text:
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 17, 2004 An officer assigned to Task Force 1st Armored Division in Iraq was formally charged June 12 with the murder of an Iraqi man, a U.S. Central Command news release announced today.
The officer now faces an Article 32 investigation, similar to a civilian grand jury hearing. No date or location has been set for the hearing, the news release said. An officer will hear the evidence and will prepare and submit recommendations for the disposition of the case to the task force's commander, Army Maj. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey.
The accused officer has a defense attorney provided by the Army Trial Defense Service.
The charge stems from a May 21 incident near Kufa, CENTCOM reported. Soldiers conducted a high-speed chase with a vehicle they believed was carrying suspected members of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia. During their pursuit, the news release continued, soldiers fired at the vehicle, wounding the driver and passenger. Shortly afterward, the driver was shot and killed at close range.
In the release, CENTCOM officials said the release of further information would not be appropriate in light of the pending investigation.
Related Sites:U.S. Central Command1st Armored DivisionArticle 32 Investigations


text:
2014 Festival of India Kick-Off & Flag Raising | San Jose
Dang! This event has already taken place.Thursday, August 14, 2014 - 6:30 pm | Cost: FREE
>> Want to see our Top Picks for this week instead?
>> Want to see our Top Picks for this week instead?
San Jose City Hall | 200 East Santa Clara St, San Jose, CA
2014 Festival of India | Fremont
Fremont's annual Festival of India showcases India's rich culture and heritage with a wide variety of dance, music, and food on Saturday and Sunday, August 16-17, 2014.
Activities include a festival on both days, a parade and Bollywood music on Sunday, and a dance competition and health fair on Saturday. You might even meet a Bollywood celebrity.
2014 Festival of India Schedule
- 10 am to 7 pm: Mela (Fair)
- 10 am to noon: Free Health Fair
- 10 am to 1 pm: Cultural Program
- 1-6:30 pm: Dance Competition
- Movie Screening
- 10 am to 7 pm: Mela (Fair)
- 10-11 am: Cultural Program
- Noon to 2 pm: Parade
- 2-4 pm: Gala Celebration with Grand Marshall, Celebrities and Dignitaries
- 3-6:30 pm: Singing and Dance
- Movie Screening
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Kick-Off | 2014 Festival of India | Fremont
Join San Jose Council Member Ash Kalra at San Jose City Hall for the Indian Flag Raising and festival kick-off event at 6:30 pm on Thursday, August 14, 2014.
Links: Event detailsCost: FREE
**Annual Event**, East Bay, Eating & Drinking, Fairs & Festivals, Fun & Games, Kids & Families, Live Music, Theater & Performance
Venue: San Jose City Hall
Address: 200 East Santa Clara St, San Jose, CA
Submitted by Rena

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Gardner-Webb stuns No. 12 Charleston Southern, 27-10
For the first time in a matter of months, the breaks finally went Gardner-Webb's way.
A pair of special teams mistakes, strong defense against the triple option and an 87-yard kick-off return by J.J. Hubbard led the Runnin' Bulldogs to a 27-10 win over No. 12 Charleston Southern Saturday at Spangler Stadium.
For GWU (6-5, 1-3 Big South) it marks the third win over a nationally ranked team this season and secures them of, at least, a .500 season since 2009 when they went 6-5.
"This one was a real important game for us," said defensive end Shaquille Riddick. "We needed to make up for the Ls we had earlier."
Riddick helped lead the Gardner-Webb defense with eight tackles and a pair of sacks while holding Charleston Southern (10-2, 3-1 Big South) to just 16 yards rushing. The Buccaneers came into the game averaging 256 yards on the ground.
"We faced Wofford which is an option-based team and we went back to a lot of what we did against them," Riddick said.
Meanwhile, the Runnin' Bulldogs took advantage of early mistakes to jump out to a 20-0 halftime lead.
Running back Juanne Blount skirted in from the right side to give Gardner-Webb their first points of the game after linebacker Chad Geter intercepted a pass from Charleston Southern quarterback Daniel Croghan on the Buccanneers' first possession of the game. Preston Pemasa tipped the pass attempt right into the hands of Geter.
The Runnin' Bulldogs had another opportunity after a miscue by Charleston Southern punter Truett Burns' punt hit a Buccaneer defender in the helmet and netted 6 yards, giving GWU the ball at their own 44.
Quarterback Lucas Beatty started slow, throwing two incomplete passes in a row in the drive before hitting Kenny Cook in double-coverage for a first down.
After sputtering, kicker Jordan Day bounced in a 34-yard field goal that hit off the left crossbar to put the Runnin' Bulldogs up 10-0 with 3 minutes, 2 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Buccaneers continued to struggle on their third drive after Croghan fumbled a pitch to Zac Frazier. Frazier was able to fall on the ball for a 3-yard loss.
Croghan recovered by hitting Larry Jones III on a slant pattern for a 28-yard pick up and a first down on the next play.
However, the GWU defense contained the option attack and forced Charleston Southern to punt for the second time in the game.
"Our game plan wasn't terribly complex," said GWU head coach Carroll McCray. "In option football, you have to be where you are supposed to be."
Wide receiver Kenny Cook pulled down a 31-yard reception over the middle then, the Runnin' Bulldogs got creative when Blount took a hand-off and flicked the ball back to Beatty who found tight end Seth Cranfill down at the Buccaneer 11. Two plays later, Beatty found Cook on a 4-yard touchdown pass, pushing the GWU lead to 17-0.
Gardner-Webb, which had success on offense in the first half, made their first mistake three plays later when Beatty was picked off by Elijah Lee who scampered in from 17 yards out to put the Buccaneers on the board for their first score of the game.
Cook, who had 75 yards on six receptions, went down with an injury on the interception return.
Charleston Southern's jubilation didn't last long.
On the ensuring kick-off, J.J. Hubbard ran virtually untouched 87 yards for a touchdown, pushing the GWU lead to 27-7. It was Hubbard's first kick-off return since getting a 78-yard return against VMI in 2011.
"I knew it would be short and the hole opened up perfectly," Hubbard said. "All I had to do was get around the kicker and I knew I could do that."
Both teams struggled in the third with the Runnin' Bulldogs amassing just 22 yards of total offense to 60 for Charleston Southern.
For the game, Gardner-Webb had no fumbles and just four penalties for 44 yards which was a stark contrast to the five fumbles last week against VMI.
The defense forced 79 yards lost from scrimmage with sacks and tackles for loss.
"I did not think we relaxed and they stayed focused," McCray said.
The Runnin' Bulldogs will conclude the regular season next Saturday with a trip to Presbyterian for a 1 p.m. kickoff.


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|Jess Burnap
DURHAM, N.H. -- Jess Burnap (New Canaan, Conn.), a senior midfielder and tri-captain on the University of New Hampshire women's lacrosse team, was one of 32 players named to the 2005 Tewaaraton Award Watch List by the Tewaaraton Award Foundation. Burnap was also named to the Inside Lacrosse Division I Preseason All-America Second Team earlier this month.
The Tewaaraton Award Foundation, in conjunction with The University Club of Washington, D.C., formally established the Tewaaraton Trophy on August 29, 2000 and the Trophy is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award that annually honors the top female and male varsity collegiate lacrosse player in the United States.
Burnap, the 2004 America East Player of the Year and an IWLCA All-America Second Team selection, broke UNH's single season records in both goals (72) and points (81), although she was second on last year's team in points. She ranked fifth in the nation in goals (3.60 per game) and 14th in points (4.05 per game).
In 55 career games, Burnap has amassed 155 points on 127 goals and 28 assists. Those numbers rank fifth in both goals and points on the Wildcats' all-time lists.
New Hampshire, ranked 14th in the IWLCA Preseason Poll, opens the 2005 season March 1 (3:30 p.m.) at the College of the Holy Cross. The Wildcats first home game is March 9 (3 p.m.) vs. Yale.


text:
Below is the poem entitled Life-altering Experience which was written by poet
Najera. Please feel free to comment on this poem. However, please remember, PoetrySoup is a place of encouragement and growth.
Read Poems by
Jerry Najera
Her eyes shut down,
Her life had been stolen, sleeping on a summer day,
Deeply, she'd snored in relief,
"She found the light"
The one she always searched for
Because the world is dark,
But her spirit can light up a town.
My mom met heaven,
Heaven approved,
And God introduced her to it.
I just didn't think that God had to put her to bed,
For a whole month and a half,
Because we missed her,
We thought
We'd lost her.
You only borrowed her,
She has returned.
A comment has not been posted for this poem. Encourage a poet by being the first to comment.


text:
Collectables Radio
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Hosted by: John Humphries
Calling All Collectors
Join Gary Sohmers, "The King of Pop Culture" as he talks about antiques and collectibles. Call Gary and get a "psychic appraisal." If you can describe it,...
APS Stamp Talk
It is a talk show for the world of stamp collectors.


text:
The invention is directed to a composition comprising a permeabilizing agent, a preserving agent, and a buffered solvent. This composition is used to prepare the cells for lyophilization cells and to rehydrate the cells to recover them from lyophilization.
The process of this invention comprises adding the permeabilizing agent and the preserving agent in a buffered solution to red blood cells, agitating the combination for a period of time sufficient to allow permeation of the preserving agent into the cell, shell freezing the mixture, and lyophilizing the mixture. The dry lyophilized material can then be stored. The cells can be rehydrated using the same composition of permeability agent, preserving agent and buffered solvent.
1. A method of preparing mammalian red blood cells for dry storage comprising the steps of:
mixing the red blood cells with a preserving composition comprising a protective agent in a buffered solution, said protective agent being selected from the group consisting of sucrose, raffinose, maltose, lactose and trehalose;
permeabilizing said red blood cells in said preserving composition by subjecting them to a permeabilizing agent selected from the group consisting of inositol and glycerol;
agitating the cells for a time sufficient for the protective agent to interact with the membrane of the cell and with the proteins present in the cell;
freezing and subsequently lyophilizing the combination of red blood cells and preserving composition; and
recovering and storing the dry, lyophilized product.
2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the buffer is selected from the group consisting of lactated Ringer's, hypertonic saline, and citrate dextrose.
3. A method according to claim 1 wherein said red blood cells are permeabilized by subjecting them to said permeabilizing agent present in a concentration of between approximately 1 and 10% by weight and wherein the protective agent is present in a concentration of between approximately 100 and 500 mM before lyophilization.
4. A method according to claim 4 wherein the permeabilizing agent is present in a concentration of between approximately 5 and 10% by weight and the protective agent is present in a concentration of between approximately 300 and 500 mM before lyophilization.
5. A method according to claim 4 wherein the permeabilizing agent si glycerol and the protective agent is trehalose.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein said lyophilized product is rehydrated and transfused into a mammal.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein said red blood cells are human red blood cells and wherein said rehydrated product is transfused into a human.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein said protective agent is trehalose.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein said permeabilizing agent is glycerol.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein said protective agent is trehalose.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and composition for protecting mammalian cells, being preserved by lyophilization. More particularly, the invention pertains to a method and composition for introducing protective solutes into red blood cells to preserve the cell during lyophilization and for increasing the retention of useful cells on rehydration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The preservation of labile proteins in the dry state by carbohydrates has been well documented (Bonderman, D. P., Proksch, G. J., and Haskins, S., "A Lyophilized Hemoglobin Control Prepared From Stroma-free Hemolysates," Clin. Chem., 26:2, 305-308, (1980); DeVenuto, F., Zegna, A. I., and Busse, K. R., "Lyophilization of Crystalline Hemoglobin Solution and Exchange Transfusions with Lyophilized, Reconstituted Hemoglobin," Surgery, Gynecology, and Obstetrics, 148, 69-75, (1979)). The recovery of functional hemoglobin (Hb) following lyophilization has been observed with a variety of carbohydrates (Thirion, C., Larcher, D., Chaillot, B., Labrude, P., and Vigneron, C., "Circular Dichroism Studies of Freeze-dried Induced Conformational Changes in Human Hemoglobin," Biopolymers, 22, 2367-2381, (1983)). The disaccharide trehalose has been shown in this work to be equally effective in retaining the functional oxygen binding characteristics of Hb as well as inhibiting oxidation of Hb to methemoglobin (metHb) in the dry state. The most likely mechanism of damage to proteins in the dry state is by free radical damage. Deleterious radicals accumulate in organisms that are damaged by severe dehydration, while those that accumulate protective carbohydrates maintain low levels of free radicals (Heckly, R. J., Effects of Oxygen on Dried Organisms in "Dry Biological Systems", (J. Crowe, ed.), 257-279, Academic Press, New York, 1978). One of the ways carbohydrates may protect biological systems from oxidative damage in the dry state is to act as scavengers of radicals that can oxidize essential biomacromolecules, Heckly supra. In these experiments, cold storage of lyophilized Hb (after rehydration) showed the rate of oxidative damage to Hb (as measured by the increase in metHb) is approximately the same as in those samples with added carbohydrates. This suggests that the protective antioxidant action of carbohydrates may be restricted to the dry state. This may be due to the half-life of the radical as it is thought to be much more stable in the absence of bulk water, Heckly supra. Another consideration is the use of these carbohydrates as substrates for bacterial growth in hydrated samples stored at 4� C. The presence of increasing amounts of bacterial endotoxins will also result in accelerated oxidation of Hb (unpublished data).
The ability of carbohydrates to maintain cell size during lyophilization is correlated to the ability of carbohydrates to inhibit dehydration. Previous work has demonstrated that trehalose, sucrose, and glucose (to a lesser degree) inhibit dehydration. This action may be due to the binding of carbohydrates to a cell wall or to a liposome (Crowe, L. M., Crowe, J. H., Rudolph, A. S., Womersley, C., and Appel, L., "Preservation of Freeze-dried Liposomes by Trehalose," Arch. Biochem. Biophys., 242:1, 240-247, (I985); Crowe, J. H., and Crowe, L. M., "Effects of Dehydration on Membranes and Membrane Stabilization at Low Water Activities," In Biological Membranes, (D. Chapman, Ed.), Vol. 5, Academic Press, New York/London, 1985; Rudolph, A. S., and Crowe, J. H., "A Calorimetric and Infrared Spectroscopic Study of the Stabilizing Solute Proline," Biophys. J., 50, 423-430 (1986)).
Baldeschwieler et al., in U.S. Pat. No.4,915,951, provides a summary of articles and patents relating to the discovery of and development of trehalose as a cryopreservation agent. Baldschwieler et al. discloses a lipophilic anchor molecule to assist in introducing a carbohydrate to the membrane wall. Disaccharides, such as maltose, are among the polyoxygen containing compounds which Baldeschwieler suggests as part of the cryopreservation agent.
Horan et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,401, discloses the use of osmolarity regulating agents to assist in introducing marking dyes into cells including blood cells. The suggested osmolarity regulating agents include sugars, sugar-alcohols, amino acids and certain hydrogen ion buffers known as "Good's Buffers". These osmolarity regulating agents include monosaccharides and disaccharides including glycerol, inositol and the like.
While freeze-thawing is now an accepted method of preserving a variety of mammalian cell lines, currently, there are no satisfactory methods of preserving red blood cells in the dry state. These red blood cells are inherently unstable to reduced water conditions because of oxidation events (expressed as generation of methemoglobin, the oxidative degeneration of hemoglobin) and destabilization of the cell membrane.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to improve the preservation of red blood cells by lyophilization;
Also, it is an object of this invention to suppress the formation of metHb in red blood cells when stored in the dry state for extended periods of time;
In addition, it is an object of this invention to have a method which increases the introduction of cryopreservation agents into mammalian cells including red blood cells;
Further, it is an object of this invention to provide a composition to prepare the cells for lyophilization and rehydrate the cells to increase the amount of useful cells available on rehydration.
These and additional objects of the invention are accomplished by a composition comprising a permeabilizing agent, a preserving agent, and a buffered solvent. This composition is used to prepare the cells for lyophilization cells and to rehydrate the cells to recover them from lyophilization.
The process of this invention comprises adding the permeabilizing agent and the preserving agent in a buffered solution to red blood cells, shaking the combination for a period of time sufficient to allow permeation of the preserving agent into the cell, shell freezing the mixture, and lyophilizing the mixture. The dry lyophilized material can then be stored. The cells can be rehydrated using the same composition of permeabilizing agent, preserving agent and buffered solvent.
A more complete appreciation of the invention will be readily obtained by reference to the following Description of the Preferred Embodiments and the accompanying drawings in which like numerals in different figures represent the same structures or elements. The representations in each of the figures is diagrammatic and no attempt is made to indicate actual scales or precise ratios. Proportional relationships are shown as approximations.
FIG. 1 is a flow chart of one embodiment of the process of this invention.
FIG. 2 is a graph of an embodiment of the invention depicting variations of MetHb plotting the percentage Methemoglobin against concentration of trehalose.
FIG. 3 is a graph of an embodiment of this invention depicting change in P50 values from fresh blood plotting percent of original P50 value against concentration of trehalose.
FIG. 4 is a graph of an embodiment of this invention depicting percent cell recovery after lyophilization (2�dilution) plotting percent glycerol against concentration of trehalose.
The invention is directed to the long term preservation of red blood cells for long term storage in a reduced mass (dry) form so the red blood cells can be available for transport to, storage in and use under non-hospital conditions. The composition of the invention involves the use of a protective agent such as sucrose, raffinose, proline, maltose, betaine, lactose, peptone and the unusual disaccharide, trehalose in combination with a permeabilizing agent such as a mono- or disaccharide sugar alcohols or mixtures thereof, for example glycerol or inositol or a mixture thereof, preferably glycerol in a buffered solution, to prepare the cell for lyophilization according to the method of the invention.
Trehalose, the preferred protective agent, is known to accumulate in organisms that survive complete dehydration. In the cell, trehalose acts by preserving biomembrane structure and function in the dry state by binding to hydration sites on the membrane. In addition, trehalose acts on soluble proteins in a similar manner and has shown antioxidant properties in the dry state. The introduction of trehalose into the interior of the cell and its interaction with the protein in the cell is important to preserving the cell and hemoglobin through lyophilization and storage.
The introduction of the preserving agent such as trehalose is improved by adding a membrane permeabilizing agent which increases the permeability of the red blood cell membrane to trehalose. The permeabilizing agent does not have to be chemical in nature but can be other means which will cause a cell membrane to become more permeable such as high electric fields to introduce pores in the cell membrane. This technique (electroporation) has been successfully used to transfect bacterial cells and introduce other genetic materials into mammalian cells.
The introduction of trehalose to the cell interior results in enhanced preservation of the cell membrane and interaction with the soluble protein, hemoglobin, responsible for oxygen transport. The interaction of trehalose with hemoglobin is important because oxidation of the protein induced by drying is prevented. Preferably, the preserving agent and the permeabilizing agent are in a buffered solution which will also include the red blood cells.
The preserving agent should be in a concentration of between 100 and 500 mM, preferably a concentration of between 300 and 500 and most preferably about 400 to about 500. The permeabilizing agent should be in a concentration of between 1 and 10 weight percent, preferably between 5 and 10 weight percent and most preferably between 7 and 10 weight percent. The buffer is preferably isotonic. Alternative buffers which can be used are other buffers currently used to suspend red blood cells such as lactated Ringer's, hypertonic saline, and citrate dextrose.
The method of preparing mammalian cells for dry storage comprises: mixing the mammalian cells with a preserving composition comprising a permeabilizing agent and a protective agent in a buffered solution; agitating the cells for a time sufficient for the protective agent to interact with the membrane of the cell and with the proteins present in the cell; freezing and subsequently lyophilizing the combination of red blood cells preserving composition; and recovering and storing the dry, lyophilized product. In the preferred method, the process involves preparing red blood cells for dry storage comprising adding a cell membrane permeabilizing agent to suspension of red blood cells; adding a buffered solution containing a protective agent in the form of a sugar selected from the group consisting essentially of sucrose, raffinose, proline, maltose, betaine, lactose peptone and trehalose to form a preservative composition; agitating the preservation composition for a time sufficient for the protective agent to interact with the cell membrane and to enter into the cell and interact with the available proteins including hemoglobin; freezing and lyophilizing the preservation composition; and recovering the dry product.
Having described the invention, the following examples are given to illustrate specific applications of the invention including the best mode now known to perform the invention. These specific examples are not intended to limit the scope of the invention described in this application.
The described method involves the incubation of a cell suspension with a mixture of glycerol as the permeabilizing agent and trehalose as the protective disaccharide. FIG. 1 is a flow chart outlining the process. In a lyophilization jar of 300 ml volume, a suspension of red blood cells is placed that has been diluted with a solution containing 10% glycerol by weight and 500 mM trehalose in a buffered solution of a standard isotonic phosphate buffered saline at pH =7.4. This suspension is allowed to agitate for at least 12 hours (at 4.C) at which time the suspension is shell frozen in liquid nitrogen and placed on the lyophilizer packed in dry ice. The rehydration of this material is accomplished by rehydration with the same solution of glycerol, trehalose and buffer at 37.C or alternatively, in a high humidity chamber. The purpose of the latter rehydration scheme is to effect a more gentle rehydration to enhance recovery of intact cells.
The advantage of the described invention is that it allows the recovery of intact cells that function normally following lyophilization. The combination of a permeabilizing agent and the protective sugar is a superior method for incorporating the sugar into the intracellular compartment. Another advantage of the described invention is that the protective regime does not require the protectants to be washed out before transfusion because the added carbohydrate is a source of metabolic fuel needed in the system. This is illustrated by analysis of the material formed in Example 1. The rehydrated material is assayed for percentage of intact cells, the induction of methemoglobin, and the oxygen carrying capacity. The results of rehydration of freeze-dried red cells that have been treated with the described invention and unprotected controls are presented in FIGS. 2 through 4 expressing methemoglobin recovery, oxygen carrying capacity and % cell recovery.
As shown in FIG. 2, the amount of methemoglobin markedly decreases as the trehalose concentration that the cells are exposed to after glycerol exposure is increased. The methemoglobin levels are measured using a colorimetric assay described in S. Tomita et al., "A simple spectrophotometric method for the determination of methemoglobin in dilute solutions", J. Nara. Med. Assoc., 19, 1 (1968), incorporated herein by reference. In the absence of any protection, 60% of the hemoglobin is converted to the methemoglobin form. At 250 mM trehalose, increasing the glycerol concentration during the initial permeabilization step results in a decreased level of methemoglobin (20% for 10% glycerol and 250 mM trehalose). The optimum recovery of oxyhemoglobin is observed with 10% glycerol and 500 mM trehalose where there is no measurable methemoglobin. The inhibition of methemoglobin formation is essential as this form of hemoglobin cannot carry oxygen.
The oxygen carrying capacity is a measure of the cooperativity of oxygen binding and relates to the structural integrity of tetrameric oxyhemoglobin. The oxygen carrying capacity is expressed as a P50 value. This value for normal human blood is 26 (for a male). The values for the freeze-dried blood are expressed, in FIG. 3, as a percentage of this original value (taken before the freeze-drying protocol). As shown in FIG. 3, no protection results in a loss of 60% of the original P50 value, while the addition of 500 mM trehalose (no glycerol) increases this value approximately 10% As also shown in FIG. 3, the initial permeabilization step, in the absence of any subsequent addition of trehalose, results in a 90% recovery of the P50 value, while the highest recovery of the value is accomplished with 10% glycerol and 500 mM trehalose using the optimum procedure described previously.
Perhaps the most important measure of success is the recovery of intact cells using the procedure described, shown in FIG. 4. The number of intact cells recovered with no protection, 500 mM trehalose, 10% glycerol without trehalose, and 10% glycerol with 500 mM trehalose, reveals that the highest recovery occurs with 10% glycerol and 500 mM trehalose.
Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.
Patent Citations
Non-Patent Citations
Referenced by
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text:
The Palatine Rural Fire Protection District, Palatine Fire Department and Rolling Meadows Fire Department have agreed to combine training programs this year in an effort to improve the level of service, ensure firefighter safety, improve overall efficiency and increase operational consistency. The deal follows an April 2012 agreement between Palatine Rural and Rolling Meadows to share training officer and incident commander positions. The three groups will effectively train as one department and provide coverage while certain members are training in firefighting, hazardous materials, special rescue and emergency medical response practices. The three departments also have partnered to pursue additional goals in 2013, and will work to standardize emergency response guidelines and revise incident command coverage areas. The fire chiefs said they're grateful that staff and officials have embraced the efforts.
updated: 1/8/2013 3:42 PM
Three Northwest suburban fire departments to train together
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Naked firefighters, teen rubbers, and Chippendales' return: Your sex and gender morning roundup
- D.C. firefighter suspended over naked eggs (Photo: TBD Staff)
NAKED FIREFIGHTER has been suspended indefinitely after he was photographed cooking eggs while nude in a District firehouse. "No women were present," the Post reports.
ON WHORE: The New Republic's John McWhorter argues that Jerry Brown's aide was using an "evolved, secondary meaning of whore" in referring to Meg Whitman, and also that this evolved, non-gender-specific version of the term is akin to a white person calling Barack Obama his "nigga."
RUBBER SOUL: The D.C. Department of Health is launching a new safer sex social media campaign next month called "The Rubber Revolution" encouraging District teens to use condoms. Until then, you can follow the revolution on Twitter. The kids seem to like it:
CHIPPENDALES announces its first "intimate massager."
MARRIAGE DOOMS MAN; after he registered for an Ohio marriage license, officials were able to locate a D.C. man who failed to register as a sex offender.
IN CRIME: ESPN tackles domestic violence and sexual abuse among athletes. The link between domestic violence and HIV. In the wake of two September assaults, another UVA student has been sexually assaulted on campus. And a D.C. man has been sentenced to 45 years in prison for a 2006 sexual assault and kidnapping. And Georgetown University reports two on-campus domestic assaults within ten days.
LGBT IN BRIEF: Annual pre-Halloween High Heel drag race seeks volunteers. The DC Trans Coalition responds to Metro TeenAIDS' Hardy Middle School 'sex survey': The DCTC gives kudos for the trans question. The Trevor Project raises $10,000 to fight teen suicide. LGBT attorneys have got it easier than ever. Finally: "bears can be bitchy queens."


text:
Redesigned 2014 Cadillac CTS Moves into Midsize Luxury Sedan Territory
"With Cadillac growing globally, driven by rising product credibility, the new CTS elevates the brand to a new level," said Bob Ferguson, vice president, Global Cadillac.
Built on a stretched version of the platform that underpins the smaller Cadillac ATS, the new 2014 Cadillac CTS adds 4.2 inches of body length and 1.2 inches of wheelbase, while losing 244 pounds compared to the current model. Cadillac promises the new CTS will be the midsize luxury sedan segment's lightest vehicle, with a base curb weight of 3,616 pounds, and that the 2014 CTS will include a near-perfect 50.3/49.7 front-to-rear weight distribution.
According to Cadillac, the new CTS has a roomier interior than the current model. Compared to the current model, the new CTS benefits from slight increases in front-seat leg room, front and rear head room, front and rear shoulder room, front and rear hip room, and trunk space. However, rear-seat leg room actually shrinks from 36.1 inches to 35.4 inches, and the trunk is essentially the same size, up to 13.7 cubic feet from 13.6 cubic feet.
New CTS Offers Three Powertrains
The standard engine in the new 2014 CTS is a turbocharged, 2.0-liter 4-cylinder generating 272 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 295 lb.-ft. of torque between 1,700 rpm and 5,500 rpm. Premium fuel is recommended for this engine, but is not required. A 6-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters delivers power to the rear wheels, and all-wheel drive is optional. Cadillac estimates this engine will return 19 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway (18 mpg city/28 mpg highway with AWD).
A direct-injection, 3.6-liter V-6 engine generating 321 horsepower at 6,800 rpm and 275 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,800 rpm is optional, and operates on regular unleaded gas. With rear-wheel drive, a new 8-speed automatic with paddle shifters is standard. All-wheel-drive models have a 6-speed automatic with paddle shifters. Cadillac estimates a fuel-economy rating of 19 mpg city/28 mpg highway (RWD) and 18 mpg city/27 mpg highway (AWD).
A twin-turbocharged, direct-injection 3.6-liter V-6 is offered exclusively for the new 2014 CTS Vsport model, cranking 420 horsepower at 5,750 rpm and 430 lb.-ft. of torque between 3,500 rpm and 4,500 rpm. Cadillac says that 90% of peak torque is available between 2,500 rpm and 5,500 rpm, and that this version of the new 2014 CTS accelerates from zero to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds. An 8-speed, paddle-shifted automatic is the only transmission choice, sending power exclusively to the rear wheels. Fuel economy, according to Cadillac, is expected to be 17 mpg city/25 mpg highway.
The new CTS employs a multi-link MacPherson strut front suspension with a double-pivot design, paired with a 5-link rear suspension. Cadillac says it used aluminum components for the front suspension on the new CTS, but elected to primarily use steel for the model's rear suspension to offset the weight of the engine and transmission for improved weight distribution, and to eliminate noise, vibration and harshness. Additional mechanical components include electric variable-assist steering, 4-wheel vented-disc brakes (with Brembo components on all except Standard models), and 17-inch or 18-inch aluminum wheels. Cadillac says its Magnetic Ride Control real-time damping suspension is available on all 2014 CTS models.
New Vsport Model Ups Performance Ante
The 2014 Cadillac CTS Vsport is a performance model equipped with a twin-turbocharged V-6 engine and 8-speed automatic transmission. Additional equipment on the CTS Vsport includes standard staggered-width 18-inch wheels with Pirelli summer performance tires, quicker steering, larger Brembo brakes with high-performance brake pads and aluminum calipers, heavy-duty track cooling package, Track driving mode with specific steering and Magnetic Ride Control suspension settings, and an electronic limited-slip differential. Optional are 19-inch wheels.
Cadillac characterizes the 2014 CTS model's exterior styling as an evolution of the current Art & Science theme that has defined the brand since the original CTS debuted for the 2003 model year. Signature vertical front and rear LED lighting emphasizes Cadillac's design tradition in a modern way, and the model's grille is wider than before; some models are equipped with active grille shutters to help improve fuel economy.
Eight different cabin environments are offered for the new 2014 CTS, each trimmed in genuine wood, aluminum, or carbon fiber, depending on the model and color scheme. Cadillac says the new CTS is equipped with a motorized cupholder cover and an electronically locking glove box. Leatherette upholstery is standard, with leather optional. The CTS can also be optioned with premium semi-aniline leather.
Every 2014 CTS will have a standard Cadillac User Experience (CUE) system, including an 8-inch color high-resolution touch screen designed to operate like a tablet computer, allowing the user to spread, pinch, swipe, and rearrange icons as desired. Haptic feedback center panel controls are also included in the CTS, used to operate certain functions of the Bose audio system and dual-zone automatic climate control system.
Automatic Parking Assist, Adaptive Remote Start Among 2014 CTS Options
As is expected in a modern midsize luxury sedan, the 2014 CTS is available with a number of extra-cost features. Highlights include heated and ventilated front seats with 20-way power adjustment, Bose Centerpoint premium audio system, 12.3-inch LCD instrument cluster with four different layouts, and a color configurable Head-Up Display. The new CTS can also be equipped with an adaptive remote start system, adaptive cruise control system with full-speed-range operation, and an Automatic Parking Assist system to help guide the Cadillac into parallel parking spaces.
All 2014 Cadillac CTS models are equipped with 10 standard air bags, rear park-assist sensors, and a 1-year complimentary subscription to OnStar telematics with Automatic Collision Notification service. Numerous safety-related options are available, including a new automatic safety belt tightening system and, in global regions where required, an Active Pedestrian Protection system. Additional safety technologies include a reversing camera, Panic Brake Assist, lane-departure warning, side blind-zone alert, rear cross-traffic alert, and adaptive forward lighting. A forward-collision alert system with Automatic Collision Preparation is also available, as well as a Front and Rear Automatic Braking system. Many of these technologies are connected to a Safety Alert Seat that vibrates to attract the driver's attention as necessary.
Additional Research:
- 2013 Cadillac CTS Summary, Photos & Specs
- 2012 Cadillac CTS Quality Ratings
- Cadillac Car & Truck Quality Ratings
- 2013 Cadillac Buyer's Guide


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Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) - Isaiah Armwood notched a double-double on 14 points and 11 rebounds, as the George Washington Colonials routed the Duquesne Dukes, 71-57, in Atlantic 10 Conference action at the Smith Center.
Patricio Garino netted a game-high 17 points for the Colonials (18-4, 6-2 A-10), who have won six of their last seven games. Kevin Larsen and Nemanja Mikic chipped in with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Ovie Soko logged a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Dukes (10-11, 2-6), who have dropped five of their last seven. Dominique McKoy chipped in 14 points and eight boards, while Micah Mason scored 11 points.
In the opening half, the Colonials shot 48.4 percent from the floor, which include five 3-pointers, slightly better than the Dukes' 43.5 percent. George Washington took a 36-30 lead into halftime.
The second half was not kind to the Dukes, who struggled offensively, shooting just 27.8 percent from the floor, including a dreadful 0-of-13 from the perimeter. At the other end, the Colonials put the game away with a 44 percent performance, leading by as many as 19 points with 7:48 to play.
George Washington outscored the visitors 36-26 in the paint and 16-10 in points off turnovers.
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This blog is part two of my five part beef series. In the fist blog I covered the basics: types of beef, breeds of American cattle, and the aging process. I am sure you found it all quite exciting.
The second order of business is to understand what part of the cow you are actually eating.
① Chuck
This meat is basically muscle, and the chuck happens to be a heavily exercised area. Luckily, this area contains a great deal of connective tissue, including collagen. Collagen melts during cooking, making the meat intensely flavorful. Cuts from this area benefit from slow, wet cooking methods like stewing, braising or pot-roasting.
② Rib
Tender and flavorful ribs can be cooked any number of ways. Most recipes call for ribs to be roasted, sauteed, pan-fried, broiled, or grilled. If your beef ribs are coming out tough you aren't cooking them long enough. Beef ribs need to be cooked at a low temperature for a long enough time to render the fat and tenderize the meat. Keep the smoker at around 225 degrees and cook them for about 6 – 7 hours and they will be melt in your mouth tender and not at all fatty or greasy.
③ Short Loin
This area boasts extremely tender cuts and can be prepared without the aid of moist heat or long cooking times. Cuts from the short loin may be sautéed, pan fried, broiled, pan broiled or grilled. This cut yields types of steak like strip steak (porterhouse, Kansas City Strip, New York Strip) and t-bone (a cut also containing partial meat from the tender loin.)
④ Sirloin
The sirloin is actually divided into several types of steak. The top sirloin is the most prized of these. The bottom sirloin is less tender, much larger, and is typically what is offered when one just buys sirloin steaks instead of steaks specifically marked top sirloin. The bottom sirloin in turn connects to the sirloin tip roast, which is generally considered to be a good, if somewhat tough, roast. Filet mignon is the beef steak cut from the lower portion of the ribs, continuing off the tenderloin. These tender cuts respond well to sautéing, pan-frying, broiling, pan-broiling or grilling.
⑤ Round
The round is a kind term for the rear end of the carcass. Those muscles are well exercised, so round cuts tends to be a bit tougher and leaner than cuts from the loin. Round cuts do well if they're cooked with moist heat, and many of them can also be roasted, as long as they're not overcooked.
⑥ Brisket
Fresh brisket is an inexpensive boneless cut that requires long, slow cooking to break down the collagen in the connective muscle tissues to achieve tenderness. The long piece is cut in half for marketing. You'll find it sold as a flat cut or a point cut. The flat cut is leaner, but the point cut has more flavor due to a bit of extra fat. Traditionally this roast is used for corned beef. Suitable preparation methods include stewing, braising and pot-roasting.
⑦ Plate
From the front belly of the cow, just below the rib cut this short plate produces types of steak such as the skirt steak and the hanger steak. It is typically a cheap, tough, and fatty meat. The most common use for this steak is for fajitas.
⑧ Flank
Flank steak can be broiled or grilled, if it is marinated first. Flank steak is a lean, flavorful, boneless cut favored in Asian cuisines. This thin, flat steak comes from a well-exercised part of the animal, as evidenced by its striated muscle fibers and connective tissue. This meat is lean, muscular and very flavorful and can be used for kabobs.
⑨ Shank
Due to the constant use of this muscle by the animal it tends to be tough, dry, and sinewy, so it is best when cooked for a long time in moist heat. As it is very lean, it is widely used to prepare very low-fat ground beef. Due to its lack of sales, it is not often seen at retail. Although, if found in retail, it is very cheap and a low-cost ingredient for beef stock. Beef shank is a common ingredient in soups.
Other Types of Beef
If there are parts of beef that cannot be marketed as the above cuts then it is ground (for hamburgers and meatloaf), cubed (for stews or kabobs) or cut into strips for fajitas or stir-fries.
Now you will be a variable expert at the meat counter. You can proudly hold your head up high and say "Bring me a Top Loin Steak! The red one, he amuses me. No! The impertinent one on the right. Seize him!"
Of course the next step is figuring out how a good piece of meat differs from a bad one. In my next blog I will be covering the basics of finding that perfect melt-in-your-mouth steak. Hungry for beef yet? Look around Tasty Planner for excellent beef recipes! Happy Cooking!


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Business lacks confidence
"Businesses don't have the confidence to hire and spend to grow their business when they don't know what the regulatory environment will look like, what the tax environment will be, what their obligation for providing employee health benefits will be," says Mark Cortazzo, senior partner at Macro Consulting Group in Parsippany, N.J.
"What you're seeing is that small business, the backbone of the nation, is putting more burden on the existing workforce rather than going out and hiring … because the financial uncertainty is too great.
"We need another stimulus," he adds. "Without it, we will continue to fade into recession."
Painful times ahead
Whether the economy moves in that direction or continues to stumble along, conditions will remain painful. Charles Sizemore, chief investment officer at Sizemore Capital Management in Dallas, says analysts make too much of the "R word."
"Do you really care if the economy is just flat or in a recession?" he says. "The result is the same to your daily life, to employment. It's not as if a company's decision to hire or lay off people will hinge on precise GDP numbers." GDP, which stands for gross domestic product, is a measure of the economy as a whole.
Sizemore says that the Great Recession was so severe that it changed Americans' mindsets about spending. Families began paying down debt and squirreling away savings as they worried about job security — assuming they still had a job.
Spending curbs boost household wealth but undermine growth in an economy dependent on consumer spending. "You have the baby boomers, the richest and biggest generation in history, going into savings mode, paying down debt and getting ready for retirement. That's going to be a brake on the economy," Sizemore says.
"I see a prolonged period where the economy has a good year, then fizzles, has maybe two good years, then fizzles. I do not think we're looking at year after year of economic decline. I think we'll see fits and starts for a decade."
Also of interest: Study shows older adults lose big in recession. >>
Carole Fleck is a senior editor at the AARP Bulletin.
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|Matthew Dillon <dillon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
|Sat, 9 Apr 2005 11:21:40 -0700 (PDT)
: :justin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote: : :> Devon or Sascha - I wanted to add the Adobe Illustrator and EPS versions :> of the DragonFly logo to the wiki, but it refuses .ai and .eps uploads. : :Devon has changed that and the Wiki now supports .png, .gif, .jpg, :.jpeg, .ai, .eps, .fla and .svg. : :If there are other types you need, let us know. : :Sascha : :-- :http://yoyodyne.ath.cx Note that that's a potential security issue, it means that a hacker could upload specially munged jpg and potentially other file types for which browsers have a code execution vulnerability for. I would recommend turning them all off. -Matt Matthew Dillon <dillon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>


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ALBANY, N.Y. -- Mitigation experts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be at the Pumpkin Festival in Chenango County this Friday and Saturday to offer information on preparing for future disasters, flood insurance and rebuilding safer and stronger.
FEMA staff will have a display booth at the Pumpkin Festival, on Friday, Oct. 28 and Saturday, Oct. 29, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 11 North Broad St. (East & West Park), Norwich, N.Y. The booth will be located next to the court house on the West Park side.
Information on how to repair and clean flooded homes will be available. Among the publications available will be: Protecting Your Home and Property from Flood Damage, The Benefits of Flood Insurance versus Disaster Assistance and Answers to Questions About the National Flood Insurance Program.
More information on ways to protect your home from future disasters is available at: www.fema.gov. Choose the menu for Recover and Rebuild.
FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.


text: Why on earth is that dirty screen that use to display pictures still there. i mean they haven't displayed a pic in years. And the owl just soudlessly moves his beak. i know they stopped doing it cause it was hard to time but they should take down the screen its an eyesore.


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When Americans took up arms in the spring of 1775, for many their intent was not separation but rather preservation of their rights as subjects of the king. By that fall, though, throughout the colonies revolutionary sentiment had taken hold and royal governors had been forced from office. Even so, there was a portion of the population that sought to maintain ties with the monarchy. The Continental Congress, though they had raised an army and formed a committee to negotiate with foreign nations, still held members who reflected that emotion.
There was, however, a small group that recognized early on that as long as Britannia ruled the waves, the new nation's coastal cities were in peril, trade was impossible and the prospect of securing arms from abroad was bleak. For months the faction advocated without success that the Congress authorize a Navy. Their arguments were met with skepticism that it was foolishness to take on such a mighty fleet. The most that pro-naval forces could do was to urge each colony to outfit ships to safeguard their own shores.
Then on Oct. 5, 1776, Congress learned that two unarmed English vessels, loaded with munitions and traveling without convoy, were enroute to Quebec. A committee was appointed to decide how to take advantage of this much needed windfall. New England states were encouraged to send out interceptors while representatives outlined a plan to equip two ships. Before either could take any constructive action, on Oct. 13 a letter arrived from Gen. George Washington and was read to Congress. In it the commander in chief reported that he had taken, by his own authority, three schooners and ordered them to seek out and seize any supply ships they might meet.
In short order a resolution was introduced and approved to provide for two "swift sailing vessels, to carry 10 carriage guns, and a proportionable number of swivels, with 80 men, to be fitted, with all possible dispatch, for a cruise of three months, and that the commander be instructed to cruise eastward, for intercepting such transports as may be laden with warlike stores, and other supplies for our enemies, and for such other purposes as the Congress shall direct." This short passage created what would truly become the most powerful Navy the world has ever known.
During the Revolutionary War, the fledgling Navy took nearly 200 British vessels, carried diplomats to Europe and returned with vital armaments. The Continental Navy, which sent to sea 50 armed vessels, forced the English to divert resources to protecting convoys and trade routes. Their activities instigated diplomatic difficulties and, thus, recognition and support from France. In no small part naval power changed the course of the war, and history.
The Naval Order of the United States, Charleston Commandery, offers our congratulations to all of those who, through military and merchant sea service, have made America the great nation it is.
Our economy and our influence around the world are contingent upon our ability to project our presence. That will only be possible if today's Congress remembers a lesson it should have learned 238 years ago.
Don Campagna
Popperdam Creek Drive
North Charleston
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Almost two and a half years ago Namecoin, the first altcoin, was born. It was an innovative answer to the current centralized domain system, and a form of diversification over Bitcoin. Since then, especially in the last six months, various alternatives to Bitcoin have been sprung up, and the entire crypto-currency field has grown, together with the alts.
A lot of the alt currencies do not bring any real innovation to the table, and as a result haven't managed to capture any significant market share. However, several interesting alts have also emerged, including such alts as Namecoin, Litecoin, PPCoin, Primecoin and Freicoin. What's common to all these alts is they genuinely try to improve upon certain features in Bitcoin, such as decentralizing mining or eliminating it altogether, fighting economic inequality, or DNS centralization. While Bitcoin remains the undisputed "king of crypto", the future remains to be seen – whether Bitcoin will be the only crypto-currency remaining, will there be a mix of a few relevant coins, or whether another coin will take over as the leader is unknown at this point.
So, why should you care?
The alt currencies are not just full of innovation, they are also an opportunity. As a separate asset with some but not absolute correlation with Bitcoin, diversifying your investment portfolio into alts has the potential to decrease your risk level or increase your expected reward. Just like in the stock market, investing in each individual alt is a risky investment – riskier than Bitcoin in fact, because of their small market cap and high volatility. However, investing in a basket of currencies, or an index fund, is an easy way to get exposure to a variety of assets. Some of them might tank, but others may rise, and the overall index is less risky than the average risk of its composing assets.
Moving beyond alts, there are other elements worth considering in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Ripple is not technically an alt currency but rather an entire payment system, backed by a company that received significant VC investment. Bitcoin Mining, which began as a few hobbyist miners in basements, has evolved to become a full-fledged industry, which various companies and business models. Several stock exchanges now trade "virtual stocks" of companies, without the need for a costly full-fledged IPO (One such stock-exchange-traded company, SatoshiDice, was recently sold for a total of $12,000,000).
Investors who are interested in the crypto-currency ecosystem, and want to invest and diversify their investment and do more than just hold actual Bitcoins, do not have a good way to do it today. The process of creating and managing a well-rounded portfolio takes a lot of thought and effort, and is too prohibitive for the general population.
This is where we come in
Our vision and mission is to make this process as easy as logging into your online bank account and investing in the various stocks, bonds and indexes. We are building a unified platform to manage all kinds of crypto-currency investment. Bitblu will be a unique combination of simplicity and power – you will be able to build your portfolio within two minutes and always have full control over it. Whenever you want, will be able to easily adjust your investment according to the dynamic market trends.
Stay tuned – we have a lot more coming up, and we will start revealing the bits and pieces along the way. I'll give you a quick sneak preview and say that our first "crypto index" is almost ready, and we are accepting early investors who want to participate in the private beta (more details soon). For more information, please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com and sign up for our beta at bitblu.com


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Staff Report
CHARLESTON – U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin today announced additional charges in connection with a major false billing scheme orchestrated by former employees of Alpha Natural Resources ("Alpha") and certain companies that provided supplies, equipment, and services to Alpha. The tree individuals that were charged are Ricky R. Smith, of 49, Glen Daniels, James Rodger Long II, 34, of Beckley, and Harold Wayne Brown, II, 41, of Madison.
Smith and Long, both former local "sourcing agents" for Massey Energy ("Massey") Legacy Mines, have been charged by information with wire fraud and aiding and abetting. Brown, a former Alpha underground maintenance chief, was charged with making a false statement to federal authorities in connection with the false billing scheme. All three have agreed to plead guilty and are cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
An ongoing investigation revealed that several mine sourcing agents, generally responsible for ordering goods and services for mining operations from Alpha suppliers, participated in an illegal scheme to obtain goods for their own personal benefit. The investigation further revealed that the sourcing agents, working in conjunction with the suppliers, hid numerous illegal transactions by creating false invoices.
According to court documents, on October 6, 2011, sourcing agent Ricky Smith submitted a false invoice for $16,500 to purchase a "duster" from a leading Alpha parts supplier, M&S Hydraulics. Court documents also revealed that in a similar scheme, James Long, working with co-conspirators, submitted a false invoice for equipment totaling $8,820 to M&S Hydraulics. The false invoices were intended to look like legitimate purchases, but were actually used to provide cash, gifts and other things of value to the sourcing agents and other Alpha employees. In March, charges were filed against the owner of M&S Hydraulics, Donald Bryan Steele. Steele was charged with wire fraud and aiding and abetting in connection with the false billing scheme. Charges were also previously filed in March against co-conspirators Edward Ellis Mullins, 41, of Peytona, Joey R. Phalin, 36, of Crab Orchard, and Nicholas R. Coleman, 29, of Lester. Mullins, Phalin and Coleman are all former sourcing agents for Massey Energy ("Massey") legacy mines. Each defendant was charged by information with wire fraud and aiding and abetting. All four defendants have agreed to plead guilty and are cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
Mullins was employed as the sourcing agent for the Shonk Powellton #1 Mine, operated by the Elk Run Coal Company, an Alpha subsidiary. Around November 2011, Mullins approached a supplier, who generally provided tires, wheels and other vehicle-related materials to Massey and now Alpha, about supplying him and other Alpha employees with tires and wheels for their personal vehicles. In exchange, Mullins agreed to allow the tire seller to submit false invoices for payment to Alpha reflecting that tires used in the mining operations had been delivered. For its participation, the tire seller was told to "pad" the false invoice. The tire seller immediately provided this information to Alpha corporate security, who, in turn, contacted the FBI and West Virginia State Police. A criminal investigation revealed that not only Mullins, but other sourcing agents, including Phalin and Coleman, who were employed by another Alpha subsidiary, Marfork Coal Company, were also engaged in the false billing scheme. Through the sourcing agents' cooperation and other information, law enforcement agents have identified other conspirators linked to the widespread false-billing scheme. Mullins, Phalin, Coleman and Steele each face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Smith and Long each face each face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Brown faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the West Virginia State Police with cooperation from Alpha Natural Resource's internal security team. Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Ryan is in charge of the prosecutions. In June 2011, Alpha Natural Resources finalized the purchase of Massey, including the mining divisions located along WV Route 3 in Boone and Raleigh counties.
Staff Reports
WILLIAMSON - A scheme which bilked the state and federal government and Brickstreet Insurance out of millions of dollars will send at least three people to prison and more could be coming.
Jerome Russell, 50, of Williamson, W.Va. and Frelin Workman, 58, of Belfry, Ky. will soon be sentenced for their role in a monetary structuring scheme uncovered by federal investigators. Russel and Workman were the principles of Aracoma Contracting. A third individual, Arville Sargent, 52, of Chapmanville, W.Va. will also face prison time for his role. Sargent is a former field auditor for Brickstreet.
According to U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin Aracoma officials arranged for numerous transactions at the Bank of Mingo Williamson Branch in which they withdrew cash in amounts just under the limit which required federal reporting. The cash became the payroll for Aracoma employees and helped the company avoid Millions of dollars in taxes and withholdings.
"It should have triggered reporting requirements for the bank," said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Booth Goodwin. "That did not occur."
So far, nobody connected to the bank has been named in the investigation and Goodwin isn't saying much about whether the probe is looking into any bank employees who may have been complicit in the scheme.
"They were able to funnel millions of dollars in cash out of the bank and use that cash to pay under the table cash payments to employees to avoid taxes and Social Security," Goodwin said. "As well as bribe an official with Brickstreet Mutual Insurance Company to keep their workers comp premiums low."
A federal information named Sargent as the Brickstreet official who accepted the bribe. He faces 25 years in prison and a half million dollar fine.
The scheme would entail individuals showing up at a teller window and being presented with a cashier's check. The check was endorsed and the individual handed pre-counted cash. Federal investigators said many times the checks exceeded Aracoma's 10,000 dollar line of credit, but no currency transaction reports were filed by the bank as required by law.
"Our investigation is ongoing down there in Mingo County and I think facts will continue to emerge about this particular incident," said Goodwin.


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Arizona Cardinals
John Skelton's decision-making skills still a work in progress
Given the current issues along the Arizona Cardinals offensive line, quarterback struggles are bound to follow suit.
And making just his second start of the season Sunday in Minnesota, John Skelton certainly had his fair share of problems during Arizona's 21-14 loss against to the Vikings.
It didn't help matters that the Vikings' front seven was able to get to the third-year quarterback virtually at will -- seven sacks and 22 pressures -- but Skelton was also his own worst enemy on multiple occasions in the Cardinals' third straight defeat.
In the first quarter, Skelton managed to lead a rather impressive 74-yard drive down to the Minnesota 14-yard line. But on 1st and 10, Skelton held on to the football for what seemed like an eternity before Brian Robison finally came in from behind to force a costly fumble.
Even with the unfortunate first-half miscue in the red zone, Arizona only trailed 14-7 going into the half and had a chance to trim the lead to start the third quarter.
Skelton, though, had other ideas.
Just as he did in the team's 19-16 overtime loss to Buffalo in Week 6, the Cardinals quarterback misread safety coverage. Against the Bills, Jairus Byrd took advantage picking off a pass that directly led to a game-winning field goal.
Sunday, Minnesota's Harrison Smith came trailing behind Vikings middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley and followed Skelton's eyes the entire way as he tried to force a third down completion to wide receiver Early Doucet. Smith promptly cut off the pass and returned it the other way for a pivotal 31-yard touchdown -- which gave the Vikings plenty of breathing room for the final 29 minutes of play.
According to ProFootballFocus, Skelton's poor play-making decisions under pressure -- especially his game-changing interception throw -- trumped a lot of the positives he had Sunday. They gave him a grade of -1.8 for his Week 7 performance.
Here's what PFF had to say:
He started the game well enough and, despite not doing anything to blow you away, did very little wrong in the first half. That was blown to pieces at the beginning of the second half, however, as he handed Harrison Smith and the Vikings what wound up being the winning score. Trailing by just seven points, and with an entire half of football left to play, there really was no need for Skelton to force that throw. He finished the game by making some solid throws but plays like that, and the sack he took on 4th-and-2 with 7:47 left in the same quarter, show how Skelton's decision making continues to fall apart under pressure.
While Skelton's numbers -- 25-for-36 for 262 yards and a touchdown -- were fairly impressive given that he hadn't started a game since Week 1, in a contest that was ultimately decided by seven points, a play here or there turned out to be the difference.
"The turnover for the touchdown this week was big," head coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "When you're talking about having seven points and giving them six, that's a significant swing in the game."
Whisenhunt was pleased with Skelton on a number of fronts, but given the team's on-going personnel struggles, he said the Cardinals can't afford to make big mistakes like Sunday's crucial interception.
"[Skelton] did some really good things, made some good throws and was good in the pocket. But, [the interception] is the kind of thing you have to eliminate."
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- Hardware - Monday July 27The Sign of Our Times award, the 2nd Place Isn't So Bad award and more
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- Darren Urban, AZcardinals.com beat writer - Monday July 27Darren Urban says Carson Palmer might be a big reason why Jermaine Gresham is a Cardinal.
- John Clayton, ESPN NFL insider - Friday July 24John Clayton says no news is the worst news for Daryl Washington.
- Yay or Nay? - Wednesday July 22The Cardinals have the best fan base, Lincoln has the best beard, and more


text:
More New and Used
from Private Sellers
The Global Grapevine Why Rumors of Terrorism, Immigration, and Trade Matterby Fine, Gary Alan; Ellis, Bill
Oxford University Press, USA
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Returning books is as easy as possible. As your rental due date approaches, we will email you several courtesy reminders. When you are ready to return, you can print a free UPS shipping label from our website at any time. Then, just return the book to your UPS driver or any staffed UPS location. You can even use the same box we shipped it in!
What version or edition is this?
This is the edition with a publication date of 3/1/2013.
What is included with this book?
- The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any CDs, lab manuals, study guides, etc.
- The Rental copy of this book is not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. You may receive a brand new copy, but typically, only the book itself.
Far from mere idle tales, rumors are a valuable window into our anxieties and fears. InThe Global Grapevine, two leading authorities on rumor, folklore, and urban legend-Gary Alan Fine and Bill Ellis-shed light on what contemporary rumors can tell us about the fears and pressures of globalization. In particular, they examine four major themes that emerge over and over again: rumors about terrorism, about immigration, about international trade, and about tourism. The authors analyze how various rumors underscore American reactions to perceived global threats, show how we interpret our changing world, and highlight fears, fantasies, and cherished beliefs about our place in the world. These rumors, the authors argue, are the visible tip of a vast iceberg of hidden anxieties. Illuminating the most widely circulated rumors in America in recent years,The GlobalGrapevineoffers an invaluable portrait of what these tales reveal about contemporary society.
Author Biography
Gary Alan Fine is John Evans Professor of Sociology at Northwestern University. His book, Whispers on the Color Line: Rumor and Race in America was a finalist for the C. Wright Mills Award.
Bill Ellis is Professor Emeritus of English and American Studies at Pennsylvania State University. He is a Fellow of the American Folklore Society and has served as President of the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research.


text:
November 19, 2011
Staff Photo: John Bohn Malav Ghia, 17, left, a 12th grade student at Peachtree Ridge High School, assembles experiences a rare light hearted moment while his team assembles the final parts onto team 1261F's robot during the VEX Robotics National Qualifying event held Saturday at Peachtree Ridge High School. Remotely controlled robots were built to compete in head to head competitions to accomplished defined tasks.
Stories this photo appears in:
Peachtree Ridge team takes first in robotic competition
Peachtree Ridge hosted a massive robotics competition Saturday
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text:
They hate it, hate it... HATE IT. They. Hate. The. Wave.
Seriously. They wish the Wave would die. They wish it was never born. They wish you would stop. And they NEVER will join the Wave. Never ever. Not once. No sir. If you see them on the street or in a restaurant, DO NOT DO THE WAVE.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
FACT: John and Suzyn HATE the Wave
They hate it, hate it... HATE IT. They. Hate. The. Wave.
4 comments:
- Alex cox said...
Make yourself comfortable with the finest brands of Bed & Bath accessories at dealaboo.com. Brands include 5th Avenue, Trend-Lab, Microfibre, Joe Boxer, Cannon and several more. Make comfort a priority.
- August 15, 2012 at 12:20 AM
- John M said...
I looooooooooooooooove this rant by Suzyn. When the wave started becoming popular, Yankee fans refused to do it. I used to go to games and when rubes from somewhere else tried to start a wave, it happily died in about 7.43 seconds. You could see New Yorkers who watched what was going on with a small, satisfied grin on their lips. It was beautiful. WE WERE TOO COOL TO DO THE STUPID WAVE. We were there to watch a ballgame.
But now...now...with Kate Smith's lo-fi voice ringing in our ears, the wave gets started by some pink-shirted suburbanite and girls who think they're Carrie Bradshaw--and it goes all the way around the stadium. John and Suzyn are right. Kansas City can do the wave. Texas and Anaheim can do the wave (and throw their pathetic little rally monkeys in the air). Podunk Falls can do the wave. What else have they got?
This is New York City, damn it. Get these rube bastards out of my stadium.
- August 15, 2012 at 8:35 AM
The other night John and Suzyn couldn't quite nail down just WHEN the wave originally started. John first heard about it at a football game on the west coast, whereas Suzyn had a different recollection.
Suzyn also imitated John's "WHOA" the other night as well. Was a nice moment.
- August 15, 2012 at 5:35 PM
Girls who think they are Carrie Bradshaw? Girls who think they have faces like horses? Poor girls.
- August 17, 2012 at 4:41 PM


text:
director - Egor Abramenko
DoP - Maxim Zhukov
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While Apple Apple's (AAPL) widely anticipated iPhone 5S launch looks set to grab the headlines this week, rumors are swirling that the tech giant's long-term plans include large-screen smartphones.
Citing people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has begun evaluating a plan to offer iPhones with screens between 4.8 and 6 inches.
Apple has not yet responded to TheStreet TheStreet's request for comment on this story.
Apple's iPhone 5, which was released last year, has a 4-inch screen, although rivals such as Samsung have been touting much larger screens for some time. Earlier this week, for example, the South Korean firm unveiled the third version of its Galaxy Note, which has a 5.7-inch screen.
Related Articles
"The shift by competitors to mega-screen sizes has been one of the bricks in the wall of worry around Apple," wrote Brian White, an analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald, in a note released on Friday. A larger-screen iPhone could also prove critical in the Asian market, particularly China, he added.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company has been ramping up its efforts to tap the lucrative Chinese market. Apple enjoyed double-digit iPad growth in China during its recent fiscal third-quarter, although local economic pressures slowed overall revenue growth.
Nonetheless, White, a noted Apple bull, predicts great consumer appetite for a large-screen iPhone.
"During our trips to China over the past eighteen months, we have noticed a growing trend toward consumers purchasing 'awkwardly' large smartphones (or 'phablets') that were often 5-inches or above," he wrote. "These mega-sized smartphones are seen as a fashion statement and also help consolidate devices. In our view, the introduction of the Galaxy Note in China got the momentum started and most of the smartphone competitors followed."
In a report released earlier last week, White noted that a larger-screen iPhone is possible in 2014, which could have an approximately 5-inch screen. "However, a six-inch screen sounds more like an 'iPhad' than an iPhone," he added.
Although Apple has traditionally avoided large-screen smartphones, the company does offer a range of sizes across its iPod and iPad lines, so the iPhone could well follow this trend.
In the near-term, however, attention will be focused on Apple's likely iPhone 5S. Earlier last week Apple sent out invites to an event at its headquarters, which is widely expected to mark the new phone's debut.
Underlining the importance of the Chinese market, Apple also sent out invites to an event in China on the following day. The event at Beijing's World Trade Center could herald the arrival of a low-cost iPhone, dubbed the iPhone 5C, a deal with China Mobile China Mobile (CHL), or both.
–Written by James Rogers at TheStreet


text: Hello, On Sun, Apr 22, 2001 at 02:55:29AM +0200, Wojciech Scigala wrote: > On Sun, Apr 22, 2001 at 08:15:34AM +0800, Clarence Chan wrote: > > I would like to know how to update the /etc and the /var. Is there any > > guideline to follow. Thanks > AFAIK, there's not. Just look for differences between old-release > files and new ones, then incorporate changes to your production-files. In > this way you will update /etc and /var easily. even more easily will it go if you use mergemaster which is a script afaik maintained by Christian Weissgerber which helps you in the process of upgrading/converting everything. It's in the ports collection. Best Regards, --Toni++


text:
|Home > Guides > Core Developers Guide > Profiling
Profiling software looks for bottlenecks in program execution. In addition to the profiling services provided by IDEs and standalone profilers, the framework provides its own internal support for profiling.
Struts2 profiling aspects involves the following :-
To enable profiling, first make sure that the
profiling interceptor is applied to your action, like:
Then enable profiling using one of the following methods:
This could be done in the container startup script eg. CATALINA_OPTS in catalina.sh (tomcat) or using "java -Dxwork.profile.activate=true -jar start.jar" (jetty)
This could be done in a static block, in a Spring bean with lazy-init="false", in a Servlet with init-on-startup as some numeric value, in a Filter or Listener's init method etc.
Set the
profilingKey attribute of the
profiling interceptor to the desired name:
One could filter out the profile logging by having a System property as follows:
With this
xwork.profile.mintime property, one could only log profile information when its execution time exceed those specified in
xwork.profile.mintime system property. If no such property is specified, it will be assumed to be 0, hence all profile information will be logged.
One could extend the profiling feature provided by Struts2 in their web application as well.
Profiled result is logged using commons-logging under the logger named
com.opensymphony.xwork2.util.profiling.UtilTimerStack. Depending on the underlying logging implementation, say if it is Log4j, one could direct the log to appear in a different file, being emailed to someone or have it stored in the db.


text:
Jeffrey Scott Kay, 58, of Borger died Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, in Amarillo.
Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, at the Minton Memorial Chapel with Pastor Blain Shelton of Grace Church officiating. Viewing will be Monday and Tuesday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Services are under the direction of Minton Chatwell Funeral Directors of Borger.
Paradise- B.F. "Ben" Nall, 83, a retired district welder, went to be with our Lord Thursday, December 13, 2012 in Paradise.
Funeral is 10:30 a.m. Saturday, December 15th at Hawkins Funeral Home Chapel in Bridgeport with burial in Cottondale Cemetery. No set visitation.
Rev. David George will officiate. Pallbearers include Carey Davis, Erik Larsen, Shawn Dockum, Brad Hayhurst, Dustin Hayhurst, and Brandon Simpson. Honorary pallbearers are the men of Cottondale Church of Christ.
Helen Lee Farbro of Borger, Texas passed away on December 10, 2012 in Las Vegas, NV. She was born on December 19, 1924 in Kansas to Blanch Garretson and Charles Miller.
As a first-team All-State defensive basketball stalwart in 1942, she led the Borger High Redbirds to capture the school's first team-sport state championship.


text:
Album Shares - Shareholder Agreement Question
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 46
Re: Album Shares - Shareholder Agreement Question
Thanks for the responses guys.
In response to your specific queries Jer,
Those percentages are specifically for songwriting royalties from Socan and CMRRA. Anything we make live is split evenly 5 ways across the board.
We're making an agreement specific to this album, and we're lucky that the writing was always done by one person. It's been discussed thoroughly throughout the band, if it came up that someone wrote the lyrics and someone else wrote the melody I think we would have to discuss it again, but for now, that's not an issue luckily.
The difference between Socan and CMRRA is as follows (taken from the CMRRA website):
"The reproduction of a copyrighted musical work, either on a sound carrier (a record, tape, CD or other manufactured "contrivance") or in a film, television program, commercial or other program, can only be made with the permission of the music publisher involved. CMRRA's business is the granting of such permission, on behalf of the music publishers, the collection of royalties and fees in return for such reproduction and the distribution of such revenues to its publisher principals.
When a copyrighted song is played on the radio or television, or performed in a theatre or concert, that's an exercise of the performance right in the song. The publisher and songwriter get their compensation for such use from SOCAN, a performing rights society which collects revenues from broadcasters and others for the public performance of musical works. CMRRA is not in the performing rights business."
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text:
Latest from all the library blogs.
It is said that no two snowflakes are alike. There is a scientific explanation for this phenomena; something to do with ice, molecules, hydrogen and oxygen. I am no scientist, but I do know that when it comes to the human race, no two people are exactly alike, either.
Do you check out LARGE PRINT books or know someone who isn't able to read regular print books and magazines due to a visual or physical disability?
Webster's Dictionary defines a hero as: A person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities. A person who is greatly admired.
I love words, and because I love words, I love books. In fact, I love books just as much as I hate math, and I hate math very much.
My checkbook knows this, and would actually be better off taking care of itself. Even calculators don't help, mostly because calculators are only as good as their operators.
Capstone Digital and the Indiana Department of Education's Hoosier Family of Readers is giving you access to the largest collection of digital books called myON!
Identity theft and fraud is a concern for many Americans but Melissa Miller of the Indiana Attorney General's office says there are safeguards that can help ease troubled minds.
Miller spoke at the Rensselaer Library on June 2, sharing tips and information with patrons.
Charles Kerlin began writing his novel, 'Fishing's No Good Without You' when he was enrolled in the Iowa Writer's Workshop graduate program.
'Working like a dog,' 'dog tired,' 'it's a dog's life;' these phrases give me pause as I look over at both of my dogs, stretched out on a couch in each room, comfy and dreaming whatever dreams that dogs dream.
Have you ever wondered where some of our small towns got their names? The Town of DeMotte's name dates back to just after the Civil War, and was named after a man from the region who was well known and respected in Jasper County.
The Indiana Bicentennial Commission is inviting Hoosier photographers to submit photos for the Indiana at 200: A Celebration of the Hoosier State coffee table book that will be available for sale during 2016.


text:
About Us
RTK Principals
/ Lender Inquiries
John R.
Kazanjian, Managing Director
Tony R. Dawson, Director
David G. Hanna, Director
Laurence J. Raba, Director
Wayne D.
Marty, Director
Back to RTK
John R Kazanjian
THE WORLD'S FINEST RESORTS, LLC – Scottsdale, AZ
and London, UK
Two companies, The World's Finest Resorts (WFR) and
RCI-partnered Abercrombie & Kent Registry, competed for the
luxury tier second home fractional exchange market place. WFR
emerged as the frontrunner. In March 2005, WFR was acquired by
Cendant/RCI. "We looked at them and saw that they had done many
things right. They built up some nice brand equity; they had a
broad geographic distribution, quality locations, and had built
up good affiliate relationships. Plus, they had the resorts."
– David Bansmer, Managing Director for RCI's The Registry
February 2001, John Kazanjian and Carl Berry co-founded
The World's Finest Resorts for the Americas, joining Russell
Bragg, Managing Director of Premier Resorts UK and its WFR UK
The mission of The World's Finest Resorts was to provide brand
identity and accelerated sales to an affiliated project. By
affiliating with The World's Finest Resorts, resort development
entities dramatically increased the benefits for their owners to
own a 'luxury' vacation property at their resort, while
individual WFR Members could utilize their asset in a more
efficient manner thereby alleviating some of the burden of
owning vacation property.
the time of the acquisition, the marketability of fractional
exchange and whether any fractional exchange company could
attain critical mass were both open to question. The fractional
universe was relatively limited in terms of the number of
resorts and owners. Two companies, WFR and RCI-partnered
Abercrombie & Kent Registry, competed for the market place with
WFR emerging as the undisputed leader in the industry.
the acquisition as reported in Vacation Ownership World,
March-April/2005, page 24:
"The Abercrombie & Kent Registry later became the Global
Registry and then in late 2004, The Registry Collection. Though
reaching 20 affiliated resorts and over 700 members up to the
point of the WFR acquisition, Bansmer acknowledged that the RCI-
and then Cendant-owned fractional exchange entities 'never
really took hold - we didn't achieve critical mass'."
"WFR, on the other hand, was twice as large in terms of
affiliated resorts (40) and five times as large in terms of
members (3,500). Cendant and RCI top executives – notably
chairman and CEO Ken May and RCI North America president and CEO
David Pontius - had reached agreement that market leadership in
high-end fractional/PRC exchange was a desired outcome.
Purchasing WFR seemed the most obvious and expedient means to
get there. It also fit in with the larger scheme for The
Registry Collection. Becoming the market leader in the high-end
fractional/ PRC product space achieved the objective in one
registry, and set the precedent and laid the groundwork for
establishing the other registries."
"Headquartered in the UK and Scottsdale, AZ, WFR described
itself as 'a collection of distinctive resorts, hotels,
services, and benefits designed for owners of fractional, luxury
timeshare, wholly-owned condominiums, villas and homes in the
most desirable destination resorts and urban environments.' WFR
members had the ability to exchange stays at their project for
other resorts in the system. They could also purchase luxury
travel packages, like a cruise with Crystal or a safari in
Kenya, at significant discounts."
"WFR also offered a menu of developer and affiliate services,
spanning product design, planning, business plan development,
marketing programs, sales recruitment and training, and
hospitality services. It is important to note that the purchase
of WFR by The Registry Collection involves WFR's former resort
affiliates and its resort and member servicing, not its
developer services, which are now being offered by the Star
Resort Group."
The acquisition of
World's Finest Resorts by The Registry Collection was a first
step to a much broader plan for RCI. It includes not only
upscale fractionals and private residence clubs (PRCs), but also
condo hotels, Private Destination Clubs (PDCs), full ownership
real estate in resort settings, traditional fractionals and
high-end timesharing, and affinity clubs. The idea is to create
a variety of different registries, grouped according to product
type, together composing the Registry Collection.
Mobile: 480.262.2682
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
John Kazanjian's Resort Development Background
The World's Finest Resorts
Real Estate Advisory Clients and Assignments
John Kazanjian's Project Marketing and Sales Management
Piazza San Lorenzo, San Antonio, TX
The Cliff Club at Snowbird, Snowbird, UT
The Ridge Tahoe, Stateline, NV
Lawrence Welk Resort Villas, North San Diego County, CA
Gaslamp Plaza Suites, San Diego, CA
For a Printer-friendly version of John
Kazanjian's Background,
Click Here
RTK Resort Group
RTK has
the resources to deliver
projects from conceptual design and entitlement stages
through successful marketing and sales to winning
homeowner association management.
Services are made available as a development partner or
on an ala carte basis.
RTK Resort Group Links
RTK Projects
Full Ownerships for Sale
Residence Club Interests
Newsletters & Releases
Publications & Press
About Us
RTK Principals


text:
- Acura
- Aston Martin
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- Daewoo
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- Mazda
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- Megan RacingD2 RacingTeinK Sport
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Lexus SC Coilovers are common components used in car Lexus SC automotive suspension systems. The term Lexus SC coilover is a moniker that stands for coil spring over strut, and has been popularized over the years as more and more people began experimenting in automobile upgrades. Lexus SC Coilovers are shocks absorbers surrounded by Lexus SC coil springs, and they are often included by the Lexus SC vehicle's manufacturers as a single item, installed, replaced, and repaired together.
The use of Lexus SC coilovers has made for better damping and better adjustment of Lexus SC vehicle height and rigidness. If you need to replace or upgrade a Lexus SC coilover kits in your Lexus SC vehicle, you can find a number of aftermarket Lexus SC coilovers to use in your Lexus truck, Lexus car, or Lexus SUV. Whether you need a full Lexus SC coilover or a slip on version, you should be able to find one that works directly in your Lexus SC vehicle's suspension system.


text:
2010 Football World Cup-South Africa
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Pioneer Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 1,326
Re: 2010 World Cup-South Africa
Originally Posted by
Well i'm english but i'm not really a massive football hooligan or anything. I don't hate it though like most of my mates, one of them thinks it's a "sissy sport" which is why he became a FIFA recognised referee as a little side job :p. But yeah it's pretty good that england are actually winning. I mean we really showed croatia what for, them thinking "oh we'll beat these guys easy just like we did in the European cup qualifiers" but then they lost big style lol. We made it 4 out of 4 so far. It's been 42 years since our last (which was also our first) world cup victory. We came close in 2002, we could almost taste it. Maybe under fabbio (who looks like my history teacher :p) we might just do this (or maybe not. Ah well.)
yeah, Fabio Capello is the perfect man for the job it seems, I really trust his judgement (at least so far, all except not haveing Michael Owen at least ON the squad), hes not letting those big last names take control of the pitch.
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text:
Two stoppage time goals took Dortmund from the brink of defeat to victory and the semi finals of the Champions League.
"I cannot describe what is happening inside me," said Klopp. "I think I need to see a doctor. Over the two games we are deserved winners. We are in the semi-final, it's one of the best nights ever."
"Everyone on the bench was about to have a heart attack after we scored the winner. The feeling was similar to last year when we won the German championship."


text:
Even though most of them cannot yet legally vote, many of Westport's students are getting an important lesson in politics this presidential election year. Students at Coleytown Middle School and Staples High School will be participating in mock elections held at their schools right before Election Day. To prepare for those mock elections, they are learning both about the essential mechanical steps required to register to vote as well as the all-important decision-making process for selecting the candidate of their choice.
James D'Amico, chairman of the Social Studies Department for grades 6-12, said the focus at both schools is to make the process as authentic and interesting as possible so the students get a real feel for the importance of exercising the civic right to vote and for learning about the issues and positions of the candidates as well.
At Coleytown Middle School, all 400 students were asked to register to vote in advance of their Nov. 1 mock election. While they do not have to select a political party, they will each get voter ID cards which they must remember to bring to the mock election in order to be able to vote. "If they don't register by election day, they can't vote," said D'Amico, "and if they forget their voter ID cards they can't vote either (but perhaps they will come up with a backup plan so they can vote after all).


text:
With more than 40 digital magazines and over 400 pieces of downloadable ephemera,
e-Crafting.com is the perfect place to find inspiration.
Be sure to visit often; new items are added every month!
Our digital edition library features some of our most popular sold-out issues. We have more than 80 issues available with prices starting at $5.99!
From unique collage sheets to vintage photographs and documents, our digital ephemera is truly one-of-a-kind! Prices start at just $1.95!


text:
Originally published on Mon December 30, 2013 7:17 am
This is the fifth day of Ask Me Another's 12 Days of Xmas series.
Please enjoy this yearbook photo of the 1993 Whiffenpoofs—the premier collegiate a cappella group of Ask Me Another house musician Jonathan Coulton. Sorry, Coultron. Can you spot him?