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- Jan 18:
- 49ers' toughest task: Facing Seattle Seahawks' noisy crowd
- Harbaugh the horse struggles in California Derby
- San Francisco 49ers fans' voices heard in Seattle
- Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson: Expert opinions
- Thompson: NFC trash-talk championship favors 49ers
- Kawakami: 49ers tune out noise, focus on winning
Kickoff is at 3:30. Carnage to follow, a few seconds later. And sustain. With pain.
When the 49ers and Seahawks meet Sunday afternoon, it will not merely be the most physical game of the entire postseason. It will be a throwback to an ancient time.
Remember those days of, say, 2010 or 2011? You know, before the NFL began passing anti-violence rules in earnest? Well, this NFC title game will be more like that. You can decide if that's better or worse for humanity. But this is not a moral debate. This is the way both teams want to play.
The 49ers and Seahawks are Big Bang teams. Sometimes you wonder if they would rather just line up and run into each other for pleasure, with no football even on the field. They each want to dominate physically.
"Seattle is definitely that," 49ers defensive lineman Justin Smith said this week in agreement. "We're definitely that. Just what it's going to come down to: Two teams that want to run the ball, play good defense. ... I think we're pretty much identical from that aspect of getting after each other."
What's compelling, though, is how the two teams have kept that brutality bar raised, even as the NFL tries to make the game less cruel, to make it be more about finesse -- more about the offensive numbers that build fantasy league interest. New regulations have been issued to outlaw "targeting" collisions, or other blows to the head, or simply hits on "defenseless" players.
"They've been trying to change the game a lot from that standpoint," Smith agreed. "But as long as you have a helmet on and you can still tackle the ball carrier, it's going to be football. I think that's what is always going to make the best teams. It's always going to come down to blocking and tackling until they take that away."
The 49ers and Seahawks have sort of adjusted to the new rules. Sort of. Because frankly, the rules do seem to be more, um, fluid when the two teams play each other.
Example: The Seahawks' defensive backs have an unwritten strategy of basically committing pass interference on every play, because they realize that the referees won't call pass interference on every play. Similar standards exist at the scrimmage line. The 49ers, when they've had success against the Seahawks, have responded in the same way.
And fantasy points aside, it has been stunning and compelling football to watch. Consider: Seattle has allowed just one 49er touchdown in three of the past four games between the teams (and just a field goal in the 29-3 Seahawks win Sept. 15) -- and yet the 49ers still won two of those games.
Can they win again Sunday?
The 49ers are certainly capable of beating Seattle. Over the past two months, the 49ers have been capable of beating anyone. But their past two trips to the decibel funhouse of CenturyLink Field -- both with Colin Kaepernick at quarterback -- have resulted in two convincing defeats. There is no way to forecast a 49ers' victory in this stadium until they prove they can once more win a game in this stadium.
The call here is Seahawks by 20-17. The call is also for an afternoon of injury timeouts, by both sides. In terms of physical matchups, the only recent equivalent would be the recent series of games between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, two teams with a similar loathing for each other and a similar base level of violence.
Actually, in that aspect, the Seahawks-49ers mojo brings more to mind the nearly sadistic confrontations between the Steelers and the Raiders in the 1970s. In those games, Pittsburgh defensive tackle "Mean" Joe Greene and Oakland center Jim Otto would jointly ask the referees to stop calling personal foul penalties so that the two future Hall of Famers could manhandle each other in the trenches with no constraints.
It has not been quite that lawless in the 49ers-Seahawks series. But it has been at least that manly since 2011, when Jim Harbaugh took over as the 49ers' head coach. His predecessor, Mike Singletary, liked to talk about playing "physical with an 'F.' '' But it wasn't until Harbaugh brought his "smart hostility" philosophy from Stanford that the 49ers truly became a Big Bang team.
Initially, that caught opponents by surprise, as the 49ers blitzed out to a 13-3 record in Harbaugh's first season. But the Seahawks were the first to catch on -- coach Pete Carroll was familiar with the method from his time at USC facing Harbaugh -- and figure out that the best way to counter Big Bang football was with Bigger Bang football. The Seahawks made it a mission to hit the 49ers in the mouth harder than the 49ers hit them.
And the strategy has been successful -- at least on Seattle's home turf. Vernon Davis, the 49ers tight end, has not finished the past two games here. He exited in 2012 with a concussion. Back in September, it was a hamstring injury. Other 49ers players -- including Eric Reid, Mario Manningham and Ian Williams -- have also been hurt and gone to the sideline in those two games, during which the Seahawks have outscored the 49ers by 71-16.
Seattle has not escaped its own pain and suffering against the 49ers, of course. And there will be more of it Sunday. One of Harbaugh's mantras the past two months has been that this journey is only "for the tough." The winner Sunday will be the toughest team at the Super Bowl.
Contact Mark Purdy at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/MercPurdy.


text:
Pop Tart stunt at UNH hypes glory of peanut butter
Pop-Tarts is marketing the new flavor to teens and college-aged students. For example, according to the brand's Facebook page, the company "lost" a shipment on University of New Hampshire's campus:
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subset: commoncrawl


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The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) invites families to discover nature with a crappie clinic from 7 a.m. to noon on May 4 at Mark Twain Lake State Park. This program is open to youths with a parent or adult mentor. All participants must attend a mandatory classroom session from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on May 3 at M.W Boudreaux Memorial Visitor Center at Mark Twain Lake. The clinic is free, but pre-registration is required by May 2.
The clinic will cover basic crappie fishing skills including casting, tying knots, and proper bait and tackle. There will also be a presentation on fish biology and management. On Saturday, participants will be taken out by guides on boats to try out their skills first hand. There is no cost for the program and all equipment and bait will be provided. Participants are also welcome to bring their own fishing gear.
Discover Nature Families programs are designed to help adults and children explore nature and master outdoor skills together. A valid fishing permit is required for anglers ages 16 to 65 and participants 16 years and younger must be accompanied by an adult. To register, or for more information, contact Rob Garver at email@example.com or (660) 785-2420.
The M.W. Boudreaux Memorial Visitor Center is located on Route J, just south of the Clarence Cannon Dam.
For information go online to mdc.mo.gov .
Location, ST | website.com


text:
Earn a U of I degree in small classes taught by professors who know your name.
We are excited that you are taking the time to learn more about Illinois Springfield. For more information about applying to UIS, please chose from the following:
- Why UIS?
- Looking to go to college? Learn more about becoming a freshman at UIS.
- Currently in college? Find out how to transfer to UIS.
- Want to further your education? Learn more about graduate school at UIS.
- Living abroad? Get more information about international students at UIS.
- Know someone who wants to attend college? Get more information for parents and guidance counselors.
- UIS will support Monetary Award Program (MAP) grant-eligible students for Fall 2016! Learn more at the Financial Assistance website.
Student Consumer and Safety Information
The UIS Admissions office follows the University of Illinois Code of Conduct in all relevant processes.
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text:
ایروینگ در مقابل لیپستادت
Holocaust Denial on Trial, Trial Judgment: Electronic Edition, by Charles GrayTable of Contents
|<< The deportation of the Je...
|< Hitler's anti-semitism (p...
|Evidence of Hitler's know... >
The scale on which Jews were gassed to death camps including the Reinhard Camps but excluding Auschwitz (paragraphs 6.73-144 above)
13.60 There is no dispute that the use by the Nazis of gas to kill human beings had its origins in the euthanasia programme. When that ended, the gas vans were diverted to the Eastern territories where (as Irving accepts) they were used to kill healthy Jews in substantial numbers. Again there is some argument as to the numbers killed in the gas vans: Irving was reluctant to commit himself to an estimate of the number killed but he accepted that it ran into thousands. In the circumstances I do not intend to explore any further the evidence as to the number of those killed in vans.
13.61 Although strictly the camps at Chelmno and Semlin did not form part of Operation Reinhard, which was confined to the area of the General Government, I shall for convenience refer collectively to those two camps and to the camps at Belzec, Sobibor and Treblinka as "the Reinhard Camps". In relation to the Reinhard camps there are two issues: the first is how many Jews were gassed to death at these camps. The second is whether Hitler knew or approved of the extermination of Jews at these camps. (I will deal separately with the evidence about Auschwitz).
13.62 Addressing first the issue of the scale of the killings by gas at the Reinhard camps, it was Longerich's opinion that the policy of exterminating Jews by the use of gas was an extension or development of the programme of shooting Jews which had commenced in the late autumn of 1941. As has been seen, Irving conceded that Jews were shot in enormous numbers over the ensuing months. In paragraphs 6.75 to 6.105 above I have endeavoured to trace and summarise the evidence on which the Defendants rely in support of their case that the gassing which took place at the Reinhard Camps was on a truly genocidal scale. The evidence can be categorised as documentary (although most of the Reinhard documents were destroyed); demographic and the accounts of eye-witnesses. On the basis of this evidence both Browning and Longerich conclude that many hundreds of thousands died in the gas chambers at the Reinhard camps.
13.63 I have summarised at paragraphs 6.106-8 above some of the arguments deployed by Irving for saying that the killing at the Reinhard camps was on nothing like the scale contended by the Defendants. But, as pointed out at paragraph 6.109-110, Irving did ultimately accept that the camps at Chelmno, Treblinka, and Sobibor were Nazi killing centres. He claimed, disingenuously in my opinion, that he made this concession so as progress the trial and thereby to enable the issue regarding Auschwitz to be examined in greater detail. Be that as it may, I understood Irving to accept that hundreds of thousands of Jews were killed at the Reinhard camps to which I have referred. I readily acknowledge that he disputed the estimates put on the number gassed to death by Longerich and Browning. But, given the huge number of deaths accepted by Irving, little appears to me to turn on the disparity in their respective estimates.
|<< The deportation of the Je...
|< Hitler's anti-semitism (p...
|Evidence of Hitler's know... >


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TAHOE/TRUCKEE — Has your town gone to the dogs yet? Give your furry friends a pet-friendly place they can call their own — a new dog park from PetSafe! They invite your community to participate in Bark for Your Park.
Winning this year's grand prize of $100,000 is as easy as 1-2-3. Locally, instructions 1 and 2 have been accomplished. You may vote for Tahoe City, Tahoe Vista, Kings Beach or Truckee, just log on, search for the town you would like to win, log in and vote. Or, nominate your favorite town.
1. Visit www.petsafe.net to nominate your community.
2. Complete your city's profile page by finding available land and civic leader support by June 13.
3. Start voting each day on both www.petsafe.net and the official contest tab on PetSafe's Facebook at www.facebook.com/PetSafeBrand.
Once your city has been nominated, PetSafe will confirm the availability of land and civic leaders' support. You will also be able vote every day to help your city move forward in the contest. For the best chance to become a finalist, make sure your city's page is complete and be sure you are voting each day on both www.petsafe.net and www.facebook.com/petsafebrand. This gives your city twice as many daily votes.
Vote for your city through June 13 at 5 p.m. EDT. Encourage friends, family members, civic leaders, and community members to vote to bring a dog park to your community. Remember to vote daily!-
Finalists will be announced June 15 and voting continues until 11:59:59 p.m. EDT on July 31. PetSafe will select 15 finalists to continue barking for their park by producing a video and continuing to vote each day.
Winners revealed Aug. 3. The finalist city with the most votes will receive $100,000 to build a PetSafe dog park. The runner-up and the city with the highest percentage of votes to its population will each receive $25,000.
Visit PetSafe.net for more information.


text:
Trey Anastasio Band,
Wednesday, 05/11/2005
Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Columbus, OH
Set 1: Drifting, Dark and Down, Push On 'Til the Day, Cayman Review, What's Done, In the Light, 46 Days, Sledgehammer
Set 2: Simple Twist Up Dave, Burlap Sack and Pumps, Night Speaks to a Woman, Will It Go Round in Circles?, Cincinnati > Space Oddity, Black, Come As Melody
Encore: Dig a Pony, First Tube
Notes: Particle opened. This setlist is unconfirmed as recordings of the performance do not circulate.
Musicians: Trey Anastasio, Skeeto Valdez, Ray Paczkowski, Peter Chwazik, Les Hall


text:
Our Bread Cheese is the 1st-place U.S. Cheese Championship winner. Indescribably scrumptious, it tastes like a grilled cheese sandwich without the bread. 10-oz. each.
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text:
Robert Kuttner offers a reading of the POLITICAL TEA LEAVES:
Let me go out on a limb here. Chris Christie will not run for president, and he is very likely not to serve out his term as governor of New Jersey.
The reason is very simple. Given everything we know about Christie's style of governing, it is inconceivable that he did not know what his underlings were up to.
His story that he was somehow like the piano player in the whorehouse just does not stand up. Even in New Jersey.
Read more


text:
This is the first of two nights in Parksville, NY. The Giant Country Horns (GCH - Dave Grippo, Russell Remington, and Carl Gerhard) join them for much of the show, although the first five songs are without horns. Chalk Dust starts the show, followed by Foam. Squirming Coil is sounding good and they explode into a rocking Llama. The GCH get into position and follow a great Oh Kee Pa with super Suzy horn lines. This is one of the better versions of Suzy Greenberg with the GCH. The Landlady is after that, pretty good. Bath Tub Gin, I prefer it without horns. My Sweet One is after that. They had their blue grass skills dialed in at this point. They could summon them at will. They end a relatively average set with a terrific David Bowie. It kind of comes out of nowhere in the mid-song jam. This is a really good early days Bowie in my opinion. They finish the set strong.
One of my favorite versions of Buried Alive starts the second set. Music to shower by. This song has grown on me thru the years. We then enter into the state of mind which is Reba. Well played intro part. I love the bass effect that Mike would use for the extended jam. I think its a harmonizer of some sort (Boss or DigiTech?) with lots of compression. Bagged, tagged, sold. Then they do a Duke Ellington tune called Caravan. This is my all time favorite song that Phish did with GCH. Ive always thought that the Phish sound while it is rock and roll has a certain jazz quality to it, both in its structure and its improvisation. Add some horns to it and they're the "Johnny B Fishman jazz ensemble". Sorry but I just dont like the way Dinner and a Movie sounds with horns. Next they play another jazzy piece called Flat Fee. A triumphant Golgi Apparatus complete with horns. Was it for this my life I sought? Maybe so and maybe not, a horny Stash, followed by TMWSIY > Avenu Malkenu > TMWSIY. This was part of the regular GCH repertoire. Avenu Malkenu (based on a Hebrew prayer) is always preceded by TMWSIY, and usually followed by TMWSIY. Does this mean Col. Forbin is Jewish? Think about it, won't you. YEM is after that, a decent version. I think the song sounds a little off with the horn lines they used. A nice Page organ solo gives it some spunk. Im not sure when Page started playing a B3 w/ Leslie at shows, or what he used on this tour, but he is sounding great on these recordings. YEM finishes with a rocking jam > vocal jam. Rocky Top set closer. Yehaaa!
A Possum encore finishes the show. There are all kinds of teases peppered into this Possum.
When I listen to these shows with the Giant Country Horns I can see why a horn section didnt become a regular thing. Most Phish songs are more a less written for a quartet, without horns. But that doesnt mean that theyre un-amazing shows. In fact I would highly recommend them to any phan who hasnt heard them.


text:
WASHINGTON (December 6, 2012)—A new AP-GfK poll shows clear support for President Barack Obama's insistence on raising taxes on the highest-income Americans and also a dwindling preference for cutting government services as the best way to curb budget deficits.
The findings seem to strengthen Mr. Obama's hand in his fiscal cliff negotiations with Republicans.
The president wants to raise taxes on the rich and cut spending by less than the GOP wants.
In the poll, 48 percent want tax cuts for those with incomes exceeding $250,000 to expire in January while continuing them for everyone else, while 32 percent want to renew the tax cuts for everyone.
More people want to cut government services than raise taxes to reduce federal deficits, but the number with that preference has been dropping since last year.


text:
Highway 99, one of the major arteries that connects north and south in the Central Valley, has reopened to traffic in both directions between Madera and Fresno after a fire involving a leaking gas line closed the highway for hours today.
The highway had been close southbound at Almond Avenue in Madera and northbound at Avenue 9 just north of Fresno, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The highway was reported closed around 10:30 this morning and was reported reopened around 3:15 this afternoon.
Location, ST | website.com


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A new, full-featured free software application pops its head into the VoIP world, and it nominates itself as the most serious competitor of Skype. Its name is Wengophone.
What is Wengophone?
In short: Wengophone is a communication-over-IP application. With Wengophone you can:
- place voice calls to other Wengophone users
- create audio conferences with up to three users
- place video calls to other Wengophone users
- exchange instant messages with other Wengophone users, or MSN, Yahoo, AIM/ICQ, Jabber and GoogleTalk users;
And this all comes for free. If you also buy credits from Wengo, a French Voice-over-IP service provider that backs the development of Wengophone, you can also:
- place phone calls to land lines at very low rates;
- place phone calls to mobile phones as well, for rates that are still too high for national calls, but very good for internationals;
- send SMS messages everywhere for 8.5 cents Euro (plus VAT where applicable)
Wengophone is a communication-over-IP application
This may sound a little like "deja-vue", so let's take a closer look at Wengophone and make a comparison with its most famous competitor: Skype.
Wengophone vs Skype
It was the beginning of 2005 when I discovered Skype; I liked it because it worked and it was multi-platform. Well, it was proprietary software, but there was nothing like Skype in the free software world.
All in all, I was happy with Skype, even if the GNU/Linux client had some "quirks" that made it less functional than I had liked, and needed some tricks to fix (as an exercise, look up "skype_dsp_hijacker" in Google). But, after some months, things began to get frustrating: Skype was acquired by eBay, they were pushing a lot of effort in the Windows version that quickly reached version 2.0 and 2.5beta, while the GNU/Linux version was stuck at the 188.8.131.52 released in October 2005. Skype didn't show any release plans for a newer GNU/Linux version, no new features were in sight but, above all, no bugfixes were happening.
Some days ago, while I was googling around trying to find if there was any news about a new GNU/Linux release of Skype, I stumbled on the name "Wengo". I never heard about Wengo before, so I pointed my Google searching toward it, and I got a surprise.
I discovered that Wengo is a French Voice-over-IP company that develops an Internet phone using the standard SIP protocol; they had a so-named "Classic" client for Windows, MacOS and Linux (in DEB and RPM packages!), and were developing a new, full-featured client.
I am all for standards, so that all sounded interesting and I kept reading, going from one surprise to another. I saw that fares were really cheap (actually cheaper than Skype's); that Wengophone supported SMS messages as well as phone and video calls, and (oh, my!) it was compatible with a load of instant messaging systems! And when it turned out that the Wengophone was developed as a free-software project, I nearly fell out of my chair!
That was all very good to read, and I really wanted to test it. Luckily, they run an "Introductory offer" for new subscribers: when you subscribe you get an unlimited number of two-minute land-line calls for two months for free. So I downloaded and installed the 2.0beta client and placed a call, and discovered that the audio quality was very, very good. I was sold!
This is the story so far. Now I'll try to do a feature comparison between Wengophone and Skype for GNU/Linux and review all points one by one. I'll assign +1 (good) or +2 (distinct advantage) points to each competitor for each "yes" in the table.
|Free software
|ALSA Audio
|yes (in heavy development at the moment)
|Supports phone calls
|Supports video calls
|Supports SMS
|Good audio quality
|You are free to choose your VoIP service provider
|not yet (will be there in the 2.2 release)
|Supports Instant Messaging
|Supports other IM protocols
|Has a large user base
|Centralised, server-based contact list
|not yet
|not yet (still in development and improving from day to day)
|Easy to install
|not yet
|yes (packaged)
Free software
Well, since you are reading Free Software Magazine, I'll assume that you understand why I consider Wengophone superior to Skype in this respect. If it isn't clear to you yet, there plenty of articles in this magazine that will help you to understand why. I don't want to sound like an extremist here, and I'll give a +1 to Wengo.
Having a multi-platform application means that if you have to work outside your operating system of choice, you can still use the application. I think this is a distinct advantage and give a +2 to both.
ALSA audio
This needs a bit more of explanation. Audio in GNU/Linux means mainly two things: OSS (Open Sound System, born in 1992) and ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture). With the advent of the 2.6 kernel, OSS was deprecated in favour of ALSA. Skype is using a deprecated sound system, Wengo is not.
ALSA has many advantages over OSS. The main one we are interested in here is the friendliness of ALSA in respect of the access to the sound card. An OSS application tends to take exclusive access to the sound card, not allowing any other application to use it: unless you trick it, you can't have both Skype and XMMS playing nicely together, for example.
On the other hand, ALSA supports many applications sharing the same sound card, and this is a really good thing. All this is enough to give a +1 to Wengo, even if the ALSA support is still in heavy development at the moment.
Supports phone calls
Well, we are talking about softphones, so this feature is actually a "must" and expected. +1 to both.
Supports video calls
This is just a nice feature, not really necessary but a nice-to-have one. Skype doesn't have it in the Linux version, Wengophone has it on all systems. +1 to Wengo.
Supports SMS
As above, a nice feature. Wengo has it: +1 for it.
Good audio quality
The audio quality is good in both. I had phone calls with both Skype and Wengo. In particular, I tested Wengo calling Tony Mobily to his phone in Australia: good audio, low latency... Good in both: +1.
You are free to choose your VoIP service provide
With Skype you are bound to Skype. Fullstop. With Wengophone, plans for the 2.2 release say that you will be able to choose any service provider that supports the SIP protocol. Taking this the other way round, you are not forced to use Wengophone to use Wengo's services: any SIP application will do. That's what I call "freedom to choose", and deserves at least a +1.
With Skype you are bound to Skype. Fullstop.
Using standard protocols means that you are more free to choose which application to use for a service (see above). Wengo supports many different standard (or de-facto standard) protocols, Skype supports itself. +1 for Wengo.
Supports Instant Messaging
This is a nice feature, and both of the competitors have it: +1 to both.
Supports other IM protocols
Using standard protocols means that you are more free to choose which application to use for a service. Wengo supports many different standard protocols
This is a very nice feature: you can still use your IM contacts without having half a dozen IM applications spread on your desktop. Wengo supports a lot of IM protocols, Skype again supports just itself. +1 for Wengo again.
Has a large user base
According to the status bar of Skype, every day you have more than six million users online during business days; when I started using Skype last year it barely had 4 million users online: that's a 50% increment in one year and it's a huge user-base spread all over the globe. Wengo doesn't seem to have as large or widespread a user base as Skype, which means that at the moment there is still a user community to build, it will take time and it will need your help. This is a distinct advantage for Skype, and a +2 for it.
Centralised, server-based contact list
Having a centralised, server-based contact list means that you don't have to keep your contact list in sync when you use an application on two different computers (e.g.: at home and in the office). I have a few Wengo contacts in the office, and a few more at home, and keeping them in sync is a headache already. Believe it or not, this feature is a distinct advantage; Skype has it, and it's a +2 for it.
Well, we are talking about a stable release of Skype versus a beta version of Wengophone (and the beta 1 version actually has alpha quality): it's clearly an easy win for Skype, at least a +1.
Alpha and beta releases
What is meant when people say software is alpha or a beta? I'll pick a couple of snippets from Wikipedia, leaving it to you to read the full article if you want to know the whole story.
The alpha version of a product still awaits full debugging or full implementation of all its functionality, but satisfies a majority of the software requirements. It often lacks features promised in the final release, but demonstrates the feasibility and basic structure of the software. The alpha build of the software is the first build delivered to the software testers.. A beta version or beta release usually represents the first version of a computer program that implements all required features although additional features may be added. It is likely to be unstable but useful for internal demonstrations and previews to select customers, but not yet ready for release. Some developers refer to this stage as a preview, as a technical preview (TP) or as an early access..
Easy to install
Skype builds both DEB and RPM packages of his software, and has a repository that Debian and Ubuntu users can use to keep the application up-to-date. Wengophone 2.0 beta doesn't come in a package yet, and hence is not as easy to install as Skype. Of course, when the final release of Wengo is out you'll have a DEB package just as you have one for the "Classic" client. So for now, it's +1 for Skype.
Summing up...
Summing up, I should say that Wengophone beats Skype 12 to 11. It's not a big win, but if you look at the points where Skype beats Wengo you can expect the situation to change as soon as a stable release comes out (e.g.: Wengo will gain some more points for stability and ease of install with a stable release). Letting it gain other points for the user base will depend on you using it, and getting a centralised contact list may depend on you whether you are a developer... So, download a copy and lend a hand!
How far are we from the final release of 2.0?
I had a chat via IRC with Julien Gilli, an active member of the Openwengo team. Julien says that the 2.0 final is expected for the end of June 2006. The final release could have a centralised contact list provided via the Jabber protocol. Hence, another important feature could see the light with the final 2.0 release.
A final release of Wengophone 2.0 is expected for the end of June 2006
Installing Wengophone "Classic"
Wengophone 2.0 is not yet available in packaged form and hence cannot be installed from a standard repository on an Ubuntu or Debian Linux. If you're a user of the brand new Dapper release of Ubuntu, you will find the "Classic" client in the repository "universe" and hence you can install it easily using synaptic. Wengophone Classic lacks many features of the 2.0 version, so it can barely give you a taste of it. Debian testing/unstable users have Wengophone Classic available as well. To install it, just follow the instructions found in my article published in FSM, issue 11.
Installing Wengophone 2.0 beta
As I wrote above, there is no pre-built package for installing Wengophone 2.0, so you will have to give up the comfort of your graphic interface and switch to the command line interface. Don't panic, I am here to help.
Step 1: Download Wengophone
First, choose if you want to download the latest official beta from the Wengo site (figure 4) or one the latest periodic build that includes more bugfixes but could hide other problems somewhere (figure 5). In the first case, just download the Wengophone 2.0 binary; in the second case, get the last file in the list.
If you're using Firefox to download it, you should have the option to open the file directly with the Archive Manager: just do it (see figure 6). It's 16MB, it will take some time if you have a slow network connection.
Step 2: extract the archive
In the Archive Manager push the "Extract" button: a window named "Extract" pops up. In the "Extract in folder" menu choose your home directory, then press the "Extract" button. The archive will be unpacked into your home directory (see figures 8 and 9).
Step 3: running Wengophone
This could be a bit tricky for the entry-level; don't worry, it's nothing special, really.
Open a terminal from the Accessories menu (see figure 10).
You will get a window like the one in figure 11 above. Type in this command:
cd wengophone-ng-binary-latest
and then:
A lot of messages will scroll into the terminal, you don't have to worry about that. After a short time a couple of windows will come up (as shown in figure 12). You don't have an account yet, so you should click on the "Click here" link.
Your browser will open a page on the Wengo site (see figure 13). Fill in the necessary information and press the "continue" button at the bottom. You will receive a confirmation e-mail at the address you typed in on the form. Follow the instructions of the e-mail and log in: Welcome to Wengophone!
Hic sunt leones (or: instructions for the brave user)
If you're a bit more than entry-level, or you're a System Administrator, you may want to install Wengophone for all users. Here I describe how you could do the installation, but in less detail than above. If you are more than entry level I guess that you won't miss anything. I also put together some scripts to make this task easier.
First of all, get root access because you will need it. Download the binary and unpack it; then move all the stuff into the
/opt/wengophone directory (or the one that better suits your taste).
Copy the script below in a convenient place, e.g.:
#!/bin/bash if [ -z $1 ] then echo "No args!" exit 1 ; else echo "WENGODIR is $1" fi WENGODIR=$1 cd $WENGODIR || exit 2 echo "Fixating ownerships" chown -R root:root . echo "Fixating directories permissions" find . -type d -print | xargs chmod 755 echo "Fixating executables permissions" find . -type f -perm -u=x -print | xargs chmod 755 echo "Fixating common files permissions" find . -type f -print | xargs chmod a+r
Make this script executable (with
chmod u+x /usr/local/sbin/wengoprep) and run it as
/usr/local/sbin/wengoprep /opt/wengophone; you may want to change
/opt/wengophone with the directory where you put the files. The script will do several things:
- give the ownership of the package to the root user;
- allow everybody to read in the
/opt/wengophonedirectory and subdirectories
- spread the execute permission of some files to everybody;
- spread the permission to access all the Wengophone files to everybody.
Then you will need a convenient way for all users to run Wengophone. If you want, you can copy and use the following script, copying it as
/usr/local/bin/wengophone and giving all users the "execute" permission with
chmod a+x /usr/local/bin/wengophone:
#!/bin/bash WENGODIR=/opt/wengophone WENGOBIN=qtwengophone WENGODOT=$HOME/.wengophone WENGOLOG=$WENGODOT/wengo.log LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$WENGODIR mkdir $WENGODOT 2> /dev/null echo "Wengo starting: `date`" > $WENGOLOG cd $WENGODIR || exit 1 export LD_LIBRARY_PATH exec $WENGODIR/$WENGOBIN >> $WENGOLOG 2>&1
And that's all! Now every user that wants to use Wengophone should just run the wengophone command with some means. I'll leave up to you to find the best way for your users to do it.
Using Wengophone
So you have fired up your Wengophone but it's so sadly empty and you don't know what to do with it. Again, I am here to help. I'll start with instant messaging.
Using Instant Messaging
You probably have an IM account somewhere already (on MSN, Yahoo, AIM, ICQ, a Jabber service or GoogleTalk). You will be happy to know that it's not difficult at all to use them all in Wengo!
In the Wengophone window, open the "Wengo" menu, and then "Edit my profile" (see figure 14)
Now, in the "Instant Messaging Accounts" section, press the "Add" button and choose the IM network you are connecting to, e.g.: AIM/ICQ.
Fill in the text fields in the window like in figure 15, then press "Save". Press "Save" again in your profile window. It will take some seconds to Wengophone to authenticate, after which you will see your contacts filling your Wengophone! Repeat these steps with all your IM accounts and you're done!
When you want to start a chat with someone, just click on the contact and then select the "cloud" icon (see figure 16). You will get a chat window where you can type.
Placing a phone or wengo call
It's just as simple as typing the full number in the textbox near the bottom of the Wengophone window and pressing Enter. Or, if you have a contact in your list that has a phone number, you can click on the icon near the number. If the phone number is registered but not displayed (e.g., the Work Phone number), then right click on the contact to get a contextual menu, select "Call" and then the number you want to call (see figure 17). Placing a wengo call is no different from this, but of course you will need a wengo user to call.
Quitting Wengophone
When you had enough of it you can quit it right-clicking on the green ball on the system tray, and choose "Quit Wengophone" (see figure 18).
Summing up
Wengophone 2.0, when it comes out, will have all you ever wanted from Skype: Free software, multi-standard, supporting SMS messages and video calls out of the box. Don't miss the opportunity to get an early taste of it and be a part of the free software VoIP revolution. Please remember to give your contribution where you can.
I would like to thank the following people:
Julien Gilli, one of the great people at Wengo that are developing this fantastic application. Julien gave me a lot of insight into the development, and his help has been invaluable in getting this article right quickly
Antti "al" Laulumaa for reviewing the article and pointing out missing information
All the developers of the OpenWengo project for their great work.
Wengo web site—Wengo is the VoIP service provider that backs Wengophone development
OpenWengo web site—web site of the community and developers of Wengophone
OSS in Wikipedia
ALSA in Wikipedia
out of date?
Interesting article, but the version of Skype that I am using does support SMS messages and video calls.
I think that puts Skype in the lead!
(Also, I do not understand why you do not regard Skype as free. I have not paid anything for the software.)
Okay... you are new to this aren't you?
Running wengophone from application icon
I am trying to run wengophone 2.0 not from terminal as described in Free Software Magazine.
The article was great and easy. But, do I have to run wengophone from terminal all the time?
Please help me.
Centralised, server-based contact list is *not* a good thing.
At least not from a privacy point of view. Nor is the lack of support for encryption.
In fact, from browsing quickly through the article, there was no mentioning of encryption *at all*, which I find a bit disappointing.
Is there any progress on zfone?
Otherwise, thank you for the article. I'll certainly try out wengophone.
Dag B
Centralised, server-based contact list *is* a good thing.
Hello Dag
While I don't agree about the centralized contact list (I keep my opinion: it's a fundamental thing, and not having it is an headache), you got a point with the encryption thing. Yes, encryption is another +1 (at least) for Skype. I don't know about zfone, but maybe someone at Openwengo will pop up here and satisfy your curiosity :-)
Thanks for the compliments.
Centralised, server-based contact list *could be* a good thing..
...if it somehow was stored as an encrypted object on the server, and only decryptable by the owner.
Hope the wengo guys read these comments. :-)
Dag B.
That's definitely an
That's definitely an interesting concern. We're going to think about it in the near future. Many thanks for your insightful input!
Best regards.
Hello, Just check out this
Just check out this article on OpenWengo's blog: http://blog.openwengo.org/index.php?/archives/55-Everbee-and-OpenWengo-partnership-to-achieve-open-source-VoIP-security.html .
There is no progress regarding zrtp yet, but it might change soon. Stay tuned on blog.openwengo.org for more information!
Best regards.
firewall traversal issues
Hi Marco,
I think this was a good article. But you missed a critical point: Firewall traversal. As much as I like SIP,
it is notorious for NAT / firewall issues. For example I was recently in a network where ALL outbound tcp and udp connections where blocked. In fact the only way out was through a SQUID web proxy. I'm curious to see how openwengo performs in an environment like this. Skype WAS able to traverse through this environment. It looks like openwengo has some support for this kind of thing. But, how well does it work?
Secondly, lets look at the easiest solution. A home network with a cheap NAT router. In this environment using sip, how does the Wengophone send and receive RTP packets? In most environments it is forced to be relayed through an RTP relay server. Solutions like STUN, TURN, etc, only work so well, in most cases in my experience the RTP has to be hairpinned through a remote server. This has some severe scaling issues. How does openwengo perform here?
With Skype, not only the software is proprietary
From a free software perspective, i think the major point about Skype is not being not free software,
but being a closed service based on proprietary protocols.
The whole Internet Telephony business is organized around closed islands. Either with proprietary protocols
or with SIP, but very few VoIP providers play the open game.
This doesn't make sense, because stricly speaking the actual service is not provided by the telephony provider (Skype, Wengo, or whatever) but by the internet connection itself. The provider just put you in contact.
SIP is an open protocol that can work in an open environment, like the Web, where multiple Internet/PSNT gateway service provider can compete against the same user base.
Instead, each SIP VoIP provider (Woize, Wengo, Abbeynet, Free etc) try to keep the user base closed by providing closed client software, even if it use open protocols. The important point of OpenWengo may be having a role in opening this situation, but being financed by one of the player, i am skeptical.
Unless the small players understand they have to open up and interoperate, the proprietary big player, Skype, will build a planetary monopoly that will us European ask to go back to national monopolies :-< ..
The main drawbacks of the article (like encryption) have benn noted already. What I would like to hear your opinion about is another free/open source VoIP application, called Gizmo. What are the kex differences, advantages, disadvantages, etc. www.gizmoproject.com/
I know that it uses the SIP protocol too, it is already connected with GoogleTalk given that both use some very similar protocols (so it was easy). This connection does not mean that google talk is simply integrated, but you need to have a google talk account too. No, this is a true interconnection! (You can have a conference with 2 friends, 1 useing gizmo the other googletalk. Can you achieve this with wengophone's MSN support for example?
Any other ideas?
Is gizmo free software?
Hmmmm... if it was, I could download the source code somewhere. But after some searching in the site I can't find any. So is it free just as a free beer?
What's free and what's not?
Um, okay you all have made this very fuzzy for me...
Which systems are free-licensed software?
Which are using open/free standards
I'm confused about this -- and on the FSM website, I don't feel I should be. This is one place I'd expect to keep these things really clear!
Gizmo: Open Standard. OpenWengo: Open Software.
As far as I can tell, gizmo and openwengo both use the open SIP standard. gizmo, however, is closed source software (just as Skype is), while openwengo is free software. Skype is both closed source and using a proprietary (i.e. non-standard) protocol.
Open Wengo
Thanks for the article!
I was initially pleased that Skype had Linux support but saw as you mentioned that once eBay bought it out they let the Linux version lag way behind the Window$ version. Not good!
The other thing that cheesed me off was reading about Skype's deal with Intel where they "cripple" the number of users you can have in a conference call if you use a non-Intel processor. Crippling hardware is pure corporate evil in my books. All of my machines run AMD processors...guess I always like the "underdog"... and have always felt that AMD gave you a bigger CPU bang for your buck...pound, euro, yen whatever ;)
Right now Skype has a "deal" in Canada and the U.S. that runs till the end of the year where they let you "Skype-out" to the phone system for free. I'm hoping that by the time the "deals" end Wengophone will be a little further along towards being stable and I along with my friends will make the "switch".
Compare skype and wengo-rates
For a comparison of the Skype and Wengo - out rates (to regular landlines)
Other voip review site
There is another third party site called voipreview.org that lists many voip providers, most of which are unfortunately not free but many provide more secure features than wengo.
Jerry Huyghe
I use wengo
I use wengo for calls to landlines.
I prefer Wengo and look forward to encryption. Interoperability is what is most required. Wengo is more likely to acheive it. This is clear from their philosophy and decision to go with . CoIpManager as a better IMWrapper in the future. See http://blog.openwengo.org/index.php
A lot of people would like to use WengoPhone with other SIP providers.
CoIpManager will provide this feature since everything (MSN, AIM, Yahoo, Wengo, GoogleTalk, FreeWorlDialup...) will be the same for WengoPhone GUI. This is CoIpManager main purpose anyway.
Wait for 2.0
Last time I checked wengophone, I dismissed it temporarily (till the 2.0 release, I hope) because the client was only tied to the wengo company.
What I'm looking for is kinda general purpose SIP client so that you only need to change your settings if you want to call with another SIP network provider and that's it.
By the way, I refer you to STUN for a few things on the firewall traversal side.
Let's go party.
about encryption: this could be interesting: according to it OPENWENGO DOES HAVE ENCRYPTION NOW!?
Wengo is free software
The only thing I care about really is that Wengo is free (as in freedom obviously), and uses a free and open protocol, whereas Skype doesn't. That's why I don't use Skype. I use exclusively free software almost all of the time now, with Kubuntu. I'm having trouble installing Wengo on GNU/Linux at the moment because I use the amd64 version, but I have tried the proper 2.0 release under MS Windows and it is very nice.
Skype works a super node on your PC?
I once read that skype worked as "a super node on the local PC", hence why it is ressource hungry, so you bring cpu ressource to the skype network. (If I understood correctly) Is this true?
AFAIK openwango does not do that
Looking to move from skype to openwango when
my credits have run out
Ciao Marco!
I want to thank you and congratulate for article.
I followed and could install the Wengophone without a problem.
I'm running away from Skype as the communications and services get worst.
I also had problem with Gizmo.
I believe that Wengophone could succeed, as they had the same structure as Mozilla.
An open source community (www.openwengo.org) and the corporate one (wengophone).
I still could not connect to aim, googletalk, neither could the phone call....but
I know I will be soon sorted out, there more people trying to help people (Linux user in fact) than in Skype.
once again
Ciao Marco!
I hope you don't mind I posted your article in the wengophone forum.
I find your article very useful.
I've made to small changes in your method. I installed in /usr/local/
and instead of making a new script, I linked the shell script that came with the ditribution
( ln -s /usr/local/Wengophone/wengophone.sh /usr/local/bin/wengophone)
thanks Marco
Re: once again
I am definitely not afraid you post my article somewhere else (as long as its license is not infringed, of course :-) Could you please provide a link to the forum?
About the /usr/local/packagename choice, I am definitely against that approach and that's why I choose a /opt/packagename-version instead, and use stow to report everything to /usr/local. But that's a subject for another article or blog post.
Wengo in Ubuntu Feisty Fawn
Just tried Wengo on Ubuntu Feisty Fawn, where it is included in the repositories, making installation trivial.
First impressions are very positive: Easy signup, UI -way- better looking than Skype, Integrated support for most (if not all) protocols supported by Gaim.
However, no luck actually using the thing yet. Since it's been trying to 'connect' for over half an hour now. That in spite of the fact that I used Wengo itself to setup my account, and despite the fact that I'm actively using Skype and Gaim at the same time, which obviously have no trouble connecting. Now maybe it's a bug in the ubuntu package (feisty fawn is still in beta for the next two months), but sure would have been a lot more impressive if it had worked out of the box. Will try it again in a month or after Feisty is released. Installed version is 2.0rev8108.
Too crowded? :-)
Can you try to start it without having skype and gaim on? Maybe it's just they can't stand one another :-)
Seriously now, try it without too many programs contending resources and let me know if it works!
Ciao and thanks
Mandriva Wengophone
Well Mandy must be getting a back hander to push Wengophone so hard,default install and entry on toolbar in FF.
Wish they hadn't,wasted 2 hours trying to get it configured. And then when I finally got it working it crashed on every call, would only crash even when not making a call and would not work with my c-media card or my creative card (Aud2).
No-one I know with K/Ubuntu has it working,and I have a couple of buddies using Mandriva Spring,neither can make even a pc to pc call without it crashing,one has no sound,the other no video and sound very poor even with an 8mb broadband connection.
Best thing about it is the ui....oh and uninstalling the rubbish and using Twinkle,or Ekiga (when ekiga.net is up and running that is)
The Wengophone furbished with Feisty Fawn Final doesn't function: impossible to make calls or send sms. Downloaded 2.1 RC2, well now i can send sms (german, spanish or french accents do not work), but still impossible to cake phone calls :(
Let's hope it will work with 2.1 RC3!
I need voip mainly for
I need voip mainly for GTalk, but I've heard Wengophone is not the best for it...
wengo: not the best...
Wengo is a free software, so what? The quality of the calls are not that great. I consider Raketu the best in calling and plus now it seems that they added a new feature similar to Jajah. Now Raketu has sort of Skype and Jajah combined. Wengo's rates are way too high. I prefer Raketu better.
uninstalling wengophone
I have a problem! I tried installing wengophone and didn't find the sound quality good. I immediately uninstalled it. However I am unable to avoid the wengophone on my screen (during the start up and is always there on the bottom screen) although the entire thing has been removed.
Can anyone help me uninstall the whole thing. Its pretty annoying!!!
i gotta admit
yeah im all for open source, I have Linux at home, but when it cam to VoIp, first I jumped on the "free software" bandwagon, I did many calls with Wengo, and then, all of the sudden they raised my rates from 2cts/min to 30cts/minute! all of the sudden, so of course,They did not refund my money for these calls at new rates! I changed to skype with 3ct/min rates.
With wengo , I pay:MEXICO MEXICO CITY 0.251€ 0.300€
With Skype I pay: €0,017 (€0,020 incl. VAT)
So maybe your destination is cheaper with Wengo, but I can't be paying 15 times for a service that is too expensive.Thanks Wengo!
Video and Wengo on home line
Hi people,
I'm using Wengo for some months and I'm very satisfied with the software. Because I like to experiment with several software, I;m trying to get the video options also running on my normal home line.
I've connected my PC to the sip url of my normal internet homer phone line en for now it's working sometimes with a videophone on a standard phone line via the regular telephone company like AT&T or Bell, in the Netherlands KPN.
There are some errors and it's not completly running well, but I guess in some time it wil be running.
A programmer friend is busy to make an change inb the soiftware and when finished, we will send it to de Wengo Company.
I let you know when all is working 100%
It looks like the feature is
It looks like the feature is pretty much complete, and of course very competitive. My first Voip experience was Skype, ever since then new Voip options spread by the year and sometimes by the month. I can only be glad about it.


text:
Tory Hate and Red Tape-equality impact assessment and analysis
November 20, 2012
Robin Richardson
On Monday 19 November the prime minister made a speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). In it he made a claim which was at best disingenuous and at worst deceitful. Either way the claim was unlikely to rally his own core supporters, for they will quickly recognise that it was empty and misleading rhetoric. Further, it is extremely unlikely to give a valuable moral direction to society as a whole.
Mr Cameron claimed his government is going to abolish equality impact assessments (EQUIAs). This was naïve and misleading, or downright deceitful, because the decision to abolish equality impact assessments was formally taken on 8 April 2010, namely several weeks before Mr Cameron entered Downing Street two and a half years ago. That was the day the Equality Act 2010 received royal assent. EQUIAs ceased to be required from 6 April 2011, which was the day when the new public sector equality duty (PSED) established by the Equality Act came into effect.
However much he hates what he calls red tape, Mr Cameron cannot abolish a requirement that does not exist. So why did he mislead or lie to the CBI? Were he and his speechwriters simply mistaken? Or did they gamble on nobody in their audience, and nobody in the media, knowing or caring about the truth? And on the inability of people who do know the truth to make their voices effectively heard? Whatever his motivations and levels of knowledge and ignorance, what is the likely effect of his false claim? Read more of this post


text:
I don't imagine anyone at the club knows about this (and don't pretend that posting it here will make them aware of it), but this does make me disappointed that the club is one of many sporting organisations working over there, allowing the Bahrain regime to distract from its brutality.
"In the days after his death, some people in Bahrain wrote to Man United asking if they might hold a minute's silence before one of their games in tribute to Ahmed. An ambitious ask, but people sent emails to the Man United account making the request. One of them was Dr. Fatima Haji, a rheumatologist in Bahrain's Salmaniya Medical Complex, and a Ryan Giggs fan. Along with dozens of other medics she was arrested after treating injured protestors and tortured in custody. But her interrogation was a bit different; she had written the email asking for the minute's silence and then deleted it, knowing it might be incriminating. When she was arrested on April 17 her laptop was taken too, and a few days later -- with tragic efficiency -- Man United responded to her email, which her interrogators then saw.
I was blindfolded and handcuffed with my hands behind my back, and beaten. A man asked me 'What's is your relationship with Alex Ferguson?' I was shocked and figured out they'd gone through my emails. A female officer hit me on head on both sides at the same time -- she was wearing what I later found out was a special electrical band on her hands and she electrocuted me a couple of times -- I felt a shock wave through my head. It was very painful and the whole world was spinning. I was beaten again on the head.
Haji says she was questioned over and over again about her connection to Manchester United: "because they'd responded to my email the police thought I somehow knew someone at Manchester United." She spent several weeks in custody and was tried with 19 other medics in a military court. She was sentenced to five years in prison and then acquitted on appeal in June 2012. Three of her co-accused are still in prison.
None of this was Man United's fault, but the club and Denis Law might want to know about what happened to Ahmed and Fatima, and say something about it."
The moral of the story here, don't support Manchester United.


text:
Sensory Thought I
This projection can be found adjacent to the DuPont I Gallery.
Korean born, Brooklyn-based artist Jayoung Yoon visualizes the metaphysical presence of thought rising from a physical form. For the DCCA, Yoon will exhibit Sensory Thought I, in which the artist uses special effects to make herself appear as if in a meditative trance.
The DCCA's Moving Media series is devoted to showing recent digital video art. Since the early 20th Century artists such as Salvador Dali (1904-1989) and Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) have been fascinated with the moving image as art form. Although the lines are often blurred between film and video, video art eschews conventional narrative cinema. It emerged as a distinct medium in the 1960s when Nam Jun Paik (1932-2006) began to use the first portable Sony video recorders and Andy Warhol (1928-87) screened underground films shot in 8mm and 16mm formats in his Factory studio. Contemporary artists including the Swiss Pipilotti Rist (b. 1962) and American Sadie Benning (b. 1973) continue to challenge the conventions of video art, experimenting with new digital and conceptual approaches, animation, and installation techniques. Reflecting the DCCA's commitment to the latest uses of technology in art, Moving Media profiles today's living artists whose diverse approaches range from the political to the comedic.
-Maiza Hixson,
Gretchen Hupfel Curator of Contemporary Art


text:
BT Decor 1500 User Guide
For further information about setting up and using the BT Decor 1500 phone, please view the following:
BT Decor 1500 User Guide(PDF format)
Please note: To open and read the above file you will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your PC. If your PC doesn't have Adobe Reader installed, please click the image below and follow the onscreen instructions.
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text:
During last year's massive earthquake in Japan, millions of Japanese were unable to make phone calls. However, they could send tweets, emails and check sites like Google (GOOG) Maps to help them navigate the disaster.
Why does the Internet seems more robust than phone networks?
"Phone networks are only designed for a certain number of users at any one time," said Rakesh Bharania, a member of Cisco Systems (CSCO)' emergency response operations. So in a crisis, when significantly more people than usual make phone calls simultaneously, the network becomes overloaded, Bharania said.
While data networks also see a surge in traffic, Bharania said, "What most people send on those networks are text -- Web pages, tweets and so on." And text data uses a relatively smaller portion of bandwidth than voice data does, he said.


text:
Irving'e karşı Lipstadt
Defense Documents
David Irving, Holocaust Denial, and his Connections to Right Wing Extremists and Neo-National Socialism (Neo-Nazism) in Germany: Electronic Edition, by Hajo FunkeTable of Contents
|<< 5.5 1991: 'the total cata...
|< 5.1 1989: 'German histori...
|5.7 1992: the 'Internatio... >
|5.9 1993: expulsion >>
5.6 OPC observations 1991.
5.6.1.The importance of the revisionist campaign in 1991 is substantiated by the various VSBs, both on the federal and state levels. They noted that the revisionist campaign had become enmeshed in neo-Nazi strategies to widen their political influence, especially in eastern Germany and to initiate a new Neo-Nazi movement in Germany.
The so-called revisionists intensified their endeavour to spread their opinions that no crimes were committed, certainly not the Holocaust which is a propaganda lie put about by the victorious Allies of World War II. Neo-Nazis and the "national democrats" tried four times to arrange meetings with Holocaust deniers from Germany and abroad:
- the first attempt took place on the 23-3-91 in Munich...,
- on the 29-6-91 the NF leader, Schönborn tried to organise a meeting in Cham, amongst others with Faurisson...
- the third attempt was made by the NPD leader Deckert; this meeting, planned for the 1.9.91 in Weinheim was banned. Karl Philipp and Udo Walendy, (both former NPD members) were to address the gathering.
- finally Deckert was successful on the 10.11.91 and Leuchter addressed more than 100 people.405
5.6.2.The VS Report added, 'But again the most active speaker on German soil was David Irving, who spoke in Passau, Rothemburg ob der Tauber, Munich, Augsburg, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Pforzheim, Lentförden (county Seegeberg) and Halle an der Saale amongst others.'
405. Verfassungsschutz-Bericht, 1991, pp. 122 ff.


text:
The path to "muffin top" is paved with good intentions. We all harbor them: "This week I'll get up early to work out," "Today I'll join a gym," or "I can exercise while my son naps." Still, weeks go by, the intended exercise regime does not come to pass, and the love handles became even meatier.
But there's a solution to the "not-enough-time-in-the-day" excuse. It turns out, according to some exciting new research, that all you need to be fit is six minutes a week.
"It used to be that endurance training, which required long exercise sessions, was considered the gold standard of fitness," says Martin Gibala, chairman of the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. But recent studies at Gibala's lab showed that the two groups of exercisers — an interval group that exercised six to nine minutes a week, and an endurance group that exercised about five hours a week — had identical increases in their endurance. The only rub? For those six minutes to count, there's going to be some pain involved.
Interval training requires bouts of extreme, all-out effort, followed by short rest cycles. "The exercise intensity in the interval has to be quite high," says Gibala. "But its efficiency appeals to people who are time-pressed."
Mark Hyman, M.D., author of The UltraMind Solution, also champions the advantages of interval training. "You can exercise less, and have more benefits, if you exercise smarter," he says. Interval training boosts your mitochondria, the powerhouses in your cells that turn the food you eat into energy, which in turn affects metabolism, weight loss and even longevity.
"The secret to healthy aging and healthy weight is healthy mitochondria," says Hyman. "And the fastest way to get there is with interval training."
20-minute mind/body interval workout
Raring to go? We've talked to Gaiam's expert fitness instructor Patricia Moreno to create a cutting-edge, mind/body interval workout designed to get you in fighting form. The whole sequence takes less than 20 minutes, and you should aim to repeat it several times a week. Or preview Patricia Moreno workout DVDs for more routines like this one.
A few guidelines: Consult a doctor if you have heart issues or joint problems, or are older than 60. The intensity phase should be at roughly 80 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate (which is exerting yourself as if your life depended on it). Recovery periods should not be so long that your pulse returns to normal. To avoid injury, warm up before the first interval.
Warmup 1: Inhale/exhale
Stand with your feet together and as you inhale, swing your arms over your head in a wide "V," to the pose of POSITIVE EXPECTATION. Allow yourself to think positively and enjoy your workout.
Now exhale and step with the right foot to the side and drop the arms and hug yourself to the pose of EMBRACE, bending the knees and turning the feet out (making sure to keep the knees over the ankles). Bring the feet back together, arms overhead, and alternate stepping right and left. Repeat for one minute.
Warmup 2: Jog in place
Jog in place for eight counts, and make quarter-turns to your right every eight counts until you have made a full circle around. Repeat on the other side for one minute.
Warmup 3: Ready/warrior
Start with the feet together and arms by your side in the READY position. Jump or step the legs to a wide "V" position and bend the knees deeply to the WARRIOR position, keeping the back straight, abs in and knees tracking over ankles. Straighten the arms to either side and flex the hands. Jump back to the READY position. Repeat for one minute, mentally preparing yourself for action.
Interval 1: Alternate punches
Since interval training is hard work, I like to begin my workout by enlisting my intellectual and emotional strength. With the feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, stand in ON-GUARD position, keeping the elbows by your side and fists by your cheeks. Punch the left arm directly in front of you, palm facing down, allowing your torso to twist.
Return to ON-GUARD and repeat on the right side. In a fast, steady rhythm, alternate punches right and left for 90 seconds and say out loud, "I am strong now." Punch as fast as you can for the last 10 seconds. Jog it out, kicking your butt every time, for 30 seconds.
Interval 2: Arm swings
Make giant circles with straight arms away from the body while kicking your butt with your heels. Allow yourself to enjoy the momentum of the movement, and say "I am happy now" for 90 seconds.
Jog it out, knees high this time, for 30 seconds.
Interval 3: Push-ups
Assume a push-up position on the ground. Arms can be wide, and if needed, place the knees on the ground. Making sure to keep the body as straight as a board, do as many push-ups as you can for 90 seconds. Say "I am determined" every time you push up.
Then do moderate jumping jacks for 30 seconds.
Interval 4: Jump-switch lunges
Begin in a front lunge by stepping the left foot forward and bending both knees, allowing the right heel to rise. With the hands on the hips, keep the back straight and abs in. Now, push off from both legs and jump switch your feet, landing in a front lunge with the right foot forward. Modify the jumps by bending halfway down if necessary. Alternate right and left for 90 seconds. Say out loud "I am fearless" every time you switch your legs.
Jog it out for 30 seconds, knees high.
Interval 5: Arm rolls and jump steps
Step to the right, cross the left foot behind the right and square the hips to the front. Roll the arms away from you as fast as you can for four counts, making sure to keep the chest open. Now jump to the left, pushing off of the right foot, and cross the right foot behind the left and square off the hips. This time roll the arms toward you. I call this pose KARMA, to emphasize that what we give is what we get. When the arms roll away from you, say "What I give…" and when the arms roll toward you, say "…is what I get."
Really push off and jump as far as you can to each side when switching the legs. Repeat right and left for 90 seconds.
Jog it out for 30 seconds with the arms in a wide "V" for Victory — you made it!
Cool-down: Lateral lunges
Take a step back with the left foot, keeping the right leg straight. Touch the thumbs and index fingers together to symbolize focus. Let the left arm swing behind you and place the right hand over the heart. You can modify by placing the right hand on the right thigh for support. Bow over your leg for 30 seconds. Repeat on the other side.
Final meditation
Sit with the legs crossed, back comfortably straight, palms facing up and resting on the thighs. Close your eyes and breathe naturally. Focus on being as still as you can for one minute.


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Update: Search continues off Coquina Beach for boy
Published: Saturday, April 20, 2013 at 8:06 p.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, April 20, 2013 at 10:56 p.m.
Emergency crews searched nearly four hours Saturday night in the area of Coquina Beach and north Longboat Key for 6-year-old Lamontea Taylor, who went missing while swimming with his cousins off the beach.
Manatee County EMS responded to a 911 call from a bystander at 6:37 p.m. regarding four children struggling in the water on the south end of Coquina Beach, said EMS Director Ron Koper.
Rescuers pulled family members Jerry Green, 6; Natalie Porter, 5; and Danaejah Edwards, 9, from the water just off the beach. Two were reportedly saved by emergency responders and one by a family member.
Two Coast Guard boats from the station in Cortez and a helicopter, as well as vessels from other agencies, continued the search for Lamontea, a kindergartner at Samoset Elementary in Bradenton, until about 10:45 p.m. Rescuers focused their efforts near the bridge connecting Coquina Beach and Longboat, but no sign of the boy was found. The search was to resume Sunday morning.
"We're working closely with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office," Coast Guard Petty Ofc. Michael De Nyse said Saturday evening. "We're concentrating all efforts on the search and rescue."
The children were swimming out of the area patrolled by lifeguards, Koper said.
"It's not a good place for swimming due to the current," Koper said. "Now that the sun has gone down, the search is more difficult."
Earlier in the evening Koper said the tide was coming in, raising hopes that the missing child would be carried toward land. But by 9 p.m. the tide reversed and the search continued for nearly two hours longer before being suspended.
Involved in the search were the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, Manatee Marine Rescue, Longboat Key police and the Coast Guard.
The children's family had reportedly been at the beach since the afternoon. One family member said the adults thought the children were at a picnic table.
Instead, they had gone into the water just off the beach.
"We were all swimming and jumping over the waves," said Danaejah Edwards. "Next thing you know the water pushed us down. We all started drowning and going in different directions.
"A man came and rescued me. I was crying. Natalie was floating in the water, looking like she was dead. I just want the people to help Lamontea."
Red Cross volunteers responded to the scene, providing T-shirts and blankets for the family.
"It's a very frightening situation down there," said spokeswoman Janet McGuire.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


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Definition of atavistic in English:
Relating to or characterized by reversion to something ancient or ancestral: atavistic fears and instincts
More example sentences
- This atavistic fear of bodily hair is entirely compatible with a religion that sought to separate man from his animal origins.
- His fate evokes the atavistic fear of Nature's fury that has been with us since the dawn of history.
- If there was one striking thing about this performance, it is that it reminded the audience that live theatre is probably our most ancient art, which is why something deep and atavistic thrills when the curtain goes up.
- Example sentences
- Under such circumstances, racism is not an historical atavism, but an entirely normal, and constantly growing, feature of the political landscape.
- Much media and political comment has explained the profundity and rootedness of this feeling in terms of bigotry and criminality, of archaism and atavism.
- You don't have to share the cloyingly sentimental atavism he displays towards Ireland to appreciate his energy and enterprise as a writer who finds material for his novels in every corner of the world.
- Example sentences
- Our society has become less cruelly conservative, our politics less atavistically nationalistic, and our culture less turgidly insular.
- There was always something atavistically satisfying about knowing where you stood in international sports - supporting Germany, Argentina, Greece, Albania, whoever.
- There's something atavistically pleasing about not throwing away kitchen scraps; it makes you feel a better person in some small way.
Late 19th century: based on Latin atavus 'forefather' + the adjectival suffix -istic.
For editors and proofreaders
Line breaks: at¦av|is¦tic
Definition of atavistic in:
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= trending


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Vikki Bell
Administrative AssistantDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
200 Hawkins Drive
Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone: 319-356-0382
Email: email@example.com
Scott A. Larson, MDOphthalmology Fellowship Training Program DirectorEmail: email@example.com
The Department of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa is steeped in a rich history of achievement in residency training, as well as clinical practice, and in the realm of research. The department is thought to be the first university-affiliated psychiatric department west of the Mississippi River.
As a psychiatry resident at UIHC, you will gain in-depth clinical experience in outpatient and inpatient settings from experts in the field. You will get a well-rounded experience which will include working on units specializing in mood disorders, psychotic disorders, geriatric psychiatry, eating disorders, medical psychiatry, child psychiatry and veterans psychiatry. Residents also work in an array of outpatient settings, some of which include adult psychiatry, child psychiatry, Assertive community treatment (IMPACT), and ECT clinic. Residents can also do electives in perinatal psychiatry, STEPPS (a treatment program for borderline personality disorder), research (including molecular psychiatry and neuroimaging), mindfulness based stress reduction, and work with the Huntington disease clinic. Not only does UIHC have an excellent adult psychiatry residency, UIHC also has residencies in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Family Medicine-Psychiatry, and Internal Medicine-Psychiatry. The University of Iowa is one of two institutions to have both a family medicine-psychiatry residency program and an internal medicine-psychiatry residency program. There are also fellowship opportunities in child and adolescence psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Our training ultimately provides residents with knowledge of an array of DSM-5 diagnoses including anxiety disorders, eating disorders, mood disorders, personality disorders, psychotic disorders, and substance use disorders.The experience of working at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is second to none.
People love working here. Forbes Magazine recently named the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics the #1 employer in the entire national healthcare industry, based on employee satisfaction.
Our program will expose you to a broad range patients and learning situations. Additionally, our didactics will provide continued learning in a variety of topics. The community of Iowa City-Coralville will provide a high quality of living in a safe and friendly environment. And you'll find a salary and benefit package that competes favorably with accredited programs in an academic medical setting.
Read more


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STOCKTON - A woman was wounded when gunshots rang out in central Stockton Friday night, police said.
The 26-year-old woman was standing about 9:05 p.m. in a parking lot in the 1700 block of North Wilson Way with her boyfriend and several other people when she heard gunfire and felt pain in her right leg, officers said. When the victim realized she had been shot, she called 911.
The woman was taken to a hospital for treatment of a non-life-threatening injury, police said. There was no description of the shooter.
Location, ST | website.com


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- Evolve with Warrior
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Evolve your game to the perfect specimen of competition with this new Evolution Game Jersey by Warrior!
This tough, comfortable, breathable jersey will have you playing the game like a higher lifeform! Warrior logo embroidered on the left chest. 90/10 nylon/spandex. Imported.


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|Personal loan applications down - Fri, 30 Apr, 2010
Applications for personal loans fell during the last month, according to recent research.
The High Street Banking Report released by the British Bankers' Association (BBA) indicated that fewer p [more]
|Life insurance companies not reaching the young - Thu, 29 Apr, 2010
Life insurance is not been taken up by many young people in the UK, new research has suggested.
A recent report from Lifesearch revealed that just 3.5 per cent of its protection policies were purchas [more]
|Britons not planning for IHT - Wed, 28 Apr, 2010
Many taxpayers in the UK are wasting a substantial amount of money due to their inheritance tax planning, new research has found.
The Tax Action report by professional advice website unbiased.co.uk i [more]
|IVAs need discipline, expert says - Tue, 27 Apr, 2010
Consumers entering into an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) should be aware that it still requires disciplined payments, an expert has advised.
As a legal contract between customer and creditor [more]
|Borrowers advised against hiding debt - Mon, 26 Apr, 2010
Borrowers in the UK should be honest about the amount of debt and credit they have taken on, an expert has advised.
Recent research conducted by the Post Office revealed that customers in the UK are [more]
|Growth in UK life insurance market - Fri, 23 Apr, 2010
The first three months of 2010 saw a steady growth in the UK life insurance market, a new study has found.
Recent research conducted by the Confederation of British Industry indicated that there coul [more]
|Online banking customers warned against virus - Thu, 22 Apr, 2010
Online banking customers have been warned about a powerful computer virus which steals personal details.
Web security company Trusteer said users should be aware that the Zeus 1.6 virus can infiltrat [more]
|Car insurance cost increases hit women drivers - Wed, 21 Apr, 2010
Female drivers are being hit hard by recent increases in car insurance premiums, research has found.
According to the latest EMB Car Insurance Price Index, the cost of car insurance has risen by arou [more]
|Fewer loans taken for debt consolidation - Tue, 20 Apr, 2010
Fewer people are choosing to take out a personal loan for the purposes of debt consolidation, new research has found.
Sainsbury's Finance notes that the convenience of having all debt in one pla [more]
|Saving in the UK on the increase - Mon, 19 Apr, 2010
Many people in the UK are choosing to leave their money in savings accounts rather than spending on an everyday basis, a new study has found.
Recent research conducted by YouGov on behalf of Birmingh [more]
|Late payments affecting smaller firms - Fri, 16 Apr, 2010
Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are suffering as a result of late payments into their business bank accounts, according to new research.
A study conducted by NatWest and The Royal Bank [more]
|Online banking takeover to benefit customers - Fri, 16 Apr, 2010
The recent takeover of an online banking company is set to have significant benefits for its customers and clients.
Leeds-based TD Waterhouse has fully acquired the private bank Internaxx, having pre [more]
|Social networking fuelling car insurance claims - Thu, 15 Apr, 2010
An increasing number of motorists are becoming involved in accidents caused by social networking while driving, it has been found.
Research carried out by Swinton indicates that there has been a 12 p [more]
|Brown urged to cap interest on personal loans - Wed, 14 Apr, 2010
The government should target the banks in order to win votes for the forthcoming election, it has been claimed.
Left-wing pressure group Compass asserts that the public want policies that will be dir [more]
|Savers urged to make small monthly investments - Tue, 13 Apr, 2010
Small monthly investments are a highly-effective way of building funds in a savings account, an expert has advised.
According to a recent study conducted by Fidelity International, savings of £ [more]
|Clegg pledges IHT action - Mon, 12 Apr, 2010
The Liberal Democrats have pledged to address inheritance tax (IHT) as part of their proposed tax plan.
Party leader Nick Clegg said IHT and capital gains tax would be equalised, while existing tax l [more]
|Personal loans boosting car sales - Fri, 9 Apr, 2010
An increasing number of people are taking out personal loans in order to purchase a car, a new study has found.
Research conducted by Sainsbury's Finance revealed that some 24 per cent of those [more]
|Car insurance premiums on the rise - Thu, 8 Apr, 2010
The cost of running a car is becoming more expensive as premiums on car insurance increase, according to new data.
Research conducted by Sainsburys Finance indicates that car insurance prices have in [more]
|More incentive needed for savers - Wed, 7 Apr, 2010
The government should do more to encourage a culture of saving money in the current economic climate, it has been claimed.
A study conducted by action campaign group Save Our Savers indicated that ma [more]
|Virgin gets funding for RBS bid - Tue, 6 Apr, 2010
Virgin Money has received a substantial investment from the billionaire Wilbur Ross as part of its bid for the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
After being salvaged by the government last year, current [more]
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Location: Nutrient Data
Project Number: 8040-52000-064-05
Start Date: Sep 20, 2013
End Date: Mar 19, 2015
ARS will conduct tasks related to the design, development, conduct, and compilation/summary of results of an inter-laboratory trial measuring parent vitamin D and 25(OH)D in specific foods and dietary supplements among a group of laboratories which currently perform these analyses. A roundtable group of approximately 4-5 persons with relevant expertise shall be established to identify and critically evaluate scientific issues. Input from the roundtable members shall be sought and utilized throughout the project. ARS will prepare 5 or 6 common samples of foods and supplements and will secure the participation of at least 5 labs to analyze these samples for vitamins D3, D2, and 25OHD using mass spectrometry methods. ARS will obtain detailed documentation for the methods used and results obtained from each lab. Collection, arrangement, and summary of data collected during the trial shall be carried out by USDA and compiled into a final project report which will include data results, laboratory methods, summary, conclusions, research gaps and recommendations.


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Share your experiences with the 5k Foam Fest- Orlando 2013 below Back to event details page.
I was not impressed with the 5k Foam Fest in Orlando, FL 5k Foam Fest event yesterday.
1) not enough obstacles
3) 1 1/2 miles before the first obstacle
4) not enough suds on the few obstacles that were there
5) long lines at the few obstacles
6) NO SHOWERS!!!! The shower sign was infront of a square of PVC pipes that were spraying water 12" into the air. I guess if you wanted to shower your toes off it would work..... I can't believe that you guys wasted the gas filling up the water pump every 45 minutes.
Can I please get my money back?
ACTIVE is the leader in online event registrations from 5k running races and marathons to softball leagues and local events. ACTIVE also makes it easy to learn and prepare for all the things you love to do with expert resources, training plans and fitness calculators.


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They are sudden, they are remorseless and they can suck their victims into the sea to an almost certain death. Summoned by wind and tide, these "sneaker waves" hurl themselves far beyond the foam line on the beach then forcefully go in reverse. In the past week alone, they are blamed for the drowning deaths of three people on Bay Area beaches.
Charles Quaid of Richmond was strolling with his wife and dog at North Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore on New Year's Day when what apparently was a sneaker wave claimed his life. Quaid, 59, was a sailor and familiar with the ocean but still disappeared into a churning sea. Quaid's dog emerged from the water unharmed.
A similar tragedy occurred Dec. 28, when 37-year-old Juan Escamillo-Rojas of San Francisco died trying to save his 9-year-old son Juan Carlos Escamillo-Monroy, after a wave swept the boy into San Francisco Bay as they fished off the Marin Headlands. The boy also died.
In the aftermath of those tragedies, Bay Area families that once frolicked in the foam at places like Monastery Beach near Carmel and Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz, retreated from the threat of killer waves with the malevolent recoil of a bullwhip. Yet as unusual as the deaths were, sneaker waves are not uncommon at this time of year. "Everyone is talking about these waves that run up on the beach and snatch dogs and families and drowns everyone," said Mark Massara, who has surfed Northern California waters for more than 40 years. "And the dog always survives."
Pattern waves
Massara, who is general counsel for the wetsuit manufacturer O'Neill, thinks the term "sneaker waves" was concocted to make people feel better about their own ill-advised daring. "If it helps the public be more sensitive to the inherent dangers of the ocean in Northern California in the winter, I suppose it's OK," he said. "But if you're trying to describe what goes on in the ocean, it's entirely misleading. There aren't sneaker waves. There's regular, routine, predictable giant surf in January in Northern California."
The cold-weather phenomenon claimed most of a family in November. They were playing fetch with their dog on Big Lagoon Beach in Humboldt County, when they were swept into the ocean by a sneaker wave while their teen daughter helplessly watched from the shore. Howard Kuljian ran into the churning surf to save the family dog, Fran, and he was followed by his wife and their son, Gregory. All three drowned; the dog survived.
Despite popular mythology that has sprung up about the predictability of waves -- it's not true that every seventh wave will be a big one -- they do often arrive in sets that follow a pattern. Generally, sneaker waves occur when two large peaks converge and suddenly create a monster, such as the one that swept ashore during the Mavericks surf competition three years ago, injuring 16 spectators.
"On a steep beach, that wave will run up and rush back pretty quickly," said Gary Griggs, director at UC Santa Cruz's Institute of Marine Sciences. "If the tide's coming in, that's going to act in concert with those converging waves."
Sneaker waves sometimes claim victims standing in relatively calm water, which is what happened to environmental activist Rebecca Tarbotton, 39, of Oakland. She died Dec. 26 after being tossed around by a big wave not far from a beach north of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. And as Tarbotton's death demonstrated, knowing the tremendous power that nature can release in an instant offers little protection. One of Northern California's most popular diving spots is Monastery Beach near Carmel, which the expert divers who flock there refer to as Mortuary Beach because it has taken so many lives.
Surprising ocean
While oceanographers tend to dispute the notion that killer waves are consistently rising out of the sea and dragging innocent strollers to a watery grave, even they are sometimes caught off guard by the unanticipated arrival of an extremely large wave. "I think it's a pretty good description," said Oregon State University oceanographer Robert Holman, referring to the phenomenon's unusual name. "They lie well out of the statistical expectation of what the next wave should be."
He ought to know. A few years ago, Holman and his wife were standing on a rocky point by the sea in Italy when they were suddenly consumed by a wall of water that he never saw coming. "I got totally drenched," he recalled. "That was a surprising moment."
It can happen to anybody.
"In general, some people are not very good observers," Griggs said, "or they're not really thinking carefully about what they're being exposed to. If you're walking on the wet sand, you're probably walking where the water has been a few minutes before. If the sand is dry, it's unlikely you're going to be swept out to sea. But we've all seen people who put their towels down on the beach, and as the tide comes in, all of a sudden their towel is underwater."
Griggs once went to the home of an elderly woman in Santa Cruz, hoping to reassure her that the waves pounding just off her rear deck wouldn't wash her home away. "Just as I turned around, this wave came up and just covered me," he said. "As I walked into her house, soaking wet, she said, 'Never turn your back on the ocean.'''
Contact Bruce Newman at 408-920-5004; follow him at Twitter.com/BruceNewmanTwit.
beach safety rules
Source: United States Coast Guard


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When you've ticked off the more familiar sights on your itinerary and taken the obligatory bus tour, why not try something a little different? Check out our top five alternative tours for inspiration.
Spirit Collection Tours, Natural History Museum, London
London's Natural History Museum is famous for its life-sized model of a blue whale, an earthquake simulator and more dinosaurs than Jurassic Park. Less known are the countless specimens carefully catalogued behind the scenes. Book a tour to see the 27 kilometres of shelves seething with specimens collected by Darwin, scientific rarities and creatures including a giant squid called Archie.
Insider London Tours, London
If you think you've seen everything London has to offer, think again. Insider London offer quirky tours uncovering some of the capital's more unusual corners. Take the Street Art Tour to see graffiti masterpieces by Banksy et al, explore the history of the world's oldest underground on the London Underground Tour or learn all manner of amazing trivia on the Quirky London Tour.
Sewer Tour, Brighton
Brighton's sewers are a Victorian engineering marvel built to cope with the town's increasing waste as its population exploded in the 19th century. Bring sensible clothes and a sure footing as you venture underground to explore the extraordinary workings of the world beneath your feet.
Historic Toilet Tour, York
See the parts of York that others miss with York Walk, a team of knowledgeable locals that run entertaining tours round this beautiful historic city. One of their most entertaining walks is the Historic Toilet Tour, a jaunt through the pungent history of the public toilet. Learn about Viking toilets, Roman conveniences and try out a medieval garderobe. If you'd rather a less specialist tour, York Walk also lead general interest and history tours.
The Real Mary King's Close, Edinburgh
Deep below Edinburgh's historic Old Town is a warren of underground 'closes', narrow streets once home to people between the 16th and 19th centuries. Sealed off and forgotten for years the Real May King's Close is now a fascinating attraction that's a fine mix of history and hair-raising horror.
Images © Timparkinson, doyoubleedlikeme, Clive Flint


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Power Outage in Gray
Published: Friday, October 25, 2013 at 10:36 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, October 25, 2013 at 10:36 p.m.
A vehicle accident caused a power outage in Gray Friday night.
According to the Entergy website, "a vehicle has hit our equipment. Our crews are on the way to restore power as soon as possible."
About 418 customers are being affected by the outage, which Entergy estimates began at 7:59 p.m.
Entergy said customers should expect power to be back on by 1:30 a.m.
A separate incident in Thibodaux has caused a power outage for less than 100 residents.
Entergy is still investigating the cause and expects power to return by midnight.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


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Sep 15, 2011
CORPUS CHRISTI – The Texas A&M – Corpus Christi baseball team hosted its annual scout day on Thursday, Sept. 15, at Chapman Field. About 15 professional scouts were in attendance to get a closer look at the Islanders' draft-eligible players and future prospects.
The team started the day by running the 60-yard dash, then followed that up with an infield/outfield session and throws by the team's catchers. Draft-eligible hitters then took a round of batting practice and the Islanders concluded the day with a brief scrimmage.
Click here to view a photo gallery from Scout Day, or watch the video below.


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Graeme McDowell might live in the heart of Florida these days, but the Ryder Cup 2014 Team Europe player is still a home- boy at heart. Ireland is simply in his DNA, says golf writer Brian Keogh
Why else would he build his own bar-restaurant, Nona Blue, in steamy Orlando, Florida, within walking distance of his US home? It's a watering hole with Guinness on tap and good grub to fuel great conversation post-match. Just like his favourite bar in his native Portrush, in fact, which was close to the more modest Rathmore Golf Club, and McDowell's home turf.
It was so late at night when Portrush's favourite son hugged his dad Kenny on Father's Day, June 2010, that the members had to lock themselves into the bar until three in the morning to watch the finish – it was McDowell's first US Open win. Robbie Doherty, a longstanding committee member, explains: "Under the Sunday licensing laws, we had to close the bar at 10 o'clock so we just served teas and coffees,"
A few celebratory beers have been downed in McDowell's honour at Rathmore since then. After all, it was there and on Ireland's other great links where McDowell mastered his game – straight hitting, and deadly chipping and putting.
They're the skills he learnt playing links courses, such as Royal Portrush, where he won the Irish Amateur title in 2000; at tight and tricky Laytown and Bettystown on the east coast; and on the upturned greens of Lahinch and County Sligo's Rosses Point in the wild west.
Of course, McDowell's love of the short game goes back to those long Irish summer evenings, when he'd hit balls in the moonlight with his little brother Gary in the County Antrim seaside town of Portrush.
"The boys just lived on the golf course, especially during the school holidays," says dad Kenny. "In the summer, I left them over to the club when I was going to work at a quarter to eight. They had a lunch box and we took them over their tea. It would be getting on for nine at night and they still wouldn't be home.
"They were knocking shots into the 17th. You know what it's like, you're hitting shots in the dark and your eyes become accustomed to it.'"
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It's no surprise then that threading the narrow links fairways of Lahinch, Baltray or Portstewart made McDowell the magnificent player he is today.
But before he was one of the world's top golfers, McDowell was a caddy – one who made a big impression on these visitors…
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You don't have to be an adventurer like American writer Tom Coyne to turn your golfing trip to Ireland into a voyage...
Padraig Harrington....Rory McIlroy....Graeme McDowell....Darren Clarke…and that's just the all island Irish major winners...
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