text:
Starboard iSonic 111 test by Wind Magazine (France) , February 2008
The machine to challenge the wind!
The board comes with two good Drake 36 & 44 fins. The Starboard iSonic 111 is the shortest board in the range and the scoop is also lower. Be careful because it can sink really easy in none planing conditions and when you are tacking. With an on/off feeling when you get planing, it is important to get into the foot straps quickly. When sailing the nose stays really low and gives you excellent control all the time. You just need to get into the straps and follow the trim indication to go fast. The board immediately feels really good and comfortable. It is very powerful in the tail and it is advised to use 38/40 fins for a 7,8m to get the correct foiling effect. When the board is trimmed correctly the board keeps accelerating and has an impressive Speed. It's the easiest board in the bottom–end with excellent performance. The board is really impressive particularly sailing upwind and on a reach; the iSonic provides you with a high average speed and super acceleration in all tacks. The board holds a strong direction, so much that you need sometimes more time to change direction than you expected. The iSonic is an excellent board on the market for top performance and control.
+ Top performances, control, easy to trim good jibe exit, good
Starboard Pure Acid 74 test by Wind Magazine (France) , February 2008
Big potential as an excellent all rounder
Tiesda You made slight modifications on the Pure Acid 74 for the 2008 model. The board is one of the heavier boards in technora but is also possible to have it in wood technology, which is lighter. The board is excellent with the G10 Drake fin, the quick adjustable straps, the excellent grip pads and the integrated heel absorbers. Since the beginning, we appreciate the good planing level for a radical wave board, the speed in straight line and the comfort. The board is really nice in the choppy water. The board has a superbe ability in radical surf with no difficulties for the sailor. Easy in the bottom turn, the control and the speed are excellent. It's a clean feeling; it turns well but less than the Tabou Da Curve. We change rails easily on the roller, so the final feeling is excellent. Even at low speeds the Pure Acid can do all the turn in the surf. The board is less good in small waves at low speed, because is more difficult to get a nice bottom turn, this is the only small negative point of this board. In the end, the Starboard Pure Acid 74 is a nice board with a high potential in good conditions, which is more all–round and accessible to compared to the other radical boards. It was very popular in the testing.
+ Planing, Versatility, instinctive surf, high potential
Starboard Futura 133 test by Wind Magazine (France) , February 2008
The Candidate for Speed Crossings
The Futura replaced the Carve and S–Type presents a new generation of freeride boards. The straps are comfortable and easy to set, and we found also the oval hole for the fin screw more user friendly and the access and the trim indication for the mast base makes the design more accessible. The board was stable in non–planing conditions, and planed really well in windy conditions with an on/off feeling. That feeling may disturb the medium level rider. It goes through the lulls easily and is the better overall board. The fin is excellent and very stiff which the more advanced rider, may make the sailing become uncomfortable. We can see the i Sonic features that have been incorporated into the board and they compliment the board very well. The Futura naturally holds a firm sailing line, however the board is still really maneuverable. The board almost feels like it is being sailed in autopilot, and is physically less demanding to sail. Note also it sails very well upwind, it gibes really easily and is stable in and out of the turn. Finally this Starboard offers high performances for every body in light and medium winds. A real performance candidate for speed crossing, and for those who don't want a pure slalom machine.
+ High level performances, equipment, up wind/speed
Starboard Futura 111 test by Wind Magazine (France) , February 2008
Nervous, high performance and directional stability
The Futura replaced the Carve and S–Type and presents a new generation of freeride boards. We immediately feel a strong sports character. Planing is good and with a strong and fast acceleration. The sailing position is really comfortable and even after a few hours sailing it is not painful. It is really easy to control, but its speed and slight instability can disturb beginners. You have to be quick when tacking so you don't sink when you get planing; the board has a low nose and goes through the choppy water really easily because the board rides on the fin. The Futura is really lively, and does not compromise on any performance. It's one of the quickest boards in the group in all tacks and performs particularly well up wind. It jibes really well even in the choppy water with a lot of control but is not as easy to make a short jibe. It turns really well in the jibe and has an excellent exit after. Note that it has an excellent fin and a Tuttle box that allows for a higher–level fin too. Finally the board is for advanced riders who look for high–level performances.
+ Good value, performances, equipment, control
Starboard Kombat 96 Technora test by Planche Mag (France), Mar-Apr 08
A really good board, which gives a lot of sensations, Performs the best in surf with its different curve. It also good for cruising on flat water, we can even do freestyle with it. A good board to use in–between flat water and wave.
Starboard iSonic 86 test by Planche Mag (France), Mar-Apr 08
The board has the ability to accelerate at full speed through the lulls and gusts, and cruises through the choppy water. It's best point is that it is really manageable and easy to handle in the most difficult situations. With all these points combined the board is really good and our top choice.
Starboard Futura 111 Wood test by Planche Mag (France), Mar-Apr 08
The Futura 111 is the board that delivers the most sensation and is closer to a race machine. The speed sensations are confirmed by the testing, it has the best overall performances. In lighter winds, it offers a smaller wind range than the other boards. Do not hesitate to put a bigger sail on it to have a better planning.
Starboard Futura 101 Technora test by Planche Mag (France), Mar-Apr 08
Very lively under your feet, it rides free and high on the water with a very small wetted surface area. We're trimmed flat on the water, with a solid locked–in position that gives performance levels clearly superior to all its competitors, on any tack. This is the Futura's strength. In this group, it was the board that was most talked about, the one that gave the most exciting ride and the fastest speed. In the jibes: one of the tightest jibers with the best speed.


text:
CatLin wrote:Don, I just read your story of your breakfast. I love it; the humor is intellectual yet silly, and the ending is perfect.
Thanks Cat! I sometimes enjoy writing dumb humor. It sorta takes the edge off...ya know what I mean? Me and Far Side's Gary Larson woulda got along great.
Long time no see. Many of the old porch sitters have left the building for places unknown. Haven't seen Old Blue around here lately, either. He was a good plate licker after we finished off the goodies.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Karma bit the blondes in the butt! I won't miss them.
I mentioned to a friend: How much earlier to you think the goths have to get up to apply all their makeup?
Mr. Myagi still cracks me up. The daughter tells him that she loves him and he talks about pastries! Classic!!
He did take a beating in this episode, between the hernia acting up and the stilts.


text:
Each of Tel Aviv's markets is a world unto itself, not only offering differing fare, but reflecting the locals who reside, shop, sell and buy there. Tel Aviv's best known open-air shopping area is the Carmel Market, probably because of its proximity to the trendy Neveh Zedek quarter, with its cultural attractions, in the southern part of town. Carmel's array of fresh produce, a feast for the eyes, is the place to bask in atmosphere while you buy the fixings for a picnic lunch at the beach, just a few blocks away, or stock up on fruit for your hotel room. On Tuesdays and Fridays, a lively street fair blooms in the adjacent historic Nahalat Benyamin quarter. It features handcrafted jewelry, colorful wooden toys, boxes, glass and other items sold mostly by the artists themselves.
What about bargaining, the soul of the Middle Eastern market experience? Save that for the Jaffa Flea Market. You have to have an eye for hidden beauty to appreciate the wares here – gorgeous brass items might share a crowded shelf with a pile of old kerosene lamps, or fine amber beads among plastic distant relatives. Ceramic and glass items and second-hand, or shall we say vintage - clothing are all part of the pickings. A word to the wise – the vendors know how to size you up in the blink of an eye as a serious shopper or...not. And beware of the question "how much do you want to pay." Wait for the seller to name a price, come back with about half, and have a meeting of minds at whatever the item is worth to you.
Shuk Ha'aliyah is in the Florentine quarter. This area has turned the corner of gentrification to become Tel Aviv's edgiest zone, and comes alive at night with pubs that are a magnet especially for younger urbanites. But during the day, Shuk (which means market) Ha'aliyah, named after the street it's on, is one of the last places in Israel where you can still see craftspeople at work making the items they sell – metal workers and furniture craftsmen manufacturing items for the city's finest stores or for discerning clients who might want to commission a copy of an item in those same stores. Shuk Ha'aliyah is also famous for its Balkan cheeses, pickled vegetables and spices, and some interesting restaurants with menus ranging from no-frills Jewish soul food to Persian delights.
Shuk Betzalael, near King George Street is another interesting stop for visitors taking in the historic buildings of early Tel Aviv in the heart of town. It's a favorite with locals for clothing, especially for name-brand seconds, many of which are now made with Israeli textiles.
Have fun with your market-hopping – the chance not only to make unusual purchases that create memories before they are even tucked away, but also to get to know a different side of Tel Aviv.
For more information log on to Tel Aviv-yafo's official website


text:
interesting he has Keenan Allen #5 Quinton Patton#15 Tavon Austin #18 Robert Woods #22 Cordarrale Patterson #27 and Terrance Williams #30
interesting he has Keenan Allen #5 Quinton Patton#15 Tavon Austin #18 Robert Woods #22 Cordarrale Patterson #27 and Terrance Williams #30
Interesting that he has Ball that high and Taylor that low. I like both and have a hard time deciding on which I prefer.
ILB is an area of strength (more than i realized) in this draft. Don't you guys think we need to draft an ILB for the future? Burnett and Mush Mouth aren't getting any younger!
Reshad "GET IT ON" Jones
gettin it on!
I've always felt that KeKe Mingo was overrated but 60?
I,d target Kiko Alonso with 1 of our 3rds...
Kiko ALonso at #28???
Man, I like this kid a lot, been talking about him for a long time. But that is an unreal draft grade.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. - S. Beckett
OMG! If DEmontre Moore is ranked there, what a friggin steal! Hope he makes it to us at 12. Thats a no brainer for me.
Ok, so out of that list, out of our 5 picks - I want two WR's taken within the first three rounds.
Assuming that Ireland also wants two WR's. These are the top WR's from the list you posted:
Robert Woods, USC
Tavon Austin, WV
Terrance Williams, Baylor
DeAndre Hopkins, Clemson
Cobi Hamilton, ARK
Justin Hunter, TEN
Keenan Allen, CAL
Quinton Patton, LT
Coradelle Patterson, TEN
Stedman Bailey, WV
Aaron Dobson, Marshall
Chris Harper, K-State
DaRick Rodgers, Ten Tech
Corey Fuller, VT
Kenny Stills, OKLA
Can we please get TWO WR's from this list on this team!? (Swope is later down the list, I'd take him too.)
Last edited by kcbrown; 01-22-2013 at 04:04 PM.
why does 2 WR's need to be taken in first 3 rounds? Alot of this depends on two things IMO 1. FA WR 2. Resigning Hartline
But Bailey and Swope would be nice fit and big stuff happening IMO.
that guy should be smacked for having mingo that low...


text:
OPERATOR: Excuse me, everyone. We now have our speakers in conference. Please be aware that each of your lines is in a listen only mode.
At the conclusion of the presentation, we will open the floor for questions. At that time, instructions will be given if you would like to ask a question.
I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Justin Vogt. Sir, please begin.
VOGT: Hello, everyone. Welcome. Justin Vogt here, deputy managing editor of Foreign Affairs. Of course, we've all been following the ongoing crisis in Ukraine very closely. Last week Foreign Affairs collected the best of our extensive coverage of the story in an e-book, titled "Crisis in Ukraine." You can find that on our website.
But today we're delighted to be joined two of the most authoritative analysts on this topic, both of whom Foreign Affairs has had the privilege of publishing in the past. Ambassador Ivo Daalder is the president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Prior to joining the council last year, Ambassador Daalder served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO for more than four years.
James Stavridis is the Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Admiral Stavridis led the NATO alliance in global operations from 2009 to 2013, as Supreme Allied Commander. Ambassador Daalder and Admiral Stavridis thank you both for joining us this afternoon.
STAVRIDIS: Thanks, Justin.
DAALDER: Great - great to be here.
VOGT: Let's start with the question for you, Admiral. In interviews published in the past two days, your successor as Supreme Allied Commander, General Philip Breedlove, has been sort of sounding the alarm about the Russian military buildup on the Ukrainian border.
He's warned that these 40,000 or so Russian troops currently massed on the border are - are in high state of readiness, they could move at any time, and he's estimated that those forces could take large swaths of Ukrainian territory within three to five days, and could even be deployed to occupy Transnistria, the breakaway region of Moldova.
How likely do you think it is that Russia will launch that kind of cross border incursion, and what do you think would happen if it did?
STAVRIDIS: Well, first of all I share General Breedlove's concerns. There is - there is no reason that such a large body of troops should be simply parking itself on the border of a -- another sovereign state. And, in particular, since we've just witnessed a Russian invasion of Crimea, it doubles or triples or quadruples the risk of confrontation, obviously. They are well-trained. They are very capable. And how they will be used, I don't think anybody knows the answer to that.
I think there's a less than even chance that Vladimir Putin, as he rolls all the calculi around in his head, I think there's a less than even chance of, maybe a one in three chance that he'll decide to press forward.
I - here I defer to Ambassador Daalder, to talk about the diplomatic pressure and the potential for economic sanction, but from a military perspective, he would be able to easily roll up the Ukrainian forces, but it would not be cost-free.
And I think at - at this stage of the situation, we would in fact see the Ukrainian forces stand and fight, there'd be casualties. It begins to be the kind of scene that I don't think Vladimir Putin would relish playing out on televisions around the world.
VOGT: Right, there's some high cost built into it for him. Ambassador, let me ask the meeting of the foreign ministers of NATO allies yesterday and today. It was announced that NATO would be ending all of its practical and military cooperation with Russia, and -and also NATO announced some sort of modest steps it would take to reassure its Eastern European members.
More air patrols over the Baltic States, for example. But the Baltic States and Poland have made no secret of the fact that they really want more boots on the ground, bluntly put. And, General Breedlove has said that deployments of that kind still remain an option.
I'm curious, what factors should go into the process of U.S. and NATO decision making about those kind of deployments, and - and what decision do you think they ought to arrive at?
DAALDER: Thanks for the question. It's an important one. The - the NATO foreign ministers meeting yesterday decided to task the military authorities, General Breedlove and - and - and his folks to look at a series of options about how we could strengthen NATOs reassurance of all of our allies and particularly, of course, the allies who are - who are bordering Russia in - in Eastern Europe.
You saw the - the Polish prime minister saying that the response so far has been quote "Inadequate." What they want is a large presence of, particularly, American troops on - on their soil, and they've been wanting that for a very long time. It's - it's the best form of reinsurance is to have allied forces on your territory.
The consideration, I think, for -- for NATO is -- is a number of things. One is, you know, just to start off with is cost. In order to base large numbers of American or NATO troops on foreign territory, you - you need to have the basing structure to do that. We have an extensive basing structure in Europe, but it's not in Poland.
It's in Germany, and - and to some extent in Italy, and - and in other places. So, are we willing to spend the - the kind of resources necessary to redeploy our forces?
Secondly, there is a commitment that NATO made in 1997, actually commitment is the wrong word. There's a unilateral promise by NATO that under, made in 1997, to Russia that in this current circumstances, the circumstances of 1997, NATO thought that it could meet its collective defense obligations through the possibility of reinforcing troops into the east, as well as by enhancing interoperability and integration of the forces.
And that, at, you know, given the circumstances at the time, there was no reason for NATO to have a substantial combat presence forward deployed, on a permanent basis.
My personal view is that those circumstances have changed. That when Russia not only invades, but annexes a -- a part of another country, against the expressed, written commitment not to do so, in a whole variety of international agreements, the idea that one should forgo steps that enhance the defense of all of NATO is -- is one that I don't think is acceptable.
So that's why we're now debating to what extent do we want to rely on the permanent deployment of forward based U.S. and NATO forces, and are we willing to pay the costs that are associated with it? Versus, enhancing our capacity to reinforce the defense of -- of the Baltic States and Poland through more exercises and training, and not -- and temporary presences rather than permanent ones.
VOGT: Right. Let's stay on this, actually, for just a second and -- and go back to -- to Admiral Stavridis. As -- as the ambassador is talking about, of course, in recent years, the -- the U.S. cut the size of -- of its forces in Europe by about half.
I -- I know that you've also said recently that you -- you think it might be time to reconsider that. I wonder though, I mean, do you think that -- that Putin would have acted differently if those forces had been in place? And do you think that possibly restoring the -- the -- the level, even to the prior level, would actually affect his decision making in a positive direction?
STAVRIDIS: I think the answers are no and yes. In other words, I don't -- don't think that had we been at the previous level it would have had any -- in any significant way changed his calculus. But, yes, I think that a rethink is warranted. We should, in my view, restore some of those forces to Europe. And -- and the reason is -- is the reassurance piece. I think the reassurance to the allies is very, very important.
Secondly, by having more forces there, you can do what I hope we will do, which is a lot of training, exercising and mentoring, with not only the NATO nations, but also partners like Ukraine. So, you get much more flexibility by having more forces there in Europe.
So I think there's a psychological dimension and there's a practical dimension. The implication of your question is would those forces be particularly germane in a combat scenario, and -- and they're not going to be determinant. The -- the European militaries have good, strong, capable standing armies, navies and air forces, but the U.S. forces become sort of the rebar in the concrete.
They're the -- reinforces in a very important psychological way and they also contribute greatly through the ability to exercise, train.
And, also, thirdly it's because they bring very strong enablers. Intelligence, refueling, targeting, logistics, all the things that Ambassador Daalder and I relied on the U.S. for, when we were conducting the campaign in Libya.
VOGT: I'm going to ask one more question, sort of on this topic, and then I think I'll open it up to the members on the call. Ambassador Daalder, I want to talk about Article Five of -- of the NATO treaty, but this is sometimes considered or referred to sort of as the gold standard of collective defense, right?
It's a pledge that attack on one member of the alliance would be considered an attack on all. But the text itself actually a little bit ambiguous. It -- it requires that each ally take only such action as it deems necessary in the event of an attack on another ally.
There seems to be a little bit of wiggle room there, at least to -- to my eye. I guess my question is, do you think that the U.S. and the rest of NATO are -- are really willing to go to war with Russia, say, over -- over Estonia? Over the Baltic States? Over security in Eastern Europe? Is that-is that, you know, is that a rock solid commitment?
DAALDER: I think it's as rock solid as any nation can possibly make in terms of a commitment to the defense of another nation. I agree that Article Five, if you read it carefully, leaves wiggle room.
In fact, the reason for that is because the United States insisted, and the Congress insisted that we always leave the decision on what we would do when it comes to the use of armed forces up to our constitutional principles, which included the Declaration of War by Congress.
So, automatically in terms of coming to the defense of an ally, was something that -- that for constitutional reasons and -- and, frankly, in 1949 for political reasons we weren't yet to take. But it's 65 years since this treaty was signed. In fact, it's 65 years the day after tomorrow.
And in those 65 years, it has become an article of faith, not only of the 12 countries that signed the agreement on April 4th, 1949, but of every other country that has since signed it, up -up to 28 now, that when and if one of our -- the members of the alliance is attacked militarily by someone else, the alliance will stand up and respond to that attack and restore the security of -- of the country involved.
Now, this has only happened, by the way, one time in our history. It happened on December 12th, 2001, when NATO for the first and only time invoked Article Five in defense of the United States, and sent its AWACS aircraft to help patrol the airspace of the United States in the wake of the 9/11 attack.
So, I have no doubt, none whatsoever, having sat in the room where these decisions are -- are made for the last four years, that if Russia or indeed anybody else, were to attack a NATO country and its territory, the response will be swift, secure and unquestioning on the part of all other members.
STAVRIDIS: Pat (ph), can I jump in ...
VOGT: All right.
STAVRIDIS: I just ...
VOGT: Sure.
STAVRIDIS: I want to absolutely echo what Ambassador Daalder said, and just say that from the military perspective, the ethos in the militaries around NATO is precisely the same. I sat for four years while Ivo was in the political meetings, I was in all the military meetings.
There is no doubt in the minds of the military leaders of the alliance that we are, in fact, obligated and will respond. And we should have no doubt of that. I don't think we do. And neither should Vladimir Putin.
VOGT: All right. Why don't we open up the call? We have some -some folks on the line, waiting to ask questions. Operator, if you could please take the -- the first call and I'll just remind everyone to please just ask one question, so that we can give everybody a chance.
OPERATOR: Thank you, sir. At this time, we will open the floor for questions. If you would like to ask a question, please press the Star key followed by 1 key that is Star 1, on your touchtone phone now. Questions will be taken in the order in which they are received. If at any time you would like to remove yourself from the questioning queue, please press Star 2. Again, that is Star 1 for questions.
Our first question will come from Margaret Warner, from PBS Newshour.
QUESTION: Hi, gentlemen. Thank you for doing this. If-if you could both comment on also what Admiral Breedlove talked about -- about the Moldova Trans-Dniester scenario. That -- that-that Russian forces could pretty easily sweep up from Crimea, you know, along by Odessa and up and -- and establish the slambridgedu (ph).
Do you see that as one, feasible? Two, desirable from Russia's point of view in any kind of strategic sense? Or is it -- or do you think that -- that they're just trying to rattle everyone's cages and especially Moldova's as it looks ahead to maybe signing an EU association agreement?
STAVRIDIS: Let me hit the military aspect, and then maybe Ambassador wants to touch on the political and diplomatic side of it. If the question is could they do it? Absolutely. By the way, that's General Breedlove, although I'll tell him that was he upgraded to admiral next time I chat with him.
QUESTION: I'm sure he'll be glad to hear that.
STAVRIDIS: He will be. He's always wanted to be an admiral, I can tell you that.
STAVRIDIS: They certainly can do it, from a military perspective as I mentioned earlier. They will begin to incur real costs and -- and there will be a real fight, in my view. And, I, personally from a military perspective, the more territory you try and hold onto, the more complex your challenges become. All of a sudden, 20,000 troops, 30,000 troops don't look like enough. Again, I think it's an unlikely move, but not an impossible one.
DAALDER: Just to -- to add to that, on -- on the political side, I think we should be in a posture where we need to read what, particularly Putin, says and what it is being put out in his name very carefully. And we should take what he says, not with a grain of salt, we should take it straight.
And in that regard there are two things that -- that there's one refrain that has been now there for four weeks, that has been worrying, which is his constant argument that Russian speaking people need to be protected by Russia.
And, of course, in Trans-Dniester, just as it is in -- in a more worrying from a NATO perspective, Latvia and Estonia, there are large Russian speaking populations. In Trans-Dniester, there are in fact Russian troops deployed there. Not a lot, but there are about a thousand or so peacekeepers, and they'll put that in quotation marks there. That's number one.
Number two, while the readout from the Putin to Obama call last week, from the White House, was a focus on trying to find a way to a political, diplomatic solution, the same phone call was read out by the Kremlin, emphasizing the dangers of quote "Extremists in Ukraine," and that President Putin's worry as expressed to Obama about events in Trans-Dniester.
Both of those statements, it seemed to me, indicate that there is a concern in the Kremlin and in Moscow about what is happening in this part of the world that is sufficient for them to move militarily. That doesn't mean it will happen. It doesn't mean that the chances are any greater than I think that Jim has indicated, one in three, or maybe, you know, I'm probably closer to the 40 percent, but that's quibbling.
But it does mean that this a serious possibility. And that we ought to have a policy that is based on the notion that we -- we may be confronted with a second crisis, a post-Crimea crisis that is at least as big, if not much bigger than we just had in Crimea.
VOGT: Let's take the next question.
OPERATOR: Thank you. Our next question comes from James Kitfield, from National Journal.
QUESTION: Thank you both gentlemen, for doing this. One of the atmospherics that worry a lot people is the removal of our two heavy brigades from Germany as part of our, sort of post-Afghanistan, Iraq repositioning. You know, is this the time to be having not a single American tank in Europe at the same time that, you know, the Dutch and British are cutting their ground forces?
I mean, don't ground forces still mean something? And, if -- if we were going to reconsider that, would -- would maybe prepositioning heavy, you know, equipment over there, as we did during the Cold War, maybe be part of the answer? Thanks.
STAVRIDIS: I'll take a first swing on that one, it had kind of a military tone to it. I think that, yes, we should be reexamining all of those propositions, because the world is different than it was before Russia chose to invade another sovereign country and impose its will and -- and as Ambassador Daalder correctly points out, take the next step, which is to annex it.
So I think you have to reevaluate in light of that the U.S. force presence, and I suspect that will occur pretty rapidly.
The good news is, an awful lot of what the U.S. military can bring to any kind of confrontation in -- in Europe, can be moved flexibly from the United States. Long-range bombers, ships, special forces, aircraft that service Special Forces, cyber.
So there's an a awful lot that can be done at distance, but I -- I think semantically (ph), psychologically, for purposes of reassurance and exercise and training and so forth, I -- I think it would be prudent to relook at that and perhaps return to a four brigade posture.
Vogt: All right. Let's take the next question. I just also want to take this opportunity to remind everyone that this is an on the record, Foreign Affairs media call. Let's take the next question, please.
OPERATOR: Thank you, our next question comes from Martin Pritchard from Danish Daily Information.
QUESTION: Yes, hi, thank you. Some of my question have already been asked, but there was one last one I wanted to ask about, because I was left a bit confused about the sending of American troops to Romania, 600 extra to the U.S. base in Romania, on top of the 1,000 already there.
And I was wondering that was not within the framework of NATO, so if, and this is basically based on my lack of knowledge, but wouldn't it be then conceivable if there to be a base, an American base in Poland, or in the Baltic States, that the same could be done unilaterally by United States?
DAALDER: I -- I'll let Jim comment on the two, but the basing structure, which is actually, I think a Romanian base that the U.S. uses on a temporary basis, is not a permanent U.S. facility in Romania. There are no permanently stationed troops in -- in Romania, combat forces.
There is a -- there is a training facility that is being used by U.S. and indeed other forces, and I hadn't heard about the possible reinforcement of those in the last -- in the last weeks or so. But that would be as part of -- as part of a normal, rotational, temporary presence rather than a permanent one.
STAVRIDIS: Yes, I think -- I think the Ambassador has it exactly right. All around Europe there are -- there's a network of bases that are run by sovereign countries themselves, NATO allies.
There are some NATO bases, which have NATO headquarters, in other words multi-national standing forces, and then there are some American facilities, which are permitted to be used by U.S. forces within Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and -- and a handful of other nations.
That -- that structure can be mixed and matched. There are some -- some minor differences between the standing forces agreements between the nations involved in each of the bases, but they represent a very real capability to move forces around.
In terms of any specific troop deployment, I'm -- I'm not going to comment on that, since I'm not in the flow of operations at the moment.
OPERATOR: Thank you, our ...
VOGT: All right. Let's ..
VOGT: Go ahead.
OPERATOR: Our next question will come Emily Cadei from OZY Media.
QUESTION: Hi, this Emily Cadei from OZY Media. I just wanted to get your thoughts, either of you, on Jan Stoltenberg's appointment as the next Secretary General of NATO? And any particular skills, relationships he might bring when it comes to NATOs relationship with Russia, in particular.
DAALDER: Yes, I'll be happy to -- to comment on it. It's important to remember that Norway is the only original NATO member that has Russia as its neighbor, and in that regard the appointment and its announcement just -- just a few days ago, is -- is to be welcomed. Norway knows what it means to have Russia as a neighbor.
It has -- it's had it as long as it's been independent, since 1907, I believe. And, it has had an interesting relationship on the one hand, and a. because they are neighbors, a relationship that tries to be as cooperative as possible, to deal with common issues.
But, on the other hand, one of great wariness about the fact that you have Russia right across your border. Stoltenberg was prime minister for -- for about 10 years in total, of a coalition government, so he knows what it means to bring opposing sides to together, which is what the fundamental skill of a Secretary-General is -- is all about.
But he's also demonstrated he can deal with Russia. He -- he actually concluded three or so years ago, I believe it was, an agreement with Russia that divided -- that settled a territorial dispute in the -- in the Barren Sea, way up there, up there in the north, about which part of was Norway's, off the continental shelf was Norwegian, and which was Russian. This had been festering for -- for decades. And he was able to actually get a pretty good deal for -- for Norway.
So, I think you have in -- in Jan Stoltenberg the leader who is ready to take on the challenge of -- of dealing with an alliance of 28 diverse countries, who brings a perspective of a original member that is also a neighbor of Russia, so will understand what it feels like to live in Estonia and Latvia, while also at the same time understanding that for the last 65 years, this alliance has been the core of -- of his country's security, and indeed of Europe's security for -- for the last 65 years.
STAVRIDIS: Can I add something to that? Again, picking up the military perspective here, once thing that was extremely helpful with the -- -the current Secretary- General is extremely helpful is that he comes from a nation, in this case Denmark, that is an across the spectrum troop contributor.
Outstanding troops, and -- and so to have a Secretary-General, another one, coming from in this case Norway, I just want to make the observation that Norway has been an extraordinary contributor to the alliance, across the spectrum of operations.
Everything that the alliance has done, Norway has been there and I think, having a prime minister with such a distinguished military as part of his portfolio, if you will, also is a point that makes me quite pleased to see him become the -the new Secretary-General later this year.
VOGT: All right. Let's take the next question, please.
OPERATOR: Thank you, our next question comes from Garrett Mitchell from the Mitchell Report.
QUESTION: Thanks very much to both of you for doing this. I wonder if I might put the question to you this way, and any number of politicians in this country have been suggesting in the last few weeks that we ought to be, at a minimum, rattling the saber, if not actually getting it out, and getting prepared to use it. The most recent statement I'm aware of on that front has come from the Council's own Les Gel, earlier this week.
And, instead of simply asking your perspective on whether we should or whether we shouldn't be rattling sabers or getting more kinetic, I'm interested to know whether you think we have been, and the we in this case I'm talking about now is the United States, the Obama administration, whether we have been -- whether we have been making sense strategically to the global community on the Crimea question, I'll put it that way? Or whether we are in fact sending out either ill-defined signals or -- and or signals that suggest that we're really not prepared to get kinetic?
That -- -that all we're prepared to do in this -- in this circumstance is some version of economic sanctions? I'm interested to know what your perspective is about how you think we are being perceived globally, and in particularly by Putin himself.
DAALDER: If -- I'll take that on. Gary always ask the -- the difficult question. Here's the way I would respond to that. I think that the -- the Obama administration has emphasized three essential points in its policy and in its efforts since the crisis erupted.
First, it has been very clear that this is a set of moves that is a clear and total violation, not only of international law, but also leading to a -- a -- a fundamental reassessment of Russia's relationship with -- with the United States and the West.
Now, already before things between the United States and Russia weren't particularly good, and the relationship between Obama and Putin was so bad that the President of the United States cancelled for the first time in history a summit with the President of Russia, or even the Soviet Union, which happened last September. But, that said, there was a very clear statement that this was something not only could not stand but would never be accepted.
Secondly, and I think importantly, when you're dealing in a world that we are living in today, the administration was able to rally the Europeans in particular, with the major powers including Japan, in terms of the G7, to a consistent and agreed posture with regard to Russia, so that whatever actions were going to be taken, were going to be taken in common.
And, that is not only the sanctions that have already been in place, but the agreement that the G7 reached and that the European Union has endorsed that any further move will lead to more sanctions down the road. So I think that is extremely important as well.
And, third, I think the president and his administration have rallied the entire NATO alliance behind the idea that Article Five is what -- says what it is and is what it says, which is that the defense of NATO territory is a responsibility of all, and has moved quite precipitously to put into place those military means necessary to reassure particularly the Baltic States and the Poles, in the first instance.
The -- the next question is, how much further do you want to go? I think there is widespread agreement in the United States, let alone internationally, that kinetic action is not the way we're going to resolve the Crimea issue. There may be differences over what to do with regard to eastern Ukraine, and I think we can talk about what -- what other steps in addition to threaten sanctions we would -- we would -- should contemplate.
As I said, I think the forward deployment of U.S. and NATO troops in Eastern Europe at this point in time is something we -- we ought to a very a serious look at and I would support. And -- and that sends a kinetic signal in and of itself. But that's basically how I -- I get at the -- the issue.
STAVRIDIS: Can I -- can I make a couple of comments on that? Just to add one -- one point. I think the Obama Administration has rallied not only NATO and the NATO alliance, but -- but really a global sense that this is not right. The General Assembly, I believe, voted the other day on this, and only eight nations, and it was one might term the usual suspects, voted to support Russia.
Everyone else either voted against Russia or abstained. A significant number did abstain, in fairness. But only eight nations agreed, and I -- I think that's a part of what the Obama Administration has done effectively, is -- is galvanize global views on this.
Secondly, back to the famous saber rattling, there is something, I think, between saber rattling and pulling out our sword, and that is preparing the Ukrainians. And I think that doing intelligence sharing, information sharing, providing them with weapons, ammunition, nigh vision goggles, communications gear, cyber support, logistics support, sending mentors and advisors, I think all of this ought to be under consideration.
I think it probably will be part of -- of what is considered both at NATO and by the United States and it would serve to paint a picture for Vladimir Putin of cost that he would incur, that would be higher than if he went alone against Ukrainian military that -- that simply stood by itself.
So there's something kind of in the middle there, and I think it's -- it's assisting the Ukrainian armed forces. NATO has excellent capability. We know how to do this. It doesn't commit us to troops on the ground, or combat operations in any way. But it -- it raises the bar of cost for Russia. So, just adding those two points to the excellent summary by the ambassador.
MITCHELL: Thank you.
DAALDER: All right.
VOGT: Let's -- let's take another question, please.
OPERATOR: Thank you, our next question come from Julio Garcia from NTN24.
QUESTION: Hi, good afternoon. Thank you for taking this call. I wanted to know what the single biggest worry for the United States is and what you think the single biggest worry in this crisis for -- for NATO is?
DAALDER: I mean, the -- the two are the same. What concerns NATO ought to concern the United States, they're -- they're one in the same. So, my answer would be the biggest worry is that the Russian speaking population of a NATO country, be it Latvia or Estonia, or somewhere else, be manipulated as the Crimean population was, in a way to provoke a military confrontation between Russia and a NATO country.
That is the one thing we avoided in -- in the last 70 years. I don't judge it to be particularly high, I must, you know I want to emphasize that. I don't think things have changed that much. But it is something to worry about, and as I said earlier, when the president of Russia continually speaks about the Russia's obligation to defend Russian speaking people everywhere, we ought to take notice.
In particularly because Russian speaking people don't all live in Russia. Many live in other countries, and the idea that Russia should have the right to go in and protect those that it thinks or believes or has propagandized are being threatened is a very, very dangerous and very, very destabilizing kind of thought that can go all the way to affect the territory of the NATO alliance.
STAVRIDIS: I would add, I agree with that. I think that is the -- the -- the big strategic concern. I'll give you a quasi-tactical operational concern, and that is cyber. Russia has tremendous capabilities in the cyber world.
I think it's worth worrying and being concerned about those being deployed, and then responses and we see real disruptions with potentially effect on real world transportation grids, electrical systems, that's I think an operational tactical concern that I would have, again, taking the ambassador's broader point, that anything that would provoke a -- a higher order conflict, and I think he outlines exactly what could escalate towards that extremity.
GARCIA: Thank you, both.
VOGT: OK, next question.
DAALDER: Thank you.
VOGT: Let's take the next question.
OPERATOR: Thank you, our next one comes from Toby Harnden from Sunday Times.
QUESTION: Yes, hi. I was just wondering whether you thought there was any prospect in due course of deescalating the situation, perhaps with bilateral talks with Russia?
That might entail, perhaps, you know, the threat of additional sanctions, the threat of kinetic action, if there was any move into Eastern Ukraine, and whether it's either possible or would be -- be right that as part of those bilateral talks, and there could be some kind of undertaking from -- from NATO, and often the U.S. that Ukraine wouldn't join NATO and -- and wouldn't have a closer economic relationship with the European Union.
DAALDER: I'll guess I'll take that one, at least first in terms of -- in terms of de-escalation and a diplomatic solution, I'm all for de-escalation but it only involves and must involve Russian action. What we're looking at is, frankly, not de-escalation, which with Russia reversing what it is doing.
So, in the first instance that means taking its troops, the however many tens of thousands there are on -- on the Ukrainian border, and moving them back to their former bases and -- and -- and ending this posture of being able to -- to attack Ukraine at will. That's first.
And the second de-escalation that we need is for Crimea to be given back to its rightful owner, which is Ukraine. And those, it seems to me, are the -- the two things that we're looking at. The question is what price are we willing to pay for Russian, you know, returning to the status quo ante? I'm frankly not willing to pay much of a price. I don't believe that the -- the point here is for Russia to behave badly and then to be paid for something that it shouldn't have done in the first place.
And that includes the issue of whether or not Ukraine should be a member of NATO or have an economic relationship with the European Union. That, frankly, isn't up to the United States or even NATO to decide. It certainly isn't up to Russia to decide. It's up to Ukraine to decide.
And this is a decision that the Ukrainian Parliament and the people, who vote for the parliamentarians and the government will need to take up, when in 2010 the Ukrainians voted to power Mr. Yanukovich. He declared that Ukraine would not align itself with either Russia or NATO, and within NATO that was accepted. That was -- it was fine.
This is a decision that -- that Ukraine has to -- has to make. And I think that's where the decision making power needs to lie, and it is not something that the United States or the European Union can or should negotiate about over Ukraine's head with the Russians.
STAVRIDIS: Yes, I agree with that. I would only offer as we think solution sets going forward, we should simply consider that we -- we have had reasonably good cooperation in certain zones with the Russian Federation.
We've cooperated with them in Afghanistan, in counter narcotics, in counter-terrorism, in piracy at sea. We've had a -- we -- we do have a small base on which to build.
All that's been frozen as a result of Russian action and I'm, you know, over time, I'm hopeful if we can resolve this, we can get back and use those kind of things as confidence building measures. But as the ambassador points out, the -- the behavior has been so egregious at this point, it's very difficult to see how we get back to that as a mechanism.
HARDIN: Thank you.
VOGT: Let's take the next question please.
OPERATOR: Thank you, our next question will come from Sara Carter, from The Blaze.
QUESTION: Yes, hello, thank you so much for taking my question. Admiral, you had brought something up to my attention a -- a second ago. You spoke about the Ukrainian intelligence sharing with the -- with the NATO, with the United States as part of something that we can do to aid with the Ukrainians.
But, one of the -- one of the issues I think that's happening in Ukraine and speaking to my sources on the ground there, is that Ukrainian intelligence belongs with under Yanukovich, was very close to Russia. So, we're having a difficult time with intelligence sharing. Is there anything that we can do to help alleviate that?
I mean, obviously the government is trapped between a rock and hard place, so that the Ukrainian, pro-west government, as well as NATO and the United States, and I wonder if that has been drawn to your attention?
STAVRIDIS: I'm generally aware of that, but I think as you balance the -- the concerns, I think the weight of the argument falls on the side of sharing intelligence as follows. What we could provide is a picture of what the Russians are doing, using overhead imagery, using our intelligence, signals intelligence collection capability, using our cyber capability.
I think as long we don't reveal sources, but are talking to the Ukrainians about what's occurring, we enhance their ability to see what's happening, in a certain sense that's stabilizing. It knocks down misinformation. If some of that leaks back toward Russia, it's only information about Russia, so long as we're careful to ensure that the sources and methods are protected.
Again, a fairly close call, but I think the balance of the argument falls on sharing intelligence.
CARTER: OK, thank you. And if I could just follow that up, really quick? General Breedlove had said this would be a whole different rule set for NATO.
Is -- is this part of it? This kind outside of the box, what's happened with -- in this situation, with Russia, is NATO trying to look outside of the box than what -- what we have seen in the past, is now shifting, and shaping into something completely different?
STAVRIDIS: Yes, I think that's fair to say.
And -- and as a general proposition without spinning this conversation into a completely different dimension, warfare has changed fundamentally in this 21st century, and to some of the earlier questions about how many tank battalions are there, those have value, but, boy, give me cyber, unmanned vehicles, precision guided sensors, intelligence, special forces, there's a lot of additional modalities that -- that are rising in importance, and I think that's germane here, and I think that's probably what General Breedlove was referring to.
CARTER: Thank you.
VOGT: That's interesting, actually. Let's -- let's take another question, please.
OPERATOR: Thank you, our next question comes Misha Gutkin from Voice of America.
QUESTION: Hi, good afternoon. Thank you for taking questions. So, we touched upon Article Five, and we have talked about -- talked about trying to build Ukrainian army in case of a Russian attack, but what is the time frame that we are talking about? There are sources in Ukraine that say that Russia is planning to move quickly.
They're talking about before the presidential elections at the end of May. They're talking about increasing separatism in Eastern Ukraine that will be supported by some kind of a Russian move.
If that were to happen, within the next couple of weeks, before all those measures that being talked about are implemented, what is the response that NATO can offer, in -- in that case? If Russia were to move relatively quickly?
STAVRIDIS: It's -- it is obviously less and the sooner that we make decisions and start capability flowing the better, if we decide politically that we want to do this. NATO can actually move very quickly.
When Ambassador Daalder were in our previous jobs, we went from a U.N. resolution, here speaking of Libya, a U.N. resolution calling for protecting the people of Libya, we went from a U.N. resolution to NATO aircraft overhead in seven, eight days. NATO can move very quickly. It has a standing command structure, real capability.
We can -- we can flow -- we can flow equipment, get trainers there, send intelligence, there's a lot that can be done quickly. But, your fundamental point is correct: that long-term, trying to build up the Ukrainian army that's a -- a project of months and years.
So I think within NATO headquarters right now, military planners are looking at what can be done very quickly, what can be done in the mid-term, i.e. over the course of the next year, and then what are some of the long-term aspects.
DAALDER: I fully agree with -- with all of that. But it goes to the danger of the situation. Which is that you -- you basically are now in a situation in which Russia can decide to move and it will move within less than 12 hours into -- into Ukraine. And that's -- that's the, if we talk about de-escalation, that's the de-escalation we need to see.
VOGT: All right. We've got about five or six minutes left of our-our guests' time that we can take up, so we're going to probably just have time for one more question. Why don't we go to it now?
OPERATOR: Our last question will come from Jacqueline Albert-Simon from Politique International.
QUESTION: Yes, hello. Thank you to both of you, for enlightening us to the great degree you did. My question is one that hasn't been touched on, and I have been hearing and reading that Russia is reinforcing Crimea economically, by quickly and at unlimited -- with unlimited expenses trying to build it up as a showcase, so that other Baltic nations or Ukraine itself is even more, becomes interested in being part of such a federation.
Now, I can understand that. I think it's very crafty and intelligent, but what are we doing with our aid to Ukraine financially and economically? How fast are we getting it there? Because, again, as both of have pointed out, Russia can act so quickly, and has already. What is the state of our aid, financial, economic to Ukraine?
DAALDER: This is very important and I think a critical question, and -- and this is asymmetry of the situation. Russia now, quote unquote "Owns" Crimea. It can flood in whatever it wants, because it -- it thinks it's it's own, it can therefore showcase which is a relatively small part of -- of Ukraine, and indeed just a small -- a small part of the world, it can try to showcase with -- with relatively little investment.
Turning around an economy that has been undermined and neglected for 40, 20 years, since its independence, and many more years when it was under the Soviet Union, it's going to take a little bit more time.
I think the good news is that the European Union, which signed an association agreement a few weeks ago, the IMF which has promised major loans, as part of a new reform package, and the United States which just yesterday passed a loan guarantee package through Congress, all moving to help Ukraine turn around economically and to start the reform process that will be necessary for in the long-term to give Ukraine the kind of future that-that the people that protested in Maidan Square and in other parts of -- of Ukraine, really want.
But it is going to take more time than propping up what is happening in -- in Crimea. So, let's not be fooled by what's happening in that part of the world, where Russia is using its -- it's -- it's a bandage to, as you say, in a crafty way.
The reality is that in the long-term, being a showcase is not going to be the same as having undergone the fundamental reforms that Ukraine must and should do to make it more like a country like Poland, than like Russia is today.
STAVRIDIS: Yes and I just add to that. I'm agreeing with the ambassador. I -- I think it's important to look at the long-term here. And you use the word crafty. I -- I would say Russia is doing a -- a good job of playing a very bad hand of cards.
Over time, the Russian economy is greatly at risk, because of its declining demographics, its high rate of alcoholism, a high rate of drug use, it has population that's dropping about a million per year. Turkey's population will surpass it by the middle of this century.
Secondly, its economy is essentially a one trick pony. Hydrocarbons, of which we all know natural gas will be a diminished share as U.S. natural gas streams come online. On the other hand, the U.S., NATO, just NATO, the 28 nations are 52 percent of the world's gross domestic product.
So, the -- the balance, the correlation of capability in this economic sphere is -- is unbelievably weighted toward the alliance, and thus I think over time, if you were Ukrainian, you would much rather be in Ukraine proper as it is constituted today, than you would be in Crimea, under Russia. So, over time, I think those things will play very much in favor of -- of Ukraine and its work and alignment toward the west.
VOGT: All right. With that, we're going to conclude this call. Ambassador Daalder, Admiral Stavridis, thank you so much for your time and your insight.
Thanks to all our callers. Anyone interested in -- in learning more about this topic, should check out Foreign Affairs' new e-book, it's called "Ukraine in Crisis." You can find it on our website. Thank you all, thank you both again, it was a pleasure speaking with you. And have a great day.
STAVRIDIS: Thanks everybody. Bye-bye, Ivo.
DAALDER: Thank you. Bye-Bye.
OPERATOR: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This concludes today's conference. You may now disconnect your lines.


text:
You bloggers out there need to be sure and check out Five Minutes for Mom today.
They have a great blog and are doing their yearly event starting today.
They have great stuff all year long... but the Ultimate Blog Party is, uh, THE ULTIMATE! I asked them for a message to pass on to you:
- - - - - - - - - - -
If you want to grow your community of blog readers, Twitter followers and Facebook friends, you'll want to check out the 5th annual Ultimate Blog Party at 5 Minutes for Mom.
Join thousands of bloggers coming together from April 1st through 8th to participate in an enormous link up powered by Linky Tools.
You'll virtually "party" together in a blog carnival style, visiting each other's sites and getting to know one another.
There are hundreds of prizes but the big reason you want to be there, is you'll form genuine, lasting friendships and ignite your community.
Click Here to Find Out More
- - - - - - - - - - -
I've known the precious gals who run this blog for a long time and it's my pleasure to encourage you to click on over to them and check them out.
Get more connected in the blogosphere and hook up with a lot of great new readers, giveaways, contests and events be sure to check them out their Ultimate Blog Party and all the rest of the great stuff they have going on!
Ultimate Blog Party


text:
Columbiana holding city-wide cleanup
A citywide cleanup began Monday and continues through Friday at Firestone Park.
Sponsored by:
A citywide cleanup began Monday and continues through Friday at Firestone Park.
Judge Wyatt McKay swore in Mauro Cantalamessa as the newest Trumbull County Commissioner Monday.
Tressel will be officially installed Monday, Aug. 18.
Steve Notar Donato last worked at a GM plant in Indiana.
The camp will teach high school students how to use the technology to make money.
George Vukovich died last week at the age of 87.
Police believe the man cut a woman with a utility knife and took money from her purse.
Keith Chandler is facing a felony charge.
A truck landed in a culvert and flipped over, according to police.
Walker Mill Road reopened about 11:30 a.m. after being shut down for 30 minutes following a crash.
Authorities believe a suspect in the case was doing target practice Saturday.
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) – A water ban that had hundreds of thousands of people in Ohio and Michigan scrambling for drinking water has been lifted,…
Jeremy Writebol believes his 59-year-old mother can yield a greater good from her impending return to the United States amid West Africa's w…
A water ban entered its third day in northwest Ohio after tests showed some toxins still contaminating Lake Erie, leaving residents to conti…
A judge has ruled that letters written by a western Pennsylvania man to a woman he is accused of having killed cannot be used as evidence du…
Ohio gas prices are higher to start the work week.
Ohio is one of six states that don't have an official state poet – but a bill in the Ohio Legislature could change that.
A Mercer County woman was killed in a motorcycle accident over the weekend in Crawford County.
Police in Youngstown are trying to sort out the details of how a teenager was shot Sunday night.
It was a wet mess along Mock Road in Berlin Center on Sunday night, with at least four homes were completely cut off from the rest of the wo…
Taxpayers got a chance to see all the fire, police and emergency vehicles and personnel who keep them safe.
U.S.W. Local 3059 Union Representative Bill Collins said that all bargaining employees are returning to their regular schedule starting at 1…
Important Notice About Our Privacy Policy: We have modified our Privacy Policy to update and clarify our data collection, use, and disclosure practices.
By using this site, you agree to the updated Privacy Policy and Terms of Use


text:
About Jeff Masters
Cat 6 lead authors: WU cofounder Dr. Jeff Masters (right), who flew w/NOAA Hurricane Hunters 1986-1990, & WU meteorologist Bob Henson, @bhensonweather
By: Dr. Jeff Masters , 2:57 PM GMT on April 13, 2012
A dangerous tornado outbreak is expected on Saturday over the Plains, says NOAA's Storm Prediction Center (SPC). Warm, moist air flowing northwards from a Gulf of Mexico that has record-warm waters will collide with cold air funneling down from Canada, creating a highly unstable air mass capable of creating strong thunderstorm updrafts. An impressive upper-level low, accompanied by a jet stream with 105 - 125 mph winds at middle levels of the atmosphere, will create plenty of wind shear, giving the air the spin it needs to form tornadoes. SPC has has issued their highest level of alert, a "High Risk," for much of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska for Saturday. Included in the "High Risk" area are the cities of Wichita, Oklahoma City, and Lincoln. This is the second time SPC has issued a "High Risk" forecast this year; the first "High Risk" forecast came for the March 2 tornado outbreak, which killed 41 people and did $1.5 - $2 billion in damage. It is very unusual for SPC to issue a "High Risk" forecast more than a day in advance of a suspected tornado outbreak; according to Wikipedia, today's "High Risk" forecast is only the second time SPC has ever done this. The other instance was for the April 6 - 8, 2006 tornado outbreak focused over Tennessee, which generated 73 tornadoes that killed 13 and did $1.5 billion in damage. People living in the threatened area need to pay close attention on Saturday to this dangerous severe weather situation.
Figure 1. Severe weather risk for Saturday, April 14, 2012, from NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.
Gulf of Mexico water temperatures the warmest on record
Temperatures in the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico were the 3rd - 7th warmest on record during the first three months of 2012, according to NOAA's National Climatic Data Center. This allowed Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) in the Gulf of Mexico (25 - 30°N, 85 - 90°W) to climb to 1.4°C (2.5°F) above average during March 2012, according to a wunderground analysis of the Hadley Centre SST data set. This is the warmest March value on record for the Gulf of Mexico, going back over a century of record keeping. During the first two weeks of April, Gulf of Mexico waters remained about 1.5°C above average, putting April on pace to have the warmest April water temperatures on record. Only one year in the past century has had April water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico more than 1.1°C above average; that year was 2002 (1.4°C above average.) All that record-warm water is capable of putting record amounts of water vapor into the air, since evaporation increases when water is warmer. Because moist air is less dense than dry air, this warm, moist air flowing northwards from the Gulf of Mexico into the developing storm system over the Plains will be highly unstable once it encounters cold, dry air aloft. The record-warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico are a key reason for the high risk of severe weather over the Plains this weekend.
Figure 2. Departure of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) from average for April 12, 2012, as computed by NOAA/NESDIS. SSTs in the Gulf of Mexico are at their warmest levels on record for this time of year.
Follow Weather Underground on twitter for the latest on this potential severe weather outbreak.
Jeff Masters
The views of the author are his/her own and do not necessarily represent the position of The Weather Company or its parent, IBM.
Cat 6 lead authors: WU cofounder Dr. Jeff Masters (right), who flew w/NOAA Hurricane Hunters 1986-1990, & WU meteorologist Bob Henson, @bhensonweather


text:
Backpackers Hostel Salta
Welcome to your home away from home, the oldest hostel in the north of Argentina and the only one in Salta with a swimming pool. Come and Join us!!
Availability & RatesTo view availability and prices please select dates and click 'Update Dates'
Hostel Facilities & Policies
- 24 Hour Reception
- 24 Hour Security
- Adaptors
- Airport Transfers
- Bar
- Bicycle hire
- Bicycle parking
- Book Exchange
- Free Breakfast
- Cable TV
- Café
- Card Phones
- Child Friendly
- Common Room
- Credit Cards Accepted
- Currency Exchange
- Telephone/Fax Facilities
- Free City Maps
- Free Internet Access
- Free WiFi
- Foosball
- Games Room
- Hot Showers
- House Keeping
- Internet Access
- Jobs Board
- Self-Catering Facilities
- Late check-out
- Laundry Facilities
- Linen Included
- Security Lockers
- Luggage Storage
- Meals Available
- Meeting Rooms
- No Curfew
- Outdoor Swimming Pool
- Outdoor Terrace
- Pet Friendly
- Pool Table
- Reading Light
- Reception (limited hours)
- Restaurant
- Steam Room
- Swimming Pool
- Taxes included
- Tea & Coffee Making Facilities
- Tours/Travel Desk
- Towels For Hire
- Towels Included
Cancellation PolicyThis property has a 1 day cancellation policy. Failure to cancel within this time will result in a cancellation charge equal to the first night of your stay.
DirectionsShow MapHide Map
The bus station is 15 minutes away, walking distance. The airport is 15 minutes away in taxi. 500 mts from City Centre. 900 meters from the main square. You can also take a taxi, will cost you not more than 40 ARS (us dollars: 3). From airport, it's about 130 ARS.
Hostel Address: 930 Buenos Aires st.
Contact us in case you need assistance, we're everyday at the bus station to help you out.
Located Near
500 mts from City Centre. 900 meters from the main square.
15 minutes walk from Bus Station. You can also take a taxi, will cost you not more than ARS 40 (us dollars: 3). From airport, it's about ARS 130.
Hostel Address: 930 Buenos Aires st.
In case you need assistance


text:
KathyChung, Wednesday September 1, 2010 - 11:28am
It's PRIZE DAY, ladies and gentlemen! I love prizes!
I dutifully put all the June-August registrations in a hat (aka a random number generator), to select a winner in the anti-procrastination draw.
What is this prize, you ask? What else, for writers? Books, of course! Beautiful books. Because if there's one thing every writer I know needs, it's more books in the TBR pile. The winner will be able to pick up her prize at our registration desk in October.
(Are you tired of waiting? Should I just tell you who the winner is?)
Congratulations to Elisabeth Hoekstra of Victoria, BC. Check your email, Elisabeth.
And thanks to all who got their registrations in early. You never know when I'll do another one of these (and I will), so don't delay. Register today!
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Oh well
Anonymous replied on Permalink


text:
Critical and Analytical Thinking
Pandora's Box
Maybe you have already heard that someone, a journalist, your teacher or parents, refer to a complex situation as a "Pandora's box".
What is a Pandora's box? Who is Pandora and how did she get that box? Did she open the box? Can you think of an example where you can use the phrase "to open a Pandora's box"?
Do your research about this topic, and then send your answers here.
Is This Entry Abusive?
| achuzcvgbfk from Bahamas
School: WPTOEwczyPE
|Report Abusive
|vFyD3y , [url=http://azzigtcefpph.com/]azzigtcefpph[/url], [link=http://upyulvgpitzg.com/]upyulvgpitzg[/link], http://yjvkgkvukakw.com/


text: Today at Broomfield Target I scored Veers, Derlin, snowtrooper, and power droid! They had several of each (but only one power droid, I think) as well as plenty of the Carkoon wave. I still want the AT-AT Driver and R2-D2, but they didn't have those. They did have a Vader but I passed.


text:
Commuting to Work: Non-Compensable - The Maryland Guide to Wage Payment and Employment Standards
Time spent traveling or "commuting" to work is non-compensable (not payable). This is true, even where an employee must drive a long distance. However, as stated in the previous section, once reporting to work (such as to the employer's shop or office, or any other place an employer requires an employee to report), the employee must then be paid for the time necessary to travel to a work site or to accomplish some other mission the employer assigns.


text:
Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics: Can Conflicting Data Slow Down Green Living Efforts?
May 25th, 2012 | by Guest Author
There's no doubt that some opposed to environmental action fudge statistics to their advantage. But can large differences in data from like-minded organizations also undermine widespread efforts to "go green" by ordinary people


text:
Family: Geomyidae, Pocket Gophers view all from this family
Description Various shades of brown that vary according to soil color. Short, nearly naked tail.
Dimensions 215-324mm, 57-120mm, 135-208g
Habitat Forests & woodlands, Grasslands & prairies, Meadows & fields
Range Southeast, Florida
Discussion Only gopher in range. Inhabits deep, sandy soils in long-leaf pine forests. Can be a pest in orchards and lawns.


text: Weekend mornings may be the default, albeit traditional time to make griddled things like pancakes and waffles, but this recipe is so quick and easy you can really make them any day of the week. I like to use multi-grain bread to make French toast (my favorite comes from Trader Joe's). The honey in this recipe is optional, but I think it adds some welcome sweetness ...Read More »


text:
Please complete the fields below to request the Microsoft Tour and Campus Visit for students interested in computer science, management information systems, computer or electrical engineering, or business-related fields.
We ask that you submit your request at least one week in advance. After your request is processed, a confirmation including a detailed schedule, campus map and parking information, will be mailed to your home.
Please contact our office if you are a person with a disability and desire assistance.
Contact our office if you have specific questions or requests. Contact us at email@example.com or call toll-free 800-488-NDSU or 701-231-8643.
NDSU will be closed on Monday, May 29, in observance of Memorial Day.


text:
From today's New York Times on-line.
Taken together, these freshmen senators are a case study in how the conservative movement remains split over how best to employ America's power in the world.
Both are grappling with how to reconcile the aggressiveness of the neoconservatives, the fervor of the evangelicals, the warnings of overextension by fiscal conservatives and the efforts by traditional Republican "realists" to impose a more pragmatic, less ideological lens onto the party's approach. And with seats on the Foreign Relations Committee alongside advocates of assertive American foreign policy like Senator John McCain of Arizona, they have a platform to air their views, as they did this week in hearings on the security failures that led to the deaths of Americans at the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, and on the nomination of Senator John Kerry to be secretary of state.


text:
Web Stories
Harvard scholar to present on Tocqueville
Monday through Wednesday, March 24-26, 2008, 4:30 p.m. · 1 Robertson Hall
Posted March 20, 2008; 10:05 a.m.
Harvey Mansfield, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Government at Harvard University, will present a three-part lecture series on "Tocqueville's New Liberalism" at 4:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, March 24-26, in 1 Robertson Hall.
His topics for each day will be:
- March 24 -- "America's First Cause."
- March 25 -- "Forms of Greatness in Democracy."
- March 26 -- "The Mild Despotism of Rational Control."
In 2004, Mansfield received the National Humanities Medal from President Bush and, in 2007, he delivered the Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, the highest honor the federal government bestows for distinguished intellectual and public achievement in the humanities.
His presentations are part of the James Madison Program's Annual Charles E. Test M.D. Distinguished Visiting Scholar Lecture Series.


text:
Sometimes the best things in life are simple and unexpected. This summer, when I mentioned to a friend that we were crossing the island on our summer vacation with the children, he took a key off his key ring and passed it to me.
"I've got a place in Bishop's Falls," he said. "It's right on the Exploits. You're welcome to stay there."
"Wow," I said. "How will I find it?"
"It's on the main road and it's green," was his reply.
What I didn't know then but know now is that Bishop's Falls is basically one long snake of a road bordering the mighty Exploits for over 10 kilometres. We would have no trouble finding his house.
I have been travelling by car across the province since the 1970s. In all that time I had never stopped in Bishop's Falls. It sounded like an adventure.
After spending the afternoon of July 23 at Splash 'n' Putt (or "Spend 'n' Putt," as my husband calls it) near Terra Nova, it was early evening by the time we pulled off the Trans-Canada onto Main Street in Bishop's Falls. The wall of heat that hit us when we hopped out of the van was reminiscent of when we stepped off the plane in Havana, Cuba. Who knew Newfoundland could get so hot?
Luckily, my friend's green house had a lovely deck overlooking the Exploits and we were able to sit out with ice-laden lemonade and enjoy the sights. After dark, what a surprise to hear 30 or so fishing boats, complete with lights, parading down the river towards the old railway trestle, where a shower of fireworks lit up the night.
Now, I say "old" railway trestle but I don't mean old as in some rinky-dink thing to be ignored. The trestle in Bishop's Falls is a massive expanse of steel and granite that spans almost 1,000 feet. Built in 1901, it has been transformed into a boardwalk since the demise of the railway.
The next morning, we awoke refreshed and ready to follow the rail bed to the trestle. Did I mention how hot it can get in Bishop's Falls? We were sweltered. We passed dried up frogs on the path.
The trestle was worth the heat. By the time we crossed it and were on the rebound, we stumbled upon the best thing yet. Bev Welsh's Ice Cream Parlour rose out of the heat on Main Street like a mirage of cream and cola.
Children who, minutes earlier, were doubtful they could take another step, ran to the door, only to discover the shop didn't open until later. Nos. 3 and 4 almost melted on the step. But then, miracle of all miracles, Bev noticed their parched tongues lying on her stoop and invited them in.
No. 3 revived significantly after five scoops of Cookies 'n' Cream. No. 4 could barely finish her scoop and a half, it was so big.
Bev's Ice Cream Parlour is impeccably clean. I challenge anyone to find an ice cream shop in this province as sparkling. It's decorated in "Happy Days" style with black and white tiles and vintage Coke displays.
This was the ice cream find of a lifetime. We would have pulled off the TCH years before had we known that Bev's sign on the highway meant such decadent delights as real freshly blended strawberries and bananas in frozen yogurt.
The ice cream parlour definitely warranted another visit. The second time we didn't come off the dusty trail, but rather the spectacular playground and fitness track known as the Bishop's Falls Memorial Park. Built in August 2010 with the Let Them be Kids volunteer program, the whole community came together to lend a hand in clearing ground, laying foundations and building the park. Children worked alongside adults raking the soil and installing equipment. Surprise Baby wanted to live out his days there. And I was able to swing my legs back and forth on the elliptical while chatting with locals doing laps of the walking track that circumnavigates the park.
By the time we got to Bev's heavenly palace it was super-busy, as I assume it often is in the summer in tropical Bishop's Falls. Bev was nowhere to be seen, but younger staff members were efficiently scooping up cones, keeping the line moving and hot customers happy. No. 4 stuck to a kid's cone. None of that for No. 3. He inhaled another five-scoop special.
On our way back to my friend's house, the children witnessed their first Pentecostal Assembly outdoor drive-in service and commented that they can't imagine driving across the island without taking the exit into Bishop's Falls for a strawberry banana frozen yogurt at Bev's Ice Cream Parlour.
Susan Flanagan is a writer who learned that hockey players George and Alex Faulkner are from Bishop's Falls. Susan can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com
Canada Russia feedback
Ken Marshall writes: "I walked home from MQP down to Berteau Avenue through the swampy field (now the Salvation Army) and watched Game 8 with my mother. When Henderson scored the goal, she tipped over in her rocking chair in the family room with her hands still above her head clapping and cheering flat on her back. I don't think she noticed she had tipped over."
Susan Chalker Browne writes: "Your article took me back to Grade Nine at St. Pius X Girls School. During the '72 hockey series between Canada and Russia, I came home one evening to discover my brother and his classmates (Grade 8, St. Pius X Boys School) were watching the games on TV during school time. No such privilege had been offered to us girls. Promptly, the next morning, and on behalf of all my friends, I presented our case. Girls should be allowed to watch these games during school hours. All the boys were watching.
"The teachers looked at us, startled. But you girls aren't interested in hockey. Are you?
"Indeed we are, I proclaimed. (Although, to be honest, I was more interested in winning this battle.)
"That afternoon, a TV on a metal stand was rolled into our classroom. Don't ask me who won the game that afternoon. That's not what I remember."
John Durdle writes: "I am wondering … if any … items from the 1972 hockey game are worth anything? I have two pucks signed — one by Paul Henderson and one by Phil Esposito and the official Team Canada '72 pin. Also a picture of Paul Henderson signing a picture."
(Susan's note: If you can answer his question, contact John at firstname.lastname@example.com)
Notalivebackthen writes: "'I know in B.C. many teachers allowed students to watch Sidney Crosby score the Olympic gold medal winner in the final match against the U.S.' That was generous of them considering that game was on a Sunday."
(Susan's note: I know my friends in Surrey said their boss gave them time off to watch and schoolchildren were also allowed to watch games leading up to the final.)
Anon writes: "If there was a goal that everyone remembers, it was the one in '72. We all squeezed the stick and we all pulled the trigger."
Chris writes: "I think I was the only person in the Tick Tock Deli at the time!"
Lindsay writes: "On August 7th you wrote the story 'Yes you can' which focused on a project Based in Business that the SIFE team at Memorial University of Newfoundland developed and implemented in partnership with CYBF and the Prince's Charities Canada. I wanted to reach out to you about the team and let you know they (were at) the SIFE World Cup in Washington, D.C., (last) week to compete against other countries around the world showcasing this project and others which they have run throughout the year. … If you are interested in receiving updates on how the team is doing, please let me know."
Northwest Passage feedback
For those of you interested in the progress of Philos, the sailboat that cruised through the Northwest Passage this summer, here's a note from Roger, the captain, on Sept. 12:
"Hi Susan, as you must have realized I have had no email contact since Upernavik (in Greenland). Actually, it was already a problem at Ilulissat. As we rounded Point Barrow, Alaska, we started to get a signal again. The trip has been great but I will tell you the full story later, not now, I just wanted to say hello. As I write we are approaching the Aleutian Islands & from there we will head for Kodiak, Seward or Homer for the winter. Winter is coming on fast here & I am looking forward to stopping for a while. More when I get somewhere."
And again on Sept. 24: "We are at Sand Point in the Aleutian Islands and the weather is very wild. I think we will be held here until next Saturday at best, then we will head for Homer which is on the mainland almost opposite Kodiak Island. The snow has not started here yet but the bad lows keep coming across from Siberia making progress difficult. Our (communications) are back to normal again so that's good."
And this one from the young engineer on board, Scott Bishop: "Roger, Gerry, and I arrived in Nome, Alaska last week, and celebrated finishing the (Northwest) passage with some pizza and beer. The passage was an amazing experience with very good weather and lots of great adventures. Now we are trying to figure out where to store the boat for the winter. Nome looks like it will be difficult, so we are looking at places around Kodiak, Alaska — another 10-day sail, but it should be very beautiful and fun. When we arrived in Cambridge Bay the girl at the visitor centre found an article you had written on the Internet and was expecting us. It was a great article. I enjoyed it. Thanks again for all your hospitality. It was greatly appreciated, and hopefully I will get to see you again in Newfoundland or Nova Scotia."
Viking feedback
Yvonne Manning writes: "I was (in L'Anse aux Meadows) July 23 and Clayton was the first person I saw too."
Learning feedback
Tiffany writes: "Great to read articles about everyday lives of working parents with kids!"


text:
Manga List
Chapter List
Xen Founder Pratt: Project Will Stay on Top
As virtualization technology gets increasing attention from large enterprises, the founder of the Xen open-source project said on Wednesday that Xen will develop more quickly compared to competitors, including Microsoft and VMware."Microsoft [is] very much in catch-up," said Ian Pratt, chief science officer for XenSource and professor at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory. Speaking on the sidelines of LinuxWorld in ...
Read more...
How to Combat Wasted Storage Capacity
Companies are now faced with explosive data volumes, IT cost constraints and underutilization of storage and other burdens. Chargeback can help organizations align storage demands with business objectives.
Read more...
Network Appliance Adds Midrange Storage Platforms to Its Product Lineup
Network Appliance is introducing midrange network storage platforms Tuesday that it says pose a competitive challenge to storage devices from rivals EMC and Hewlett-Packard. The FAS3070 and V3070, at starting list prices of about US$115,000, are positioned between NetApp's midrange 3050 line and its high-end 6030 lines. The 3070s feature 64-bit encryption architecture, 16GB of memory, accommodate up to 504 ...
Read more...
Storage Spending Up 10% in Third Quarter
Enterprises are reaching deeper into their pockets to add data storage capacity to their computer networks, according to an industry report released Friday.Worldwide revenue for external disk storage systems rose to US$4.3 billion in the third quarter of 2006, a 9.9 percent increase compared to the same period last year, according to the research firm IDC.This is the 14th consecutive ...
Read more...
Privacy Policies
- These scanlation should be seen as nothing more than thumbthrough version which give you a means to checkout if a certain manga is worth the cash for it. PLEASE PURCHASE THE OFFICIAL RELEASES.


text:
I joined in February of '02.
I had been married for 5 months at that point and we had already bought our house, so I guess the high points are as follows...
Most importantly, my son was born in August of this year
Gotten 6 more papers published in Scientific Journals (8 total now; 2 more being written)
Spent 1000's of hours doing community service work with the Jaycees and became a local chapter president and a state vice president (twice now).
Sat on the committee that founded the Citizens Corp Chapter in my hometown.
Got qualified by the Red Cross to operate an Emergeny Evacuation shelter.
Was named one of the 10 Outstanding Young Americans for 2007 by the US Jaycees (I'm the last one on the list)
Presented posters of my research at 2 major meetings of scientists in my field and at 4 lesser meetings
Got a job doing what I love to do (AIDS research) and which I seem to be pretty good at.
Took a bath every day (except maybe 2 or 3)


text:
As a follow up to Suspiria and Inferno, The Black Cat is a strangely fascinating though ultimately flawed and trashy work. At times it plays out as a loving homage to the work of Argento, and indeed Mario Bava and many of the classic titles of Italian horror cinema, but Cozzi exhibits none of Argento's directorial panache, and while some of the lighting and music wouldn't seem out of place in an Argento film, The Black Cat is flat and awkwardly constructed. You must admit though, as cinematic oddities go, the premise is an irresistible one: wrapping up Argento's supernatural horror trilogy with a film about horror films could have resulted in a delicious deconstruction of not only Argento's body of work, but of Italian horror cinema in general. Sadly, this is not the case, as The Black Cat takes a fascinating concept and then proceeds to piss all over it with a terrible script, shoddy direction, ropey acting, awful dubbing and laser beams. Yup, this film has laser beams in it. And a character that discovers she can control time and space. Or something.
We're soon introduced to another director, Marc (Urbano Barberini), who discusses his new Three Mothers project with his wife Anne (Florence Guérin), who is set to play the main part, and he despairs at his reputation as the "king of spaghetti thrillers." Their dialogue is intercut with shots of an ancient, red-lit tomb as something stirs and emerges from its crypt. Later, when Marc and Anne invite the new project's writer and wife Nora (Caroline Munro), an actress who wants to play Levana, to dinner, they discuss the work of Argento and how their film will become the closing chapter to his Three Mother's trilogy. This scene could have been a sly, humorous and insightful discussion about Argento's impact on horror cinema. It isn't. While they do discuss the background of Suspiria, its source material (incorrectly accredited to the writing of Baudelaire), the figures of the Three Mothers and what makes them such compelling subjects, it could have been handled better. What should have been a tantalising deconstruction and reflexive critique of Italian horror just comes across as clunky exposition-heavy dialogue. Even so, to hear characters in a film discussing Suspiria and Dario Argento is, on a purely geeky level, really kinda cool.
|Cozzi's tacky incarnation of the Mother of Tears
The appearance of Levana in Cozzi's film contradicts what we know of her from Argento's films. Described in Suspiria and Inferno as the cruelest, but also the most beautiful of the Three Mothers, she appears in The Black Cat as a hideously deformed old crone with glowing red eyes. The make-up is laughably shoddy and she would have been much more effective and creepy had Cozzi relegated her firmly to the shadows. At times we only see close-up shots of her eyes, and these are more successful in conveying her mystery and otherworldly menace; if only Cozzi had stuck to revealing her in such subtle ways. There are actually a number of fascinating similarities between her various guises in The Black Cat and Argento's Mother of Tears, particularly the moment when Anne reads her husband's script (as Goblin's theme from Suspiria tinkles ominously in the background) and dons a veil to help her get into character. Anne's appearance is briefly very similar to how Levana looks in Argento's Mother of Tears where she was introduced very gradually, beginning with mere glimpses; a curled lip here, a glaring eye there, and she wears a dark veil concealing her face. I'm not suggesting that Cozzi's vision of Mater Lachrymarum had any influence on Argento, but here are a few images to illustrate my point.
|Anne dons a 'veil of crepe' in The Black Cat
|A teasing glimpse of Mater Lachrymarum in Argento's Mother of Tears
|Levana possesses Anne in The Black Cat
|Mater Lachrymarum has similar eye make-up in Mother of Tears
|Steele - resembling Argento's version of Mater Lachrymarum - in Mario Caiano's darkly gothic Nightmare Castle.
|Sybil, the 'good fairy' in The Black Cat
|Sarah's spectral mother in Mother of Tears
The conversation between Anne and Marc about the broken mirror evokes - albeit very weakly - the scene in Suspiria where Dr Mandel and Suzy chat about connections between the belief in the supernatural and the occult, and mental illness. Anne claims the mirror was broken into a million pieces when Levana burst through it to attack her; while Marc insists that she's just imagining things as she's so stressed and tired. Broken mirrors, broken minds. Ahem. A few other mildly interesting moments occur that distort the line between dreams and reality, but far from being used to explore Anne's increasingly fraught mindset, they just appear as lazy means to further on the ever-convoluted plot. It would have been interesting to apply the same reality/dream distortions to The Black Cat as say, those utilised in Wes Craven's New Nightmare, and to tease out a similar exploration of the effect of horror cinema on its audience, and indeed those involved in the production of horror films. When Marc and his writer meet with their potential producer, wheelchair-bound tycoon, Levin (a reference to Varelli in Inferno?), their conversation boasts a throwaway line that, if explored more thoroughly, could have been quite interesting and maybe opened up a 'cursed movie' narrative akin to John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns or David Lynch's Inland Empire. Levin says he has a feeling that when distributors hear about their Three Mothers project, they'll be "cutting each other's throats to get their hands on the film." What might have also been quite interesting would have been the revelation that the film studio they planned to use was actually built on the site of one of the three cursed dwelling places designed by sinister architect Varelli for the Three Mothers to reside in. Something like this would have helped enhance the link to Suspiria and Inferno, both of which also featured cursed buildings in which an evil witch dwelt.
Throughout the increasingly muddled plot, various characters are either violently bumped off (including one unfortunate victim whose heart explodes in her chest) or revealed to be under the control of Levana, and then violently bumped off. This aspect of the story, with normal people doing despicable things under the manipulation of an evil witch, also evokes memories of Suspiria and Inferno, and Argento himself would revisit this notion in Mother of Tears. Perhaps the most effective of these moments is when Nora is no longer of use to the witch and ordered to slit her own throat. These instances should help ratchet tension, with the increasingly paranoid Anne unsure of who she can trust, but all they do is feel undeveloped and eventually confusing. The pace picks up as Anne desperately attempts to reclaim her kidnapped baby as we rush towards the climax, which rather in keeping with those of Suspiria and Inferno (and indeed Argento's Mother of Tears), is a rather limp one. After the 'big' showdown between Levana and Anne, which consists of Levana shooting some lasers out of her hands and eyes, and Anne discovering her ability to control time and space, Marc shows up and unceremoniously impales the evil witch on a sharp pole. The final shot, perhaps designed to set up a sequel, is the icing on the trashy cake.
|Really, Luigi? LASERS??
The images included in this post are screengrabs I took from watching the film on YouTube. I tried to tweek them to make them less murky. They're still not great though. My obsessing over editing the images was definitely a labour of love; for while The Black Cat may be the bastard runt of the Three Mothers' litter, I still dig it.


text:
I'm not one of those people who assumes that just because somebody casually mentions they're thinking about running for governor of Maine in 2010, that they should be restrained, subjected to electro-shock therapy, and deported to someplace where they can't do any harm.
North Korea, maybe. Or Miami.
Just kidding about the second one. Even I'm not that cruel.
As incumbent Democratic Governor John Baldacci gets fitted for webbed feet, a large yellow bill, waterproof wings, and a crutch, I welcome his potential replacements, who are beginning to emerge from the primordial slime of politics at the larval level.
With the Blaine House race wide open in '10, the candidates will be as numerous as ticks on a moose. Over the next two years, these proto-pols will be exploring their metamorphosed forms, testing their new wings, and making tentative blood-sucking noises through their proboscises.
So slap on the DEET, because here comes a rundown (in more than one sense of the word) of some of the likely — and unlikely — contenders, starting with the Democrats.
Outgoing Attorney General STEVEN ROWE of Portland (disclaimer: my wife is an assistant attorney general) is smart, experienced (in addition to his eight years as AG, he's a former speaker of the Maine House and a retired US Army captain), a competent manager, and severely charisma-impaired. He's likeable — if you can stay awake.
MAJOR DRAWBACK In 2007, his wife, Amanda Rowe, was a leading advocate for the Portland School Committee's controversial decision to allow some middle-school students to obtain birth control without parental consent. Expect the religious right to focus on that issue to the exclusion of all others. Rowe will have to be alert to keep the wackos from defining his candidacy as being about letting kids having sex.
JOHN RICHARDSON of Brunswick is also a lawyer, a former House speaker, and a person who tends to cause attention deficits whenever he opens his mouth. He currently serves as Baldacci's economic development commissioner, which may not be such a great platform for campaigning, at a time when development has pretty much ground to a halt. Richardson devoted a lot of his legal career to representing unions and can count on strong support from organized labor.
MAJOR DRAWBACK During the 2006 gubernatorial race, Richardson held a loopy press conference attacking Republican nominee Chandler Woodcock for a bunch of stuff that made no sense. Once he declares his candidacy, expect that video to show up on YouTube.
Conservation Commissioner PATRICK MCGOWAN also has an impressive resume — legislator, congressional candidate who nearly knocked off Olympia Snowe, New England director of the US Small Business Administration. He may give up a little to Rowe and Richardson in the intellect department, but he's a far more engaging campaigner.
MAJOR DRAWBACK Earlier this year, McGowan was investigated by the feds for allegedly helping friends hunt moose illegally by spotting the beasts from a plane. He was cleared, but that won't matter to the rumor mill.
Term-limited state Senate President BETH EDMONDS of Freeport was effective enough to get some business done in a chamber nearly equally divided between Democrats and Republicans. Edmonds has deep roots in her party's left wing, particularly among social-service types, who can be influential in a Dem primary. As a campaigner, she has a hard time controlling her inherent wonkiness.
Table of Contents
Cover Archive
Masthead | Authors | Contact us
See all articles by:
All Slideshows


text:
Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor, and puree until smooth and creamy. Serve with Eden Brown Rice Chips or warm tortillas.
Per serving - 37 calories, 0 gram fat (1% calories from fat), 2 gram protein, 7 gram carbohydrate, 2 gram fiber, 0 milligram cholesterol, 67 milligram sodium


text:
Journalism Faculty
Contact InformationOffice: Walker 6th Fl.
Phone: 1-617-824-8805
yaacoub_hallak [at] emerson.edu (E-Mail »)
Yaacoub Hallak
Affiliated Faculty (2009)
M.Ed. Cambridge College
Ph.D. Union Institute and University
Dr. Yaacoub Nicholas Hallak focused on aviation and aeronautical engineering in his early education and career, but later turned his attention to business, education, political science, history, historical musicology, and culture.
He started his career as an International Airline Pilot at Middle East Airlines, Air Liban on Boeing-707, B-720, Caravelle, and trained on B747 Jumbo Jet. Moreover, he passed the Flight Engineer, General and Turbo Jet B-727 FAA Exams. He was also the Vice President of the Chopin Society of New England and the Education and Musicology Advisor at the Chopin Conservatory of Music. He ran various International trade corporations and small businesses. He taught at Cambridge College, Quincy College, North Shore Community College, Year Up, and Dean College. His primary areas of interest include international affairs, International news, foreign policy, intercultural communication, historical musicology, and culture.