text:
Search Result
Search Tags: buchanan county
Virginia's elk herd continues to grow
Monday - 09/08/2014, 09:21am EDT
Tags: Buchanan County, elk
Ex-Grundy firefighter charged in 2 wildfires
Tuesday - 04/15/2014, 01:20pm EDT
Tags: Buchanan County, forest fire, arson, Crime
APCo to upgrade infrastructure in western Virginia
Tuesday - 02/11/2014, 10:00am EST
Southwest Virginia's elk herd doing well
Southwest Virginia's elk herd is doing well and attracting visitors who want to see the animals.
Monday - 10/07/2013, 03:38pm EDT
Tags: elk, tourism, Buchanan County
Va.'s new elk herd grows to 2 dozen
Virginia's new elk herd has grown to two dozen since a restoration project began in Buchanan County earlier this year.
Sunday - 09/23/2012, 01:02pm EDT
Tags: Buchanan County, elk
, November 27, 2014
Washington, DC
Now: 47 °FTonight: Cold with patchy clouds
Hi: 43 °F | Lo: 28 °F


text:
After spending the better part of two months on the PlayStation Network, Amazon's instant video streaming service "Amazon Instant" has finally made the jump to Xbox Live.
The arrival of the service will allow users who are both Xbox Live Gold subscribers as well as Amazon Prime members free access to their library of over 17,000 videos. Non-Prime viewers will be able to browse and purchase their selection of "over 120,000 movies and TV episodes."
Their library also recently got a quality boost after Amazon reached a deal with Paramount to host their videos on the service last week. Amazon is also boasting some Kinect functionality with the ability to control videos with voice and gestures.
Plan10FromOuterSpace - May 30, 2012 9:35 a.m.
NullG7 - May 29, 2012 11:05 p.m.
PleaseSitDownICannotSee - May 29, 2012 8:55 p.m.
jackthemenace - May 29, 2012 12:59 p.m.
Showing 1-7 of 7 comments
Log in using Facebook to share comments, games, status update and other activity easily with your Facebook feed.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The environmental community is beginning to worry that the Obama Administration is preparing to cave on greenhouse gas emissions, just like it did on ozone emissions.
Hard on the heels of the Obama administration's decision earlier this month to scrap a new rule for ozone emissions, U.S. EPA appears poised to miss another major regulatory deadline — this time for greenhouse gas emissions.
Environmentalists are reserving judgment about the fact the agency has yet to send its proposed rule for greenhouse gas emissions from utilities to the White House Office of Management and Budget for vetting, a necessary final step before the rule can be released in compliance with the court-ordered deadline of Sept. 30.
But conservationists warn that if the administration delays another important rule for apparently political reasons, it will face stiff opposition from its sometime-allies in the green community.
"It's starting to look as if EPA might blow another deadline," said Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch. "That would be very disturbing."
That's particularly troubling given what we've learned about the ozone cave. We know the Business Roundtable wrote Bill Daley personally with their exaggerated claims about the ozone rules. And when environmental groups responded by emphasizing how popular clean air is, Daley ignored them–only to respond when those same business groups implied ozone regulations would be unpopular in swing states. (h/t David Roberts)
On Aug. 16, Mr. Daley met with environmental, public-health and other groups to discuss the Environmental Protection Agency rule that would tighten air-quality standards. At one point he lamented that the issue couldn't be worked out by consensus with industry, as the White House did with the auto industry on fuel-economy rules.
When the American Lung Association mentioned a poll showing public support for EPA standards, Mr. Daley appeared uninterested, according to one person in the room. "He literally cut the person off and said 'I don't give a [expletive] about the poll'," this person said. A senior White House official said Mr. Daley wanted to hear arguments about the substance of the regulation and its impact, not political arguments, and he was uninterested in all polls on this topic.
The same day, Mr. Daley met with industry groups, who gave the White House a map showing counties that would be out of compliance with the Clean Air Act if the stricter standards were put in place. The map showed that the rule would affect areas in the politically important 2012 election states of Florida, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio.
And now the Business Roundtable speaks openly about maintaining that kind of influence over these decisions.
"We saw that as a positive — his level of interest, him sitting in on these meetings, him weighing in on this issue within the administration," Johanna Schneider, executive director of external relations for the Business Roundtable, told The Hill. "I think it's emblematic of his role in the administration as part of the outreach to the business community."
"It moved the issue up to the top of the agenda for the president. That is what happens when you have a White House chief of staff getting involved," Schneider said. "You have one of the two or three people in government who can control the agenda."
American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard said he's hopeful the ozone decision foreshadows increased White House involvement in rulemakings.
"We are hopeful that all decisions will be scrutinized as closely as the ozone decision, because a lot of regulatory overreach is what creates the uncertainty that keeps the investment money on the sidelines," Gerard said in an interview.
Now maybe it's true that insisting that businesses not poison our children would be political unpopular in key swing states–or maybe not.
The point is, these decisions are being made for political reasons. And the person making those decisions appears to be Bill Daley (helped by Cass Sunstein).
You know. Bill Daley? The guy who couldn't get Al Gore elected at a time of historical prosperity (even if it was a bubble)? The guy who pushed decisions like separation from a popular president and caving on the FL recount that led directly to Gore being unsuccessful at pressing his victory?
Maybe the White House is right to make bad environmental decisions for pragmatic political reasons (though I doubt it). But Bill Daley is probably not the guy you want making that call, because he has a pretty remarkable history of poor political judgment.
This article–showing how many stupid projects have been funded in the name of homeland security in the last decade–has been making the rounds. Everyone has been pointing to its details on how few people have died in terrorist attacks.
"The number of people worldwide who are killed by Muslim-type terrorists, Al Qaeda wannabes, is maybe a few hundred outside of war zones. It's basically the same number of people who die drowning in the bathtub each year," said John Mueller, an Ohio State University professor who has written extensively about the balance between threat and expenditures in fighting terrorism.
"So if your chance of being killed by a terrorist in the United States is 1 in 3.5 million, the question is, how much do you want to spend to get that down to 1 in 4.5 million?" he said.
Only 14 Americans have died in about three dozen instances of Islamic extremist terrorist plots targeted at the U.S. outside war zones since 2001 — most of them involving one or two home-grown plotters.
Returning to the National Climatic Data Center data I was looking at the other day, 3,420 people have died since 9/11 in big weather disasters:
2002: 28
2004: 168
2005: 2,002
2006: 95
2007: 22
2008: 296
2009: 26
2010: 46
2011 634 (counting 40 thus far in Irene)
Total: 3,420
Now I raise this not just to make the obvious point that we would be better off dumping some of this money into dealing with climate change, but also to make a point about the theme Obama is pushing for this year's commemoration of 9/11: resilience.
The White House has issued detailed guidelines to government officials on how to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, with instructions to honor the memory of those who died on American soil but also to recall that Al Qaeda and other extremist groups have since carried out attacks elsewhere in the world, from Mumbai to Manila.
The White House in recent days has quietly disseminated two sets of documents. One is framed for overseas allies and their citizens and was sent to American embassies and consulates around the globe. The other includes themes for Americans here and underscores the importance of national service and what the government has done to prevent another major attack in the United States.
One significant new theme is in both sets of documents: Government officials are to warn that Americans must be prepared for another attack — and must, in response, be resilient in recovering from the loss.
"Resilience takes many forms, including the dedication and courage to move forward," according to the guidelines for foreign audiences. "While we must never forget those who we lost, we must do more than simply remember them —we must sustain our resilience and remain united to prevent new attacks and new victims."
Brian Beutler has a post predicting that Eric Cantor will do the same thing with Irene disaster aid he did with hypothetical aid to his own constituents after the earthquake: demand budget cuts to pay for any aid.
Now, in the wake of Hurricane Irene — a much costlier natural disaster — Cantor may make the same demand, which could touch off a bitter fight on Capitol Hill.
"We aren't going to speculate on damage before it happens, period," his staff told me Thursday when I asked about the impending storm. "But, as you know, Eric has consistently said that additional funds for federal disaster relief ought to be offset with spending cuts."
This is a big problem. The budget is already stretched very thin, and even Cantor has asked his members not to provoke another fight about cutting spending beyond its already agreed-upon levels. And if clean-up costs reach into the billions, paying for it by cutting spending will damage other important services, despite the fact that the usual standard is to not use natural disasters as political bargaining chips.
Three things are going on here by my count. First, Republicans have learned an obvious lesson since they retook the House — that they can control the agenda in Washington, and put popular government programs under attack, if and only if they have some leverage over Democrats to play along. The government shutdown fight in April was their first victory. The debt limit showdown was their piece de resistance.
Second, there are political pitfalls to this approach, particularly when it requires Republicans to publicly stake out specific positions. Cutting government spending might focus group well, but privatizing Medicare does not, as Republicans learned quite painfully earlier this year. This augurs for slashing spending in nebulous ways — capping discretionary spending, and spreading the cuts out across myriad federal programs; or promising to "find monies" in the budget to offset new expenses. Death by a thousand, invisible cuts.
Third, the right flank of the Republican party expects no less. In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina devastated southern Louisiana, Cantor's predecessor, Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) claimed Republicans had pared discretionary spending back enough that federal aid could be financed with new debt. He came under attack from members of his own party and quickly reversed himself. Looks like Cantor learned his lesson.
At issue is, in part, the number of disasters FEMA has had to respond to, which has sapped its disaster release funds.
The size of Irene matters because the Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster relief fund has dipped below a key threshold.
It is now at $792 million, congressional sources said Friday. Normally when the fund dips below $1 billion, FEMA announces it can only meet the most immediate needs such as clearing debris.
On Saturday FEMA announced that because the fund had reached $792 million, it had in fact reached immediate needs status.
The announcement prompted House GOP appropriators to blast the administration for allowing the FEMA funding standoff to continue to this point.
Before Hurricane Irene and the Virginia earthquake, 2011 saw historic Mississippi river valley flooding, North Dakota flooding, and massive tornados in the Midwest and South.
The agency told Congress this summer it could need up to $4 billion more in funding for a total of $6.8 billion in 2012.
What all remains unsaid in this is that climate change is likely contributing to the increased disaster expenses this year. NOAA has a catalog of the nine "weather disasters" that caused more than $1 billion in damages this year (this would not include the earthquake in any case, and only goes through August 15). In total, these events have done more than $35 billion in damage, which is a record (again, that's before Irene's damages), and killed at least 594 people. Here's the damage done:
Add to that the $2.6 billion in estimated insured losses with Irene (though as much as a billion of that is in the Caribbean) and at least 25 deaths in the US, and those billions and those deaths begin to add up.
Yet in response, the Republicans have been targeting programs–like clean energy vehicles–as their "offsets" to disaster funding.
At some point, we're going to need to address this as "climate change" rather than just "serial Mother Nature" requiring budget offsets.
Perhaps the way to force that issue is to point out who is suffering because of this. The biggest number of deaths came in Alabama and Missouri, not the elite East Coast. The big damages came in states like Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Alabama, Tennesee, the Dakotas.
Climate change exacerbated weather events are devastating red states as much as the blue states Irene just hit. It is time to stop treating them as discrete events, paid for by cutting some of the same core government functions helping to deal with climate change generally. If Republicans are going to make this a fight, it's time to finally start pointing to how climate change denialism is killing the constituents of those denialists.
Back in March, after the Japanese earthquake, Eric Cantor defended Republican plans to cut funding from the USGS and warning systems to help in case of a disaster.
This is the epicenter of the freak 5.9 Richter earthquake that just hit Virginia.
Here's the location of the Anna 1 and 2 nuclear power plants, which lost power
and are now operating on diesel backup generators. Power has now been restored.
And here's a partial map of Eric Cantor's district. (h/t lpsrocks)
Update: Maps and Anna plant news updated. Text removed.
Update: The NRC apparently ranks this nuclear power plant as the 7th most likely to be hit by an earthquake.
The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission has ranked the earthquake damage risk at all 104 nuclear power plants in this country. The pair operated by Dominion Power, at Lake Anna in eastern Louisa County, come in at 7th most 'at risk' on the list.
According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, North Anna 1 and 2 face an annual 1 in 22,727 chance of the core being damaged by an earthquake and exposing the public to radiation.
Update: Apparently, budget cuts in the 1990s led to the removal of seismic equipment at the North Anna plant. (h/t Kirk)
The Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory (VTSO) is one of the primary sources for data on seismic activity in the central East Coast. In 1963, as part of the worldwide program, seismographs were installed at Blacksburg, and in 1977 several more seismographs were stationed in the Commonwealth and operated by the Virginia Division of Geology and Mineral Resources. Some of these instruments were stationed around the North Anna Nuclear Power plant, but in the 1990's, due to budget cuts, most of the North Anna sensors were taken off line. Along with other southeastern regional seismic networks and the U.S. National Seismic Network, VTSO contributes to seismic hazard assessment in the southeastern United States and compiles a Southeastern U.S. Earthquake Catalog.
Cantor was in VA's House of Delegates from 1992 to 2001, so there's a decent chance he had a part in those budget cuts.
Update: Bob Alvarez at POGO provides some detail on the North Anna plant.
According to a representative of Dominion Power, the two reactors were designed to withstand a 5.9-6.1 quake.
The North Anna reactors are of the Westinghouse Pressurized Water design and went on line in 1979 and 1980 respectively. Since then the reactors have generated approximately 1,200 metric tons of nuclear spent fuel containing about 228,000 curies of highly radioactive materials—among the largest concentrations of radioactivity in the United States.
Nearly 40 percent of the radioactivity in the North Anna spent fuel pools is cesium-137—a long-lived radioisotope that gives off potentially dangerous penetrating radiation and also accumulates in food over a period of centuries. The North Anna Pools hold about 15-30 times more Cs-137 than was released by the Chernobyl accident in 1986. In 2003, IPS helped lead a study warning that drainage of a pool might cause a catastrophic radiation fire, which could render an area uninhabitable greater than that created by the Chernobyl accident.
The spent fuel pools at North Anna contain 4-5 times more than their original designs intended. As in Japan, all U.S. power nuclear power plant spent fuel pools do not have steel lined, concrete barriers that cover reactor vessels to prevent the escape of radioactivity.
Jeff "China China China" Immelt spoke at Dartmouth yesterday, ostensibly about energy. But as it happens, he had the opportunity (in question period) to pressure SuperCongress to "reform" taxes rather than raise them on people like Immelt (while later saying he didn't think SuperCongress should also look at job creation). He claimed GE would embrace the elimination of loopholes, so long as the corporate tax rate was also lowered.
The largest U.S. conglomerate would accept the elimination of loopholes "in a heartbeat" if it was coupled with a lowering of the statutory 35 percent rate, Jeff Immelt told a group of students on Thursday.
Right. We're to take Immelt's word that GE will stop taking advantage of any means to evade taxes based on its own history of evading taxes.
Which, in combination with Immelt's comments about investing are all the more interesting. Here's how Reuters described it.
Immelt, who leads a panel advising the Obama administration on job creation, said he puts little stock in talk that the government could do more to encourage companies to invest and lower the nation's persistently high unemployment rate.
"A lot has been said that business isn't investing because of uncertainty. I think that's rubbish," the 55-year-old CEO said. "The government couldn't do anything to make me invest and believe me the rest of the world isn't that stable either. We've made our own choices that we're going to keep investing regardless of what happens in Washington."
But in an uncharacteristically animated moment, he blasted critics who contend that companies like GE that do much of their sales outside the United States are hurting the economy. He noted that GE sells 90 percent of its jet engines abroad but manufacturers all of them in U.S. factories.
"That's not taking jobs out of the United States, that's what we have to do," Immelt said. "We've gotten this psychotic thing that anybody that does business outside the United States is a heathen, anti-American … I don't understand why we're rooting against companies that are out there competing because we're creating good jobs here." [my emphasis]
Now there's actually more than this going on. First, in response to a question (around 42:10) about allegations that GE doesn't pay taxes, Immelt shifted the answer to claim, incorrectly, that people were beating up on GE for exporting, rather than beating up on GE for not paying taxes. So rather than talking about tax evasion, he instead talked about how many jet engines GE exports from the US. And when, later (around 52:00), he was asked whether all the energy products GE sells in India and China were made in the US, he again focused on jet engines (energy products?) and gas turbines.
In other words, he avoided talking about taxes by pretending all GE does does export large manufactured goods. (More interesting, too, though probably worth another post, is his exhortation–around 50:00–that you shouldn't watch TV or read the news, said in the context of the crash, "everybody had to wake up and realize you gotta change," without admitting that GE's financial games were a huge part of the crash.)
And yes, Immelt says that the government can't do anything to make GE invest–though in context it appeared to say the government can't make GE invest here (as opposed to other countries–he noted that investments in energy are primarily happening in Europe and China).
I find that claim, in particular, interesting given how GE is claiming credit for creating a greater proportion of jobs in the US. But the big headline item–a tech center in the Detroit area–happened precisely because of government intervention.
Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt has said GE will add more than 15,000 jobs in the three years through December. About 1,100 will be just outside Detroit in a center for information technology, a field emblematic of outsourcing. So far, GE has hired about 660 people in Michigan, a state that led the nation in jobless rates, making it a symbol of U.S. industrial decline.
GE took advantage of incentives such as Michigan's tax benefits and skilled workforce. Immelt said in announcing the Michigan site in 2009 that GE would invest $100 million, while state officials offered more than $60 million over 12 years in incentives.
"The change in approach is critical, and it comes right from the top," said Harley Shaiken, a labor professor at the University of California at Berkeley. "He's addressed it both from the context of GE and in the importance of the U.S. having a vibrant, high-tech manufacturing base."
So I guess the government can do something to make Jeff Immelt's company invest in the US. But for some reason he didn't want to talk about it.
In a recent op-ed, Alliance for American Manufacturing head Scott Paul offered a number of suggestions to rebuild manufacturing in the US. Among other worthy suggestions, he suggested what might be called the "Immelt Rule"–banishing CEOs from federal advisory boards (like Obama's job's council) if they're outsourcing faster than they're creating jobs here in the US.
Kick any CEO off of federal advisory boards or jobs councils who has: (1) not created net new American jobs over the past five years, or (2) is expanding the company's foreign workforce at a faster rate than its domestic workforce. Replace them with CEOs who are committed to investing in America. Shame is a good motivator.
I guess Immelt would rather just talk about exporting jet engines and be done with it.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is worried enough about rising farm land values in the MidWest it is holding a conference to discuss it. Here in the MidWest, prices have gone up 17% in the last year.
And Bloomberg has a piece describing bankster types scouring farmland the world over for farms.
"I have frequently told people that one of the best investments in the world will be farmland," says Jim Rogers, 68, chairman of Singapore-based Rogers Holdings, who predicted the start of the global commodities rally in 1996. "You've got to buy in a place where it rains, and you have to have a farmer who knows what he's doing. If you can do that, you will make a double whammy because the crops are becoming more valuable."
The growth in demand for food, spurred by the rising middle classes in China, India and other emerging markets, shows no signs of abating. Food prices in June, as measured by a United Nations index of 55 food commodities, were just slightly below their peak in February. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization said in a June report that it expects food costs to remain high through 2012.
So many investors have rushed to capitalize on food prices in the past three years that they may be creating a farmland bubble. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, which covers Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and other agricultural states, said in May that farmland prices had surged 20 percent in the first quarter compared with a year earlier.
"Yes, farmland will be a bubble again; all agricultural products will be in a bubble again," says Rogers, who is an investor in Agrifirma Brazil Ltd., a South American farmland owner.
Now, I'm interested (and concerned) about the way this will lead to problematic relations between investors and the farmers actually doing the work ("Feudalism returns," Muniland's Cate Long says).
But I'm even more rather amazed that the discussion of this doesn't mention climate change.
Sure, the increase in prices is, in the short term, driven by demand in places like China.
The hedge fund Diggle co-founded, Artradis Fund Management Pte in Singapore, suffered about $700 million in losses. He closed it in March and opened another Singapore-based hedge fund, Vulpes Investment Management Pte. Diggle plans to incorporate his five farms into an investment management group run by Vulpes.
From his vantage point in Asia, where the British expatriate has worked for the past two decades, Diggle says he's witnessed aspiring locals eating their way up the food chain.
"You can see what a more prosperous China will consume," Diggle, 47, says. "It means more dairy, more meat — not just pork and chicken."
But this year's near-record food prices are tied, too, to weird weather and other disasters: fires in Russia and floods in Australia. Whether or not those disasters were tied to climate change, climate change already has changed productivity.
Sure, the horizon of investment here may be shorter than that which will see areas of the MidWest take on an increasing role in feeding the rest of the country as other parts because less farmable. But that horizon is not that far out.
This farm buying craze may well be a bubble. Or it may be the leading edge of financial changes tied to climate change.
There's something that bugged me about this article (indeed, bugs me about most economic analyses of our current crash). Amidst a discussion that fairly lays out some of the problems with the global economy (all the while ignoring that one critical issue in the US is a gutting of manufacture and unions and therefore increasing inequality), it talks about how to rebalance the global economy so as to return to "sustainable growth."
What it failed to create, however, was the kind of virtuous cycle of growing sales, growing profits and growing employment, all feeding off of one another, to keep the economy growing even as the stimulus wears off — "escape velocity," to borrow a term from aerodynamics.
The truth is we're in something of a trap. Until imbalances are corrected, the U.S. and global economies are unlikely to return to robust and sustainable growth. And yet to the extent that we address these imbalances, the correction process will inevitably be a short-term drag on an already weak economy.
I mean, aside from Pearlstein's blind reverence for the market, he's right about the notion of balance. It is true, for example, that the newly rebalanced globe, America will play a smaller role as the consumer of last resort.
But it'd be nice if, at the same time as analysts think about rebalancing the global economy, they'd consider what their idea of "sustainable growth" meant in the past–and what it would mean in the future if it continued unchecked. After all, the sustainable-growth-that-turned-out-to-be-unsustainable of the last 60 years of a globalized economy caused climate change which will be an increasing drain on even a growing economy as disasters become worse and more frequent.
The spending on unnecessary consumer goods, the transportation miles driven, the dietary patterns, the waste. Those things caused climate change. Those are the things economists would like to return to, if slightly adjusted around the globe.
Since we're going to be spending the next couple of years trying to find "sustainable growth," do you think we could also keep in mind what would be truly sustainable for the globe?
In one of my posts on drones, I noted that we have had more deaths this year in AL (238) and MO (159) because of extreme tornadoes the severity of which is probably at least due partly to climate change than we have from terrorism.
But there's something else that seems to have happened.
Meteor Blades has a post cataloging how many more people are relying on food stamps this month–45.8 million, or close to 15% of the country. He links to the state-level data, which reveals a huge spike in AL's use of food stamps. In April 2011, 868,813 Alambamans used food stamps–a worse than average but not abysmal 18% of its population. In May, that number spiked to 1,762,481, over 37% of the population, almost 900,000 new people getting food stamps.
Incidentally, the only people from AL's congressional delegation to vote no on the debt ceiling vote this week–Martha Robey, Mo Brooks, Richard Shelby, and Jeff Sessions–did so from the right.
Assuming these numbers are right (the numbers reported for new applicants–100,000 from hard-hit Jefferson County–seem to support them), there's still a good reason why so many Alabamans are relying on federal aid to feed themselves: the devastating tornadoes in April. In response, the state rolled out special sign-up processes, turning around applications in three days time. Though, at least from some quarters, there was skepticism about whether people were applying because of the tornado, or more generalized need.
At the very least, the reliance of over a third of Alabamans on food stamps, half of them in response to the tornadoes, suggests one more cost from this crazy weather.
But it will be interesting to see what happens to these numbers in subsequent months. Will these numbers return to "normal," reflecting an appropriate and short term response to a disaster (even if it is one Alabama's legislators all refuse to pay for)? Or are we seeing a poor state come to rely on the government for bare necessities once it becomes easy to apply?
Yesterday, Tim DeChristopher was sentenced to 2 years and a $10,000 fine for his successful efforts to expose an improper BLM drilling auction.
At his hearing, DeChristopher rebutted the prosecution's claim that he needed to face a tough sentence to uphold rule of law.
Mr. Huber also makes grand assumptions about my level of respect for the rule of law. The government claims a long prison sentence is necessary to counteract the political statements I've made and promote a respect for the law.
This is really the heart of what this case is about. The rule of law is dependent upon a government that is willing to abide by the law. Disrespect for the rule of law begins when the government believes itself and its corporate sponsors to be above the law.
Mr. Huber claims that the seriousness of my offense was that I "obstructed lawful government proceedings." But the auction in question was not a lawful proceeding. I know you've heard another case about some of the irregularities for which the auction was overturned. But that case did not involve the BLM's blatant violation of Secretarial Order 3226, which was a law that went into effect in 2001 and required the BLM to weigh the impacts on climate change for all its major decisions, particularly resource development. A federal judge in Montana ruled last year that the BLM was in constant violation of this law throughout the Bush administration. In all the proceedings and debates about this auction, no apologist for the government or the BLM has ever even tried to claim that the BLM followed this law. In both the December 2008 auction and the creation of the Resource Management Plan on which this auction was based, the BLM did not even attempt to follow this law.
I'm not saying any of this to ask you for mercy, but to ask you to join me. If you side with Mr. Huber and believe that your role is to discourage citizens from holding their government accountable, then you should follow his recommendations and lock me away. I certainly don't want that. I have no desire to go to prison, and any assertion that I want to be even a temporary martyr is false. I want you to join me in standing up for the right and responsibility of citizens to challenge their government. I want you to join me in valuing this country's rich history of nonviolent civil disobedience.
And in response, of course, the judge did lock DeChristopher away. It's a farce given the facts of the case, but consider how it looks when, as DeChristopher invites, you consider DOJ's other efforts to "uphold rule of law."
Compare the damage–if any–DeChristopher's actions did to that which BP has done. As bmaz noted in April, a year after the Macondo explosion, no one has yet been held accountable for 11 deaths, to say nothing of the physical damage to the Gulf. And as Jason Leopold recently reported, our unwillingness to heed whistleblowers has led to more damage from BP. Part of the problem, of course, is the difficulty finding a judge without a financial interest in BP.
Or compare DeChristopher's punishment with that of Massey energy. DOJ has records that Massey faked safety records for the Big Branch mine, yet over a year after 29 people were killed, no one has been held responsible. Don Blankenship not only got to retire with $12 million, he continues to get paid by the company as a "consultant."
Or compare DeChristopher's punishment with that of Angelo Mozilo or Lloyd Blankfein. Between them, they had a huge role in causing Americans trillions of dollars in preventable losses. After fining Mozilo $67 million he won't pay personally, DOJ judged that Mozilo's actions did not constitute criminal wrongdoing, so he remains free to enjoy his corruptly gained riches. And in spite of the apparent fact that Blankfein lied to Congress last year about the ways Goldman crashed the economy, DOJ has only now begun to make motions of investigating his lies.
And consider the others who tried to expose government wrong-doing. The government spent three years trying to prosecute Thomas Drake for whistleblowing–apparently because they suspected he leaked details of the illegal wiretap program. And it is currently pursuing a strategy that may land James Risen in prison–Risen says, in retaliation for his reporting on the illegal wiretap program. Yet DOJ went to great lengths to avoid holding anyone responsible for actually doing the illegal wiretapping.
We're about to try Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri for his alleged role in the USS Cole bombing, which is fine. But the government not only hasn't punished his torturers, but it hasn't punished those who destroyed exonerating evidence of his torture.
DOJ has apparently given up any pretense of supporting the rule of law. The law is a tool used to punish political protest and exposure of wrong-doing. And it is a tool to protect the corporations whose crimes do far more damage to this country.
John Robb recently predicted that after a Soviet-style collapse, our legal system will collapse.
What happens to the legal system when the US suffers a Soviet style collapse? Answer: It will rapidly decay.
Here's a simple formula for this (it works for both legal systems and government bureaucracies):
Low legitimacy + slashed operating budgets = rampant corruption
Regardless of any decay in the legal system, business will still be conducted. Small disputes will be resolved through the existing system, with graft tipping the scales or speeding the outcome. Large disputes involving substantial wealth transfer will be something else entirely. These disputes will be resolved through the ability of one party or the other to apply the threat of (or actual) violence to the negotiation process.
These pressures won't only be the result of counterparties that have access or control the large mafias/gangs/militias (or corporate militaries) that will spring up during economic collapse (far larger than we've seen the US to date). Threats will also be mounted by government/defense/security officials that use their government sanctioned command of violence (police, SWAT, military units, etc.) as a means to personal enrichement.
But (as his suggestion about the impunity people like Mozilo and Blankfein were given shows) he gets the chronology wrong. Aside from the bribed BP judges, it's not corruption per se that is collapsing our judicial system. It's the apparently conscious choice on the part of the government to void the concept of rule of law, the choice to treat political speech and whistleblowing as a much greater crime than the corporate crimes that have devastated our country.
I think DeChristopher is right: seeing his sentence isn't going to scare anyone into cowing in the face of such a capricious legal system. Rather, it makes it clear what the stakes are.
In the US, most of the news on Somalia in recent days has focused on the war on terror. First, there was the arrest of alleged al-Shabaab figure Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame. Then there was Jeremy Scahill's important piece on the CIA's black site in Somalia. And then the push to conflate al-Shabaab with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula with al Qaeda.
Somalia, you see, is all about the war on terror.
Except that it's also the focal point of what the UN has now declared is a growing famine in the Horn of Africa.
Which really ought to make us question our priorities globally.
Check out the list of factors behind the famine.
The current crisis in southern Somalia is driven by a combination of factors:-
- The total failure of the October‐December Deyr rains (secondary season) and the poor performance of the April‐June Gu rains (primary season) have resulted in crop failure, reduced labor demand, poor livestock body conditions, and excess animal mortality
- Local cereal prices across the south are far above average, more than 2 to 3 times 2010 prices in some areas, and continue to rise. As a result, both livestock to cereal and wage to cereal terms of trade have deteriorated substantially. Across all livelihoods, poor households (~30 percent of the population) are unable to meet basic food needs and have limited ability to cope with these food deficits
- During July, FSNAU conducted 17 representative nutrition and mortality surveys across southern Somalia; results are available for 11 surveys. The prevalence of acute malnutrition exceeds 20 percent in all areas and is higher than 38 percent (with severe acute malnutrition higher than 14 percent) in 9 of the 11 survey areas. The highest recorded levels of acute malnutrition are in Bay, Bakool, and Gedo (agropastoral) where the GAM prevalence exceeds 50 percent. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has verified these findings
- Population‐wide death rates are above the famine threshold (2/10,000/day) in two areas (Bakool agropastoral, and all areas of Lower Shabelle) and are elevated across the south. Under‐5 death rates are higher than 4/10,000/day in all areas of the south where data is available, peaking at 13‐20/10,000/day in riverine and agropastoral areas of Lower Shabelle. Tens of thousands of people have died in the past three months.l
One of these issues–the 2-300% increase in cereal prices–can be tied at least partly to commodity speculation, the gambling over foodstuffs that helps companies like Goldman Sachs get richer.
And the part of that price increase that doesn't come from commodity speculation–that is, the part of that price increase tied to real market issues–derives largely from catastrophic weather. The failed rains in East Africa are just one part of that. More important to the world market are the drought and fires in Russia and the floods in Australia. And while we can't prove that the last year's freakish weather is a very tangible sign that climate change has started to affect our day-to-day life, there's little doubt that climate change is a big part of it.
Now, you can't actually separate al-Shabaab's presence in Somalia from its famine; the absence of a functioning government, after all, is what leads to famine. And al-Shabaab's presence makes it more difficult for aid organizations to work.
But it's unclear that launching drone strikes on Somalia is the best way we can help them. It's probably not even within the top 10. And whatever our counterterrorism presence in Somalia, focusing on that–but not on the financial and behavioral things the developed world does that exacerbates this crisis–ignores some of the most important underlying causes.


text:
Multi Orgasmic Massage
Sometimes there are days when everything is perfect. Like it is for her today.
It seems her pleasure will go on forever. How many orgasms can a woman have? How many can you count? More
Playing time: 42:54 Minutes
Format 1080p HD
File Size: 1.5 GB
Members FREE!
Ordering our products is as easy as 1-2-3, and we guarantee that all purchases are 100% secure.
For more detailed information, please visit our FAQ-page.


text: Make Your Own Lip Balm Kit by Sweet Cecily's £15.75$30.04€20.73$26.37 149 customer reviews(149) In stock £2.75$5.24€3.62$4.60 mainland UK delivery - Order now and receive this item on or before Wednesday 26 November £2.75$5.24€3.62$4.60 mainland UK deliveryEstimated delivery: up to 3 days £7.70$14.69€10.13$12.89 Express Next Day - Order now and receive this item on or before Tuesday 25 November Express delivery available UK delivery only flavourflavour (required)UnscentedStrawberry (+ £0.20)Spearmint (+ £0.20)Orange (+ £0.20)flavour (required)UnscentedStrawberry (+ $0.38)Spearmint (+ $0.38)Orange (+ $0.38)flavour (required)UnscentedStrawberry (+ €0.26)Spearmint (+ €0.26)Orange (+ €0.26)flavour (required)UnscentedStrawberry (+ $0.33)Spearmint (+ $0.33)Orange (+ $0.33) name to be shown on box gift wrapping?gift wrapping? (required)No thank youYes please (+ £1.50)gift wrapping? (required)No thank youYes please (+ $2.86)gift wrapping? (required)No thank youYes please (+ €1.97)gift wrapping? (required)No thank youYes please (+ $2.51) quantity by Sweet Cecily's Location: North Yorkshire, GB read seller's profile see seller's complete range more items from this seller Cocktail Flavour Lip Balm £3.25$6.20€4.27$5.44 Pina Colada Lip Balm £3.25$6.20€4.27$5.44 Banoffee Lipbalm £3.25$6.20€4.27$5.44 Earl Grey Tea Lip Balm £3.25$6.20€4.27$5.44 Strawberries And Cream Lip Balm £3.25$6.20€4.27$5.44 Personalised Lip Balm Favours £4.95$9.44€6.51$8.28 view all you may also like PRODUCT DETAILS CUSTOMER REVIEWS DELIVERY RETURNS Made in Britain can be personalised gift wrapping available eco-friendly ask seller a question Everything you need to make five of your very own lip balms. A perfect gift for anyone who enjoys getting creative. Contained in a recyclable cardboard box, they will receive all the ingredients they need (pre weighed!) to make five of their own lip balms which can then be kept or given as gifts. The kit includes: Shea butter, beeswax, cocoa butter, almond and calendula oil, your chosen fragrance, five empty pots, five blank white labels, and instructions. Available in four different flavours: strawberry, spearmint, orange or unscented. Personalise your kit: We want our kits to be as unique as possible, so to make it just that bit more special, you can even personalise the label on the outer box, simply enter the name or message you want and we'll print it out for you! If you don't wish to personalise it, just leave it as it is. Please note the character limit is 20. All personalisation will be in black Rough Tyepwriter font. If you select to have your item gift wrapped, this will come wrapped in brown kraft paper tied with a ribbon of our choice. made from: Ethically sourced ingredients which are all contained in a 100% recyclable box. All our products have undergone the necessary testing to meet EU standards for skincare. dimensions: Box size: Length: 18cm x Height 8cm x Depth 10cm product code: 199848 149 customer reviews Tue 18 Nov 2014 No comment supplied. Tue 18 Nov 2014 Very pleased with the product. Tue 18 Nov 2014 No comment supplied. Fri 14 Nov 2014 My friend will love it (christmas gift) Fri 14 Nov 2014 This is a Christmas present for my daughter so I am not really able to rate it other than to say that the delivery was very quick. Tue 11 Nov 2014 Very Good quality Wed 05 Nov 2014 This is a gift so I haven't used it myself but have opened it and the product looks good. Thu 30 Oct 2014 not given it yet but nicely presented Tue 28 Oct 2014 Lovely presentation Sat 25 Oct 2014 Damaged packaging, wonky stickers Sweet Cecily's's response: Thanks for your feedback and I am sorry to hear that your order got damaged in the post, resulting in the box getting squashed therefore affecting the stickers etc. Thank you for contacting us and we did offer you a replacement or full refund, and a refund was chosen. Please do contact me via your Order Enquiry if I can be of any further assistance and thank you for shopping with us. Wed 22 Oct 2014 No comment supplied. Tue 21 Oct 2014 Was bought as a present that the birthday girl LOVED! Lovely option to customise the box which added a great personal touch. Could not have been happier! Fri 17 Oct 2014 No comment supplied. Thu 16 Oct 2014 A perfect gift, and well received by intended person. Wed 10 Sep 2014 Very good thank you Mon 25 Aug 2014 EXCELLENT Tue 22 Jul 2014 Got this for my 10 year old cousin who loved it! Nicely wrapped too. Thanks. Sat 12 Jul 2014 No comment supplied. Tue 08 Jul 2014 My partner loves this present! Sat 21 Jun 2014 No comment supplied. Sun 08 Jun 2014 Bought as present. Looks good! Fri 30 May 2014 Quick delivery and good product. Wed 21 May 2014 Great product, personalised so felt special. Speedy service too. Sat 10 May 2014 Perfect present, so special with the customised name tag! Sat 05 Apr 2014 Excellent Sat 05 Apr 2014 No comment supplied. Sun 16 Mar 2014 Quick delivery and lovely product. Thu 13 Mar 2014 Excellent gift that arrived in good time Tue 11 Mar 2014 I bought it for my friends 5 year old little girl who thought it was the best present ever. Thank you for making me look good. Fri 31 Jan 2014 Really good idea Fri 31 Jan 2014 n/a Wed 29 Jan 2014 No comment supplied. Thu 23 Jan 2014 No comment supplied. Tue 14 Jan 2014 Lovely quality product. Nicely packaged. Much thought gone into it. Mon 13 Jan 2014 Excellent Sun 12 Jan 2014 This is my second batch of lip balms as I enjoyed making the first. Used them for stocking fillers. Kept one for myself this time and the only thing I would say is that the fragrance is quite weak and the lip balm was quite hard (this may be due to how I've made it though - in saying that I did follow the instructions). I would still say it is worth it though as it's good fun and everyone was impressed with their present. Sat 11 Jan 2014 No comment supplied. Fri 10 Jan 2014 Vary good idea Fri 10 Jan 2014 Great quality Fri 10 Jan 2014 Smaller than I thought but I wasn't misled in any way. Fri 10 Jan 2014 Lovely gift Idea Thu 09 Jan 2014 Very good product - for teenage girls Thu 09 Jan 2014 A bit disappointed with the qualities and sizes. Wed 08 Jan 2014 this was a gift for someone and they loved it, and having been given one of the lip balms she made, I love it too, it is just like a professional lip balm. Wed 08 Jan 2014 Not used it yet Wed 08 Jan 2014 No comment supplied. Wed 08 Jan 2014 Such a great gift idea, really unusual and packaged beautifully Tue 07 Jan 2014 Great idea Mon 06 Jan 2014 No comment supplied. Mon 06 Jan 2014 This product seemed very expensive for all that came in the post Sweet Cecily's's response: Dear Customer. We are sorry to hear you are not happy with your item. We do try and describe in detail what is in the kit, and also show images of the components. Regards Cecily. Mon 06 Jan 2014 Lovely gift. Mon 06 Jan 2014 No comment supplied. Mon 06 Jan 2014 Good gift for someone that uses a lot of lip balm and was good value for money overall. Would be good to vary the flavours in one package though and maybe allow different coloured tins Sun 05 Jan 2014 No comment supplied. Sat 04 Jan 2014 No comment supplied. Sat 04 Jan 2014 I rate this item poor due to the promised delivery date that did not transpire. I was emailed the delivery date as no later than 16th Dec. but delivery was not attempted until 23rd Dec. And as no-one was home I had to stand in a post office queue on Xmas eve before starting work to ensure getting the gift to wrap in time. Poor response from company. Haven't had feedback re product from recipient yet. Sweet Cecily's's response: Dear Customer, We are sorry to hear about your negative experience. Unfortunately the delivery time is out of our hands once we ship with Royal Mail, and we have had terrible problems over this Christmas period with delays and missing items. With apologies for the problems encountered, Cecily. Sat 04 Jan 2014 Cute little set well packaged. A great stocking filler. Even the tag with personal name on was lovely. Sat 04 Jan 2014 product as advertised Sat 04 Jan 2014 Not received it yet, even though it was ordered well before Christmas - hopefully am being sent a replacement or a refund, but still waiting. Sweet Cecily's's response: We are terribly sorry that your order was lost in the post, and after discussion with the customer a full refund was arranged. Regards, Cecily Sat 04 Jan 2014 Lovely product not yet used. Had some concerns over delivery but all resolved immediately and product arrived in good time. Thank you! Fri 03 Jan 2014 This was a gift but they seem to be very pleased with the quality and look of it. Fri 03 Jan 2014 I have still not received this product and I ordered it on 6th December as a Christmas present! Not impressed with the company at all. Sweet Cecily's's response: We are so sorry that your order did not arrive in time. We have had terrible problems with the postal service either losing items or long delays. As agreed we will be sending a replacement. With our apologies. Sweet Cecily's Fri 03 Jan 2014 No comment supplied. Thu 02 Jan 2014 Felt this was reasonable value for money. Personalised label went down well with niece. A great top up gift for something a little different/something recipient has not already got/ for a young girl that likes being creative/ making her own things. Thu 02 Jan 2014 No comment supplied. Thu 02 Jan 2014 No comment supplied. Thu 02 Jan 2014 Love this kit. What fun for a young girl to make and such a good idea Thu 02 Jan 2014 Great product! Thu 02 Jan 2014 Unsure. Thu 02 Jan 2014 No comment supplied. Thu 02 Jan 2014 Was well received by my partner, although she hasn't tried using it yet. Wed 01 Jan 2014 The item was well packaged and lovely. Wed 01 Jan 2014 Lovely gift. Perhaps slightly expensive though Wed 01 Jan 2014 Great idea, easily manipulated for other flavours/scents too. Great product and a super stocking filler! Wed 01 Jan 2014 Haven't made them yet but good instructions x Tue 31 Dec 2013 A very successful gift for a 12 year old! Tue 31 Dec 2013 lovely gift item. Mon 30 Dec 2013 A fantastic idea to introduce people to craft. Mon 30 Dec 2013 It was well received Mon 30 Dec 2013 No comment supplied. Mon 30 Dec 2013 Just as it says on the tin. Not on the high street. Very good gift which was well received. Mon 30 Dec 2013 No comment supplied. Sun 29 Dec 2013 Fast delivery and a very cute present! Sun 29 Dec 2013 Fast delivery and great quality Sun 29 Dec 2013 Excellent gift for a hard to buy for teenager. Sat 28 Dec 2013 Beautiful present Sat 28 Dec 2013 Looked lovely when it arrived and my sister-in-law was very pleased with it Sat 28 Dec 2013 No comment supplied. Fri 27 Dec 2013 Great fun present Fri 27 Dec 2013 Excellent service Fri 27 Dec 2013 Brilliant set, fast delivery Fri 27 Dec 2013 The lip balm kit was a present for my daughter and I don't know whether she has had a chance to try it yet but I must say that I was disappointed with quality of the printing of her name on the associated label, it really was pretty messy. Sweet Cecily's's response: We are sorry to hear that you are not happy with the product. You may of course return the item for a refund if you no longer wish to keep it. Regards, Cecily Thu 26 Dec 2013 Beautiful, novel product Tue 24 Dec 2013 I would give it an excellent as the person I gave it to absolutely loved the gift. However, she hasn't used it yet so I don't know what the finished product is like. It is a brilliant gift for a creative friend though and I would recommend it :) Mon 23 Dec 2013 Lovely item, quick delivery Mon 23 Dec 2013 No comment supplied. Sun 22 Dec 2013 This item was for a gift I have not personally used it but as far as I can see it looks lovely as a present for somebody. Sat 21 Dec 2013 Exactly was I expected Wed 18 Dec 2013 Really cute little set, perfect present or great for yourself Wed 18 Dec 2013 No comment supplied. Tue 17 Dec 2013 fine Tue 17 Dec 2013 Lovely product x Tue 17 Dec 2013 Nice, high quality and good looking. Tue 17 Dec 2013 No comment supplied. Tue 17 Dec 2013 Quirky present for my teenage daughter, love it . Sun 15 Dec 2013 No comment supplied. Sun 15 Dec 2013 Something different and hope my friend will enjoying making it. Beautifully packaged and aerived quickly. Sun 15 Dec 2013 fine Fri 13 Dec 2013 Good Fri 13 Dec 2013 No comment supplied. Fri 13 Dec 2013 Present so not used but looks lovely Thu 12 Dec 2013 Quite sweet but a very small gift and seems expensive for what it is. I wouldn't have bought it if I'd have seen the size. Thu 12 Dec 2013 Bought this as a stocking filler for my friend and her two young daughters to make together. Hope it works as good as it looks. Wed 11 Dec 2013 Lovely product and very helpful and pleasant seller. Thankyou Tue 10 Dec 2013 This is a brilliant idea and comes wonderfully packaged, however, we felt the strawberry 'flavour' was very faint and you could barely smell it so that was a bit of a disappointment. Also, given that there are many tins to pour the finished product into, it would be nice to have the option of having more than one scent/flavour in the pack. Mon 09 Dec 2013 Great idea Mon 09 Dec 2013 Lovely & fast delivery. Nicely packaged Mon 09 Dec 2013 No comment supplied. Sun 08 Dec 2013 Very simple and pretty quick to make. I've just bought another pack to use as stocking fillers and small gifts at Christmas. Sat 07 Dec 2013 No comment supplied. Sat 07 Dec 2013 Beautifully presented product. Ideal as a gift for a lucky young girl (or myself, and I am far from a 'young girl'!) Sat 07 Dec 2013 Amazing idea! One of the best gifts I've ever given I've been told, well done notonthehighstreet! Haha (: Thu 05 Dec 2013 No comment supplied. Wed 04 Dec 2013 Fab product. Great gift idea and something a little different. Wed 04 Dec 2013 The kit looks good, nicely packaged and with the recipient's name included. It's for a gift so I don't know how good the actual product is Thu 28 Nov 2013 Excellent range of products which are priced very well. Often able to find the perfect unique gifts. Wed 27 Nov 2013 No comment supplied. Sat 23 Nov 2013 The perfect pressie for a fussy friend! Fri 22 Nov 2013 This was a gift so I can't comment other than to say my friend was delighted with the gift. Thu 21 Nov 2013 No comment supplied. Tue 19 Nov 2013 It was a gift for a friend and she loved it! Mon 18 Nov 2013 Fun and easy to make Mon 18 Nov 2013 Very fast delivery service, the product was smaller than I expected but it's a great idea. As this is a gift I haven't tried or tested the product but I'm sure it will be great. Sun 17 Nov 2013 Good idea Sat 16 Nov 2013 Ok Thu 14 Nov 2013 Just all looks good enough to eat. Beautiful packaging. Tue 05 Nov 2013 I like that you can personalise the tag Mon 04 Nov 2013 I bought as a present so I will have no idea on quality until my friend lets me know after Christmas! Sat 02 Nov 2013 I bought this as a gift so I can't rate it . It arrived very quickly thank you Sun 20 Oct 2013 very happy Sat 19 Oct 2013 Lovely, thoughtful gift. Couldn't be happier. Tue 15 Oct 2013 Purchased as a gift - seems nice, but I'm not sure yet how easy it is to make the lip balms, or how good they will be once made. Wed 09 Oct 2013 Thanks Wed 09 Oct 2013 Lovely kit. Sun 20 Jan 2013 Fantastic idea. It's a small package, but looks fab. Mon 14 Jan 2013 No comment supplied. Sun 13 Jan 2013 sent out efficiently. lovely packaging. my mum has not used it yet but she will! Sun 02 Dec 2012 It would be a little nicer in a box and not squished into a little bag? Otherwise very happy Thu 29 Nov 2012 Great product see all customer reviews hide some customer reviews read about our product rating system ratings guide trusted independent customer feedbackforum excellent bad good poor This product is dispatched to you by Sweet Cecily's. MAINLAND UK order now and receive this item on or before price Standard Delivery Wednesday 26 November £2.75$5.24€3.62$4.60 Express Next Day Tuesday 25 November £7.70$14.69€10.13$12.89 NON-MAINLAND UK estimated delivery price Highlands & Islands of Scotland 2-5 daysfrom dispatch £2.75$5.24€3.62$4.60 Other UK Islands 2-5 daysfrom dispatch £4.95$9.44€6.51$8.28 INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY estimated delivery price Not currently available for this region You have 28 days, from receipt of cancellable goods, to notify the seller if you wish to cancel your order or exchange an item. Please note: goods that are personalised, bespoke or made-to-order to your specific requirements, perishable products and personal items sold with a hygiene seal (cosmetics, underwear) in instances where the seal is broken are non-refundable, unless faulty. Read more about our returns policy.Should you choose to return or exchange your order you will need to deliver the item(s) to the UK, where this seller is based. Sweet Cecily's's return policy


text:
Please login to get more out of this site
You are currently not logged in, do so now to add comments, like articles as well as photos, submit to competitions, translate articles and gain access to unlimited photo upload! If you are not registered yet, go here to find out more about Lomography and join now! If you just want a limited account for now you can use Twitter or Facebook. We would love to have you as a member here!
72 people like this LomoWall
Liking LomoWalls helps us to present the best ones to you and others. 72 people like this LomoWall. 72 people like this LomoWall: sorio, sarahandsarah, woddali, herbert-4, lonur, upyr, lupideeloop, ironsymphony, mapix, brommi, lakandula, porty, blablabla-anab, igmaro, neanderthalis, victoroh, masha_njam, olga_primavera, bloomchen, lienchen, sobetion, biondapiccola, atria007, inkkl, caroni, taniab, dimitra, feelux, bkspicture, lawypop, nastya_shishova, mephisto19, maria_vlachou, nuhdos, ryszardl70, analogniklas, kathepalacio, i_am_four-eyes, le_ors, oldtimer-rfh, bubblegirl, 134340, cc-in-paris, paucacho, johnccc, antibiotyx, velocity89, realrampage, rik041, nilah, lorena-ceolin, baldufa, chikumumu, c0pe, 0live, v_v_vlasenko, aciel, espiadimonis, adash, fmadera, roby, malexrosales, icomewhenieatcaponata, devildi, ecchymoses, nishichauhan, lomiga, pipfreak, koduckgirl, amytam, 1122, and andronidze.


text:
Pink, Green Line trains briefly halted near United Center
BY LEEANN SHELTON Staff Reporter March 19, 2013 9:54PM
Updated: March 19, 2013 9:54PM
The CTA's Pink and Green Line trains were briefly halted Tuesday night near the United Center after a piece of metal came off a train and hit the electrified third rail.
No passengers were aboard the train, which was moving equipment near Wood and Monroe when the metal piece hit the third rail and caused some sparking about 9:30 p.m., CTA spokesman Brian Steele said.
As a precaution, the CTA temporarily removed power to the tracks in the area, forcing passenger trains on the Pink and Green lines to be halted for about 12 minutes, Steele said.
No one was hurt, and train service was expected to resume shortly, Steele said.


text:
I've finished Assassin's Creed 3, but now I'm going around doing a ton of side missions.
Ummm Defiance, anyone wanna play
got the mass effect trilogy man i forgot how much mass effect 1 is better than the other 2 not keen on M2 drove me insane
Playstation All Stars!!
devil may cry 5 and wwe smack down
1st time Oblivion
Call of Duty: Mob of the dead. amazing new map pack
ghost recon future solder
The Sims 2 and Final Fantasy III at the same time.
Naruto shippuden Storm 3,black ops 2,Arkham city,metalgear rising
i make commentaries on youtube
Skyrim. It's one of the best RPG games I've ever played.
call of duty.............. black ops........
sad, only playing browser game, ninjamanager. anyone here play/played that?
Monster. ****ing. Hunter. 3. Ultimate.
Was released on the 22nd April 2013, and I've been playing it non-stop ever since. This game is the shit! I seriously love all MH games.
Best video game series in existence.
I'm playing Pokemon Gold.
Right now I'm playing 3 games non-stop.
Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas and Naruto Generations.
That game.
Final Fantasy II
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, for sure:scorps:
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 alone and almost always when I get free time:scorps:
Gta iv
Not currently playing but FFVII = The best game out there!!!
OP: The new naruto shippuden game
Im playing Ni no kuni and the new tomb raider both amazing games, I just got resonance of fate its pretty difficult
Sleeping Dogs
Iron Man 3 on my Droid
and later.....WWE '13, Injustice, and maybe Black Ops 2 if I have enough time before Adult Swim
God of war: ascension online then Naruto UNS3
Forum Rules


text:
Editor's Note
A new development
Lisa Dettlinger lives in a Victorian-style shotgun house on Lexington Road, the last in a row of similarly sized bungalows that line the north side of the stretch of road connecting Baxter Av
Keeping Up with the Jones
On race, class and the school system
ATLANTA—I did an NPR interview debating Ward Connerly on diversity and civil rights a few years ago. It was interesting.
Raised Relief
My bleeding AbioCor
When Michael Jackson died, about 5 percent of me believed he would come back.
Fables of the Deconstruction
Last time, when our theme was "Wish You Were Here," I knew the phrase would make you think of that song by Pink Floyd.
Summary of My Discontent
Sixty-seven ways to feel alive
Hold an ice cube on your belly until it melts. Learn to identify 20 trees by looking at their leaves.
Yep, I'm Gay
Hypocrisy! (The Musical)
There is nothing I love more than a tragic love story: tales of star-crossed lovers, fairy-tale narratives of couples road-tripping it, trying to escape parents and mental hospitals — t
Editor's Note
Justice and the menace
Every time former President George W. Bush talked about bringing justice to a particular set of bad people, I died a little inside.
I'm not sure if I ever attended a slumber party where somebody didn't play at least one 45 of Michael Jackson songs.
Raised Relief
On dependence
"… all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustome


text:
404 File Not Found
Host by NetBox Version 2.8 Build 4128
Gift Wrap Not Available
The attributes listed above are intended as a shopping aid only. Please always review product labels before consumption. Learn More
ACURE Lotion Firming Lemongrass + Ginger Tube
Skin reluctant to snap back? Feeling baggy & saggy? Snap out of it! This unique antioxidant formula restores buoyancy and stimulates collagen production. Evening primrose, cranberry and rosehips help tighten while Organic Argan Oil and Cocoa butter replenish needed moisture. Fight back against free radical damage and firm up. Don't slack, this is a firm offer! Act now!
Ingredients: Organic CuroxidantBlend (Organic Acai Berry, Organic Blackberry, Organic Rosehips, Organic Pomegranate, Organic Calendula, Organic Chamomile, Fair Trade Certified™ Organic Rooibos), Organic Camelia sinensis(Mango Ceylon), Organic Aloe Barbensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice, Emulsifying Wax NF (Vegetable), Fair Trade Certified™ Organic Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Organic Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Organic Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Glyceryl Stearate SE (vegetable derived), Vegetable Glycerin, Organic Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Oil, Infusion of Organic Calendula Officinalis Flower in Fair Trade Certified™ Organic Olea Europaea (Olive) Oil, Organic Argania spinosa (Argan) Oil, Glucono Delta Lactone (fermented Sugar), D-Alpha Tocoperyl Acetate (Vitamin E), Organic Oenothera biennis(Evening Primrose) Oil, Potassium Sorbate (food grade preservative), Cymbopogon Schoenanthus(Lemongrass), Lavendula Dentata (French Lavender), Evernia Prunastri (Oakmoss), & Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Essential Oils
Product Notes
|Unit Price
|Lotion Firming Lemongrass Tube
Please choose which cart you want to add the item.
By choosing one of the above, you are able to shop for both yourself and a registrant at the same time. Once you are ready to checkout your items will be waiting for you in both your personal and registry shopping carts.
Still need assistance?
Please contact us at 1-888-202-VINE (1-888-202-8463)
Review Snapshot
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®by PowerReviews
Reviewed by 1 customer
I would buy this product again and again
By 81stormy
from il
About Me Brand Buyer
Best Uses
Comments about Lotion Firming Lemongrass + Ginger Tube:
I got great pleasure from using this product. very pleasant, natural smell, the skin after it velvety and soft.
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Was this review helpful? Yes / No
- You may also flag this review
© 2005 - 2014, Quidsi, Inc. or its Affiliates. VineMarket.com is operated by Quidsi Solutions LLC. Unless otherwise noted, products on VineMarket.com are sold
by Quidsi Retail LLC. Gift Cards and E-Gift Cards sold on VineMarket.com are sold by Quidsi Gift Cards, Inc.


text: Chicago Police Superintendent Goes on Racial Rant, Slams NRA and Palin at Radical Church by Rebel Pundit 25 Jun 2011 post a comment Share This: Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy was filmed speaking at Saint Sabina's Catholic Church in June just a few weeks after being appointed by newly elected Mayor Rahm Emanuel. In the video, McCarthy states his comfort speaking to the "right audience" about his views. Could this be because outspoken radical activist Rev. Dr. Michael L. Pfleger is the Pastor of the Faith Community of Saint Sabina? Pfleger is known for his strong anti-gun views, outreach to prostitutes, anti-drug campaigns, and warm relationships with Louis Farrakhan, Al Sharpton and Jeremiah Wright. Pfleger has also sparked controversy with racially charged and sexist comments, and was just recently suspended by the Archdiocese of Chicago between April and May of this year. McCarthy talks about himself and how he "lives a Forest Gump type of existence.... just floating around" where ever he goes, before going on to make some alarming statements. Some of the video highlights can be seen at these points in the footage after McCarthy gets a little excited about speaking on the pulpit. (4:30) "There's something about this pulpit here, 'cause I'm feeling strong!" (5:02) "I'm gonna take a risk here, this is definitely the right audience.... everybody is afraid of race, I'm not afraid...." (5:42) ".... In 2011 we are talking about gangs and guns and drugs and what we are going to do to fix it.... A big component of this has to due with race.... let's see if we can make a connection here.... Slavery, segregation, black codes, Jim Crow.... What do they all have in common? Anybody getting scared? Government sponsored racism.... I told you I wasn't afraid" (7:28) "The NRA does not like me, and I'm okay with that! .... Who's going to pay the price? Of the Gun manufacturers getting rich and living in gated communities?" (7:53) He tells a homicide story, then blast's Sarah Palin for talking about the right to bear arms while hunting Caribou and not being there at the scene of the crime with him. And finally after this long winded slightly incoherent speech at (9:42), McCarthy hands back the live microphone to Pfleger, which picks up one last comment from McCarthy: "I'm gonna get in trouble." What would make Superintendent McCarthy think he is going to get into trouble? After all, he was in the "right" place, speaking to the "right" audience.... Wasn't he? [youtube xIX4j2sormY] Cross Posted at: Rebel Pundit (AP Photo/George Olivar, File)


text:
I lived at Pine
I lived at Pinebrook for 3 years and was overall quite happy with my experiences there. The servicemen were very prompt and attentive to several small maintenance issues I had with my apartment ...
View property, WalkScore, and Driving Directions
Fax: (302) 738-3891
The Apartments at Pine Brook is located in Newark, Delaware convenient to major highways and only minutes from Downtown Newark and University of Delaware. Offering 1 and 2 bedroom affordable apt homes, you'll enjoy our pet friendly community with beautiful landscaping and walking trails. Enjoy our swimming pool, walking trails and playground. Easy commute to Wilmington, PA and NJ.
|1 Bathroom
|$950 - $1100
|Check Availability
|1.5 Bathrooms
|$1067 - $1139
|Room Planner
|Check Availability
Apartments in Community: 308
We accept dogs both large and small and cats
We believe school data to be accurate, but do not guarantee that. Please be sure to verify where your children will attend school before making your housing decision.
I lived at Pinebrook for 3 years and was overall quite happy with my experiences there. The servicemen were very prompt and attentive to several small maintenance issues I had with my apartment ...
I've lived here for 3 years now and I've loved every minute. The staff is very friendly and cooperative. They cleared the insane snow promptly. Whenever I've put in a work order its been handled ...
years, love it!
The Apartments at Pine Brook are very nice. They are clean and look pretty new inside. The staff is friendly and the amenities are in good condition. The price is affordable and I would recommend them.
Luxury one and two bedroom apartments with wall-to-wall carpeting and patios located in a wooded residential area in Newark.
As you search for your perfect apartment, please keep in mind that rental rates (including specials and discounts) and availability are very fluid in the apartment industry. Based on many factors, the rental rates (including specials and discounts) and availability can actually change not just daily, but hourly, if not even more quickly. While our advertisers do take steps to keep their information current, the rental rates or availability you may find here now at ForRent.com may not be the same as when you contact the communities.


text:
21 Haircuts So Bad They're Almost Good
Somebody please take the scissors away.
Somebody please take the scissors away.
Julie Gerstein 3 days ago 381 responses
You can smell the scent of pink can Aqua Net coming off these photos.
Brian Galindo 5 months ago 670 responses
According to this, Bradley Cooper has the best hair in the world. Here's evidence otherwise.
Lauren Yapalater a year ago 61 responses
Matt Stopera a year ago 91 responses
He's one of the top dentists in the country. Billboard in Cleveland airport.
copyranter 2 years ago 22 responses
Most athletes, past and present, manage to craft a semi-professional look that doesn't embarrass themselves or the organization for which they play. And then there are these guys.
bleacherreport 2 years ago respond
Joe Average isn't your average '90s cop flick. This is outsider art at its best. (via vhx.tv) Watch Video ›
Chris Menning 3 years ago 9 responses
My parents just gave our dog the worst haircut in the world. I think it's worthy of a poor decision badge, don't you? View List ›
Hannah E. 4 years ago 197 responses
EMAIL firstname.lastname@example.com
TWITTER @twitney
EMAIL email@example.com
TWITTER @itslaurenyap
EMAIL email@example.com
TWITTER @mattstopera
EMAIL firstname.lastname@example.com
TWITTER @kristinharris
EMAIL email@example.com
TWITTER @tommywesely
EMAIL firstname.lastname@example.com
TWITTER @arielle07
BuzzFeed is currently working with select partners to help them track what's hot on their sites using the same advanced social tracking and analytics tools used on BuzzFeed.com.
If you're interested, contact us at email@example.com.


text:
In This Section
AES Store
- Learn From The Experts:
Karlheinz Brandenburg "Digital Audio - Mobile version"
- Oral History Project Gallery
- Other AES Publications
Journal Forum
Reflecting on Reflections - June 2014
1 comment
Quiet Thoughts on a Deafening Problem - May 2014
1 comment
Perceptual Effects of Dynamic Range Compression in Popular Music Recordings - January 2014
5 comments
AES E-Library
New Technologies Allow Comprehensive and Rapid Tape Recorder Testing
Integrated circuit, microprocessor, and video display technologies have been combined to provide a comprehensive magnetic tape recorder test capability in a bench top instrument. It is now possible to do a thorough performance analysis on a recorder in a few minutes. Instruments like this should lead to significant advances in the recording field.
Click to purchase paper or login as an AES member. If your company or school subscribes to the E-Library then switch to the institutional version. If you are not an AES member and would like to subscribe to the E-Library then Join the AES!
This paper costs $20 for non-members, $5 for AES members and is free for E-Library subscribers.
Learn more about the AES E-Library
Start a discussion about this paper!


text:
BERNE – For Woodlan coach Dave Randall, ending a long sectional drought wasn't about the past as it was about starting a new legacy.
The Warriors broke a 17-year sectional title drought with a 71-67 win over Canterbury in the finals of the South Adams Class 2A Sectional on Monday.
It was Woodlan's first sectional championship since 1997, the year before the class era began.
The sectional championship completes the trifecta of team goals to go along with regular-season and tournament ACAC titles.
That's a long time, Randall said of 1997. But this is their story and their year. For people to say that another team is like the 2014 team, that's wonderful for these kids. I couldn't be happier for them to come back and look at the wall and see their pictures with all those trophies in front of them.
The game was postponed from Saturday because of the Canterbury girls playing in the 2A state title game, giving the Warriors another couple of days to think about making history.
It's been a long journey, Woodlan senior Jaylin Bennett said. As long as we got to play it didn't matter (if the game was delayed).
Woodlan (18-6) will play Winamac (14-8) at 11 a.m. Saturday in the North Judson Regional.
The Warriors put four players in double figures, led by the 18 points of Greg White, 17 from Kadin Gerig, 13 from Bennett and 12 from Jeffery Jones.
We just wanted to come out and get it, Gerig said. It feels so good. My dad always talks about (the 1997 title), that's how I know how long ago that was.
The Warriors were 18 of 23 from the free-throw line, 8 of 10 in the fourth. The Cavaliers were 10 of 19 from the line, missed its first five attempts and were 2 of 8 in the fourth.
In a close game, it's all about who hits layups and free throws, and they hit theirs and we missed ours, Canterbury coach Scott Kreiger said. There are no excuses. There's nobody guarding you, and if you can't put the ball in the basket, you probably don't deserve to win.
Canterbury (10-13) got 20 points from Andrew Kus and 16 from Trevor Uhl.
The Cavaliers came out of the gate quickly, hitting from beyond the arc and opened up a 23-11 advantage late in the first with the help of five 3-pointers.
The Warriors faced a similar situation in the sectional opener when it was down early to Eastside and showed the same kind of moxie in another come-from-behind win.
Before the game, coach talked about being undaunted and keep fighting and chipping away, and that's what we did, Gerig said.
Canterbury held the lead, 46-38, until Woodlan went on a 21-8 run to end the third and open the fourth and led 59-54.
I don't know if people thought we were going to roll over and play dead against this team, Kreiger said. We play the whole season to get to this level to play a championship game, and our kids came out and they were ready to play.


text:
follow Dictionary.com
Why turkey has the same name as Turkey
1812, "foolish;" 1836, "sentimental," from spoon (n.) in sense "silly person" + -y (2).
Amorous; romantic: I guess we got kind of spoony (1836+)
A foolish or silly person: I don't believe a cock-and-bull story like that. Quiz was no spoony (1795+)


text:
They say summer's done, but that doesn't mean the parties are over. There's something for everyone -- and every dog -- this weekend, whether it's drinking Scotch, wine, margs or beer at a couple of festivals, listening to live music or hanging with pugs. It's all pretty cheap and many events repeat ... More >>
In jazz discussions, the saxophonists and the trumpeters generally dominate the conversation, and rightly so. Equally as integral to the music, though, is the rest of the band. While we've already listed the top guitarists, pianists and bassists, today we focus on the female vocalists. Although ther ... More >>
Hang Time
THE OH HELLOS @ BLUEBIRD THEATER | FRI & SAT, 6/28-6/29 Last fall, the Oh Hellos released their first full-length, Through the Deep, Dark Valley. And while that album's got some solid tunes like "The Valley" and "I Was Wrong," it's "Hello My Old Heart," a track from their self-titled debut that perk ... More >>
TRIBUTE TO CHET BAKER @ DAZZLE | WED, 6/5 Last month marked the 25th anniversary of legendary trumpeter Chet Baker's death after falling out of a hotel room window in Amsterdam. So in honor of Baker's life, local trumpeter Justin Peterson is presenting a new concert series, "I Miss You, Chet," in wh ... More >>
FIVE POINTS JAZZ FESTIVAL @ FIVE POINTS | SAT, 5/11/13 Since starting a decade ago, the Five Points Jazz Festival has been celebrating the music, culture and history of Denver's historic Five Points neighborhood by highlighting local jazz acts. Acts on the main stage of this year's festival include ... More >>
While January had some stellar shows like Joe Lovano Us Five, February is poised to be an utterly fantastic month for jazz in the Mile High City, especially with shows like the Ron Miles Trio featuring Brian Blade and Bill Frisell at Dazzle, plus dates from Fred Hersch Trio, Kurt Elling, Kurt Rosenw ... More >>
Welcome to the weekend! Another diverse lineup of musical goodness awaits you. Tonight at Red Rocks, Ghostland Observatory and MiM0SA kick off two nights of electronic goodness that will culminate with a show featuring STS9 tomorrow night. And there's a full slate of rock on tap as well, including M ... More >>
Here's what's hot this week in music on the Front Range: On the concert front, new shows from the Dandy Warhols, Cake, Fiona Apple and more were announced; Musketeer Gripweed, Hot Robots, and Broken Tongues got spins on local radio; and recent albums from the Alabama Shakes, Nicki Minaj, the Shins a ... More >>
Kurt Elling and Eliane Elias, both Grammy-nominated vocalists, headline this year's JazzFest Denver at Dazzle this weekend. Elling's warm baritone can stretch over four octaves and he honed his chops by listening to Mark Murphy, Jon Hendricks and other crooners before him. The guy's a mad scatter, a ... More >>
A recent benefit ends up helping no one.
Saturday, June 16
Dale Bruning Quartet
Dragon (Black Orchid)
Billy Tolles
Nat Yarbrough is battling for his health, but his playing remains as vibrant as ever.
Colorado's jazz artists stand up against their big-city counterparts.
Vic Cionetti
Wishing for a perfect world.
Ron Miles Trio
(Capri Records)
Celebrity drummer Ginger Baker prepares to leave Colorado. Will he be gone for good?
Michael Fitts wants Colorado jazz musicians to have a label of their own.
1 night, 5 bucks, 7 venues, 39 bands Sunday, September 22 6 P.M.-1A.M. in LoDo


text:
Kashering Kitchen? Help!
I am in need of your advice. Passover may seem like a long way away to you, but it seems just around the corner to me!
My partner and I do not keep a kosher house. We have never cooked pork in our home, nor do we prepare meals that mix dairy-and-meat, but we have eaten non-kosher food in our home and we only have 1 set of pots, pans, plates, etc.
That said, she was raised in an observant Kosher home, where her family has three sets of dishes and utensils (D, M, Passover) etc. etc. Last year, due to the way the schedule fell, we did the first seder at our house for our friends and then she went home (her family lives 3-4 hours away; I couldn't go because of a work conflict). It was important to her that our seder was as kosher-for-Passover as possible, so, with the exception of the unkashered plates/utensils/pots/pans/ovens, everything else about the seder was kosher-for-Passover (down to the margarine).
This year her family, including her siblings, her Bubbie, and possibly aunt and uncle, are going to travel to OUR house for the first seder. I am excited that they're coming to our house, but I am pretty stressed about the follow-through! This will be the first major holiday that will be spent at our house, as opposed to their's.
We've been trying to figure out how we can prepare the meal so that her family will consume it (her siblings no longer keep kosher, but her other family members do; in fact, her siblings willingly eat treif, so we're not worried about them); the only way we can come up with is to kasher our kitchen.
We are thinking we will buy a new set of dishes and utensils for the meal (I'm not a fan of having using paper for a Seder). However it is too expensive, and not practical, for us to buy a whole new set of cooking ware (pots, pans, etc). I know our oven can be kashered ourselves - but how might you suggest we handle the rest of it? We were thinking we'd kasher our pots and pans as close to the first Seder as possible and then keep them K-for-P "Meat" until we're done with the holiday (I can't think of a dairy meal I'd need to make that is k-for-p during the time period).
I know to kasher our pots and pans we need to submerge them in the mikvah (am I totally off base here? Sorry - I didn't grow up in a kosher house!). There are several Ortho Mikvahs in our community - but to be honest I don't know how they'd feel about a non-practicing gay woman to show up to kasher her pots? There is a new-agey-reform-type mikveh in a nearby community but I don't think they'd let us kasher anything there either (it's almost like a spa).
Are there rabbis you can pay to help you kasher your house? I know that we need to do this well in advance of the kashering-for-Passover time period because I am sure it's a busy time for rabbis in this line of work! We do not belong to a synagogue; last year for HH we went to 'free' services or she went home (my family lives on the other side of the country).
(we also need to hurry up and put up the mezuzahs before her family visits us, but I am assuming that we can do that ourselves :))
The mikvah does not "kasher" previously-used pots. There is a ritual cleansing of new pots/pans in a mikveh traditionally performed for items purchased from a non-jewish chain of custody (pretty much everything) but the immersion is not meant to convert recently-used* non-kosher pots to kosher usage.
Used pots/pans can be kashered if they're metallic (no teflon coating, no enamel finish) through heating. They must be thoroughly cleaned and allowed to sit dry for 24 hours then they can be immersed in a larger (already kashered) pot of boiling water, or if they're too large to immerse, they should be filled with water. When the water starts boiling you need to toss in a well-heated rock which will then cause the water to boil over the rim and outer surface of the pot.
Things bigger than a pot, like the oven or items like a grill require further steps. They must be cleaned of any foreign material and superheated (a couple of self-cleaning cycles will work for an oven). For a grill and things like cast-iron cooking grates you can use a propane torch. The ritual requirement is to get the food surfaces "white hot" which is a near impossibility short of a smelting furnace, but prolonged exposure to the flame to ensure than no speck of foodstuffs could remain is usually adequate.
This is not simple stuff. There's a good amount to read up on. It's best to seek out a rabbi who is observant. He/she will advise you in better detail.
*To add to your confusion, there are opinions out there that "heirloom" pieces of china/cookware which had been unused for more than a year can be used for kosher purposes with no more than the ritual mikvah immersion, but the "unused for more than a year" part isi the key.
Buy a new paring knife, and a package of foil pans (Costco, Sam's Club).
I tend to cook most of my Passover meals in disposable foil pans. You can make simple dishes like baked chicken, baked potatoes, baked salmon, tzimmes (carrots, sweet potatoes, prunes, brown sugar - make sure it's JUST sugar without additives,) quinoa, turkey breast, meatloaf (matza meal) etc.
No decent mikvah is going to give you an argument if you come to dip cookware. There might be a charge though.
You could kasher pots in your oven on self-clean. Makes them look awful but they will be kosher. Clean them PERFECTLY and then don't use them for 24 hrs. Don't do too many pieces at once - not good for the oven.
re: SoCal Mother
Definitely try to cook as much as you can in disposable foil pans. They're great for roasting vegetables, fish, chicken cutlets. Also very easy to store and reheat- mashed potatoes, roasted chicken. The pot can be cleaned before the guests have even arrived.
Like others have said, don't stress yourself out. Do the best you can and definitely call a rabbi or two for some advice.
If you are very nervous, you can always mention the "fabulous whatever" and suggest that your partner's mom bring that. That way at least the kosher keeping members of the family will not object to everything.
Lastly... don't go out and buy a whole new set of pots. Check out Macy's one day sales and Marshall's or Home Goods. You may be able to find a pot or skillet or whatever that you can use for the passover meal and then make good use of later on
You are so kind to be doing all of this for your family! An inexpensive way to get around the pot issue is to head to your local Ikea store and buy new, The stuff is nice enough and the prices are good. You can shop online to get an idea of what it may cost and what will work. HTH
Or you could get takeout if you are in a major Jewish city. It will be breathtakingly expensive though. Probably cheaper to buy new pots...
I saw a really cute video last year with a storyline about a couple doing Pesach for the first time. Silly stuff but actually a very good explanation of how to do it. Remind me after Shabbat to look for it...
re: SoCal Mother
I ready to say shame on everyone for not recommending 888-go-kosher. It is run by a Lubavich (not necessairly "Chabad") Rabbi - Rabbi Lubavich and he does EXACTLY what you need, and will give you the guidance you need to get through the holidaym and he goes all over the US
Now...he does ask for donations, of about $360, but will not charge if needed.
As per all the above the advice, do not bother with the mikvah.
Are you guys near a major Jewish community? If you are, please spend the money (if you can) and
A) ORDER OUT EVERYTHING and then simply reheat in the oven
B) GET DISPOSABLE EVERYTHING.. I mean everything Serving utensils, paper goods, sedar plates, kiddush cups.
C) The guidance you really need to get through the whole chag is way too long to post here. Go troll the internet, honestly, Aish and Chabad have pretty reasonable guidelines on what to clean, how to clean it, what can and cannot be kashered. and what needs covering up (like coutertops - depending on their material).
Finally, and this may seem the most heretical advice:
Don't make a big dinner. My Rabbi in Pittsburgh always maintained that the Sedar meal should be, in total, Chicken soup, a peice of kugel, a bowl of salad and some fruit.
Save the big fancy meals for lunch.
re: vallevin
KISS method: Keep it Simple Sweetheart!
Don't forget you need to get hagaddahs also, unless everyone brings their own. But it's easier if everyone has the same one. Some supermarkets give away the Maxwell House Coffee hagaddah with a purchase so look around. Matzah usually goes on sale as a loss leader.
re: SoCal Mother
Here it is!
What others have written is correct as far as it goes, but what you read about the mikveh was correct too. AFTER utensils have been kashered they must also be dipped in the mikveh. And yes, any Orthodox mikveh in your area will be happy to have you dip your recently-kashered utensils; but don't mention the fact that you intend to treif them up again, because that will obviously upset them. But the fact that you're not yet observant of other mitzvot shouldn't prevent you from keeping kosher, and the fact that you're two women living together shouldn't even be an issue in the first place, since lots of people do that.
Rabbi Lebovic has a great service, but again he's doing it for the mitzvah, and if he knows you are going to treif your kitchen up again after pesach he won't be very happy. It also doesn't seem right to take advantage of his generosity (if you don't pay full price) and then do that.
You can do this. You really can.
You do have to decide what standard of kashruth you are trying to achieve, are your partner's parents Conservative? Do they belong to a synagogue that is a member of the Orthodox Union? These organizations publish very clear instructions for kashering a kitchen. But if you start googling around, you will find that when you get to the details sometimes the guidelines from one orthodox group may vary from another on a small but significant point, so you will save yourself a lot of confusion if you know whose standards the people you are going to host deem acceptable.
The other thing to do is tor plan a realistic menu. Remember that after candlelighting some of the ways you can cook change, and, besides, you'll be sitting at the table having a seder while the food waits for you on the stove. You have to plan a menu without last-minute cooking, things that stay wonderful on a low simmer for however long it takes your partner's family to hold a seder. Some popular seder dishes are potroast (brisket) and chicken soup because they taste wonderful after long simmering.
After you have figured out which of you pots can be kashered you might also think about recipes like oven roasted vegetables or some chicken dishes that bake or roast in disposable aluminum foil pans in the oven.
Buying inexpensive dishes and cutlery is a wonderful idea, I know how you feel about paper on a holiday. But if the prieces are higher than you expected do keep in mind some of the more upscale disposables in bamboo or plastics, there are square plastic sets of dishes that look like black china and set a very dramatic table.
You can certainly put up mezuzahs yourself. You'll have fun picking out attractive cases, available in every price range and to suit every taste. But The little parchments that go inside them can be pricey, prepare for sticker shock there.
re: Moishefrompardes
Ditto for me on the local Chabad Rabbi. I believe they Kasher. Just google Chabad and the name of your community or nearest big city. Good luck.
Ask someone in her family about their requirements and how they hold on things before you call Chabad or anyone else to do the kashering. People have a variety of ways they practice and one person's idea of 'strict' is unacceptably 'liberal'. Her family may not require you to dissolve all your sugar into water or a similar practice that I've only seen in Chabad.
re: CloggieGirl
When does one dissolve sugar into water when kashering?
re: queenscook
It's got nothing to do with kashering, and no Chabad person coming to kasher the kitchen will try to do any such thing.
A common chumra for Pesach is to filter all liquids before Pesach in case there's a crumb in them; along the same lines, sugar is boiled in water to dissolve it and then filtered, so anything that might be hiding in the sugar will be found and got rid of.
Thank you all for your ideas and support. You've made me believe that we really can do this! As a side note, we're going to services this Friday and we've been invited for Shabbat dinner afterwards (and I RSVP'ed yes before my partner had a chance to think about it).
It's funny: I grew up basically without religion and my partner grew up in a Conservadox type household (slightly more MO than Conservative - she finds the idea of a woman rabbi strange and weird and bothersome, for example - but her parents aren't shomer Shabbos; her grandparents spoke Yiddish and lived in Monsey so Conservative stemming from that type of religiosity). But now she has no interest in religious practice (her mother lights Shabbos candles every Friday for example, but she has no interest) except for holidays, really because of tradition/family/food. I on the other hand feel less of an attachment to holidays but am more interested in general religious practice (lighting Shabbos candles, for example).
Either way we are going to make it a Seder to remember ;)
We're going to hobble stuff together from foil cooking containers/pans (after we kasher the oven ourselves). We have a crockpot that has only ever been used for meat and so we're going to use a Reynold's Slow Cooker Liner (these are certified kosher) and make our brisket in the slow cooker (using the kosher certified liner) - her mom is ok with this. Her mom will bring/make the matzoh ball soup (I make mine from a box, which they find terrifying - lol!) and her bubbie will make/bring gefilte fish. Her aunt will bring some sort of vegetable. We'll also make cauliflower kugel (courtesy of Joan Nathan), the haroset, everything else you need for the Seder plate, etc. And we'll buy some sort of K-for-P pre-made dessert from our local kosher market. We're asking family friends and/or her siblings to bring k-for-p wine.
re: emilly
best cobbled together k for p dessert- bake a box of passover brownies. layer in a trifle dish with 'whipped cream', berries, chocolate chips and chocolate sauce. pretty good for parve passover desserts.
re: emilly
Call me crazy, but I love the Manischewitz coffee cake.
BY THE WAY DO NOT BUY MARGARINE DO NOT BUY MARGARINE DO NOT BUY MARGARINE (for Pesach)
You can use oil ( Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Safflower) as a 1:1 substitute, another poster, Queenscook, has made me a true believer of this.
You don't even need the special Pesach oil (icky) Hollywood brand safflower is KP year round, as is almost all EVOO)
re: vallevin
Not even the K-for-P margarine? I can't remember the name of the stuff we bought last year, but it was pricy.
re: emilly
Exactly, It's pricey, they only seem to be sold in giant blocks, and it's made from cottonseed oil, you'll never use all of it.... and this is coming from a person who couldn't give a tinker's d*** about organic healthy things.
It just that the oils I mentioned above are healthier, and you get a better bang for your buck.
re: vallevin
We switched over to EVOO last year.
re: DeisCane
Doesn't the EXOO have a unique taste that's not appropriate for everything? That's what makes it so delicious on baasil and tomatoes (a personal favorite), but doesn't it also affect the taste of cakes?
What do you think about the grapeseed oil, which I seem to remember buying last year? It was very pricey, but I'm so grossed out by the usual KP oils, that I was willing to spend the money
re: helou
They sell a "lighter" olive oil. It's not extra-virgin, and it does need a specific hechsher (as opposed to extra-virgin which is good for Pesach as long as it has a year-round hechsher). It's not lighter in calories, of course, just in the "thickness" and taste. I use it for all my Pesach baking. (I have also used walnut oil, by the way.)
Interestingly, the parve chocolate mousse I make does specifically call for extra-virgin olive oil, which I originally thought was odd, but it works really well. It was originally a New York Times recipe. Here's the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/din...
in case anyone wants it.
re: queenscook
Yes, light olive oil is not easy to find on Pesach. Frankly, we use that for most cooking and I'd love to have it for Pesach.
I know that recipe and was also surprised that it called for EVOO.
re: DeisCane
Are you in the NY area? I'm fairly sure I have generally seen it here in Queens, as well as at Brach's in the Five Towns where I have usually done my one big Pesach shopping each year. I think the brand I am picturing in my head is Lieber's, but I can't swear to it.
re: helou
Grapeseed and safflower oils are both good. The Hollywood brand of safflower oil mentioned above is the most widely available K-for-P brand; it's sold in the regular oils section, not with the Pesach stuff. It's more expensive than regular corn/canola/soybean oils, but cheaper than grapeseed.
re: vallevin
Thanks. I called, and they told me it does not require the P and can be used for Pesach.