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Funding Unsuccessful
This project's funding goal was not reached on July 25, 2012.
Collection of real offbeat news stories from all over Asia that will amaze, shock, and crack you up.
This project's funding goal was not reached on July 25, 2012.
We have been running one of the most popular offbeat news sites on the web for over 6 years and for a long time have wanted to put together a bathroom reader book that contained a a few hundred of the best and weirdest stories from the site.
We already have the concept and the articles chosen, but just need to raise the funds needed to get the book published and out there.
The funds we are requesting is based on very specific elements needed to make this project a success.
1) Editor for up to 100 hours to make sure it is perfect and easy to read
2) Cover design
3) Sales and site landing page design
4) Marketing budget (nothing crazy but enough to get it out there)
5) 5,000 to 10,000 books printed
6) All the paperwork and services needed, like a BIN number, copyright filing, setup in e-reader format like Kindle, and a number of other numerous steps needed to make sure the book is legal and available.
7) Shipping and other costs required to accomplish the funders rewards and promises.
We have no doubt that this book will be huge and we feel we can easily make about 10 to 20 versions of this book with the amount of content we have and the ability to make versions based on category and location.
Our additional goal will be to take this first version and try to get the book picked up by a known publisher to help get the following versions out.
This initial one will be most important and we believe it will take off and be a best seller.
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
- (30 days)


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Christmas Broccoli Salad
Total Time
Prep 10 mins
Cook 0 mins
Great at Christmastime! Red and green colors make this salad so festive! So easy to make and looks great in a trifle dish or glass bowl.
Ingredients Nutrition
- 4 1⁄2 cups fresh broccoli florets
- 3 cups sweet red peppers, chopped
- 10 slices bacon, strips cooked and crumbled
- 1⁄3 cup green onion, sliced
- 1⁄4 cup pecans, chopped
- 3⁄4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1 dash pepper
- In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients.
- In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, cider vinegar and pepper until smooth. Pour dressing over broccoli mixture; toss to coat.
- Cover and refrigerate until serving.
Most Helpful
Although there a lot of great broccoli salad recipes on the Zaar, I tried this one because of the "Christmas" in the name. I particularly liked the addition of the sweet red peppers. I used red onion instead of green; rice vinegar instead of cider vinegar; sunflower seeds instead of pecans, and added dried cranberries (to make it even more Christmas-y). Like another reviewer, I added sugar -- 1 TBSP of organic sugar to the dressing. Also used Light Hellman's mayo and center cut bacon to cut down on the fat and calories. My dinner party group snarfed it down!
This recipe is similar to mine. I use white balsamic vinegar, this keeps it form looking brown, as using cider vinegar does. I also shred carrots, and use sunflower kernels. Nexy time I make it I am going to use pecans for a nice change.
Nice, I loved the fact that is was red and green and a nice change from the same old broccoli salad. I didn't put 3 cups of red pepper in it as I thought that might be an overkill. We just eye-balled the ingredients and made sure the dressing did it's job. TY

subset: commoncrawl


text: Milton April 8, 1979: Writer Breece D'J Pancake Commits Suicide By Bob Powell • Apr 8, 2015 e-wv, The West Virginia Encyclopedia Listen Listening... / 2:00 Writer Breece D'J Pancake died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on April 8, 1979. The South Charleston native grew up in Milton, which became the fictionalized setting for many of his short stories. A graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan and Marshall, Pancake taught at two military schools in Virginia before entering the University of Virginia's Creative Writing Program, where he was influenced by authors James Alan McPherson, Peter Taylor, and Mary Lee Settle. He began writing human interest stories for a Milton newspaper and working on a series of short stories. His big breakthrough came in 1977, when the Atlantic Monthly published his story "Trilobites." I-64 Reopened After Tanker Accident By Associated Press • Feb 13, 2015 CZmarlin / wikimedia Commons Traffic is moving again on Interstate 64 in Cabell County 12 hours after a tanker-truck accident. The West Virginia Department of Transportation says in a statement that both eastbound and westbound sections reopened on Friday afternoon. Media outlets report the tanker rolled over at about 3:15 a.m. between the Milton and Barboursville exits, forcing traffic to be diverted off the interstate. Milton Volunteer Fire Chief Brent Taylor says the tanker was carrying propane, which didn't leak and was transferred to another vehicle. December 8, 1854: Glassmaker William Blenko Born in England By Bob Powell • Dec 8, 2014 e-wv, The West Virginia Encyclopedia online. Glassmaker William Blenko was born in England on December 8, 1854. In his late thirties, he immigrated to the United States and tried to produce stained glass for a living. Unfortunately, business after business failed—until he wound up in the Cabell County town of Milton in 1921. Maurice Sanders: "I'm A Proud Descendent of Slaves" By Clark Davis • Apr 14, 2014 A Michigan man paid a visit to Cabell County last week to see where his ancestors were once slaves. Maurice Sanders is from Michigan, where most of his family lived for the majority of his life. His visit to Marshall's campus and to Huntington last week on the surface is not unlike other visitors. What makes Sanders visit special, is that much of his family tree in the 1800's was once enslaved in the area that is now Milton in Cabell County. It's just up Route 60 from Huntington. They visited the grave site of Sampson Sanders, the man who owned Maurice's ancestors, Friday.


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"Asbury Park, New Jersey Gem" Top 5 Page for this destination Asbury Park by davecallahan
Asbury Park Travel Guide: 42 reviews and 109 photos
We used to leave in Eatontown and spent many weekends in Asbury Park.
At that time (late 60's) it was abustle with locals and tourists on the beach and boardwalk, getting a tan or playing skeetball in the arcade. They had a monster ferris wheel indoors and a grand old merry-go-round (bumping cars and tilt-a-whirl) that were crowded all summer long.
We moved away and went back to visit in the mid-80's and found a somewhat deserted area. There were the beautiful mansions still along the ocean avenues but the boardwalk and arcade were all but hollow buildings with no crowds and grass growing in the sidewalk cracks.
In the 90's, the mayor and civil board ressurected the city and today the area is revived to some of its old splendour. The board walk is there but fewer people are walking around. It doesn't appear that the rides will ever be back but there are a few arcade games open and fortune tellers to consult.
good website for tourists going to Asbury Park is:
wikipedia info:
17000 people
ZIPCODE 07712 is Asbury Park (Monmouth County)
40.221, -74.012
Area Code 743 and 848
City Hall is at 040-13-23N 074-00-39W
Reviews (4)
With the link below you can see what weather you can expect when you get to Asbury park today. Hope it is sunny for... more travel advice
I can remember days when you had to shove your way through the crowds on the Asbury Park boardwalk on a summer weekend... more travel advice
Asbury Park used to be like the town in Happy Days..... safe and bawdy, young and loud. Now it is more like a ghost... more travel advice
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VANCOVUER, British Columbia (AP) — U.S. defender Ali Krieger says she's not giving up hope that she can play in the Olympics.
Krieger spoke to reporters for the first time Sunday since tearing the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in her right knee during an Olympic qualifying match in Canada.
Krieger said she plans to fly home Monday so she can have her surgery as soon as possible. Her rehabilitation time is expected to be six to eight months, which likely rules her out for the Summer Games in London.
But Krieger says some athletes have returned from the injury sooner, and she'll work hard to do just that.
She was hurt during the Americans' 14-0 win over the Dominican Republic on Friday.


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Taste Sweet Treats on a Walking Chocolate Tour
* Additional fees apply. No coupon or promo codes necessary to enjoy the displayed discount price.
The last date listed for Chocolate Walking Tour was Saturday May 31, 2014 / 2:30pm.
Venue Details
Reviews & Ratings
Featured review from NateRed Velvet
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Great samples and an interesting history from each chocolatier. Our tour guide was great. Recommended tour!
star this review starred report as inappropriate
I would say save your money or find a better chocolate tour. The guide was super nice but I wouldn't call it a tour. It basically consisted of the guide reading off a sheet with minimal info of the store and us going in to taste a piece of...continued
star this review starred report as inappropriate
Very fun and yummy tour.
star this review starred report as inappropriate
It was so much fun and the chocolates were delicious.
About the Ticket Supplier: iAdventure.com
iAdventure is an innovative event company that produces unique and affordable event experiences as odes to our favorite foods, libations, traditional and out-of-the-box holidays and charitable causes. By using our own passions as inspiration and our rolodex of resources and friends around the city as our competitive edge, iAdventure is able to offer exclusive and exciting events for urbanites adventurous enough to attend them.


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Home > Research by Institute Staff > Florida's 1998 Elections
by Mark Dixon, March 01, 2001
Read Now:Florida's 1998 Elections 11 kB
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Read Now:Florida's 1998 Elections 11 kB
Public funding of campaigns increased by more than one-third from $43.7 million in 2005-06 to $60.5 million in 2009-10.
Read more: An Overview of Campaign Finances, 2009-2010 Elections


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Torque Fitness was founded in 2005 by a team of experts in the fitness equipment industry whose experience designing and manufacturing award-winning innovative strength training systems for Life Fitness, Hammer Strength, Parabody, and Sports Art stretch back to 1979.
The team recognized an opportunity to create strength training products that provide unique attributes to better meet customer needs than many of the look-alike strength products on the market. By maintaining an efficient and agile business structure, Torque Fitness team members are able to be focused on listening to customers and reacting quickly with creative, innovative ideas that differentiate our products with meaningful functions and features.
When you work with Torque, you will be interacting with one or more of the starting nine below.
Torque Fitness is driven to create unique functional and group training solutions to health clubs, athletic centers, universities, and multi-family centers that adapt to fit any space, with any number of users, and are able to provide any type of training. This drive forces us to never stop improving and never stop innovating.
This facility and end user focus becomes evident by what members See when they walk out onto the exercise floor, what they Feel when they initiate movement, and how they will come to Trust that their fitness goals will be achieved. So every product is hard wired into this simple but laser focused design philosophy. See. Feel. Trust.
We're not around right now. But you can send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap.


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Campaigns Tap the Industry for $94M: Banks, Insurers, Securities Firms Give Lavishly but in Different Ways
Rehm, Barbara A., American Banker
With control of the White House and the House of Representatives on the line, the political parties are sparing no expense in the November elections, and their favorite source for campaign contributions is financial services firms, which donate more than any other industry sector.
Led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., and Bank of America Corp., financial services companies and their employees have contributed $94 million to presidential and congressional candidates so far in this two-year election cycle, according to Federal Election Commission data compiled for American Banker by the Center for Responsive Politics.
With two months to go until election day, that's already more than brokers, insurers, and bankers donated in the previous election cycle ($84.7 million) or in the 1995-96 cycle ($91.4 million) when the last presidential election occurred.
"This is truly a big election," said Larry Makinson, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. "We know we're going to have a change in administrations, we just don't know how radical a change it is going to be, and control over the House is at stake, too."
While financial services is putting more money behind Republicans and their nominee Texas Gov. George W. Bush, Mr. Makinson said its giving is more bipartisan than most other industries.
The drive for dollars has never been fiercer.
"Even I have to say the money has gotten so out of hand," said James J. Butera, a partner with Butera & Andrews who specializes in financial services law and has been raising money for politicians since 1972. "People expect it and need it because the campaigns are so expensive.
"I don't think you can be taken seriously if you are not giving major dollars as a company, as an industry, as an individual."
Securities firms and their executives are definitely taken seriously. They are solely responsible for the surge in donations by financial services firms during this election cycle.
Giving more than insurers and bankers combined, brokers had contributed $50.68 million as of Sept. 1. Insurance companies had chipped in $28.87 million while bankers had ponied up $14.4 million. Donations by securities firms are up 33.5% so far this election cycle compared to 1997-98 totals. However, insurers are 5.2% off their 1997-98 pace and bankers are off 11.5%.
But taken together, Mr. Makinson said the financial sector is the leading source of funds for federal candidates. "Financial services companies certainly understand the value of an investment and that's how they look at political contributions, as an investment," he said.
The Center for Responsive Politics is a nonpartisan, nonprofit group here that investigates the influence money has on politics. (See www.opensecrets.org.) The center breaks down corporate giving into three categories: money contributed by individuals affiliated with a firm, money contributed directly by a company, and money contributed by a company's political action committee.
Interestingly, brokers, insurers, and bankers each have a different preferred method of giving.
Goldman Sachs Group was the clear leader among securities firms with $2.45 million in campaign contributions, of which $1.81 million went to Democrats. In fact, the only top Goldman executives to donate to the Republicans are chairman and CEO Henry M. Paulson Jr., who gave $10,000, and vice chairman Robert J. Hurst, who gave $15,000, to the Republican National Committee.
While Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, like Goldman, leaned Democratic, the bulk of the brokerages favored Republicans.
After Goldman, the next five largest contributors among securities firms all gave more money to Republicans than Democrats. For example, Morgan Stanley, ranked second among brokers overall with $1.33 million in contributions. Of that, Republicans got $861,320. …


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Lot 360 View Catalog
Danish/American School, 20th Century
Country Farm Scene. Signed "W. JENSEN" l.r. Oil on canvas, 27 x 38 3/8 in., framed. Condition: Small tears to canvas at left side, craquelure, discolored varnish, surface grime.
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Income uncertainty and consumption growth in the UK
There is much interest in the importance of 'precautionary saving' - the degree to which uncertainty affects household consumption behaviour. In this paper we use household level data on income and expenditure to analyse the importance of precautionary saving in the UK. Using the repeated cross-sections of the Family Expenditure Survey from 1968 to 1992 we decompose the shocks to a dynamic income process into common and individual-specific components. From these we compute conditional variances of the innovations which are used as risk terms in a consumption growth equation. It is not the variance of income but the conditional variance of innovations in the income process that determine the degree of precautionary saving. We estimate this process at both the micro and macro level and construct the variances of the innovations explicitly. In the absence of panel data on individual households we develop a grouping estimator that allows us to estimate this income process with conditional heteroskedasticity from repeated cross-section data. Construction of the relevent conditional variances and substitution into a consumption growth equation yields the expected positive effects - precautionary saving increases consumption growth by depressing consumption - consumers delay spending in the face of uncertainty as the life-cycle model predicts.
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|Jan 1995
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| Postal: The Institute for Fiscal Studies 7 Ridgmount Street LONDON WC1E 7AE
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Women for Wish Kids is a unique opportunity for women to unite and be directly involved in making wishes come true by sharing your time, talent or treasure. Information sessions on January 28th at 9:15am or February 6th at 7:00pm New Canaan Public Library (Plout Room).
Reserve your spot by contacting Maria Arnold at email@example.com or 203-880-6976.
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A Freaky Vacation
I didn't just spend my whole life on a riverboat. Most people will tease that I did, but I can ensure you that I didn't. One of my favorite vacations was when I went to Massachusetts with my late wife. We went to Cape Cod, walked along the beautiful white [ » ]


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THE OKLAHOMAN You're viewing an article from The Oklahoman's newsroom. Print subscribers have Full Access to a premium experience at Oklahoman.com.
West OKC metro notebook: Linebacker key to PC West defense
Rocky Martin played linebacker at Colorado State. He was a linebackers coach when he came to Putnam City West as an assistant a few years ago.
And that position looks to be the strength of the Patriot defense as Martin enters his second year as head coach.
A trio of senior linebackers are among the six returning starters on the PC West defense. That includes 6-foot, 210-pound Caleb Sturgeon, who had 85 tackles last season. Doug Jones and Loyd Spaugy return as well.
Piedmont senior Brett Adams may feel more at home back at his original position this year.
Adams made the switch last season from defense to quarterback after both of the Wildcats' quarterbacks suffered injuries.
Neither saw significant playing time.
Lucas Richert tore his ACL during a summer league basketball game, and then Josh Hampton broke his collarbone in a scrimmage. Richert will be the starting quarterback, and Hampton will serve as a wide receiver and backup.
"We're excited about having two quality guys back to run our offense," Piedmont coach Craig Church said.
The Wildcats went 4-6 last season but return nine starters on defense, including Adams at outside linebacker.
After an 0-10 season, the only way to go for Western Heights coach Edward Polly and his Jets is up.
Polly will look toward two juniors and two seniors to be the difference-makers of his young team.
The Jets will be led by junior quarterback James Lewis, junior defensive tackle Cody Young, senior linebacker and offensive lineman Ernesto Hernandez and senior wide receiver and defensive back Jahwan Woods.
Of Lewis, Polly said, "nobody works harder." Polly called Hernandez a leader and a "do everything" kind of player. He said Woods is a utility athlete and Young is "D-I material if he plays. He can be a beast if he wants to be."
Polly also said the Jets will run a 4-2-5 defense, while the offense will be "a little more diverse scheme-wise," but still run the spread under Lewis.
"We look a lot different than last year," Polly said. "Hopefully that translates to more victories."
Hennessey's 4-3 defense brings back an experienced back seven, but coach Rick Luetjen will be breaking in a few new defensive linemen.
Defensive end Javy Renteria is back after starting as a sophomore, and three talented linebackers return in Abe Ortega, Dylan Hatchel and Carlos Torres.
Hatchel is also the starting quarterback.
Minco's Jacob Overton earned Little All-City honors as a wide receiver last season after catching 79 passes for 1,165 yards.
This season, the senior will make the move to quarterback to run the Bulldogs' spread attack as they look to make a fourth consecutive appearance in the Class A playoffs.
"He's been doing really well at quarterback," said coach Clint Warren. "He's a special athlete that we can move around to a bunch of different spots. Even though he's never played quarterback in his life, he throws the ball well. We're definitely going to look at him as a running threat, too."
Overton used the voluntary workouts this summer as an opportunity to acclimate himself to his new position. Finding players to fill the void left by Overton at receiver is a concern, but Warren is confident they'll be able to do so.
"We have some other kids that have been in the system and can step up with us moving him to quarterback," Warren said. "We like to throw it around a little bit and our guys know that, so they're ready to step in."
Overton will have a big target in 6-foot-5, 190-pound receiver Joe Mitchell.
Southwest Covenant features a potent rushing attack with senior Michael Cord returning after a 1,000-yard season. Junior AJ Wheeler also returns after rushing for 457 yards.


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recommended by Caryn G. and Judy S., Sacred Keyboard Specialists Mark Hayes has produced another collection of well-crafted… read moreMay 25th
The amazing staff at Stanton's knows how valuable your time is. That's why we try to provide you with as… read more
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Title: Hal Leonard Guitar Method Bk 3 (W/Cd)
Voicing/Format: Guitar
Publisher: Hal Leonard Publishing Corp
Composer: Schmid, Will
Catalog #: 00697316
Description: 2nd Edition Price: $9.95


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Not sure where to post this (so feel free to move if it belongs somewhere else). I just turned 50 recently and figure Id ask this here.
I haven't ridden a bike in 20+ years. I bought a schwinn Cross-fit in 1992 after I got out of the military (brand new at the time), and only rode it twice. I could not find anyone to ride with and then got married, had kids etc etc.. and it just sat in the garage and collected dust.
So here I am, just turned 50 (can't belive it) and finally want to get back into biking. I rode a lot as a teen, but not much since then. So I bought a bike for my wife a "Giant" and a small bike for my son (he just turned 8). I got a bike rack for the top of the SUV and I am planning on us doing some biking once the spring comes.
My main qusestion is, is this old Cross-Fit a decent bike or should I look at something new. I cleaned it up, got a gell seat for it and rode it around th eblock, and it felt pretty good. I wont be doing any mountain biking, just riding on paved paths at local bike parks/paths etc. Hopfully with my wife and son. I have a friend at work who is tryiing to get me to go biking with him, but he is into mountain biking and Im afraid this bike wont cut it. Since I never used it, its pretty much brand new although I worry the tires will need to be replaced just from age.
Im 6'3" and in good shape. So is this bike good for me?, or should I dump it and get something else? Also Should I replace the tires or do anything else to it before riding a bike thats been sitting in a garage for almost 22 years?
Heres a pic of it.


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Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Just as hola and bonjour express "hello" in different ways, fractions, decimals, and percents describe the same quantities in different ways. While it may sound simple, this basic math concept often baffles children. The straightforward text and photographic examples from everyday life in PIECE=PART=PORTION are a terrific boon to elementary school math students everywhere.
About the Author
SCOTT GIFFORD is an elementary math teacher who enlightens students in Modesto, California.
SHMUEL THALER lives in Santa Cruz, California.


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'The Intelligence Didn't Reach the Troops'
Just three pages of the Winograd Committee's interim report are devoted to the functioning of the intelligence community prior to the Second Lebanon War and during its first five days. Therefore it includes an assurance that in the final report there will be a full chapter devoted to intelligence during and before the war, and also to the most searing intelligence failure: the missile strike on the Israel Navy ship, Hanit. In addition, the interim report has a classified section, most of which deals with intelligence gathering methods, the quality of the sources that provided the information and how they were handled and to what extent there were efforts made to transfer the information between Military Intelligence and the Mossad, Air Force Intelligence and Naval Intelligence.
The number of witnesses from the intelligence community who were called to testify is surprisingly small: three Military Intelligence heads (reserve major generals Amos Malka, Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash and the current head of Military Intelligence, Maj. General Amos Yadlin); Mossad chief Meir Dagan; former Mossad deputy chief Ilan Mizrahi, who appeared primarily in his capacity as the head of the National Security Council; the head of the Military Intelligence research unit, Brigadier General Yosef Beiditz, and two other senior intelligence officers.
Conspicuous in their not being called to testify are Brigadier General Yossi Kuperwasser, who was until shortly before the war the head of the Military Intelligence research unit, and intelligence officers of intermediate rank from field units in the ground forces. For the purpose of gathering the information, analyzing it and preparing the report, the committee was assisted by intelligence officer Brigadier General (res.) Meir Elran, who in the late 1980s was the deputy chief of Military Intelligence.
In summarizing the committee impression one can say that that the performance of the intelligence community can be graded between "medium" and "good." "As a rule, Military Intelligence provided its military and intelligence users in the years preceding the war a broad, reliable and correct picture of Hezbollah ... a good and clear picture was created regarding the nature of the organization and its objectives, its policy toward Israel, its increasing assistance to Palestinian terror, its ambitions and methods of operation in the Lebanese arena; understanding from a strategic perspective was good and correct, including its intentions and the perception of its capabilities."
Two organizations are responsible for the strategic intelligence assessment: the IDF Military Intelligence Unit and the Mossad. Since the withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, five people have headed these organizations: Malka, Ze'evi-Farkash and Yadlin at Military Intelligence and Ephraim Halevy and Meir Dagan at the Mossad.
The committee cited a letter Ze'evi-Farkash wrote to prime minister Ariel Sharon on December 18, 2005, which turned out to be prophetic: "Preparations and arrangements are necessary for the possibility of escalation on the northern border ... while strengthening the deterrent capability in the face of Hezbollah's kidnapping intentions." Yadlin agreed with him later in a security consultation in March 2006, around four months before the war, with the acting prime minister, Ehud Olmert: "Hezbollah is working on something ... kidnapping ... remains legitimate."
Confronting Halutz
According to the report, it seems the committee members had the impression that during the four-year Ze'evi-Farkash era, Military Intelligence did everything that could have been expected of it. This impression is based on hundreds of documents, minutes of classified discussions and an internal Military Intelligence account written by Major General (res.) Yaakov Amidror. However, Ze'evi-Farkash's positions on more than one occasion placed him in confrontation with the former chief of staff, Dan Halutz.
On several occasions before the war, Halutz tried to persuade Ze'evi-Farkash to refrain from being what could be referred to as a "killjoy." So, for example, in October 2003 the cabinet held a session to discuss the IDF's recommendation to use the Air Force to attack structures in a refugee camp in Syria in response to Hezbollah sniper fire that killed a soldier near Metulla. Ze'evi-Farkash presented the Military Intelligence assessment covering all the implications, complexities, possible reactions and risks entailed in the decision. Prime Minister Sharon listened, and ordered the attack, which was intended to caution Damascus over its increasing involvement in Lebanon.
However, Ze'evi-Farkash's remarks did not please Halutz, then the deputy chief of staff (Moshe Ya'alon's deputy). He approached him after the meeting and said to him something along the following lines: When the IDF makes a decision, you have to stand behind it. From Ze'evi-Farkash's answer, it could be understood that he would not agree to square the circle and that his obligation is to present at every meeting the entire truth of the intelligence situation.
The report stated "the achievements of intelligence research in the period before the war are apparent, even if they are not complete." It is clear that it refers first and foremost to the strategic and operative information the intelligence community had obtained about the places where Hezbollah had hidden dozens of medium- and long-range ground-to-ground missiles as well as their launchers.
The information was forwarded and processed by Air Force Intelligence and enabled the planes to destroy them in less than an hour on the first day of the war.
In that way, the organization's ability to launch missiles at Tel Aviv and southward was neutralized. The strategic intelligence also enabled the Air Force to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure in bunkers, communications bases, command centers, foremost among them the central headquarters in Beirut's Dahiya neighborhood.
The intelligence achievements on the strategic level are further highlighted against the backdrop of the many difficulties encountered by the intelligence gathering units (units of Military Intelligence and the Mossad, which are in charge of "humint," running agents, and of unit 8200, which is in charge of "sigint," gathering information by monitoring communications and analyzing them).
The report stated: "The departure from Lebanon moved the intelligence agency's abilities to gather relevant information about Hezbollah further away." This difficulty was compounded in the wake of additional important obstacles, notable budgetary cuts, "even though Hezbollah remained, in the years prior to the war, an important target for intelligence gathering," the result [of the budget priorities - Y.M.] was that the up-to-date intelligence assessment of Hezbollah was presented as lacking, even when the assessment of military intelligence was that the chances of a confrontation were growing, there was no substantial change in the intelligence gathering effort or its results."
The information did not sink in
Alongside the achievements on the operative-strategic level, the report also indicates shortcomings and failures. These occurred in two areas. One is in "absorbing the intelligence and developing it jointly," referring to the transfer of the information from Military Intelligence units and the Mossad to the military and political consumers. But most of the criticism related to the fact that the intelligence did not reach the ground forces in the field.
The report states that the inculcation of the intelligence on the strategic level (into the General Staff and the political leadership) was as a whole not bad: "Military Intelligence saw fit to establish a fitting and continuous dialogue with its senior political and military users." Conveying the intelligence information on the operative level was also reasonable. The intention is the transfer of the information and the contact between Military Intelligence and intelligence officers in the Northern Command, the Air Force and the Operations branch. This, the report stated, "had positive ramifications on the understanding of the enemy as an organized military guerilla force," and this understanding led to the creation of "shared understandings about the essence of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the limitations of the use of weapons during the war and of the necessity of also relying on ground maneuvers." In other words, Military Intelligence relayed to all the relevant parties its assessment that the Air Force alone could not defeat Hezbollah and that it would be necessary to use ground forces, primarily against the short-range rockets (Katyushas).
Based on military intelligence information, two models of "nature reserves," the term used to refer to areas of dense vegetation where Hezbollah set up bunkers and from where it fired Katyushas, were set up in the Elyakim army base in the Menashe mountains.
Ze'evi-Farkash told Haaretz that he attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony when the facilities were inaugurated together with the OC Northern Command. These facilities were intended for use in training regular and reserve army units in order to practice in situations, which eventually they encountered during the war. However, the units did not train due to budget constraints and the General Staff and the political leadership's working assumption was that the war against Hezbollah would break out only at Israel's initiative.
Most of the criticism relates to incorporating the information on the tactical level. "The intelligence provided to the Air Force as a rule met the rules for doing so for operational purposes," the committee members wrote, but "the situation regarding the ground forces was marked more by missing things and gaps." And a footnote states in unequivocal language: "It may be said that the intelligence did not reach the forces."
Why did this happen? First, as the committee states, "Military Intelligence cannot make do with distributing notices and most methodically engage in instilling the intelligence." And it continues: "There was a conspicuous absence of supervision and monitoring by the Military Intelligence command of what was going on in the tactical field intelligence network."
However, it should be recalled that following the organizational reform of Malka, the chief intelligence officer, responsibility for field intelligence was transfered from the Military Intelligence branch to the Ground Forces command. "The chief intelligence headquarters in the Ground Forces command, which is responsible for spreading awareness of the enemy among the forces did not fulfill its missions," the report stresses.
But above all this, on the tactical level there stands the failure of the Northern Command. This failure was apparent in the fact that right under its nose, Hezbollah set up a fortified network and prepared in the area between the Zaharani River and the border positions for launching Katyushas. In order to obtain information about them, the commanders of the Northern Command and its intelligence officers should have demanded that the Air Force launch reconnaissance missions, set up observation posts and increase the patrols along the border. The Northern Command people did not do so and thereby failed in their mission.
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#ILTurnaround: Gov. Rauner is Trying to Bring Fiscal Sanity to Illinois
Back in January, I made note of Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner's proposals to take on the unions in his state and said that it would be worthwhile to follow his efforts over the coming years. Now, he's giving us even more reason to pay attention and, in the process, making good thus far on his promise to bring change to the government of the Land | Read More »


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I'm on my phone and can't link background...
My in-laws are on a TO for being asshats. This weekend was my nephew's birthday. SIL lives about an hour from me, and the in-laws have to go right past my town on the interstate. Apparently- SIL had a party for Nephew- which we were not aware of.
So tonight, about 5:45 or so- LO, DH, and I are sitting at the dining room table and the doorbell rings. We
look up and GMIL, GFIL, FIL, and MIL are on our porch. Our windows are wide open because the weather is beautiful- and GMIL an MIL are calling to LO.
DH and I stare at each other seriously trying to figure
Out what to do- and we hear FIL try the door!! So I said to DH "What do we do?" and GMIL says "Open the damn door."
So DH tells me to take the baby to the basement- he walks over to the window- and closes the blinds- right in their face! He bring our plates downstairs- and we eat while they ring the doorbell for about 10 min and finally leave.
MIL sent a text to DH that just said "How dare you." and FIL tried to call him multiple times.
What in the fuck do we do? We are hours from them- so they can't really do this that often. We can't decide if DH should call and rip into them? Or just keep ignoring? DH so wants to chew them out- but we also don't want to invite drama. We just want them to leave us alone. We are a bit confused here...
Thank fucking god the door was locked.
They showed up at my house! UD 23, 31
I'm on my phone and can't link background...
"Wicked people never have time for reading. It's one of the reasons for their wickedness."
~Lemony Snicket
I would BH. If he calls they get the attention they wanted but did NOT get by your actions. I think going to the basement was perfect. I would NOT contact them in anyway shape or form.
Bwahahahahhaha. My only tip is next time, record that shit!
Black hole, and set their ringtones to silent. Nothing they say is going to change anything, correct?
I'm naming my kid Wiycndkgj. It's pronounced Josh.--Feministeph
I should be arrested----for human trafficking, b/c I'm pretty sure I just owned you.
Wow. I think I would just keep BH. Or at least write a letter and then burn it! That might be a little cathartic
J married to N since 6/9/07
Mom to CJ (6/29/10)
Gold boobie-star for your DH though!
I'm naming my kid Wiycndkgj. It's pronounced Josh.--Feministeph
I should be arrested----for human trafficking, b/c I'm pretty sure I just owned you.
Girrrrl you better hump your husband Tonight!
The BALLS on them! Obviously they hate being ignored. I say let DH do what he feels he must. He OBVIOUSLY has your back and puts you first.
They're going to end up CO. Mentally prepare yourself because you're going to need to call the cops next time.
Just BH. No need to rip into them. Your DH closing the blinds on them and walking away said everything.
DD - April 2009 & DS - March 2011
So, you are hoping his wife takes one look at your DS's picture and has a lightbulb,"I think my husband fucked his cousin!!" moment?--redheadedjq


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The Sorcerer and the White Snake
|Release Date: February 08, 2013
|Running Time: 96 mins.
|MPAA Rating: PG 13
|Box Office: $18,445.00
|Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Foreign
Jet Li
Eva Huang
Charlene Choi
Raymond Lam
All Cast & Crew >>
Summary:In this story based on an old Chinese legend, an herbalist falls in love with a thousand-year-old white snake disguised as a woman. A sorcerer discovers her true identity and battles to save the smitten young man's soul.


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Mexico and Argentina ' s auto industry associations have reached an agreement over free-trade in vehicles, and urged their respective governments to initiate a dialogue over resuming trade. BMI believes that greater trade flows between the two countries, with both economies increasing volumes rather than restrictive quotas , will facilitate growth in vehicle production and export. If such an agreement comes to fruition, it would provide upside risks to our longer-term production and export forecasts for Argentina. BMI still maintains a bearish outlook for vehicle production in the country, but we believe that expanding trade with Mexico would significantly boost exports.
Argentina's total exports to Mexico fell 23% in 2011, while imports from the country increased 39%, widening the Argentine trade deficit with Mexico to US$1.59bn in 2011 from US$590mn in 2010. The automotive sector alone registered a US$995mn trade deficit in 2011.
Argentina was concerned that its autos market was being flooded with cheap Mexican imports, and its domestic producers were unable to compete. Indeed, in June 2012 , Argentina pulled out of the auto trade pact with Mexico over a disagreement on the conditions of the deal ( see our online service, June 26, 'Negotiation Over Trade Pact Sought' ). BMI believes that, under a renegotiated deal, Argentina's domestic manufacturers may be offered some protection from cheap Mexican imports inundating the market.
Earlier in the year, Brazil modified its trade pact with Mexico, adding a quota to limit cheap imports from Mexico and protect domestic production ( see our online service, March 27, 'Brazil-Mexico Trade Agreement To Dent Nissan's LatAm Growth' ). As a result of this, Mexico agreed to restrict its autos sales to Brazil to some US$1.45bn a year between 2012 and 2014. Vehicles sold within this quota are imported tax-free, but those above this level are subject to 35% tax. BMI believes a similar agreement could potentially be reached between Mexico and Argentina.
In an announcement on September 20, Mexico's President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto said that the country should endeavour to expand trade flows with Brazil in the auto sector, rather than curbing them ( see our online service, September 21, 'Solution Sought To Long-Running Trade Dispute' ).
Still Bearish
Although we believe renewed trade negotiations with Mexico could boost production and export levels, we remain doubtful that Argentina can attract significant investments from international auto manufacturers for sustained periods.
Compared to Brazil and Mexico, Argentina exports relatively little to North America. As such, the country is less attractive as a potential production location for international auto manufacturers ( see our online service, November 6, 'Production Forecast Revised Upward, But Still Bearish' ).
Further, Argentina continues to score significantly lower than the regional average in BMI 's Risk/Rewards Ratings for the autos industry in the Americas. We believe a significant relaxation in regulations for carmakers and a check on inflation will be required to help Argentina improve its score.


text:
breedverbuk /briːd/ us /briːd/ bred, bred
breed verb (REPRODUCE)
B2 [T] to keep animals for the purpose of producing young animals in a controlled way: Terriers are bred for their fighting instincts. His main income comes from breeding cattle.
See also
› [I] (of animals) to have sex and produce young animals: The blackbird, like most birds, breeds in the spring.
More examples
- While the animals are still immature, they do not breed.
- The map on the opposite page shows where these birds commonly breed.
- She breeds pedigree Burmese cats.
- Animals bred in captivity would probably not survive if they were released into the wild.
- At this time of year the birds return to the island to breed.
Animal reproduction
"breed": synonyms and related words:
breed verb (CAUSE)
C2 [T] to cause something to happen, usually something bad: Favouritism breeds resentment.
Causing things to happen
"breed": synonyms and related words:
breednoun [C]uk /briːd/ us /briːd/
B2 a particular type of animal or plant: a breed of dog/cat/horse/sheep/cattle What's your favourite breed of dog/dog breed?
› informal a type of person: Arletty was that rare breed of actress - beautiful, sexy and funny. A new breed of film-maker has taken over Hollywood. Authentic blues singers are a dying breed (= becoming rare) these days.
More examples
- The centre works to protect and preserve rare breeds of European sheep.
- There is now a huge variety of dog breeds.
- We have several breeds of deer in the park, not just one.
- The Gloucester Old Spot is the oldest breed of pedigree spotted pig in the world.
- Burmese, Oriental and Tonkinese are my favourite breeds of cat.
Categories and varieties
"breed": synonyms and related words:
También encontrarás palabras, frases y sinónimos relacionados con los temas:


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Simple Remedies for a Loving + Self-Sufficient Home
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♥ CROAKING TOAD ELIXIR ♥ 2 oz Cough + Sore Throat Syrup ♥
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♥ BUZZY BLEND ♥ 1 oz Tea Tin ♥
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text:
Xbox Live has had a rocky relationship with its gay and lesbian users in recent times, but there are signs that things may be improving.
Gay Gamer reports that Stephen Toulouse, who polices the XBL community, recently met with members of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation:
I can't talk about what we discussed specifically except to say that we provided them with a lot of information about what we do today, why we do what we do and how we do it. And then we asked them the question, 'How can we do this better?' And we have some ideas. Here are some ideas. That dialog was super, super helpful. I think it was a great engagement. Justin and Jeffrey who came out from GLAAD really appreciated the effort that we're putting into it – and had great ideas, like they brought up some stuff we hadn't thought of.
We'll plan to say something about [GLAAD and Xbox LIVE policy] in the future.
Via: Kotaku


text:
Burnside: Top 5 trades from the past five seasons
Blue Jackets looking for fewer injuries, return to playoffs
Blue Jackets tap Nick Foligno as first captain in 3 years
Strang: The biggest stories of the season
Jackets D Johnson a debtor in Allen's Ponzi case
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By following the sports you care about, in myESPN you'll have instant access to news and analysis that's most important to you.


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Disaster management conference
The U.S. Embassy's Security Cooperation Office, together with representatives from the Florida National Guard, sponsored an Emergency Operation Disaster Management Conference June 3-5 at the Grand Coastal Hotel, a release from the embassy said today.
The conference hosted 35 senior level members from the Florida National Guard, the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana Police Force, the Civil Defence Commission, the Guyana Fire Services, and the Guyana Prison System. The Emergency Operation Disaster Management Conference followed a Florida National Guard state partnership visit by GDF soldiers that visited the Florida Emergency Operation Center during a state wide emergency operational hurricane exercise in May.
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Product description:
1.    Power 100w*2, stereo output
2.    Low impedance 4ohm output
3.    Built-in USB and SD interface, 2line inputs and 1 MIC unput
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by Patricia Maroday Jan 7, 2015
Much of the world is quickly learning the long-term significance of Latin American economies. Central America has been overlooked for decades until recently and those doing business in the area continue to grow and prosper from the numerous opportunities and advantages.read more
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Air Emissions:
Status of Regulatory Activities and Permitting on Alaska's Outer Continental Shelf
GAO-14-187R: Published: Jan 9, 2014. Publicly Released: Jan 9, 2014.
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
- Accessible Text:
(202) 512-3841
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
What GAO Found
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012, amended the Clean Air Act to transfer regulatory authority for air emissions on the outer continental shelf (OCS) off Alaska's north coast, including the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the Department of the Interior. Since the act was passed on December 23, 2011, there has been limited activity subject to air emission regulations or permitting on the OCS off Alaska's north coast, according to officials at the EPA and Interior. EPA officials stated that, before the act was passed, EPA had issued to Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc. and Shell Offshore, Inc., collectively, three air emission permits for drilling and other activities on the OCS off Alaska's north coast. Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is responsible for reviewing and approving plans for exploration, development, and production activities; this process includes projections of air emissions. According to a BOEM official, after the act passed, Shell conducted exploratory drilling on the OCS off Alaska's north coast in 2012, but it did so under its existing air emissions permits from EPA. Ancillary activities, such as surveys of the seafloor, have also been conducted. On November 6, 2013, Shell requested that its EPA permits be terminated. On the same day, Shell filed an exploration plan with Interior for the 2014 open water season in the Chukchi Sea on the OCS off Alaska's north coast. Interior officials were reviewing Shell's plan at the time this report was issued.
Interior's air quality regulations have not been substantively updated since 1988, and the department is developing a proposal to amend its current oil and gas air quality regulations. According to BOEM officials, the proposed rule under development will address not only the change in jurisdiction from EPA to Interior for the OCS off Alaska's north coast, but also update the regulations to reflect changes in pollution standards, modeling, and technology. For example, BOEM officials said the proposed rule will incorporate by reference current EPA-defined national ambient air quality standards and certain modeling criteria. Interior officials said that the department is still developing the proposed rule changes, including defining the issues that will be addressed in this or future rulemakings, as well as the expected time frames for completion.
Why GAO Did This Study
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012, mandates GAO to report to Congress on the processes for Interior and EPA permitting of OCS air emission activities on the OCS north of Alaska. This report discusses the status of such activities.
What GAO Recommends
This report contains no recommendations.
For more information, contact J. Alfredo Gomez at 202-512-3841 or email@example.com.
Apr 29, 2016
Municipal Freshwater Scarcity:Survey of Technology Adoption by Municipal Water Utilities (GAO-16-588SP, April 29, 2016), an E-supplement to GAO-16-474GAO-16-588SP: Published: Apr 29, 2016. Publicly Released: Apr 29, 2016.
Technology Assessment:Municipal freshwater scarcity: Using technology to improve distribution system efficiency and tap nontraditional water sourcesGAO-16-474: Published: Apr 29, 2016. Publicly Released: Apr 29, 2016.
Apr 25, 2016
Tongass National Forest:Forest Service's Actions Related to Its Planned Timber Program TransitionGAO-16-456: Published: Apr 25, 2016. Publicly Released: Apr 25, 2016.
Mar 28, 2016
Drinking Water:EPA Needs to Collect Information and Consistently Conduct Activities to Protect Underground Sources of Drinking WaterGAO-16-281: Published: Feb 26, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 28, 2016.
Mar 11, 2016
Bee Health:USDA and EPA Should Take Additional Actions to Address Threats to Bee PopulationsGAO-16-220: Published: Feb 10, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 11, 2016.
Oil and Gas Management:Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Restructuring Has Not Addressed Long-Standing Oversight DeficienciesGAO-16-245: Published: Feb 10, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 11, 2016.
Feb 22, 2016
Hardrock Mining:BLM and Forest Service Have Taken Some Actions to Expedite the Mine Plan Review Process but Could Do MoreGAO-16-165: Published: Jan 21, 2016. Publicly Released: Feb 22, 2016.
Feb 11, 2016
Rare Earth Materials:Developing a Comprehensive Approach Could Help DOD Better Manage National Security Risks in the Supply ChainGAO-16-161: Published: Feb 11, 2016. Publicly Released: Feb 11, 2016.
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Isabel Allende:
Izabel Aljende (Isabel Allende) priča priče o strasti
Autorka i aktivistkinja Izabel Aljende govori o ženama, kreativnosti, definiciji feminizma — i naravno, o strasti.
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Page Reviewed / Updated - May 2015
Table of Contents
This webpage will help Virginia residents understand assisted living, home care and adult day care costs throughout the state. It also explores the payment options and financial assistance programs available to assist in caring for the elderly, be that in residential care or for aging in place at home.
Cost of Care Calculator
In 2015, the average monthly cost of assisted living in Virginia is $3,993. This works out to an annual cost of almost $48,000. While expensive relative to the national average, the good news in Virginia is that 2015 has seen almost no price inflation in the cost assisted living over 2014.
There are certain areas of the state where the cost is considerably lower, most notably Harrisonburg, Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Roanoke where the average annual costs are $3,000 - $7,000 less. Residents of Richmond, Winchester and Charlottesville should be aware that they live in the most expensive areas for assisted living. In these areas, the average costs can reach $50,000 and even $55,000. Residents might consider other areas of the state to save money.
Home care costs, like assisted living, fluctuate considerably based on one's geographic location throughout Virginia. The average, statewide, hourly cost in 2015 remains $18. Staunton, Lynchburg and the rural areas see costs closer to $17 / hr, while Richmond and Winchester are between $20 - $21 / hr. It is worth noting that these costs are for non-medical home care. Care in the home, provided by medically trained professionals will cost several dollars more per hour.
Statewide, the average daily cost of adult day care is $65. Unfortunately in some rural areas of the state, adult day care services are not available. In those areas where it is available adult day care is less costly than the national average and residents might consider this an affordable option relative to assisted living.
Virginia has two relevant programs; the Adult Services Program and the Auxiliary Grant. Adult Services is a program intended to help frail elderly persons remain living in their homes. It achieves this by providing a variety of supports such as chore services, shopping and housekeeping which individuals may have difficulty performing for themselves. Learn more about Virginia Adult Services.
The Auxiliary Grant program shares a goal with the Adult Services program, which is to reduce nursing home placements. However, this program does not support individuals at home, rather it provides a cash grant to help them pay for the fees associated with assisted living or adult foster care. Read more.
Additional assistance may be available under the Older Americans Act. Typically this is non-medical support available to elderly persons in their homes such as meal assistance and chore services. These services will vary dependent on the region in which one resides and the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) which services them. Find your local AAA here.
Medicaid is a health insurance program intended for lower income Americans. The federal government sets certain guidelines for the program and within those guidelines, the states are free to manage the program as they see best for their residents. Each state has different types of Medicaid programs, some for families, some for children and others specifically for the elderly or those requiring long term care. For purposes of relevance, we will focus on Long Term Care Medicaid.
Long Term Care Medicaid is sometimes called Institutional Medicaid implying that the program will only cover the cost of nursing home care. This may once have been an accurate perception, but today in Virginia it is no longer the case. Long Term Care Medicaid offers waivers, which are programs that provide services outside of nursing homes. Virginia has three relevant waivers.
1)The Alzheimer's Assisted Living Waiver helps individuals with dementia, Alzheimer's or other related conditions to reside in assisted living communities.
2) The Elderly or Disabled Waiver with Consumer Direction provides services to individuals in their homes to help them remain living in their homes.
3) The Technology Assisted Waiver helps technology dependent individuals remain living in their homes. In addition to care services, it will help to pay for environmental (home) modifications to accommodate for a disability or chronic condition.
Eligibility Requirements
In addition to the functional need, Medicaid evaluates senior candidates based on their income and assets. In 2015, the monthly income limit for full Medicaid is approximately $785. However, partial assistance from Medicaid is available for those with monthly incomes up to $2,199. The asset limit is $2,000 but this excludes the value of a home, vehicle and certain other personal effects. Persons near or over these limits and married couples may want to consult with a Medicaid Planning Professional prior to application. Learn more.
In addition to the state specific options that help pay for care, there are many non-profit and federal options. Use our Resource Locator Tool to find other programs that help pay for or reduce the cost of care. There are also programs that help veterans with assisted living and there are eldercare loans available in Virginia.
Given the large variance Virginia sees in the hourly cost of home care or the monthly cost of assisted living, one of the best ways to manage the cost of care is to find affordable care. To help families do so, we've partnered with several organizations that provide free services that match an individual's specific care needs with care providers in their preferred geographic area. Click here to find affordable care.


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NewsOK Blogs
Interactive: Understanding the health insurance marketplace
Starting Jan. 1, hundreds of Oklahomans will have health insurance coverage after buying it through the federal health insurance marketplace. The marketplace was created through the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare." Here's an interactive that explains how the marketplace works and how many Oklahomans might end up using it.
>>VIEW: Understanding the health insurance marketplace interactive
>>VIEW: Health Care 101 graphic novel guide
View in Google Chrome, Safari or Internet Explorer.


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Give the players time to adjust
Nick Collison left behind friends. Friends and familiarity. Favorite restaurants, a neighborhood he liked and a city he called home. Don't blame Collison for missing Seattle. Don't blame any Thunder ballplayer who might forget to say all the right things about moving to Oklahoma City. We met the new guys Monday. The tall fellows who will run and rebound, dunk and defend, and even occasionally win a game. Seemed a classy bunch. I think you're going to like them. I think they're going to like you. But cut them some slack while they make the adjustment. "I call it bittersweet," point guard Earl Watson said of the move. "You become a part of the community. You develop friends." Watson spent four seasons in Seattle. He's a basketball junkie. Knows the hoops heritage he left behind. Even rattled off the names that once made the SuperSonics an NBA institution. Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, George Karl, Slick Watts, Downtown Freddy Brown. Any person who ever had to move with little say in the manner — be it as kid or adult — should empathize with the Thunder. "Personally, it's an adjustment, leaving a place I loved to be," Collison said. "You just have to start over. "It's kind of part of your job. When we come to the NBA, we don't have a lot of say in where we're going to be." But let's be honest. This is a two-way street. If you're one of those fans who would prefer the Hornets had stayed, you can't be mad at any of the Boomers for lamenting leaving Seattle. You can't blame the players for loving Seattle. I spent four days there earlier this month. It's a fabulous city, especially if you've got quite a bit of money, which pro basketball players usually do. The water. The scenery. PikePlace Market. Eating salmon on the pier. OKC has its charms, too, but they're not as obvious. Here in Middle America, places take time to grow on you. But Thunder fever insures that Oklahoma will grow fast on these players. "The city has embraced us," said Jeff Green. "That's the best part of moving here. That's one of the key things I keep hearing about, the people. I've experienced nothing but the best." Said Watson, "The people always make a city." Soon enough, Collison and the gang will take to OKC just fine. And OKC will wonder why it ever wanted the Hornets. Berry Tramel: 760-8080. Radio: Monday through Friday, 4:40-5:20 p.m., Sports Animal network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1.


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Risk Analysis
© Society for Risk Analysis
Edited By: L. Anthony Cox, Jr.
Impact Factor: 2.502
ISI Journal Citation Reports © Ranking: 2014: 5/46 (Social Sciences Mathematical Methods); 9/99 (Mathematics Interdisciplinary Applications)
Online ISSN: 1539-6924
Special Issue: Ecological Risk Assessment
Special Issue: Ecological Risk Assessment in Risk Analysis
Editor: Wayne G. Landis
This virtual issue presents 25 of the key papers on ecological risk assessment to appear in Risk Analysis since its founding. In the early part of the 1980s, the field of ecological risk assessment had not yet been recognized as a unique discipline. The US Environmental Protection Agency framework or guidance about ecological risk had not been developed. Initial growth of the field started in the 1990s, and by the early 21st century, risk assessments about non-indigenous species and conservation biology began to appear. Currently, Risk Analysis still publishes papers on contaminants in the ecological environment, but risk assessment for other kinds of ecological stressors constitute among the leading papers of the journal.
The next sections represent my evaluation of all the ecological risk assessment papers in the journal. Picking 25 papers for this virtual issue was a challenge. My criteria were simple. Identify papers that were: (1) important markers in the development of ecological risk assessment and (2) illustrate a broad range of topics in ecological risk analysis. I hope you enjoy reading through these articles and thinking about their implications, I enjoyed the exercise of going through all our papers and thinking about this selection.
1980s and 1990s: The Beginnings of Ecological Risk Assessment
2000-Present: The Broadening of Ecological Risk Assessment
Nonindigenous Species and Conservation
Contaminated Sites and Chemicals
What's Next?: The Future of Ecological Risk Assessment
1980s and 1990s: The Beginnings of Ecological Risk Assessment
Several of the key topics in the field of ecological risk assessment were presented during the journal's first decade.
The first paper in Risk Analysis that is recognizable as an ecological risk assessment was by Stewart and Leschine (1986) and examined risks due to oil spills. This paper appeared three years before the Exxon Valdez Oil spill and remains an interesting read.
I found climate change as a risk assessment topic as far back as the 1980s. Lave and Vickland (1989) examined the impacts of sea level rise and other effects on a number of cultures.
The 1980s and 1990s were dominated by papers dealing with contaminated sites and the development of probabilistic tools for calculating risk. There were three notable exceptions. The introduction of species into new environments has been a topic we covered. For example, Meindert de Jong (1992) published the first risk assessment for the introduction of a biological control organism into the environment. Harris et al followed this up in 1999; biological introductions were viewed as an important research subject.
Burgman et al (1999) introduced the use of ecological risk assessment in the analysis of conservation practices for threatened and endangered species. This area of research becomes one of the key topic areas of the journal.
Suter et al (1995) tackled one of the thorniest issues in risk assessment, how to combine human health assessment and ecological assessment. Seventeen years later it is still not clear how to integrate these approaches.
Risk perception and communications for ecological risk assessments emerged as an area of study. McDaniels et al (1995) started the literature in the journal that specifically deals with the perception of risk as calculated in ecological risk assessments.
Judgment and analysis in oil spill risk assessment
Stewart T, Leschine T.
1986; 6(3):305-315.
Adjusting to greenhouse effects: The demise of traditional cultures and the cost to the USA
Lave L, Vickland KH.
1989; 9(3):283-291.
Risk assessment for the application of biological control of a forest weed by a common plant pathogenic fungus
de Jong M.
1992; 12(4):465-466.
An approach for balancing health and ecological risks at hazardous waste sites
Suter II G, Cornaby B, Hadden C, Hull R, Stack M, Zafran F.
1995; 15(2):221-231.
Uncertainty in comparative risk analysis for threatened Australian plant species
Burgman M, Keith D, Walshe T.
1999; 19(4):585-598.
Characterizing perception of ecological risk
McDaniels T, Axelrod L, Slovic P.
1995; 15(5):575-588.
2000-Present: The Broadening of Ecological Risk Assessment
A major trend in Risk Analysis has been the expanding of risk assessment beyond its use for chemicals and contaminated sites. One of the draws of the Society for Risk Analysis and the journal to me has been the breadth of subject areas that are welcomed in the journal. Ecological risk assessment in many other journals seems focused on contaminants, but Risk Analysis has welcomed other applications of the science.
Nonindigenous Species and Conservation
Mark C. Anderson of New Mexico State University was the coordinating editor for a series of papers in 2004 that established the journal as a venue for the risk assessment of non-indigenous or invasive species. Four of the papers from this series are presented in the list. These are key papers setting some of the important parameters for conducting risk assessments in this area. Anderson et al (2004) summarized the broad findings of the papers published in this issue. Marvier et al (2004) discussed the interactions between habitat, disturbance and fragmentation in setting the risk for invasion. With (2004) furthers the discussion, stressing the importance of the structure of the landscape in setting probabilities of invasion.
Stepien et al (2005) demonstrated that the invasive fish in the Great Lakes were likely from multiple invasions. In calculating risk for non-indigenous species, this is an important result. Multiple invasions occurred, at least in this case. Deines et al (2005) created a patch dynamic incorporating the invasion by a non-indigenous species, competition and contamination. The dynamics of a beachhead effect were described in this paper. Notably, both Deines and Chen were undergraduates at the time.
Yemshanov and Koch (Yemshanov et al 2009, Koch et al 2009) produced two of the most complete risk assessment papers dealing with pest invasions. These papers incorporated both the stochastic and spatial nature of the invasion process. These helped set the standard for the risk analysis of non-indigenous species. Also appearing during the same timeframe, Cook et al (2009) discussed the regulatory and response framework for the management of biosecurity. This paper represents the breadth of the journal, dealing with both the science of invasion and the regulation-management.
In February of 2010, an entire issue of Risk Analysis was dedicated to ecological risk assessment and a number of papers in this special issue are from that series. Burgman et al (2010) discussed the use of Bayes nets in an invasive species risk assessment. This is one of the first papers to discuss the use of Bayes nets in this application. Walshe and Burgman (2010) presented a framework for managing invasive species, so the theoretical and practical were both presented for non-indigenous species. Landis and Bryant (2010) used a weight of evidence approach and used the framework of an age structured probabilistic population model to examine the various causes of the decline of Pacific herring in Puget Sound.
Risk analysis for invasive species: General framework and research needs
Andersen MC, Adams H, Hope B, Powell M.
2004; 24(4):893–900.
Habitat destruction, fragmentation, and disturbance promote invasion by habitat generalists in a multispecies metapopulation
Marvier M, Kareiva P, Neubert MG.
2004; 24(4):869–878.
Assessing the risk of invasive spread in fragmented landscapes
With KA.
2004; 24(4):803–815.
Spatial risk assessment across large landscapes with varied land use: Lessons from a conservation assessment of military lands
Andersen MC, Thompson B, Boykin K.
2004; 24(5):1231–1242.
Genetic diversity of invasive species in the Great Lakes versus their Eurasian source populations: Insights for risk analysis
Stepien CA, Brown JE, Neilson ME, Tumeo MA.
2005; 25(4):1043–1060.
Modeling the risks of nonindigenous species introductions using a patch-dynamics approach incorporating contaminant effects as a disturbance
Deines AM, Chen VC, Landis WG.
2005; 25(6):1637–1651.
Mapping invasive species risks with stochastic models: A cross-border United States-Canada application for Sirex noctilio Fabricius
Yemshanov D, Koch FH, McKenney DW, Downing MC, Sapio F.
2009; 29(6):868–884.
Evaluating critical uncertainty thresholds in a spatial model of forest pest invasion risk
Koch FH, Yemshanov D, McKenney DW, Smith WD.
2009; 29(9):1227–1241.
Adaptive approaches to biosecurity governance
Cook DC, Liu S, Murphy B, Lonsdale WM.
2010; 30(9):1303–1314.
Reconciling uncertain costs and benefits in Bayes nets for invasive species management
Burgman MA, Wintle BA, Thompson CA, Moilanen A, Runge MC, Ben-Haim Y.
2010; 30(2):277–284.
A framework for assessing and managing risks posed by emerging diseases
Walshe T, Burgman M.
2010; 30(2):236–249.
Using weight of evidence characterization and modeling to investigate the cause of the changes in Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasi) population dynamics in Puget Sound and at Cherry Point, Washington
Landis WG, Bryant PT.
2010; 30(2):183–202.
Risk Communication
Risk communication for ecological risk assessment has also been part of the dialog in Risk Analysis. Slimak and Dietz (2006) wrote one of the earliest pieces dealing specifically with ecological risk assessment. Mozumder et al (2009) pointed to the difficulties of communicating risk, even one as apparent as wildfire, to the public. Risk communication is one of the most challenging aspects of the field of risk analysis.
Personal values, beliefs, and ecological risk perception
Slimak MW, Dietz T.
2006; 26(6):1689–1705.
Provision of a wildfire risk map: Informing residents in the wildland urban interface
Mozumder P, Helton R, Berrens RP.
2009; 29(11)1588–1600.
Contaminated Sites and Chemicals
This final segment takes the special issue to the roots of risk analysis. The Society for Risk Analysis was created in part as a response to contaminated site cleanup after the passage of Superfund. Contaminant issues are still an important part of the dialog in the journal.
Bengtsson and Törneman (2009) apply spatial analysis to the risk assessment of PAHs. Although spatially explicit assessments have been part of conservation and non-indigenous risk assessments, they are not as often applied to contaminated sites. This is a nice example of such an application.
Banks et al (2010) and Mebane (2010) are two more papers from the February 2010 dedicated ecological risk assessment volume. Banks et al sets as a criterion that life history strategy is critical when extrapolating toxicity data from species to species. The toxicity has population scale effects that are necessary to take into account, although to date this is rarely done. Mebane (2010) investigates the ecological relevance of species sensitivity distributions for predicting sensitivity. This is one of the few papers that are explicit about the population and community scales in using the species sensitivity distribution in risk analysis.
Linkov et al (2011) detailed the use of multicriteria decision analysis and its application to a weight of evidence approach. It has become apparent that often weight of analysis is so qualitative that a variety of outcomes can be realized from very similar sets of data. Linkov et al demonstrated that multicriteria decision analysis adds rigor to the application of weight of evidence approaches.
Gibbs (2011) calls for testing risk predictions in the most recent article included in this special issue. I learned a while ago that generating hypotheses, generating predictions and then testing those predictions were required for science. One of the criticisms I often hear of risk analysis is that it is a technique and not science. Gibbs points out that testing risk predictions should be part of the risk analysis process.
A spatial approach to environmental risk assessment of PAH contamination
Bengtsson G, Törneman N.
2009; 29(1):48–61.
The use of surrogate species in risk assessment: Using life history data to safeguard against false negatives
Banks JE, Ackleh AS, Stark JD.
2010; 30(2):175–182.
Relevance of risk predictions derived from a chronic species sensitivity distribution with cadmium to aquatic populations and ecosystems
Mebane CA.
2010; 30(2):203–223.
Use of multicriteria decision analysis to support weight of evidence evaluation
Linkov I, Welle P, Loney D, Tkachuk A, Canis L, Kim JB, Bridges T.
2011; 31(8):1211–1225.
Ecological risk assessment, prediction, and assessing risk predictions
Gibbs M.
2011; 31(11):1784–1788.
What's Next?: The Future of Ecological Risk Assessment
So after covering 32 years of ecological risk assessment in the pages of Risk Analysis, it is perhaps time to look to the future. I will not pretend to see out another 32 years. Most of the analyses that I conduct in my research were not really possible until the late 1990s and early 2000s. My horizon is then somewhat shorter, the next 5 to 10 years or the introduction of the iPad 7.
The first section describes a critical current and future priority, the confirmation of risk hypotheses. It is about time to see papers in Risk Analysis that demonstrate that ecological risk assessment provides predictions that can be confirmed. The final section contains my predictions of the future trends in the subjects in Risk Analysis.
Future Priority-Testing of Risk Assessment Hypotheses
An ecological risk assessment is a probabilistic prediction of a current situation or future event. Therefore the prediction should be testable or at least certain segments of the assessment confirmable. Yet in my survey of the publications in Risk Analysis I do not find a specific publication where the goal of the study was to confirm an ecological risk assessment prediction. Here are several examples of how confirmation can be accomplished. I am sure that the risk assessment community can come up with other suggestions.
• Sampling and analysis of a site after a risk assessment to confirm the risk prediction. This method seems so obvious but seems not to be a common occurrence, judging by the list of publications. In fact, a risk assessment should probably be initiated as a first step before extensive sampling is conducted to make the entire process more efficient and oriented towards the testing of a risk-based hypothesis. Part of the risk assessment prediction can be the patterns of risk in a landscape. The measurements could include changes in community structure, productivity, water quality, invasion by nonindigenous species or other endpoints. Given the probabilistic nature of risk assessment the hypothesis will be a pattern of distributions.
• Use risk assessment to predict the outcome of a management strategy and then conduct follow on studies to confirm the hypothesis. Part of the management strategy should include the types of studies that make this process possible.
• Changes in age structure or other features of a population (genetic diversity, patch dynamics) can be predicted and then tested by field observation. In some cases historic catch data may be used to see if current status and trends can be successfully predicted.
• Biomarkers may be expressed or genes activated upon exposure to specific toxicants or other stressors. The use of these tools can confirm exposure pathways and at least part of the cause-effect pathway.
• Conduct a laboratory or outdoor controlled study where the risk assessment process is used to generate predictions regarding outcomes, and then design those controlled studies to specifically test those predictions. While it is unlikely that the scale of a watershed or regional scale risk assessment could be matched in this manner, components of these types of assessment could be examined in detail.
• Use historical data to predict current conditions. For many sites historic data on contamination, the status of endpoints, the rate of colonization of invasives, for example, exists. Use this information to estimate risk and see how it matches to current conditions.
An added benefit to the field is that having the risk assessments subject to confirmation should force the process to become more specific in its calculation of effects. In fact, why not make every risk assessment have a list of confirmable features that can be tested? It will be interesting to see if the field of ecological risk assessment can meet this challenge.
Future Topics in Risk Analysis
In Risk Analysis, the subjects of ecological risk analysis have been very broad and now regularly include non-indigenous species, natural resource management and disease. These are topics far removed from the contaminated site issues that used to dominate the field. In the future I expect that these non-contaminant subjects will increase and even dominate the field. As global climate change causes landscapes to become altered, these issues will be universal and the management issues profound.
Climate change is a profound driver of environmental alteration. At a recent conference at Wingspread Wisconsin,1 global climate change was recognized as profoundly impacting ecological risk assessment. Many of the assumptions such as baseline conditions, consistency of fate and transport rates, exposure, and biomagnification and toxic response will not hold. As climate changes so will the ranges of current species and non-indigenous species. Depending upon the endpoint or ecosystem service, the influence of climate change may produce negative or even positive changes. I expect this new field to be one of the growing areas in the ecological risk assessment literature.
Related to climate change is the issue of energy extraction, production and transportation. Processes such as fracking (hydraulic fracturing) are being extensively discussed and should be examined using risk analysis. Extracting energy using deep water drilling and transportation of the crude or refined product will continue and should continue as a topic for the journal. There is no reason that this topic should be only fossil fuels. Solar, wind and hydroelectric energy are also fair game for such an in-depth analysis.
A trend in the past has been the development of more sophisticated methods of conducting risk analysis. Multiple criteria decision-making will likely see an expansion. Application of Bayesian networks and influence diagrams is expanding and I hope that we see more of that in the pages of our journal.
The use of age-structured population models will become a more common way of addressing population-scale impacts. The realization that populations often occur as patches within a heterogeneous environment is becoming a paradigm in the invasive species literature. Now it needs to spread to the contaminant related investigations.
I see the end of the risk quotient as a means of estimating risk. That has essentially happened already if our recently published papers are a harbinger. Given the complexity of ecological systems and their dynamic nature, reducing a decision to a simple ratio now seems to me as an act of desperation.
Final Thoughts
Perhaps the most amusing part of this exercise is when the future ecological risk assessment editor of Risk Analysis looks at this list in ten years and compares it to the papers published in the last decade. I am looking forward to reading their analysis and predictions.
1 The influence of global climate change on the scientific foundations and applications of environmental toxicology and chemistry. A Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Pellston Conference held at the Wingspread Conference Center, Racine, Wisconsin, July 16-21.