aam About's ALM Bulls sentencing ... nine yes we are reaching into them the moment to see if they have any response ... and ... what we can say is that in our communications with them of the last few weeks ... they express ... a general sense of satisfaction with the way the trial was conducted over it allowed the Bush Eli was given ... the chance to defend himself ... and his defense was made public and where it was ... but there's official court transcripts that were published online ... and so I think unit of Korea's likely to accept the verdict ... aam Bush Eli may still appeal um that was made clear in today's proceedings whether he would do that it's got about ten days ... to make that decision ... but the family has to be quite careful in the way it responds to this decision because ... it could have an effect on in the so the conditions the Bush Eli ... enjoys they're in custody for example how many times but to ... aam receive visits from family members ... I cannot us ... President Xi Jinping has made and stamping out corruption elite in the government had top priority ... so ... is this case looked upon any meal I analysts say this isn't this is a case where the government has a chance to really make an example of that is it looked that ... way ... when setting being held up by way of a Chinese authorities they ... are consistently said that this demonstrates the ... determination to go off to a senior officials as well as more junior ones ... because ... it that the Bush Eli Saga predates the anti corruption drive that she Jinping launched after he came into ... into power in November so ... the sums the way it's deceived by the general public I didn't think many people are buying the idea that this is purely ... government against corruption ... most people understand that this is very much ... a political case and it was about to ... no power struggle of the toe the party ... okay thanks Fran that's reporter Jeremy Page training us from Beijing for more on the Bush Eli a


text:
In the first quarter of 2012, higher clearing services fees in the Bank of New York Mellon unit that includes the custody business for registered investment advisors helped BNY Mellon offset lower trading volumes versus a year ago, including a 21% drop in foreign-exchange trading as the bank fights a number of forex lawsuits.
Fees for BNY Mellon's (BK) Clearing Service unit, which includes Pershing Advisor Services' (PAS) RIA custody business, totaled $303 million in Q1 compared with $292 million at this time a year ago, up 4%, and $278 million in the first quarter of 2011, up 9%, the bank reported Wednesday.
Pershing's year-over-year increase was driven by new business and growth in mutual fund assets and retirement accounts, but was partially offset by lower trading volumes and higher money market fee waivers, according to BNY Mellon's quarterly earnings review. The increase over last quarter reflected higher trading volumes and growth in mutual fund assets, the bank said.
Over all, BNY Mellon reported first-quarter 2012 profits of $619 million, or $0.52 per share, versus $625 million, or $0.50 per share, in Q1 2011 and $505 million, or $0.42 per share, in Q4 2011.
BNY Mellon's profits were nipped by allegations that it overcharged clients for currency trades, The Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported analysts as saying.
Along with State Street Corp., which also this week reported lower quarterly foreign-exchange revenue, BNY Mellon is battling law-enforcement probes examining whether "they allegedly defrauded investors by systematically overcharging them on currency trades," according to the Journal, which reported that both banks deny wrongdoing.
"BNY Mellon, which is fighting lawsuits filed by six states seeking a total of more than $2 billion in damages in the matter, reported Wednesday that first-quarter revenue from foreign-exchange trading was $136 million, down 21% from the year-earlier period," the Journal said.
However, the bank saw record growth in assets under custody and administration as well as assets under management.
Assets under custody and administration totaled a record $26.6 trillion on March 31, an increase of 4% compared with the prior year and 3% sequentially. The bank credited net new business and higher market values for the gain. Assets under management, excluding securities lending assets, posted a record $1.3 trillion on March 31, an increase of 6% compared with the prior year and 4% sequentially.
"We enjoyed solid sequential growth in investment management and services fees, as we benefited from new business wins and improved equity value," said BNY Mellon Chairman, President and Chief Executive Gerald Hassell in a statement. "We are pleased with our performance on the recent regulatory stress test. The results reflect the strength of our business model, the excellent quality of our balance sheet and our continuing ability to return capital to our shareholders while maintaining a very strong capital position."
Read full coverage of AdvisorOne's Q1 2012 earnings season.


text:
Unions and America fit together like … Legos
I love unions. I love them in the same way I love libraries and redwood groves. They are like churches: sacred. They are what make this country great. So, besides taking my 2-year-old grandson, Jax, to a library or to a park with redwoods almost every day, I have also helped him to get to know a community of union workers. A year ago, I got a huge box of medium-size Lego blocks and figurines, and we have been holding rallies ever since. Power to the People. And while we're at it, Solidarity Forever.
I don't have the time or space to introduce you to each of these union workers, but let me just mention a few.
There's Mavis, a blond Molly Ivins type and the leader of the International Ladies Garment Workers' Union, and Al, a longshoreman. There are two matching zookeepers who are older, and brothers, born to the same green plastic mother (at a hospital where the nurses are proud union members). There is Phil, the sailor, of Seafarers International; Libby, who belongs to the California Federation of Teachers; and her wife, Deirdre, who is a Teamster. Sydney, who dresses like a jungle explorer in a safari jacket and helmet, is a union rep, working on behalf of all workers to keep unions strong.
Everyone loves Sydney: He is one of those exquisitely decent, old-fashioned working-class guys who made this country great. Jax and I often build him a low platform and podium of Lego blocks from which he talks to other workers about the fight for workers' rights, telling them to never give up, and reminding them that the pendulum always swings back toward fairness and equality.
I have taught Jax all the old union songs that my parents taught me — "Joe Hill," "We Shall Not Be Moved," "John Henry," "Bread and Roses." So sometimes as we play, we also sing: "Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses."
For good measure, I sometimes play him "La Marseillaise" on the kazoo, and he plays along on a bongo drum.
Why do I do this? Because I believe that if you don't love and support the working men and women of this country, you are in deep trouble. You are going to get a terrible seat in heaven. Probably a patio chair, with plastic lattice bands, the kind that leave fat welts on the back of your thighs when you stand up.
Are you hearing that, politicians? I wasn't going to name names, but I'm still not over being appalled with Arnold Schwarzenegger's attacks on unions. Remember his compulsive trash-talking about nurses and teachers? Nurses and teachers, for God's sake! Could he possibly think that God shares his bad opinion of them? Of course not. It was almost funny to watch him bullying them and their unions. It made me ask myself something I used to wonder constantly about Dick Cheney: Hasn't this guy ever heard the word "karma"?
I guess it is a plank of the Christian right to be anti-union now. But remember, there are still a lot of us in the Christian left, and we don't feel that way. When I was growing up, everyone I knew was pro-union, just like everyone used public libraries and everyone in California was proud of the public education system and loved the state's natural beauty. People would fight and rally and protest and donate to help preserve it.
Then Ronald Reagan came along, and having seen one redwood, he had seen them all, and it was pretty much a straight line from there to Arnold's shaking his mighty broom at us as he trash-talked the nurses and teachers.
I understand why politicians want to see labor as the cause of most of our societal and economic problems. It takes the focus off the banks, the corporations, the military-industrial complex. But public school teachers? I guess they really are sort of greedy and grabby — not to mention rich. Especially those greedy-grabby public school special ed teachers. My younger brother is one of them, and boy, is he raking it in. Talk about take, take, take.
My grandson and I just about went crazy watching the unions protest in Wisconsin in the spring. "Those are our people!" I shouted to the television, although neither of us actually has a job. He joined the chorus, in his native Latvian. We clapped, and ate Cheetos, and danced and put all the workers together on the green Lego base plate. Our pride was contagious: My two union dogs milled around, licking us enthusiastically and levitating Cheetos right out of the baby's fists.
The whole world will be bombarding my grandson with messages about individual and personal success aimed at teaching him to love the almighty buck, but I want my grandchild to grow up in a family that loves labor, as I did. And I want him to know that when workers' rights or libraries or redwood groves are threatened, it's incumbent on us to show up with our kazoos and bongos.
Otherwise, I tell him, this country is doomed. And then I add, "But not on our watch, right, dude?" and he claps and cheers.
Anne Lamott's latest book is the novel "Imperfect Birds."
Get our Essential Politics newsletter
The latest news, analysis and insights from our politics teams from Sacramento to D.C.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.


text:
U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as data pointing to higher inflation lifted financial shares while high-growth tech names attracted renewed attention.
The S&P financial sector index .SPSY was the day's biggest gainer, up 0.9 percent, though all cyclical sectors, which are tied to the pace of economic growth, outperformed for the day. E*Trade Financial (ETFC.O) was the S&P 500's top gainer, up 7.7 percent at $22, while Charles Schwab Corp (SCHW.N) climbed 5.5 percent to $27.30.
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4 percent in May, the biggest gain in more than a year, pushing investors to sell some U.S. government debt. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note US10YT=RR shot up as high as 2.65 percent.
"Typically inflation accompanies economic growth, so this is a positive, especially with people looking for any reason to buy," said Carl Kaufman, who helps manage $7 billion at the Osterweis Strategic Income Fund in San Francisco.
About 5.61 billion shares traded on all U.S. platforms, according to BATS exchange data, above the month-to-date average of 5.36 billion.
U.S. crude futures CLc1 fell 0.5 percent to settle at $106.36 a barrel after President Barack Obama considered options for military action in response to a Sunni militant onslaught in Iraq. Market participants are closely monitoring the violence there, worried that it could lead to high oil prices for an extended period. Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) fell 0.5 percent to $102.42.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 27.48 points or 0.16 percent, to end at 16,808.49. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 4.21 points or 0.22 percent, to 1,941.99. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 16.13 points or 0.37 percent, to 4,337.23.
"Momentum" stocks, marked by hyper levels of growth and concerns about excessive valuation, gave the Nasdaq an outsized advance. Expedia Inc (EXPE.O) rose 4.1 percent to $77.62 while Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) added 3.1 percent to $443.65. Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR.O) gained 4.6 percent to $125.49; the stock has jumped 66.1 percent in 2014 so far.
Shares of Adobe Systems Inc (ADBE.O) rose 6.2 percent to $71.74 in after-hours trading after the software company reported its second-quarter results and gave a strong outlook.
The Fed began its two-day policy meeting at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT) as scheduled and is widely expected to conclude with another $10 billion cut of its monthly bond purchases. Investors are also focused on whether officials will tip their hand on longer-term plans for interest rates.
In other economic data released on Tuesday, housing starts and building permits fell more than expected in May.
About 60 percent of stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange closed higher for the day, while about 65 percent of Nasdaq-listed names ended in positive territory.
Source : Reuters


text:
Last weekend three Wiggins Tigers wrestlers placed in Brush's Pre-Holiday invite.
Garret Walker took home third in the 195-pound weight class, Tryston Keefe fourth at and Danny McCombs took fourth at 152.
Results with Wiggins wrestlers posted first:
145 pounds — Tucker Baker lost to Mickey Gutierrez (Brush) 13-2, was pinned by Christian Delong (Brush) in 3:40
145 — Tryston Keefe was pinned by Ricky Argon (Rocky Ford) in 3:38, beat William Schell (Erie) 8-6, beat Kyle McNeills (Mead) 6-3.
152 — Danny McCombs pinned Michael Martinez (Valley) in 1:29, lost toJackson Wright (Valley) 13-2, pinned Daniel Bustamante (Rocky Ford) in :32, beat Hugo Ramirez (Mead) 12-1, lost to Aiden Stengel (Rocky Ford) 12-1.
160 — Matt Ewertz lost to Daniel Sauceda (Rocky Ford) 7-4, was pinned by Patrick Gore in 1:31.
195 — Garret Walker pinned Preston Sandoval (Florence) in 1:18, was pined by Austin Ramos (Valley) in 3:02, pinned Connor Vinyard (Legend) in 3:50, beat Charles Bustamante (Rocky Ford) 7-3.
— Contact Veronica Ivey at email@example.com.


text:
(covers information from several alternate timelines)
Osmium is a strong metal that was often utilized for its thick shielding properties.
NX-class starships of the 22nd century used osmium as the primary shielding in their warp nacelles and the outer shell of the catwalk.
This thick protection helped the crew of Enterprise NX-01 on two occasions. The first was when they had to pass through a neutronic storm, the entire crew took refuge in the catwalk, and the osmium protected them from the deadly neutronic radiation. (ENT: "The Catwalk")
The crew took refuge there again, when non-corporeal beings tried to take over their bodies. It was found that they couldn't pass through the osmium alloy of the catwalk. (ENT: "The Crossing")
Much of the artificial surface rocks of the Kalandan homeworld were composed of a diburnium-osmium alloy. (TOS: "That Which Survives")
Osmium levels were an element in the deflector shielding utilized by Starfleet Constitution-class starships in the 2250s in the alternate reality. (Star Trek Into Darkness, display graphic [1])


text:
If you want to learn English grammar or grow your vocabulary then these resources will help you with your studies.
Includes helpful articles, a glossary, quizzes, and a large language reference.
Test your knowledge of the English language.
Includes tests, a question bank, quizzes, language polls and more.
English language reference including definitions of English grammar
terms, irregular verbs, phrasal verbs and idioms. Also includes
links to online dictionaries.
Articles about learning, using and teaching the English language,
including advice, tutorials, opinions and lesson plans from various
authors and contributors. Articles cover topics from English
grammar, spelling and punctuation, through to language teaching,
career development, specialisations, and ideas and suggestions for
the classroom.
English language resources for English learners and teachers to help
you study, learn and teach English including text analysis, language
tips, exam tips and help with study skills.
Resources and materials for ESL teachers including free ESL handouts
and quizzes, PDF lesson plans, teacher articles and a directory of
teaching and reference resources. Also provides access to questions
from students and teaching forum topics.
Our online discussion forums are the perfect place to quickly get help
learning English. In addition to the UsingEnglish.com team of staff
and moderators, we have a number of professional volunteer English
teachers and language experts ready to answer your questions 24 hours a
If you have a question about the English language and would like to ask one of our many English teachers and language experts, please click the button below to let us know:
Terms of Use
Lesson plans & worksheets can be used by teachers without any fee in the classroom; however, please
ensure you keep all copyright information and references to
UsingEnglish.com in place.
PDF Lesson Plans
These ESL lesson plans and worksheets are in PDF format, which you will need to download Adobe Reader if you don't already
have it installed.
Register for free and gain access to additional
teacher handouts.
Don't Miss...
e-Books For Learners
Learn telephoning phrases with over 100 pages of stimulating self-study practice in preparation for your
own real-life telephone calls.
Download our compiled lists of idioms - perfect to use offline for reference or for use in class!
e-Books For Teachers
The latest e-books providing you with interactive classroom activities.
UsingEnglish.com is partnering with Gymglish to give you a free one-month trial of this
excellent online English training course. Activate your free month of lessons (special offer for new
users, with no obligation to buy) - and receive a level assessment!
Sign Up Now!
Sign in: