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Religious choices are a personal decision. Although I'm a regular church attendee, I try to be respectful to all. Enjoy, visit as many as you want, and I hope you comment on the post you visited.
On a Church Wine Group
People are generally surprised when I mention that our church has a wine tasting group. Interestingly, the group is not only successful, but it also is one of the longest-running groups at the church.
I'm not sure when the group actually started, but being one of the founding organizers and prime movers, my best guess is 12-15 years ago. We are a fun and fellowship group that uses wine as the vehicle to drive the event.
The following are the basics for our group:
- Meet 3-5 times per year
- Volunteers offer to host the event
- Organizers set the theme, which may be countries, regions, wine types (varietals), or something quirky as numbers, animals, or colors – and something to accommodate red and white wines
- Attendees sign up in advance, bring a bottle of wine (per couple) within the theme and an appetizer to share
Like any organization, he had growing pains. On the other hand, because we pioneers wanted to be an official church group, we quickly adjusted. Here are some of the finer points that I have learned.
- We went to the pastors first with our idea to get their permission
- As attendees arrive, the host provides inexpensive starter wines
- Using nametags is important
- Incorporate a "program" within the event – we include a welcome, thanks to the hosts, introducing first-time attendees, a prayer, something informative about the wines/theme, and reminders about the group's purpose
- After the program, the remaining time is for fun and fellowship
Additional tips
- Have a set of wine glasses for the group (they don't have to be fancy)
- If the wine runs out, so be it – thus the host does not supplement
- Know the communication guidelines within the church as newsletter and weekly bulletin submission requirements and deadlines
- Remind attendees not to fill the glass so everyone gets a chance to taste
Given our longevity, our group has been successful. During our years, I have no doubt that 400 different people attended our functions … thus I wonder how many people would I not know if it wasn't for our church wine group.
By the way, in this past post, here's a prayer I put together about wine, The Spirit of Wine. Plus, enjoy some of our home decor done with corks.
On Enlightening Light
Light is many things as it can be a noun, a verb, an adjective, and even be transformed into an adverb.
We can apply different definitions to light in terms of physics, nutrition, religion, knowledge, burden, illuminations, and being less encumbered.
We think of natural light, artificial, black light, grow light, infrared, visible, incandescent, fluorescent, LEDs, fog, flood, spot, ambient, task, direct, backlighting, and countless more that I won't try to mention.
Yet, on this day, I honor the celebration of light. I'm not Jewish, but as a Christian, I look for parallels. Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. In this hectic time that approaches Christmas, Happy Hanukkah to those in the Jewish faith – especially Shimon, a kind and wise man who visits here.
Shimon, I know this post doesn't give your celebration justice, so I hope for dignity.
Two minutes to help one understand this holiday
One+ minute for the beauties of the Hanukkah bush
Two minutes to visit the Menorahs around the world
Two minutes to see Jerusalem's Festival of Lights
This pop song and video makes me smile
On the Spirit of Wine
Mentioned on more than one occasion on these pages, our church has a wine tasting group. Our practicing mantra is a group for fun and fellowship with wine as vehicle. I know keep saying this, but I need to write a post about this group because others may want to try it.
One part of the event is a devotional, something that I had to do at the last event. I search the net and put together the following words. (Before starting, I asked participants to have some wine in their glass for a toast.)
Our wine, which art in heaven, hallowed by thy legs.
They will be drunk, I will be drunk, at home, as in thy cellar.
Give us this day, our daily glass, and forgive us our spillage, as we forgive those who spill against us.
And lead us not to incarceration, but deliver us from hangovers.
For thine is the Chardonnay, the Merlot and the Cabernet. Forever and ever. Amen. [Posted 8th August 2011 by Lynfred Winery (Illinois)]
Wine is a symbolism of life.
- The twisted vines represent the strength we need in life
- The roots anchor to the soil that is the source of stability and nourishment
- The sun represents the power source carrying hopes of yielding good fruit
- The grapes represent our childhood, our immaturity
- Fermentation represents our challenges and struggles
- Barrels carry our hope
- The cup is the vessel we can hold in our hands for hope
- The wine is the final product of the new life
- The full cup of wine is an appreciation of the joys we hold
- The toast is for the good in life
Wine is something we share.
- Wine brings people together as it does here, at a wedding, and at the altar
- Wine's sweetness represents the joy of the occasion, the gladness in our heart, the mask of the bitterness in life
- Wine is a symbol of friendship and love
Wine is symbolic with faith.
- For Jews, red wine represents the blood on the door of the houses that protected them from the Angel of Death before the Exodus
- For Christians, wine represents the blood of Christ
- Jesus is the new wine – the good wine He provided at Cana
- Wine is to bread as faith is to a full life
- Filling the cup to the brim with wine represents the completeness that one's commitment of life needs to be
- Wine is symbolic of life
So tonight, as we share the cup of wine, we undertake the sharing of all that the future may bring.
Blessed art Though, Lord our God, King of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine. (a Jewish wine prayer)
And let us raise our glass to toast the spirit of wine.
On Free Will
Acts of God are acts of God. From time to time there are going to be things that can't be prevented. (Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) regarding the gulf oil spill)
There are those who believe that the recent earthquake and hurricane along the US's east coast is God's sign that he disapproves Democrats in Washington. Then again, do the same people believe that the fires in Texas are God's way of warning Americans about Texas Governor Rick Perry? At least he is out of the 2012 picture.
Last year I wrote this post about the burning of a large Jesus statue near Cincinnati. A friend of mine told me that it was God's way of showing his disapproval of the statue; so, I respond of saying that is God's way of wanting a newer and bigger statue. Of course, I could add numerous Rev. Pat Robertson examples to the above, but I will spare my readers. Interestingly, all this leads to the concept of free will.
In the Judeo-Christian tradition, Adam and Eve would be one of the first examples of free will in the Bible and Torah by demonstrating their free will by rejecting God's will. To me, Adam represents all of humanity because of the free will we possess.
Life involving making choice – and no matter our choice – that choice leads to other choices. Regardless if the relationship is with a spouse, friend, neighbor, family member, co-worker, managers, or stranger, our individual choices affect our relationships. No matter the relationship, every choice one makes leads one makes leads them toward or closer to that personal entity.
For those of us believing in God, each choice we make leads us toward or away from God. Sure God has a preference, but we have a choice. However, no matter our choices, we still sin, we remain selfish, people die, and some do horrible acts on humanity.
As God gives us a gift of choice our own path, free will has consequences because the greatest freedom also leads us to unacceptable behaviors as abuse, murder, greed, deceit, evil, hate, and others lead to suffering. Free will is a gift, an opportunity, and a curse – thus how each of use it is a matter of individual choice.
God's free will gift also extends to nature and the universe for they operate within the parameters natural laws. As with human behavior, this free also leads to abuse and suffering – such as, natural disasters, diseases, genetic disorders, and handicaps to name a few. Although the natural laws are not the same as human behavior, the natural world's free will allows it to operate with ever-changing forces that work to maintain a steady state with benefits and consequences. Yet, Pat Robertson wants to use natural disasters as a way of God punishing people.
Human creations are subject to disasters as Exxon's Valdez, Union Carbide's Bhopal, coal mine explosions, and post-tsunami meltdowns of a nuclear reactor. Yet, Gov. Perry refers to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as an act of God that can't be prevented.
Each of our lives are not pre-programmed with dates of birth and death, family information, interests, occupations, locations, and events; nor is God playing out the natural world as a video game. Just something to think about the next time someone makes a statement about God's involvement in a natural disaster, a horrible highway accident, or a personal illness.
Other posts done here about free will:
On Roots
Roots can have a variety of meanings:
- The anchoring structure of plants or body parts as hair and teeth
- The primary source of origin
- The essential part or base element
- Point of family ancestry
- The note on which to build a music cord
- The part of a word carrying the main meaning and forming the basis of the word by adding prefixes and suffixes
In our computerized world, root directories form the foundation of the operating system. When the power comes to the operating system, the computer begins to boot by looking for the primary operating directories – the root directories. Much like the trunk of the tree, the root directories lead to the subdirectories like branches of a tree. However, with the initial power source, these operating branches remain silent – actually lifeless.
The words Bishop Mark Hanson of the Evangelic Lutheran Church of America in this article sparked these thoughts and this post. (For the sake of disclosure, the ELCA is where my membership resides.)
Christians just began Lent – a season of reflection and renewal. With the Lenten season in mind, Bishop Hansen asked the following questions that (at least to me) are good questions for all – for theists, atheists, and agnostics – for Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and others.
- Would you describe your life as rooted or rootless?
- What are the signs for you that help discern whether we are rooted or rootless?
Opening image is the property of FractalAngel
On the Wall
"Where in the Constitution is separation of church and state? There is no such thing … I mean it just doesn't exist in America for a purpose, because we are a Christian nation." – Christine O'Donnell
Although Christine O'Donnell said these words, she is not the lone voice regarding this matter. Her quote represents an example of the Tea Party's affinity for revisionist history made to accommodate both political and religious ideologies.
First, these ideological zealots are correct – "separation of church and state" is not directly in the Constitution; however US Supreme Court, through its Constitutional powers, first applied the phrase in Reynolds vs. United States (98 US 154, 1878) and mentioned the phrase over 20 times ever since.
Secondly, since we hear Tea Party candidates frequently proclaiming the intent of our Founding Fathers, I thought it was time to research this group. Some were public about their religion while others were private. The vast majority were Protestant and Episcopalians, with the remaining being Roman Catholic, Unitarians, Dutch Reformed, Congregationalists, and even a variety of skeptics. Since many regard James Madison as the Father of the US Constitution, I set out to discover his view of the First Amendment, thus include some of his quotes below.
"Because we hold it for a fundamental and undeniable truth, "that religion or the duty which we owe to our Creator and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence."
"The Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man; and it is the right of every man to exercise it as these may dictate."
"This right is in its nature an unalienable right. It is unalienable, because the opinions of men, depending only on the evidence contemplated by their own minds cannot follow the dictates of other men: It is unalienable also, because what is here a right towards men, is a duty towards the Creator."
"Religion be exempt from the authority of the Society at large, still less can it be subject to that of the Legislative Body."
"Whilst we assert for ourselves a freedom to embrace, to profess and to observe the Religion which we believe to be of divine origin, we cannot deny an equal freedom to those whose minds have not yet yielded to the evidence which has convinced us."
"Are the Quakers and Mennonites the only sects who think a compulsive support of their Religions unnecessary and unwarrantable? can their piety alone be entrusted with the care of public worship? Ought their Religions to be endowed above all others with extraordinary privileges by which proselytes may be enticed from all others? We think too favorably of the justice and good sense of these denominations to believe that they either covet pre-eminences over their fellow citizens or that they will be seduced by them from the common opposition to the measure."
"Because finally, "the equal right of every citizen to the free exercise of his Religion according to the dictates of conscience" is held by the same tenure with all our other rights."
Let us not forget these Thomas Jefferson words in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."
Let us not forget that James Madison wrote these words in 1785, four years before our new nation submitted the Constitution to the states for ratification.
Let us also not forget that at the time of the Constitution's ratification, several states had state-established churches.
Let us not forget that the US Supreme Court (in Reynolds) quoted Jefferson's letter for the Danbury Baptist, who the state jailed for illegal preaching that was against the state-sponsored religion.
Let us not forget that In God We Trust first appeared on coins in 1864 as the country faced rebuilding from the Civil War; and the phrase didn't appear on paper currency until 1957.
Let us not forget that Congress adopted In God We Trust as our country's official motto in 1956.
Let us not forget that One nation under God was first used in our Pledge of Allegiance in 1948 and officially added in 1954.
Let us not forget that the 1950s marked a time when the world faced growing concerns about Communism.
Let us not forget that in this election season and beyond, that history can help us protect us from revisionists who seek to force their values on everyone.


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Fiji Time: 9:41 AM on Tuesday 26 May
/ Front page / Elections
Shalveen Chand
Wednesday, September 03, 2014
+ Enlarge this image
Polling station clerks who will be in Namosi and the Western Division take final instruction from an election staff member before departing yesterday. Picture: JONE LUVENITOGA
BALLOT boxes, ballot papers, voter information guide including the National Candidates List left for Eastern Fiji yesterday in five government vessels so pre-poll could start in the Lau Group.
According to the Fijian Elections Office, these teams were deployed to these islands because of the remoteness of most of the communities there.
On board the ships are about 155 people employed as pre-poll presiding officers, assistant presiding officers and polling day workers whose jobs are to ensure that all registered to vote in Eastern Fiji can do so.
Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem told the election officials to ensure every registered voter was met with the same high standard of professionalism, no matter where or when they vote.
Use the free Acrobat Reader to view.
Copyright © 2014, Fiji Times Limited. All Rights Reserved.

subset: commoncrawl


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Here at MassTortDefense we try to keep at least one eye on important tort reform efforts, and how they may impact the litigation that we blog about.
That is why we reviewed with great interest the tort reform agenda of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for 2012, which happens to be the organization's 100th year representing the business community.
The head of the Chamber recently delivered the organization's annual State of American Business address to its members. In it, he noted the need for significant regulatory and legal reform:
The regulatory avalanche confronting our job creators is unprecedented. The Labor Department has 100 rule-makings in the pipeline. Dodd-Frank requires 447 rules, 63 reports, and 59 studies. The health care law established 159 new agencies, panels, commissions, and regulatory bodies. EPA has some 200 regulations in the works. The Chamber supports necessary, sensible, and forward-looking regulations -- but not proposals that fail to meet that test. The Chamber is also working to modernize the overall regulatory system—including legislation to reform the permitting process and update the Administrative Procedure Act for the first time since the Truman administration.
Please see full article below for more information.
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Leadership Edge Opportunities
For the Leadership Edge, you will need 100 hours that includes a combination of theory, ethics, and experience. A minimum of 50 hours must be leadership experience. Theory and ethics must be learned in a formal setting such as a class, a presentation, a workshop, or through training. Theory refers to learning different and specific types of leadership theories such as servant leadership, democratic leadership, etc. Examples of this could be participating in Live Learn Lead, workshops about leadership theory, or classes concentrating on leadership and types of ways to lead. Ethics refers to learning about ethically leading or ethics in certain sectors of professional activities/jobs. Examples of this could be Live Learn Lead, job training, or ethics classes such as nursing ethics, business ethics, ethics in teaching, etc.
Possible Citizenship or Leadership Edge Hours
Would you like to be a "Big?" There are boys and girls in Marquette, Negaunee, Ishpeming, Gwinn, and Sands Township who are on a waiting list to become matched with a Big Brother or Big Sister through Big Brothers Big Sisters. Imagine how you could make memories for one of those kids by volunteering to become a Big. It only takes about four hours per month to make a big difference for one child. Please call 906-475-7801 or visit www.bbbsmqt.org and be a hero to someone who will never forget.
Possible Citizenship, Leadership, or Real World Edge Hours
Child & Family Services of the Upper Peninsula is looking for a volunteer for a young lady (16 years old) in foster care who would really benefit from mentoring services. It would be as many hours a month the individual wishes to provide. The individual would have to undergo a central registry check and background check. The young lady is very interested in art and loves to get outside. She needs assistance in learning acceptable social behavior, as she is socially delayed. She also would benefit from being taught skills such as how to plan and cook a meal, apply for a job, search and apply for housing, and understanding what resources are available in the community to assist her with any needs. If you are interested in this, please contact Nicole Ketola, Foster Care Social Worker, Child & Family Services of the UP, Inc., 706 Chippewa Square Suite 105, Marquette, MI 49855; office: 906-228-4050 ext. 105 or cell: 906-235-7862.
Possible Leadership Edge Hours
Improve your public speaking and leadership skills by becoming a member of Toastmasters International. This organization was established in 1924 and is known worldwide for its programs to help members develop the speaking, listening and thinking skills that promote self-actualization, enhance leadership potential, and contribute to the betterment of mankind. Visit www.toastmasters.org for more information about this organization. The Superiorland Toastmasters chapter meets every second and fourth Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the Peninsula Medical Center. Contact Rich (firstname.lastname@example.com) or Gail (email@example.com) for more information about this local chapter.


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We have much hope for Stockings' future and can't imagine not giving this precious kitten the chance he deserves. Thank you for your generous support to the many cats like Stockings who deserve a second chance.
We have been overwhelmed with ill and injured cats this year, yet we do what we can for every cat that needs us, and we are often their last chance. We are grateful for your support. We will continue our lifesaving work and are able to do so thanks to people like you.


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Image may not necessarily represent the actual item -Please read the title and description before purchasing.
Our Price: $242.76
Guns can only be shipped to a location within the USA that holds an FFL (Federal Firearms License) - this can be your local gun shop, pawn shop, sporting goods store, etc. Your local gun dealer will then handle the transfer of the firearm to you.
Please ensure that you have familiarized yourself with the process before placing a firearm order. Please note that you must confirm your acceptance of all of these policies to place a firearm order:
An out-of-the-box competition rifle with proportionately tapered forend and no barrel bands. Features Patented, detachable 10 shot rotary magazine. Easy to use extended magazine release. Positive, push button, Cross-bolt manual safety. Combination Scope Base Adapter. Hammer forged barrel. Heat-stabilized, glass filled polymer trigger housing assembly.
Please Note: This description may represent a general group of products. Please read the item's title and specifications for more specific information about this particular item.
Action : Semi-AutomaticCaliber : 22 Long RifleBarrel Length : 18.5"Capacity : 10 + 1Trigger : Single StageSafety : Cross BoltLength : 37"Weight : 5 lbsStock : SyntheticFinish : Blue
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*+-Ezili Danto: Keep vigilant for the carnival of violence will be blamed on Lavalas and Aristide. No doubt about this, the chessboard is set. The perpetrators will be seen as the peacemakers
Progressive Media Advocates
By Ezili Danto
-+*Treva Brandon Scharf: Can't afford a gym membership? Get bored easily by exercise? Don't want to run into your ex at Equinox? No problem! There's always the great outdoors – otherwise known as your local park.
-+*Walter Moss: There is little chance that any Republican nominee will put dealing with climate change at the center of his/her agenda, but we progressives should insure that at least the Democratic nominee does.
-+*Annette Bernhardt: The inequality debate often focuses on globalization and new technology, but we know that the decline of unions and the falling real value of the minimum wage have also played critical roles.


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Catholics urged to join Earth Hour 'to give nature a rest'
More News from Jerome Aning
More News from Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines—Several Catholic dioceses all over the country are joining the annual observance of Earth Hour, with bishops calling on the faithful to "give nature a little rest."
In an interview over Church-run Radyo Veritas, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle said that Earth Hour would serve to remind us "that we are God's stewards in caring for nature."
"We will rest from using electricity so that we can give nature a little rest … Let us show the Lord our hope, humility and care for the environment," Tagle said.
Earth Hour's observance during the Lenten Season should be a reminder of the importance of preserving the environment, said Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma.
Last year, CDO and nearby Iligan City were ravaged by killer flashfloods that have been blamed on rampant illegal logging in the area.
"This is our Lord's Gospel for all of us, that we should really be aware of protecting the integrity of creation. In celebrating Earth Hour, we should also be aware that all of us are linked together in this climate change issue and we should do our part to help by ensuring the balance of nature and restoring the integrity of creation," Ledesma said
Catholics in Palawan should use Earth Hour to meditate on the effects of the continuing exploitation of natural resources, particularly mining, said the province's bishop Pedro Arigo.
"Our problem with mining is that only the foreign and local investors and their employees are benefiting," Arigo said. "If we look at the bigger picture, (we'd see that) the benefits we get (are) not commensurate (to) the social and environmental cost. Worse, (those) who shoulder the effect on the environment are the farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples and ordinary (folk)."
"Through Earth Hour, let pay attention to ecological conversion (and) on how we treat the environment, which is being over-exploited," Arigo added.
While Malolos Bishop Jose Oliveros and Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco have said that their respective dioceses will observe Earth Hour, Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad said Catholics in the province will no longer observe the event because of the regular brownouts that they have been suffering.
"We will no longer observe [Earth Hour] since the power is always out (in our area). Our sacrifices are too much here. It's as if it's always Earth Hour," Jumoad said.
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8 Sexpert-Approved Turn-Ons All Couples Should Try
8 Sexpert-Approved Turn-Ons All Couples Should Try
8 Sexpert-Approved Turn-Ons All Couples Should Try
Article contributed by
Dear Son, When you were a baby, I imagined you growing up to become "all things boy." I envisioned mud pies and frogs in my bathtub, wrestling in the living room, and playing football in the yard. I thought of the broken bones from falling out of trees, the constant smell of dirty socks and aftershave, snakes and snails and... READ MORE
I like to believe that I'm raising pretty confident, polite children. I've done all the uplifting, motivational stuff—like creating affirmations and making the lists of things we are grateful for. My kids are known for saying things like: "Give your best," and "Learn from your mistakes." So, when I... READ MORE
We hear it over and over again; every book, article and TV show confirms it: parenting is the hardest job on the planet. But is it really? Is raising a happy, healthy, well-behaved child truly more difficult than rocket science? Should it truly require a Ph.D or are we—as parents—looking to get off the hook for being judged for our... READ MORE


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TV Info
Episode PremiereMarch 30, 2010
DistributorNBC, USA Network
GenreDrama, Crime
Show Period2001 - 2011
Production CompanyNBC Universal, Studios USA TV, Universal Network
Cast and Crew
DirectorJean de Segonzac
ScreenwriterWalon Green
Main Cast
- Vincent D'Onofrio as Det. Robert Goren (voice)
- Kathryn Erbe as Detective Alexandra Eames
- Jamey Sheridan
- Courtney B. Vance
- Eric Bogosian
- Chris Noth as Detective Mike Logan
- Annabella Sciorra as Detective Carolyn Barek
- Julianne Nicholson
- Jeff Goldblum as Detective Zach Nichols
- Steven Zirnkilton
A tourist yacht cruising the coast of Somalia opens fire on an unarmed boat, killing a sheikh and his wife. The incident sets off an international grab for power, an illegal arms deal and a hunt for terrorists. Captain Ross finds himself at the center of the conflict, galvanizing the assistance of Major Case detectives Goren, Eames and Nichols.
In Manhattan, Somali-born HASSAN and KADRA absorb the death of their father, as BROIDY, LOFTIN and VAN DEKKER celebrate the completion of a well-executed plan. With the sheikh gone, they are free to proceed with an elaborate arms deal. The deal is partially dependant on establishing a police force within the small African region, under their control. Posing as an international businessman, Loftin meets with Captain Ross, and makes him an offer he can't refuse. Broidy and his mistress MARYA have a final night of celebration before they wind up shot through the head and washing up on the shores of Pelham Park.
Goren and Eames discover Broidy was an arms dealer who ran a security company with Van Dekker. They also uncover that he was the target of a federal RICO case. When the detectives take their case to Ross, the captain tells them that FBI is watching Brody and that they should drop it. Intrigued, the detectives dig deeper and become suspicious when they find an email from Broidy to Loftin approving a payout to Ross for $2 million.
Meanwhile, Hassan studies with a Mullah in an effort to quickly brush up on the history of his country and his religion. He faces pressure from his sister, Kadra, to break off his long-term relationship with American-born, JILL PEAK.
Goren, concerned about Ross's possible involvement, pays an unscheduled visit to Loftin, posing as a civilian. Goren narrowly escapes, but he and Eames only become further entangled in their dangerous quest for answers. Soon, the case takes a tragic turn, threatening to forever alter their lives.


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TACOMA, Wash. - The Pierce County medical examiner's office says a gunman who killed a Tacoma teacher committed suicide and did not die from being shot by a sheriff's deputy.
The News Tribune of Tacoma reported Thursday that forensic tests showed 30-year-old Jed Waits of Ellensburg died Feb. 26 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
He had stalked and shot Jennifer Paulson, a special education teacher at Birney Elementary School.
Waits was stopped a short time later by the deputy and pulled a gun. Both men fired. The deputy was not wounded.


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|jamesagarry songbook
|100 songs - 0% edited
|by jamesagarry
Songs I like to play
|Moody Blues, Electric Light Orchestra, John Denver, Meat Loaf, Abba, Styx, Cars, John Lennon, Eric Carmen, Beatles, Roy Orbison, Greg Kihn, Folk Songs...
|jamesleeke songbook
|100 songs - 3% edited
|by jamesleeke
Songs I sang when I was a pro entertainer
|Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Jim Reeves, Kris Kristofferson, Paul McCartney, Hank Williams, Little Richard, Rod Stewart, Don Gibson, Bob Dylan, Fats Domino, Otis Redding...
|jamesnbrown songbook
|9 songs - 0% edited
|by jamesnbrown
A booklet I made of some Elvis songs. Enjoy
|Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney, song by O Blackwell & E Presley and Beatles
|jameson's new tunes
|27 songs - 0% edited
|by jamesonepp
random mix of old, new & pop rock songs that are fairly easy to play.
|Tragically Hip, Elton John, Queen, 3 Doors Down, Nickelback, Mat Kearney, Peter, Paul & Mary, Daniel Powter, Fall Out Boy, James Taylor, REM, Eagles, Jack Johnson...
|Jameson's Tunes
|110 songs - 2% edited
|by jamesonepp
A good mix of folk, traditional, and pop/rock songs that are easy to play.
|Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Nickelback, Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, Beatles, Eagles, Tenacious D, Van Morrison, Jimmy Buffett, Various Artists, Simon & Garfunkle...
|James' songbook
|37 songs - 0% edited
|by mesojim
Cool mix of campfire tunes
|John Denver, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Kenny Rogers, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Pure Prairie League, Janis Joplin, Marshall Tucker Band...
|James' songbook
|100 songs - 1% edited
|by hudson252
Misc Folk Rock Tunes
|Lifehouse, Pink Floyd, Damien Rice, Breaking Benjamin, Radiohead, Green Day, Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, U2, Journey, John Lennon, Cars, Matt Nathanson, Our Lady Peace...
|James's songbook
|45 songs - 0% edited
|by jamesescarle
My Favourites
|Red Hot Chili Peppers, Plain White T's, , Yes, Paolo Nutini, Green Day, Nizlopi, Misc. Television, Jimi Hendrix, Gorillaz, Nickelback, Kooks, U2, Snow Patrol...
|James's Tunes
|99 songs - 0% edited
|by mrme75652
Various tunes by various artist. Country and Rock Pure Prairie League, Alan Jackson,Ronnie Milsap,Heart,Stevie Nicks,Creedence Clearwater Revival,Pink Floyd,Eric Clapton,Marshall Tucker Band,Joe Nichols,Clint Black etc. Check it out. May have something your looking for.
|Alan Jackson, Clint Black, Bellamy Brothers, Stevie Nicks, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Eddie Rabbitt, by Pink Floyd, Eagles, John Denver, Travis Tritt, Misc. Soul...
|jamiegrant songbook
|100 songs - 0% edited
|by jamiegrant
A random selection of songs that suit my limited ability, but most of them are nice to play & sing along to. ENJOY!
|Creedence Clearwater Revival, Nirvana, Sinead O'Connor, Phil Collins, Robbie Williams, Tracy Chapman, Metallica, Murray Pete, Eric Clapton, Alanis Morissette, Supertramp...
|jaminabug songbook
|100 songs - 0% edited
|by jaminabug
Just a few of my favourite songs,They're all pretty easy to play. will keep updating.. Enjoy!!
|Sam Cooke, James Morrison, Patrick Swayze, Beautiful South, Eric Carmen, Ray Lamontagne, Phil Collins, Tom Jones, Don McLean, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Eric Clapton
|jamisway songbook
|22 songs - 0% edited
|by jamisway
Its what I like.
|Patsy Cline, Fergie, Black Crowes, Des'Ree and Lacuna Coil
|64 songs - 2% edited
|by kpascuzzo
Easy tab, good songs, good fun for sitting around jammin and singin
|Creedence Clearwater Revival, Beatles, Sarah McLachlan, Green Day, Wreckers, Paul McCartney, Traditional, Roger Miller, Johnny Horton, By The Eagles, Chuck Berry...
|21 songs - 0% edited
|by pratzik
|Nirvana, Eagles, Guns 'n Roses, The Who, Ben E. King, Metallica, 3 Doors Down, Bryan Adams, Aerosmith, Avril Lavigne, Guns N'Roses, Enrique Iglesias...
|5 songs - 0% edited
|by lynyrd skynyrd
|Dobie Gray, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Creedence Clearwater Revival
|Jammin Reggae
|23 songs - 0% edited
|by patrickjacques
A litle reggae for those summerime jams mon
|Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Ub40, Peter Tosh, by Bob Marley, Jack Johnson and Sheryl Crow
|Jammin Setlist
|12 songs - 0% edited
|by mrmixplay
Bunch of stuff to jam around with!
|Eric Clapton, Tracy Chapman, Allman Brothers Band, Elvis Presley and Beatles
|jammindba master list
|4 songs - 0% edited
|by jammindba
Good range of rock hits from new to old.
|Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Cars, Journey, Peter Gabriel, Led Zeppelin, Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, Paul McCartney, Cheap Trick, Bob Seger, Rush, Genesis...
|jamming songs
|28 songs - 0% edited
|by joeyjoeyjoey
songs that are fun to play
|Joe Jackson, Rolling Stones, Animals, Michael Jackson, Billy Idol, Poison, Motorhead, Leonard Cohen, Them, Richard Thompson, Bobby Fuller Four, Weezer, Lemonheads...
|JamOnFrets songbook
|80 songs - 0% edited
|by JamOnFrets
A mix of rock, alternative, blues.
|Bob Dylan, Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Willie Nelson, Audioslave, Rolling Stones, Cat Stevens, Jeff Buckley, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Creedence Clearwater Revival...


text:
VIEWS: 4 PAGES: 3 CATEGORY: Other POSTED ON: 11/23/2010 Public Domain
A guide for developing muscle, gaining weight and sculpting the perfect body.
Fast muscle guide. If you want to have the type of physique you have dreamed about, follow these tips to develop muscle fast. If you have a problem being "Skinny" Learn how to put on some muscle. • Being skinny is a problem; it is almost the same as being • Getting the most out of your overweight. Those who are workouts overweight have trouble • can be the difference between taking off weight; well some being ripped or having an people have trouble putting average body. You should be on weight. You think that maximizing every minute you anyone who complains about spend at the gym to be able to being skinny must have some get the kind of body that you type of problem with their want. Do you ever feel like head and that they are lucky sometimes just by going to the they aren't overweight, that is gym you are working out? You the most incorrect statement probably need some kind of I've ever heard. Get a muscle fast muscle guide. building workout plan now. Do something about it now! • The best three exercises they'll • The secret to getting visible, help a person build muscle fast i.e. defined, abs is to do more are the bench press, Squats and cardio! There is no point Dead-lifts. These particular three having great abdominal exercises are definitely the grand muscles if they are covered by dads of large muscle mass and a layer of fat. If you want to the anchor of any kind of show off your abs then you excellent exercise routine simply need to drop the body fat because they work much more down to single digit figures. I rather than one muscle set at a suggest doing 3-4 sessions of given time. Think of it, if you're cardio per week in addition to working several muscles your weights regime , a fast concurrently, just how much time muscle guide. do you consider you'll need in the gym? Click here for all the tips you will ever need to get the perfect body-fast.
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text:
All of the hottest Hollywood starlets congregated on Monday night, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills for the 16th Annual Women in Hollywood Tribute Sponsored by ELLE magazine, and there wasn't a fashion disaster in sight!
All of our favorite females looked stylish and smashing, redefining their own personal style in unique ensembles. Mrs. Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, broke away from her usually conservative wear, showing off a black bra under an ultra sheer top! Iconic actress Julie Andrews, stunned in a floor length black gown, while newcomer Jenna Dewan continued her fashion winning streak in shades of gray.
Photos: See Katie Holmes, Katie Cassidy, Julie Andrews, Emily Blunt, Jenna Dewan, Julianne Moore, Shanae Grimes, Robin Wright Penn, Jenna Elfman, Zoe Saldana, Jennifer Carpenter, Amber Rose, And Renee Zellweger Haute In Hollywood!
How did 90210 cutie Shanae Grimes dress up her LBD? Check out the gallery to find out!
PHOTOS: See All The Best Styles On The East Coast Monday Night, As Stars Dressed To The Nines For The Whitney Gala!


text:
So I see a couple of threads about for BF3 clans mostly in US and EU. However if you are an Australia duder looking for a BF3 home, look no further than Oceanic Eagles. We've been around for almost 10 years.
Add me on Battlelog, see our platoon, or visit and sign up to our forums.
We also have a 24/7 gunmaster and Teamspeak server. Its pretty sweet.


text:
Set up a video blog using WordPress and three different free themes—Twenty Twelve, Origami, and Sundance—and get three completely different looks for your site.
Set up an online magazine using WordPress and three different themes that result in three completely different looks—Max Magazine, Path, and Oxygen.
Create a mobile-ready version of an existing WordPress web site by leveraging plugins.
Discover how to set up a portfolio of your work using WordPress and three free themes that result in three unique looks for your site—all without writing code!
Shows how to install and customize two free WordPress themes designed to create online photo portfolios.
Shows how to build an advanced portfolio site that showcases various types of content effectively using the free open-source application WordPress.
"My colleagues and I decided to start our own graphic design business, but had no knowledge of how to build a credible website. Having learned After Effects through lynda.com in prior years, I logged on to learn HTML, CSS, and Dreamweaver. Finally we have a site that looks as good as the company we're trying to be." —John T.
more from our members »


text: Oh, dear god, it's my Swiss Miss MILFtastic Michelle Hunziker, co-hostess with the most hotness on Germany's monster TV game show, Wetten, dass..? and she's on a bikini beach holiday in Italy. I'll take Michelle Hunziker in a purple bikini, I'l take Michelle Hunkizer out of a purple bikini. I'll take her on a train or on a plane or in the park or in the dark. I do so like Michelle Hunzkier. But, right now, I mostly just want her to be my MILFy mom and make everything feel much better. Enjoy.


text:
TheSpread is Pleased to Welcome GTBets as Our Newest Sportsbook Sponsor!
Limited Time Offer - Free $20 Bet Just for Signing Up! Don't Miss Out on Free Money, This Offer Will Expire Soon Click Here to Get Your Free $20 Bet
- Index
- » Basketball Discussion
- » Can't-miss college hoops games this...
Can't-miss college hoops games this week
Can't-miss college hoops games this week
Can't-miss college hoops games this week
By MATT SEVERANCE
Purdue at Wisconsin (Tuesday, 9 p.m., ESPN)
I wrote in a story last week that Wisconsin has turned into arguably the most overrated team this season. That was proven again when the Badgers lost at Illinois, their fourth straight Big Ten setback. At 12-7 overall and 3-4 in the conference, UW needs to get going quickly or it's NIT time.
The Boilermakers were Big Ten favorites (ahead of Michigan State by the media) but started 0-2 in conference. Now they are looking like one of the conference's elite teams. In fact, since Robbie Hummel and Chris Kramer returned from missing a game against Penn State (loss), Purdue hasn't been beaten.
It began the turnaround with a Jan. 11 65-52 win over these Badgers. The Boilermakers had just four turnovers in that game, winning for the fourth time in the past five meetings in the series and is on a four-game winning streak.
"We're starting to really come together," coach Matt Painter said to the AP.
Duke at Wake Forest (Wednesday, 7 p.m., ESPN)
The Blue Devils, who will be the nation's new top-ranked team when the polls are released Monday, are coming off an 85-44 beatdown of Maryland that has begun the rumors of Gary Williams' ouster there. It was the biggest win by Duke in the history of that series and the Terps' worst loss since 1941.
The Blue Devils have won 20 straight games in the month January. Since losing to Michigan, Duke has won 10 in a row and hasn't allowed more than 70 points in a game. Fifteen of its wins have been by double digits. Duke lost the last meeting with Wake but had won five in a row in the series before that.
Wake is 2-for-2 against ranked teams this year, having beaten Clemson and North Carolina. And the Deacons will have had a week to stew over their upset loss to Virginia Tech that knocked them out of the No. 1 spot in the polls.
"You never want to lose, but I'm kind of glad we got it out of the way," guard Jeff Teague said to reporters after the loss to the Hokies. "Everybody was trying to play perfect, and everybody didn't want to mess up and things like that, because they wanted to stay No. 1. But now we've got that out of the way, we're just going to get back to doing what we were doing."
Saint Mary's at Gonzaga (Thursday, 11 p.m., ESPN2)
If you haven't seen Gaels point guard Patrick Mills yet, you will want to watch this game. The Aussie sophomore was a sensation for Team Australia in the Beijing Olympics and was stellar against the U.S. Redeem Team. He was the only American college player in the entire tournament, and boy do NBA scouts know about him. St. Mary's has the current longest winning streak in the country at 15 games.
Of course, Gonzaga is the standard when it comes to mid-major success and also the team to beat in the West Coast Conference. The Zags have won nine straight regular-season WCC titles. It's still early, with both Gonzaga and St. Mary's at 5-0 in the conference but this game could go a long way in deciding who wins the conference. The last time these two schools played was the first time ever that two WCC ranked teams faced each other. Gonzaga won that one at home but St. Mary's won an earlier meeting in the year.
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- » Basketball Discussion
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By Vitali Shaposhnikov: Just what boxing needed after the Mayweather Jr. vs. Ortiz drama: more drama and uncertainty. There is so much to say about the outcome of the Bernard Hopkins (52-6-2) vs. Chad Dawson (31-1-0), but the words just dont seem to surface in my mind.
Was this fight properly judged and ruled by the referee Pat Russell? I believe the answer should clearly be a solid, no. Unmistakably this was a no contest ending, with a butchered result due to the wrongdoing of Pat Russell along with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Everyone calling the fight, along with Max Kellerman and Emanuel Steward seemed to agree on the fallacy of this ruling.
Before going any further, lets look at the clear cut facts evident on the replays of the incident.
First and foremost, before hitting the canvas, both of Bernards feet were off the ground as Dawson made his move. This in itself spells for a foul for Dawson. If nothing happened, then nothing would need to be addressed. But something did happen; Hopkins was thrown and ended up on the ground. This is a fact that, and will remain that.
Was this injury faked or intentionally escalated by Hopkins? Anything is possible, including that. Some of the HBO crew pointed out something very interesting and important about Bernards landing: he landed on his elbow. Knowing your anatomy, the best more likely way to separate a shoulder is to hit the elbow with much force. If Bernard fell directly on his shoulder, I would have much less believe in the authenticity of his injury, but since it was the elbow that was directly impacted, his shoulder injury is likely to be genuine. Some people who were physically at the fight and had the opportunity to see Hopkins right after the injury, say that there is a clear visible inflammation surrounding the shoulder.
Its hard to write about this outcome and not take anything away from Dawson. He was fighting a very good fight, just as Hopkins was. Dawson showed a lot of attributes that could have given him a win in that fight had it continued. At the same time, the fight ended where it did, so calling Dawson a clear winner is also tricky. A win is a win, but a wrong ruling is not.
Personally, I think that Dawson did well in the fight, but didnt have enough time to clearly show himself a winner. Hopkins was also doing his thing, proving to be effective in his own way. I can clearly understand why Hopkins wants a rematch, but am completely lost as to why Dawson doesnt. This fight will not, and should not, label Chad Dawson as a Bernard Hopkins conqueror.
previous article: Gatti movie writer Will Evans Ring 8 Oct. Guest Speaker; Hopkins-Dawson observations; Jupp Gets Prizefighter Shot
next article: "Left-Hook Lounge": Vivek Wallace's Mailbag feat. Hopkins/Dawson, Pascal, Linares/DeMarco, and more!
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Hey everyone,
I want to slim down a bit before I try to conceive later this summer. I'm hoping to lose 10 lbs in 2 months—by July 1st. I walked/jogged home from work today, but since it's only a 10 minute walk, that isn't much. My plan is to just check in here every few days and let you ladies know about my progress in slimming down. Anyone is welcome to join me J
Good luck!
I lost 7lbs this month by exercising and eating much cleaner. I think the weight loss challenge and the 1000 mins exercise monthly threads on this forum helped me a good bit!
French Canadian living in the Big Easy. Happy mama to Jaxson Lee born on 9/16/12 and loving wife to Denis Lee since 11/03/11
Lovesand all that good stuff
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The $500 Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H8 wireless on-ear headphone looks great, sounds very good and is loaded with features, including noise canceling, but a few small flaws take away some of its luster.
B&O's latest upscale TV pairs 4K resolution with a fancy motorised stand -- but demands a huge wad of your cash.
This $500 wireless on-ear headphone looks great and is loaded with features, including noise canceling, but a few small flaws take away some of its luster.
It lost Beats as a collaborator after Apple bought it, but Hewlett-Packard is ready to move on with tech for its audio needs.
The Bang & Olufsen BeoVision Avant is a 55-inch TV with 4K resolution and a fancy motorised stand. The downside? A ludicrous price tag.
Design details, such as anodized speaker grilles and special color schemes, highlight the audio system in the special edition BMW 650i Gran Coupe.
The Bang and Olufsen BeoVision Avant is a 55-inch TV with a 4K resolution and fancy motorised stand. Sounds cool, but its high price means it won't be for everyone. Check out our hands-on video.
The Bang & Olufsen Serene is a showpiece of a cell phone with a design unlike any other. Unfortunately, form does not meet function, and the Serene is more suited to be showcased in a museum rather than carried around in your pocket.
Pricing not available
At CES 2015 Bang & Olufsen has expanded the BeoPlay range, adding the H8 on-ear earphones with a touch interface, active noise cancellation and a 14-hour battery life.
This powerful Ultrabook was already a solid deal at $699, but now you can score $100 off. And you definitely should.


text:
News from WTOP
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Mike Causey
Shows & Panels
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- Reimagining the Next Generation of Government
Shows & Panels
- AFCEA Answers
- American Readiness: Renewable Power and Efficiency Technologies
- Ask the CIO
- The Business Case for Cloud Computing in Government
- Cloud-Driven Data Insights in Government
- Connecting the Dots: Digital Authentication in Government
- Cybersecurity Game Changer: Real-Time Event Processing in Government
- Data-Centric Approaches to Government in the Cloud
- Delivering the Digital Government Mission
- Federal Executive Forum
- Federal News Radio's National Cyber Security Awareness Month Special Panel Discussion
- Federal Tech Talk
- The Future of Government Data Centers
- Government Perspectives on Mobility and the Cloud
- Industrialized, Interoperable and Insight-driven Federal Health Panel
- Innovation and Tech Superiority through Acquisition Reform
- Mitigating Insider Threats in Virtual & Cloud Environments
- Moving Agency Applications to the Cloud with PaaS
- Reducing Risk in the Cloud
- Security in the Age of Targeted Attacks
- Air Traffic Management Transformation Report
- The Business of Cloud
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- The Intersection: Where Technology Meets Transformation
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- On DoD
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- Reimagining the Next Generation of Government
- Transforming Business Operations at the Defense Department
NY firefighters in guarded condition
Tuesday - 12/25/2012, 9:57am EST
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) - Two upstate New York firefighters remain hospitalized in guarded condition Tuesday, a day after being shot in a hail of bullets that killed two other firefighters responding to a house fire that investigators say appears to have been set as a trap.
Firefighters Joseph Hofstetter and Theodore Scardino are recovering at a hospital in Rochester, New York.
They were among four firefighters who responded to the blaze in the suburban Rochester town of Webster Monday morning. Authorities say William Spengler set a house and car ablaze and then opened fire when the firefighters showed up. He later exchanged bullets with a police officer before killing himself.
Spengler's sister is missing. The 62-year-old was released from prison in 1998 after serving 17 years for killing his grandmother.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


text:
Shadow of a Bull
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You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title. Learn about membership options, or view our freely available titles.
- Brief Synopsis:
- Manolo Olivar has to make a decision: to follow in his famous father's shadow and become a bullfighter, or to follow his heart and become a doctor.
- Long Synopsis:
- Maia Wojciechowska's 1965 Newbery Medal winner about a young boy struggling with his father's legacy.Manolo was only three when his father, the great bullfighter Juan Olivar, died. But Juan is never far from Manolo's consciousness--how could he be, with the entire town of Arcangel waiting for the day Manolo will fulfill his father's legacy? But Manolo has a secret he dares to share with no one--he is a coward, without aficiÓn, the love of the sport that enables a bullfighter to rise above his fear and face a raging bull. As the day when he must enter the ring approaches, Manolo finds himself questioning which requires more courage: to follow in his father's legendary footsteps or to pursue his own destiny?
- Book Quality:
- Publisher Quality
- 9781442465930
- Publisher:
- Date of Addition:
- 06/19/12
- Copyright Date:
- 1964
- Copyrighted By:
- Alvin Smith, Maia Wojciechowska
- Adult content:
- No
- Language:
- English
- Categories:
- Teens, Literature and Fiction
- Grade Levels:
- Seventh grade, Eighth grade, Ninth grade, Tenth grade
- Submitted By:
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text:
In a cellular radio communication system that supports in each of its cells a plurality of different codec modes for the purpose of radio transmission, the terminals working in a cell and a base station of the cell refer to the information relating to the use of codec modes as CM information. The extent of use of the individual codec modes is registered by filtering the pieces of CM information from the data traffic of the cell and collecting them in a memory in cell-related statistics.
1. A method for monitoring transmission quality in a cellular radio communication system which supports different codec modes for radio transmission in each cell between a base station of the cell and a terminal device operating in the cell, the codec modes being combined into at least two codec mode sets, and the base station and the terminal device of a connection exchanging items of information concerning use of the codec modes, comprising:
determining an extent of use of individual codec modes;
collecting items of information into statistics respectively relating to a geographical partial region of the cellular radio communication system; and
determining composition of a codec mode set based on the statistics.
2. A method according to
3. A method according to
4. A method according to
5. A method according to
6. A method according to
7. A method according to
8. A method according to
9. A method according to
10. A method according to
11. A method according to
wherein control instructions for determining the codec mode include an instruction for selection of a current set of codec modes from the at least two codec mode sets and an instruction for determining the codec mode to be used in the current set, and
wherein the composition of the sets is determined to minimize a number of instructions to be transmitted to select the set of codec modes.
12. A method according to
wherein the control instructions for determining the codec mode include an instruction for selection of a current set of codec modes from the at least two codec mode sets and an instruction to determine the codec mode to be used in the current set, and
wherein the composition of the sets is determined such that one of the sets includes a most used codec mode.
13. A method according to
14. A method according to
15. A method according to
16. A method of monitoring transmission quality in a cellular radio communication system which supports different codec modes for radio transmission in each cell between a base station of the cell and a terminal device operating in the cell, the codec modes being combined into at least two codec mode sets, and the base station and the terminal device of a connection exchanging items of information concerning use of the codec modes, comprising:
determining an extent of use of individual codec modes;
collecting items of information in statistics respectively relating to a geographical partial region of the cellular radio communication system, including information about at least two codec mode sets; and
evaluating the statistics for an extension of the cellular radio communication system.
17. A cellular radio communication system for communication with terminal devices, comprising:
a plurality of base stations, each supporting different codec modes for radio transmission with the terminal devices operating in respective cells by exchanging control instructions to determine the codec mode to be used for a transmission at least one of from the terminal device to the base station and from the base station, the codec modes being combined into at least two codec mode sets, and each base station including
a memory to receive records regarding use of each codec mode in a cell of the base station, and
a processor to determine composition of a codec mode set for communication with each terminal device based on the records stored in the memory.
18. A cellular radio communication system according to
This application is based on and hereby claims priority to German Application No. 100 13 798.9 filed on Mar. 20, 2000, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for monitoring the transmission quality in a cellular radio communication system which supports plural signal coding and decoding methods, hereinafter termed codec modes, for radio transmission in each cell.
2. Description of the Related Art
In radio communication systems, items of information such as, for example, speech, picture information or other use data are transmitted by electromagnetic waves over a radio interface between a transmitting and a receiving radio station, such as for example a base station or a mobile station in the case of a mobile radio system. The transmitting and the receiving station each have an encoder/decoder, termed codec for short, which serves to convert, for example, a binary coded digital data stream to be transmitted into a coding which is suitable for radio transmission, or to convert back a data stream received by radio into its original coding.
The information transmission takes place here in so-called frames, i.e., all data are combined within a frame duration of, e.g., 20 ms, and are coded/decoded in common.
Numerous signal coding and decoding methods, or codec modes, are known, which are respectively optimized for different transmission conditions on the radio path between transmitter and receiver.
Because of the mobility of the subscribers, the transmission quality on the radio path in mobile communication systems can vary markedly over short periods. The use of different codec modes makes possible satisfactory speech communication even under these variable conditions. Different codec modes use different methods for the data compression and data reduction which convert a speech signal into a digitized data stream with respectively different data rates. After the radio transmission, the digitized data stream is converted back again in to a speech signal at the receiver. The higher the data rate of the digitized stream, obviously the better the accuracy with which the original signal can be reproduced at the receiver. It would therefore be basically desirable to be able to transmit the digitized speech signal at as high a rate as possible.
The data rate which can be transmitted on a conventional radio communication network is of course insufficient for speech transmission with high fidelity in real time. In known GSM mobile radio systems, this data rate is, e.g., 22.8 kb/s per channel. The problem arises there that the radio transmission of data, particularly in mobile radio networks, is error-prone, since the transmission conditions between transmitter and receiver are very variable due to the mobility of the subscriber, and it frequently happens that a data radio signal radiated from a transmitter reaches the receiver over several paths of different length, so that the signal received by the receiver is composed of several components which have an a priori unknown time and phase offset from one another.
In order to be able to transmit an intelligible speech signal under these conditions, it is necessary to transmit in the available channel not only the digitized speech data stream, but furthermore additional information which is generated by the transmitter from the speech data stream and which makes it possible for the receiver to recognize whether data was or was not erroneously received, and if necessary to reconstruct this data. It goes without saying that both the transmission of the speech data stream and also the data transmitted for its reconstruction, termed protective data, is error-prone. Hence the amount of protective data needed in order to be able to satisfactorily reconstruct a given amount of use data is greater, the greater the error rate of the transmission.
Since the total transmission capacity of a channel is limited and is to be always completely used as far as possible, the ratio of speech or general use data to protective data can only be varied by setting the portion of the total bandwidth of the channel available to the use data to be low under poor transmission conditions and high under good transmission conditions. In order to be able to produce the speech data stream with a variable data rate corresponding to the available bandwidth, respectively different data compression and reduction methods or codec modes are used.
The GSM AMR codec is known from GSM Specifications 06.71 and 06.90 for transmitter and receiver of the GSM system, and supports 8 codec modes (CM) for full rate transmission and 6 codec modes for half rate transmission. Each of these modes converts a speech signal into a digitized data stream and is optimized for a given range of transmission quality.
When the transmission quality of the channel changes, the codecs of the transmitter and receiver are changed over to the appropriate codec mode for the present quality. This changeover takes place in that the receiver, when it considers the codec mode used at present not to be optimum, transmits to the transmitter an instruction to change over to another codec mode, designated in the instruction. The AMR codec uses two kinds of such instructions. One includes two bits, which respectively permit specifying one out of four possible codec modes, at a predetermined place of a speech frame. These four modes are termed a codec mode set. The composition of the codec mode set is arbitrary per se and is currently established by the network operators based on experiential values.
The number of codec modes supported by the AMR codec is however greater than four. Therefore not all of the codec modes can be selected in the manner described above. When a change is to be made to a codec mode which does not belong to the present codec mode set, a so-called escape frame (ER), which makes it possible to select another codec mode set, has to be transmitted with this. This escape frame is transmitted instead of a speech frame, and thus leads to a worsening of the speech quality. When the codec mode sets are unfavorably composed, it can happen that frequent changes between two sets frequently have to be made.
It is not immediately possible to determine an optimum composition of the codec mode set which makes it possible to minimize the number of required escape frames. Since the local boundary conditions which determine the transmission quality are respectively different from one cell of a mobile radio network to another, it cannot be concluded, from the fact that a given codec mode set is very suitable for a first cell and a high percentage of codec mode changes which occur in this cell take place within this set, that the same set is also suitable for a neighboring cell. An added difficulty is that the transmission conditions within a cell are not alone determined by the geographical circumstances of the cell. Thus the transmission quality of a terminal device which is situated at a given location of the cell can depend strongly on which time slot is allocated to it, because individual time slots at this location are possibly strongly affected by interference due to a neighboring cell, while others are not. The same holds for the different transmission frequencies used within a cell. Therefore, even within a cell, a codec mode set which is suitable for a first time slot may be found to be unsuitable for a second time slot.
In order to ensure each time a correct decoding at the receiver of the data transmitted by radio, a further two bits are transmitted with each speech frame, and give the codec mode used by the transmitter, in that they specify one of four codec modes of the codec mode set which is valid at any given time.
There are thus two types of codec mode. Information or CM information which is transmitted between terminal devices and the base station in the cells of a radio communication system is of a first type, which informs one partner of a connection of the codec mode used by the other partner, and a second, which informs him which codec mode the first partner wishes to receive from him.
A further problem of conventional cellular radio transmission systems is the lack of an easily operated method which makes it possible to gain exact conclusions concerning the distribution of the transmission quality within geographical partial regions, such as for instance individual cells of the system, and to obtain data concerning the transmission quality respectively related to these partial regions, which data can be consulted as a basis for planning the further extension of the radio communication network or of its cells.
The invention has an object of providing a method for monitoring the transmission quality in a cellular radio communication system, and a radio communication system suitable for performance of the method, which make it possible to determine in a simple manner transmission quality data which can be consulted as the basis for planning a further extension of the radio communication network, or for determining a codec mode set which is optimally adapted for given transmission conditions.
A further object is to provide a radio communication system which is suitable for performing such a method.
A method according to the invention assumes a radio communication system which supports in each of its cells numerous different codec modes for radio transmission, where the terminal device working in a cell and a base station of this cell exchange between them items of information relating to the use of the codec mode, designated as items of codec mode information or CM information. According to the invention, the extent of the use of the individual codec modes is sensed, in that these items of CM information are filtered from the data traffic of the cell, and statistics are collected relating to a geographical partial region of the radio communication system.
Based on the extent to which the different codec modes are used within the partial region, the quality of the transmission conditions in the partial region can be inferred in a simple manner. Thus, for example, an average for the use of the individual codec modes can be calculated, to make the transmission conditions mutually comparable in the individual partial regions of the radio communication system and in this manner to determine those partial regions which have a conspicuously poor average transmission quality, and hence most urgently require improvement. The extent of the individual codec modes in the partial regions can furthermore be compared with one another. Thus an unusual distribution of the use frequency of the individual codec modes can for example be an indication that there are regions or channels in a partial region which have markedly worse transmission conditions than the partial region on average, and that targeted measures are necessary in order to improve the transmission conditions for these regions or channels.
Particularly when the statistics are to serve as data for the planning of further network expansion, it is appropriate that the statistics for each codec mode determines a magnitude which is representative of the number of transmitted frames using the codec mode concerned. Equally important would be a determination of the transmitted amount of data or elapsed speech time, using the codec mode concerned. A limitation can be made here to filtering from the data traffic of the cells the items of CM information with which a partner of a radio connection, terminal device or base station, indicates the codec mode used by him to the respective other partner.
Where it is a matter of determining the optimum codec mode set for a given cell, the number of frames is of less interest than an item of information concerning how often an instruction to change has been transmitted in a given mode. For this, a limitation can be made to filtering from the data stream the items of CM information which consists of control instructions for determining the codec mode used by the respective other partner.
It is expedient for the geographical region for which the statistics are collected to be identical to the cell.
The statistics are expediently supplied to a central place of the cell, for instance to the base station, at which all radio connections run together to the terminal devices and which is therefore particularly suitable for filtering out from the radio data traffic the instructions for the use of a given codec mode. A further suitable location is the transcoder and rate adapter unit (TRAU), over which passes the whole data traffic of the concerned cells with other cells of the radio communication network or with other networks, or else a base station controller BSC or RNC (radio network controller).
Since uplink and downlink transmission (transmission in the upward or downward direction) between the base station and the terminal devices of the cell in a TDMA radio communication system in general takes place with a respective time displacement, it can occur in a bidirectional connection that the qualities of the uplink and downlink differ, perhaps because one of the two interferes with a radio signal of a neighboring cell radiated in the same cycle, and the other does not. Similar discrepancies can arise when the uplink and downlink are transmitted on different frequencies and one of the frequencies undergoes interference. In order to recognize such effects, it is appropriate if the statistics are supplied separately for uplink and downlink. For the same reason, it can also be advantageous to provide the statistics separately for each transmission frequency or each time slot of the cell.
The control instructions for determining the codec mode to be used can in a known manner include an instruction to select a set of codec modes from among at least two sets and an instruction to determine the codec mode to be used in the currently selected set. In order to improve the efficiency of transmission, the number of instructions for selecting a set of codec modes which must be transmitted is to be as small as possible. This is attained in a simple manner, e.g., in that the composition of the sets is determined based on the statistics such that one of the sets includes the most used codec mode.
Radio communication systems are known in which the data, in the transition from the base station in a fixed network, are not re-coded for transmission to another base station, but the codec mode used by the transmitting terminal device remains unchanged in the fixed network transmission and the data of the base station of a receiving terminal device is radiated using the same codec mode. In this operating mode, known as tandem free operation (TFO), the codec mode used is determined by the weakest link of the transmission chain. In each of the terminal devices taking part in a connection, this means that when a first of these terminal devices transmits an instruction for changing a codec mode due to poor transmission conditions, the reason is in the transmission conditions of the cell of precisely this terminal device. When, however, it receives such an instruction, this can come from the second terminal device or from the base station of the first terminal device. Therefore control instructions, which in the context of tandem free operation are transmitted from the cell of the transmitting terminal device to that of the receiving terminal device, must remain ignored in the statistics of the respective other cell, or be considered separately, since nothing can be said, or nothing with certainty, about the transmission conditions in this other cell. Vice versa, it is however very possible that its own statistic is supplied in a cell regarding the control instructions coming from a foreign cell, in order in this manner to reach a conclusion about the transmission conditions of this foreign cell.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
The radio communication system according to the invention, shown much schematized in
The mobile switching centers MSC1, MSC2 are respectively connected to base stations BS1, BS1′1, BS2 by so-called transcoding and rate adaptation units (TRAUs) and also base station controls BSC1, BSC2. The base stations BS1, BS1′, BS2 communicate with the mobile stations such as MS1, MS2 situated in their respective cells Z1, Z′1, Z2, using a respective one of plural selectable codec modes, which are optimized for data transmission on the radio path. The task of the TRAUs is to convert this coding into a coding which is optimized for further transmission by wire, and to match the data rates.
The codec mode used for the radio transmission of the data between mobile terminal device and base station is determined in the dialog between mobile terminal device and base station: When one of the two communication partners determines that the quality of the received signal falls below a given boundary value, e.g. by monitoring the bit error rate, it transmits to the other partner a request to use a codec which is better adapted to the transmission conditions than the current one. In the same way, a codec mode adapted to better transmission conditions can be selected when the bit error rate is so low that this appears to be justifiable.
The GSM radio communication system with AMR codec made use of as an example here uses in a known manner eight different full rate codec modes and six half rate modes. The full rate modes are collected into two groups or codec mode sets. In order to change the codec mode within a codec mode set, it is sufficient to transmit 2 bits, which denote the number of the codec mode to be used, within the usual speech transmission frame. A codec mode of the second set cannot be selected in this manner. In order to do this, an escape frame, which contains an instruction to select the second codec mode set, must be inserted instead of a speech frame.
The data of a mobile communication between the terminal devices MS1 and MS2 passes over the base stations BS1, BS2 and the TRAUs 1 and 2, in which a re-coding respectively takes place. The codec modes used for the transmission between terminal device MS1 and BS1 or respectively between BS2 and terminal device MS2 can be different. All of the frames transmitted by the mobile terminal devices of the cell Z1, including possible codec mode selection instructions, thus reach the TRAU1, where they are evaluated and statistically recorded in a memory S1. A memory element is allocated to each codec mode in the memory S1, and its content is incremented each time an instruction to change the codec mode concerned is received. In this manner all the codec mode selection instructions are recorded which originate from the mobile stations. In order to enlarge the statistical basis, it can be provided that each base station also informs its TRAU of those codec mode selection instructions which it itself produces and transmits to one of the mobile terminal devices in its cell.
The codec modes 1-4 and 5-8 are according to the invention combined into two codec mode sets, one set including the most frequently selected modes 1-4. The predominant portion of all code mode changes thus takes place in the set with the codec modes 5-8.
Since the TRAU1 is also connected to the base station BS1′ as well as to the base station 1, a second memory S1′ is allocated to it in order to record there the codec mode selection instructions exchanged in the data traffic of BS1′.
The codec modes 1-4 are combined according to the invention in two codec mode sets, one set including the most frequently selected modes 5-8 and the other the seldom selected modes 1-4. The predominant portion of all code mode changes thus takes place in the set with the codec modes 5-8.
Codec mode selection instructions which pass through the TRAU1 coming from the direction of the switching center MSC1, which can occur in TFO, are not included in the statistics, since they are occasioned by the transmission conditions in cell Z2 and say nothing about Z1.
In the statistics of the cell Z1, the columns are on average higher than those of cell Z2, and the codec modes 2 and 3 are relatively frequently selected. This suggests that there must be in cell Z1 a region with relatively poor transmission conditions, and that in order to improve the overall network quality, it could be rewarding to find this zone and optimize its transmission conditions, e.g. by sectorizing the cell Z1 or by arranging a new cell. The overall relatively high numerical values of the individual columns of the statistics of Z1 indicate that the codec mode is frequently changed in this cell, and thus that the transmission conditions probably fluctuate markedly with time or location.
In order to keep the number of codec mode changes in cell Z1 for which it is necessary to transmit an escape frame as small as possible, the composition of the codec mode set is laid down other than in cell Z2: one set contains the frequently selected modes 3, 6, 7, 8, and the other contains the seldom selected modes 1, 2, 4, 5.
In order to evaluate the transmission quality within a cell in comparison with other cells of the mobile radio communication system, an average value can be formed, for example, over the numbers of the codec modes, weighted with the height of their columns in the statistics, collected and compared at a central place for the cells of the system, and those cells which have the worst average value are considered to be in need of improvement. Alternatively, simply for each cell, the portion of a given number of codec modes, respectively optimized for the worst transmission conditions, is determined on the statistics, and a cell is considered to be in need of improvement when this portion exceeds a given threshold value.
The radio communication system shown in
As can be seen, the transmission conditions on channel 1 are poor overall; practically only the codecs modes 1-4 are used. The three channels 2-4, on the contrary, have better transmission conditions. It can thus be immediately concluded from these detailed statistics that the frequent use of codec modes 2 and 3 already shown in
In order to minimize the number of escape frames to be transmitted for selection of the codec modes, a codec mode set which contains the most frequently used codec modes is defined for each individual channel. In the case of the channel 1, these are codec modes 1-4; codec modes 5-8 give a second set. Codec modes 5-8 are the most frequently used for channels 2-4, and consequently codec mode sets of the codec modes 5-8 or respectively 1-4 are formed here. Thus in spite of the different transmission conditions of the channels, here the compositions of the codec mode sets are fortuitously equal for all channels of the cell. This result is in contrast to that for the cell Z1 with the codec mode set composition obtained with the simpler statistics according to
Only such codec modes are considered in the foregoing description which contained full rate codec modes. The invention can of course also be used in the same manner for the control of the use of half rate codec modes. Here individual codec modes can also belong to plural sets. It is also conceivable that mixed codec mode sets are formed which contain both full rate and half rate codec modes.
As a further alternative, instead only the instructions for selecting one of these codec modes can be filtered out from the CM information transmitted in the cell and numerically included in the statistics; also the portion of each codec mode in the communication input of the cell is determined, so that, for instance, the columns of the statistics are incremented each time a frame was transmitted which used the codec mode allocated to the column. For this purpose, that portion of the items of CM information (CM=codec mode) which includes the bits transmitted with each frame and specifying the codec mode valid for this frame can be filtered from the data traffic of the cell.
The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof and examples, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention.
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By James Slater: Both before and after his recent points win over inactive, oft-beaten former Contender Max Alexander, all-time great Roy Jones Junior said that he wants to win a major cruiserweight title, as its the only think I havent done.
The wide but lackluster points win over Alexander saw the 42-year-old legend win for this first time since August of 2009, and Jones improved to 55-8(40). And, despite looking faded to the point where his real fans have been wishing for the longest time that he would hang em up, there is a suggestion that Jones could get a shot at a major 200-pound belt next year (lets face it, hes NOT gonna retire until hes good and ready!)
According to a small piece in British Boxing News, there are reports in certain Polish media publications that say World Boxing Council (WBC) cruiser boss Krzysztof Wlodarczyks manager has expressed interest in a fight with the one-time superstar; with March of next year in Poland being a date put forward. There has been nothing beyond the mere talking stage so far, but it does seem as though a trend is growing whereby aging former greats from the U.S get a shot at a strong and dominant cruiserweight hailing from Europe (think Denis Lebedev Vs. Jones and James Toney recently).
Would it really be a massive shock if Jones landed a fight with the 30-year-old WBC ruler with the 46-2-1(33) record? No. It would, however, be a big upset if Jones proved to be competitive, much less actually won the fight.
Back in his glorious heyday, Jones, Im sure, would have had a relatively easy time against the Pole. Wlodarczyk is not a bad fighter by any stretch, but he was deemed most fortunate to have gotten the decision in his fight with Francisco Palacios (who is the WBC mandatory and isnt likely to just sit back and watch if Wlodarczyk does sign to fight Jones next, instead of him in a return fight) back in April, and after that Wlodarczyk was being out-pointed by Danny Green until an 11th-round TKO saved the day for the champ known as Diablo.
Jones, no doubt, will talk himself into believing that even today he has enough left to defeat the WBC champ. No way will this actually happen, and no way is Jones in any way deserving of a shot at the green belt (just that one win up in the 200-pound division, with one loss). At the very best, Jones will be capable of dancing around, throwing out a few soft but reasonably fast combos, before the younger, stronger man catches up with him - just as Lebedev did in that awful fight back in May.
Once upon a time, Jones never wanted to or had to travel for a fight. Now, with his stock lower than ever, the Floridian has gone as far as Russia to box. He may be catching a plane to Poland next March. But how many KO defeats will it take for this lock for The Hall of Fame to call it a career?
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Do any of your readers know how it feels to have your president, US Senators and your congressman wanting to fine you , arrest you and jail you if you don't have the kind of health insurance plan they want you to have? They call it ObamaCare but it is health care at GUN POINT! I am so proud of Virginia for reaffirming their states rights on this insurance issue. And I wish I had Rep. Eric Cantor as my congressman more than you will ever know. Ultimately our US Constitution and our freedom are the most valuable possessions we have. President Obama turned our nation over to Interpol and gave more rights to terrorist than our own brave military have! If this nation survives this financial crisis it will be because of patriots like Rep. Eric Cantor! Thank you Rep. Cantor for looking after my freedoms because my Congressman Carney won't!
What I don't understand, though, is where were Joe and his legions 30 to 40 years ago, when most states mandated that every car owner buy automobile liability insurance? (Massachusetts was first to mandate car insurance, in 1927; New Hampshire is the last to not mandate it).
I wrote Joe back to find out if he has car insurance, as required by Pennsylvania law. He answered immediately that he does, and has for the past 30 years.
So I sent back these two questions:
You realize you're mandated by the government to have it, right? How do you feel about that mandate?
The minimum required auto-insurance coverage varies, but the principle is similar to what's being discussed now in the health-care debate. I'm surprised that the parallel between the proposed health-insurance mandate and the time-tested car insurance mandates has not been much discussed, as the advantages and drawbacks are also similar.
Why it's good:
Mandates mean (almost) everyone you encounter is insured. If everyone has to have coverage, the cost should naturally drop for two reasons: 1) ordinary economies of scale: generally, the more something is produced, the lower the price can be; 2) more people in the risk pool statistically means lower premiums. Left to their own devices, most people wouldn't buy insurance. Self-aware bad drivers are probably the rarest kind (most people think they're above average), and in a completely "free choice" system, the best drivers would likely find themselves victimized by bad drivers who did not have insurance. Costs for the "good" people would increase, as they would be paying both insurance premiums and any costs associated with car repairs and medical bills incurred when irresponsible, uninsured motorists collided with them. Of course, the costs of those uninsured peoples' injuries would also be borne substantially by taxpayers, as injured people receive free charity care that is passed on to others via higher bills and through Medicaid taxes. Mandates work to minimize this unfair cost-shifting from irresponsible to responsible people.
Why it's bad:
There are three main problems with our current system of state-based car insurance mandates:
1) State variations in minimum-coverage limits. These can create dispute when, for example, a person from Massachusetts (a low-minimum state) gets into an accident with someone from Maine (high minimums) or New Hampshire (The Granite-head State; no insurance required). The state-based system is inefficient and confusing at the margins.
2) Regulation. State insurance regulators vary widely in their vigor. Some, like Florida, are reasonably consumer-oriented and well-staffed enough to do the job. Others (Connecticut, say) have the expertise to be good regulators but are controlled by the industry, which is very important to the state's economy. Still others (Alabama, Tennessee) are simply outmatched by the superior legal firepower marshaled by insurance companies. Aside from allowing unconscionable profits, bait-and-switch tactics that result in denials of coverage, and other minor irritants to policy holders, they also occasionally allow Ponzi schemes to masquerade as insurance companies, and seem destined to do so in perpetuity. The other side of regulation is the criminal and civil liabilities attached to driving without insurance. Although I'm sure states vary on this, too, my observation of the problem here in Baltimore, as well as in Hartford, Conn., leads me to conclude that a substantial minority of drivers simply operate outside the law, and when caught there are no significant penalties.
3) Lawsuit abuse. It's no accident that, when Google-searching state car-insurance mandates, the top hits were web sites maintained by tort lawyers. The first one I clicked on included a "Million Dollar Advocates Forum." Lawyers need to make a living, and injured people are, in fact, too often NOT compensated for their injuries. But mandatory-minimum coverage limits on car-insurance policies has created a huge pool of money for lawyers to tap, and it's pretty clear that many of them focus on the liability caps first and the administration of justice for injured victims second, at best. That club I mentioned is "is limited to attorneys who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements. There are more than 3,000 members throughout the country."
So-called "junk lawsuits" are also a staple of the health care debate. But realize: The insurance coverage those lawsuits target are the malpractice policies doctors and hospitals carry, not the health-insurance policies consumers need and often lack. This increases medical costs some, and there is a place in the debate for the tort-reform issue. (Though the statistics I've seen indicate that the issue of "junk lawsuits" has been laughably overblown by—what a surprise!—the insurance lobby and the business lobby, both of which have long claimed that every consumer or employee tort action against a corporation is "without merit." We know this because any time a company is sued, any press release or statement issued by a company spokesman includes those words. Check it for yourself.)
The main troubles, then, with state car-insurance mandates is that they are too varied, hard to enforce, and subject to sometimes weak state regulation. A system of mandated private health insurance based on this model would have similar drawbacks, and one other that is seldom mentioned in the debate.
As with car insurance, health insurance depends on large pools of premium payers buoying a much smaller group of people making claims. Our current, privatized, state-regulated health-insurance system divides that risk pool into ever smaller slices, and then employs large numbers of trained medical professionals to monitor and control who gets in the risk pool.
That's why you have to apply for health and long-term care insurance, and why you can be denied—or your premium jacked up to the stratosphere—if it is discovered that you are sick, or may soon be.


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"It is one of the worst examples of corruption, abuse and of government putting special interests before the public interest," Salazar told the media in that briefing.
He reaffirmed his pledge to clean up the department.
"That was about sex and drugs and alcohol being brought into a government agency at a very high level, career employees of the department, and from the violations of the law, both at the federal level and at the state level," he said. "And that is absolutely rotten. It shouldn't have happened. ... We are not going to allow ethical lapses within the Department of Interior. If those ethical lapses are brought to our attention, we will take immediate action."
The Obama administration believes it has put the department in capable hands and Salazar's record in the Senate and as Colorado's attorney general would appear to support such a notion. But some environmentalists bristled at the choice when Obama announced it back in December.
The charge was that Salazar was in the pocket of oil and coal companies and that his Senate record included votes in favor of tax breaks for Exxon-Mobil and reduced fuel standards for U.S. automobiles.
Salazar defended his record.
"I believe that there ought to be significantly increased efficiency than cars with the advance vehicle technologies that we have," he said. "And I have been a champion in the Senate Energy Committee. Or the Senate Finance Committee, in terms of pushing forward with incentives for hybrids, for plug-in hybrids, for an electric infrastructure highway that would allow us to move into that new kind of technology."
The League of Conservation Voters scored him with an average of 85 percent positive rating during his tenure in the Senate. He won election in 2004.
"I'm not here to please the environmental community," Salazar said. "I'm not here to please the industry either. You know, we will make the decisions that are right for America. And I think that when the environmental community and industry look back at the record that I have in my state, I think we have done more on the environmental side for land conservation by creating the premier land conservation program in the United States of America and my state. The preservation of and restoration of rivers, preservation of endangered species; I would ask those people who have questions to look at the record."