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Greetings from the land of Anthrax and Bruce Ivins. People round Frederick, Maryland and Fort Detrick take the consequences of the spread of pathogens more seriously than most.
Frederick City now welcomes newfound grant money to fund 75% of the cost of seven fresh officers; this newly granted windfall reportedly will last for three years, and then the bill will be passed along to you.
"But they are all good people." All of our ancestors were immigrants as well, right; so why are the bigoted, protectionist, redneck pigs continuing to fight against yet another wave of foreign-born people coming to America without portfolio?
Walmart* is clearly the unequalled titan of retail. Producer of $473 billion dollars in revenue in fiscal year 2014 alone, it remains unequaled as major suction for the US dollar. About $5 a share in value is documented. My recent consumer experience told me that they are not plowing much of that back into the customer experience!
Management theory covers how we control and organize behaviors through the good auspices of coworkers and underlings or constituents; both theory and practice have come under scrutiny as the world devolves around us, and the "new normal" seems like it's going to stick.
Many equate "investment strategies" with immediate wealth or other personal gain; I propose that we begin to take the much broader view in this matter to include ways that we spend our time observing happenstance in the world around us, especially including longer term benefits to next generations, or even spanning political outcomes.
Maryland is not unique to uber combined taxation; we are brothers with New York and New Jersey in this respect, with over half of all income taken away, on average. The force of law allows this to be so.
Her life seemed perfect. Gloria (not her real name) had it all together. Cars were paid for, great gardener and philanthropist. She had money in the bank, retirement strategy, and her bills even paid themselves automatically online.
The landscape of warfare for the almighty consumer dollar, especially in household goods, has never been so stacked in favor of the merchandise chasing consumers. For starters, there are too few customers chasing too much furniture, electronics, and other goods.
It is amazing to see the willfully disenfranchised among us continue to complain about their circumstances, and then surrender or flee. The freedom of choice abounding in what remains of America includes "the Freedom of Ignorance"...the freedom to allow heads to remain in sand, ostrich-like.
A belief system keeps us whole, and contains much of who we are and where we are as a human being. This changes over time, and as they congeal through the dynamic maturation process, we tend to both self-identify, and clutch onto them even more. For better or for worse.
Last week I had the opportunity to tell my story of engagement with the social-media domain in a column called Amplifying on the Social Media phenomenon. That column covered the upside and opportunities that I found along the way. This one covers the down-side.
Social media is many things to many people. When a friend recently asked me why I invested so much time delving into it, (and essentially, didn't I have anything better to do!) I decided to finally pen the explanation of my methods and motives.
The Rockville, Maryland, of my youth was really what Frederick is today. The landscape was farms rolling into folded suburbs. Beautiful rolling country punctuated it with bedroom communities. Today growth is the issue they share in common, with varied plans and varied results.
The Rockville, Maryland, of my youth was really what Frederick is today. The landscape was farms rolling into folded suburbs. Beautiful rolling country punctuated it with bedroom communities. Today growth is the issue they share in common, with varied plans and varied results.
The name President's Day itself is an amalgamation, if not an abomination, of what was at one time George Washington's Birthday, plus that of Lincoln's. Some politically correct federal holiday-name-maker adjusted the name to fit the needs of bureaucratic three-day weekends, school calendars, and retailers alike.
Dateline: Frederick, MD, where I sit quietly anticipating the Super Bowl and the cute TV ads and sideshows. All manner of hype is used to insure – but not assure – an audience with so much potential for cash outlay. Way too much hype about terrorist threats…
Flew into Miami Beach BOAC, didn't get to sleep last night…well, it wasn't quite like that old iconic Beatles tune had it way back in the day; my business trip to Indianapolis wasn't that rushed but did include sushi in Charlotte despite a destination of Baltimore.
"Failure mode" is an electronics-based term used to describe a solid-state set of affairs in which a particular device does not work, is disabled, or otherwise operating outside of its design parameters. Over the past weeks and months, we have had many sets of events in other fields where the term can also be fairly applied.
Stay ahead of the learning-curve this year; start on an informed basis so you don't get left-behind in trends, what's happening, and changes to our landscape. To operate in our complex world, one has to begin paying attention...sometime!
Words matter, and 2013 was no different in that respect (is something you earn.) The choices and usages, plus those newly added can exemplify the current insanity (is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.)
'TWAS the night before the night before Christmas, and all through
the House (and Senate and White House),
On the First Day of Christmas, a true liar sent to me: A partridge and healthcare for free. Well, he came through on the bird, anyway, but it was a turkey…
Got out the 10-gauge shotgun for fun. Sittin' on the porch looking for those plastic whirly-gig things; dropping little packages of robot-poo onto my neighbor's doorsteps. I'm told that they are "delivery drones." Just shot me one.
The anger of our times is born of unrequited frustrations; when goals, hopes and needs are simultaneously frustrated, and one cannot process the reasons that they persist, this causes the latent anger to bloom and flourish.
Even though Dr. Charles Krauthammer has decided that the demise of ACA/Obamacare will constitute the death of the key component of liberalism – giving away other people's money – I still want to congratulate the goals of healthcare reform.
The political cartoon goes something like this: The Prez: "If you like your healthcare plan and doctor, you can keep 'em." Unhappy looking constituent: "But, Mr. President, they cancelled my plan!" The Prez: "Well then you must not have liked your plan."
All of America is waiting to be saved – saved from the "not knowing" aspects of the unknowable economic slide – saved from not knowing how much Obamacare will cost – saved from the political deadlock of two parties clutching each other in a death spiral, like a pair of mountain climbers falling off a cliff connected by their rope.
Democrat Congressman John Delaney from Maryland just went on record expressing his businessman's perspective on the "Obamacare roll-out." A roll-out is an insider term for bringing a product or service to market for the first time.
I'm used to shopping at Walmart every few weeks to pick up my staple food items at very good prices. I pay cash with a financial instrument I shall call "a debit card," as when I use it like a credit card, cash – that I earned – is automatically removed from my checking account.
What had been a political exercise in using intentional pain against innocent citizens to score party-points has now fully devolved into an economic conundrum as we turn the Great Recession into something more closely approximating a second Great Depression.
On Friday your House of Representatives took itself off the front burner by passing a law to guarantee back-pay checks to the non-essential workers sitting idle at home. With this assurance, now workers can sit idle for a last minute bonus vacation without any urge to call their congressmen to force any compromise.
We've shut down the government before; it's nothing new, but is a political tactic used to negotiate between warring political factions – also known as the two-party system. You know you are in trouble when their strategy is really about who will get the blame, as opposed to fixing anything.
In no particular order, here is a Fall checklist of "things to do" and/or be aware of in the October 1st time frame. In this period of acorn gathering and inventory for Winter, one cannot be too organized.
They were tossing babies from incubators; we found uranium centrifuge tubes, we were attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin, "Remember the Maine," and the Bruce Ivins anthrax attacks from Fort Detrick, Maryland. Now we hear that death counts reported in Syria due to chemical poisoning were spiked with added hundreds killed by conventional means.
The incumbent mayoral candidate, our Mayor Randy McClement, is adept at flying under the radar. He's lowest of profile, Teflon coated, and as such has served the City of Frederick well during these last three-plus years.
Happy Labor Day, America; many of you are reading this later in the day because the long weekend allowed for sleeping in. As opposed to the original justifications from the Industrial Revolution gone-by, strangely we celebrate mass consumerism on this holiday weekend, and "shop 'til we drop."
Please indulge me today, in an effort to superimpose what is now considered "American Dreaming," along with observations on the state of racism in the current environs.
God bless America, for we are still "exceptional" in a world that would force us to be "merely just the same." Global forces that we have both willingly and unwittingly embraced pull us away from a status that once made our nation the envy of the planet.
The good news is that, despite that ominous, sinking feeling, you are not paranoid; the bad news is that the National Security Agency really does collect all data ever created by your electronic signatures in life.
Back in the day, it was popular to consider money an evil thing, reserved for those beating or cheating the system in some way. This was a convenient attitude for the anti-materialistic crowd and the young, as most of them had little of it anyway.
In keeping with the lazy informal mode of the sizzling summer, here is an assortment of blurbs relating to firearms, keepin' it short and tight to match the attention span of the season!
The Zimmerman verdict is in... There; I've said it. By now you have already tried to stick your finger down your own throat to force a gag and be done with it all. Too late, though, the incident has already paid-off for its promoters, race fires have been fanned, and the oxygen has been sucked out of the real issues America faces.
In a barely disguised screed in Sunday's Frederick News-Post print edition, local web publisher and left wing promoter George Wenschhof was given 700 words for his letter to the editor. But it was truly liberal propaganda at best.
Last Tuesday I waxed nostalgic and took the D.C. Metro into Washington to take in some sights and museums with a friend. My Dad had law offices on K Street, in the Watergate Building, and several other locations since the early 1960s, so the trip was not a new one for me.
Believe nothing that you hear, and only half of what you see. Agents claiming to act on behalf of your best interests are positioned to dominate your privacy, with the willing complicity of trusted "corporate partners."
The cartoon depicts a presumably naked couple, under their sheets, in the privacy of their bedroom. A camera labeled "NSA" peeks under the sheets, to the horror of the lady.
In the news of late you will find a fresh start to the Cold War, the arms race, and a misguided nationalism from Russia that may actually save the United States of America from its dive into globalism. But at what cost?
In the news of late you will find a fresh start to the Cold War, the arms race, and a misguided nationalism from Russia that may actually save the United States of America from its dive into globalism. But at what cost?
Between now and October 1st is your last best chance to acquire firearms and ammunition before "the O'Malley Gun Ban" becomes fully implemented. Although the federal attempt to do much the same to all of these United States stalled in Congress, Marylanders will be treated to their own special tyranny.
Plumbers and technicians are hard at work all over America today. No, not part of some economic recovery, these tradesmen are the guys who stop the other kinds of leaks; the ones that bring down corrupt administrations.
Extreme political positions seem to be the norm, more and more, especially as viewed through the mainstream media lens. Of course, our media, our politicians, and even the government itself benefit from firing people up. Causing the chasm of disagreement brings candidates, voters, volunteers and block captains alike out of the woodwork.
Not so business friendly Maryland has added another reason to leave the state: a "rain tax" to go along with your gas tax, gun tax, liquor tax, etc. The Maryland Environmental Protection Agency (MDEPA) has mandated cash from counties to compensate for nitrogen polluting the Chesapeake Bay.
Last Thursday Frederick County Delegates Michael Hough, Kelly Schulz, Kathy Afzali, and Patrick Hogan met their constituents in a true "town hall" style meeting to cover the state of the Second Amendment in Maryland, now that Gov. Martin O'Malley's anti-gun bill has become law.
Even local papers like our own Frederick News-Post were hijacked by Associated Press stories of the Boston Bombings. CNN regained part of its former Gulf War One glory in actual "breaking news."
Happy Federal Tax Day, America. Thinking about your unhappy plight, you citizens that procrastinated for the last three months. Were you disturbed about the possibility that your government could not spend your hard-won earnings more smartly than you could? Owe more than you paid-in?
Upon writing this stream of consciousness piece, just before my "middle age" begins, I am suitably humbled by what a strange, interesting ride it has been. Throwing grammar to the wind today, because I CAN.
A strange convergence of events last week drew me to the inescapable conclusion that there must be a willful conspiracy in the State of Maryland to actually encourage the exodus of conservatives and patriots from the "free" state. I wish this were an April Fool's joke.
Imperialism, self-righteousness, nation building, and hypocrisy are alive and well, and hosted by 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue yet again. A pre-emptive statement by the president on use of chemical weapons in Syria is coming back to haunt him.
It is counter-intuitive to view a 7-Eleven Super Big Gulp Coke and to believe that its consumption is in the best interest of its drinker. But then again, who'd have thunk that the mayor of New York City himself would ever interject himself as the "food police?"
Interestingly, it seems that American laws, such as due process and a "right to life" (along with liberty and happiness) that we claim are unalienable inside our national borders, do not work in regards to overseas drone strikes on our own citizens.
During my traveling days, I took to reading local newspapers wherever I went, in part to become more quickly acclimated. The Reading Eagle, The Ithaca Times, and The Richmond Times-Dispatch are just a few.
When a surgeon is time-pressured to operate in an emergency, as in a triage situation, he does not begin to use the scalpel at random; he has a plan, based upon his best practices, and what he learned in medical school.
Riddle me this, Batman: What do meteors, drones, and AR-15 "assault rifles" have in common? Answer: Obviously they all can kill, but there's more; the first two can justify the third item.
Marylanders demonstrated their appreciation for gun ownership in Annapolis last Wednesday. The Washington Post reported that in Maryland politics rarely had it seen such a large crowd to oppose any proposed legislation.
Count me as being pro comprehensive immigration reform, as long as I get to weigh-in on rational national goals, as well as on the traps, such as unwittingly allowing chain migration in the guise of some family re-unification program under a de-facto amnesty.
There's good news, and there's bad news; women are now slated to work in front-line military positions due to a change in Pentagon policy by outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.
Last Wednesday the president conducted a "high noon" news conference to announce and amplify upon 23 "executive actions" concerning gun ownership in America. Children were used as props; the resolutions and legislative suggestions were to propel a liberal anti-gun agenda. The centerpiece ban would not have stopped the psychotic shooter in Connecticut.
Liberals win elections by frustrating the electorate into complacency. When it's all you can do to drag yourself to the poll, you've missed the point!
Since America typically elects the president she thinks is best capable of fixing the problems at hand, a brief survey of how the problem solving cycle works is in order. The master rule is to always stay in the box – and never fully fix a problem.
Just when the GOP frontrunner's head-fake took us to Condi Rice and Chris Christie for vice presidential candidate, Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan got the well-timed nod from Mitt Romney.
I am writing to apologize for not submitting my Monday column. Been doing my usual ongoing reading-prep all week as per usual to see what falls into some form of concentrated written thought, but today it's just not falling into place.
As reported by Julie Watson for the Associated Press on July 22, The United States Marine Corps is activating three battalions of police specialist units; roughly 1,500 men are involved in new duties and capabilities.
When the managing editor of The Frederick News-Post has to leave the boardroom to scribe his own editorial in defense of the "newspaper's" accusations of media bias and of harboring a leftist agenda, you know something's up.
Recently a very clever friend of mine had the occasion to infiltrate the National Organization of Women's (NOW) convention. Shortly thereafter I was briefed over lunch, and now I have a thorough understanding of "the war on women."
Paranoid posts on the Internet – some by yours truly – presage fears of an "October Surprise" for this election year; the more this administration senses a one-and-done result for the Obama agenda, the more likely we are to have an incident.
After the Supreme Court of The United States decision upholding Obamacare that coincided with my root canal therapy last Thursday, I'm ready to concede that relative to His Majesty, the President, "we are just squirrels playing around in his world."
Finally, at long last, our president of "everyman" in America has introduced legislation to get Americans displaced by the changing economy transitioned back to work. The "Employability Act for the Structurally Unemployed" or "ObamaFair," if passed, will enable millions of citizens to learn their way back into the workforce.
As the old Jewish saying goes, you don't always get the parents you want; you get the parents you need. The exact way I heard it was from the guy that owned AudioKrafters in Washington – on the birth of one of my children.
Our political combat in 2012 is not "truth vs. lies;" it's "truth vs. propaganda" today as the American people are mis-fed vital information by their leader, President Barack Obama.
That anger "management" is required as a solution to some highfalutin psychological condition is a severe misnomer; that would be simply treating the symptom.
That anger "management" is required as a solution to some highfalutin psychological condition is a severe misnomer; that would be simply treating the symptom.
A fresh face, Hispanic-featured, appeared in the columnists' corner of The Frederick News-Post on Saturday; it was a doctor, formerly from my medical group, Parkview Medical. I looked forward to learning his views on illegal-immigration.
I got through "Unexceptionalism: a Primer" (barely) and was tempted to footnote most of it, as the author was obviously not edited for content to any degree. " "Not fleshed out" would be a massive understatement!
A cool T-shirt that contains a Venn diagram (three circles interconnected,) reminded me of the three sub-groups of people most responsible for the political base and future of the Obama 2012 campaign, now in its fourth year.
Lately it occurred to me that the "blogosphere" is working as planned, allowing for collaborative networking and for the bubbling up of ideas and concepts that can – by design – only come from sources outside of the old world media empire that some know as "mainstream media," and others know as "legacy-journalism."
Upon winning the Mega Millions cash prize on Friday, it was surely time to reflect upon the circumstances and lessons learned; friends revealed themselves, and human nature walked around in her birthday suit. It was not about the winning, though…
Contrary to a famous National Rifle Association gun phrase, guns do kill people. Just ask anyone currently associated with a "neighborhood watch" community patrol.
In 1972 liberal forces in America concluded a masterstroke of legislation known as Title IX, and the liberation of women became defined as the subjugation of men. The math is inescapable.
Superman was replaced by "Apathetic Man" in a recent Frederick News-Post cartoon; in it he tried to budge a stereotypical American voter from his Lazy Boy recliner to get him activated.
We all have visions of what we call "happiness;" perhaps your happy place is depicted by a greeting card or a Norman Rockwell setting…
Not to be outdone by the godfather of GOP candidates, Herman Cain, who is criticized for his oversimplifications in a "9-9-9" plan to fix America, I have decided to add to his concepts. As you would expect, my plan includes more than one bonus digit!
Occupy Wall Street, the "movement," is now all the rage. I'm all for protests, and this group gets my sympathy. As these things are cyclical, I can't wait for them to get back to burning bras! Ah, the memories…
Here we go again. Americans currently stare at their navels, collectively waiting to be saved by having the right administration or party in power when it's "their turn" to pull strings after Election 2012.
As if we needed more of a signal that politics and the media were combining with entertainment for your viewing enlightenment, enter the Fox-News/Google/YouTube GOP debates in Florida last week.
As if we needed more of a signal that politics and the media were combining with entertainment for your viewing enlightenment, enter the Fox-News/Google/YouTube GOP debates in Florida last week.
Hope I'm wrong about a new or copycat attack on "Patriot Day" Sunday; this column was written on Saturday 9/10/11 in anticipation of the 10th anniversary of the past suicide bombings. As of this writing, rumors circulate; advice is cheap and plentiful. Here's mine!
Why do the powers that control such things insist that we remember the anniversaries of the 9/11-suicide attack on the World Trade Center twin towers, Pentagon, and Capital as "Patriot Day?"
Al Roker and Joe Bastardi are now the media icons of America. On Saturday and Sunday, while absorbing hurricane Irene, we all hunkered-down in our safest places and watched these weather video journalist he-men flex their muscles, leaning into the wind for emphasis.
Next Saturday, August 27th, you can see The Oak Ridge Boys cover their classic country and gospel standards at the all-day family oriented benefit "Family Fundraiser FUNomenon" at the Great Frederick Fairgrounds.
Based upon a sea of "throw the bums out" sentiments, and a bi-partisan/bi-cameral call for term-limits across the board, no current GOP primary contender could beat President Barack Obama for his second term.
When the politics of political divisiveness reach crescendo, as they are now during what was billed as America's "Recovery Summer," the nature of the two party system is revealed. It serves to sustain itself over the best interests of the American people.
Controlling the conversation has become much more important than what the conversation itself is actually about, as in many a good negotiation tactic. I could use the word "manipulation," but that's trite now.
Forgetting politics and current events for a time, vacation is on my mind. One must only notice the missing traffic from Interstate 270 southbound in the mornings to fully realize this!
Our anachronistic President Barack Obama will certainly become known as the "do-as-I-say, not-as-I-do" president. His surgeon general adds scare tactics to graphic warnings on cigarette packs while he sneaks a smoke out of camera range.
Frederick County is falling all over itself with responses from all concerned in the matter of the potential privatization of services in our local government. A misnomer known as "Public-Private Partnership" – really a line from a sales brochure that indicates a position on this choice – may cost 528 local jobs initially.
I didn't vote for the man, but I don't hate him either. He won fair and square, based upon campaign promises of hope, transparency, and goodwill for the "middle-class."
My family and I have been living in an "altered state of awareness" since the recent motor scooter accident involving a 19-year-old close family friend, Alex Bodroghy, of Discovery in Walkersville.
My family and I have been living in an "altered state of awareness" since the recent motor scooter accident involving a 19-year-old close family friend, Alex Bodroghy, of Discovery in Walkersville.
No, not the ocean going cruise liner, I'm talking about the bail out of Wall Street called "Quantitative Easing Part 2," likely about to end.
Okay, now that I have your attention, the rest should be easy. Getting people to read any more is quite the trick; the story of my recent airwaves weekend was fun to relive, though. It was naked. It was dirty. It was a dark and stormy night…
Regardless of your "party," today is for remembrance of fallen warriors. It's for respect, contemplation, and for prayer, as that freedom is one for which people died. The prayer part is optional; more proof that we are a free people.
If today is Monday, and you are reading this, then neither one of us was "Raptured Up" and/or everybody was "left behind."
Picture the psychiatrist couch cartoon. The therapist says: "Mr. Berryman, we have good news and bad news. The good news is that you are not paranoid. The bad news is that everyone really is out to get you!"
Ian Fleming could have written the script. Our Navy SEALs could have been portrayed by Chuck Norris, Steven Segal, Charles Bronson, and Vin Diesel.
What do the "simple folk do," as Robert Goulet and Richard Burton asked in the musical, "Camelot?" Seems that two-billion of us "commoners" happily basked in bloody old England's glory days.
My conspiracy theory includes billionaire manipulator George Soros holding a knife to the throat of FoxNews management's throats; Glenn Beck has got to go, or else!
The President of the United States of America was 20 minutes late to his after lunch speech at prestigious George Washington University last Wednesday. His audience, many of them sons and daughters of New York City millionaires, got to hear their parents very publicly disrespected.
Having feelings of nostalgia for Jimmy Carter recently? Probably not, as the mind tends to forget the bad and concentrate on the good; we can only call it déjà-vu now, in Spring 2011, of a time best forgotten, when America diluted.
Now I rose only to Freshman 101-level economics at Lycoming College 34 years ago under the late Dr. Robert Rabold, a former presidential economist, so he claimed. President Barack Obama claims that America, by shifting away from imported oil, will make new jobs.
My other writing job involves scribing the Friday Op-Ed column for The Frederick News-Post. As they allow on-line commenting at the end of each column and article, anonymous feedback can be ascertained.
Did you happen upon the presidential news conference on Friday concerning events in the Middle East, and Libya in particular? It was a classic "donut hole" presentation – up until three quarters of the way through.
Four days ago our violent universe proved that we still live on "the restless earth." Many thanks to my college professors and to science fiction writers for at least softening the ground on these topics, allowing us to grasp the scope of disasters.
Is the Middle East on fire with revolution simply as a domino effect born of circumstances? Are public labor unions suddenly at odds with their government simply because of some newly empowering force? There are greater, overarching factors in play in both cases, not fully recognized.
America is fast gaining the reputation as the lead paper-tiger in the world. Carry a big stick and don't use it. Forget the positive momentum and goodwill bequeathed to us by prior generations; apologize as convenient.
Egyptians everywhere were rejoicing in sympathy with America as they watched coverage of the "freedom riots" of Madison, Wisconsin, broadcast by al Jazeera with permission of CNN.
Egyptians everywhere were rejoicing in sympathy with America as they watched coverage of the "freedom riots" of Madison, Wisconsin, broadcast by al Jazeera with permission of CNN.
When I was growing up in Rockville in the 60's, a hijacking was what happened to unfortunate commercial airliners, bound for Miami but violently diverted to the Communist Cuba of Fidel Castro.
In an America addicted to cheap oil, our apparent "ends justify the means" foreign policy is consistently justified.
To the casual observer, events unfolding in Egypt can appear chaotic, random and spontaneous. Is the fall of Egypt related to an empowerment born of strength drawn from Tunisia's demise as an authoritarian regime?
Even jokes about how bad phone message routing systems have become are bad now. For instance, one car dealership has bragged about "pressing the dreaded number 3" if you have a problem. Their solution had been to put a human on the other side of the switchboard.
There are currently more dead via gun play than the total days elapsed in the year for Prince George's County, MD. An Asian man in the Wellington Trace subdivision of Frederick County shot members of his family before killing himself.
Heading for Best Buy with son Paul on Saturday night seemed like a good idea, especially as I was without reliable keyboard and mouse, thanks to my wireless setup gentrifying.
In one of nature's oddest ironies, the human brain is devoid of pain sensors. The organ charged by the body to manage and regulate all of its internal activity – including the thought processes believed to create self-awareness and intelligence itself – cannot "feel."
If you can read this, then you are some of the lucky ones; still with electricity, and having free time from shoveling and plowing chores. Since we are now low on Pringles and instant coffee, this may be close to the end at our place, out in Dearbought.
"Hell froze over" Saturday at Winchester Hall, as the man known to his fans as "Frederick's youngest good ol' boy" was unanimously appointed to be its youngest county commissioner. Those knowing the man well were not at all surprised.
Pity the news and information junkie in making it through the last week. Taken in totality, and in "real time," one can actually see the earth spinning a little faster on its axis; or, at least, notice changes occurring virtually faster than people can consider the implications.
Don't "mis-underestimate" the value of humor in the politics of the day 'round this county of late. Pardon the Bush-ism, but it seems to fit the chaos. The amount of inherent comedy now is limited only by your personal perspective in our political matters at hand here in Maryland.
Last week two separate Republican Central Committees duked it out over the official appointment – short term – for the remainder of the term of the 3-B delegate seat being vacated by Rick Weldon.
In the beginning, the good Earth contained only two human beings. They had only one apple between them. Therefore, politics was born.
It is my distinct honor and pleasure to pass judgments for you once again on changes, transitions, and trends spanning this New Years period. So, after some not-so-insignificant pondering:
With little fanfare or media coverage, last Friday around noon, the last chapter of the "Citizens for Walkersville" saga ended with the sale of the old Nicodemus Farm to the Town of Walkersville.
The first step in solving a problem is to admit that it – in fact – exists. The churning "self-re-election system" that is our federal government has proven to Americans now that it has fully stopped listening to the people.
Bob Miller's Christmas Cash for Kids is now on the books for 2009 with a record pledge amount exceeding $134,000. The total dollar amount beat last year – even in the depths of our Great Recession – but dollar amount does not tell the story.
More than a headline, title or subject line, considering the source author itself is most vital to comprehension when establishing the weight of your various media viewings and readings.
The corollary of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's famous "We have nothing to fear but fear itself" is that economically, it's the "not knowing" that can damage us even worse than a specific negative indicator of our progress in recovery.
A quick overnight out toward Maryland's Eastern Shore over the past weekend took yours truly and my oldest son Paul to Salisbury University for a pre-admissions visit.
Last week's column went out on The Tentacle at over 1,400 words and I swore to do better this week. To wit, I offer you these nicely abbreviated sundry items:
The City of Frederick elections are now upon us, so it's time to get your voting strategy together. Those stuck at simply "voting the party line," will be at a distinct disadvantage in our municipal election tomorrow.
With scientists as the new high priests of the 1950s we officially entered the "Space Age" in 1958 with the launch of the satellite Sputnik by our archrival in the world, the U.S.S.R.
Boundless optimism toward future prospects and possibilities used to mark the American Spirit. Now, we make zero-sum choices in our lives, sometimes with no good outcomes, and are lead by a president who would have us borrow wealth instead of creating it.
The control of your future behavior on an epic scale is the goal by some that will make us "The Manipulation Nation."
Freedom of speech may be relegated to the past, if the voices of our Founding Fathers are not re-remembered, and quickly. Some attempts to exercise our First, and most valuable amendment to the Constitution, upon examination, are really attacks on the message itself.
The greatest lie propagated on our children in public education today is that "fairness" will be a guiding principle in life.
Much has been said on all sides in evaluating recent protestors in Washington, as well as in Frederick. Just what is a legitimate "grass-roots" uprising, anyway?
The convergence of local politics with national is impossible to escape now, even to the casual observer. With the timeframe overlap between the newest "Tea Party" style rally, the observances of 9/11s "Patriot Day," and municipal primary elections tomorrow in Frederick, the relationship between party and constituent becomes even more blurred.
Should you not have time to read my columns, then make an exception and read this one now. "I just don't have the time" sounds like a personal problem to me, and that attitude will not advance your ability to get things done in our zero-sum time of "no time."
One reason for the poor turnout at municipal elections is a perceived lack of differentiation between the candidates. This year we also suffer the fog of a large field of aldermanic candidates for the City of Frederick.
The Twitter.com phenomenon is not understood. It has nothing to do with text messaging, and more to do with poetry and "forced pithiness."
Having been on my "staycation" last week, I did not present my usual column last week. With so much transpiring in the meantime, here come some mini-Tentacles in an effort to catch up and to make up!
Call me crazy, but I want to live longer, and into a fruitful old age. All events surrounding healthcare reform convince me of the opposite!
To the uninitiated, the very concept of a "meet-up group" can be worrisome, and a bit unsettling. With much curiosity about our local splinter organization emerging from the original "Tea Party Movement," I jumped into the fray last Friday night at the Hampton Inn's meeting room.
Forgetting politics and current events for a time, vacation is on my mind. One must only notice the missing traffic from Interstate 270 southbound in the mornings to fully realize this!
I deny that I wrote this column. The problem is that the technology exists today to record electronically the very keystrokes emanating from my wireless keyboard, and – that as it happens – in "real time!"
It was my honor and pleasure to bear witness to the first annual rally in front of the Frederick County Courthouse on the 4th of July. Not a "tea party," it was about taking back America.
The House of Representatives barely passed the first stage in President Obama's "Cap-and-Trade" energy/ecology legislation late Friday 219-212. This, with the help of eight Republican traitors crossing over to vote, and having not read the bill, hundreds of pages of which only just became available at 3 A.M. on the day of the vote.
The final form of changes to our current healthcare system, as is being pressed by our President Barack Obama, is still under wraps. A rational discussion of the ramifications for all concerned – including you – is an essential exercise now.
As complex as life and electronics are these days, I cannot help but look back fondly to my first big job and the consumer world of the 1970s, before computers, cell phones, and even home theater and large screen televisions.
As complex as life and electronics are these days, I cannot help but look back fondly to my first big job and the consumer world of the 1970s, before computers, cell phones, and even home theater and large screen televisions.
Finally, some answers to persistent probing questions as to what is apparently the death of the old two-party political system, and the promised bipartisanship of our Messiah-president. As stunningly simple as it sounds, no matter the issue or facts at hand, get used to "We won, you lost; just get over it!"
Today you will be happy to note that I did not fill this space with the abundant fodder falling out from the nomination of 2nd Circuit Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the upcoming vacancy on the United States Supreme Court.
Government economists, in conjunction with the Obama Administration, have now decided we must tackle the struggling hair care industry immediately, even if this requires full nationalization of assets, as it is "too big to fail."
How do civilizations die? How do cultures die? How do people die?
Time to break with your hibernation from the winter blahs; stop getting upset about the politics of Democratic deconstruction and more illegal immigrants for a time. Andrews Air Force base, in nearby Prince George's County offers the best air show in the region once a year, and it's this coming weekend!
Not being in the mood to write, blog post, or comment, I started to consider some plausible excuses for skipping my Monday Tentacle column for this week.
If you blinked at the wrong moment over the last few weeks, and rely solely on one part of the media paradigm for your news, you may have missed any of these following items. Not necessarily because of media-bias, but simply because we only have so much time and tolerance for added information in our lives:
My name is Steve, and I'm a "right-wing extremist." That's how I would start an "AA" meeting if those letters stood for "activists anonymous!"
What the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), once contrived to connect university research scientists to each other in the course of their daily work, has now become the world's greatest tool, toy, and liability – our Internet.
News of the demise of America has been greatly exaggerated. Alas, one would never know it, though, as President Barack Obama disgorged his political capital recently on the tail end of the G20 economic summit.
News of the demise of America has been greatly exaggerated. Alas, one would never know it, though, as President Barack Obama disgorged his political capital recently on the tail end of the G20 economic summit.
Printed newspapers are under attack. Many will not make it. The "gray ladies," now printed expensively in color, are ending up still plastic-wrapped in your recycle bucket.
Last week marked a watershed in the recent history of our newly transforming "Obamanation." The anecdotal evidence was everywhere, although highly disparate, that what had once been hope, born of its own sake, was being replaced by a more healthy skepticism.
During the election cycle of 2008 it became the standard rhetoric for candidate Barack Obama and his wife to distance themselves from the elements of what it meant to "be American."
In an age when the president is only now just picking up on the notion that his public statements and the stock exchange fluctuations are related and important, why is he inviting a business-celebrity from the social networking website, www.twitter.com to the White House for cocktails?
"Now is not the time to be making a profit" was a line from a speech from President Barack Obama that included disgracing corporate CEOs for being successful. The arbitrary "Maginot line" of selfishness had now been placed at a half million-dollars in salary.
Having many writers in the family, both close and distant, I have begun to wonder whether the urge to put pen to paper is an inherited trait, or a learned one.
Having many writers in the family, both close and distant, I have begun to wonder whether the urge to put pen to paper is an inherited trait, or a learned one.
In my efforts at ever expanding personal open-mindedness, the other morning I went straight for The Washington Post to learn the well-camouflaged details of the final $787 billion dollar spending package, called "The Porkulus" by Rush Limbaugh, and "The Spendulus" by Laura Ingraham.
Famous lies of our time include: "The check's in the mail," "The computer is down," and, "You can trust me." The smaller lies – and, thus, easier to verify – are the hardest to tell and to maintain.
With 40 percent of America having now achieved entitlement-class status, it stands to reason that the burden of supporting our welfare country is born by the remaining 60 percent of the citizens.
For those feeling unsteady and questioning their own sanity of late, fear not, as you are truly living through an experience akin to watching Doug Adam's movie, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" while listening to a Pink Floyd album.
The observable operating philosophy of President-elect Barack Obama thus far comes to us in the form of a television situation comedy, as in an "Obama Knows Best." It comes off as the blind requirement of our total trust.
Not all progress is linear in nature. As in mountain climbing, sometimes one has to travel down to get up. A glacial valley can lead to a better summit trail.
There is really nothing overtly negative about encountering an economic shakeout period such as the one we have entered. In fact, what we will discover this New Year is that long-term national prosperity for America herself depends on a boom and bust cycle.
Every year we have major shifts in trends, policy, attitudes, and happenings. The 2008 / 2009 transition is no different, and is more important than usual.
Every year we have major shifts in trends, policy, attitudes, and happenings. The 2008 / 2009 transition is no different, and is more important than usual.
What are you doing reading this column when you could be out Christmas shopping?
American cars manufactured by the big three automakers are case studies of what not to do in a competitive environment. When engineering creativity and innovation fall by the wayside, what you get is a "car by consensus" aimed at the widest possible audience that – in the end – satisfies nobody.
In absolutely no particular order, here are some hot items for your reading pleasure, just in time for that water cooler conversation or company holiday party.
As usual, family gatherings over the Thanksgiving weekend allowed for more personal interactions. I have three wonderful teenagers and have confirmed that the scrutiny and evaluation that befall parents at this critical juncture are surely unimaginable to anyone not experiencing it first hand.
On Saturday I found myself waiting outside the Church of the Brethren for Chuck Jenkins, sheriff of Frederick County. He was late, but I don't blame the man, as he is in highest demand during these troubled and newly formative days.
What strange days we are living in. My sympathy goes out to those whose intellectual process it is to attempt to make sense of the world around them.
Election 2008 is over. America now has a new president-elect, and an opportunity to evaluate just what Barack Obama's victory means. Here are some lessons learned along with some 20/20 hindsight.
I have no crystal ball, but considering the events upcoming on Election Day, I feel compelled to prognosticate aloud. John McCain and Sarah Palin will be your next president and vice president of the United States of America. And here's why:
What had been "supply side economics" and the economic school of "rational expectations" is now both an experiment gone bad and a "Ponzi Scheme" exposed.
How can pollsters possibly get it right? Sampling and trend analysis, and picking the correct target groups would seem to be impossible efforts, based upon my informal surveys.
This is The End. Not in the way the iconic 70's rock group The Doors mean it. Not in a "depressing" way, but in another. This is not the beginning of "The End," but the end of the beginning of a world economic reshuffling.
The People to the government: "A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part!" Or does it?
What do the president's speech to the American people on Thursday, and the performance of both the Democratic and Republican candidate at the first presidential debate in Oxford, Mississippi, have in common? Answer: None of them acted with full candor and in a bipartisan way, as advertised.
…With those words, and the threat of bipartisan congressional intervention, you may wish to do exactly that. Any rush to solution is certainly against the best interests of the citizens of the United States of America.
The market psychology of the financial investment world has now changed forever. What had been betting essentially on the fortunes of businesses will at least – for the short term – be replaced by betting on how we suspect the rules of the game will change.
Last Saturday my attention was taken from Tentacle scribing and also from my other compulsion, posting comments to www.FrederickNewsPost.com, by their Ask the Editor feature, "The dark secrets of our political bias," by Comfort Dorn.
I'm loving the political jokes now: What's the experience difference between Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama? Answer: Not much when taken in aggregate, but Governor Palin is a better ice hockey player and can shoot straight…
At least the conventions are a stepping-stone along the road to electing a new president, but here we sit, waiting. We wait for a president to solve our problems for us, as is human nature. Surely they will, as their speeches tell us so.
The argument continues: Let's count the children who are from families that are not paying into Frederick County Public Schools so that we can get our arms around the problem of looming budget deficits.
What does a famous Texas oil baron do to ensure some personal legacy at age 80? He becomes an alternative energy activist, and starts a web site with a link to his own MySpace page, of course!
Seems like chaos rules anymore when analyzing the changing trends in world happenings and trying to make things make sense. Much of it just doesn't follow, as in non-sequiturs. There are just too many data points now for old method.
When my kids convinced me that computers and the Internet were here to stay, I invested some time, mostly via trial-and-error, to set up a system of my own. Recently I sat back and took stock of what had eventually become the cyber-center of my organizational universe.
Vacationing in Bethany Beach, Delaware, took me past the iconic sub-watch towers, still positioned as they were during World War II, standing guard at the shoreline. These fortified cylindrical monoliths at one time dotted the East Coast from Maine to Florida, protecting our borders from invasion.
Having grown up with guns, little did I know that the politics surrounding them packed more energy than a .44 Magnum "wheel-gun." Of course, that was when television came in over an antenna, was black and white, and afforded four stations of programming.
In search of straight talk about immigration law reform, happenstance found me at yet another "Maryland Thursday Meeting" in Annapolis. Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center For Immigration Studies (CIS) was the headline speaker.
Last Thursday The Neighborhood Advisory Council (NAC) Area 5 meeting for the residents surrounding the West End of Frederick, known as the "Golden Mile, headlined an appearance by the sheriff of Frederick County, "Chuck" Jenkins.
Once again, awash in too much real news, here is a smorgasbord of the events I witnessed last week. You may call it "Short Takes 2," as I keep my ears to the ground for The Tentacle and Frederick County.
The loss by heart attack of Meet The Press host Tim Russert, especially after an excellent stress test recently, reminds us of our "unbearable lightness of being" on this earth. Friday the 13th, the date this shocked us, will have new meaning now and forever.
The anecdotal evidence has been building for many months. Now two top men are forced from positions of power in the United States Air Force for convenient reasons. Is our target Iran?
The more that I follow the divisive issues of our day, the more I feel we are in "The Age of Online Animosity." Righteous indignity is having a field day, and there is far more posturing than productive discourse floating about. This is especially evident on the Internet.
Here are some short takes on happenings and observations from the last few weeks. From a Diversity Festival, to an Air Show, to English as a national language, to the proposal for 2300 new Beazer "green" homes, things are happening at a fast and furious pace!
How does one gage the pain level of rising energy prices on a household budget? When the price at the pump for gas at Sheetz hits $3.79 for unleaded regular, does that do it?
Time to break with your hibernation from the winter blahs, stop getting upset about the politics of Democratic deconstruction and more illegal aliens for a time. Andrews Air Force base, in nearby Prince George's County offers the best Air Show in the region once a year, and it's this coming weekend!
It has been said many times over the last week that before we can solve a problem, we first must be able to identify it; and thus get our arms around it. In many instances, by the simple act of stating the outline correctly, one can be drawn to solutions.
Congratulations for being smart enough to be in the United States of America. Everything is free here. And when you run out of money to spend, we'll give you some of that, too. In Frederick County, if you can't read this, I'll bet there will be a sign on a bus in Espanol repeating it soon.
Now that you have been exposed to the various levels of potential hazards hanging over us all like Damocles' sword in Part 1 on yesterday's TheTentacle.com, the onus to take action now lies squarely on you.
Your radio or television begins the strange squealing, coded sounds you have heard so often before. "Here we go again" is the first thought that comes to mind. Programming is instantly interrupted. In disbelief, the Emergency Alert System (EAS) continues with "This is NOT a Test!"
I would never pretend to write a biography or obituary for Charlton Heston, and certainly have nothing first hand to offer as does The Tentacle's Roy Meachum, but I have been affected by his life and his death. And his work.
Enabling legislation passed by our Maryland General Assembly will allow Frederick to use red light cameras for law enforcement. Frederick is now one small step closer to becoming Montgomery County. Your accuser may be "Big Brother" instead of a police officer. Beware the trend.
Survey says: You don't want to hear it. The 4,000 war-attributed deaths in combat were reported as a "milestone" event last week in our Iraq War. Why did one have to turn to page A-3 in many papers to read the story? Strange, as we are told by President George W. Bush's administration that this is the defining issue of our day, even in light of the "recession."
Membership has its rewards! Just ask major credit card providers. Citizenship in America is much the same way. When we "brand" America, in the demographic sense, citizenship should be the upgrade, and it should not be provided with no strings attached!
The media fanfare trumpeted the coming of candidate Barack Obama's urgent speech on race relations. Surely he could turn the audacious comments of his own Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright to make political hay, or at least defray the intense criticism of him and mitigate the close connection.
Just imagine that – in 10 years or so – you will be reminding yourself of just where you were and what you were doing when Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D., N.Y.) abruptly resigned his sacred office. Not!
Historians contend that "Nero fiddled while Rome burned." While The Maryland General Assembly is allowing time for debate on key issues such as the protection for "Doo-Wop" singers against copyright infringement, consequential issues like the current illegal immigration disaster fall by the wayside. Do we really want to hold a nationally infamous title as a "Sanctuary State?"


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Affordable townhouse in Kailua
Since I'm a recent transplant to the island of Oahu, I've always considered Kailua to be off-limits in terms of affordable real estate. After a few months of contributing to this blog, I found that's not the case and this townhouse is a great example. Click here for details.
This two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit at Hokulani in Kailua is at a terrific price for first-time buyers. It's location is right in the heart of town, so if you're the type that has a pedometer strapped to your waist, you can walk anywhere – the beach, the bank, restaurants, or even the new Whole Foods (about 10 minutes away).
"The neighborhood is such a nice neighborhood in Kailua," says realtor Glenn Ikeda of Prudential Advantage Realty. "It's so close to shopping. You're really buying the location."
Within the past two years, the owners renovated just about everything in the 814-square-foot home – new sinks, countertops, kitchen cabinets, appliances and flooring.
Being on the ground floor, you'll have no steps to climb when you're hauling lots of groceries home or if your elderly Aunty and Uncle come to visit.
Get ready to host family cookouts, the barbecue and kids' play areas are right nearby as is visitor parking. One covered parking stall is included in the price.
Fuzz factor: Pets are allowed, but you'll need to check with the resident manager for specifics.
Even though it's only been on the market eight days, there's already an offer, so you'd better act fast if you want put your name in the hat.
Money talk: $385,000 fee simple
Contact: Glenn Ikeda, Prudential Advantage Realty, 808-284-0172, firstname.lastname@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


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55 Alabama Student-Athletes Earn Place On SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll
Birmingham, Ala. – A total of 55 University of Alabama student-athletes representing 16 teams were named to the 2012 Southeastern Conference First-Year Academic Honor Roll, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive announced Thursday.
The women's swimming and diving team led the Crimson Tide with seven student-athletes earning the honors. Football and rowing followed with six each. Baseball had five recognized, while gymnastics, softball and men's swimming and diving each had four student-athletes make the list.
Men's basketball, women's golf and men's track and field each had three honorees and men's golf, soccer, men's tennis and women's track and field each had two student-athletes honored. Women's basketball and women's tennis wrapped up Alabama's list with one student-athlete each.
The 2012 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll is based on grades from the 2011-12 academic calendar year. To earn a place on the honor roll a student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or above at the nominating institution, be on scholarship or a letter winner, have completed 24 semester hours of non-remedial credit at the nominating institution and have been a member of the varsity team for the sport's entire NCAA championship segment.The Tide had 56, 48 and 87 student-athletes named to the SEC Fall, Winter and Spring Academic Honor Rolls, respectively, giving Alabama a total of 246 student-athletes on the honor roll for the 2011-12 academic year.
Name Sport Major
Austin Cole Baseball Lower Division Management
Taylor Gilbeau Baseball General Health Studies
Jake Hubbard Baseball Lower Division Marketing
Benjamin Moore Baseball Lower Division General Business
Spencer Turnbull Baseball Undecided Education
Rodney Cooper Men's Basketball Pre-Business
Retin Obasohan Men's Basketball Pre-Business
Levi Randolph Men's Basketball Pre-Business
Aneesah Daniels Women's Basketball Lower Division Management
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Football Criminal Justice
Phillip Ely Football Pre-Business
Ryan Kelly Football Pre-Business
Cyrus Kouandjio Football Pre-Business
Wilson Love Football Pre-Business
Vinnie Sunseri Football Pre-Business
Tom Lovelady Men's Golf Pre-Business
Justin Thomas Men's Golf Communication Studies
Daniela Lendl Women's Golf Exercise Science
Taylor Manning Women's Golf Undecided
Johanna Tillström Women's Golf Pre-Business
Kaitlyn Clark Gymnastics Exercise Science
Lora Leigh Frost Gymnastics General Health Studies
Brooke Parker Gymnastics Lower Division General Business
Kayla Williams Gymnastics Public Relations
Ashley Allison Rowing Aerospace Engineering
Emily Chadwell Rowing Secondary Education
Alyssa Drevenak Rowing Exercise Science
Kristen Hickman Rowing Exercise Science
Caitlin O'Neil Rowing Exercise Science
Logan O'Neil Rowing Math
Lauren Davis Women's Soccer Pre-Medical
Laura Lee Smith Women's Soccer English
Danae Hays Softball Pre-Major Studies
Leslie Jury Softball Pre-Major Studies
Danielle Richard Softball Exercise Sport Science
Jadyn Spencer Softball Pre-Major Studies
Phillip Deaton Men's Swimming Chemical Engineering
Clark Garner Men's Swimming Undesignated Engineering
Jordan Lesser Men's Swimming Pre-Major Studies
John Servati Men's Swimming General Business
Lisa Bogosian Women's Swimming Marine Science/Biology
Kayla de Boer Women's Swimming Civil Engineering
Emily Facchine Women's Swimming Chemical Engineering
Angely Martinez Women's Swimming International Studies
Katheryne Muth Women's Swimming Human Performance Exercise Science
Brittany Parkey Women's Swimming Nursing
Samantha Stanley Women's Swimming Undesignated Human Environmental Science
Stuart Kenyon Men's Tennis Mechanical Engineering
Rens van der Vis Men's Tennis Civil Engineering
Emily Zabor Women's Tennis Lower Division General Business
Ryan Coleman Men's Track Pre-Business
Kyle Ferguson Men's Track Aerospace Engineering
Matt Joyner Men's Track Mechanical Engineering
Nia Barnes Women's Track Telecommunication and Film
Merilyn Uudmae Women's Track Pre-Business
Courtesy UA Media Relations


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Our partners
In order to be an ideal base for your holiday activities, we are working together with strong partners. At
We consider ourselves as "agents" and consultants for leisure activities in order to contribute to your perfect holidays.
Below we have a listed some of the best "leisure businesses" at
"Alpensport total": the allrounder (even in the Russian language)
organizes extraordinary events particularly in winter:
from snow shoe hikes to ice channel rides.
"Pielenz Sport": You think you are a pro-skier?
Perhaps you could still improve your skills. At the ski school "Pielenz Sport"
you can also learn skiing on moguls and freeriding -
you will be instructed by the former German freestyle champion
and his top-class team!
"Lebensschule Garmisch": particularly in summer the "life school" is a competent interlocutor and provider of varied prevention programs for your health. You can familiarize yourself in the group with Nordic walking, "Pilates" exercises or "Qui Gong" exercises! Don't hesitate to tell us your wishes ...


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"The Cavalier is a four star hotel centrally located within Hamra, the famous shopping and commercial district of Beirut.
We are a close call from the airport, and only a few minutes away from the new downtown area, where newly rebuilt and beautifully preserved old houses meet new high rises.
At the Cavalier, we believe that we are the friendliest business hotel in Beirut. As soon as you walk in, you will tend to appreciate our cozy atmosphere and our helpful multi-lingual staff."*
* Text and pictures from Hotel Cavalier's website
33.89582986939228 35.486339395631376


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3 December 2012 at 2.16pm | Comment on this article
Last week, before the curtain was raised for The Royal Ballet's evening show, for the first time in 122 years the Royal Opera House was filled with the grand sounds of Meyerbeer's Robert le diable.
The auditorium was not set up for a performance: the stage was hidden by an imposing iron safety curtain and the Royal Opera Chorus occupied the velvet seats of the stalls. Eight soloists sat comfortably in a line across a narrow section of stage, as relaxed as if they were at home with a cup of tea, and the orchestra in the pit below played in jeans and t-shirts rather than the customary black tie.
The Royal Opera Chorus, the Principal Artists and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House had gathered for the Robert le diable Sitzprobe. The Sitzprobe, translated literally as 'to sit and try out', is a non-staged music rehearsal that gives the conductor a chance to tweak the finer musical details. Concert Master Peter Manning describes it as 'when the chorus meets the complex tissue of sound that is the orchestra. It's when we join forces all together to create the show.'
Bryan Hymel, who is singing the lead role of Robert, explained that it's one of the favourite rehearsals for a lot of singers. 'It's a crucial step for us because it's a chance to break from the complications of being on stage, and to co-ordinate with the orchestra one section at a time.You get to sit there and concentrate on the music, which is what we spend months preparing for. '
With Laurent Pelly's new production of the French masterpiece opening on 6 December, rehearsals have been underway for some time now. The Sitzprobe we saw was the first of three and the music, already rehearsed separately by singers and orchestra to an impeccably high standard, sounded seamless. The power of the chorus was magnified in the otherwise empty auditorium and the soloists casually reeled off show-stealing arias, eliciting a professionally understated ripple of applause from the music staff. It also came as a surprise when the conductor's voice suddenly interrupted mid-melody to shout out bar numbers and instructions about nuances of tone and expression.
'Robert le diable demands a lot of resources and energy', says Bryan. 'You have to pace yourself through the evening so that you can still sing by the time you get to the end. It doesn't really get any easier towards the end, it just gets progressively more involved.'
Bryan recently sang the role of Enée (Aeneas) in Berlioz's epic Les Troyens, which is currently being screened in cinemas.
'It's been a very full year of big long French operas', he explained. 'Robert le diable is
a real challenge for me as my part is a good bit higher than in Les Troyens. The singing
is very virtuosic – bel canto-type singing – but also with very dramatic acting.'
Though a huge success when it had its premiere in Paris in 1831, Robert le diable hasn't been staged at Covent Garden since 1890. Bryan says, "It's not performed often because it's very hard to find four singers who can all sing the Principal roles and are available all at the same time."
Watch director Laurent Pelly discuss why he was drawn to this forgotten opera:
Robert le diable opens on 6 December and runs until 21 December. Tickets are still available.
The production is staged with generous philanthropic production support from Alfiya and Timur Kuanyshev and Michael Hartnall.


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From Openmoko
Team ANSOL
ANSOL is a portuguese Free Software association.
In order to make shipping easier (and cheaper) for Portugal, ANSOL can act as a central HUB for distribution among its associates.
Shipping address should be the main address listed at ANSOL's contact page.
Please send us some proof of your purchase along with your address if applicable)
The following people are ANSOL associates who expressed the wish to buy an Openmoko:
- Ruben Mendes
- Rui Seabra
- Jaime Villate
- Ricardo Sousa
- José Esteves


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The Endangered Species Act (ESA)
The ESA is bad for numerous reasons:
- Theoretical science (BAD data = Best Available Data)
- Skewed science (Omitted data)
- Non existent science (Made-up)
- Outright fraudulent science (Fraud in the federal government)
Additionally, it is bad for these reasons:
- It affects land use. Our survival and economy is based in the land and its resorces.
- Environmentalists use the ESA as a weapon
- Any person can, at no cost, petition for an ESA listing
- Government can condemn private property for future habitat use
- The landowner absorbs all of the liability
The ESA has never saved even a single species!!
Of the 60 species that have been delisted as 'endangered', NONE of them were a result of actions taken to proptect them by the federal government! Not a one.
The ESA was never passed into law by Congress, but was ushered in through the back door through 5 international treaties. Many people belive that treaties supersede the Constitution, due to a misinterpretation of the Supremacy Clause.
The Supremacy Clause (Article 6, Clause 2):
"This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made on Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithsatanding."
The Supreme Court ruled, in the case Holland vs Missouri, that the federal government's ability to make treaties is supreme over any state concerns that such treaties nullify states' rights (the 10th Amendment). There have been a number of attempts for a clear definition of the Supremacy Clause, but the Supreme Court has refused to accept those cases and rule on them. So people believe that treaties are supreme when the truth is that the intent of the Constitution is that it is supreme.
- Most of these treaties come out of the United Nations.
- The UN was created by collectivists.
- Agenda 21 is a UN program.
- Thanks to Dr. Michael Coffman and his dedication to the truth.


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The bonus round: It's just spawn camping with a dodgeball twist.
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This article is also available and sold as a booklet.
This sermon series includes the following messages:
Please contact the publisher to obtain copies of this resource.Publisher Information
The following is an excerpt from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary on John 1.
And He said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." (1:51)
Speaking specifically of those greater things that Nathanael and the other disciples would see, Jesus solemnly assured him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." Jesus was probably alluding to Jacob's dream, in which he saw angels ascending and descending from heaven on a ladder (Gen. 28:12). The point of this statement is that Jesus is the link between heaven and earth, the revealer of heavenly truth to men (1:17; 14:6; Eph. 4:21), the "one mediator … between God and men" (1 Tim. 2:5), and the mediator of a new (Heb. 9:14; 12:24) and better (Heb. 8:6) covenant. In John 3:13 He declared to Nicodemus, "No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man" (cf. 6:33, 38, 41–42, 50–51, 58, 62; 13:3; 16:28; 17:8). That truth would become increasingly clear to Nathanael and the rest of the disciples as they observed Jesus' life and ministry.
This is the first of thirteen occurrences in John's gospel of the title Son of Man, Jesus' favorite way of referring to Himself (He did so about eighty times in the gospels). In John's gospel, it is associated with Jesus' suffering and death (3:14; 8:28; 12:34), His provision of salvation (6:27, 53), and His authority to judge (5:27; 9:35, 39). In the future, the Son of Man will receive the kingdom from the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:13–14). As with His other titles in this section, Nathanael (and the others who were present) did not immediately grasp the full significance of what it meant for Jesus to be the Son of Man.
This passage, which records Jesus' call of His first disciples to salvation, pictures the balance of salvation taught throughout Scripture. Salvation takes place when seeking souls come in faith to the Savior who has already sought them.


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St Helens, Merseyside
Our experienced technicians will come out to you at work or
home & repair your iPhone securely in front of you while you
carry on your day
Our Call-Out iPhone Repair Service covers the whole of St Helens and surrounding areas.
Forget the hassle of going out to a shop or sending your phone off, our iPhone repair technicians will come out to you at work, home, hotel or any location you choose and repair your iPhone securely at your convenience in about 30 mins! We will come out to you anywhere in St Helens or surrounding areas
We can normally come out to you Same Day to repair your iPhone!
Your iPhone repair is carried out in front of you, so you can be absolutely sure that your personal data stays secure
All our technicians (our iTechs) have undergone rigorous technical and quality checks and all repairs are carried out to the highest standards using the best quality parts
You only pay after your device has been repaired and you are 100% happy. If we can't fix it, you don't pay!
All our iPhone repairs come with our no-fuss 12 month warranty
We will come out to you to fix your iPhone anywhere in St Helens and surrounding areas.
We repair the full range of iPads and iPhones:
iPhones: 7 Plus, 7, 6S Plus, 6S, 6 Plus, 6, 5S, 5C, 5, 4S, 4, 3GS, 3G
iPads: Air 2, Air, Mini 3, Mini 2, Mini, 4, 3, 2, 1
We can repair almost any problem on any iOS device. Some of the most common problems we can repair include:
Apple iPhone 7
Screen Repair
Our customers love us! But don't take out word on it, below are just some of our phone reviews from St Helens. Visit Trustpilot to see the complete list.
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Came the same day and the work completed very professionally. Excellent job.
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first class service
iMend is a nationwide call-out iPhone repair service. We have repair technicians all over the country that will come out to your location to fix your phone.
Looking for iPhone repair / iPhone screen repair in St Helens?
iMend offers upfront, transparent pricing on all iPhone repairs so you know exactly what the cost will be before you book a repair. To see our current iPhone repair prices click Get Started


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Jamroom necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 48 diseños de 19 diseñadores freelance.
We are redesigning Jamroom.net and need an updated, more professional logo for jamroom, which is a white-box Social Media platform.
We're looking to finally get a professional looking logo done for Jamroom.net that will fit into our current redesign:
http://mini.talldude.net (still doing some minor tweaks - colors should be the same)
Jamroom is a white-box Social media platform - our customers purchase Jamroom and then in turn use it as the underlying platform for their own social media network. Jamroom has been online and in development for over 5 years, with thousands of sites and organizations using the platform, and we finally need a logo that will bring the Jamroom brand to a more professional level on our homepage. Current website is being replaced with new design:
Ideally, the new logo would have the following features:
- It would fit in with our new design - please see the new design at http://mini.talldude.net
- It would be modern (i.e. web 2.0) looking, but not too "bubbly" or cute - it should be powerful and professional looking.
- Jamroom is catered towards the artist/musician social media networking niche, but we are expanding to other areas, and the logo should be "artistic", yet not tied to a specific genre.
- A logo that incorporates musical instruments in the design is too "niche" - we're looking for artistic, but not "themed".
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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Chris Hackerd, VP of Store Operations and one of three ACK co-owners, is an avid mountain biker, birder, 'yak angler and all around outdoors-man. Recently, Chris traveled east to North Carolina to celebrate his grand mother's 80th birthday and took the opportunity to visit many of the manufacturers based out of the area including Confluence, Legacy, Werner, Eno, Astral & Feel Free/Pyrahna. Below is part two of his trip. See part one here.
Dinner with Werner & A Day At Legacy
I had dinner with Danny Mongo of Werner later that night and he got me up to date on the paddling scene in Asheville. I had no clue when I was spending all my time at my Grandma's house that I was directly in the heart of what seemed like the paddling center of the universe. Whitewater, Sup, Rec and Fishing all close at hand. The sheer number of kayaks on the roofs of cars was shocking.
My next stop was Legacy paddle sports at their new location as they've moved from Greenville, SC to Asheville in the last few months. It certainly had that unfinished look to it but was busting at the seems with potential and innovation. My first stop was RD where I got to take a look at some new color combinations they were working on…pretty sweet looking.
Mike Hooks walked me out onto the floor and it was beautiful! More American workers, sewing, molding and building kayaks and accessories. A couple of dogs were playfully fighting over a chew toy in the corner. Everyone greeted Mike with a smile and seemed happy to be at work which is a great way to keep product quality high in my mind.
The process of molding the kayaks here was very similar to what I saw in Easly, SC. It was fun trying to figure out what mold fit which boat without looking. I got to talk and feel the molds up close and ask questions about how they worked. When I was younger I worked for a plastic injection mold builder for the auto industry. Some of the principals were similar but this was totally different. The injection process has the plastic shot into it while the roto-mold method has carefully measured out tubs of colored resin. This is such a neat experience.
The Legacy team which houses Native and Liquid Logic under one roof has a world of opportunity in front of it and cares deeply about the Whitewater, SUP, Rec and Fishing communities.
Next up, Chris spends the day at Eno…


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Got the little yellow word myself today. Buzz was the pathfinder for Google+ … so long little pathfinder.
Google alerts Gmail users of Buzz retirement – Tech News – IBNLive
Google is now alerting Gmail users about the impending retirement of its Buzz service. The notification in a yellow box reads, "Google Buzz is going away, but your posts are yours to keep" and directs users to a page that provides further information on how users can port their Google Buzz data.


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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
U.S. Surgeon General Stepping Down
After four years in the post, U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin will step down next month.
She made the announcement Wednesday in an e-mail to staff and thanked them for supporting her efforts, CNN reported.
"My goal was to create a grassroots movement, to change our health care system from one focused on sickness and disease to a system focused on wellness and prevention. With your help, that movement has begun," Benjamin wrote in the e-mail.
As surgeon general, the Alabama-native chaired the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council. It was created under the Affordable Care Act to find ways to improve access to care.
Deputy Surgeon General Boris Lushniak will serve as interim surgeon general until a new permanent Surgeon General is nominated, CNN reported.
10-Year-Old Girl's Double-Lung Transplant Successful: Family
Sarah Murnaghan's double-lung transplant on Wednesday was successful, her family says. She's the 10-year-old girl with cystic fibrosis whose parents won a legal fight to get their daughter on the adult lung transplant waiting list.
The procedure to give Sarah new lungs from an adult donor was performed at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and lasted about six hours, the Associated Press reported.
"Her doctors are very pleased with both her progress during the procedure and her prognosis for recovery," the family said in a statement.
"The surgeons had no challenges resizing and transplanting the donor lungs -- the surgery went smoothly, and Sarah did extremely well," it said, the AP reported. "She is in the process of getting settled in the ICU and now her recovery begins. We expect it will be a long road, but we're not going for easy, we're going for possible."
U.S. House Committee Passes Anti-Abortion Bill
A bill to ban nearly all abortions after the 22nd week of pregnancy was approved Wednesday by the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.
The 20-12 vote on the Republican-sponsored Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act was spilt along party lines, The New York Times reported.
A vote by the full House could take place as early as next week, but it's almost certain that the bill will go no further due to opposition in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
In response to criticism from Democrats that the bill contained no exception for rape victims, Republican Representative Trent Franks of Arizona said that instances of pregnancies from rape were "very low." Opponents said his remark is an example of Republican insensitivities to women's issues, The Times reported.
Judge Clears Way for Sale of Morning-After Pills Without Prescription
A U.S. federal judge's ruling Wednesday clears the way for the Plan B One-Step emergency contraceptive pill and its generic versions to be available to girls of all ages without a prescription.
In his decision, Judge Edward Korman of the Eastern District Court of New York said the government's plan to make the morning-after drugs available over the counter was sufficient to comply with his order that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration remove all sales and age restrictions for these drugs, The New York Times reported.
His ruling came in a case in which plaintiffs represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights asked Korman to reject the federal government's proposal because it did not include the two-pill versions of the drug.
The two-pill versions are fast being replaced by one-pill versions, but the plaintiffs said the two-pill versions are cheaper and that there is no significant difference between the two- and one-pill versions, The Times reported.
However, the FDA has said there is not enough evidence to show that young women can responsibly take two separate doses instead of just one.
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights


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Rule #1
Do not mess with Fiona or her property.
One person's perspective on the Earth's energetic shift
A town everyone hates, yet no one leaves...
Holding the Planet to Reason, not Ransom
blogging and oil painting about my daily adventures in art & life...come follow along!
"My work exists as an expression of "dar um jeitihno" - the Brazilian notion of "finding a way". For me, art is a means of survival."
A topnotch WordPress.com site
A collection of poems, spoken word & cooking from Gretl Feeson as well as being an online reblog magazine of sorts.
TRAVEL PHOTO BLOG ~everyday, you find here an inspiring travel picture~
Thoughts and Perspectives From the Mind of a Common Girl
beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Talk Books. Drink Coffee.
30 PLANET EARTH groups will be showcased in this blog


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We have information you must know before you buy the F-250.
We want to send it to you, along with other pricing insights.
We will not spam you, and will never sell your email. You may unsubscribe at any time.
See used Ford F-250 listings in your area.Used Listings
If you still think full-size pickup trucks are crude compared to their passenger car counterparts, it means that (a) you haven't been paying attention the last 10 years and (b) you haven't seen the new generation of Ford F-Series trucks.
Sophisticated tough on the outside, thoughtfully comfortable within, with an overhead cam V8 under the hood and an imposing range of safety and convenience features, these pickups are the industry pacesetters, and for good reason.
Last year Ford gave the lighter end of its F-Series pickup truck line a major, major going over. Most obvious is the rounded snout, raked windshield and overall smooth look. But the big changes were underneath, with a completely new front suspension, new frame and new family of engines.
Ford's F-Series line includes the lighter-duty F-150, medium-duty F-250 and heavy-duty F-350. initially, the new look and accompanying improvements applied only to the F-150, but for 1997 they're extended to and F-250 models rated under 8500 GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating). The heavy-duty F-350 versions remain with the previous styling and mechanicals; if you want a crewcab, dual rear wheels, or the 7.3-liter diesel, you have to go with the "old-look" F-350. It's due for its own major redesign within a year or so.
Within the F-150/250 Series there is the regular cab and the extended SuperCab; wheelbase lengths of 119.9 in., 138.5 in. and 157.1 in.; smooth Styleside or nostalgia-look Flareside; two-wheel or four-wheel drive; and three engines: a 4.2-liter V6 of 210 hp and 255 pound-feet of torque, or a pair of overhead cam Triton V8s, a 4.6-liter of 220 hp and 290 lb.-ft., and a 5.4-liter of 235 hp and 330 lb.-ft. These are the world's first and so-far only overhead-cam V8 truck engines.
Then there are four trim levels: Standard, XL, XLT and Lariat, in ascending order. Not all possible combinations are available. But, by and large, there ought to be something here for just about anybody. Just counting Styleside or Flareside, 2WD or 4WD, regular cab or SuperCab, wheelbase choices and trim levels, we arrived at 60 choices and that was before we got into the multitude of available options.
Our subject vehicle was an F-250 SuperCab in Lariat trim, powered by the 5.4-liter V8.
We don't have room to go into all the prices, but the lowest-priced F-150, with rear-drive, a regular cab, Stylside standard trim, and a V6 engine has a base price of $14,430, plus $615 destination, for a total of $15,045. The "base" on our highly-loaded F-250 was $24,625, including destination.
The Lariat trim includes several items that would otherwise be options. Ours had a package that included leather seats, power mirrors, four-wheel anti-lock brakes and a chrome rear bumper; the 5.4-liter engine; automatic transmission; sliding rear window; trailer towing; keyless entry; and a six-disc CD changer. The total, including a "Special Added Discount" that took off $1850, came to $27,495.
The new Triton engine family is terrific, especially the 5.4-liter version. In smoothness, it embarrasses practically every other truck engine on the market. The power delivery is crisp and responsive, and to good low-end power it adds excellent mid-range and higher-speed power to make short work of real-world demands such as quick acceleration to freeway speeds.
Another very welcome change is a completely new front suspension with upper and lower control arms. It replaces the ancient Twin I-Beam, and we're thankful. With the new layout, ride is far better, handling is superior, steering feel is drastically improved and directional stability, such as when traveling at highway speeds in a severe crosswind (which we had an opportunity to experience), is immensely enhanced. We would expect that even tire wear, a Twin I-Beam weak point, would also be better.
Towing capacity for the base F-150 is 2300 pounds, but the F-250 with 2WD and 5.4-liter V8 is rated at 8700 lbs., which should take care of most of us.
To fully comprehend all the interior features of the F-Series SuperCab you'll have to make a trip to your Ford dealer and check one over. But we'll give you some of the high points.
With the 40/60 split-bench front seat, driver and passenger have individually reclining backrests. What can serve as the center backrest is also a folding armrest; when folded forward, it provides a large cupholder and spacious bin. Inside this storage bin are places for coins, tapes and so forth, and a divider for organizing odds and ends.
The driver is faced with comprehensive, clearly-legible instrumentation, and everything that needs to be is close and easy to operate. There are two cupholders in the instrument panel, and a goodly number of the storage compartments and map pockets here and there. Appreciated by one woman passenger were two grab handles which aided climbing in and, once in, pulling the door shut.
The view outward is superb, as the new styling job has included a low beltline and big windows all around. The only gripe we had was a vertically-narrow inside rear-view mirror.
All SuperCabs include a third door as standard equipment, on the passenger's side, for access to the back seat. It's operable once the main passenger's door is open, and it can be opened from inside or out. Once in, back-seat passengers will find things tolerably comfortable for three adults, and probably not too bad for trips of some distance with only two adults in back. As another very handy feature, ours had a 40/60 split seat in back, whose cushions could be folded forward to provide a flat, sturdy steel surface, great for carrying toolboxes or large amounts of luggage.
People familiar with trucks, and most particularly those familiar with previous Ford trucks, will find a surprisingly enhanced driving experience in the new F-Series. For some time, partly due to the Twin I-Beam, partly due to over-assisted power steering, Ford trucks had a numb feel through the steering and would wander when encountering large dips or road irregularities, and were very susceptible to being blown around by crosswinds. That's all pretty much a thing of the past.
Our F-250 had genuine steering feel, either when traveling straight ahead or negotiating twists and turns. And it had a high degree of directional stability, which helps to keep the vehicle headed down its intended path. Ride, too, was remarkably good. One big problem with pickup trucks has always been how poorly they tend to ride when empty; this can become really annoying on fairly long trips on concrete interstate highways, where the truck will bounce ceaselessly. We ran our F-250 through exactly such a situation for several hours, and the ride was relatively car-like and comfortable, mile after mile.
Another part of the driving pleasure quotient is due to the smooth, quiet overhead cam engine. There's no truck-like roar or rumble, no feeling that it's overworked at higher speeds. Again, driving around the city, or taking an extended highway cruise, the 5.4-liter Triton engine was probably the most velvety full-size pickup truck engine we've encountered. The 4.6-liter version is equally smooth, but less powerful, and we highly recommend the stronger 5.4-liter V8. It's $555 more, but you'll probably get most, if not all, of it back at trade-in time.
It's a little bit of a contradiction in terms to think of "truck" in the same sentence with "cutting edge, aerodynamic styling," but with the new Ford F-Series, we think it works.
There's a lot to like about it in addition to the look. The interior is extraordinary, the new V8s are silky and strong, the ride and drive is exceptional and it's full to the brim with worthwhile features. We don't see how you could go wrong.
We have partnered with trusted dealers in your area to give you a great price on the new Ford F-250.
This is how it works:


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PA members may be interested in registering for a conference which will be held on 9th and 10th March, 2012 in Durham, North Carolina on "Clinical Approaches to Exceptional Experiences".
Exceptional experiences, including apparitions, ESP, psychokinesis, telepathy, precognition, and near death experiences, are often overlooked or seen as pathological by researchers and therapists alike. The Rhine Research Center and the University of West Georgia's Department of Psychology are hoping to advocate the understanding of exceptional experiences with their conference, Clinical Approaches to Exceptional Experiences.
As many PA members know, Exceptional experiences (including subjective paranormal experiences) are part of human nature. At times, these can be life-enhancing, but at other times, they can be very distressing. Organizers of this conference hope that psychologists, counselors, and therapists come away understanding that exceptional experiences should not always warrant a diagnosis of mental illness.
This conference aims to:1. Present examples of the varieties of exceptional experiences2. Increase awareness of the growing area of "clinical parapsychology" and the current state of play of this field (particularly in the USA)3. Draw attention to the fact that people have exceptional experiences (including subjective paranormal experiences) and that these can be experienced as distressing4. Highlight that exceptional experiences should not automatically be labeled as "pathological" as they can sometimes be associated with mental health and human potential5. Highlight that there are clinical and counseling practices that can help to assimilate psychic experiences and sometimes allow for personal growth/transformation6. Engender discussion of a variety of clinical approaches to exceptional experiencesAt the conference, researchers and therapists will describe approaches toward further understanding exceptional experiences. Attendees will gain a greater scope of knowledge and understanding of exceptional experiences which they will be able to apply to their respective professional practices (and their own experiences).
The keynote speaker for the conference is Dr. Martina Belz, a psychotherapist in private practice in Bern, Switzerland and a research fellow at the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Switzerland. Belz is also the managing director of the Training Institute for Psychotherapy (FAVT) at the University of Freiburg, Germany. Much of Belz's research includes poltergeist phenomena, apparitions and telepathy. She will discuss her findings and their implications for further research and in regard to clinical settings. Other speakers include but are not limited to Dr. Jim Carpenter, a Clinical Associate Professor with the University of North Carolina Department of Psychiatry, and a Research Associate of the Rhine Research Center, and Dr. Ginette Nachman, a Research Associate at the Rhine Research Center and the Director of Research for the International Association for Near Death Studies.The conference will be held at the Millennium Hotel, 2800 Campus Walk Ave., in Durham, N.C. on March 9th and 10th. General admission to the conference is $165; cost for students is $110. Early bird registration has been extended until February 9th and costs $145. The special conference rate for the Millennium Hotel is $89, per night.
For more information contact email@example.com firstname.lastname@example.com or go to: http://www.exceptionalexperienceconference.org/home
Register with the Parapsychological Association website to participate in the discussion, or sign in if you already have an account.
The Parapsychological Association is an international professional organization of scientists and scholars engaged in the study of psi (or 'psychic') experiences, such as telepathy, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, psychic healing, and precognition. The primary objective of the PA is to achieve a scientific understanding of these experiences.
First established in 1957, the PA has been an affiliated organization of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) since 1969. The PA is a non-profit, non-adjudicating organization that endorses no ideologies or beliefs other than the value of rigorous scientific and scholarly inquiry.