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What should be done to combat human trafficking? Leave a comment at the end of the story or to send a letter, go to www.sacbee.com/sendletter.
A car pulled up in the Mission District of San Francisco at 4 a.m., and a 15-year-old runaway girl from Sacramento climbed inside.
He parked in an industrial area and slammed her head into his lap. She fought, and he smacked her and drove her farther, threatening her life all the while. Then she noticed the photo of a girl on the man's dashboard, and asked if it was his daughter. It was.
"I'm somebody's daughter," she told him.
He jolted to a stop and released her. She returned to the streets, plying her trade, delivering her proceeds to her pimp.
From age 14 to almost 18, Leah J. Albright-Byrd worked streets in San Francisco and Sacramento, sometimes Las Vegas and Reno. Her pimp advertised her on websites that didn't question her age. Occasionally, she would fly to Los Angeles to meet up with men.
Albright-Byrd, one of the lucky ones, got off the streets and is dedicating herself to helping girls who are careening down the same twisted road she traveled. Now 28, she has joined the fight against human trafficking, an issue that Californians will confront this fall by way of an initiative called the Californians Against Sexual Exploitation Act.
Although the concept of human trafficking draws skeptics who see it as a faddish name for an old crime, the United Nations estimates there could be 2.4 million victims today, and the U.S. Justice Department under George W. Bush and Barack Obama have declared war on it.
In California, Attorney General Kamala Harris, involved in the issue for years, is sponsoring bills in the Legislature that would allow prosecutors to more readily seize pimps' property.
The November ballot measure, which qualified last week, will bring attention to the issue as only a California proposition can. Voters almost always approve tough-on-crime measures. This one will be an especially easy sell. The crime strikes at basic fears of every parent.
The initiative would increase prison sentences for human trafficking to as many as 12 years, up from the current five-year max. If the crime involves minors and force, sentences could be 15 years to life. Fines could be as much $1.5 million.
I met Albright-Byrd in the classroom of Wind Youth Services, the drop-in center for homeless kids off Del Paso Boulevard, where she sometimes counsels girls headed toward where she has been.
We were joined by Daphne Phung, founder of California Against Slavery and the initiative's proponent. Phung, 37, came to this country at age 8 from Vietnam. Her father was a mechanic, and she went to Oakland public schools before getting degrees at Reed College in Portland and Mills College in the East Bay.
Phung was moved to get involved after watching an MSNBC documentary about human trafficking. Like Albright-Byrd, she is driven by her Christian faith. She is aware that many Southeast Asian immigrants are victims of exploitation. She also saw a disconnect between the ideal that there is justice for all and the reality that children are getting robbed of their innocence.
"We're talking about kids being raped, tortured. It appalls me," Phung said. "We have to make this a serious crime so that prosecutors will take it seriously."
Phung spent enough time in the Capitol to realize she could not persuade Democrats in the Legislature to approve longer sentences for human trafficking. Lawmakers are trying to reduce the prison population because of the federal court order requiring it and to cut costs.
She tried to qualify an initiative in 2010 with volunteers, but gathered nowhere near the 800,000-plus signatures needed to get a measure on the ballot. After speaking about the issue at a lunch in Palo Alto, she met a politically ambitious financial angel, Chris Kelly. Kelly gave $1.66 million to get signatures needed to get the measure on the 2012 ballot.
Kelly earned his money by working as Facebook's chief privacy officer. He quit in 2010 to run for attorney general, placing third in the Democratic primary despite spending $12.3 million of his own money.
He will run for office again, though he's not sure when. He knows, however, that promoting an initiative is not a bad idea for someone seeking to build name identification.
Kelly added provisions that would require people convicted of human trafficking to register as sex offenders and provide their electronic identifiers. Internet sites would be able to obtain that information and, presumably, ban them from their sites.
Kelly expects "dozens, not hundreds" of prosecutions, and envisions that prosecutors would target pimps and gangs that are involved in organized trafficking of large numbers women and girls, girls like Albright-Byrd once was.
Phung handed Albright-Byrd tissues as she told some of her story. She was a hard-to-handle kid from a broken home in at the south end of Sacramento. On the third time she ran away, she moved in with a guy she had met earlier. In short order, he told her to start bringing in money. She was 14.
She knew her mother was looking for her. But she didn't want to be found. She thought she loved her pimp. No doubt, his other girls thought the same thing. To dull the pain, she used all manner of drugs.
She was arrested many times under aliases. After getting busted with a john in Hollywood, she was released from jail with no money, and sold herself to buy a bus ticket back to Sacramento and her pimp.
"I had no idea how dark and ugly things could get," she said. "You start to believe all that stuff, that you're nothing, that this is all there is to life."
As she turned 18, her attitude began changing and she found God. She graduated from William Jessup University, a small Christian college in Rocklin, and has started an organization called Bridget's Dream, named for a friend who was a teenage trafficking victim.
In 2006, on her 22nd birthday, Bridget Gray was working at the Mandalay Bay casino in Las Vegas, when she was strangled by a john from Santa Ana. Albright-Byrd knows she could have met Bridget's fate.
The use of initiatives to make criminal law is never ideal. Promoters don't have to find money to pay for their concepts. They all have unintended consequences.
On its face, however, the initiative would make important changes. It would strip some anonymity from the Internet, perhaps making it a little more difficult to buy and sell people on virtual bordellos.
On a more basic level, the initiative would alter the basic human trafficking equation. Once the initiative becomes law, the person who is bought and sold would be viewed as the victim. The true criminals would be the men who trade human commodity. That shift is long overdue.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.


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Wednesday morning's rain reflected the sorrow felt by family and friends in remembrance of fallen Pearl Police Officer Mike Walter. He was killed in the line of duty while trying to serve a warrant last year.
But the sense of support and brotherhood could not be ignored as a crowd attended the dedication of the Public Safety Officers' Memorial, on the one-year anniversary of Walter's death. The memorial is located across the street from Pearl City Hall.
"God is with us, and God goes with us every time we get out of the car, every time we serve that warrant," said Pearl Police Chief Ben Schuler, as he spoke during the ceremony.
Chief Schuler says he and Mayor Brad Rogers worked closely together to achieve the perfect memorial, not only to Officer Walter, but to every public safety officer who has risked their own life for the well-being of others.
Chief Schuler says the Pearl Police Department is recovering from the loss of their first officer ever in the line of duty.
"We've been through the sorrow, the anger, right now we're moving toward the happiness stage, the memories. You always want to remember those good memories. That's what gets you through the day," he says.
State and local dignitaries thanked law enforcement for answering God's calling for their lives. Then, Walter's widow Jeannie and 12-year-old daughter Bailey attached Walter's plaque to the memorial.
Mayor Rogers says God has been at work all along.
"The Lord has ways of directing your path. The Lord directed me and the chief in ways that I've never seen. Things happened, things fell into place for the funeral and the days after the tragic event. We couldn't have asked for better cooperation," he says.
Those taking part in the dedication also recognized the courage of Jackson Police Detective Eric Smith, who was also killed in the line of duty less than a month ago, on April 4.
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Bi weekly publication. For older issues please visit this link.
In this final issue of Nyam News in this physical activity series we attempt to collate the main evidence for the various health indicators. Clearly, physical activity is positively related to health. However, to reap maximum benefits from physical activity, individuals (2yrs and older) are recommended to participate in a minimum of 30 minutes or more on most or all days of the week.
Adults should choose a variety of nutrient rich foods containing vitamins,
minerals, carbohydrates and proteins and foods low in fat to be healthy
and for the prevention of chronic diseases. Research has shown that
excess intakes of fat, sugar, cholesterol, salt and alcohol are contributing
factors to many illnesses including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and
cancer. It is very important that adults balance their energy intake food
with physical activity in order to maintain an appropriate body weight and
to prevent the accumulation of fat which leads to obesity.
Aging is an inevitable natural process. It results in changes to several
organs which function less efficiently leading to the development
of disease. Research has shown that the risk of chronic disorders
increases significantly with age. Good nutrition can slow the disease
process, and assist the individual to have a longer life. It is very
important that elderly persons engage in good nutrition practices by
eating a variety of foods from the six food groups and being physically
active to delay or prevent the onset of diseases.
Zinc may not be one of the more well-known nutrients, but it is
essential for humans, as it plays an important role in many of the
body's functions. This issue of Nyam News takes a look at zinc in
the human body.
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(WMC-TV) – Memphian Patrick Dodd is not your typical rocker. He is a hometown guy whose first priority is being a good husband and dad to his three daughters. But who says you can't have it all? Now that he is home from "The Voice", he is not skipping a beat.
Patrick Dodd is a man on a mission.
"The first time I went through LAX after I'd been on the air, I think we were stopped like 40 times for pictures and autographs," he said.
After his battle round aired, he woke up to more than 2,000 messages and emails. His Facebook page blew up, fans from all over saying he looks like actor Steven Seagal and asking about his next gig.
Comments came in from Quebec, Ireland, and California. This Beale street rocker has no regrets.
"You go from working 300 days a year and doing everything yourself to being a total rock star treatment, you know, wardrobe, hair and makeup and the most amazing band and musicians you could possibly play with," he said.
Through the experience, Dodd's pride in his hometown has been obvious, and clearly Americans like what they heard.
"My version of "Walking in Memphis" made it up to number 22 on the rock charts," Dodd said.
It is an impressive run for a guy who's always maintained, "These reality TV shows and competition shows aren't really my thing."
Clearly they actually are and now he is an instant fan favorite with new friends and skills to take his career to the next level, even though he says his first priority is his family.
"That's what people don't see at home," he explained. "We really do truly become like brothers and sisters and that's something that I look forward to having all these relationships all over the country where we can tour and help each other out. It's going to be awesome."
Dodd's fans don't have to worry about opportunities to see him sing again. He's performing Wednesday at Minglewood Hall in Memphis and singing the national anthem Thursday night at the first home Grizzlies game of the playoffs.
And you haven't seen the last of Patrick Dodd. He'll now be joining Action News 5 as our "The Voice" analyst as the competition progresses.
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Leading up to the 2010 NHL Draft, there was a two horse race to see who would be picked first overall by the Edmonton Oilers: Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin.
In 2011, it's a similar situation the Oilers find themselves in, again holding the first overall pick in the draft, and it looks as though it's a decision on how much they like the look of Central Scouting's No. 1 ranked prospect, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. After a midterm ranking at No. 3, Nugent-Hopkins finished in the final ranking ahead of midterm No. 1, Gabriel Landeskog.
A year after taking the winger Hall over the center Seguin, the Oilers now have the chance to get a top center to play with Hall and his counterpart, Jordan Eberle. Nugent-Hopkins has been touted as one of the prospects that is the most likely to be ready to start in the NHL right away.
He has had great success in the WHL as he was named Rookie of the Year in 2009-10, and he even has a little international experience as he won gold in the 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament for Team Canada.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Position: Center
2010-11 Team: Red Deer Rebels, WHL
Height: 6-0
Weight: 164
Born: April 12, 1993
Hometown: Burnaby, B.C.
Shoots: L
CSS Midterm Ranking: 3
CSS Final Ranking: 1
2010-11 Regular Season
|Red Deer Rebels, WHL
What People Are Saying
NHL Central Scouting's B.J. MacDonald:
"(Nugent-Hopkins) has very good puck-handling capabilities. His on-ice awareness is very good. He's one of those guys that knows where everyone is and where they should be and where the puck should go . . . He can dish both right or left, either on his backhand or forehand with that kind of vision. But not just the vision, but the fact he can lay that puck between the skate boot and the skate blade -- that's hard to find."
Red Deer Rebels Coach Jesse Wallin:
"He's got a hard shot and an incredible release. He gets it away in a hurry and he has a very accurate shot. If anything, I think he could use it a bit more at times.
"But he's got such great vision on the ice."
International Scouting Services:
"He is the kind of player everybody wants on their team. Set up men with this vision and focus are extremely rare. He works hard, has an explosive skating stride and is extremely poised, patient and deceptive with the puck."
SB Nation's Blue Jackets blog, The Cannon:
"For most of the past season, Nugent-Hopkins has been at or near the top of most pre-draft ranking boards. He is a playmaking center, with the ability to consistently find linemates with tape-to-tape passes, even in traffic. His biggest asset is his vision on the ice. He will need to bulk up, and is a bit on the short side, but his ability to pass the puck and create offense trumps the size issue."
The Edmonton Oilers could have a tough decision to make with the player that they want to take at No. 1, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Taylor Hall might just create the perfect tag-team of No. 1 overall picks for years to come.
For full coverage of the 2011 NHL Draft, stick with SB Nation's network of 34 hockey blogs, covering the draft from every angle. Also, stick with SB Nation's NHL Draft hub, where you can find all the latest player profiles and news surrounding the event, which takes place in St. Paul, Minn. on June 24-25.


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Colourful accountancy wins award - Resene Total Colour Awards 2010
A striking accountant's office has been awarded top honours in the Resene Total Colour Awards announced in Auckland last night, dismissing the myth that accountancy offices are dull and boring.
Over 140 entries were received. Awards were given in nine categories: Residential Exterior, Residential Interior, Display, Product, Sustainable System, Rising Star, Commercial Exterior, Commercial Interior, Lifetime Achievement, with the Colour Master - Nightingale Award for the best overall colour use.
Resene Total Colour Master - Nightingale Award
Taking the cue from the dark stained timber floor 'the art wall' extending 30 metres and encompassing two floors and the stairwell is a rich mix of browns, yellows, oranges and reds. 'The art wall' with its numeral graphics is both surprising and memorable. The open plan staff areas are more subdued in colour use and have a white/grey theme with a hit of Resene Party Animal to break the monotony. The vividness of the project is particularly appealing. it was not a token application of colour; the colour was a large element of a sophisticated well integrated fit-out.
The project shows an incredibly clever use of paint and is very surprising for an accountant's office. The colour palette creates a great mood with the treatment of the colours from the entry to the offices. A project where decorating becomes an artform.
Resene Total Colour Residential Exterior Award
This project has been a dialogue between artist and architect: art and architecture; figure and ground; foreground and background. This is achieved partly through spatial and formal tactics that make the distinction between art and architecture ambiguous. Colour forms a critical role. Dark battens recede into the light wall, the light stripe between structural columns merges with the wall behind, and shadows of the structural columns to the front of the house are confused with dark lines on the same wall. Colour is not applied to this house, it is integral.This project is different and innovative, and nicely balanced, bringing elements of excitement, stimulation and surprise. Excitement is created by its neutrality and the clever use of the combination of neutrals and delightful pink. The theme of the stripes and vertical elements is intriguing, you want to see more.
A Resene Total Colour Residential Exterior Maestro Award recognising excellence of colour use was awarded to Darryl Church, Darryl Church Architecture Ltd of Rotorua for the Buchanan Residence Alterations.
The Buchanan Residence integrates old with new with ease. A clever patchwork of colours you would see in nature near the entry subtly leads you inside while also being reflective of the surrounding landscape. The external colour scheme was required to deliver on many levels. It needed to be respectful of the surrounding lake setting and landscape when viewed from the lake. Up close, it was to offer a rich diversity of colour and texture and, unlike most properties, it also needed to be presentable when viewed from above as the driveway descends on the house above the roof-line. The client's dislike of blue led to green and brown cues taken from the surrounding lake-scape for the feature cladding near the entry.
Special Judges Mention for Bold Colour Use
Resene Total Colour Residential Interior Award
The layout and light colour scheme encourage a relaxed lifestyle while exploiting an excellent quality of natural light and views to the Kapiti Island. The home is a relaxed family home and it adheres to wholesome principles - efficient orientation and planning, use of natural light and ventilation, and appropriate material and colour selection. The colour palette used in this project is highly competent with a good use and balance of colour, not everything has to be surprising. As a nation we use a lot of neutrals in our houses as they are easy to live with, and this project demonstrates how neutrals can be combined successfully with elements of interest and strength.
The Resene Total Colour Residential Interior Maestro Award was won by Hayley Whitehead, N & Co Architecture for the Strathmore Residence project in Wellington.
Renovations for this kitchen came straight from the influences of Piet Mondrian's renowned block-colour artworks. In keeping with the Art Deco style of the original house, this kitchen has blended effortlessly with the existing detailing and client's vibrant Deco furnishings. The simple linear shapes and staggered block-colour arrangements were the perfect canvas for painting bold and stylish Resene colours. In collaboration with the client, the final colours and their arrangement were key decisions aided by 3D CAD images and Resene colour swatches and testpots. A unique, clever palette of colours, mixed and matched with care for an original styled effect.
Resene Total Colour Product Colour Award
Colour market research has revealed that the use of varied colour schemes is important. Although adults appreciate the look and feel of polished wood, children much prefer brightly coloured items - the brighter, the better. Admiration is given to the love and attention that has gone into this product, it makes you smile. The product has a charming naivety and sense of nostalgia.
Resene Total Colour Rising Star Student Award
It is aimed towards providing a higher quality and standard of living for Maori. It is envisaged that this will be built in transportable units that can be built and then transported or shipped to the site. This design is a three bedroom residence comprising of two separate pavilions that are connected by a boardwalk style decking. This allows the user to separate living and bedroom areas. Three colour schemes are proposed that will be available to give people choice and the opportunity to personalise their home. The vibrant use of colour gives the users a clean, fresh environment.
Resene Total Colour Commercial Exterior Award
A tight budget stripped the original scheme of roof gardens, trees and vines but this was countered by an adventurous colour scheme which successfully distinguishes the building and assists in emphasising the 'four buildings'. Colour is also celebrated with the use of blue LED lights in the entrance and corridors and lime green lift surround that create an ethereal glow to the interior in the twilight and at night. It's a bold use of colour on a highly visible site, which renders a building which might otherwise be rather ordinary, memorable, and lifts a rather drab streetscape. The balanced colour intensities define the best line of the rectangular forms while personalising and identifying the nature of the structure. The bold exterior colour scheme followed through to the interior in colour has provided the perfect solution with a tight budget.
The clever positioning of the palette of neutral hues on the Cashmere Primary School Epicentre won Tania Gorton Design a Resene Total Colour Commercial Exterior Maestro Award.
The design lent itself to creating enhanced visual appeal, especially on the West and South sides. A checkerboard effect with negative detailing was created, allowing the front of the building to be determined. This was repeated on the West side in a simpler version. To add flow the checkerboard effect was repeated inside the building providing continuity. The colour enhances the architecture; a superb application of a predominately neutral palette.
The Bunkhouse Goat Island by Cheshire Architects combines wood stains with bold hues winning a Resene Total Colour Commercial Exterior Maestro Award.
Cheap Pinus Radiata boards - stained with Resene Woodsman Natural are exposed to both the interior and exterior. The soft-staining effect will promote a graceful period of slow, controlled aging as the building settles into its site. Behind the cavity, the Shadowclad ply-lining is stained a quiet Resene Woodsman Smokey Ash to tie it carefully to the block base. This quiet, soft base-palette is counter pointed by vivid colour that awakens the world within the timber box. While on one level it may be odd to follow an avian-inspired scheme in the grounds of a marine reserve, on another it seems wholly appropriate to offer warm and vivid hues to those who regularly dwell in deep blue. This project is tasteful, very cleverly put together; lively without being obvious.
Resene Total Colour Commercial Interior Award
Xsite Architects were awarded a Resene Total Colour Commercial Interior Maestro Award for the Hynds Group Headquarters renovation.
Natural materials such as clear finished and stained rough sawn ply enable the materials to be detailed with little fuss. They create a contrast to the glass reinforced concrete elements and resonate with the Hynds Group business philosophy of honest, straightforward, no-nonsense "what you see is what you get" service and solutions. The project demonstrates a very accomplished application of colour with the use of wood creating a nice mood. They used colour to telling effect.
The second Resene Total Colour Commercial Interior Maestro Award was awarded to John Mills Architects Ltd for the Southern Cross garden bar and restaurant.
This work involved the re-configuration of an existing function room and bar space. The space was re-organised to better relate to the main bar and garden spaces, the fit-out of which converses with the remainder of the bar finished two years prior. Materials, construction details and colours reminisce on the classic New Zealand caravan, complete with fold out tables, two toned and piped squabs, stripy materials, and a back lit fold out awning to cover the bar when not in use. Funky, eclectic and conceptual. The random nature of the colour scheme actually works, and works especially well with an intriguing application of other materials.
Resene Total Colour Sustainable System Award
The five star Green Star MAF multipurpose building is a place of reception, gathering and collaboration for the National Centre for Biosecurity and Infectious Disease at Wallaceville and the larger scientific community. The exterior of the box like forms is dark with a textured band sawn vertical cladding reflecting its protective role and the surrounding totara trees. On the two sides of the main block where there are a greater extent of windows, a lighter coloured plywood cladding is used to emphasise this openness. The interior is light to accentuate the feeling of space with careful use of glazing filling the building with daylight. This colour scheme is timeless, well thought out, coherent and cohesive. The brief called for a combination of paint and other materials and the two have been melded together very sympathetically. Instead of taking the same material and applying the same colour, as so many people do, the different architectural aspects of the two sides of the building have been translated with colour.
Resene Total Colour Landscape Award
The buildings and landscape of the Polynesian Spa in Rotorua rest on an active thermal site providing one of the harshest environments possible for building materials and vegetation. Gas membranes are situated below most construction and under the Lake Spa bush gardens. Paint colours are sympathetic and appropriately thermal in nature. The colour scheme makes the water feel soft, calling you into its depths.
Resene Total Colour Display Award
The Whanganui Regional Museum explored the six photoelectric colours; black, red, blue, yellow, green and white. Visitors move through six discrete spaces, each with walls painted one of those colours. The effect of creating the coloured rooms is two-fold. The colour emphasises the relationships between the artworks and artefacts, and also their relationships with the colour. Each space also affects the visitor. The emotional impact of being in the 'red room' is very different to that in the 'blue room'. The journey through each of the coloured areas provides each visitor with an opportunity to not only engage with a variety of artworks and artefacts, but also to examine their own emotional responses to the immersive experience of colour. This project is almost simplistic, but yet bold. It is strong and has great clarity. In a museum setting that's pitched to its audience, it is very effective and provocative.
Resene Total Colour Lifetime Achievement Award
Paris Magdalinos arrived in New Zealand as a young refugee and left school when he was 14. Through his own drive and talent he became one of New Zealand's leading architects, colourful and flamboyant in both his personality and his architecture, running a Napier-based practice undertaking significant projects all over this country and abroad. Epitomised by strong images, forms, colours and shapes, his practice fervently believes in John Ruskin's words that "all architecture proposes an effect on the human mind, not merely a service to the human frame". Using colour both to articulate forms and inject an essential humanity and personality to the architecture, the use of the colour became a key signature. At times the resulting colour schemes created interesting challenges for the local Resene ColorShops and painting contractors – but through Paris's vision, the attention to hue, chromacity and value, created something memorable. His vision continues to live on in the architectural firm he founded.
Resene has a long history of colour in New Zealand with colours like Resene Spanish White and Resene Pearl Lusta created over three decades ago still continuing to be top choices for decorators today. In 1969 Resene set up a new system of colour, the British Standard Specification colour range which provided a range of strong colours at a time when New Zealanders were used to pastel colours. And more recently, in keeping with Resene's focus on sustainable innovations, Resene has developed its own range of non VOC (volatile organic compound) tinters to enable all Resene decorative paints to be tinted without unwanted VOCs. With thousands of Resene colours available, there's no point having all these colours if they aren't being used, which led to the creation of the Resene Total Colour Awards, launched this year, to celebrate and encourage creative use of colour.
View pdf of the Resene Total Colour Awards 2010 winners. You will need Acrobat
View Resene Total Colour Awards 2013 winners.
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What is Samaria?:
Samaria (Hebrew: somron) was a region of Palestine comprising the northern kingdom of Israel created when north and south split after the death of Solomon (c. 930 BCE) The region was named after its capital city, Samaria. Assyria captured Samaria in 721 BCE and it was at this time that the general usage of Samaria for the region appears to have started. Human habitation in the city of Samaria can be traced back to at least 3,000 BCE.
Where is Samaria?:
The central hill region of Samaria has natural borders with the sea to the west, the Jordan River on the east, the Valley of Jezreel to the north, and the Valley of Aijalon to the south. The city of Samaria is on a hill just 40 miles north of Jerusalem. Other major cities in Samaria included Megiddo, Bethel, and Tirzah. It was a bit more fertile than the southern region of Judea and focused on things like viticulture.
Why is Samaria important?:
Like the rest of the region of Palestine, control of Samaria changed hands many times over the millennia. Even after the northern kingdom was eliminated, the city of Samaria remained a provincial capital for multiple empires. Herod also recognized its importance and, as he did everywhere else, launched a massive rebuilding program to honor his Roman patrons.
During New Testament times Samaria was ruled by the Romans, who didnt completely separate it from Judea despite appointing a different procurator for each. Although Samaritans and Jews shared a common heritage, they drifted far apart and by the time of Herod they had little contact with each other. Samaritans rejected the literal interpretation of Mosaic Law and were treated shabbily by orthodox Jews. Today only a few hundred Samaritans survive in Nablus and Tel Aviv-Yafo.


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The Ottawa Senators have done the expected and fired head coach Cory Clouston along with his assistants Greg Carvel and Brad Lauer. This was a move we have been talking about for quite some time but the fact that it came right after the game shows this was a move the team had planned for quite some time.
Sorry for the late post on this one but I got caught away from the computer. More analysis on the shake up in a little bit.


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Articles jump to conclusions on Gallup debt findings
Media sources can't establish that debt outweighs benefits of college. [More]
Nuclear energy competition enhances safety, profitability
Hausman discusses nuclear power at London School of Economics blog. [More]
Carbon tax might work, if revenue funds renewables
Press focuses on Rabe poll findings, bipartisan support of carbon tax. [More]
Dominguez explains banking industry "gradualism." 7/31/2014. [More]
U-M restaurant vouchers encourage faculty-student engagement 7/29/2014. [More]
David Cohen and Magdalene Lampert cited in NYT magazine. 7/25/2014. [More]
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George Hill scored 18 points, including the first four in the second overtime, to lead Indiana past Sacramento 106-98 in double overtime Saturday night.
It was a remarkable defensive performance for the Pacers (2-1).
Sacramento managed only three baskets in the final 10:45, and the Kings (0-3) never led over the final 35½ minutes. Marcus Thornton scored 26 points and DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points and 13 rebounds for Sacramento.
Hill got help from David West, who had 18 points and 18 rebounds, and Paul George, who had 16 points and 17 rebounds.
It sure wasn't easy.
After trailing by 14 at halftime, Sacramento forced overtime with Thornton's 3-pointer with 48.6 seconds left in regulation. He did it again in overtime, hitting another tying 3 with 26.4 seconds left.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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What should I know before taking ActHIB (PF) intramuscular?
If you are:
Only When Necessary: NOT RECOMMENDED/NOT INDICATED FOR USE IN PREGNANCY
No Known Risk: HIB ANTIBODIES ARE EXCRETED IN BREASTMILK.
Giving ActHIB (PF) intramuscular to a child under 12:
Warning: NO SAFETY AND EFFICACY ESTABLISHED AGE < 2 MONTHS.


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Updated Feb 14, 2013 - 11:57 am
'Family Guy' makes joke at Arizona's expense
Arizona's tough immigration laws are the source of much controversy, but they are also a source for jokes.
The popular show "Family Guy" made a pretty harsh joke at Arizona's expense, basically stating that law enforcement will shoot at Mexican immigrants no matter what.
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Luke Bryan to join Blake Shelton as ACMs co-host
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Luke Bryan is joining Blake Shelton to co-host the 2013 Academy of Country Music Awards.
The Academy also says in a Tuesday news release that this year's show will be held April 7 and Brad Paisley will host the ACM Fan Jam, a satellite event held simultaneously with the awards show.
Bryan replaces Reba McEntire. She served as host for more than a decade before stepping aside to concentrate on her new sitcom "Malibu Country."
Shelton is also a star on "The Voice" and began sharing hosting duties with McEntire two years ago. This will be Bryan's first gig hosting a live event.
The 48th annual ACM Awards will be broadcast live on CBS from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Michael Green, Jerry Azumah, Daniel Wilcox
( Sun photo by Christopher T. Assaf / October 23, 2005 )
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The San Francisco Giants took control of the National League West on Wednesday night as they swept away the Los Angeles Dodgers with an 8-4 win at Dodger Stadium. San Francisco now owns a division lead of two and a half games over their longtime rivals.
The last time the Giants swept the Dodgers in a three-game series in Los Angeles was April 24-26, 2007. It was the third consecutive sweep between these two clubs this season. The Giants swept the Dodgers in San Francisco from June 25-27, and the Dodgers returned the favor by taking three straight games at AT&T Park from July 27-29.
Matt Cain (13-5) allowed just one run in seven innings to win his third straight game, and he was supported on offense by a pair of unheralded teammates.
Joaquin Arias blasted a two-run home run and doubled twice, part of his career-high five runs batted in. Arias, who had one home run in his first 79 games of the season, has homered twice in his last five games, hitting .563 (9-for-16) during that span.
Angel Pagan had two hits, a walk, and scored three runs, wrapping up a stellar series at Chavez Ravine. In three games against the Dodgers Pagan had seven hits, including one double in each game, and scored six runs. He has a six-game hitting streak.
Arias and Pagan have helped the Giants in the absence of the suspended Melky Cabrera, as San Francisco has averaged 5.29 runs per game in a week without their starting left fielder, winning five or seven games.
The two-run home run by Arias punctuated a three-run first inning against Chris Capuano, a deficit from which the Dodgers never recovered. Capuano (11-9) in his five innings allowed six runs, the most he has allowed in any home start this season.
Andre Ethier came into the game in a 1-for-22 slump, and was nearly scratched with a ruptured blister in his right hand, a blister that manager Don Mattingly called "a monster" after the game. Ethier remained in the lineup, and picked up two hits, including a double. The extra-base hit made him the first Dodger with six straight seasons of 30 or more doubles.
The sweep was deflating for the Dodgers, who returned home after a 7-3 road trip that included series wins over the playoff hopeful Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves.
"It's a surprising series for me really. I thought coming off the road we would play well, but we really didn't score any runs," said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. "The off day comes, and the season starts Friday."
That season starts at a disadvantage for the Dodgers, who now trail the Giants by three in the loss column with 37 games remaining.


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I'll be the first to admit that my fishing exploits on the island of St. John haven't been much to write home about. Until last year, the only creatures I've been able to remove from the crystalline waters surrounding this Caribbean paradise have been a bar jack, a little tunny, a pompano and a half-pound squirrelfish. My lack of success might not seem so pathetic if it wasn't for the fact that I've been vacationing on St. John since I was two! Over the course of 21 trips to the island I've spent numerous hours casting lures from shore and driven myself crazy in my attempts to catch what has to be the world's most uncatchable bonefish, all to no avail.
My luck finally changed last April when I did a little research and hooked up with local charter captain Loren Nickbarg. A former resident of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, the 48-year-old Nickbarg moved to St. John permanently with his wife in 1989 after visiting the island several times on vacation. Loren cut his teeth on chartering during a two-year stint in the Florida Keys, where he fished with the legendary captain Jimmy Albright. When he moved to St. John, he brought with him the live-bait chumming techniques he had learned in the Keys, eventually purchasing a custom-built, 33-foot center console with a 70-gallon live well that holds up to 1,000 baits. Loren is the first to admit that this style of fishing takes some extra work, such as rising before dawn in order to net a day's worth of pilchards. But when it comes to producing consistent, fast-paced action, nothing beats live chum.
Inshore Variety
I learned this firsthand when my wife Elizabeth and I, along with my brother Matt and his wife Chrystal, joined Nickbarg for a day of inshore and offshore fishing last April. We met Loren at the U.S. Park Service docks in the town of Cruz Bay, then headed for an inshore hump not more than five minutes from the dock. The spot lay to the north of Congo Island, a towering edifice of hardened lava not far from some of St. John's most popular beaches.
Although Loren doesn't really need his sophisticated color depthsounder to pinpoint his hot spots, he turned it on for my benefit. When the bottom rose from 80 to 65 feet, he dipped out a netful of pilchards from the live well and flung them into the cobalt water behind the boat. Almost immediately, boobies and frigate birds swooped in from the rocks to pick off the panicked prey, which was leaping from the water to avoid the onslaught of frenzied game fish.
As boils appeared around the boat and the baitfish flew in all directions, Loren calmly plucked a 20-pound-class spinning outfit from its holder, flipped a live bait amid the melee, and handed the rod to Chrystal. The baitfish lasted all of three seconds before an unseen predator grabbed it and began ripping off line. The mystery fish turned out to be a beautiful rainbow runner-a common catch in these parts, according to Loren. Next up was an African pompano taken by my brother, followed by a cero mackerel and a little tunny, also known as bonito in the Virgin Islands.
Variety and fast action are major attractions of the live-chumming game, and the hit parade of inshore species one can expect to encounter off St. John includes jacks, barracuda and king mackerel. Sailfish and tuna have even been known to crash the party. "Sometimes, 50-pound yellowfins come through the inshore humps and blow big holes in the water," Loren told us. "Plus, you'll see humpback whales moving through the area in winter."
Occasionally, Loren will send a live bait to the bottom while the surface blitz is raging. This sometimes produces grouper and snapper, although the area's healthy shark population makes it hard to get a large fish to the surface.
When the action died down off Congo Island, Loren fired up the engines and we roared off to another hump, this one a little farther to the north and in deeper water. Over the years, Loren has accumulated lots of these little spots, which he relocates through dead-reckoning.
The action at the second hump proved to be just as hot. Cero mackerel, little tunny and jacks were the main fare, but there were other, larger creatures in the waters below, as we discovered when several of our lines came back without a fish-or a hook. The culprits were reef sharks, and we decided to see if we could turn the table on these bad boys.
Within minutes, Loren had coaxed a 250-pounder to the surface with an injured bonito on a 50-pound outfit. When Loren began to reel the bait away, the huge shark barreled forward, chomped the bonito and disappeared into the depths. What followed was 30 minutes of backbreaking battle that ended with Loren handlining the fish to boatside for release. We didn't want to eat up valuable fishing time on the shark, but Loren has other clients who don't feel the same way. "Hey, some people just like to come out here and pull on sharks," he said.
Action on The Drop
At noon, Loren ran us back to Cruz Bay for a short break prior to round two of our fishing adventure. After grabbing some lunch and relaxing on a nearby beach for a few hours, Elizabeth and I rejoined Loren and his close friend, St. Thomas charter captain Jonathan Gatcliffe, then set a course for the famous North Drop, some 18 miles north of St. John. The North Drop is a section of the Virgin Bank drop-off that's world famous for its blue marlin fishery (Loren once caught a blue from a flats skiff when he first moved to the islands), which runs from June through October. Although marlin aren't as numerous on "The Drop" during the winter and early spring, this period offers excellent action with blackfin and yellowfin tuna, dolphin and wahoo.
Getting to the North Drop took about 50 minutes in the mild seas. Once we arrived, Jonathan and Loren quickly deployed a spread of four 30-pound trolling outfits, two armed with Braid Little Speedy lures and two with small, blue-and-white Doorknob trolling lures. Our plan was to blind-troll along the edge of the bank, looking for bait and birds until the tuna staged their predictable evening blitz.
Both Jonathan and Loren swear by the Little Speedys, which swim down to about 20 feet and will take dolphin (mahi), tuna and wahoo. They are also great for high-speed search trolling. "If I had to troll one lure here, it would be the Braid Speedy," says Jonathan. "You can troll it up to 12 knots without it flying out of the water."
Having once fished the North Drop during the height of the summer marlin season, when there can be as many as 30 large boats from St. Thomas trolling 'rigger-to-'rigger along the bank, I was amazed to see we had the place all to ourselves. Loren explained that this is usually the case during the winter and spring, which is just fine by him.
One of the main indicators of fish activity on the North Drop are frigate birds, and Loren soon turned the Avante in the direction of one that was circling suspiciously. As we approached, a school of flying fish burst from the water and sailed over the wavetops.
"Hey, mahi!" someone cried out as a pair of dorsal fins suddenly streaked towards our wake and one of the 'rigger lines popped from its clip. Elizabeth took the rod and got her first taste of how hard a big dolphin can fight. Unfortunately, the fish threw the hook on one of its spastic jumps, but my wife got another chance a few minutes later when a second dolphin crashed the spread. This one didn't get away, and the 25-pound bull was soon thrashing and thumping in the fishbox, destined for the grill at our rental villa that evening.
According to Loren and Jonathan, dolphin in the 20- to 30-pound range are a dependable target off St. John throughout the year. The best action occurs along the North Drop from December through early April before shifting to the South Drop-the southern edge of the Virgin Bank that runs ten miles south of St. John-through the summer.
Wahoo are also abundant throughout the Virgin Islands from November through April, with March being prime time. They congregate over seamounts and along the edge of the Virgin Bank, and are suckers for high-speed diving plugs and ballyhoo fished on downriggers or planers. Another good spot to find them is the fish-aggregating device (FAD) installed by the government off the North Drop. This manmade structure holds all kinds of game fish, including the occasional marlin, but can be fished out if pounded daily by commercial boats. We gave the FAD a few passes ourselves, and found it loaded with dolphin. We boated several and were bitten off a few times by what may have been wahoo or barracuda.
Evening Blitz
As promised, the dolphin action was merely a prelude to the evening tuna blitz, which erupted as the sun dipped close to the horizon. Diving boobies and frigates pointed the way to breaking fish that were gorging themselves on tightly packed schools of baitfish. Once we arrived on the scene, Loren began scattering live pilchards, which immediately disappeared in a barrage of crashing tuna. Any nose-hooked pilchard unlucky enough to find itself lobbed into the midst of the carnage soon vanished in a burst of whitewater.Jonathan and Loren were hoping for yellowfins, which range in size from footballs of ten pounds to 100-pounders, but the tuna turned out to be blackfins in the 15- to 20-pound range. Even so, they proved to be tough little customers, even on the 30-pound gear we were using. When I asked if we should perhaps scale down to lighter tackle, I received an emphatic "no" from both Loren and Jonathan. They explained that sharks can be so numerous on the Drop that they'll devour any tuna not brought to the boat in less than a few minutes. "Sharks are such a problem here that some days we'll maybe land one out of 30 fish," Jonathan lamented.
Indeed, we soon experienced the shark problem firsthand, as several of our fish were plucked from our lines almost as soon as they were hooked. Needless to say, the shark factor rules out any fly-fishing or light-tackle options. "Fly fishing for tuna doesn't work here because of the sharks," Jonathan told us, "but you can have a blast with the mahi and the inshore fish."
With the fishbox loaded and twilight descending, Loren pushed the throttle forward and pointed the Avante toward the lights of St. John and St. Thomas. Back at the dock, eager buyers from the local restaurants would be waiting to buy Loren's fish (he supplies much of the fresh fish dinners consumed by tourists in St. John), but Elizabeth and I had made sure to reserve a few choice fillets for ourselves. As we rocketed home, bathed by the balmy air, it occurred to me that I had finally figured out a way to catch fish on St. John. At last, my squirrelfish days were behind me!
Charter Boats
Loren Nickbarg is one of the few charter captains on St. John, and an expert at employing the highly effective live-chumming technique. His boat Avante is a 33-foot, custom-outfitted, inboard center console with a 300-hp turbo diesel. A full-day charter runs $750, while a half-day is $400. Loren can arrange combined sightseeing and fishing trips, as well as combo trips to remote beaches. Call him at (340) 779-4281.
Jonathan Gatcliffe is based on nearby St. Thomas and can easily pick up clients on St. John. He also runs a large center console and specializes in live-bait fishing, both offshore and in. Call DoubleHeader Sportfishing at (340) 777-7317.
Capt. Eddy Morrison of the 45-foot Viking Marlin Prince specializes in offshore fishing for marlin, tuna, wahoo and mahi. He is based in St. Thomas, but will pick anglers up in St. John. Call (340) 693-5929.
Capt. Bill McCauley runs a 45-foot Hatteras and specializes in offshore trolling for marlin, tuna, dolphin and wahoo. He can arrange for St. John pickups. Call Prowler Sportfishing at (888) 514-4292.-Tom Richardson
St. John Travel Info
St. John is the least-developed of the U.S. Virgin Islands, due to the fact that a full two-thirds of the island is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. National Park Service. St. John's white-sand beaches are among the most beautiful in the world, and the snorkeling and diving are world-class. As for accommodations, there are numerous rental villas and guest houses, as well as two luxury resorts and campgrounds to choose from. To get to St. John, visitors must fly to St. Thomas (the airport receives direct flights from major East Coast cities) and take a ferry to the island's capital of Cruz Bay. For more information, check out the excellent website http://www.stjohnusvi.com, or call the U.S. Virgin Islands Tourist Board at (212) 332-2222.-Tom Richardson


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The National Federation of Small Business and Gallup have recently published results of small business surveys, which are consistent with other data which are presented below.
The recent trend has worsened according to several different sources. Conditions had never improved to levels seen in prior business expansions, but the recently-reported sales and profits data have slipped again to recessionary levels that were seen for the first time in years early in the 2008, when the Great Recession was just getting going but was not known to be a recession at all.
This is not an exhaustive set of data for the entire economy, of course. It is, however, consistent with the recent downtrend in corporate profit growth reported by public companies.
The latest survey of its members by NFIB reports worsening of the more than year-long downtrend in profits and sales, though the statistical significance of the data is unclear (LINK). Here are some results (more easily seen on the linked document, p.9):
Net Percent ("Higher" Minus "Lower") Last Three Months
Compared to Prior Three Months
(Seasonally Adjusted)
Actual (Prior Three Months) and Expected (Next Three Months)
January 2007 to November 2012
(Seasonally Adjusted)
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2007 -3 -1 0 4 1 -4 -1 -4 -4 -4 -3 1
2008 -7 -8 -11 -9 -11 -12 -15 -10 -11 -21 -25 -29
2009 -31 -28 -34 -28 -33 -34 -34 -27 -26 -31 -31 -25
2010 -26 -26 -25 -15 -11 -15 -16 -16 -17 -13 -15 -16
2011 -11 -11 -12 -5 -9 -7 -8 -9 -10 -12 -11 -7
2012 -6 -7 1 4 2 -5 -9 -13 -13 -15 -15
Sales trends were weakening in 2007 and by mid-2008, well into the not-yet-Great recession, were at current levels. No recovery to positive territory ever occurred. Initially such astute analysts as Bill McBride of Calculated Risk took the optimistic view that because NFIB's members were somewhat overweighted in the construction trade, the actual results understated the strength of small business in the economy as a whole. Now that construction has made "the turn", however, no such explanation is possible. For the past four months, the survey shows sales trends is back to levels of sales declines not seen since 2010.
The profit trends are also poor (2012 only shown here; full data on p. 8):
Net Percent ("Higher" Minus "Lower") Last Three Months
Compared to Prior Three Months
(Seasonally Adjusted)
2012 -24 -19 -23 -12 -15 -22 -27 -28 -27 -26 -32
The -32 for November is a three-month average. Thus the actual November number was about -42, because the prior four months were stable around -27. Now, the NFIB November survey is not large, most responses are not usable for unknown reasons, so whether this sudden deterioration is profits can be extrapolated widely is unclear. (Note that NFIB did not find any particular effect from Sandy in this survey.)
Gallup shows similar results, as it published the following on Dec. 6 (LINK):
U.S. Small-Business Owners' Hiring Intentions Plunge
U.S. small-business owners expect to add fewer net new jobs over the next 12 months than at any time since the depths of the 2008-2009 recession, according to this November's Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Survey. Small-business owners' net hiring intentions for the next 12 months plunged to -4 in November, down from +10 in July and matching the previous record low recorded by the Wells Fargo/Small Business Index of -4 in November 2008.
Gallup picked up similar trends in another survey (LINK):
December 13, 2012
U.S. Small-Business Owners Pull Back Capital Spending Plans
Net capital spending over the past 12 months declined to -22, down from -11 in Julyby Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist
PRINCETON, NJ — U.S. small-business owners' net capital spending intentions for the next 12 months plunged to -14 in November, the lowest level in more than two years, according to the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index. This is down from net capital spending intentions of -1 in July and suggests the nation's small-business owners are likely to pull back on their business investments even more, given their negative expectations for the next 12 months.
Gallup has also picked up similar trends in the broader economy (LINK):
U.S. Unadjusted Unemployment Shoots Back Up
Gallup questioned whether the above jump up was related to Sandy, or whether the prior spike down to new recovery low levels (low being good, of course, in this case). The following suggests the latter may be the more correct explanation, given this poll (LINK):
U.S. Payroll to Population Rate Falls to 43.7% in November
Payroll to Population declines across all regionsby Jenny Marlar
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Payroll to Population employment rate (P2P), as measured by Gallup, was 43.7% for the month of November, down from 45.7% in October. This is the largest month-over-month decline in P2P since Gallup began tracking it in January 2010.
That the decline in P2P was seen in all regions may be important.
The above trends are also the gigantic Federal "JOLTS" survey, where a rebound in hiring has only reached the levels seen in prior economic cycle bottoms (and despite a larger population now):
(Courtesy Calculated Risk (LINK)
It looks to me as if the above trends are consistent with the rolling-over phenomenon that began in or around 2006 before the actual jobs recession took hold.
In addition, our friend Rick Davis of Consumer Metrics is gathering data that is also consistent with an acceleration of the U.S. economy to the downside (LINK). In the past, surges in this index up and down have been good leading indicators of the stock market. For example, it turned up sharply in the summer of 2011 as the stock market was declining, and also turned up sharply in the fall of 2008 when it appeared as though the economic world was ending.
His growth rate index is also showing poor recent results but good 12-month results, which is often a bad sign for the stock market, as year-on-year comparisons are still good, thus encouraging optimism:
Trailing 91, 183 and 365 Day Data
|Trailing Days:
|% Growth(4):
The futures markets show some extreme bullish bets by traders on the S&P 500 index (e-mini contract), silver, palladium– and Treasury bonds.
There is more than the usual amount of uncertainty now amongst both investors/speculators and economists, considering unsettled events in Washington, how much the recent data has been affected by Hurricane Sandy, the evolving euro-zone economic and political difficulties, etc.
Nonetheless, a growing number of data points support a cautious view of the current situation of, and short-term prospects for, economic activity in the United States.


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Iridium Prepaid Expiry Policy
Effective December 17, 2013, prepaid units that have been carried over for more than three years will be expired on a daily basis from prepaid account balances. For any customer who has purchased a 3,000 or 5,000 e‐voucher since December 17, 2009 and going forward, a four‐year expiry period on units will apply. Any customer whose has an ongoing balance of units that are less than three years old is unaffected by this plan.
View Iridium Prepaid Policy FAQ and Iridium Prepaid Policy Restatement
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It is in these times when all else fails, that satellite telephones ("satphones") will work as their terrestrial components are usually very far away from the region of the disaster.
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PLAYBILL.COM'S CUE & A: Scandalous' Andrew Samonsky
By Matthew Blank
Andrew Samonsky, who doubles in the roles of Harold McPherson and Kenneth Ormiston in Broadway's Scandalous, fills out Playbill.com's questionnaire of random facts, backstage trivia and pop-culture tidbits.
Samonsky played Joseph Cable in Lincoln Center's South Pacific, which was filmed for a "Live From Lincoln Center" PBS broadcast.
Other theatre work includes Michael John LaChiusa's Queen of the Mist at Transport Group (Frank Russell, Drama Desk nomination), Merrily We Roll Along (Tyler) at City Center, Tales of the City at A.C.T. and Little Miss Sunshine at La Jolla Playhouse.
Read more at the Playbill Vault.
Send questions and comments to the Webmaster


text:
02-23-2006, 06:44 PM #1Asst. Coach
- Join Date
- Dec 1969
- Posts
- 561
5 teammates stump to keep Culpepper
McKinnie to Vikings: Don't make same mistake
Pioneer Press
The Vikings and Daunte Culpepper have been tight-lipped amid trade speculation involving the quarterback.
But left tackle Bryant McKinnie, tight end Jermaine Wiggins, defensive tackle Kevin Williams, nose tackle Pat Williams and cornerback Antoine Winfield all said they hope Culpepper remains their teammate and that the team would be worse off without him.
"That's crazy," McKinnie said when asked about the speculation of Culpepper being traded. "I don't agree with trading him. Last year, they traded Randy Moss.
"We already made one mistake (trading Moss). Don't do it twice. If that's the case, let me go."
McKinnie said the Vikings have had a smooth offseason and that he is looking forward to returning to Winter Park soon to meet the new coaches and staff. But McKinnie, who is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after the 2007 season, said he would not want to remain a Viking if Culpepper is gone.
"I didn't like the trade last year, so I'm definitely not going to like this trade," McKinnie said. "Trading would not solve anything. What's that going to do? Make somebody else's team better that we might have to play against?"
Pat Williams said of the possibility of losing Culpepper, "It would be a big loss because we would be starting from scratch."
A Vikings spokesman declined comment, and Culpepper did not respond to an interview request for this story.
Winfield said Culpepper was one of the main reasons he signed with the Vikings two years ago and backed out of a deal with the New York Jets.
"I want him here," Winfield said. "I enjoy playing with him; he's a great guy to be around, and he's definitely a leader. I mean, he had a few bad games last year. But he's had a great career. He'll bounce back, whether it's here or somewhere else."
Wiggins said judging Culpepper by his 2005 season is unfair.
"The guy has been to three Pro Bowls, and in 2004, if Peyton Manning doesn't have the year he had, Daunte would have been an MVP contender," Wiggins said. "Obviously, last year he got hurt and we didn't play well as a team, and that reflects on him. A lot of it had to do with us as a team, and we weren't doing the things we needed to do. But people in the media will put the brunt of it on his shoulders, because he is the quarterback."
McKinnie said he is surprised the Vikings haven't been more sensitive to and forthcoming with Culpepper.
"The man went through a lot this season," McKinnie said. "The team should at least let Daunte know what's happening. He's got a lot of stress right now. They should be upfront with him."
Added Winfield, "He's been injured, and he doesn't know his future. If I were him, I'd be like, 'Dang, does this team even want me here?' "
Wiggins said he and other teammates have been frustrated with all the speculation involving Culpepper.
"As players, it kind of concerns us because everything is done by anonymous sources," Wiggins said. "As players, we'd rather stuff be straightforward, whatever it may be, so you can focus on the guys who are going to be on your team and what direction people want to go. But this is a business, and we have to realize that. There's a lot of things that come of it, good and bad."
Pat Williams said he wouldn't believe the trade rumors until someone makes a public comment.
"Our owner hasn't said anything, so I don't believe it," he said.
Owner Zygi Wilf has not responded to interview requests from the Pioneer Press about Culpepper.
A key sticking point between the Vikings and Culpepper is believed to be money, which doesn't surprise Winfield.
"I respect every player in this league," Winfield said. "It's a tough game, and you're not going to be in this forever. So players who hold out for more money, I don't hold anything against them."
Winfield said teams do nothing when a player outperforms his contract. But they insist on a pay cut or restructuring if a player underperforms.
McKinnie applauded the play of Brad Johnson but wondered about his future.
"Brad did a great job," McKinnie said of Johnson, who will turn 38 in September. "But you can't say he's a long-term quarterback. Not taking anything away from him, but how many more full seasons can he last?"
Added Pat Williams, "I'm not saying Brad wouldn't get the job done. But we still need Culpepper."
With a $6 million roster bonus due on March 17, Culpepper's future likely will be decided sooner rather than later."From the fury of the Northmen, O Lord, save us!"
-- From a monestary in Ireland.
Re: 5 teammates stump to keep Culpepper
Can I go jump on their wagon? Hell yeah, I hope the front office is listening to their players!
Re: 5 teammates stump to keep Culpepper
I put a lot of stake in what players say (yeah right) And do these player know all of the specifics in this case and I think Daunte is the one trying to force his way outta here. Besides hard line opinions by players change in an instant.
For example:
"Kerry Collins is a better QB that Pep"- Moss
"I will retire after this year"- Bonds (recants a whole day later)
The whole Viking auora is new and none of us know the MO of this new staff, so it is hard to tell how things will shake out."Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn t work hard."
Re: 5 teammates stump to keep Culpepper
hopefully the front office realizes that the core of our best players just said they want him here and our franchise left tackle said he would leave after 07 if they traded him. thats a big enough reason to wait on pep's knee to me!
Re: 5 teammates stump to keep Culpepper
OMV, this one has been posted in the aggressively trading/shopping Pep thread
02-23-2006, 07:15 PM #6Jersey Retired
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Re: 5 teammates stump to keep Culpepper
I've been for trading Pep if the right offer comes around. After reading this I hope the staff takes into consideration what the team thinks. Bad morale is not good for a team. You can have all the superstars yo uwant but if they are not happy they will not perform to their potential. Obviously there are other factors to consider but taking imput from teammates is important as well.
Re: 5 teammates stump to keep Culpepper
For a quick link, this is where the article is posted;
Teammates stump to keep Culpepper
"If at first you don't succeed, parachuting is not for you"
02-23-2006, 07:23 PM #8Rookie
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Re: 5 teammates stump to keep Culpepper
if a guy like mckinnie says that he doesn't want to be a viking after next year,....that's just another BIG reason not to trade c-pep.... it's good that his teammates jump in now, because maybe this can convince ziggi that this trade would be the dumbest move you can possibly make....
02-23-2006, 07:24 PM #9Rookie
- Join Date
- Dec 1969
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Re: 5 teammates stump to keep Culpepper
if a guy like mckinnie says that he doesn't want to be a viking after next year,....that's just another BIG reason not to trade c-pep.... it's good that his teammates jump in now, because maybe this can convince ziggi that this trade would be the dumbest move you can possibly make....
Re: 5 teammates stump to keep Culpepper
As singer pointed out, this has already been posted.
http://www.purplepride.org/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=321850#3218 50
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text:
What is a Panic Attack?
A panic attack is a sudden and intense feeling of terror, fear or apprehension, without the presence of actual danger. The symptoms of a panic attack usually happen suddenly, peak within 10 minutes and then subside. However, some attacks may last longer or may occur in succession, making it difficult to determine when one attack ends and another begins.
The Three Types of Panic Attacks
Panic attacks are classified into three basic types:
- Spontaneous or uncued panic attacks occur without warning or "out of the blue." No situational or environmental triggers are associated with the attack. These types of panic attacks may even occur during one's sleep.
- Situationally bound or cued panic attacks occur upon actual or anticipated exposure to certain situations. These situations become cues or triggers for a panic episode. For example, an individual who fears enclosed spaces experiences a panic attack when entering, or thinking about entering, an elevator.
- Situationally predisposed panic attacks don't always occur immediately upon exposure to a feared situation or cue, but the individual is more likely to experience an attack in such situations. For example, a person who has a fear of social situations but who does not experience a panic episode in every social situation, or who experiences a delayed attack after being in a social environment for an extended period of time.
DSM-IV-TR Criteria
According to the DSM-IV-TR, a panic attack is characterized by four or more of the following symptoms:
- palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate
- sweating
- trembling or shaking
- sensations of shortness of breath or smothering
- feeling of choking
- chest pain or discomfort
- nausea or abdominal distress
- feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded, or faint
- feelings of unreality (derealization) or being detached from oneself (depersonalization)
- fear of losing control or going crazy
- fear of dying
- numbness or tingling sensations (paresthesias)
- chills or hot flushes
The presence of fewer than four of the above symptoms may be considered a limited-symptom panic attack.
Does Having a Panic Attack Mean I Have Panic Disorder?
It is important to note that many people may experience a panic attack once, or even a few times during their lives. In order for a diagnosis of panic disorder to be made, one must experience recurring panic attacks that are not caused by the effects of drugs, alcohol or another medical or psychological condition. It is possible to have a few isolated panic attacks without chronic recurrence. But, since panic-like symptoms may mimic many other medical and psychological disorders, it is important to review your symptoms with your doctor.
American Psychiatric Association. "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed., text revision" 2000 Washington, DC: Author. Helpguide.org. 15 October 2006. Panic Attacks, Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment