text:
FIRST Quantum Minerals Limited (FQM) has said three multinational stores are ready to put up a shopping mall in Solwezi following the increase in the mining and related business activities in the area.
But the plan by the multinational chain stores is being hampered by the failure to secure land title from the FQM-owned Kansanshi Mining Plc due to the slow process of land transfer in the country.
Kansanshi Mining Plc assistant general manager Alan Delaney named Shoprite Stores and Pick 'n Pay as among the three who had made enquiries on putting up a mall but had failed to get the land required for the project.
"The process of getting land here in Zambia is quite complicated and very slow, we as a mine had struggled to get land and three chain stores have enquired about putting up a shopping mall here in Solwezi but we are unable to transfer some part of our land to them.
"Property market is key for the economic development, we need to have an efficient and quick process of registration of transfer of land title and I mean it should not take more than three months, but here in Zambia it takes two years," he said.
The shopping mall would be the first of its kind in North-Western Province. He said in Zambia, only 10 per cent of the land was available as leasehold and almost none was freehold, adding that only 10 per cent of the value of the country had any collateral value.
FQM's director of operation Matt Pascall said new towns like Solwezi had no efficient survey and registration of land parcels, a situation he said led to repeated sale of the same land by different organs like the council, the relevant ministry and individual officials.
He said if owning land was made easier, citizens would be given a boost in becoming wealthy as the pieces of land or property acquired would be used as collateral security when getting a loan from the banking institutions.
"In the USA, 85 per cent of the business started with offering land as collateral to the bank in order to access funds, this is the way to go," he said.


text:
The following is an archive of a post made to our
'vox-tech mailing list'
by one of its subscribers.
newbie here.
i'm using flex/bison for processing a program's user input, and have a
list of rules that define the user input grammar.
after bison processes all it's input, is there a way of telling it:
if no rule matched the input, take your input and feed it to
ParseError(const char *error)?
the problem i'm having is typically:
ruleset: TOK_RULESET NUMBER { ChangeRuleset($2); }
| TOK_RULESET { ChangeRuleset(-1); }
if the user types something like "ruleset asdf", it'll match
"TOK_RULESET", and (i think) "asdf" gets put back into the buffer since
it's not a NUMBER, and is processed the next time the user inputs
something. in other words, bison gets out of sync and confused.
i have a rule like:
WORD { ParseError($1); }
and this handles truly garbled input, like "qwerty", but doesn't handle
the situation i outlined above.
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Your shopping bag is empty.
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The following is an archive of a post made to our
'vox-jobs mailing list'
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Hello vox-jobs:
After many years of faithful service to our current company, our facility in Davis is going to be liquidated and closed. All employees will be laid off, including myself. I am in need of another job, as well as another employee here.
Here are quick descriptions. I'll just write a sentence about both of us, and if you want to see either of the CVs, email me.
Me (Jan):
Developer/SysAdmin: almost 10 years at current position. linux, solaris, windows, c/c++, python, perl, web, xhtml/css, ajax, RoR, databases, SQL, MySQL, postgres, etc. Looking in Davis/East Bay.
Bill J:
SysAdmin: 20+ years experience. Linux, solaris, windows, AS400, z/OS, web, IIS, and a bit of everything else. Techie working in tech since the '70s. Looking in Davis.
Hopefully this is the correct forum for this information. If not, I apologize.
Thank you.
"The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the
mind of the oppressed."
-- Steven Biko
("White Racism and Black Consciousness", in I Write What I Like)
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Hanukkah (חנוכה, alt. Chanukah), also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, and may occur from late November to late December on the Gregorian calendar.
The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special candelabrum, the Menorah or Hanukiah, one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a shamash, (Hebrew: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. (The shamash is used to light the other lights.)
Hanukkah is mentioned in the deuterocanonical or apocrypha books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the altar. Then Judah and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the feast of Booths."
Hanukkah is also mentioned in the deuterocanonical books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the altar. Then Judah and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the feast of Booths."
The martyrdom of Hannah and her seven sons has also been linked to Hanukkah. According to the Talmudic story and 2 Maccabees, a Jewish woman named Hannah and her seven sons were tortured and executed by Antiochus for refusing to worship an idol, which would have been a violation of Jewish law.
The Talmud presents three customs:
There was a dispute among the sages over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the eighth night. The followers of Shammai favored the former custom; the followers of Hillel advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, Jewish law followed Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door or in the window closest to the street. Rashi, in a note to Shabbat 21b, says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. Hanukkah is also mentioned in the (older) Mishnah (TB Megillah 30b).
The Books of Maccabees are not part of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), but are part of deuterocanonical historical and religious material preserved in the Septuagint. The Tanakh ends with the consequences following the events of Purim, and had already been codified many centuries earlier by the Men of the Great Assembly (Anshei Knesset HaGedolah).
Another source is the Megillat Antiochus. This work (also known as "Megillat HaHasmonaim", or "Megillat Hanukkah") is in both Aramaic and Hebrew; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. Recent scholarship dates it to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century, with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century. It was published for the first time in Mantua in 1557. Saadia Gaon, who translated it into Arabic in the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, disputed by some, since it gives dates as so many years before the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE. The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the Siddur of Philip Birnbaum.
Hanukkah is also mentioned in the New Testament, where in the Gospel of John it is referred to as the Feast of the Dedication ().
By 175 BCE Antiochus IV Epiphanes ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in Jerusalem was looted, Jews were massacred, and Judaism was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to Zeus erected in the Temple.
Many modern scholars argue that the king may have been intervening in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized elite Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the High Priest, with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like Onias overthrown by Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned the traditional religion of a whole people.
Antiochus' actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they provoked a large-scale revolt. Mattathias, a Jewish priest, and his five sons Jochanan, Simeon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated. The festival of Hanukkah was instituted by Judah Maccabee and his brothers to celebrate this event. After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. But there was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet miraculously, it burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of oil for the menorah. An eight day festival was declared by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.
The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil. A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a belated celebration of the festivals of Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret. During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret properly; the combined festivals also last eight days, and the Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v. 2-4). The historian Josephus mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the "Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights").
It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos, and also of the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only (unlike Sukkot, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of brit milah (circumcision), which brings a Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews.
Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday. Some are family-based and others are communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath, as specified in the Shulkhan Arukh People go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although, in Israel, schools close for the whole week of Hanukkah. Many families exchange gifts each night, and fried foods are eaten.
The lights can be candles or oil lamps. Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish homes have a special candelabrum or oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, which holds eight lights plus the additional shamash light.
The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passers-by should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle. Accordingly lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazim to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most Sephardim light one for the whole household. Only when there was danger of anti-semitic persecution were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case in Persia under the rule of the Zoroastrians, or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, most Hasidic groups, light lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite side from the mezuzah, so that when one passes through the door he is surrounded by the holiness of mitzvoth.
Typically three blessings (Brachot singular Brachah) are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first night of Hanukkah, Jews recite all three blessings, on all subsequent nights, they recite only the first two. The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first candle and so on, proceeding from right to left each night.
For the full text of the blessings, see List of Jewish prayers and blessings: Hanukkah
|Ashkenazic version:
|Hanneirot hallalu anachnu madlikin 'al hannissim ve'al hanniflaot 'al hatteshu'ot ve'al hammilchamot she'asita laavoteinu bayyamim haheim, (u)bazzeman hazeh 'al yedei kohanekha hakkedoshim. Vekhol-shemonat yemei Hanukkah hanneirot hallalu kodesh heim, ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtammesh baheim ella lir'otam bilvad kedei lehodot ul'halleil leshimcha haggadol 'al nissekha ve'al nifleotekha ve'al yeshu'otekha
|We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your holy priests. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the Hallel Psalms are sung during each morning service and the Tachanun penitential prayers are omitted. The Torah is read every day in the synagogue, the first day beginning from Numbers 6:22 (According to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and the last day ending with Numbers 8:4.
Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two, Jewish Sabbaths (Saturdays). The weekly Torah portion for the first Sabbath is almost always Miketz, telling of Joseph's dream and his enslavement in Egypt. The Haftarah reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is Zechariah 2:14-4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the Haftarah reading is from I Kings 7:40 - 7:50.
The Hanukkah menorah is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings. The menorah is not lit on the Sabbath, but rather prior to the beginning of the Sabbath at night and not at all during the day.
During the Middle Ages "Megillat Antiochus" was read in the Italian synagogues on Hanukkah just as the Book of Esther is read on Purim. It still forms part of the liturgy of the Yemenite Jews.
Eating dairy foods, especially cheese, on Hanukkah is a minor custom that has its roots in the story of Judith, as related in the book of Judith (Yehudit or Yehudis in Hebrew). Holofernes, an Assyrian general, had surrounded the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews is cut off and the situation became desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender. She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the severed head with her. When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened, and launched a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.
Many argue that Holofernes was actually Greek, placing the events in the general time-frame of Hanukkah. The longstanding tradition that Judith was the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, and consequently a sister of Mattathias the Hasmonean and an aunt of Judah the Maccabee, is how this story came to be associated with Hanukkah. There are many depictions of Judith and Holofernes in painting.
The classical rabbis downplayed the military and nationalistic dimensions of Hanukkah, and some even interpreted the emphasis upon the story of the miracle oil as a diversion away from the struggle with empires that had led to the disastrous downfall of Jerusalem to the Romans. With the advent of Zionism and the state of Israel, these themes were rapidly reconsidered. In modern Israel, Hanukkah was transformed into a celebration of military strength, a kind of antidote to what was perceived as the idea of the powerless Diaspora Jew that the Zionists felt that the Jews in the State of Israel needed to psychologically overcome.
In North America especially, Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large numbers of secular Jews, who wanted a Jewish alternative to the Christmas celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah. Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.
While Hanukkah traditionally speaking is only a minor Jewish holiday, as indicated by the lack of restrictions on work other than a few minutes after lighting the candles, Hanukkah has taken a place equal to Passover as a symbol of Jewish identity. Both the Israeli and North American versions of Hanukkah emphasize resistance, focusing on some combination of national liberation and religious freedom as the defining meaning of the holiday.
Potato pancakes, known as latkes in Yiddish, are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, especially among Ashkenazi families. There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil), as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of the small flask of oil used by the Jewish High Priest, the Kohen Gadol. This small batch of olive oil was only supposed to last one day, and instead it lasted eight.
Many Sephardic families as well as Polish Ashkenazim and Israel have the custom of eating all kinds of fruit-filled doughnuts (פאנטשקעס pontshkes), (bimuelos, or sufganiyot) which are deep-fried in oil, and of course all Kosher foods.
In Eretz Yisroel, the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ (Pe), rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, Nes Gadol Haya Po—"A great miracle happened here" referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel. Some stores in Haredi neighbourhoods may sell the traditional Shin dreidels.
Some Jewish commentators ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome. After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies or other markers, and places one marker in the "pot." The first player spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his stash. The code (based on a Yiddish version of the game) is as follows:
Another version differs:
The game may last until one person has won everything.
Some say the dreidel game is played to commemorate a game devised by the Jews to camouflage the fact that they were studying Torah, which was outlawed by Greeks. The Jews would gather in caves to study, posting a lookout to alert the group to the presence of Greek soldiers. If soldiers were spotted, the Jews would hide their scrolls and spin tops, so the Greeks thought they were gambling, not learning.
Twentieth-century American chocolatiers picked up on the gift/coin concept by creating chocolate gelt, or chocolate shaped and stamped like coins and wrapped in gold or silver foil. Chocolate gelt is often used in place of money in dreidel games.
The dates of Hanukkah are determined by the Hebrew calendar. Hanukkah begins at the 25th day of Kislev and concluding on the 2nd or 3rd day of Tevet (Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the Gregorian calendar begins the day at midnight. So, the first day of Hanukkah actually begins at sunset of the day immediately before the date noted on Gregorian calendars.


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Hey, i notice that this phone was discontinued now Cingular is selling it again. Its a very nice phone im gonna pick me one up.
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Scottsdale, AZ (PRWEB) July 30, 2014
Edgenuity, a leading provider of online and blended learning solutions, today announced the release of ten new courses heading into the 2014-2015 school year. Ranging from Algebra 1 and World History to specialized, career-oriented courses in computing and medicine, these new courses are designed to promote student inquiry, engagement and subject mastery, and to help students obtain the core skills they need to succeed in college and career.
"These new courses complement our current roster of more than 200 semester-long offerings, giving teachers, schools and districts a wide range of options for their online and blended learning programs," said Sari Factor, CEO, Edgenuity. "From core curriculum to career and technical education, our focus is on providing engaging, rigorous coursework that will teach students to think critically, problem solve and express their ideas clearly."
The new course offerings include:
Multimedia content such as graphs, charts, diagrams, animations, simulations, and labs, as well as an emphasis on analytical problem-solving skills are incorporated throughout the courses to drive student engagement. Assignments and projects encourage students to apply critical thinking skills and demonstrate their learning. Students are introduced to new skills through direct instruction, interactive tasks, practice assignments, and unit-level assessments. As with most of Edgenuity's course offerings, these new courses are tablet compatible for anytime, anywhere learning.
About Edgenuity
Edgenuity provides engaging online education solutions that propel success for every student, empower every teacher to deliver more effective instruction, and enable schools and districts to meet their academic goals. Edgenuity delivers a range of Core Curriculum, AP®, Elective, Career and Technical Education (CTE), and Credit Recovery courses aligned to the rigor and high expectations of state, Common Core and iNACOL standards and designed to inspire life-long learning. Fully flexible for use in any blended or online learning model, Edgenuity supports an environment where personalized learning is possible. With more than 200 semester-long courses and growing, Edgenuity is driving outcomes for millions of students in schools and districts across the country. For more information, and to see Edgenuity in action, visit Edgenuity.com.


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Annoyed by having to go into your pencil case every time you want to switch pencils, or get an eraser? Well look no further, I have the easy to make a...
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YIELD: Makes 8 servings
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Toss asparagus with 2 tablespoons olive oil on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until asparagus is just tender, about 15 minutes. (Can be prepared 3 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add asparagus, nuts, and wine. Toss until asparagus is heated through, about 3 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Arrange on platter.


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Laura Rozen's account of the behind-the-scenes action during the Iranian nuclear talks in Istanbul undermines the notion that President Obama is in control of the P5+1 diplomatic process that he fiercely defended during the weekend. As Rozen's reporting makes clear, it is the European Union's Catherine Ashton who was clearly in charge of the affair, and as long as that fierce critic of Israel is calling the shots, it's unlikely the Iranians will surrender their nuclear ambitions.
Indeed, by championing Iran's right to nuclear development, which could be ultimately used for military purposes, Ashton may be steering the negotiations toward a deal that will be represented as defusing the crisis while not removing the threat of an Iranian bomb. Though the Europeans are championing the idea that the talks have value, the Iranians seem to be back to their old tricks in convincing their negotiating partners of their interest in a solution while sticking to a playbook whose only objective is to remove the threat of an oil embargo in exchange for giving up nothing. This may be Obama's idea of a ticking clock, but with Ashton dragging out the process, there is, as even Rozen concluded, little likelihood that real progress is in the offing.
As Rozen makes clear, the Iranians seem all too comfortable with Ashton as their chief interlocutor. Though Ashton, a failed leftist British politician who has become the EU's foreign policy chief, is praised for her skill in orchestrating the talks, her coziness with the Iranians has to worry President Obama. According to Rozen, she spent a three-hour dinner with the top Iranian negotiator discussing "political party funding in the U.S.," a clear illusion to the influence of the pro-Israel community and President Obama's need to sound tough about the nuclear question. This nugget raises the inescapable conclusion that Ashton's position may actually be closer to the Iranians than it is to that of Washington.
Rozen's reporting on the way the Europeans and others who are committed to the myth of what the president calls a "diplomatic window" with Iran were played by the Iranians also gives us a good idea of how effective Tehran's representatives were in Istanbul. Using the same tactics employed in the previous attempts to talk them out of their nuclear program, the Iranians raised the hopes of the Euros for a while and then dashed them. By the time they were finished, Ashton and her crew actually thought they had come out ahead because the Iranians had agreed to another meeting, albeit one that would not be held until the end of May. The article also makes it clear the long delay before the next round that will be held, at Iran's behest, in Baghdad, is due as much to Ashton as anyone else.
Even those cheering the diplomatic process admit the talks would have had more credibility if there had been a bilateral meeting between the U.S. and Iran. But it never happened, though Rozen claims Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman made a good impression on everyone in Istanbul by taking an appropriately "tough" attitude with the Iranians. But the most important thing to understand about Sherman is that she was the Clinton administration's North Korea Policy Coordinator. Which means she is among those responsible for a feckless policy of appeasement of the North Koreans that ultimately led to their achieving nuclear capability. For an administration that has vowed never to allow Iran to go nuclear to have one of the people who can be blamed for the failure to stop North Korea as our point person in the talks is yet another reason to call into question Obama's credibility on this issue.
The happy talk emanating from Istanbul and the ease with which the Iranians stonewalled the P5+1 negotiators creates a stark contrast with President Obama's vow to keep the pressure on Iran. The failure to obtain anything of substance from this meeting as well as the long delay until the next conclave give no reason to hope for better results in Baghdad in May and should be counted as just the latest diplomatic triumph for the Iranians. If Obama is serious about bringing the Iranians to heel — an assumption open to debate — he must attempt to take back control of the process from Ashton. If not, he may find that she not only will not defuse this crisis but also may create another issue for the Republicans to use against him this fall.


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The Nokia stand I had nabbed from my old 5800 series proved to be useless for the S3. It was fine for the S2, just about... but the S3's larger dimensions prove hard for it to stay upright without slouching somewhat...
I enquired around and for other stands to check out and saw this on mobilefun so got it in this week.
It's quite heavy for its size, it certainly won't be confused on what to do with a big screened phone that's for sure and I'm confident the Nexus 7 will be fine on it too although I don't have one any more
It comes in a slide on case with small lanyard too Both feet are rubberised as is the back to protect the back of glossy phones from scratching. It's expensive for what it is and is too heavy to be put on a keyring (for my liking anyway) but it is perfect to bung in the glovebox or work bag to use over lunch or whatever else and not only limited to a phone!
Conclusion? It's a heavy duty stand capable of keeping phones in place and it's high quality too from the weight to the rubberised areas. Is it worth £15 though? Maybe, depends on what you're willing to pay to keep your phone/mini tablet facing you on the table I guess!


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This week I was interviewed by one of my fans, nine-year-old Tara. She has been a keen follower of my stories, and a great inspiration to me with her encouraging comments as I wrote my latest novel, Unknown Reality. Her demands for new chapters helped spur me on all the way to the final chapter. Tara is the daughter of my very dear friend, Annie, who is the co-moderator along with me in the critic forum, the Young Adult Novel Workshop. She was kind enough to let Tara interview me on her blog, Dutch Hill News. Please would you go and have a read, it is a lot of fun! And she would really appreciate it if you left a comment as this is her first interview.
Author Interview By Nine-Year-Old Tara
9 Responses
Annie McMahon Says:
June 2nd, 2011 at 6:16 pm
I know I'm a little bias, but it's a GREAT interview, isn't it? Not bad for Tara's first time interviewing someone. Who knows? Maybe Tara's interviews will become a new feature on my blog. Hey, that's an idea!
Emailman Says:
June 2nd, 2011 at 7:51 pm
haha!! She was awesome!
I'm sure the will be authors queuing up to be interviewed by her
Wendy aka Quillfeather Says:
June 2nd, 2011 at 10:18 pm
Great interview, indeed
I hope you will be published soon so I can get my hands on a copy
Good luck!
Emailman Says:
June 2nd, 2011 at 11:27 pm
Thank you so much, Wendy I'm trying my hardest, honestly! But I keep getting those pesky rejection letters. I'm sure it's because I'm so rubbish at writing query letter lol If they read my MS, I'm sure they would fall in love with it.
It's great to see you here. How have you been? Drop me an email!
Wendy aka Quillfeather Says:
June 3rd, 2011 at 5:55 am
Will do, good sir
HTML5 Video Says:
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December 11th, 2011 at 5:36 am
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Leave a Comment


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Most years, I keep my resolutions simple. Back when I was a smoker, it was always to quit. That never worked, of course, but it was a good stand-by resolution. Ever since ending that addiction (on the 3rd of July, 2008), my New Year's resolutions have been single words, sort of mini-mantras for how I want to live my life, and most of them would be right at home in a yoga class or as part of Oprah's Super Spirit Sundays, so I'll save them for that other blog I've been neglecting lately, since they'd seem a bit out of place here.
Here on G4, I want to talk about some resolutions I've decided to make concerning my entertainment habits. I consume a lot things, and if I want to get back to creating things as well, I should give care that what I consume fuels creativity, rather than just killing time.
1. I resolve to stop reading books that don't hook me in quickly. There was a time when I'd finish a book no matter what. 300 pages, 600 pages, a thousand – didn't matter. If I started it, I was damn well going to finish it whether I liked it or not! Those days are officially over. I have stack of books up to my chin to get through, and anything that doesn't grab me in the first 50 pages goes back to the library, or into the Good Will donation pile. I've already successfully executed this plan with two books since 2014 began, both of which are probably perfectly lovely books, but neither of which compelled me to keep reading (Troubles, a classic from J. G. Farrell, and The Monstrumologist, book one in a popular series from Rick Yancey, if you're curious). Which brings me to my next resolution.
2. I resolve to read the remaining novels in the Dresden Files. The first book of the new year that has captured my imagination is one published a few years ago – Dead Beat by Jim Butcher. Book seven of Butcher's on-going series about wizard Harry Dresden is my favorite in the series so far, and has inspired a reading binge like I haven't had since the first in the Song of Ice and Fire series, A Game of Thrones (which I read a good 10 or 15 years after its publication – I'm not always timely with these things, as you can see). I know big things go down in the most recent two novels in the series, and I want in on that info, tout suite. (To be fair, this may take me more than the next year – I like other books too, and I'm a good 8 books behind.)
3. I resolve to finally delete Elementary from my DVR. Obviously, I'm not going to watch it. If I hear enough good things about it, I'll Netflix it later.
4. I resolve to catch up on Arrow. I hear nothing but good things, and while the first few episodes were just OK, I have to acknowledge that I felt the same way about Supernatural, and the first four seasons of that show turned out to be stellar. Plus, um, swoooooon.
5. I resolve to be honest about this season of The Walking Dead instead of trying to talk myself into liking it more than I do. It's uneven to say the least, and I'm worried about its future. However, I did feel the last couple of episodes found some solid footing. Here's to hoping they come back from the mid-season hiatus with a strong sense of direction.
6. I resolve to get everyone I know to start watching Almost Human because, yes, it is that good. That means you too, folks. DVR that business.
7. I resolve to see the shit out of each of the movies below. Probably more than once.
Johnny Depp has been bumming me out lately, but this one looks good. From IMDb: A terminally ill scientist downloads his mind into a computer. This grants him power beyond his wildest dreams, and soon he becomes unstoppable.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Yes. Just, yes. X-Men: First Class was so much better than I expected that I have nothing but faith in this one. YES.
Captain American: The Winter Soldier
The first Captain America was my least favorite of the Marvel origin movies, but in The Avengers Joss Whedon and Chris Evans gave Cap exactly what he needed – personality, depth, and some steel in is blood – to make me eager for more. This trailer is fantastic.
8. Finally, while I will never be able to create as much as I consume, I do resolve to continue to create.
What about you? What's on your 2014 resolution list?
5 Responses to Proffitt's Entertainment Resolutions, 2014
Devin says:
Agree on pretty much everything here. Especially the book thing, though I've already started doing that, and I need to catch up on the Dresden Files too! Man I was so into those when I read them years back.
Proffitt says:
How far into the series are you? I've been reading about one a year on average since starting them, but really need to pick up the pace! Song of Ice and Fire kind of took over my life for a year or two.
Rachel o'Hanlon says:
Happy new year! Yes to not wasting your life on a book you're not enjoying. I think I will steal that one. I can never get back the hours I wasted on the final few sookie stackhouse books and what a disappointment they were!! I have made a resolution to read or re read the books behind my favourite films: starting with dr zhivago.
Proffitt says:
Oh, great idea! I found a list of books to read this year before the movies they are based on come out, and I'm going to try and work my way through some of them. Luckily, I had a head start having already read the THREE Gillian Flynn books that are being made into movies (both Gone Girl and Dark Places are due out in 2014 – not sure when Sharp Objects is coming). My mom just brought me Wild, so I started that one – liking it so far.
Sk says:
I have some work to do. Only book I've read is vampire academy.
Thank you for sharing the list.
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Foster Parents Plan is now Plan Canada.
Founded in 1937 as Foster Parents Plan, we started out by providing direct aid to individual children and families. As our work grew and evolved over many decades, we learned that lasting change for children requires a plan for the entire community. In 2006, we simplified our name to Plan to better reflect how we work.
Today, we are one of the world's oldest and largest international development agencies. Not for profit, independent and inclusive of all faiths and cultures, we have only one agenda: to improve the lives of children.
Please join us in changing the world.


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Sony Alpha NEX-5
The Sony Alpha NEX-5 is a compact, interchangeable lens camera featuring a 14.2 megapixel APS size image sensor. The lens mount is compatible with Sony E series lenses and Alpha lenses with an adapter. It features a 3.0-inch 921,600-dot LCD and uses a 25-point Contrast AF system.
- Good quality images
- Tilting LCD
- Dedicated video button
- Dense menu system
- AVCHD not widely supported
- Battery life just OK
Quick Take
The Sony NEX-5 stands out in a crowding field as the smallest interchangeable lens compact camera to date. With a few drawbacks, it's a capable camera.
Buy Direct From Manufacturer
Read Our Full Review: Sony alpha NEX-5 Review
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Dear student,
We have never heard about it and will not recommend it. It is a malpractice, which if found out, will do your career more harm than good. So our advise will be to get a proper B.A degree and take your life ahead.
All the best !!
HTCampus Expert Replied to this 2 years, 7 months ago


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Stolen devices are turning up in self-service ecoATMs in local shopping centers
Phone tips
EcoATM recommends you "treat your phone like a stack of $100 bills." Don't let them hang out of your pocket, sit in plain view in a purse or place them on a table at a restaurant.
• Don't hand your phone to strangers asking to make a call. Offer to make the call for them instead.
• Never leave your phone unattended.
• Keep phone in close and not in easy reach of another person.
• Make sure it is password protected.
• Take time to know your phone's unique identification number, the IMEI or MEID number. These can be provided by the carrier.
• File a police report if it is stolen.
Source: Police, ecoATM
Cellphone recycling kiosks that have popped up recently across San Diego are billed as a convenient way to dispose of old technology, but law enforcement officers say the cash-dispensing machines are also being used by crooks to fence stolen devices.
Called ecoATMs, the self-service stations are in 12 shopping centers throughout the county, including all the major malls, said company spokesman Ryan Kuder. Consumers can use them to recycle phones of all types — as well iPads and other electronics — and get as much as $300 in return, Kuder said.
The San Diego-based company started in 2008 with the idea to give people an environmentally responsible way to dispose of old electronics and at the same time provide them the motivation to actually go ahead and do it, Kuder said.
The concept has turned out to be appealing to consumers, who have turned in hundreds of thousands of phones over the last few years, said Kuder.
But according to local law enforcement, the machines are also proving to be attractive to crooks.
"The lure to the criminal element is concerning," said El Cajon police Lt. Jeff Arvan.
In El Cajon, six cellphones were reported stolen in the first six weeks of this year in a series of thefts, Arvan said. Two teens, ages 14 and 15, were arrested in February in connection with the crimes.
Arvan said the teens would ask victims if they could use their phones to call a parent and then just run away with it. The boy and girl told investigators they used the recycle kiosks to get cash for the loot, Arvan said.
In San Diego between January 2011 and March of this year, about 270 cell phones were stolen in street robberies alone, said San Diego police Capt. Andy Mills. In many of those cases, a smartphone was the main target.
"I am seeing an increase in phones being the subject of the attack," Mills said.
The devices, which become more technologically advanced as well as more expensive, have become this era's "hot property," he said.
And while police say there are a number of ways to fence stolen items — through online sites like Craigslist, the mail, swap meets or at unscrupulous stores where no questions are asked — some of them are ending up in ecoATMs.


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Officials to decide site for new IU med facility in Evansville
Cheaper to build new structure, but using existing one not ruled out
EVANSVILLE - Cost issues aside, it would be easier for the Indiana University School of Medicine-Evansville to construct a new building for its new four-year facility, officials said. But they don't rule out using an existing structure if one meets their need.
The program is now in the University of Southern Indiana Health Professions Building, and it covers two years of study. IU is partnering with USI, the University of Evansville and Ivy Tech Community College on a new facility that will house a four-year medical school, plus other health science programs offered by local institutions.
Deaconess Hospital, St. Mary's Medical Center, Jasper (Ind.) Memorial Hospital and Owensboro (Ky.) Medical Health System also are involved and will offer residency opportunities.
A consultant advising IU and its partners, Tripp Umbach, has described Downtown as being the "optimal" general location. The study's second phase, which will unfold over the next six months, is to specify a site.
IU School of Medicine-Evansville Director Steven Becker said officials are open to any possibilities, but "the odds are more likely it will be (a new facility) because of the requirements it will need to have."
Those requirements will include 100,000 square feet at a minimum, with about 50,000 for the medical school, 15,000 or so for a "simulation center" and remaining space for any new health science programs offered by participating institutions.
Consultant says Downtown Evansville 'optimal' location for new IU facility
Phase I of the Tripp Umbach study, released Tuesday, says development of the health science center for Evansville will create a needed pool of new physicians for the Tri-State region. The study is being funded by the participating hospitals and educational institutions, plus the Evansville Regional Business Committee.
In addition to pinpointing a site, Phase II is to delve into programming offered in the building. A local steering committee of about 30 members will assist the consultant.
"We need to define what's in it, what it needs to be," Becker said. "We'll know what each university will want to contribute to the new health campus."
The cost for a new facility is estimated to be $35 million. At Tuesday's news conference, officials said there will be a push for funding from both public and private sources.
Any new programs will require approval by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Becker said he considers a new physician assistant education program as "the most critical need for our region."
Ann White, dean of the USI College of Nursing and Health Professions, said it's too soon to say what new health education programs the university might pursue.
"There's a great deal of economic growth that's going to be available if something like this moves forward, and if we expand the IU School of Medicine, that's going to provide us with new opportunities," White said.
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Monthly Archives: March 2013
THE BIBLE Series—Pure Entertainment, Not Accurate Religious History!
FOR THE RECORD…For those of you who wondered about the image of Jesus for the Hollywood Entertainment (YES ENTERTAINMENT) Series 'THE BIBLE" that everybody …Including throngs of Black People…have fallen in love with, this is how he looks.
Though many of you are hesitant to say Jesus is Black, he was born in a region where there are people of color (may it be of middle eastern appearance or Ethiopian). Jesus was a man of color. And though you can still worship him regardless of race, don't be gullible enough to believe Jesus is white with blue hair and brown/blonde eyes in the middle of a desert. ALL PERSONS in THE BIBLE… THE religious book for many, and my religious book too…lived in Africa and near Africa. And they had the physical appearances of those who lived in Africa and near Africa.
Now, at what point do you question whether a Religious Series is historically correct and gets it right? Because it is a series about The Bible does not mean Producers will get it right. Producers of a series like the Bible will not care whether they get it right because they know many of you will tune in anyway. And sponsors do not care as long as you watch. Some of you would consider it blasphemous not to tune in. Many of you will use this series to teach your Sunday School classes and Bible Classes as the Gospel Truth and become authoritative in the barber shops and hair salons and never question the authenticity or the accuracy of the series. And you will be as complicit as the Producers who are seeking and getting a huge payday with your viewership.
When you hear the regular sound of Cha-Ching, it is because the Producers of The Bible are feeding you a Big Gulp of "Don't question the historical authenticity and historical accuracy of the Bible Series" Kool-Aid, and many of you are drinking it ALL DOWN…TO THE LAST DROP…while they rush to the Bank!
Remember that when your sons and daughters and granddaughters and grandsons and nieces and nephews etc. ask you questions about The Bible as they watch with you. If you will lie to them about your religious history, what will you do about your cultural history?
How The Media Helped Fuel The Iraq War by Farron Cousins (from the Ring Of Fire web site)
"As the country marks the ten-year anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War, CNN posed the following question this morning, "What have we learned?" While it's unclear whether the cable news giant was asking the American public or themselves, the answer to the question is obvious – We learned that we cannot trust the corporate-controlled mainstream media.
It's easy to blame the former Bush administration for their lies that led us into Iraq, but that blame only addresses half the issue. Had the mainstream media outlets not been so willing to distort the truth and parrot the talking points of the Bush administration, the disaster that is Iraq could have easily been avoided.
In the months running up to the invasion, mainstream media outlets like CNN, Fox News, and even MSNBC trumpeted claims of "yellow cake uranium," "weapons of mass destruction," and "axis of evil" that were being thrown around carelessly by the war hawks of the Bush administration. These talking points helped to create a feeding frenzy among the American public to the point that almost three-quarters of the country (before the start of the war) actually believed that Saddam Hussein was somehow involved in the attacks of 9/11.
The few voices in the mainstream press at the time who were critical of the invasion, specifically Phil Donahue on MSNBC, were promptly dismissed and replaced by journalists and newscasters who would blindly follow the administration's orders.
In the ten years that have followed, nothing has changed. Just this morning, CNN featured a story on the $800 billion price tag of the Iraq War. However, this number is less than a third of the total cost of the Iraq War. According to Nobel Prize-winning economist and author Joseph Stiglitz, when you factor in all economic costs of the war, the price tag is right around $3 trillion. The dollar amount handed out to pay for the war is only a small part of the price tag, according to Stiglitz. The real economic hits come in the form of death, disfigurement, loss of employment, and the opportunity cost of the war itself.
So even as the media becomes introspective and even willingly admits that they helped sell the war to the American public, they are still getting the story incorrect.
To answer CNN's question, the only thing we've learned from Iraq is that we can't trust the corporate-controlled mainstream media. The media has not learned a thing. We're still bombarded by half-truths, misinformation, and even outright lies about important events and stories that affect our lives.
If there is any good that came out of the Iraq debacle, it is that a new, independent media machine emerged to help combat the constant stream of lies flowing from traditional media. Progressive voices that had been stifled in the past began creeping into the mainstream, and today have become a force to be reckoned with on the national stage. The mainstream media has never, and likely will never, recover from their failings in Iraq, but their failure has given birth to a more honest, more robust, and more intriguing media system that is fueled by the people, not corporate shareholders."
The Struggle Continues…RLHSR.
Dr. Ben Carson-New Republicant 'Flavor' of the Month!
If you did not know it before, you are not only the epitome of the "Educated Colored Boy" but you exemplify what Malcolm X meant when he said, "What Do You Call a Black Ph.D.? You Call him a Nigger." I know you do not understand that, just ask someone BLACK to explain it to you.
You, Dr. Carson, are also the perfect example why House Niggers worked out so well during Slavery, and continue to work out well today. And to have the Chief Imperial Wizard of the Klan excited about you…at least for the time being…is even headier than your splendid work as a pediatric neurosurgeon.
But Lest We Forget your latest BFF and Racist Slimy Slug and the venomous juice that has drooled from his mouth..
He called President Obama " Halfrican American" .
"I mean, let's face it, we didn't have slavery in this country for over 100 years because it was a bad thing. Quite the opposite: slavery built the South. I'm not saying we should bring it back; I'm just saying it had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark."
"You know who deserves a posthumous Medal of Honor? James Earl Ray [the confessed assassin of Martin Luther King]. We miss you, James. Godspeed."
"Obama is more African in his roots than he is American" and is behaving like an African colonial despot".
So Dr. Ben…or Rather Uncle Ben, You have re-established the structure of a Plantation Mentality, and reaffirmed the "You Are My Color – But Not My Kind" Mentality. You and Allen West and Herman Cain and the Republicant Select Circle of other House Niggers should enjoy your privilege singing Doo Dah and Dancing the Jigaboo Jigg for Massa. You have earned it!
The Black Presence in the Bible (clink on Link.)
Questions for my Scholarly Friends…my Intellectual Friends…my Theologian Friends …and just My Friends…When referencing World Geographic locations, why do we say Mid East, when we don't say Mid North, Mid South, and Mid West? One "official" explanation is "The terms Middle East and Near East are eurocentric because they describe a region in relation to Europe or The West."
OK. But, I have always thought it was interesting, Biblical history being as important as it is, a way was found to teach locations in the Bible without saying in and around Africa…or in Africa…on the Continent of Africa…or near the continent of Africa. Changes the whole perspective today when many students study the Bible. Is it easier to say Middle East as a geographical reference point than to say Africa? Of course, most people do not know where the Middle East is.
If you said Africa instead of the Middle East, it would focus a truer perspective on the persons, places, and things in the Bible. We know that many of the archaeological locations in the Bible are in Africa… but …if you say Africa, you might have to admit many of the persons in the Bible were African. And for Evangelical Laymen and Evangelical Theologians, that might not sit too well. It also might not sit too well for those who call themselves religious but do not call themselves Evangelicals.
(BTW I read Dr. McCray's book more than 10 years ago. It is as good a read today, as it was then.)
The Struggle Continues…RLHSR.
The Kochs and Their Corporate Arm ALEC Are Out to Destroy the Healthcare System
So from those skirmishes, America is in a full scale war against its better interests and controlled by a few very Wealthy White Racist, Xenophobic, Sexist, Anti-Union, War Mongering and War-Profiteering, Chauvinistic MEN who know that "A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand". And the Koch Brothers know that America will never recover as long as they can point to someone else and not THEM as the focus of "MY" problems…So it is the fault of the Black Guy in the White House …Coloreds who are just 'slopping' at the Government Trough…'Illegal Aliens' who are taking all the jobs…Women who do not know their place…and that "Gay" thing.
AS corny as it sounds, We are in a War for our very existence. It is not a Government scripted War. It is a Billionaire/Obscenely Wealthy Corporation/Big Money scripted War that pits us against each other. Big Money will win unless WE really understand who the REAL enemy is. And when Big Money wins, WE all lose.
Dear Justice Scalia,
It's me, Melissa.
By now, we know you well enough that there's not much you can say or do that would come as a surprise. We can set our watches by your decisions that, predictably, will be in alignment with the Court's most radically conservative reasoning. We know that unlike your friend Justice Clarence Thomas, who has a permanent mute button on, you will always voice an opinion, and it will be heavily influenced by your political agenda..
But even given all of that, what you had to say during Wednesday's oral arguments still came as a genuine shock.
Commenting on Congress's nearly unanimous re-authorization of the Voting Rights Act in 2006, you said, "I don't think that's attributable to the fact that it is so much clearer now that we need this. I think it is attributable, very likely attributable, to a phenomenon that is called perpetuation of racial entitlement."
You went on to say, "I am fairly confident it will be re-enacted in perpetuity…unless a court can say it does not comport with the Constitution…It's a concern that this is not the kind of a question you can leave to Congress."
Racial entitlement? Not a question you can leave to Congress? Even for you, Justice Scalia, this is a particularly willful misreading of the Constitution you claim to adore.
In fact, let's take a look at that august document. Right here, in Section 5 of the 14th Amendment and again in Section 2 of the 15th Amendment is the same entitlement…a congressional entitlement.
"The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article." You see Congress does in fact have the authority to enforce both equal protection and the franchise for American citizens. Especially when those citizens live in the former Confederate states.
In fact, the 14th Amendment spends much of sections two, three and four spelling out precisely how those states who were involved in "insurrection or rebellion" will be treated differently.
Because these were states whose economies and culture rested on the inter-generational, chattel bondage of human beings. And they were so determined to keep holding human beings in slavery that they got together in armed rebellion against the country.
Some of those same states–more than 150 years later–are still trying to pass laws that would deny the vote to the very people the Voting Rights Act, and Section 5 in particular, were meant to protect.
So excuse me, Antonin, if I am a little dismayed that you now describe the rights of citizenship as a "racial entitlement."
Contrary to what you are suggesting, the Voting Rights Act was no gift given by the government to black people. Its primary purpose was to enforce a right that was already enshrined in the Constitution but had been repeatedly flouted by Southern governments.
Here is what you miss, Justice Scalia. A great thing occurred in the 1860s when Congress had to grapple with how to include the formerly enslaved within the circle of citizenship. That effort led Congress to articulate due process, equal protection, and a federally protected right to vote. Those pillars of citizenship apply to all. It is the opposite of a special entitlement.
But the constitutional amendments were not enough. It took an act of Congress, almost 100 years later, to make these promises a reality for all.
So, Justice Scalia, when you spew that entitlement discourse from the bench you undermine the very core of our democracy. But you know what? I want to thank you for what you said. Because on Wednesday, you showed us all exactly who you are.
And in the words of the late, great poet Notorious B.I.G.: "if we didn't know, now we know."
The Struggle Continues…RLHSR.


text:
RFF Archive > Big Brother Live Feed Updates
Feeds: Technical Support
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If you are having issues with the feeds not loading please try the following:
1.Flashback to 9 PM on the 26th and then click Go Live.(The "Go Live" button will appear where the feeds say "Live" however it make take a moment or two)
2.Click the highlights tab, load a video, click go live or move the video bar until it gives you the go live option.
3.Per CBS.com help page set your time zone to Pacific. Close and reopen browsers.
I couldn't get mine to work but after following ugot's instructions several times the feeds finally came up! Keep working with it and you will get it :cheer:
Mine FINALLY decided to work!!
Every one OK now??
Awesome Peach! Mine are working well but I am holding out for a viewer :)
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text:
21 hours ago
AFP at www.google.com/hostednews
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The outgoing White House administration will next week hold a joint "disaster scenario" exercise with top members of
the incoming team of president-elect Barack Obama, US officials said Friday.
"I'm not going to go into the details of it, but it is a disaster scenario where the government would be very much tested," White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said.
"It is an exercise scenario, a hypothetical scenario that is designed to test and tax the capabilities of the federal government," he added.
He did not specify whether Obama or vice president-elect Joe Biden would take part in Tuesday's three-hour long exercise, saying merely it was part of regular training events and had not been motivated by any specific threat.
A huge security blanket is being thrown over Washington for Obama's inauguration on January 20, with up to two million people planning to converge on the US capital to witness the nation's first African-American president being sworn into office.
"It is a very public event … and one that gathers, you know, leaders in a very small environment, essentially. So obviously we have a lot of concern about it," Stanzel said.
"But there is no credible threat at this point to the inauguration that is precipitating this."
Stanzel said Tuesday's exercise was part of President George W. Bush's commitment to ensuring a smooth handover of powers in the first transition to take place since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
He said senior… Continue reading
by Janice Matthews
911truth.org (link to article)
911truth.org was contacted this week by Charles W. (Bill) White, of Houston, who provided extensive information to Russ Baker in the writing of his explosive new Bush dynasty historical expose, Family Secrets: The Bush Dynasty, the Powerful Forces That Put It in the White House, and What Their Influence Means for America. More about him is in his letter to Senator Levin, below, wherein he expresses grave concern for the safety of nearly 6,000 Sailors and Marines who will carry out their duties aboard the Navy's new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush.
Today, that ship was christened in spite of White's caution. An AP article, "Bush Visits Aircraft Carrier Named After Father," describes the new ship and her christening thus:
It's the perfect gift for an old Navy flier: 1,092 feet of flattop.
"What do you give a guy who has been blessed and has just about everything he has ever needed?" asked President George W. Bush from aboard the Navy's newest ship. "Well, an aircraft carrier."
The USS George H.W. Bush, a steel-gray vessel longer than three football fields and built at a cost of $6.2 billion … is one of the Nimitz class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, the largest warships in the world.
"The ship that bears our dad's name is more than 95,000 tons of aluminum and steel," Bush said from a podium tucked under the flight deck. "She will carry nearly 6,000… Continue reading
By Columbia Journalism Review
January 14, 2009
Advocates for open and transparent government are quick to note that no American
presidential administration has, in practice, been enthusiastic about reducing
secrecy in the executive branch–for some obvious and sometimes quite legitimate
reasons. There are secrets that almost everyone agrees should remain secret.
But secrecy must be balanced with the citizens' right to examine the operations
of their government–to learn, to improve, to enforce, and sometimes to
shame. That's especially true when there are political or bureaucratic
incentives for secrecy that deserve far less respect than true matters of national
security. And despite the bipartisan resistance from those in power, the arc
of history has trended, if unevenly, toward openness. Claims of excessive secrecy
have become a tried and true political battering ram, easily wielded by the
party in opposition. Technological evolution has not only made the dissemination
of information easier and faster, but also has heightened our appetite for disclosure.
The trend isn't confined to the political sphere. Betty Ford's frank
discussion of her struggles with cancer and alcoholism in the 1970s marked a
new era of openness in our personal medical lives, and the invention of the
personal video camera spawned a cottage industry around moments–gaffes,
goofs, tragedies–that were once private.
Against that backdrop, there is wide agreement among journalists and openness
advocates that the administration of George W. Bush was an aberration, at least
in the modern era. Bush and his advisers came into office with a broad vision… Continue reading
by Michael Hasty Sunday
Although I was as happy as most Americans that Barack Obama took the oath of office last week, rather than his Republican alternative, there is a major reason that he did not get my vote in November, which went instead to Cynthia McKinney: Obama is unlikely to re-open an investigation into what really happened on September 11, 2001–an investigation that needs to happen.
According to polls, about four in ten Americans are suspicious that the Bush administration was complicit in the 9/11 attacks–either by deliberately ignoring intelligence that warned an attack was coming and allowing the terrorists to strike, to gain public support for the neoconservative foreign policy agenda of increasing American military power in the Middle East; or by actively coordinating the attacks themselves, for the same reason. As Time magazine, in a rare acknowledgement of the 9/11 truth movement, said: "This is not a fringe phenomenon. It is a mainstream political reality."
It's easy to understand, however, why a majority of Americans have such a hard time getting their minds around the idea that their government may have some involvement in such a horrendous crime. Americans are conditioned from an early age to think of themselves as "the good guys," living in a "democracy"–which, however imperfect, has always been primarily motivated by the desire to advance the core national principle of "freedom," both at home and abroad. And the actions of the government are closely monitored by a diligent "free press."
It's a… Continue reading
appeared on the bills distributed in Kennard.
Page A-1:
February 17, 2009
The CourierTimes.com
By Matt Hrodey
KENNARD – James Dudley found something he didn't expect when he walked out
to get his Monday edition of The Courier-Times.
Sitting on top of his paper was a fake, oversized bill bearing the faces of
former Vice-President Dick Cheney and former President George W. Bush. Instead
of a dollar amount, the bill was marked "9-11."
The realistic feel and color of the note impressed Dudley, who said it felt
like a new bill freshly released from an ATM. It bore words at the top reading
"Fraudulent Event Note," ones at the bottom saying "One Deception"
and several Web site addresses.
Page A-2:
Cause stir in Kennard
Charles Millis, another recipient of the bill, was moderately impressed by
its realism. "It's fairly realistic," he said. Millis called a couple
people he knew who lived on the south side of town, but they hadn't gotten anything
like the "9-11" dollar with their newspaper.
Managing Editor Randy Rendfeld said the newspaper didn't deliver the bills,
which had also found their way into several other newspaper boxes in Kennard.
So where did they come from?
John-Michael P. Talboo is one of six organizers from Indiana of a Web site
focused on the official and unofficial versions of what happened on Sept. 11,
He lives in Kennard and said he… Continue reading
We urge Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a non-partisan independent Special Counsel to immediately commence a prosecutorial investigation into the most serious alleged crimes of former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Richard B. Cheney, the attorneys formerly employed by the Department of Justice whose memos sought to justify torture, and other former top officials of the Bush Administration.
UPDATE 2/27/09 6pm: In response to the many email questions we've received asking why we have not endorsed this call for a Special Prosecutor: On 2/24, when this statement/petition was posted at AfterDowningStreet.org, 911truth.org immediately signed on as an endorsing organization via the signup at that site. As of now, our name does not appear on that list. Nonetheless, we did submit endorsement. We are not, yet, encouraging 9/11 truth advocates to politely contact David Swanson asking him why he would permanently post a video statement from Willie Rodriguez on the front page of his site, yet continue to ignore/ban the burgeoning 9/11 truth movement from being heard as the powerful voice we are, in calling for truth and accountability. We believe that Mr. Swanson is acting in good faith, all in all, and will post our endorsement with the others on the list shortly.
Our laws, and treaties that under Article VI of our Constitution are the supreme law of the land, require the prosecution of crimes that strong evidence suggests these individuals have committed. Both the former president and the former vice president have confessed to authorizing a torture procedure that is illegal under our law and treaty obligations.…Continue reading
Missing email includes day Cheney's office told to preserve emails in CIA leak case WASHINGTON — Welcome to change.
The Obama administration, siding with former President George W. Bush, is trying to kill a lawsuit that seeks to recover what could be millions of missing White House e-mails in a stunning reversal of Obama's rhetoric about Bush secrecy on the campaign trail.
Two advocacy groups suing the Executive Office of the President, including one of the groups that helped derail former House Speaker Tom DeLay, say that large amounts of White House e-mail documenting Bush's eight years in office may still be missing, and that the government must undertake an extensive recovery effort. They expressed disappointment that Obama's Justice Department is continuing the Bush administration's bid to get the lawsuits dismissed.
During its first term, the Bush White House failed to install electronic record-keeping for e-mail when it switched to a new system, allegedly resulting in millions of messages that could not be found.
The Bush White House "discovered the problem" in 2005 and rejected a proposed solution.
The exact number of missing e-mails is unknown, but several days on which e-mails were not archived covered key dates in a Justice Department inquiry into the roles of Vice President Dick Cheney and his aides in leaking the identity of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson.
Ironically, Cheney's office is missing emails from the very day President Bush told reporters he'd "take care of" whatever staff member had actually… Continue reading
Liberal Leaders Betray Antiwar Cause To Serve Dems and Obama — Again
by John Walsh
February 25th, 2009
Dissident Voice
In the Wall Street Journal of January 24, the loathsome McCarthyite neocon David Horowitz gazed approvingly on the inauguration of Barack Obama. To Horowitz it meant the removal of an obstacle to war. Thus he wrote:
Consider: When President Obama commits this nation to war against the Islamic terrorists, as he already has in Afghanistan, he will take millions of previously alienated and disaffected Americans with him, and they will support our troops in a way that most of his party has refused to support them until now. When another liberal, Bill Clinton went to war from the air, there was no anti-war movement in the streets or in his party's ranks to oppose him. That is an encouraging fact for us . . .
Horowitz is now locked in fast embrace with Katrina Vanden Heuvel, editor in chief of The Nation and Leslie Cagan and her cohorts at United For Peace and Justice (UFPJ). Vanden Heuvel's most recent piece in The Nation runs under a title in the form of a query, "Obama's War?" Whose war does she think it is anyway? Even the mainstream media calls it Obama's war — sans question mark. Her piece ran shortly after Obama ordered 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan and almost a month after both Afghan and Pakistani civilians were first bombed at Obama's orders. She concludes her piece, after citing the deployment of additional troops, "Up to this point the Afghan war belonged to George W.…Continue reading
George Bush could be next on the war crimes list
March 6, 2009
New Zealand Herald
THE HAGUE — George W. Bush could one day be the International Criminal
Court's next target.
David Crane, an international law professor at Syracuse University, said the
principle of law used to issue an arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir could extend
to former US President Bush over claims officials from his Administration may
have engaged in torture by using coercive interrogation techniques on terror
Crane is a former prosecutor of the Sierra Leone tribunal that indicted Liberian
President Charles Taylor and put him on trial in The Hague.
Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice Programme at Human Rights
Watch, said the al-Bashir ruling was likely to fuel discussion about investigations
of possible crimes by Bush Administration officials.
Congressional Democrats and other critics have charged that some of the harsh
interrogation techniques amounted to torture, a contention that Bush and other
officials rejected.
The prospect of the court ever trying Bush is considered extremely remote,
The US Government does not recognise the court and the only other way Bush
could be investigated is if the Security Council were to order it, something
unlikely to happen with Washington a veto-wielding permanent member.
Source URL: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/war/news/article.cfm?c_id=359&objectid=10560243
By Robert Parry
March 8, 2009
"It's also not true that any investigation is always better than
no investigation. I have witnessed cover-up investigations that not only failed
to get anywhere… Continue reading
Posted by 'piscesgutt' at youtube February 13, 2008; picked up from 911blogger.com 3/24/09
You can run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Sooner or later God'll cut you down
George W. Bush
Bill Clinton
Noam Chomsky
Jonathan Turley
Christopher Hitchens
Tim Russert (NBC)
George W. Bush
Thomas Kean
Wolf Blitzer (CNN)
Jeff Ferrell (KSLA)
Keith Olbermann (MSNBC)
Tucker Carlson (MSNBC)
David Ray Griffin
Councilor Yukihisa Fujita of Democratic Party of Japan
Sabrina Rivera (WeAreChange.org)
Rudy Giuliani
Matt Lepacek (Infowars)
Brian Kilmeade (Fox News)
Better Bad News
Paul Craig Roberts
Scott Ritter
Mitt Romney
Justin Martell (Student Scholars for 9/11 Truth)
Ron Paul
KVUE News
Willie Nelson
Bill O'Reilly (Fox News)
Dennis Kucinich
Donald Rumsfeld
Charlie Sheen
Jimmy Kimmel (ABC)
Ray McGovern (former CIA)
Condoleeza Rice
CODEPINK member Desiree Fairooz
Dick Cheney
Saddam Hussein
Phillip D. Zelikow
Charles Gibson (ABC)
Harry John Roland
Sean Hannity
John McCain
Alan Colmes
George H. W. Bush
Lindsay Graham
David Frum
Osama bin Laden
Ayman al-Zawahiri
William Kristol
Source URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctqEndNmaFk
Peter Dale Scott and Dan Hamburg
On 9/11 the Bush administration declared a State of Emergency (SOE), which was formally proclaimed on September 14, 2001, and extended by Bush repeatedly thereafter, most recently on August 28, 2008. 1 Under cover of this SOE, Bush secretly enacted many extreme measures, ranging from suspension of habeas corpus to preparations for martial law in America; all these were undertaken as part of secret so-called "Continuity of Government" (COG) procedures associated with the SOE, and first instituted on 9/11. 2 and 3
The National Emergencies Act, one of the post-Watergate reforms so detested by Vice-President Cheney, requires specifically that
Not later than six months after a national emergency is declared, and not later than the end of each six-month period thereafter that such emergency continues, each House of Congress shall meet to consider a vote on a joint resolution to determine whether that emergency shall be terminated. (50 U.S.C. 1622 (2002) 4
Last fall one of us appealed on the Internet for the Democrats in Congress to take this statutorily required step, and also to learn what secret COG measures were being enacted under the SOE. 5 There was no response.
In February 2009 we sent to officials in Washington the following appeal to consider terminating the State of Emergency. The appeal was sent to President Obama's staff in the White House, and to the staff of Nancy Pelosi, Peter DeFazio, and Dennis Kucinich in Congress. Almost two months have passed, and there has not yet been any response from the addressees.…Continue reading
On Tuesday we posted an appeal for readers to take action regarding a current state of national emergency in the US, declared by George W. Bush after 9/11/01. Since then, the appeal has been sent to at least 20,000 people via email, linked to from numerous other sites, and reposted in full at several sites. We are beginning to get notification from readers of specific Representatives and Senators to whom letters are being sent, with follow-up calls planned. Please continue to send those to us at responses[at]911truth.org. We intend to start posting that information shortly.
Some people have written to ask whether we've completely lost our collective mind… "Do you really think this Congress–who has refused to investigate or even talk about 9/11 crimes for all these years–is suddenly going to divulge honest information about their lack of oversight of National Emergencies, and act to terminate it just because you send them a letter?!" Well, uhm, not really, no.
But do we think some of them will look into it and respond with a real answer? Perhaps. Do we think we'll get a lot of boilerplate responses about "the danger terrorists pose to the safety of every God-fearing Amurikan and so we must remain vigilant," but don't actually answer either question? Probably. However, equally important is simply getting this information to them, and to Americans who read this and had no idea of the situation. Personally, my (Janice) experience has been that when I called my Rep previously, outraged about… Continue reading
March 28, 2009
NEW YORK (Reuters) — A top Spanish court has moved toward starting a
probe of six former Bush administration officials including ex-Attorney General
Alberto Gonzales in connection with alleged torture of prisoners at Guantánamo
Bay, The New York Times said on Saturday.
The criminal investigation would focus on whether they violated international
law by providing a legalistic justification for torture at the U.S. detention
camp in Cuba, the Times said.
The paper said the National Court in Madrid had assigned the case to judge
Baltasar Garzon, known for ordering the arrest of former Chilean dictator Augusto
Garzon has accepted the case and sent it to the prosecutor's office for review,
the newspaper said, citing an official close to the case.
The complaint, prepared by Spanish lawyers with the help of U.S. and European
legal experts, also names John Yoo, the former Justice Department lawyer who
wrote secret legal opinions saying the president had the authority to circumvent
the Geneva Conventions, and Douglas Feith, the former undersecretary of defense
for policy.
Spain can claim jurisdiction in the case because five Spanish citizens or residents
who were prisoners at Guantánamo Bay say they were tortured there.
The other Americans named are William Haynes II, former general counsel for
the Department of Defense; Jay Bybee, Yoo's former boss at the Justice Department's
Office of Legal Counsel; and David Addington, chief of staff and legal adviser
to ex-Vice President Dick Cheney.
Yoo, already the subject of a Justice Department… Continue reading
Waterboarding, Rough Interrogation of Abu Zubaida Produced False Leads, Officials
By Peter Finn and Joby Warrick
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, March 29, 2009; A01
When CIA officials subjected their first high-value captive, Abu Zubaida, to
waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods, they were convinced that
they had in their custody an al-Qaeda leader who knew details of operations
yet to be unleashed, and they were facing increasing pressure from the White
House to get those secrets out of him.
The methods succeeded in breaking him, and the stories he told of al-Qaeda
terrorism plots sent CIA officers around the globe chasing leads.
In the end, though, not a single significant plot was foiled as a result of
Abu Zubaida's tortured confessions, according to former senior government officials
who closely followed the interrogations. Nearly all of the leads attained through
the harsh measures quickly evaporated, while most of the useful information
from Abu Zubaida — chiefly names of al-Qaeda members and associates — was
obtained before waterboarding was introduced, they said.
Moreover, within weeks of his capture, U.S. officials had gained evidence that
made clear they had misjudged Abu Zubaida. President George W. Bush had publicly
described him as "al-Qaeda's chief of operations," and other top officials
called him a "trusted associate" of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden
and a major figure in the planning of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
None of that was accurate, the new evidence showed.
Abu Zubaida was not even an official member… Continue reading
by Kenneth J. Theisen
28 March 2009
President Barack Obama continued with his latest escalation of the war in Afghanistan
by announcing his plans to send an additional 4,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan
to train Afghan government puppet forces. He also announced plans to send hundreds
of diplomats and civilian officials to the country, in what Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton called an "integrated military-civilian strategy".
Like his predecessor George W. Bush, Obama raised the specter of "terrorism"
to justify his actions.
Obama stated that, "If the Afghanistan government falls to the Taliban
or allows al-Qaida to go unchallenged, that country will again be a base for
terrorists." Obama warned that the al-Qaida "terrorists" were
actively planning further attacks on the U.S. from havens in Pakistan. He stated,
"So I want the American people to understand that we have a clear and
focused goal: to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al-Qaida in Pakistan and Afghanistan,
and to prevent their return to either country in the future." He went on
to claim, "That is the goal that must be achieved. That is a cause that
could not be more just. And to the terrorists who oppose us, my message is the
same: we will defeat you." Does this sound a little too much like Bush's
excuse for the initial invasion in 2001? I was waiting to hear Obama say, "bring
'em on."
This latest escalation builds on Obama's previously announced plan to
send 17,000 troops to that war-torn country. President George… Continue reading
By Charlotte Dennett
April 1, 2009
Those of you following the George W. Bush prosecution trail will be interested to know that Patrick Leahy's "truth commission" is a no-go. I was in a meeting with Leahy and four other Vermonters on Monday when he broke the news to us.
We had asked for the meeting to learn why he supported a truth commission over the appointment of a special prosecutor.
Halfway through the allotted 30 minute meeting (with him taking up much of the time explaining why he was not generally opposed to prosecution, since he had been a DA for eight years and had the highest conviction rate in Vermont), he told us that his truth commission had failed to get the broad support it needed in Congress, and since he couldn't get one Republican to come behind the plan, "it's not going to happen."
It was a sobering exchange. The meeting had begun with our expressing serious concerns about ongoing dangers to our democracy, with the trend going to executive power while damaging our Constitution.
"We are a nation of laws," said Dan DeWalt, who had helped organize 36 Vermont towns to vote for impeachment of Bush on town meeting day. "If we have a system of justice, why not let it take its course? It seems to many Americans that the rich and powerful don't have the same system of justice, and they're getting away with torture, murder, fraud, and Ponzi schemes."
By the end of the meeting, we were beginning to wonder whether anything at all was going to done — by Congress, by Attorney General Eric Holder, by President Barack Obama — to hold the Bush team accountable for its crimes.…Continue reading
What to Ask Holder on Thursday?
April 21, 2009
Would you like to see the Attorney General asked about appointing a special
prosecutor? Well he's testifying on Thursday afternoon before a subcommittee
of the House Appropriations Committee, and the subcommittee members all have
phone numbers. A coalition of groups will be taking the occasion to deliver
over a quarter million petition signatures to Eric Holder asking for a special
prosecutor. The hearing will be webcast on the committee website: http://appropriations.house.gov
If you want to attend in person in Washington, D.C., it's on Thursday at 2:30
p.m. in Rayburn 2359, a hearing of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on
Commerce, Justice, and Science.
After Downing Street, Democrats.com, ACLU, FireDogLake, the Center for Constitutional
Rights, Moveon.org and others will deliver petitions to Holder asking for a
special prosecutor. Sign here quick to have your name included! http://democrats.com/special-prosecutor-for-bush-war-crimes
Once you've signed the petition, please go here for the contact info of the
subcommittee members: http://afterdowningstreet.org/node/41886
Phone as many of them as you have time to right now, and ask them to please
ask the attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor. He has said that water
boarding is torture. Top officials have authorized and sought to give pseudo-legal
cover for water boarding. Our laws ban it, and the Convention Against Torture
requires that we prosecute it.
Can you hear us now?…Continue reading
April 21, 2009
by Glenn Greenwald
Blue Dog Rep. Jane Harman — once the most vigorous Democratic cheerleader of Bush's NSA warrantless eavesdropping program — is rip-roarin' angry today. Apparently, her private conversations were eavesdropped on by the U.S. Government! This is a grave outrage that, as she told Andrea Mitchell just moments ago, demands a probing investigation:
That's what I asked Attorney General Holder to do — to release any tapes, I don't know whether they were legally made or not, of my conservations about this matter . . . and to hope that he will investigate whether other members of Congress or other innocent Americans might have been subject to this same treatment. I call it an abuse of power in the letter I wrote him this morning.
. . .
I'm just very disappointed that my country — I'm an American citizen just like you are — could have permitted what I think is a gross abuse of power in recent years. I'm one member of Congress who may be caught up in it, and I have a bully pulpit and I can fight back. I'm thinking about others who have no bully pulpit, who may not be aware, as I was not, that someone is listening in on their conversations, and they're innocent Americans.
So if I understand this correctly — and I'm pretty sure I do — when the U.S. Government eavesdropped for years on American citizens with no warrants and in violation of… Continue reading


text:
Microsoft does say that NT stands for New Technology but there is another more persuasive derivation (Feedback, 7 April). Microsoft hired the architects for Windows NT from Digital and these engineers wrote WNT as the nominative successor to the Digital operating system VMS which they had previously worked on.
In the same way, the name of the computer in
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