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The Convention Follies, Part 5: A Conversation with Jane Jacobs
by Hank Bromley
[This is the fifth in a series of articles about the convention center controversy. Previous articles in the series are available at http://www.gse.buffalo.edu/fas/bromley/CCS/.]
Even thoughor perhaps becauseshe has no formal training whatsoever in architecture or planning, Jane Jacobs has utterly transformed the field of urban planning. Born in Scranton in 1916, she observed first-hand the demise of a regional coal-dependent economy and the towns it formerly sustained. A series of writing and editing jobs in New York City bred a lifelong fascination with cities: how they function (or fail to) as living, complex webs of relationships in dynamic balance; their fundamental role in economic life; the parallels in the behavior and needs of urban economies and natural ecosystems.
Her first and most famous book appeared in 1961. The Death and Life of Great American Cities was a frontal assault on urban policy of the time. Its first sentence reads "This book is an attack on current city planning and rebuilding." No mere "quibble" over technique, the book denounced the very "principles and aims that have shaped modern, orthodox city planning and rebuilding." Professional planners were dismissive of the unlettered upstart. The New York Times reviewer, on the other hand, called it "the most refreshing, provocative, stimulating, and exciting study of this greatest of our problems of living which I have seen." As discussed in Part 2 of this series (Artvoice v11n6), the book illustrated the importance of densely interwoven, diverse, mixed-use streetscapes, full of varied pedestrian traffic and indigenous vitalitypolar opposite of the prevailing (and since discredited) Garden City model of "urban renewal" that bulldozed communities and scattered new high-rise residential structures across plains of greenery, replacing the "chaos" of traditional city life with tidy sterility. In the years following the books appearance, Jane Jacobs helped lead a successful community campaign to block a Robert Moses plan for just such a project in her beloved Greenwich Village neighborhood.
In 1968, with two draft-age sons, she and her husband moved their family to Toronto, where she has lived ever since, continuing her writing and her local activism. Her books since then have included The Economy of Cities (1969), on the processes of economic growth and decline, The Question of Separatism (1980), on Quebec and sovereignty, Cities and the Wealth of Nations (1984), on the primary role of cities in regional and national economies, Systems of Survival (1992), on the two moral systems of business and politics, and her current book, The Nature of Economies (1999), analyzing economies as a form of natural ecosystem, developing according to the same principles.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Jane Jacobs about her work, the shared features of economies and ecologies, the nurturing and abuse of cities in general and Buffalo in particular, and convention centers; Tim Tielman, executive director of the Preservation Coalition of Erie County, joined us. Following is a slightly condensed version of our conversation. JJ=Jane Jacobs, HB=Hank Bromley, TT=Tim Tielman.
HB: I thought Id start by asking how you started writing about cities and what makes them work.
JJ: Well, I really explain all that in the Introduction to The Death and Life of Great American Cities. In brief, I was working for an architectural magazine, and I became dismayed at how unrealistic the plans that I was writing about were. I saw that they didnt really make very magnetic or attractive city areas; people seemed to shun them instead of enjoying them. And then I was fortunate in having a good mentor who had been thinking about the same things, the head worker of a settlement in East Harlem. And he got me thinking along the lines of how city streets work.
HB: In ways that professional planners hadnt really been considering?
JJ: No, they didnt like the street.
"Progress occurs funeral by funeral"
HB: What was the reception to Death and Life when it first came out? I had heard that it was initially treated quite negatively by the professionals.
JJ: Well, it divided into two startlingly different kinds of reception. I got a very good public reception. The planners hated it. The architects were divided.
HB: What determined the nature of the division, which side one came down on among the architects?
JJ: I used to wonder about that, and I decided there were foot people and car people. I treated that in the later Introduction I wrote for the Modern Library edition of Death and Life.
[She wrote there that "foot people," who prefer to walk, found the book to corroborate their ownfrequently devaluedexperiences, and responded enthusiastically. "Car people" had no such reaction. Since architecture schools of the time were vehemently anti-foot, the foot people among the students found the book wonderfully subversive, as it exposed the unworkability of the ideas behind the form of education they were enduring.]
JJ: What Ive just explained, about the reception of it, was for when it came out. It doesnt hold for now. There are quite a lot of planners who like it now.
HB: Yes, I was going to ask about that, as well. Its been half a lifetime for you since you wrote that, and indeed for many of the readers an entire lifetime since it was written
JJ: Yes, more than a lifetime
HB: So I was wondering what kinds of things have changed in that time about your own understanding of the topics discussed there, and in the reception.
JJ: Well, its a generational difference in the reception. Somebody said "Progress occurs funeral by funeral," and I think thats basically what happened. There were a lot of planners who never could embrace this view, but they retired; they died, a lot of them, and a new generation saw things differently.
HB: So these days its treated as a classic text, really, but it seems the policy-makers dont get it yet. Why is it so hard for the people making decisions about how to run cities, outside the planning profession, to grasp what makes their own cities work?
JJ: Thats a very good question, because it is puzzling. The people they represent, the public, seem to be ahead of them, by and large. I think maybe we have to reach the sad conclusion that policy-makers are old-fashioned and behind in getting it, in understanding things. They take received knowledge and often dont test it against reality; they just assume it never changes. I dont know how to explain it, its a strange obtuseness.
Failed policy and the neglect of local resources
TT: People meeting people seems to be an essential characteristic of why cities exist, the need for people to come together, and I think the argument for public subsidy of convention centers is "Whats more fundamental to cities than people getting together?" What would the proper role for
JJ: I think youve jumped to the wrong conclusion. Thats called teleological thinking: people do get together in cities, but its not because they decide "Well, were going to get together and well have a city." No, you have to have work in a city, or you have to draw a whole lot of taxes or tribute of some kind. Essentially, cities are economic units, and from those economic circumstances you get various social things, but you have started that train of thought altogether wrong by saying the reason for the cities, if I understood you, is for people to get together. Thats like saying the reason for plants is to use the rainfall.
HB: The plants show up where theres good rainfall for them to use, and cities appear where theres a good reason for people to get together.
JJ: And they persist where theres a good reason for them, and if they lose those economic reasons, they begin to dwindle away. Thats been one of your troubles in Buffalo.
HB: Yes, in one of the footnotes to Nature of Economies you briefly mention Buffalo and why you think our economy has dwindled. Given our position now, as a city that has fallen on hard times, what kinds of actions would be appropriate for local officials to take, that would promote the conditions for the kinds of activities that we do want to see?
JJ: Well, you cant decide ahead of time what activities you want to see. Economic life is full of surprises, and if you decide what youre going to base your economy onwhat do you have to think about? Things that already exist. Youre ruling out innovation right away, and yet innovation is of the essence for a live and prospering economy. And thats a very important thought for Buffalo, because as I see it, the beginning of Buffalos decline economically was it becoming too much of a branch plant sort of city, depending not on innovation that came from itself, or that grew organically from what it was already doing, but copycat stuff, or bestowed stuff. It stopped being an original city. And those things die away, and if the custom, or the spirit of a citys self-confidence and its innovation and its belief in its own people has in the meantime been lost, theres nothing to depend on for the future. Thats the sort of thing I think has happened in Buffalo and I think is illustrated by this cavalier attitude toward disposing of things that have been engendered locally, that are the kind of innovation and local initiative that Buffalo desperately needs. And the idea that such things should be despised or treated with contempt or ignored, in favor of some copycat thing that has nothing to do with local innovation, is very disturbing.
HB: What are the kinds of local resources you have in mind that we should be building on rather than
JJ: The kinds of things that I read in Hanks article about the existing businesses in the district the convention center is planned for [Part 3 of this series, in Artvoice v11n9], these are the things that are the economic treasure. They come out of the city itself, they come out of the people itself. And there was a time when Buffalo had a lot of originality, you can tell that from the architecture and from the public amenities that are left.
HB: So if you cant predetermine what the economic drivers are going to be
JJ: No, who predicted in Seattle, for instance, when they thought their whole economy hung on what happened in Boeing, who predicted that computers and Microsoft its impossible.
HB: Right, so if these developments have to arise out of the efforts of individual innovators, what role can the government play in promoting the right sort of conditions to enable that?
JJ: The government often needs to remove barriers of one sort or another, and certainly not destroy these things. That was the great tragedy of urban renewal, that so much was destroyed, and lots of cities simply havent recovered from it. Its taken New York a long time to recover. Its healing itself now, New York City. Newark, not at all yet. Cities can destroy themselves beyond a point of no return, if they just become inert and dumb.
HB: By trying to copy ideas from elsewhere rather than building on whats unique about them and growing their own ideas?
JJ: And valuing the ideas of their own people.
Destructive uses of money
TT: The convention center project proposed in Buffalo right now shares a lot of the features of bad old urban renewal projects
JJ: Yes
TT: And Im wondering if the reason for that is that the underlying laws, the funding and everything, is still based upon the 1940s legislation and elected officials simply find it easier to follow the path of least resistance to the money, rather than pay attention to, or get educated about, what actually makes cities work.
JJ: I think that youve got it. If the inducements of the money werent there, the subsidies of one sort or another, I dont think wed be bothered by this nonsense.
TT: Now, is one of the problems with urban development that money is available? If it were a free market, and cities had to make do as they had for millennia in the past, wed actually have better cities than with this government intervention we have now?
JJ: Yes, except with qualifications. There are certain things that cities do need to finance in a public way, in fact that any settlement needs to. You cant rely just on moneymaking activities in the private sector to supply everything. I hate to keep sounding like an advertisement for my books, but I went into this in a book called Systems of Survival, in which I separated the worlds of work into guardian operations, which have to do with territorythat means politics, religion, all the things that people have to do who are responsible for administering or guarding territory, and providing public amenities for itand the other division is what is usually referred to as the private sectorcommerce, manufacturing, banking, that sort of thing. When the two get mixed upits sometimes inevitable that they do, but mostly its not, and in every case its hazardous to mix themthey get corrupt, and they get skewed in non-functional ways. The urban renewal kind of subsidies are a terrible example of mixing this sort of thing, so that the politicians youre talking about, the policy-setters, theyre really guardians, theyre really territorial administrators, but they have provided monetary incentives for the private sector to do things it wouldnt do otherwise, and thats a mess.
[These comments should not be taken as a blanket condemnation of all subsidies. In Death and Life, she draws a careful distinction among kinds of subsidies, promoting some while criticizing others. She says subsidies given to builders and developers to construct segregated housing for low-income tenants have led to the public housing disasters so many cities are now tearing down; that would presumably qualify as "monetary incentives for the private sector to do things it wouldnt do otherwise." But she does advocate subsidies to individual tenants (residents and businesses), so that the market could still determine what kinds of structures were needed where, while the government stimulated diversity by helping people who otherwise couldnt afford it get into the gamewithout creating ghettoized all-subsidy districts, since tenants would be renting units alongside those paying full price. She also recommends subsidies for rehabilitation of existing buildings.]
Essential webs of diversity
TT: One of the justifications for the site chosen for the convention center is that, "Well, the buildings, they kind of look junky (even though theyre mostly occupied), the people who live in the hotels are not the kind of people we want downtown, the businesses are just small ones, and anyway, what we could do is move everyone out, give them a new place of business elsewhere in the city or in some industrial park, and the peoplewell, theres plenty of other housing available." Is there some value, above and beyond the wages paid by a business and the supplies they buy within the local economy, in having them in a particular place within a city?
JJ: Yes, they are not dopes about where they locate. You cant put them in the boondocks and expect them to operate the same. Location in a city is very important, and being in a central location is most important for the small businesses, because they arent as self-sufficient. You can look at downtowns, which are the most economically intense parts of cities, not only in New York State or in America, but all over the world, and what do you find? If its a lively place, if its not dying, if its windows arent all boarded up, what you find is its full of small enterprises. This is not an accident. Its telling you something. The cities grow in a way that we can only call organic, in the sense that one thing depends on another and another and anothertheyre webs of mutual support. And if they dont have that, they die away. You cant make a downtown like a one-crop plantation and get anything out of it. One trouble with having great massive things, like a convention center, smack in the middle where small things were flourishing, is that it turns an area that had diversity and variety and opportunity of many kinds in itsmall kinds, but many kindsinto something resembling a one-crop place.
HB: So the effect of putting an enormous single-purpose entity within this fine network of the city core is the same as putting a huge field of a single crop in the middle of an ecology: it renders the whole thing essentially sterile, incapable of generating anything new.
JJ: Thats right, and wow, watch out when a disease hits that one thing.
HB: It no longer has the resilience of the natural system that relied on the interdependence of many different ingredients.
JJ: Right. Buffalo has many examples of that. Look at all the grain-handling infrastructure. You know, all these special uses, no matter how big and impressive, theyre temporary. Life is temporary.
HB: One of the common themes across your books seems to be the value of difference, of heterogeneity.
JJ: Oh, absolutely. Thats where all the safety lies, where the future lies, where expansion lieshealthy expansion.
HB: Youve suggested that not only is that how nature works, and how cities worksince cities are a part of naturebut that its the way things work for humans as well.
JJ: Yes.
HB: So one thing thats hard for me to understand is how it is that for a lot of peoplesetting aside those of us who love cities and are drawn to the difference and the tension and the dynamisma lot of people tend to be suspicious of the different, to want to withdraw into homogeneous communities, and avoid outsiders or even vilify outsiders. You see the ethnic conflict of the outsiders being "bad." Where does that come from?
JJ: Thats right, thats their problem and its a sad problem, but you cannot make cities to accommodate that.
HB: Right, but why, if this is the way of nature, and this is whats good for usthis heterogeneity and mixinghow is it that so many people end up repulsed by it, and preferring to withdraw into some homogeneous community?
JJ: Well, theyve had bad experiences. And they havent had much good experience with diversity and variety. But now, this connects with the convention center thing. The cities that are successful with conventions are not successful primarily because they build a hall. Its because its the kind of a city people want to go to.
HB: Right, they dont have a lot of conventions in New Orleans because of the convention center, but because people want to come to New Orleans anyway.
JJ: Thats right, and people say "Oh, hooray, were going to have a convention in such-and-such," or "Oh my god, were going to go to Milwaukee"whatever. People are looking forpeople who go to conventions, people who visit other citiesare by definition looking for something different from where they live. In fact, they complain that the airports are all the same, they complain about "Oh, its no different from being home." The great tourist attraction places are full of surprises and diversity and differences from what people may normally have.
HB: And they appreciate that when they go on vacation. Yet when they choose a place to liveI have colleagues who will come join the university as faculty, and many will choose to buy a place out in the suburbs, where it looks just like where they came from. Theyll see all the same stores; its interchangeable. And some say thats great, because its predictable, and they know what theyre getting into, and its familiar, and its comfortable. Others of us look at that and say "Its sterile and lifeless, and I want to be surprised, I like unpredictability.
JJ: Yeah.
HB: But we seem to be in the minority. So many people are moving to the suburbs and cities are losing population.
JJ: Well, not all of them. The ones that are really healing and are liveliest are gaining population now. These things change. One thing you can be sure of is life is not going to go on the same. Every once in a while, a generation comes along that just cant stand what the previous ones did. Victorianism came to an end that way, and its one reason so many wonderful Victorian buildings were destroyed later. There was a real hatred for Victorianism. And yet it had been the thing for several previous generations. A lot of people are more adventurous than that, they dont want just the culture that was handed down to them, and if it seems too oppressive to them and too pervading to them, they really get nasty about it. I dont think thats changed, and you cant predict when its going to happen and what its going to be.
HB: So at some point you think theres going to be a reaction against the suburbanization, and the malling of America?
JJ: Yes, sure there is. In fact, a lot of malls are now going out of business. Probably because there were too many of them, and because people are bored with them. You know, people get bored, and one thing that your colleagues of all kinds probably have in common is that they hate boredom, and some of them get bored sooner than others.
HB: So in time, hopefully people will recognize what the more diverse and heterogeneous environments offer, and turn back to that? And turn against the sameness and homogeneity of the suburban style of development?
JJ: You dont have to say "hopefully," its bound to happen. Itll happen whether you want it to or not.
Cars and downtown retail
HB: You mentioned that some malls are losing business and closing. One of the other issues thats caused strong feelings in Buffalo is the loss of retail activity downtown. Some years ago, before I moved here, one of the strategies that was tried was to convert Main Street to a pedestrian mall and to build the light rail system down the center of the street and stop car traffic.
JJ: This was another imported idea that didnt arise in Buffalo. Your policy-makers saw it in some other places, and "Okay, well try that in Buffalo." So it didnt grow out of Buffalo, it was an applied, artificial thing.
HB: There have been proposals to reopen Main Street to car traffic again. I know youre not a big fan of cars, but do you think in this case that would be a helpful move?
JJ: I dont know Buffalo well enough to answer that in detail, but I can tell you this: The trouble with cars on a main street is not cars per se. In fact you have to have some for servicing and all that. The trouble is cars to which everything else is sacrificed. And how is everything else sacrificed? Well, the roads are made too wide, too hard to cross. The cars are allowed to go too fast. Too much parking is provided. Those things are not necessary for allowing cars on a main street. Disneyland out in California gives you some lessons about this. It has streetcars and other conveyances running through those little streets. They go slowly; the streets are easy to cross; the parking is all somewhere else, not cutting up the interesting places people want to be. Those are good principles for any main street that you want to be good for business. You can have cars there, but they cant be racing through. You can have the street, but it cant be unfriendly to pedestrians.
HB: Were seeing that debate played out near the edge of town, also on Main Street, where the original campus of the university is. The state transportation department came in with a plan to widen the street and smooth the traffic flow and synchronize the lights, and it was exactly the issues youre talking about: do we displace everything else to make it optimal for the cars, or do we try to maintain the pedestrian traffic and help the retail businesses with wide sidewalks and so on?
JJ: Well, thats what transportation departments do. The reason cities need so much transportation, somebody has said, is not to move so much, as to exchange things. Thats what cities are all about, exchanging.
HB: And whats the implication of that for what transportation departments
JJ: If you begin to think its all about movingits like magic carpets, getting from here to there the fastest way possible and skipping everything in betweenyoure missing the point.
HB: It just moves you through from one place to another, but the point is what happens while youre there.
JJ: Thats right.
Local exchange as the source of wealth
HB: That reminds of what I take to be one of the main points of the current book, The Nature of Economies, that whats important for an economy isnt so much the wealth that gets pumped in from the outside, but how efficient the region is at keeping that wealth local, and exchanging it back and forth, before it exits the region. So we shouldnt be looking so much at import and export rates, but the efficiency of re-use and exchange, just as in the biological sense, a rainforest works well and a desert does not, even if theyve got the same amount of sunlight and perhaps even similar soil, not because of the difference in inputs but because all the energy coming into the desert just bounces back out. One of the claims that we hear frequently from the main proponent of this convention center idea, getting back to that, is that building a convention center is a printing press for money. People come in from out of town and spend their money here.
JJ: Yes, and what do they spend it on here? What they spend it on is imported into Buffalo, and goes right out in their stomachs, or however. Its not going to help Buffalo much.
HB: Well, I suppose the argument is they spend it on staying in hotels, and
JJ: Well, they dont stay there long if they dont enjoy Buffalo.
HB: And then they buy things while theyre here, there are services that are needed to support them and the convention center, and those generate jobs, and the people who have those jobs then spend their money elsewhere. Isnt that the kind of local multiplier were talking about?
JJ: You know what? If this were a very good foundation for an economy, just this sort of thing, the Caribbean islands would be so rich, and all the people who live on Jamaica and Nevis and so on would be such rich people.
HB: And why arent they?
JJ: Because everythings imported and goes right out again.
HB: The example that occurred to me in reading that part of the book was maquiladora export processing zones, where if you just measure imports and exports, theres a tremendous amount of wealth passing through, but its just like the sunlight in the desert: its abundant coming in, and then it bounces out, and it doesnt bounce around within and get exchanged, with the opportunity to generate additional wealth with each exchange. It just passes right through.
JJ: Thats right. And you know, you could have said the desert is the way it is because it lacks the rain input. But one thing thats been discovered is that deserts are often made by the plants that had been there being all eaten up by goats or whatever [not by a reduction in rainfall]. And the deserts can be reclaimed by reestablishing the ensemble of plants; [the community] itself creates the conditions of survival.
HB: So, if you have something that has deteriorated into a desert, what kinds of stepsthinking again of the economy
JJ: Its pretty hard to get it back, its a very hard long-term thing if its really reached that stage. It can happen, but its much easier to stop it becoming a desert before it does.
Visitors and economic development
TT: One of the themes in Death and Life and some of your other books is the necessity of proximity, various pathways going to and from one block to another, short blocks, as creating conditions which allow economies to develop. The same argument is being used by some people regarding location of the convention center: it must be right on top of a convention center hotel, and it must be right on top of a burgeoning entertainment district, because thatll create synergy. And on the other side are arguments that a convention center can be located seven, eight blocks away, or a mile away, convention center attendees have different behavior patterns, and they will go further for entertainment, whereas someone working on a daily basis in a downtown needs something absolutely close at hand. Whats your feeling on that debate?
JJ: I think the idea of making a kind of compound for the out-of-towners, the convention people, and plunking it right in the middle of Buffalo, is terrible. If they get to like Buffalo, if they enjoy Buffalo, itll be because Buffalo is a place that its own people like, and its own people enjoy. Thats true of any city. People like to go to conventions in New York, because they can go to the theater and all those amazing restaurants, and find anything they want in a toy store, and so on. But that wasnt made for out-of-towners; out-of-towners share in it. The same could be said of Paris, or any great destination. The basis is the local use, and then the gravy is visitors use.
HB: You cant build local development around visitor use, then.
JJ: And when somebody gets a bigger convention center, or Buffalos falls out of favor, look how much will fall out of favor, in what a vital place [if its built downtown]. And you can be sure that it will. When you add up all the subsidies and tax forgiveness and destroyed things that really arent recompensedthey never have beenits very doubtful whether convention centers pay. Certainly not ones in ho-hum sort of towns.
HB: And its something that a great many cities have been convinced recently that they should be using as a strategy, so were looking at an incredible number of competitors who are expanding or upgrading their facilities at the very same time.
JJ: So expand it. You can have a convention center, but for heavens sake, dont do it where youre destroying what innovation you do have.
HB: That gets back to Tims initial question. If youre going to build it, against our advice, you can at least build it someplace where youre not displacing something else; build it on a parking lot or something thats abandoned.
JJ: Thats right, make it an addition to Buffalo, not a displacement. Dont act as if theres a zero-sum economy in Buffalo and if you add something youve got to take something equal away. You never get anywhere that way.
The "obstructionist" label
HB: One of the problems we face when we talk about preserving what we have thats already special and we oppose projects that
JJ: Youre called against progress.
HB: Thats right. Were obstructionist, were preventing progress, were looking backward, were just trying to prevent people from doing anything to get things started in Buffalo, even though when they recognize that Buffalo has been inert they say, "Well, we need to do something, like build a convention center."
JJ: You need to do somethingI hate to keep repeating myselfthats unique to Buffalo, that comes out of Buffalo itself. You dont want to keep acting like a company town.
HB: Again, it seems that it makes us susceptible to the charges of being obstructionist and selfishly preventing progress. Do we just put up with that, let them call us that, or do we have a way of countering it?
JJ: You put up with it, and you tell your side of things. Also, turn those arguments around. Dont be frightened by them, theyre not true in the first place, and in the second place, selfishness: for goodness sake, whos going to reap any rewards from this?
HB: Largely, it seems, it would be people involved in construction, lawyers and bankers involved in making financing arrangements, for whom if the thing fails, so much the better, because then we build another one ten years later and they profit all over again.
JJ: Sure. Show that theyre being selfish. Show that theyre being old-fashioned and repetitive and afraid of new and different things, and new and different ways of doing things. Why let them have all the arguments about progress and selfishness, which are specious? And dont mind if youre called names, you get thick skins. Dont be defensive, go on the attack. You have to explain why youre right, but you have to explain it aggressively.
The future
HB: I think weve covered a lot of the ground I had hoped to. To wrap up, in looking around at what you see these daysafter many years of observing the world and how it works, and what things change and why they changewhat gives you the most hope about the future, and what worries you the most?
JJ: The thing that gives me the most hope about the future is the young people. They dont know how hard it is to make change, or to improve things, and its a good thing they dont know how hard it is, because they have lots of energy and they often have lots of idealism, and they work at it. By the time theyve gotten tired, and they know how much effort it takes to move things a few inches, theres another generation coming along. Thats what gives me the most hope. That sounds so banal, but I dont know anything as hopeful as that.
HB: And what do you find most worrisome, what makes you anxious about the future, if anything?
JJ: I suppose the things that are done out of despair, and out of hatred. When I look at the worst mistakes of city planningto take one example, although I think this is true of any activityI marvel at how these policies were set by people who hate cities. You cant prescribe decently for something you hate. It will always come out wrong. You cant prescribe decently for something you despair in. If you despair of humankind, youre not going to have good policies for nurturing human beings. I think people ought to give prescriptions who have ideas for improving things, ought to concentrate on the things that they love and that they want to nurture.
HB: That certainly describes our group and our feeling about the city of Buffalo.
JJ: Thats right. If you have somebody who says "Oh, Buffalo is for the birds, and youve just got to go somewhere else to learn what to do" and so on, no, thats not good, nothing good will come of that. People who see what is good about Buffalo, and theres an awful lot that is good about Buffaloits a wonderful place with a wonderful heritage, goodness, its got a much better architectural heritage than Toronto does, its got a glorious architectural heritage, just go out on the streets of Buffalo and marvel at whats there.
HB: And thats what we should be building our revival around.
JJ: Thats right.
Hank Bromley teaches at the UB Graduate School of Education and is a member of Citizens for Common Sense. He can be reached at email@example.com


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Jobs boost as Microsoft's €380m Dublin data centre gets go-ahead
Microsoft has been given the go-ahead for a massive €380m data centre in Dublin that will employ up to 450 construction workers and result in 150 full-time jobs.
South Dublin County Council has just given the all-clear for the project, which will be Microsoft's fourth data centre in the Clondalkin area of Dublin. Construction works have been slated to begin next month.
It will bring to roughly €900m the amount of money Microsoft has spent on building data centres in Ireland.
It also further cements Ireland's credentials as a leading international location for data centres. A number of major global online giants, including Google and Amazon, have also based large data centres in Ireland that they use to deal with the growing demands of internet usage.
Microsoft's existing data centres are fast approaching their capacity ahead of the most conservative predictions made five years ago.
"With ever-increasing levels of online activity and ever-larger volumes of data, the global demand for data storage is increasing rapidly," according to Microsoft's planning consultants. The proposed facility will enable Microsoft to meet this demand."
It said that demand had been spurred by the increasing use of the internet for social and business life.
Microsoft, which was co-founded by Bill Gates, said it had selected Ireland for the new data centre largely due to climatic conditions and strategic business considerations.
"Due to the relatively cool climate in Ireland, data centre equipment requires significantly less cooling in Ireland," its consultants noted.
"As a result, data centres here require far less air conditioning and temperature control systems which have a high power demand and cost."
The huge new Microsoft centre will extend over 35,000sq m, or just over twice the size of the pitch at Croke Park, which is itself twice the size of a soccer pitch. Just over 13,000sq m of the space will be devoted to data storage, with the remainder comprising essentials such as electrics, maintenance and administration space.
The data centre will be built in two phases. The first phase of the project will begin next month and is expected to be complete by 2015.
While construction worker numbers on the site will hit a peak of 450, it's expected the average number during the building will be 250.
Microsoft paid South Dublin County Council €22m for the land on which the data centre will be located. The council has also said the technology giant must pay a €2.6m development contribution in respect of the centre.
Microsoft has been active in Ireland since 1985 and now employs 1,200 full-time staff here as well as 700 contractors. They play a key role in major Microsoft product releases.
On a visit to Ireland earlier this year, Mr Gates said the basic qualities of the Irish workforce and the country's attractiveness as a place to live remained evident despite the economic hardship that's been endured.
Irish Independent


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- Gender: male
- Member since: December 05, 2016
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- Occupation: model
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GraphicRiver Back to School Blackboard 5481212
Stock Vector \ Characters \ Miscellaneous
School \ Supplies \ Blackboard \ Illustration \ Template \ Student \ Welcome
Stock Vector - Back to School Blackboard 5481212 by alexjuve @ GraphicRiver
Stock Vector \ Characters \ Miscellaneous
Vector illustration of Back to school. Wrote in chalk on blackboard
Layered: Yes; Graphics Files Included: Vector EPS; Minimum Adobe CS Version: CS.
Set of 16 Social Networking Icons; Set of Shopping Icons; Medical Vector Icons; Web and Mobile Icons; Calendar Icons; Snowman; Christmas Winter Landscape.
Keywords: back, back to school, background, banner, blackboard, board, cartoon, chalk, chalkboard, class, color, design, draw, education, elementary, green, hand drawing, high, illustration, letters, poster, school, school supplies, student, supplies, template, text, welcome, wooden, writing.


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- Please select a date to see the proper prices!
Description of the accommodation:
Rooms, services Yingtan Sunshine Holiday Hotel - Yingtan would be glad to host you for a memorable journey in China. Guests looking for accommodation in Yingtan are welcome to book 121 nicely furnished rooms at the hotel. You are also welcome at the hotel for a fine local meal in the restaurant. You may check the most important tourist higlights by taking a car rental service. The local gym will provide a great opportunity to do sports and exercises. The bar provides a nice atmosphere for a romantic evening talk or a personal meeting. Your valuables may be the safely secured in the safe. The exact equipment and the exact list of available services of Yingtan Sunshine Holiday Hotel - Yingtan can be read on the information sheet below.
Payment For the reservation you may need to provide advance payment by credit card or credit card guarantee, depending on the exact date, room and price.
Arrival, opening hours The personnel can speak Chinese - China and English languages.
Yingtan Sunshine Holiday Hotel - Yingtan rooms Rooms
- Please select a date to see the proper prices!
Accommodation services
Relaxation: Fitness
Car rental nearby
- Finnish sauna
Bar, Elevator, Safe deposit box
Own restaurant
Fridge, Desk in the room, Mini-bar, Tea/coffee-maker


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Interested in Barbuda?
We'll send you updates with the latest deals, reviews and articles for Barbuda each week.
Topics include Dining Scene, Antigua and Barbuda: For Foreign Visitors & more!
Carnival is perhaps the most important celebration in Barbuda. It is deeply rooted in the history of the islands and it goes back to 1834 when slavery was abolished and Antiguans celebrated on the streets. This explosion of happiness was repeated over the years until 1957 when it was transformed into a more formal event and the first official Antiguan Carnival was celebrated.
Every August for 10 days, people take the street to dance and play music, there are parade and there is even a Carnival Queen pageant. The festival takes place at Antigua Recreation Ground and you need to purchase tickets to be part of the event. After ten days of celebration, the Carnival ends with a non ending party on the streets "J'Ouvert" on the following Monday in August.
There is schedule of main events for each of the ten days of the Carnival. They include a Female Calypso Competition, Queen of Carnival, and Parading of Bands among other events. For the current calendar of events, check out the festval's website at
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"This planned output will enable the Spanish giant to generate enough energy in Romania to supply nearly one million households, while also curbing yearly CO2 emissions by 2.6 million tons", the wind energy company said in a press release.
Iberdrola Renovables is implementing all its projects in Romania with the company Eolica Dobrogea (owned by the Swiss engineering group NEK and the Romanian companies C-Tech and Rokura). This company has been entrusted with the task of developing the projects – planning and obtaining the construction permits – while Iberdrola Renovables is responsible for constructing and operating the wind farms.
The company intends to begin construction this year on its first wind facility in Romania: the 80-MW Mihai Viteazu farm. This particular project does not fall within the new power concession granted by the Romanian government, but will also be located in the region of Dobruja. The farm is expected to be brought into service in January 2011.
Iberdrola Renovables opened its Bucharest office in 2009, as part of its ongoing plan to cement its presence in Eastern Europe. The company already has operating wind farms in Poland (161 MW) and Hungary (50 MW), and is working on projects in Estonia (where it is implementing the country's largest wind farm at 150 MW) and Bulgaria.
Iberdrola, with operations in 23 countries, is the world leader in its sector in both installed capacity (with nearly 11,294 MW at the close of the first quarter of 2010) and power output (over 6,812 million kWh).
Inregistreaza-te pe Wall-Street sau conecteaza-te prin Facebook pentru a primi periodic articole similare.
In lipsa unui acord scris din partea InternetCorp, puteti prelua maxim 500 de caractere din acest articol daca precizati sursa si daca inserati vizibil linkul articolului Iberdrola to operate 1,500MW wind power projects in Romania.


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(VAN NUYS, CA) -- Thursday Night, 14 November 2002, Classic Lady of Oz will sponsor a Charity Event to raise money for High Risk Teens.
The Charity event for the 14th November is being driven by some Top names within the Adult Film Industry.
The Adult Stars to donate their time and support to this worthy cause are (in alphabetical order)
Nikki Fairchild (NikkiFairchild.com)
Kaylynn (Kaylynn.com)
Devinn Lane (Devinn.com)
Tiffany Mynx (TiffanyMynx.com)
Casey Pink
Tabitha Stevens (TabithaStevens.com)
There will be giveaways, auctions, and of course beautiful exotic nude dancers for entertainment for the night. A multitude of Fantastic looking women.
The event was created both to raise money for High Risk Teenagers and have the public be made aware the adult industry as a whole is more than willing to contribute to community causes.
The owners of the Classic Lady of Oz explains "We always keep aware of what goes on in our communities and we try to put back something that hopefully will help someone. We are excited that the Adult Stars have come out to support these activities whole heartedly and we take our hats off to them. This is a tradition that the Club will try to maintain for the November and Holiday start. The Classic Lady of Oz has also structured a "Canned" food Drive for this month. In December, the Club is initializing a "Toy" drive for the Holidays. This is exciting for us to see everyone help out and give".
Doors open for the event at 9 PM (14 November) and the Classic Lady of Oz and expects the party to go on to at least 2 am. The party is for people 18 years and older with a valid I.D. The Classic Lady of Oz is located at 14626 Raymer Street, Van Nuys, CA.
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Cindy Starfall Appearances
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Tony Batman to Big Easy
Elizabeth Bentley Hits Circuit
Allie Haze in Columbus
Vivid NYC Nommed
Raven Bay at Exxxotica
Little Sassee Cassee in OK
Dee, Michaels in Alabama
Nikki Benz Headlines Ohio
Galaxy Stars to Exxxotica


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Award details
Dr. Steven G. Greenbaum has mentored minority students in physics for more than 20 years. His academic advisorship and mentoring role has supported the graduation of Afro-American physicists from MIT and from other prestigious schools. Also noteworthy is the outcome of his students professionally. His evidence of commitment is embedded in the achievement of his students. The emotional support and encouragement for minority students to study science has been meritorious; the work with minorities in science is, in general, remarkable and likely to be continued.


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Now universally acknowledged as one of our finest actors, Marlon Brando's career choices, methods and activism created controversy. The new biography by cultural scholar Susan Mizruchi brings together the disparate threads of the famed actor.
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New Delhi, April 25: Delhi is keeping its expectations low from the visit of US deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage.
The caution stems from uncertainty over the Bush administrations degree of willingness to use its leverage with Pakistan to ensure an end to cross-border-terrorism, a condition India wants fulfilled for reopening talks.
The Americans do have a huge economic leverage over Pakistan. But the million-dollar question is whether it is willing to use that leverage on the Musharraf regime, a senior South Block official said.
Armitage is scheduled to arrive in Afghanistan on May 6. For two days, he will discuss the situation there with President Hamid Karzai and other senior leaders.
He will then go to Islamabad on May 8. The next evening, he will be in Delhi. The day after, he will leave for Washington.
The question doing the rounds in Delhi is what more can Armitage offer other than what he did a year ago.
Last May, during his shuttle diplomacy between India and Pakistan, Armitage had assured Delhi that President Pervez Musharraf promised to completely stop infiltration across the Line of Control.
His assurance raised much hope in the Indian establishment, but the ground situation remained unchanged in the subsequent weeks.
You do not pre-judge the talks even before they have begun, a senior Indian diplomat said about Armitages coming visit. But we are not sure what more Armitage has to offer that will create the required atmosphere and lead to the resumption of India-Pakistan talks.
Assistant secretary of state Christina Rocca, disliked by many in India for her pro-Pakistan stand, will be accompanying Armitage. Some in Delhi believe her presence will not help the outcome of the visit to tilt in Indias favour.
Why blame Rocca' a senior South Block official asked. I think she has become the most convenient scapegoat in the US administration now.
According to him, if Washington was serious about ensuring an end to infiltration across the LoC by Pakistan, it would use its leverage especially the huge economic one with Musharraf.
Armitages main talks in India will be with foreign minister Yashwant Sinha. They will be meeting for the first time.
Yesterday, Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov spoke to Sinha and discussed the situation in South Asia after Vajpayees peace overtures to Pakistan.
Ivanov assured that Moscow continued to be with Delhi in its fight against terrorism and would support any move to bring peace to the region.
US ambassador Robert Blackwill, too, called on Sinha last afternoon.


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JBL Control 29AV1 Compact Speaker; Professional installed audio for your home or business.
Control 29AV1 from JBL has upgraded voicing for evenly flat, high fidelity performance. With an extended bandwidth and well controlled defined coverage you don't get with standard compact loudspeakers. Its high-frequency horn is adjustable allowing it to be used either vertically or horizontally. Ensuring excellent sound characteristics throughout its listening area these pro speakers are designed to maintain consistent coverage.
Magnetically shielded, the Control 29AV1 can be placed as close as 9 inches away from video monitors without the need to worry about visual distortion or damage resulting from prolonged exposure. With its top-quality line distribution transformer, this speaker can be run off of either 70V or 100V distributed speaker lines and its 8 ohm impedance allows multiple loudspeakers to be connected to a single line.
JBL Control 29AV1 Features
What started as a simple string and pedal sales catalog has grown exponentially over the past thirty years. The early days were a time where catalogs didn't have much of a presence in the industry, but what began as a college dorm room operation grew rapidly. In 1986 we moved to a full product offering and 64-page catalog, which over the years has grown to 162 pages. Join the AMS family and get your free catalog now!
Copyright © 1996-2017 American Musical Supply, Inc. All rights reserved. American Musical Supply reserves the right to correct pricing and/or product specifications in the event of typographical errors found in our print catalog or on our website. If a product is listed at an incorrect price due to such errors or because of inaccurate information received from a supplier, American Musical Supply shall have the right to refuse or cancel any orders placed, whether or not the order has been confirmed and your credit card charged. If your credit card has already been charged for the purchase and your order is canceled, American Musical Supply will issue a credit to your credit card account in the amount of the charge.


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Currently Reading
Gambino family associate Michael Scarpaci pleads guilty to stock scam
Written by Capo on October 09, 2010 in Gambino Family (NY)
"Christopher Moltisanti runs Sopranos Boiler Room Scam"
Michael Scarpaci hаѕ pleaded guilty tο running a "boiler room" stock scam frοm Staten Island. Scarpaci іѕ a reputed associate οf thе Gambino crime family Fed's claim аnd ran thе stock room scam frοm 2007 up until last spring. Scarpaci admitted іn Brooklyn federal court tο being іn control οf thе stock scam аnd plead guilty tο investment-adviser fraud. Thе Fed's claim thаt thе stock scam operation duped unknowing investors out οf $20 million dollars οr more.
Thе operation wаѕ known аѕ Gryphon Financial аnd wаѕ disguised аѕ being іn blue-chip trappings. Thеrе wаѕ even a website fοr thе operation whісh claimed іtѕ executives hаd educations frοm Harvard аnd Penn's Wharton school οf business. Thеу even рυt out brochures thаt offered phony reviews frοm a ѕο called billionaire called George Soros whісh stated "Alone thе traders οf Gryphon Financial аrе іnсrеdіblе, together thеу аrе unstoppable". Thе company claimed thеу wеrе located οn Wall Street аnd hаd offices іn places lіkе London аnd Australia bυt thеу really operated out οf a office іn a strip mall іn Staten Island.
Scarpaci whο Fed's ѕау showcased a real talent fοr selling stock called himself "Michael Stern" whіlе running thе scam. Thе phony firm even sent out investment newsletters аnd mаdе claims thаt thеу employed a whole team οf financial analysts аnd even hаd іtѕ οwn trading desk. Thеу even claimed tο hаνе іtѕ οwn hedge fund thаt hаd holdings іn excess οf $1.4 billion dollars. Bυt οf course none οf thіѕ wаѕ trυе. Thе Fed's ѕау thе firm wаѕ rυn аnd operated bу wiseguys аnd thеу used high pressure tactics whісh аrе illegal tο sell stocks tο unsuspecting investors whіlе charging thеm excessively high fee's.
Thе whole operation wаѕ a lot lіkе a scene straight out οf thе mob movie "Thе Sopranos" whеrе Christopher Moltisanti thе nephew οf mob boss Tony Soprano operated аn illegal pump аnd dump stock scheme fοr thе Sorprano crime family іn trυе boiler room fashion. Scarpaci whο іѕ already awaiting trial οn charges οf racketeering , extortion, illegal gambling , аnd loan-sharking іn аn unrelated case thаt involved various οthеr Gambino family associates аnd сουld bе facing life іn prison. Hе іѕ now аlѕο facing a possible five year prison sentence аnd a mandatory restitution οf аt lеаѕt $855,000 іn thе stock fraud case.
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Free eBook: Field of Screams (Matchmaker Mysteries Book 4)
Today's Free Kindle eBook: Field of Screams (Matchmaker Mysteries Book 4)
"Fans of laugh-out-loud romantic suspense will enjoy this author as she joins the ranks of Janet Evanovich, Katie MacAllister, and Jennifer Crusie."—Booklist*Perfect for fans of Janet Evanovich, Jennifer Crusie, and Katie MacAlister, Elise Sax's wickedly funny Matchmaker Mysteries series proves that the road to love comes with a few dead ends.*Gladie is back with the fourth installment of the hilarious Matchmaker Mysteries series.*Since joining the family matchmaking business run by her eccentric and psychic Grandma Zelda, Gladie has had little success. Involved on one level or another—hot sex, almost committed, and crying in her pillow—with three men, Gladie distracts herself by giving up on matchmaking and starting a new career. But when Gladie stumbles on body parts of dead baseball players all over town, she's dragged into solving yet another murder mystery. With her life in chaos and the killer getting closer, Gladie has to come to terms with the fact that love is murder.*THIS IS THE RE-RELEASE OF PLAYING THE FIELD. IT IS THE SAME BOOK WITH A NEW COVER AND TITLE.
Just follow this link to get the freebie:


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Figure News - Figma Tomoyo
A few days ago the pre-orders went up for Sakura's best friend Tomoyo or as she is known to those who watched the English version of Cardcaptors Madison.
She is so adorable and cute and I hope that they will make alternative costume versions of her two. How cute would it be to have a version of her in one of her cute Lolita style dresses!


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1163 W Princeton Street UNIT A, Ontario CA, 91762 (Residential)
Sold Price:
2 beds , 2.5 baths
1,120 sqft
Status: Sold
Last Updated: 11/17/2017 5:19 PM
Description for 1163 W Princeton Street UNIT A Ontario, CA 91762
Nice Tri-level condo. 2 large master rooms with their own bathroom. Direct garage access. Near restaurants, shopping and theater.
Sold Price:
Sold Date:03/26/2015
San Bernardino
1,120 (approx)
Nice Tri-level condo. 2 large master rooms with their own bathroom. Direct garage access. Near restaurants, shopping and theater.
Listing Information
Room Information
Living Room
Interior Features
Garbage Disposal
Carpet Wall to Wall
Central Air
Living Room
Exterior / Lot Features
2 Car Garage
Community Pool
Community Features
Community Spa, Community Pool
Driving Directions
Mountain/South of 10 Fwy
Financial Considerations
Listing Price History
Ontario Real Estate
Ontario is located in California. Ontario, California 91762 has a population of 171,214.
The median household income in Ontario, California 91762 is $54,156. The median household income for the surrounding county is $54,100 compared to the national median of $53,482. The median age of people living in Ontario 91762 is 31.2 years.
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GraphicRiver Street Cafe 10755328
Category: Stock Vector | Comment: ( 0 )
GraphicRiver Street Cafe 10755328
Stock Vector \ Conceptual \ Seasons \ Holidays \ Valentines
Love \ Postcard \ Holiday \ Happy \ Greeting \ Happiness \ Romance \ Romantic
Stock Vector - Street Cafe 10755328 by beatpavel @ GraphicRiver
Stock Vector \ Conceptual \ Seasons \ Holidays \ Valentines
Layered: Yes; Graphics Files Included: Vector EPS; Minimum Adobe CS Version: CS.
Vector Illustration of Kissing Couple in a Street Cafe on Some Europe Street. Greeting Card for Valentines Day.
Family at the Beach; Set for Valentines Day Icons; Indian Tepee; Spring is Coming Vector Set; Girl Dancing under Falling Snow; Winter Activities Vector Set; Girl Skiing;
Keywords: amorousness, amour, balcony, cafe, card, cartoon, celebration, coffee, couple, cute, date, day, europe, february, feeling, flat, greeting, happiness, happy, holiday, love, postcard, romance, romantic, saint, st, street, valentine, vector.
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NEW YORK, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The amount of bearish bets on longer-dated U.S. Treasury debt above bullish positions declined for a second week, according to a J.P. Morgan survey released on Tuesday, as the recent selloff in the U.S. bond market showed signs of subsiding.
Benchmark 10-year yields rose to their highest since July 2015 last week as traders had slashed their Treasury holdings on fears a Trump administration and a Republican-controlled U.S. Congress would cut taxes and boost government spending, stoking inflation through a surge in federal borrowing.
Since Monday, speculation about bond purchases for portfolio rebalancing at month-end has pushed down Treasury yields, analysts said.
The share of "long" investors who said they were holding longer-dated U.S. government debt than their portfolio benchmarks was unchanged for a second week at 14 percent, according to the survey conducted on Monday.
The share of "short" investors, who said they were holding fewer longer-dated Treasuries than their benchmarks, fell to 18 percent from 20 percent last week, J.P. Morgan said.
Short investors outnumbered long investors, or net shorts, by 4 percentage points, down from 6 points. Two weeks earlier, the margin was 12 percentage points, the biggest difference since January.
The share of "neutral" investors, who said on Monday they were holding amounts of longer-dated Treasuries that match their benchmarks, increased to 68 percent from 66 percent, the survey showed.
The 10-year Treasury yield was last at 2.34 percent early Tuesday, below the 2.42 percent reached last Wednesday. That was the highest since July 15, 2015, Reuters data showed. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)


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So I am going to confess something to you all, I have an addiction to mozzarella. There is just something about this semi- soft cheese that leaves me craving it morning, noon and night. My obsession started when Ryan and I were fortunate enough to go to Italy for our honeymoon a couple of years ago. Along with gelato, and wine, Ryan and I enjoyed copious amounts of mozzarella. Of course there was mozzarella on pizza and the traditional Caprese salad but it was at a restaurant in Florence where we were first introduced to this dish of baked mozzarella and let me tell you, my world has never been the same.
What I love about this dish, and most of the dishes that we had in Italy, is the simplicity. Not too much seasoning, you just cook it to showcase the flavors of your ingredients. It is therefore important to use the highest quality ingredients you can find. Now with that said, for snacking and salads I prefer the fresh mozzarella that is kept in water, however, since this dish is baked it is better to go with a ball of fresh mozzarella in the vacuum sealed packages, otherwise I find that the dish becomes too watery. If you can find it, smoked mozzarella takes this dish to a whole other level.
Preheat your oven broiler.
Grease a small ovenproof dish with a little extra virgin olive oil. Layer half of the mozzarella, then tomatoes, then garlic, then the rest of the mozzarella. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil.
Place on the middle rack under your broiler for 5-7 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted and bubbly around the edges. Serve hot.
When we were served this in Italy we just ate it straight out of the dish it was served in and it was delicious. But if you are not as obsessed with mozzarella as I am, this is also great when served with a few toasted baguette slices. Also, this dish is best when it is kept hot otherwise the mozzarella starts to get hard, so try to find a dish that can keep the heat. Enjoy!


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Barack Hussein Obama; You Missed The Bus
By Brig Asif Haroon Raja
On taking over the reins of power in January 2009 as 44th President of USA, Barack Hussein Obama's foremost priority should have been to clear the bloody mess created by his predecessor George W. Bush. The whole world at that time was stridently condemning policies of Bush concerning Muslims specific war on terror which had antagonized the Muslim world and had made Muslims born and bred in western countries perturbed. Saner elements within non-Muslim world had also expressed their resentment and censured brutality committed by US led coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. While 9/11 had become controversial, so was the claim that Al-Qaeda was responsible for 9/11. Resort to blatant lies and deception by US-UK leaders to justify Iraq venture had angered the people. Seven years of war had given no joy but had made the world highly turbulent.
Butchery of Muslims of two occupied countries was at a massive scale and suffering of the living too painful. Image of USA as a sole super power had got badly damaged, anti-Americanism had peaked and inter-faith harmony had got discordant. Costly war had begun to have a toll on America's vibrant economy and became a chief cause for onset of global recession. Barbaric acts together with injustices inflicted by occupation forces had triggered extremism within Muslim world and resistance forces in the two affected countries had bounced back with a vengeance. Occupation forces were at a loss how to stem the tide of extremism and backlash of militancy in the two theatres of war. The people in USA and in western countries had become wary of the war since white skinned soldiers were also getting killed and injured and social problems were on the rise. Bush had become the most despised president of USA. Glimpse of this pathological hatred was reflected in shoe-throwing episode in Baghdad. The shoe thrower instantly became a hero since he did what every Muslim wished to do.
It was owing to pent up frustration of Americans that they chose to elect a black man as their president for the first time. Obama was chosen since in his election campaign he had promised to bring a change. They wanted him to repair the damaged image and credibility of USA and to restore its position to pre-9/11 times. They sought security, better living conditions and an end to futile war which had been unleashed with depraved intentions and was seen as mother of all evils. The aggrieved Muslims who had virtually gone through hell expectantly looked towards him, with many mistakenly considering him to be a Muslim. They nourished hopes that he would not only terminate the bloody war but would also play a key role in resolving longstanding disputes of Palestine and Kashmir and thus restore inter-faith harmony.
With such high emotions and candles of hopes lit in every household all over the world, Obama was in an ideal situation to bring a real change by stopping the war forthwith and then going about winning the hearts and minds of people at home and abroad. Such acts would have catapulted his popularity sky high and correspondingly helped in reinstating prestige of USA. Militant forces in Iraq and Afghanistan would have welcomed his decision and allowed the occupation forces to return to their respective homes with dignity and honor. The only possible demand made by them would have been to carryout trial of Bush led neo-cons for war crimes. The US would have stood on a high moral ground to negotiate a mutually beneficial political settlement. By end 2009, the world would have become much peaceful and livable. Had Obama played a constructive role in resolving the two chronic disputes, he would have earned undying gratitude of the Muslims and America's status as a fair super power been recognized.
Alas! Nothing of the sort happened since all this has fallen in the realm of idealism. Obama proved to be no better than Bush. Instead of bringing a change, he opted to pursue old policies and thus made the situation messier. In his exuberance to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al-Qaeda and to tame Afghanistan, he increased the force level from less than 100,000 to 152000 in less than year's time and extended the war into Pakistan under newly coined Af-Pak policy. This huge force today finds itself stuck in hellhole from where retrieval has become a real challenge. While hope of victory has dashed, even a face-saving formula for a graceful exit his become difficult.
As if roping in Pakistan at the behest of India was not enough, egged on by Israel Obama adopted a confrontational posture against Iran. Misled by hawks in Pentagon, State Department and CIA, he too encouraged covert operations against Pakistan, Iran and China. With hands full in two widely apart theatres of war, it was unwise to open so many fronts and antagonize the whole region. Instead of solving Kashmir and Palestine issues that is breeding extremism and terrorism, he preferred to keep the two darlings in good humor. Like his predecessor, he too is relying solely on force to eliminate terrorism and to keep the people of Afghanistan suppressed and subjugated. Like Bush, Obama also ignored lessons from history. He forgot that Afghans had humbled two super powers and Afghanistan had earned the name of 'graveyard of empires'.
Since Obama after assuming power failed to exploit the God given opportunity of going down in history as a successful president of America like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, he is now paying the price. Having missed the bus the situation has spun out of his control and he is not in a position to reverse the tide to his advantage. He seems to have run out of options since neither force nor negotiations is working. Apart from polarization between Democrats and Republicans, Obama Administration itself is sharply divided. There is also a cold war going on between Pentagon led by Robert Gates and State Department led by Hillary Clinton, with former trying to assert its authority. War merchants running defence industries have their own axe to grind and have become a powerful entity. Above all, influence of American Jews is all too pervasive in policy matters.
Obama's rating at home has slumped from 68% in April 2009 to lowly 24% since he has so far not fulfilled any of the promises he made. Ill-famed Guantanamo Bay Prison which he promised to shut up by end 2009 is still functioning. US heavy borrowing from China has not scaled down and economy is not showing any signs of recovery. Banks are closing down at a fast rate and unemployment has soared to 9.6%. Much hyped healthcare program has run into snags. General public of America is constantly putting pressure on the government to stop the war and bring back the soldiers. Discussion on war crimes is also taking place in many circles of American society. In case situation in Afghanistan becomes ugly, demand for trials will become louder. All these developments are bound to have an impact on mid term elections scheduled on 2nd November in which 435 seats in House of Representatives, 37 seats of Senate and 38 governorships will be contested. It is predicted that Democrats hold on Congress would get weaker.
Seeing the writing on the wall that balance has tilted towards Taliban, the US is still trying to dictate terms to the Taliban. It wants them to surrender their arms and break their ties with Al-Qaeda. Whether the occupying forces pull out in 2011 or in 2014, the fact is the US cannot snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat. Considering that 521 ISAF soldiers lost their lives in 2009, 2010 has proved to be the deadliest since till 25 October 600 fatalities have taken place. It is anticipated that coming months may prove even more costly. While Taliban do not seek worldly comforts of life, they are used to hardships, and are adept in fighting prolonged guerrilla war, and do not fear death, hence they will not give up irrespective of the adverse circumstances. Legitimacy of their cause to fight for their homeland propels them to keep fighting. Coalition forces on the other hand deprived of a genuine cause and fighting a wrong war for wrong purposes at the wrong time are not convinced as to why they should sacrifice their lives.
Notwithstanding deplorable role of USA in playing a double game with Pakistan which it often mentions as a key ally, wicked role played by India and Israel needs no amplification. The pair is chiefly responsible for making the war on terror a failure and in getting US military bogged down in the quagmire of Afghanistan. However, sad part of the story is that the US leaders are still stretching their hands towards the duo which is sinking them, naively hoping that that it will pull them out. They continue to rely on the Indo-Israeli self-serving advices and are not prepared to trust Pakistan.
Obama is eagerly looking forward to his visit to India early next month and like his predecessors Bill Clinton and George W Bush, he will also lavishly toss out rich endowments into the waiting lap of India. If Pakistan is the key ally, Obama should have preferred visiting Pakistan and not India. When one gets so blinded by commercial interests as to fail to make a distinction between a friend and a foe, it is a sure recipe of disaster. Obama for sure has missed the bus.
Brig Asif Haroon Raja, a Member Board of Advisors Opinion Maker is Staff College and Armed Forces War Coursequalified, holds MSc war studies degree; a second generation officer, he fought epic battle of Hilli in northwest East Bengal during 1971 war, in which Maj M. Akram received Nishan-e-Haider posthumously. He served as Directing Staff Command & Staff College, Defence Attaché Egypt and Sudan and Dean of Corps of Military Attaches in Cairo. He commanded the heaviest brigade in Kashmir. He is lingual and speaks English, Pashto and Punjabi fluently. He is author of books titled 'Battle of Hilli', '1948, 1965 & 1971 Kashmir Battles and Freedom Struggle', 'Muhammad bin Qasim to Gen Musharraf', Roots of 1971 Tragedy'; has written number of motivational pamphlets. Draft of his next book 'Tangled Knot of Kashmir' is ready. He is a defence analyst and columnist and writes articles on security, defence and political matters for numerous international/national newspapers/websites


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Mother who went on the run with son after custody battle spared jail 'due to dad's mercy'
A MOTHER who went on the run with her three-year-old son has been spared jail after the boy's father showed 'mercy' on her.
Rebecca Minnock has escaped jail after running away with her son
It is only the mercy of the father that spares this mother.
Rebecca Minnock left her home in Highbridge, Somerset, after a court order saying he should live with his father, Roger Williams, was issued.
She went missing on May 27 but after a high-profile campaign to trace her handed herself in on June 12.
Mr Williams, 39, had applied to Judge Stephen Wildblood to commit Miss Minnock, 34, to prison for contempt of court.
However, today Mr Williams dropped the application - alleging 10 breaches of court orders - and saved his former partner from an immediate prison sentence.
Judge Wildblood described Miss Minnock, who appeared at Bristol Magistrates' Court, as a "scourge" on the family courts system and 'utterly irresponsible'.
In a damning judgment, Judge Wildblood said Miss Minnock was 'manipulative, attention seeking and truculent'.
He added: "Parents who flout court orders are the scourge of the system. It is only the mercy of the father that spares this mother.
"Had the contempt proceedings continued before me and led to a finding of contempt, I make no concealment of the fact that I would have sentenced her to immediate imprisonment which I anticipate would have involved a sentence of at least 28 days in prison.
"As it is, I think that the father's wishes should be respected. He and Ethan are the victims of this mother's actions and I consider that the father's voice should prevail.
"She owes her liberty to him. She must never fail to comply with court orders again; they will be my orders in the future, as I will now be the judge of these proceedings subject to the direction of any higher court."
Rebecca Minnock ran off with her three-year-old son, Ethan
Judge Wildblood commended Mr Williams for acting with "extreme sensitivity" and said he had kept 'the pain, frustration and distress that he must have been feeling to himself'.
The judge, who took the usual step of lifting reporting restrictions in such a case in order to find Ethan, acknowledged that the publicity had come 'at at price'.
The judge said: "Mr Williams now wishes to end the public displays of the difficulties that affect Ethan's upbringing and wishes the remaining disputes to be heard away from the glare of publicity."
Ethan's legal guardian, Tara Bolton, and his solicitor previously indicated they would not initiate any contempt proceedings on behalf of the boy.
The judge said any suggestion that Miss Minnock was driven to flee with Ethan because she "had no alternative" was without any foundation.
The mother-of-one fled with Ethan on May 27 - the day she was supposed to attend a family court hearing in Bristol where custody would be awarded to Mr Williams.
Judge Wildblood said: "The one thing that this mother should not have done is to remove Ethan from his home environment and family life and take him into hiding."
Miss Minnock told the court she had only had one hour of supervised contact with Ethan, which took place yesterday in the presence of his legal guardian.
She said: "My big concern at the moment is, I got to see Ethan yesterday, if I am going to go to prison what emotional damage is that going to do on Ethan, after seeing me yesterday?"
Earlier this month, Miss Minnock's mother, Louise, 52, and mother's partner, Andrew Butt, 56, were jailed for withholding information about Ethan's disappearance.
Both, from Highbridge, Somerset, have since been released from prison.
Ethan, who was born on January 25 2012, has lived with Miss Minnock since his parents separated in February 2013.
A custody battle began the following month. Miss Minnock made allegations against Mr Williams, which a district judge later ruled were false.
On May 27 it was found Miss Minnock had exposed Ethan to emotional harm and should only have supervised contact with him.
Miss Minnock, wearing a pink dress and black cardigan, left the court supported by her brother, Marvin Shaw.
Further family court hearings about the custody battle will now take place in private, the judge said.


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PostgreSQL Data Access Components
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PgDAC is an enhanced component library for fast direct access to PostgreSQL for Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, Android, Linux, FreeBSD for 32-bit and 64-bit platforms from Delphi, C++Builder and Lazarus. PgDAC includes full support for all PostgreSQL data types and features, including notifications, notices, and sequences. Main advantages include direct access to PostgreSQL data, Disconnected Model, Local Failover, Unicode and national charset support.Visit publisher site: PostgreSQL Data Access Components
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Can Anyone Really Profit From Trading Binary Option
November 12, 2014 by Lee Kelvin
Filed under Forex FAQ & Latest Post, Fx Binary Option
I bet that most of you must have heard of binary option trading but I doubt anyone of you did make money from it in the past. The problem with most binary trader is that they tend to treat it as a gamble and not a trading platform. Most binary trader do not have a […]
Forex Binary Option Payout
February 13, 2012 by Lee Kelvin
Filed under Forex FAQ & Latest Post, Fx Binary Option
In today forex faq, we have a question from one of our traders who are interested in trading binary option. Below is the question: In Binary Option when we are in the money we get 70-80% profit, how much we lose when we are out of the money? For this question, there is no fix […]
My Forex Binary Option Experience
August 4, 2011 by Lee Kelvin
Filed under Fx Binary Option
I was introduced to forex binary option a few weeks ago by one of my friends. After listening to his explanation about how forex binary option can work hand in hand with my current trading, I decided to find out more about it and started an account with a binary option broker. If you are […]


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The central location of the French Country House in the Bay of Plenty makes it the ideal base for you to explore the highlights of New Zealand while staying in one luxurious, peaceful place.
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Optional Hobbiton visit can be included at additional cost.
Three nights' accommodation
One day Coromandel tour
Rotorua experience
One night's 3 course dinner for two at The French Country House
Gourmet breakfast each morning


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The 10 picture galleries correspond with the videos and will show you a little bit of extra posing and that kind of thing. None of them are quite high-res, but they are very, very close.
There's some good news that comes in the form of a whole pile of feeds. There are quite a few bonus sites as well and they include Grannies Fucked, Fuck Mature and MILF Banged, so you're getting at least a few related bonuses. On its own, MILFs Wild Holiday doesn't come anywhere close to being worth the monthly fee, but if you're interested in a lot of bonus content, this might be worth checking out.
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- Please select a date to see the proper prices!
- Meal can be requested on the spot
Best offer
63.51 € / person / night, no meal
Description of the accommodation:
Rooms, services Guests looking for accommodation in Stockholm are welcome to book 86 nicely furnished rooms at Connect Hotel City Stockholm. Since the hotel has an own restaurant, you may also try fine local meals on the spot. Parking is availably nearby for those arriving by car. The café and the bar have excellent atmosphere for a relaxed evening talk or a personal meeting. The hotel is offering wireless Internet connection (WiFi) without charging extra fees, so you may go online anytime with your laptop during your stay. An exact and detailed list of equipment in the rooms and of the services provided by Connect Hotel City Stockholm you will find on the information sheet below, including any applicable additional fees.
Payment Depending on the selected date, room and price, you may need to provide credit card guarantee or advance bank card payment to finalize your reservation.
Arrival, opening hours The earliest time to check in at the hotel is 15:00, the latest time to check out is 12:00. The personnel is at your service in Swedish and English languages.
Connect Hotel City Stockholm rooms Rooms
- Please select a date to see the proper prices!
Accommodation services
Parking (200 €/night)
Free WiFi in shared places
- Finnish sauna
Pet friendly (200 €/night), Bar, Cafe, Elevator
Own restaurant