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My Journals
Who I Am and What I Do
Spending the past 24 years at NASA Ames Research Center with one company
providing software services could mean either (a) I'm in a dreadful rut
or (b) I really enjoy the work. Happily, the answer is (b), and I hope
very much for many more years yet. Maybe I can explain why.
Most of my 24 years have been in support of the Aerodynamics
Division at Ames. Applied aerodynamics basically involves two main activities:
(1) using computers to predict and improve the performance of airfoils,
wings, and (more recently) whole aircraft, and (2) using wind tunnels--and
more computers--to test those predictions on scale models. Often the results
agree, but sometimes they differ, while results from the actual aircraft
may differ again. Narrowing these differences through the use of more
and more sophisticated computational and experimental techniques is one
of the aerodynamicist's goals. As a software engineer trained in numerical
methods, I am not an aerodynamicist, but I have been able to provide some
of the programming help needed to further this basic goal.
More specifically, much of this support has involved
combining two very complex types of calculation into a form that allows
an aerodynamicist to modify or refine a given shape to have better performance.
The two types of calculation linked together are (1) the ability to compute
the airflow about a given aerodynamic shape, and (2) the ability to optimize
that shape by means of a general purpose minimization method. Optimization
refers to automating the calculation of good values of some problem-dependent
parameters, called variables, in order to reduce some other quantity such
as cost, energy consumption, or--in our case, as one possibility--aerodynamic
drag for a given lift (that is, minimize air resistance for a given aircraft
weight). Usually, the minimization is performed in the presence of practical
considerations termed constraints, although simpler unconstrained optimization
methods have been used to good effect.
Please note that while it takes highly knowledgeable
specialists to produce good flow solvers and other highly skilled professionals
to implement good optimization packages, combining the two and applying
the combination as an aerodynamic design-by-optimization tool is much
more within the domain of mere mortals. It might help to compare this
with conducting an orchestra: the conductor probably couldn't come close
to writing what the composer wrote, and he or she cannot play most of
the instruments the way the musicians can. Nevertheless, the conductor
manages to bring the two sets of talent together and produce (usually)
happy results. If you've ever wondered what synergistic effects are, you've
just read about two examples.
A little more specifically, my work has included
helping develop and apply an airfoil design-by-optimization program (two-dimensional
flow), a similar three-dimensional program for treating a rotor blade
or a yawed wing (more on which below), and an even more elaborate wing/body
design code with an option to include under-the-wing engine effects for
supersonic transport applications. Most recently, such methods have been
generalized to treat any complex configuration by decomposing the shape
about the aircraft into numerous blocks, which in turn leads to a natural
way of parallelizing the calculations: different blocks can be treated
by different processors of a multiple-processor computer at the same time.
Another advance as crucial as parallelizing the design
process has emerged in recent years which enables the optimization to
be performed vastly more efficiently than was long believed possible,
but this introduction is already too lengthy, so I will not describe that
breakthrough until later. I hasten to emphasize that this work is a team
effort, completely dependent upon the dramatic progress achieved by the
theoreticians, the implementers of the corresponding software, and the
manufacturers of more and more powerful computer systems. In combination,
these software and hardware tools are now automating design refinement
of more efficient aircraft. Over the life of an airplane, such refinements
can save vast amounts of fuel, so NASA and the airframe manufacturers
will be striving to improve the accuracy and efficiency of these methods
for a long time to come. I hope to remain a part of it, and maybe some
of you readers will get to join similar worthy and challenging efforts,
My Career Journey
It would be nice to believe that a childhood fascination with all things
to do with aviation, particularly jet airplanes, was responsible for my
eventual participation in aircraft design, but I am very much aware that
it was much more luck than good management. First, I had a twin brother
to share that hobby with and to help me much later. As children we each
subscribed to different aviation magazines (I to Flight International,
he to The Aeroplane each week, plus numerous monthlies) and we devoured
them all during what was, in retrospect, the most dramatic of eras as
the jet engine enabled a remarkable proliferation of more and more advanced
aircraft. (The pace of development of new designs has slowed drastically
in the past couple of decades, presumably because the costs and complexities
have mushroomed greatly. All the more reason to bring the power of modern
computers to bear. The fact that the de Havilland Comet, the Boeing 707,
F-104 Starfighter, the Concorde and the Phantom F-4, to name a few, were
designed and built in the absence of even an Apple II computer, and in
remarkably few years, has to be impressive to anyone even vaguely aware
of the construction issues, the flight control problems, the safety concerns,
and so on, that aircraft building involves. But I digress.)
Our interest wasn't really in flying but rather in
the fascinating shapes we saw in all those three-view and cut-away drawings
(the more detailed the better). As we entered our teens, we built more
and more elaborate scale models from those drawings. Our Northrop Flying
Wing, Gloster Javelin, Douglas X-3, and F-104A all measured about 3 feet,
while the crowning achievement in our last years at high school and first
years at university was a 6-ft model of the English Electric Lightning
F-1A, a Mach 2 twin-engine fighter. This one was finished with a layer
of Plastibond which we had to sand and fill, sand and fill, till all the
little bubble holes were eliminated. We managed to mold the cockpit canopy
from something called Perspex, and modeled two Firestreak missiles attached
to the forward fuselage. Maybe the absence of TV had something to do with
our perseverance. We were born in New Zealand and lived there till our
20s, and the first TV we ever saw belonged to a high school classmate's
family around 1960. Today, no doubt, we'd have been glued to the Wings
programs on the Discovery Channel.
We went separate ways following our bachelors' degrees
in mathematics: Michael to the New Zealand Government's Department of
Scientific and Industrial Research, and I to teaching mathematics at a
high school (a reluctant choice, but opportunities were few in those days).
The DSIR soon sponsored Michael to come to Stanford University, where
his doctorate in numerical analysis led to a career in "mathematical programming"
which is better referred to as constrained optimization, although the
terms linear programming and nonlinear programming persist. As I've touched
on above, this field involves elaborate software for minimizing quantities
known as cost functions or objective functions subject to linear or nonlinear
constraints (possibly hundreds or more of them), all with respect to certain
variables (again, possibly hundreds or more).
This connection with my brother and his colleagues
in optimization was to prove a useful one. First, though, I had to extract
myself from teaching, and after five years I was definitely ready for
a change. (Teaching is certainly a character-building endeavor, and dedicated
teachers deserve much more recognition than our modern society tends to
give them. But I urge would-be teachers to choose wisely: those late nights
preparing for tomorrow's classes take their toll, as do the myriad other
teaching duties and the inevitable students with behavioral problems.
Twenty-seven years later, I still have occasional anxiety dreams of being
up there in front of a class, unprepared.) Anyway, a 6-week visit to Michael
in California made sense. Not knowing what the future held, I audited
a few classes at Stanford, sat the GRE exam, and applied to the Computer
Science Department, one of the first such departments in this country.
Eventually I had the good fortune to be available when a Research Assistanceship
came up, and that was the beginning of my second career. Just an MS in
CS (focusing on numerical analysis) has served me well ever since. Interestingly,
the Assistanceship initially involved a literature search on parallel
algorithms for solving tridiagonal systems of equations--in 1972. Truly
usable parallel computer systems have become a reality only in very recent
years, yet here the universities were anticipating their requirements
25 years earlier.
One of the few job interviews I had upon graduating
was with Informatics (now Sterling Software), who supported some of the
research at NASA Ames. This proved a lucky choice, because it led to the
involvement with aircraft design that as teenagers in New Zealand we could
only vaguely dream of. Actually, most of the first five years was spent
helping to analyze solar wind data from the instruments on board the Pioneer
10, Pioneer 11, and Pioneer Venus spacecraft. I was able to contribute
what I had learned about solving least squares optimization problems to
fit mathematical models to the data, which represented particles emanating
from the Sun at about a million miles per hour.
I also had an introduction to wind tunnel data in
those first years. At that time, Ames used a single, central computer
(IBM 360/67 with two processors) to support not only all the wind tunnels
but all other computing at Ames as well! Informatics designed and implemented
a new Standardized Wind Tunnel System to run on dedicated minicomputers
in each tunnel. My involvement was with some force/moment calculation
utilities. Later, I worked on a separate data acquisition system for oscillating
airfoils which evolved into another system known as the Fluid Mechanics
Data Acquisition System. Around that time I was task manager for a group
of 10 or so, but our numbers have dwindled with NASA budgets, and many
good people have had to move on. Today, the budget situation is somewhat
A most intriguing project came along a few years
ago: the Oblique All Wing project, which was the ultimate extrapolation
of the idea long promoted by the famous aerodynamicist, R.T. Jones, who
had invented the swept wing independently of the Germans during WW II.
"R.T" was associated with Ames for many years, and, in his 80s, still
came to many of our OAW meetings with further contributions. Ideally,
an aircraft needs to vary the wing sweep in flight according to its speed.
Pivoting a single wing in the middle rather than sweeping two wings symmetrically
might save weight, at the expense of control complications because of
the asymmetry. A low speed demonstrator had been built and flown, taking
off with the wing pivoted 45 degrees forward and backward, for instance,
and this aircraft can now be seen by the visitors center at Ames. However,
for a large transport aircraft, avoiding the weight of a really massive
pivot altogether seemed attractive. Moreover, as R.T.'s analyses showed
long ago, long slender bodies are the most efficient. Therefore, he urged
doing away with the fuselage completely, dispensing with any massive pivot,
putting the passengers inside the wing, and flying the wing at a very
high sweep during cruise as a long, slender body.
Our assignment, then, was to design wing sections
around a fixed-size central passenger cabin to allow flight as efficient
as possible at Mach 1.6 (~1,000 mph) at 68 degrees of sweep. The cabin
had to be 10 ft high and carry 450 passengers, leading to an enormous
wing span of more than 400 feet! Blending the outer wing panels into the
cabin envelope proved to be a nice application of constrained optimization,
while optimizing the wing sections was done with the rotor blade/yawed
wing code using an unconstrained optimizer. I became involved enough to
be chosen for a NASA Contractor of the Year award in 1993. There are way
too many aspects to cover further here, but an intense team effort did
indeed lead to the design, construction and wind tunnel testing of a magnificent,
7-ft steel and aluminum model with four under-the-wing engines. Our calculations
and the experimental measurements both predicted that the concept was
less efficient than the early hopeful claims, partly because of those
pesky engines: their pylons had to be thick enough for the engines to
pivot as the speed (and sweep) changed in flight. The laws of physics
are extremely rigid, and outwitting Mother Nature doesn't come easily.
Maybe, some day, the cost of fuel will be high enough that the idea will
be revisited for its potential modest benefits, but for now, a conventional
next-generation supersonic transport is sure to appear first.
Indeed, such a Mach 2.4 High Speed Civil Transport
design project is what I've been supporting most recently, but details
must be deferred because this outline is already too long. Suffice it
to say that the aerodynamic design-by-optimization work is challenging
and rewarding, and I will always feel grateful for having stumbled into
it. I wish everybody could be so fortunate.
Rewarding though this career has been, my greatest fortune has been in
meeting my wonderful wife, Ha (a truly good person who survived a harrowing
escape from Vietnam by overloaded small boat in a storm). Our little boy,
named after Uncle Michael, of course, is two now and couldn't be more
delightful for his proud parents. He has mastered the letters of the alphabet
and the numbers up to twelve. Watching that little character play and
learn new things every day is the most fascinating and heart-warming part
of our lives. I strongly recommend it!
Unfortunately, balancing a demanding job and family
life is very difficult, and too often the family comes second. Regular
exercise at racquetball and tennis aggravates the situation, yet not staying
fit wouldn't be wise either. I've had to give up most of my reading, and
rarely get to play the piano these days. Too little time in the day is
my biggest regret, along with being too far away for too long from our
loving mother. I hope little Michael grows up to find as fulfilling a
life as I have, but that it's not 7,000 miles from home. Today, make a
point of hugging your mom and dad--while you still can.
Parting Thoughts
For young people with mathematical inclinations wondering about careers,
I would suggest that, while numerical optimization has already been applied
effectively in many fields, there should be scope for a lot more of that
in the future, including the work within NASA. Design of almost anything
these days is done with computers--from planes and cars to refrigerators
(I'm sure) and even computers themselves (e.g., for cooling them efficiently).
Automating the determination of best designs is an opportunity for people
familiar with optimization software to make valuable contributions.
Some applications, including the above, involve extremely
expensive calculations (such as for the airflow about an aerodynamic shape).
Normally, costly objective functions tend to limit the number of design
variables that can be used at one time. However, a recent breakthrough
has virtually made this conventional wisdom obsolete: some clever calculus
shows how, at the expense of one more calculation similar to the airflow
calculation, the sensitivities of the function being minimized to any
number of variables--and hence a direction to move in the design space--can
be calculated very cheaply. This is nontrivial stuff, but it helps illustrate
the exciting possibilities made possible by recent advances in this very
important field. Much larger problems than previously thought feasible
are able to be tackled now.
Finally, I must take this opportunity to urge young
people not to do one thing I did, and that is take more than 40 years
to discover the symphonies of Gustav Mahler. He wrote 9 remarkable symphonies
(or 10, really, but he was so afraid that 9 was a fateful number--because
of how many other composers died after writing that many--that his real
9th he chose not to call a symphony). Mahler (1860-1911) was the greatest
conductor of his time, and his marvellous orchestrations reflect that.
His music is full of beautiful melodies, frequently two of them in parallel,
and the emotions range from sublime joy to agonizing despair. If you haven't
heard yet what he did with a minor key version of the Frere Jacque tune,
you should start with his Symphony No. 1 (the "Titan")--see the third
I would love to say more on this subject (such music
having helped me through many long evenings on the job during our intense
efforts to meet deadlines), but I've imposed on my readers too much already.
Thanks for listening!


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Gary Schofield - New Zealand Seascape/Landscape/Fine Art
Sir Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Hillary's Smile
The Pohutukawa Tree, also known as The New Zealand Christmas Tree:
"New Zealand beaches burst into a flame of colour in December and touch the hillsides and shorelines with the red flowers of summer" These trees, Metrosideros Excelsa, are named from the Maori word Pohutukawa. Legend tells us that the red is coloured from the blood of the Maori hero, Tawhaki. Departing souls, Wairua, leap from the northern most Pohutukawa tree at Te Reinga into the entrance of the underworld.
Gary was commissioned by His Excellency John Wood New Zealand Ambassador to paint The New Zealand Chancery. The painting was unveiled 25th February 1997:
Resting with great stature on New Zealand soil in the United States, the Chancery is a symbolof the bridge and the bond between our two countries. It is seldom that a painter will paint directly into the light but this dynamic approach has captured the stature and subtleties of this extraordinary building. Raking light accents each brick and reveals everything from the intricate Maori archway to the asymmetry of the building itself. Shadows leap forward and draw the viewer into the picture.
"The Ferry Boats" Although the ferry and history is important in the painting it is actually the water that is moving.
"Breakdown at Wharanui" Rural New Zealand is a quiet, quiet place
"Mitre Peak" The breathtakingly beautiful South Isand peak in the region of the fjiords
Ferry Boats Early Morning
"Rangitoto" The sleeping volcano sillhouetted in the cool light of winter
"Education Cuts" A political painting statement from the 1980s
"Auckland City viewed from Gulf Harbour Whangaparaoa" The blue Waitamata contrast against the Terra Cotta
Painting of the New Zealand Race Horse "Era of Triumph"
The New Zealand Pub and TAB
Pix at Weiti River Whangaparaoa
Taupo Pastel on Canson Paper
South Island Pastel on Canson Paper
Harbour Oil on Board
Ski painting
The Church at Ohinemutu, Rotorua
Goldfinch Study
Flower Study Oil on Board
Wave Painting

subset: commoncrawl


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Faith comes by hearing the word of God. In today's Points of Power Yolanda Adams and AV discuss understanding the true meaning of faith. Plus, having the confidence that God will do what he said he would do.
Get more Points Of Power here and listen LIVE weekdays at 9:45 am EST/8:45 am CST on "The Yolanda Adams Morning Show!"
RELATED: Points Of Power: Remain Faithful To God [EXCLUSIVE AUDIO]
RELATED: Points Of Power: Mix The Word Of God With Your Faith [EXCLUSIVE AUDIO]
RELATED: Points Of Power: Put Action In Your Faith [EXCLUSIVE AUDIO]
Keep Up With Yolanda Adams On Facebook!
comments – Add Yours


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Home loan assistance that offers foreclosure prevention for homeowners who are facing unemployment is a topic that has been covered throughout 2010 and this year, and one of the reasons that there are still many homeowners being made aware of programs available to help them avoid foreclosure is because unemployment continues to remain a problem and new homeowners who may have previously been unaware of these plans are now facing a situation where they are looking for help. In the first days here in June, it was reported that unemployment increased to around 9.1% due to the fact that new job numbers for the month of May were only reported to be around 54,000, and this was a great deal fewer jobs than had been predicted.
April reportedly saw a decent increase in jobs but due to more Americans facing long-term unemployment, initiatives are currently available like the Hardest Hit Fund are offering homeowners the foreclosure prevention assistance they need and other mortgage assistance initiatives in these specific states where unemployment may be particularly troubling. States that were offered funding to implement these Hardest Hit Fund programs are those who have seen high levels of unemployment that may be above the national average or have had unemployment problems and housing difficulties which have led to the inability of homeowners to afford their mortgage payments.
There are also initiatives for states that are not being offered aid through the HHF program, like the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program, but unemployment assistance is becoming more necessary thanks to continued troubles in the job market, as even positive numbers in job additions in early 2011 have still not been enough to help combat the problem of long-term unemployment and foreclosures that have been linked to these mortgage difficulties. While there are states from California to North Carolina that offer Hardest Hit Fund foreclosure prevention to unemployed homeowners, each individual in a state will have to not only contact their state's housing agency, but speak with their mortgage servicer as there are some financial institutions who are still in the process of implementing these plans in various areas.
While states can offer subsidies or loans that may be beneficial for homeowners, in terms of helping them make their mortgage payment, there are some state housing agencies that also have plans to address negative equity, delinquency on home loans, or there are cases where states are also offering alternatives to foreclosure like short-sale assistance. Understandably, not all homeowners are in a position to take advantage of these initiatives, and it's hoped that in the coming months we will begin to see more positive numbers in terms of the job market and housing, but if homeowners are still being plagued with high levels of unemployment, federal initiatives within the home loan modification plan may offer foreclosure prevention through mortgage payment forbearance, but many of the Hardest Hit Fund programs can also bring about long-term solutions as some offer payment assistance for a few months, while others may be able to aid homeowners for up to a year or more.


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Because of the unpleasant and distressing symptoms of whooping-cough, a large number of drugs, as well as other supposed remedial agents, have been tried in its treatment, all of which have met with more or less failure. Since the discovery of the supposed specific bacillus of whooping-cough by Bordet and Gengou in 1906, the trend has been to develop a specific vaccine or serum.
The bacillus of Bordet and Gengou grows deeply in the remoter parts of the respiratory tract, seldom above the level of the larynx and oftener below it, and is found in largest numbers during the early stage of the disease. It is a small, ovoid bacillus, non-motile, gram-negative, stains feebly with the ordinary basic dyes, and grows best on a mixture of defibrinated human or rabbit's blood with 3 per cent. agar.
In 1909, Lehman,1 a homeopath, reported successful treatment of whooping-cough with coqueluchin, which
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JUNEAU — One of the framers of Alaska's constitution spoke in opposition Friday to a constitutional amendment that would allow public funds to be appropriated to private educational institutions.
Vic Fischer, a delegate to Alaska's Constitutional Convention in 1955 and 1956, told the House Education Committee Friday that those attempting to change the constitution must prove there is a fundamental problem with the existing language. He doesn't believe one exists.
JUNEAU — Lawmakers have begun deliberations on a bill that would require voters to present photo identification when casting their ballots, but one critic said the geography and ethnic makeup of the state would likely make the law unconstitutional if passed.
The House State Affairs Committee began discussing HB3, by Reps. Bob Lynn and Wes Keller, on Thursday. Lynn and Keller serve as the chair and vice-chair of the committee, respectively.
JUNEAU — Alaska has moved one step closer to striking "mental retardation" from state laws.
The Alaska Senate on Thursday unanimously passed HB88, which would replace "mentally retarded" and "mental retardation" with terms such as "intellectual and developmental disabilities."
JUNEAU, Alaska — Bill Carter had been planning his bucket-list winter vacation to Alaska for 30 years, and he couldn't have picked a better time to take it.
The retired chemist from Jesup, Ga., didn't mind that February temperatures can hover near minus 40 degrees on the outskirts of Fairbanks, because the night sky there offered Carter something most people never get to see: the aurora borealis.
JUNEAU — Human trafficking most likely occurs in Alaska, but it is unclear how prevalent the crime is in the state, according to a new study.
The State of Alaska Task Force on the Crimes of Human Trafficking, Promoting Prostitution and Sex Trafficking presented its findings to a joint session of the House and Senate judiciary committees Wednesday. Legislation passed last year called for the creation of a task force that would look at the prevalence of trafficking and prostitution, as well as the services available to help victims of those crimes.
JUNEAU — Technology has allowed the Alaska court system to continue its mission to be fair and accessible to the state's residents, but Alaska Supreme Court Chief Justice Dana Fabe told lawmakers on Wednesday that local or tribal courts remain key to the process in rural areas.
Fabe, in her State of the Judiciary address, said local courts can provide cultural insight and a sense of community that other courts can't.
JUNEAU — Gov. Sean Parnell's crime bill is raising legal concerns.
The bill, HB73 in the House and SB22 in the Senate, would allow investigators to intercept private communications in sex trafficking cases and strengthen sentencing laws in child pornography and sex trafficking cases. It also would allow judges to order GPS tracking of people with protective orders against them. It is a continuation of the Parnell administration's effort to crack down on domestic violence and sexual assault.
JUNEAU — The National Rifle Association came out in support of measures introduced in the Alaska House regarding self-defense and protecting gun rights on Wednesday.
HB24, from Rep. Mark Neuman, R-Big Lake, would allow people to use deadly force in self-defense in any place they have a legal right to be, more commonly referred to as a "stand your ground" law. Neuman has tried for several years to get the bill passed.
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Skip to comments.Swing State Polls Show Close Race
Posted on 05/31/2012 10:40:55 AM PDT by bkepley
NBC reports:
Today, were unveiling a new round of NBC-Marist surveys in three other battleground states ones that arent polled as often showing an even closer race. In Iowa, the two men are tied at 44% among registered voters, including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate; 10% are undecided. In Colorado, Obama gets support from 46% of registered voters, while Romney gets 45%. And in Nevada, the president is at 48% and Romney is at 46%. The margin of error in each of these three surveys is plus-minus 3%, so they are all statistical ties in these battleground states.
46% of our fellow citizens would sit still in a burning house. Appalling.
Bad news for Mr. Zero.
MSM polls show dead heat or near dead heats in multiple swing states. They can't even skew the numbers to favor Obama. They can't even cover with oversampling Dems.
Romney probably ahead by 5-10 in reality.
I'm not buying it. Absolutely no one I talk to anywhere will vote for the dictator in chief.
I'm not buying any of these polls; nada!
The last set of NBC polls had a +15 Dem margin to show Obama leading Ohio by just 6.
How bad is it THIS TIME?
That's why we should only look at polls that are of "likely voters". If the likely voters are still close then the challenger will nearly always take the lion-share of the undecided votes.
Rasmussen's likely voters shows Zero losing.
Notice that all the polls by NBC were of registered voters. BHO is in real trouble if he can only manage a tie with registered voters. Likely voters probably put Romney up by 4-5 pts.
I've heard that "likely voters" is a better predictor than the "registered voters" they use here — and they usually show better numbers for Romney.
I thought these poll numbers were unusually good for Romney.
Oh we have our share of "principled" non-voters right here on FR, trying to shout down anybody would dare to vote for Romney rather than sit out, out of spite, and to show those Republicans a lesson, dag nabbit!
As other posters have already noted, whatever you think of these numbers, the situation "on the ground" is probably even better than that.
I'm not a big Dick Morris fan, but I agree with him on this point. If the President is at 46% and and there are 8 - 10 percent undecided on Election Day, he loses BIG. On Election day, 80% of the undecideds go for the challenger, over the incumbent, in any election. If after 4 years, they are still "undecided" on Election Day, they will not vote for the incumbent. That is a historical fact.
If this keeps up, I am dreading what October surprise the community organizer will pull out.
True. They're oversampling democrats and probably registered rather than likely voters.
True. They're oversampling democrats and probably registered rather than likely voters.
I have a friend here in NYC,a liberal woman. She voted for Obama last time. We have had so many debates. The usual rancor against conservatives. Saw her over the holiday weekend. She said to me she would vote for whomever the pubbies nominated. She said Obama has done nothing so far.
This is the typical northeast liberal automatic pull the lever Democrat voter.This ia a vote that is simply assumed.
Obama is going to be in a world of hurt.
If Romney shows this much progress in the swing states among registered voters he is almost certainly ahead among likely voters. The momentum is swinging his way and I would expect to see major defections from the Obama camp with the Democrat candidates turning away from him. Expect his fund-raising woes to mount. Expect to see the establishment media somewhat less reliably in Obama's camp.
Today's economic numbers will only accelerate this trend. Even the price of gasoline comes down only because the economy is weakening. I doubt Obama will be able to put any kind of a plausible spin on tomorrow's jobless numbers and that, compounded with the revision downward of the first-quarter GDP, will cause more of the electorate, especially the undecideds, to decide that they must try something new.
When this thing breaks it will be reminiscent of Reagan's break but I think it will come much earlier in the season.
It seems to me that if these are statisticians it would not matter that much what their sampling is as long as the sample is large. The raw data is massaged to reflect the assumptions of the pollster. Of course the assumptions of the pollster matters a lot as Rasmussen found out in 2010.
We should look for the opening of killing of Osama movie that Hollywood is now producing
"BHO is in real trouble if he can only manage a tie with registered voters."
Yes, and since this is an NBC affiliated poll, you can be sure they've skewed it as far as possible in Obama's favor, and it still shows Obama in trouble. I'm willing to bet that the Obama campaign internal polls are starting to cause panic among Dem insiders since they're not for public consumption and have to be as accurate as possible.
The parasites don't quite outnumber the producers yet.
But the godless crowd 'feels' perfectly justified in cheating to win. And the godless administration will encourage and abet.
So the Marxist revolutionary wins a second term in November.
Agreed. And Obama's approval numbers among Independent voters are horrible in poll after poll.
Will they suddenly have a change of heart and vote Obama when stepping into the booth ? Nope.
Visited a neighbor early this morning and saw NBC today show in the background with this poll. No doubt the MSM was loving showing Romney down and the clueless independents watching (if anyone was really listening) were thinking how will Romney ever catch up. I'm sure the spot met the approval of the DNC.
I think so, too. I believe people are reluctant to tell an anonymous pollster they will vote against the first black president. So, I think there is big overstatement of Barry's support.
"Im not buying it. Absolutely no one I talk to anywhere will vote for the dictator in chief."
Understand that 0 will get a race riot or some other conflict started here in the US so he can suspend the Constitution and declare himself President for life.
Watch for the first part of October.
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Was it unusual, I mean, was kidnapping common in those times, or was that unusual?
Well, kidnapping was a threat, the famous Lindbergh kidnappings had occurred during this period. My Dad is a lawyer, had sent a couple of detectives to help some of his clients who felt that their children might be kidnapped. This was a real menace, apparently, after, or a threat, or a fear, during that particular period of time. There was one other factor. The Al Capone and the Chicago group had moved west, and so as a result, the mobs and the crime had moved out to the Bay area and to Los Angeles, and so Dad, who had been a police commissioner in 1931, he was aware of the dangers that lurked out there, and so he was responding in kind.
[production discussion]


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Is Giving Birth Like Tripping?Ceridwen Morris
I was once a part of a conversation with a group of cool, progressive women about birth. Somehow we got onto drugs and pain and then the question of whether pot would help. One of the women who'd never had a baby, said, "I wonder what it would be like to trip during childbirth? That could be cool!"
And immediately the moms in the group all said, "No, no, no you don't need to trip."
They weren't squares. They were just making the point that birth is already a trip. Adding mushrooms to the equation would be redundant. They also noted that, with the physical pain, sensory enhancers could tip the experience either way.
Sometimes, in my childbirth classes, when I describe what happens in birth, a student will say, "sounds like tripping," or, "I heard it's like tripping."
It's true that a laboring woman's senses are very heightened. She has a keen awareness of what's safe and what's menacing. She gets locked into rhythms and mental loops. I don't know if women have actually hallucinated in labor, but the environment can take on exaggerated characteristics. Then there's this, from one of my favorite writers, Cookie Mueller:
"In my hallucinations caused by pain delirium, I watched dozens of night birds throw themselves, screaming, against the glass windows… or was it just hail?
Every sound was magnified. Everything roared.
The flourescent light was buzzing like a chainsaw, the clock ticking on the wall was Chinese water torture, the cries from the other women in the next rooms were as earsplitting as the wrong songs of distressed Humpback whales. The white tiles on the floor were so clean they were whistling. Even the usually silent plants on the window sill, benevolently doing their miraculous carbon monoxide to oxygen exchange, were wheezing with asthmatic photosynthesis.
From my antiseptic bed with the stiff flash-pasteurized sheets in a severely blank hospital room I would see, through the window, the black sky and the Libra constellation of stars rising in fast motion. Other galactic nebuli and meteor dust were swirling backwards, the red moon was closing in, but maybe it was really a UFO with atomic power problems, reverse electromagnetic damage. Was this happening?"
I LOVE Cookie Mueller and highly recommend you buy her books right now— this is from "The Birth of Max Mueller– September 21, 1971"— but what struck me about rereading this was how trippy it all is. I know the pool of women who've had both un-medicated birth and mushrooms or acid trips is probably not all that large (these days!), but I'd be curious to hear, anyone else think birth is a trip?
Photo: The Black Angels
Follow Ceridwen's blogging on Facebook or buy her book From The Hips.


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HAPPY - Terry Cogburn, 57, died Tuesday, April 24, 2001.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday in First Baptist Church of Happy with the Rev. Lonnie Poe and the Rev. Paul Burwash officiating. Graveside services will be at 3:30 p.m. MDT Friday in Walsh Cemetery of Walsh, Colo., with the Rev. Lonnie Poe officiating. Arrangements are by Brooks Funeral Directors of Happy.
Mr. Cogburn was born on Feb. 16, 1944, to Roy and Maxine Cogburn in Denver. He graduated from Vilas High School in Vilas, Colo.
Survivors include his wife, Dixie; a daughter, Yvette Sims of Happy; his parents, Roy and Maxine Cogburn of Walsh; a sister, Melody Fortner of Amarillo; and five grandchildren.
The family suggests memorials be to Happy Fire Department, P.O. Box 216, Happy, TX 79042; or American Heart Association, 2404 W. Seventh Ave., Amarillo, TX 79106.
Amarillo Daily News, April 26, 2001
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Pronk Technologies proudly introduces the EasySim™, a Full-Featured Patient Simulator designed specifically for educators. EasySim is small, easy to use, reliable, and affordable. Pronk is renown for its revolutionary simulators--SimCube® NIBP, OxSim® SpO2, and SimSlim® Multi-parameter. Visit us to see our newest products, and the future of educational simulators.
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The Blossom Hill Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA)(formerly North End Mennonite Church), Steven Street, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was started at Dillerville in 1934. When the grounds were needed for the expanding Armstrong Linoleum Company, the building was salvaged and used in a larger brick building on Steven Street in Lancaster. In 1974 the congregation moved to 333 Delp Road, Lancaster, Pennsylvania and adopted the present name.
Earl M. Wert, who was serving in 1957, was ordained for this mission group on 24 February 1946. The membership then was 38. In 2007 the membership was 107; Jane Hoober Peifer served as pastor.
In 2009 the congregation from the Lancaster Mennonite Conference to the Atlantic Coast Mennonite Conference. Blossom Hill wanted to recognize the pastoral leadership of women prior to the time this was accepted by the Lancaster Conference.
[edit] Additional Information
Address: 333 Delp Road, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17601
Phone: 717-569-5869
Website: Blossom Hill Mennonite Church
Denominational Affiliations:
Atlantic Coast Conference of Mennonite Church USA
[edit] Maps
Map:Blossom Hill Mennonite Church (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
|Ira D. Landis
|Sam Steiner
|Date Published
|June 2014
[edit] Cite This Article
MLA style
Landis, Ira D. and Sam Steiner. "Blossom Hill Mennonite Church (Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. June 2014. Web. 28 Sep 2016. http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Blossom_Hill_Mennonite_Church_(Lancaster,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=123205.
APA style
Landis, Ira D. and Sam Steiner. (June 2014). Blossom Hill Mennonite Church (Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 28 September 2016, from http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Blossom_Hill_Mennonite_Church_(Lancaster,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=123205.
©1996-2016 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.


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CASTILLE, C.J., SAYLOR, EAKIN, BAER, TODD, McCAFFERY, ORIE MELVIN, JJ. COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, Appellant v. VINCENT A. MOTO, Appellee
The Commonwealth appeals from the order of the Superior Court reversing the trial court's denial of the petition filed by Vincent A. Moto ("Appellee") to expunge his criminal record. Because we hold that the Superior Court erred in reversing the trial court, we now reverse the order of the Superior Court.
In 1987, a jury convicted Appellee of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, robbery, and criminal conspiracy, following which the court imposed a sentence of 12 to 24 years' imprisonment. These convictions and sentence arose from the following circumstances. Appellee was arrested and charged with the above offenses after the victim, L.Y., saw Appellee walking down the street and recognized him as one of two men who had sexually assaulted and robbed her several months before. At Appellee's trial, L.Y. testified that, while she had been walking home one evening in December 1985, Appellee and another man had forced her into a car at gunpoint and had raped her repeatedly in the car. L.Y. testified further that she had had the opportunity to look closely at her assailants as the assault went on for more than an hour in a well-lit area, and she was unwavering in her identification of Appellee as one of the men who had raped and robbed her. Police artists had made a composite sketch of Appellee and the other assailant based on L.Y.'s descriptions of them; the sketch of Appellee was shown to the jury. In addition, L.Y. testified that after Appellee's arrest and while he was awaiting trial, the other assailant had stopped her at gunpoint on the street, and had threatened her and her children with harm if she were to testify against "Vincent." In defense, Appellee claimed mistaken identity and proffered an alibi, which the jury rejected, finding him guilty of all counts.
In 1992, Appellee filed a Post Conviction Relief Act 1 ("PCRA") petition seeking DNA testing of the panties worn by L.Y. on the night of the assault. The petition was granted, the testing was conducted, and it revealed the presence of DNA from three different men, none of whom could have been Appellee. Based on these findings, in 1995, the PCRA court vacated Appellee's convictions and granted him a new trial. In 1996, the Commonwealth withdrew the charges against Appellee, and an order of nolle prosse was entered. The Commonwealth explained that it could not meet its burden of proof at a second trial because it was unable to locate the victim, who had moved from the area after Appellee's 1987 trial.2
Years later, in 2007, Appellee filed a petition to expunge all records of his arrest, trial, conviction, and sentence for offenses related to the sexual assault and robbery of L.Y. At an expungement hearing on March 5, 2008, the prosecutor summarized the evidence presented against Appellee at his 1987 trial, evidence to which Appellee stipulated as having been presented. The prosecutor then called the assistant district attorney who had prosecuted the 1987 case against Appellee, to the witness stand. He testified that L.Y.'s account of the assault was detailed and consistent and her identification of Appellee was convincing, but that the threats against her and her children had frightened her and caused her to move from the neighborhood. This witness opined that the DNA evidence did not exculpate Appellee because he may not have ejaculated during the rape. Next, the Commonwealth called the assistant district attorney who was the assistant chief of the Family Violence and Sexual Assault Unit in 1996 when Appellee's case was nolle prossed. He testified that the case was nolle prossed because of an inability to locate the victim, but stated that if she had been located, the Commonwealth would have retried Appellee. He also opined that the DNA results did not exonerate Appellee, and offered potential explanations for why the DNA on the victim's underwear did not match Appellee's DNA, i.e., Appellee may not have ejaculated during the rape, and the DNA patterns might reflect prior sexual activity with other partners, particularly since biological stains can remain on clothing for many years, even after laundering. Appellee called only a single witness, a private investigator, who testified that, with a brief search of public databases, he had found several addresses where L.Y. was reported to have lived from 1995–1997, which was close to the time when the Commonwealth claimed it could not locate her.
The trial court denied Appellee's petition to expunge, concluding that the Commonwealth had justified the retention of Appellee's arrest record. Trial Court Opinion, dated 6/30/08 (hereinafter "Trial Court Opinion"), at 4. The trial court cited the strength of the Commonwealth's case against Appellee; the credibility of its witnesses; the fact that Appellee had not been found not guilty; and the public's interest in retaining the arrest record of an individual convicted of a serious crime, such as rape, who is subsequently granted a new trial due to DNA evidence. Id. at 4–5.
Appellee appealed to the Superior Court, where a divided panel held that the trial court had abused its discretion and remanded with instructions to expunge Appellee's record. Commonwealth v. V.A.M., 980 A.2d 131 (Pa.Super.2009). The Superior Court concluded that the Commonwealth had not borne its burden of proof, and, in addition, questioned whether the trial court was in possession of information of record required to conduct an appropriate evaluation of Appellee's petition. Id. at 137.
We accepted the Commonwealth's petition for allowance of review on the following question:
Did Superior Court err in a matter of first impression where a divided panel in a published opinion: (1) reversed the Common Pleas Court and ordered that [Appellee's] criminal record for rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, conspiracy, and related charges be destroyed; (2) denied that the Common Pleas Court had applied the legal standard set forth in its Rule 1925(a) opinion; and (3) ordered expungement on the extraordinary rationale that it did not know whether the Common Pleas Court was aware of the evidence of record.
Commonwealth v. V.A.M., 991 A.2d 884 (Pa.2010).
There is a long-standing right in this Commonwealth to petition for expungement of a criminal arrest record, a right that is an adjunct of due process. Carlacci v. Mazaleski, 798 A.2d 186, 188 (Pa.2002). The decision to grant or deny a petition to expunge rests with the sound discretion of the trial court, and we review that court's decision for abuse of discretion. Commonwealth v. Waughtel, 999 A.2d 623, 624–25 (Pa.Super.2010); Commonwealth v. A.M.R., 887 A.2d 1266, 1268 (Pa.Super.2005).
Judicial analysis and evaluation of a petition to expunge depend upon the manner of disposition of the charges against the petitioner. When an individual has been convicted of the offenses charged, then expungement of criminal history records may be granted only under very limited circumstances that are set forth by statute. 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122; Hunt v. Pennsylvania State Police, 983 A.2d 627, 633 (Pa.2009). When a petitioner has been tried and acquitted of the offenses charged, we have held that the petitioner is "automatically entitled to the expungement of his arrest record." Commonwealth v. D.M., 695 A.2d 770, 772–73 (Pa.1997). When a prosecution has been terminated without conviction or acquittal, for reasons such as nolle prosse of the charges or the defendant's successful completion of an accelerated rehabilitative disposition program ("ARD"), then this Court has required the trial court to "balance the individual's right to be free from the harm attendant to maintenance of the arrest record against the Commonwealth's interest in preserving such records." Commonwealth v. Wexler, 431 A.2d 777, 879 (Pa.1981); D.M., supra at 772 ("We reiterate the authority of Wexler and the balancing test approved therein as the means of deciding petitions to expunge the records of all arrests which are terminated without convictions except in cases of acquittals.").
To aid courts in applying the balancing test for expungement, we also adopted in Wexler the following non-exhaustive list of factors that the court should consider:
These factors include [1] the strength of the Commonwealth's case against the petitioner, [2] the reasons the Commonwealth gives for wishing to retain the records, [3] the petitioner's age, criminal record, and employment history, [4] the length of time that has elapsed between the arrest and the petition to expunge, and [5] the specific adverse consequences the petitioner may endure should expunction be denied.
Wexler, supra at 879 (citation omitted).
We have emphasized that in applying the balancing test and considering the above factors, the court must analyze the particular, specific facts of the case before it. Id. at 880–81. The mere assertion by the Commonwealth of a general interest in maintaining accurate records of those accused of a crime does not outweigh an individual's specific, substantial interest in clearing his or her record. Id. at 881–82.
In addition, Wexler explicitly placed the burden of proof on the Commonwealth. The case against the Wexler appellants had been nolle prossed after the Commonwealth had admitted that it would be unable to sustain its burden of proof at trial. Wexler, supra at 880. Nonetheless, the trial court denied the appellants' petition to expunge their arrest records, and the Superior Court affirmed. This Court reversed and ordered expungement, concluding that the Commonwealth had not proffered "compelling evidence" to justify the retention of the appellants' arrest records. Id. at 881. Importantly, in general terms, we held that when the Commonwealth admits that it is unable to bear its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt at trial, then "the Commonwealth must bear the burden of justifying why the arrest record should not be expunged." Id. at 880.
Just a few months after Wexler was decided, we extended its rationale, balancing test, and non-exhaustive list of relevant factors to order expungement of the arrest record of an offender who had successfully completed an ARD program. Commonwealth v. Armstrong, 434 A.2d 1205 (Pa.1981). In Armstrong, we emphasized the policy undergirding ARD, i.e., to provide first-time offenders a fresh start. Id. at 1208.
Following this Court's decisions in Armstrong and Wexler, the Superior Court considered petitions to expunge under a number of diverse circumstances. For example, the Superior Court held that expungement of an arrest record was proper, based on application of the Wexler factors, when the petitioner had agreed to resign his school employment in consideration of the Commonwealth's dropping of the charges against him, which were related to an alleged library theft. Commonwealth v. A.M.R., 887 A.2d 1266, 1267–70 (Pa.Super.2005). The court emphasized the petitioner's altruistic motivation, the lack of any evidence that charges would ever be reinstated, and the immediate deleterious effects of the record of petitioner's arrest on his employment possibilities. Id. at 1271. In Rambo v. Commissioner of Police, 447 A.2d 279 (Pa.Super.1982), the Superior Court reversed the trial court and ordered expungement of a petitioner's arrest record after his conviction on drug-related charges was unanimously overturned by this Court based on insufficient evidence. The Superior Court emphasized that the effect of our ruling was to acquit the petitioner, and thus there was no reason to retain his arrest record. Id. at 281–82.
In other circumstances, the Superior Court has concluded that a petitioner's arrest record should be retained. For example, the Superior Court affirmed a trial court's order denying expungement of domestic assault charges, at least temporarily, in a case where the Commonwealth had dismissed the charges due to the wife-complainant's refusal to testify against the husband-defendant. Commonwealth v.Drummond, 694 A.2d 1111 (Pa.Super.1997). Applying the Wexler factors, the Superior Court recognized the Commonwealth's strong case against the husband-defendant; the severity of the wife-complainant's injuries and her complaints of a continuing pattern of abuse; and the short time period, i.e., just over a year, between the husband-defendant's arrest and his petition to expunge. Id. at 1113–14. Similarly, the Superior Court affirmed the denial of a petition to expunge in Commonwealth v. Persia, 673 A.2d 969 (Pa.Super.1996), a case in which the Commonwealth nolle prossed charges related to sexual molestation of a minor, because the minor was unable to testify in court against the alleged offender.
In the instant case, the parties, the trial court, and the Superior Court appear to agree that the balancing test set forth in Wexler applies and should control the outcome of the instant case. However, there is wide disagreement concerning how the Wexler factors should be applied to the facts and circumstances here presented. The Commonwealth argues that the trial court properly applied the Wexler balancing test and reasonably afforded great weight to the first Wexler factor, i.e., the strength of the Commonwealth's case against Appellee, as presented during his 1987 trial. In direct contrast, Appellee asserts that the trial court's reliance on evidence presented at his 1987 trial to assess the strength of the Commonwealth's current case against him was improper because he had been granted a new trial and thus was presumed to be innocent. In addition, in agreement with the Superior Court, Appellee contends that the trial court's Wexler analysis was flawed because it did not include an analysis of the additional specified factors.
We are unable to agree with Appellee's assertions or the Superior Court's determinations of trial court error, as we explain in detail infra. The Superior Court's conclusion that the trial court failed to consider all of the Wexler factors not only lacks support in the record, but also is inconsistent with legal presumptions of this Commonwealth. V.A.M., 980 A.2d at 137. In its opinion, the trial court clearly and correctly explained the Wexler balancing test, listed the prescribed factors, and stated that it had "conducted ․ the balancing test set forth in Wexler." Trial Court Opinion at 3–4. The trial court then expressly stated that, in reaching its decision that the Commonwealth had met its burden to justify retention of Appellee's arrest record, the court had "placed great weight in the strength of the Commonwealth's case against [Appellee]." Id. at 4. The trial court further explained that Appellee was never found not guilty, and was not retried after his conviction was vacated because the Commonwealth could not locate the victim. Id. at 5. The trial court also expressly found the testimony of the two assistant district attorneys "to be entirely reasonable and credible," and concluded that the DNA results did not establish Appellee's innocence of the rape. Id. Thus, the trial court explained in considerable detail its reasons for denying Appellee's petition to expunge, even though it did not specifically and individually address each and every Wexler factor.
In this Commonwealth, there is a presumption that when a court has facts in its possession, it will apply them. Commonwealth v. Jackson, 722 A.2d 1030, 1034 (Pa.1999) (articulating this presumption in the context of an adult certification matter); Commonwealth v. Devers, 546 A.2d 12, 18 (Pa.1988) (articulating this presumption in the context of a sentencing court's decision). Furthermore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we presume that the trial court carefully considered the entire record, and we do not require the court to prove that it did so by citing to each fact and circumstance of the case. See Jackson, supra at 1034. In Jackson, where the issue was the adequacy of the juvenile court's explanation of its decision to transfer the appellee's case to the adult criminal division for trial, we explained this principle as follows: "A juvenile court must consider all of the factors set forth in [the relevant section] of the Juvenile Act, but it need not address, seriatim, the applicability and importance of each factor and fact in reaching its final determination." Id. What a trial court must do is to explain the rationale for its decision in legal and factual detail sufficient to allow meaningful review. See id. at 1036.
Here, the trial court expressly made clear both its correct understanding of Wexler's balancing test, as well as its reasons for denying Appellee's petition. See supra (citing Trial Court Opinion). The record reveals information concerning each of the Wexler factors. That the trial court opinion did not explicitly discuss each and every one of the Wexler factors is of no moment, and certainly does not lead to the inference that the trial court did not thoroughly consider all the factors and did not properly apply the balancing test. Accordingly, we hold that the Superior Court erred in concluding that the trial court failed to address all the Wexler factors and thus abused its discretion.3
As mentioned above, the trial court denied Appellee's petition to expunge based primarily on the strength of the original 1987 case against him and the inability of the DNA evidence to exonerate him, as set forth by the unrefuted testimony of two assistant district attorneys, both of whom the court found credible and reasonable. See Trial Court Opinion at 2–5. The trial court also credited the Commonwealth's evidence that it nolle prossed Appellee's case because of an inability to locate the victim. Id. at 5. The Superior Court, for unexplained reasons, declined to comment on the trial court's finding that the Commonwealth's case against Appellee was strong. V.A.M., 980 A.2d at 137.4
Appellee contends that it was improper for the trial court to assess the strength of the Commonwealth's case against him using evidence presented at his 1987 trial. Appellee asserts that, in 1995, when the trial court vacated Appellee's convictions and granted him a new trial, his 1987 trial was rendered a "legal nullity" and he was "again cloaked in the presumption of innocence." Appellee's Brief at 14, 17. Thus, Appellee argues, the strength of the Commonwealth's case for purposes of his petition to expunge the nolle prossed charges against him can be assessed only on the basis of evidence that was available at the time he was granted a new trial. Appellee's Brief at 16. Because the Commonwealth could not find the victim and there were no other witnesses to testify as to Appellee's involvement in the crime, Appellee maintains that the case against him was not just weak, but was non-existent, at the time he was granted a new trial—the only relevant time, in Appellee's view. Id. at 16–17.
To support this argument, Appellee cites Commonwealth v. Miller, 473 A.2d 193 (Pa.Super.1984), in which the Superior Court ordered the trial court to expunge the appellant's arrest for burglary. See Appellee's Brief at 14, 20. The appellant had pled guilty to the burglary charge on the advice of his counsel; however, a federal district court concluded that defense counsel had been ineffective for failing to disclose that he also represented the victim of the burglary in an unrelated civil matter, and so granted the appellant a new trial. The Commonwealth never retried the appellant on the burglary charge. Years later, the appellant sought expungement of the burglary arrest from his criminal record. The trial court denied his petition to expunge, but the Superior Court reversed, reasoning that "a guilty plea entered by a defendant who has not been afforded the effective assistance of counsel is a nullity." Id. at 194.
Appellee's attempt to extend Miller's holding to his own circumstances is unavailing because he reads Miller too broadly. In Miller, the only evidence of record supporting the appellant's guilt was his guilty plea, which he had entered on the advice of counsel.5 By holding that defense counsel's undisclosed conflict of interest made the guilty plea a "nullity," the Superior Court in Miller rendered completely infirm the only evidence of record supporting the appellant's guilt. Hence, during the expungement proceedings, when the court sought to assess the strength of the Commonwealth's case against the appellant, there was absolutely no evidence of record on which it could rely. Accordingly, analysis of the first Wexler factor militated strongly in favor of expungement. Miller, supra at 195.
In contrast, here, the DNA results did not render infirm or reduce to a "nullity" any of the evidence presented at Appellee's 1987 trial for the sexual assault of L.Y. Rather, the DNA results would have constituted another item of evidence for the jury, which item necessarily would have rested alongside the other evidence proffered and other questions raised for that body's deliberation. It would have been for the jury to decide whether the failure to detect Appellee's DNA was more compelling than the victim's testimony, or, alternatively, whether the DNA results were not determinative in light of the other evidence implicating Appellee and the variety of possible explanations for the failure to detect his DNA. Of course, Appellee is correct that, had he been retried, he would have entered that proceeding "cloaked in the presumption of innocence," and there he would have remained unless he were convicted a second time. Appellee's Brief at 17. But an expungement hearing is not the same as a new trial. The Superior Court has recognized that an expungement hearing is not a criminal proceeding and the relief sought is civil in nature. Commonwealth v. Bailey, 419 A.2d 1351, 1352 (Pa.Super.1980). An expungement hearing is characterized by its own inquiry and its own standards, which are distinct from those of a criminal trial.
We cannot agree that the evidence presented at Appellee's 1987 trial was irrelevant to or improperly considered during his expungement proceedings, given the circumstances presented here, i.e., where Appellee was tried and convicted by jury; where subsequently analyzed DNA evidence led to the grant of a new trial, but did not render infirm the evidence presented at the original trial, and did not exonerate Appellee; and where a second trial was precluded by the Commonwealth's inability to locate the victim many years after the offense because she had moved.
In sum, the trial court in this case held an expungement hearing, applied the proper standard according to prevailing law in Wexler to the facts of the case, balanced the relevant factors, and then denied Appellee's petition to expunge. Given the circumstances of this case and the record before us, we cannot conclude that the court abused its discretion.6 Accordingly, we hold that the Superior Court erred in reversing the trial court's denial of Appellee's petition to expunge, and we now reverse the order of the Superior Court.
Messrs. Justice Eakin and Baer and Madame Justice Todd join the opinion.
Mr. Justice Saylor files a dissenting opinion in which Mr. Chief Justice Castille and Madame Justice Orie Melvin join.
1. FN1. 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541–46.
2. FN2. Appellee has maintained his innocence of the sexual assault of L.Y. throughout the various proceedings. His petition to expunge represents that he was "exonerated on the basis of DNA evidence" and that DNA testing "conclusively established that [he] could not have committed the crimes for which he was convicted." Appellee's Petition to Expunge, dated 3/5/08, at 1, 2. In Appellee's Brief at 19, he refers to the DNA results as "exculpatory DNA evidence." However, it is important to emphasize that the PCRA court did not hold or conclude that the DNA results exonerated Appellee. Rather, the PCRA court found that the DNA results raised a jury question that should have been considered along with the other relevant evidence, and so the court granted Appellee a new trial.The PCRA court's reasoning is consistent with that in other sexual assault cases from the Superior Court, which has held that the mere failure of DNA testing to show a match between a semen stain on the victim's underwear and the defendant is not per se exculpatory. In Commonwealth v. Wall, 953 A.2d 581 (Pa.Super.2008), the defendant-appellant had been convicted of the rape of a 12–year old girl even though DNA testing of a sperm sample found on her underwear excluded him as the depositor of the sperm. On appeal, he claimed that his conviction was against the weight of the evidence, but the Superior Court rejected his claim, concluding that, while the DNA evidence established a plausible alternative theory contradicting the victim's testimony, "it did not require the conclusion that [the appellant] did not rape the victim." Commonwealth v. Burns, 988 A.2d 684, 694 (Pa.Super.2009) (en banc ) (discussing Wall, supra ).
3. FN3. The Superior Court also stated that it was "not able to confirm that the [trial] court was in possession of [ ] information relating to the other Wexler factors," while at the same time acknowledging that the information was in the record. V.A.M., 980 A.2d at 137. We do not understand this comment, and we are unable to discern the nature or extent of the information to which the Superior Court is referring. In dissenting from the Superior Court panel's holding, Judge Shogan concluded that the trial court did indeed have sufficient information to conduct a Wexler balancing test. V.A.M., 980 A.2d at 138 (dissenting opinion, Shogan, J.).The Commonwealth indicates that, for unknown reasons, certain information, including Appellee's criminal history, was omitted from the record certified to the Superior Court on appeal. Commonwealth's Brief at 25 n.11. It is undisputed that defense counsel provided the trial court with a summary chart of Appellee's arrest history, including the date and disposition of each arrest. Notes of Testimony ("N.T."), Expungement Hearing, 3/5/08, at 62. The Commonwealth filed a motion to correct an omission in the record on appeal to this Court, seeking to include, inter alia, the summary chart of Appellee's arrest history. Appellee did not object to inclusion of this summary chart in the certified record, and we granted the Commonwealth's motion. Whether the Superior Court was specifically referring to this summary chart in its comment above, we do not know.
4. FN4. We do not understand the reason for the Superior Court's failure to address this aspect of the case. We note, however, that the propriety of the Superior Court's failure to comment is highly questionable given that the strength of the Commonwealth's case was a determining factor in the trial court's denial of Appellee's petition to expunge, and that this consideration was primary among the Wexler factors.
5. FN5. In Miller, the appellant had also signed a confession to the burglary, but this was not a part of the record and therefore it was not considered. Miller, 473 A.2d at 193–94.
6. FN6. Appellee contends that the trial court incorrectly interpreted and applied the second Wexler factor, i.e., the Commonwealth's reasons for wishing to retain the criminal records, and that the Superior Court properly determined that the trial court had abused its discretion in this regard. Appellee's Brief at 27–30 (citing V.A.M., 980 A.2d at 137).In Wexler, we explained that the Commonwealth's "mere assertion of a general interest in maintaining accurate records of those accused of crime" would not suffice to convince the court of the necessity to retain the arrest records of any particular individual. Wexler, 431 A.2d at 880–81 (emphasis added). Rather, the special facts and particular circumstances of each individual case must be cited and analyzed to establish why the Commonwealth wishes to retain that specific individual's records. There is no dispute between the parties here that the Commonwealth's assertion of a general interest in maintaining accurate criminal records is not sufficient to justify retention of the records.We acknowledge that, as Appellee asserts, some of the trial court language, if viewed in isolation, may suggest that the trial court was indeed giving weight to the Commonwealth's "general interest" in maintaining accurate criminal records. For example, the trial court wrote that "the Commonwealth has a great interest in retaining the arrest record stemming from crimes as serious as rape." Trial Court Opinion at 5. However, we do not interpret this sentence in isolation, but rather view it in the context of the rest of the paragraph in which it was found, which clarifies that the trial court did analyze the specific facts and circumstances of Appellee's case.Immediately after the sentence quoted above, the trial court discussed the particular facts and circumstances of Appellee's case as follows: "The general public should have knowledge of the arrest of a person for rape where they [sic] are convicted, and then later are granted a new trial due to DNA evidence." Id. This sentence does not assert a "general interest," but rather conveys concern for individuals such as Appellee who were convicted of rape and subsequently granted a new trial as a result of new DNA evidence that did not per se exonerate them. Finally, the last sentence of the paragraph makes very clear that the trial court was indeed contemplating Appellee's specific circumstances: "Specifically in this case, a nolle prosse of [Appellee's] charges, ten years after the incident occurred, because the victim could not be found, is not enough to justify granting the expungement of [Appellee's] arrest record for that crime." Id.While the trial court could have articulated its rationale more artfully, we cannot conclude that the trial court's legal understanding or practical application of Wexler suggests deficiencies constituting an abuse of discretion.Appellee further contends that all of the remaining Wexler factors "weigh heavily" in favor of expungement, and that the trial court erred by not considering them. Appellant's Brief at 30, 32, 37. As we have already explained, the trial court provided, in sufficient detail, its reasons for denying expungement, and thus the fact that the court did not explicitly address each and every Wexler factor is of no moment. See text supra. Furthermore, based on our comprehensive review of the record, we cannot agree with Appellee that the remaining Wexler factors uniformly and strongly support expungement. We briefly discuss each of the remaining Wexler factors in light of the facts of record, infra.Appellee was 44 years of age at the time of the expungement hearing, and he provides no authority to suggest that his middle age can be a mitigating factor. In fact, Appellee admits that his "current age may not itself be a mitigating factor." Appellee's Brief at 33. We agree. See Commonwealth v. Rivers, 644 A.2d 710, 719–20 (Pa.1994) (discussing age in the context of the penalty phase of a capital case and making clear that defendants of 34 or 42 years of age cannot offer their age as a mitigating factor); Persia, 673 A.2d at 971 (concluding that the appellant's age of 48 did not militate in favor of granting his petition to expunge).Appellee's criminal history reveals a total of ten arrests, one of which apparently occurred while he was in prison and five of which occurred after his release. In 1985, prior to his arrest for the rape of L.Y., he was convicted of criminal trespass, simple assault, possession of an instrument of crime, and criminal conspiracy. In 1993, he pled guilty to receiving stolen property. As Appellee correctly points out, all of the charges he has incurred since his release, except for one, have ultimately been withdrawn or nolle prossed. The only post-release charge that resulted in a conviction was for defiant trespass, to which he pled guilty in 1998. While Appellee's criminal history includes no other charges as serious as rape, it is hardly an unblemished record.With regard to employment history, Appellee presented no evidence. Defense counsel at the expungement hearing represented in opening argument only that Appellee was currently unemployed and was "on disability," although prior to being disabled, he "tried to obtain gainful employment." N.T., Expungement Hearing, 3/5/08, at 14.At the time of Appellee's expungement hearing, 22 years had passed since his arrest for the rape of L.Y., and 14 years had passed since he was released from prison. This is certainly a substantial amount of time over which to consider Appellee's activities, including his criminal record and employment history. See Wexler at 882 (noting that four years had passed since the arrest of the petitioner for expungement, and that during this time she had not been involved in any further criminal activity and was employed as a cashier).The final Wexler factor is the "specific adverse consequences the petitioner may endure should expunction be denied." Wexler, supra at 879 (citation omitted). We acknowledge, as we did in Wexler, the "serious harm" that an individual may suffer as a result of retention of his or her arrest record. Id. Appellee relies on the self-evident harm and stigma of an arrest record for a serious crime such as rape. Appellee further states that his "record continues to improperly suggest his guilt relating to crimes for which he should now be presumed innocent in the eyes of both the law and the public." Appellee's Brief at 37 (emphasis in original). Here, Appellee exaggerates the significance of the judicial determination as to the DNA results for the purposes of an expungement petition. The court did not conclude that he was exonerated, but rather granted him a new trial. See text, supra.Having reviewed the record as to each of the Wexler factors not explicitly discussed by the trial court, we cannot accept Appellee's assertion that they uniformly and strongly support expungement. The record reveals a reality that is more complex, where any support for expungement is subtle and must be balanced with more negative aspects of Appellee's history and circumstances. Appellee's assertion that the trial court abused its discretion by not ordering expungement in light of the above-discussed factors is meritless.
FOOTNOTE. FN[J–60–2010][M.O.—McCaffery, J.]
FOOTNOTE. FNEastern DISTRICTCommonwealth of Pennsylvania,Appellantv.VINCENT A. MOTO,Appellee:::::::::::::No. 17 EAP 2010Appeal from the Judgment of Superior Court entered on 8/10/09 at 1101 EDA 2008 reversing the order entered on 3/5/08 and remanding to the Court of Common Pleas, Criminal Division at Nos. CP–51–CR–0603191–1986 and CP–51–CR–0519001–1986Argued: September 14, 2010
FOOTNOTE. FNDISSENTING OPINIONMR. JUSTICE SAYLOR DECIDED: May 26, 2011I differ with the majority's treatment of Section 9122 of the Criminal History Record Information Act, as well as its determination to reverse the Superior Court's order. With respect to the latter, I would remand this case to the trial court to provide an opinion rendered in sufficient legal and factual detail to allow for meaningful appellate review. My reasoning is as follows.Preliminarily, it is my understanding that Section 9122 sets forth two distinct rules for purposes of expunging "[c]riminal history record information." 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122. Expungement is discretionary when sought to purge criminal history record information generally (i.e., to wipe the slate clean). See id. § 9122(b). For instance, expungement is allowed when the "individual who is the subject of the information has been dead for three years." Id. § 9122(b)(2). In contrast, expungement is mandatory in certain instances in which a person seeks to remove criminal record information in connection with a specific proceeding. See id. § 9122(a). For example, expungement is required when an individual 21 years of age or older who has been convicted of violating Section 6308 of the Crimes Code, id. § 6308, "petitions the court of common pleas in the county where the conviction occurred seeking expungement and the person has satisfied all terms and conditions of the sentence imposed for the violation․" Id. § 9122(a)(3).The majority seems to suggest that Section 9122 only applies to conviction scenarios, that is, "[w]hen an individual has been convicted of the offenses charged." Majority Opinion, slip op. at 5. Insofar as the majority endorses that view, I depart from its reasoning, since the provision, by its plain terms, also pertains to non-conviction situations. See, e.g., 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122(a)(1) (requiring expungement in a specific proceeding when "no disposition has been received or, upon request for criminal history record information, no disposition has been recorded in the repository within 18 months after the date of arrest and the court of proper jurisdiction certifies to the director of the repository that no disposition is available and no action is pending.").Nor do I agree, to the extent the majority indicates as much, that Section 9122 only sanctions expungement in "very limited circumstances." Majority Opinion, slip op. at 5. While this Court has yet to address the meaning of subsection (a)(2), on its face, it supplies trial courts with a mechanism to expunge criminal history record information apart from those instances listed in subsections (a)(1), (a)(3), and (b). See 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122(a)(2) ("Criminal history record information shall be expunged in a specific criminal proceeding when ․ a court order requires that such nonconviction data be expunged[.]"). Given that Section 9122(a)(2) does not impose any conditions on a trial court's ability to exercise this authority, save those set forth in subsection (b.1), see supra note 4, I would not couch Section 9122 in such narrow terms, at least not at this juncture.Further, it is unclear whether the majority believes that the expungement standards set out in Commonwealth v. Wexler, 494 Pa. 325, 431 A.2d 877 (1981), operate independently from the legislative scheme reflected in Section 9122 and, in particular, subsection (a)(2). See Majority Opinion, slip op. at 5. To the degree that the majority supports such a view, I differ with the majority and offer the following comments.By way of background, the Wexler expungement standards evolved from a series of en banc Superior Court rulings. Notably, when these decisions were issued, the General Assembly had not afforded a statutory right to expungement. See, e.g., Malone, 244 Pa.Super. at 65–66, 366 A.2d at 586. Believing that an individual's right to seek expungement of an arrest record was "an adjunct to due process" and was not dependent upon express statutory authority, id. at 68, 366 A.2d at 587, the Superior Court devised a balancing test for evaluating expungement petitions in which the trial court weighed the individual's right to be free from the harm attendant to maintenance of the arrest record against the Commonwealth's interest in preserving such records. See id. at 70, 366 A.2d at 588–89; Jennings, 249 Pa.Super. at 471, 378 A.2d at 392.The Legislature subsequently passed the CHRIA, which, as noted, set forth, among other things, a statutory expungement scheme. As relevant here, the Act provided (and still provides) that "[c]riminal history record information shall be expunged in a specific proceeding when ․ a court order requires that such nonconviction data be expunged." Act of July 16, 1979, P.L. 116, No. 47, § 2 (as amended 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122(a)(2)).In Wexler—the seminal expungement case in which this Court adopted the Superior Court's balancing test, as well as the factors Judge Spaeth set forth in Iacino, see Wexler, 494 Pa. at 329–30, 431 A.2d at 879 (quoting Iacino, 270 Pa.Super. at 358, 411 A.2d at 759 (Spaeth, J., concurring))—the Court did not mention that legislation. Instead, the Wexler Court reasoned that an accused's right to have his or her arrest record expunged was guaranteed by substantive due process. See id. at 329, 431 A.2d at 879 (citing Malone, 244 Pa.Super. at 68–69, 366 A.2d at 587–88). In subsequent rulings, though, this Court seemed to revert to Malone 's treatment of the right as "an adjunct to due process." Commonwealth v. Armstrong, 495 Pa. 506, 509, 434 A.2d 1205, 1206 (1981); see Carlacci v. Mazaleski, 568 Pa. 471, 474, 477, 798 A.2d 186, 188, 190 (2002). Neither position rests on sound constitutional footing, however.As concerns the belief that the right is guaranteed by substantive due process, the Wexler Court did not specify whether it was referring to the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution or Article I, Section 9 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Although the Court has, at times, afforded greater protection under the Pennsylvania Constitution than is required under its federal counterpart, see, e.g., Commonwealth v. Edmunds, 526 Pa. 374, 388–91, 586 A.2d 887, 894–95 (1991), we have generally treated the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 9 of the Pennsylvania Constitution as coextensive. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Sims, 591 Pa. 506, 523 n.6, 919 A.2d 931, 941 n.6 (2007). Of importance here, the United States Supreme Court has held that substantive due process protection is only afforded to "those fundamental rights and liberties which are, objectively, deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition, and implicit in the concept of ordered liberty, such that neither liberty nor justice would exist if they were sacrificed." Washington v. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. 702, 720–21, 117 S.Ct. 2258, 2268 (1997) (quotation marks and citations omitted). Even if the right to petition for expungement of an arrest record could arguably be considered such a right, the Supreme Court has been reluctant to expand the concept of substantive due process protection to encompass a new asserted right or liberty interest. See id. at 720, 117 S.Ct. at 2267–68.With regard to the assertion that the right is "an adjunct to due process," the Malone court did not supply any authority for this proposition and, indeed, conceded that, although it appeared that Pennsylvania appellate courts had recognized a right to expungement, none of those tribunals had provided a legal basis for that right. Malone, 244 Pa.Super. at 68, 366 A.2d at 587. Further, this Court has never employed the "adjunct to due process" terminology outside of the expungement context. Thus, but for the bald pronouncement that the right is constitutionally derived by various courts, Wexler 's scheme most closely resembles a common law system for administering expungements.Normally, I would find tension in the maintenance of such a judge-made system, since the Legislature has implemented a statutory expungement scheme. See, e.g., Sternlicht v. Sternlicht, 583 Pa. 149, 163, 876 A.2d 904, 912 (2005) ("Where the Legislature expressly provides a comprehensive legislative scheme, these provisions supersede the prior common law principles."). Notably, other jurisdictions have been reluctant to administer expungement under the common law where the policy-making branch has established the conditions for expungement. The difference here is that there is a colorable argument that the General Assembly intended to codify, rather than displace, this common law scheme when it enacted Section 9122(a)(2) of the CHRIA.As indicated above, under that subsection, expungement is mandatory when "a court order requires that such nonconviction data be expunged." 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122(a)(2). While this provision commands expungement when a trial court exerts this power, it fails to specify the conditions, if any, for when that tribunal can exercise this authority. See id. It seems plausible that, given the Superior Court's judicially-crafted expungement standards—which, at the time of the Act's passage, were of recent creation and believed to be rooted in due process—the Legislature intended (or, perhaps, felt compelled) to preserve this supposed constitutional scheme under Section 9122(a)(2). See 1 Pa.C.S. § 1922(3) (reflecting the presumption that the General Assembly does not intend to violate the United States or Pennsylvania Constitution when enacting a law).In any event, this Court has viewed the Wexler expungement standards as conforming with Section 9122(a)(2)'s terms, and even though the Legislature has subsequently amended the CHRIA, it has not altered this subsection in the wake of that ruling. See id. § 1922(4) ("That when a court of last resort has construed the language used in a statute, the General Assembly in subsequent statutes on the same subject matter intends the same construction to be placed upon such language."). Accordingly, despite the fact that there appears to be no actual constitutional basis for the right to expungement, which formed the foundation for the Wexler expungement standards, it reasons that the Court should continue to apply those principles for purposes of Section 9122(a)(2), at least unless and until the Legislature indicates otherwise.On the merits of this case, I believe that a reasoned treatment of a balancing inquiry by a court of original jurisdiction should demonstrate some weighing of the Wexler factors on both sides of the equation. Such balancing is lacking here, as the trial court only provided analysis for the first two considerations—the strength of the Commonwealth's case against the petitioner and the reasons the Commonwealth gives for wishing to retain the record—factors which only concern the interests of the Commonwealth. See Commonwealth v. Moto, No. CP–51–CR–0603191–1986, slip op. at 3–5 (C.P.Phila., July 1, 2008). I therefore find the best course to be to return the matter to the court of original jurisdiction to provide an opinion rendered in sufficient legal and factual detail to allow for meaningful appellate review. Respectfully, I do not support the presumption of balancing created by the majority. See Majority Opinion, slip op. at 9.Mr. Chief Justice Castille and Madame Justice Orie Melvin join this Dissenting Opinion.
MR. JUSTICE McCAFFERY


text:
read the news
Grandi Mostre Como presenta la Dinastia Brueghel
From 24 March to 29 July 2012
Is taking shape the 2012 edition of the great exhibition at Villa Olmo, which this year will be dedicated to "the Brueghel dynasty," one of the most important dynasties of Flemish artists developed between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
After the previous eight exhibitions, permanent exhibitions in the ranking of the ten most visited in Italy, the new festival will be a unique project in major exhibitions at Villa Olmo, it will be for the first time exported to Europe and the United States becoming an event of international: after exposure in the beautiful surroundings of Villa Olmo, from March 24 to July 29, the show will arrive in Tel Aviv, then in Prague, Miami, and finally to St. Petersburg.
The exhibition, which will count 70 oil paintings and 30 drawings and etchings, insured for a total value of over one hundred million euros from important private collections and museums both Italian and foreign, will represent the whole dynasty of Flemish masters. Among the works on show is a masterpiece of Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Brueghel the Elder who was inspired. The work, part of a private collection in New York, up to now has never been exposed to the public.
|To read news click on the title.
It is also possible to obtain feed RSS/XML of the last 5 news.
15and 16 October Raku sculptures ->
Villa Carlotta
Japanese Songs for voice and harp ->
Villa Carlotta
Dinner at Villa Del Balbianello ->
Friday 7, 14 e 21 october,
01.10 themed dinner truffles ->
villa Fogazzaro Roi - Valsolda
Orticolario 2016 ->
Cernobbio - Villa Erba - Lake Como
Villa Carlotta
Lago di Pusiano ->
guided tour with electrical boat
Evening marketplace ->
every Friday in Menaggio
Nativity Scenes in Largo Valle ->
Bonzanigo - Mezzegra
Villa Lario a Pognana Lario
Discovering Alto Lario: - gastronomic and cultural itineraries - Guided tours ->
sustainable tourism proposals 2016 Itineraries in the Valle Albano Park by Non Solo Lago
[<<-] [<-] 1 [->] [->>]


text:
- henry2
Campus Linux Cluster, henry2, 1233 dual socket servers with Intel Xeon Processors (mix of single-, dual-, quad-, six-, and eight-core), 2-4GB per core distributed memory, dual gigabit or 10Gb Ethernet interconnects
Also integrated into henry2 are a number of nodes with 16 cores and up to 128GB of memory. These nodes are intended to support shared memory (OpenMP) jobs or other jobs with large memory requirements.Notes on using henry2.
Last modified: December 02 2013 16:17:56


text:
Hi guy,
I could offer 2013 Europe map activation for BMW Premium HDD.
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Last edited by navibmw; 12th September 2012 at 09:48.
Somebody has an NZB or a link to usenet for the files ?
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If shared, it will be uploaded to usenet.
Last edited by BossHog; 8th September 2012 at 17:29.
You wanna do whát with that screwdriver?
Read this thread for a quick usenet-reader-setup: http://gpsunderground.com/forum/feed...et-manual.html
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Does the 2013 version have speed limit and speed camera features. I believe the previous cic versions are missing this.


text:
Deutsche Bank Chief Executive John Cryan on Friday moved to reassure staff after shares in Germany's largest lender hit an historic low amid. » Read More
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You might be wondering why a single headline on DB is sparking a sector-wide selloff.
Earlier on Thursday, U.S.-listed shares of Deutsche Bank hit a new all-time intraday low of $11.19.
German officials could be about to find themselves in an uncomfortable position: Being called on to rescue a bank.
The $41-million clawback that Wells Fargo slapped on CEO John Stumpf is a good start, but it's not enough, says one prominent banking analyst.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed and settled charges Thursday against Jon Ruggles for engaging in illegal futures and options trading.
Rep. Brad Sherman says the bank's conduct and culture duped investors and turned workers into criminals.
John Stumpf endures another round of tough Capitol Hill grilling, with a pledge to fix what went wrong.
Donald Trump is still way richer than you but the gap is getting closer, according to new calculations of the presidential hopeful's net worth.
The Kansas City Fed president tells CNBC it's time to remove some accommodation.
These are the stocks posting the largest moves before the bell.
Congress will hold Wells Fargo's John Stumpf accountable if laws were violated, House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling tells CNBC.
John Stumpf returns to Capitol Hill with his job still under threat and the bank facing political pressure over a sales scandal.
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There are 13 companies tagged `library`; raised $75.5M from 40 investors
Sepaton raised $39.5M from Focus Ventures, Jerusalem Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, HarbourVest Partners, Valhalla Partners, Valhalla Partners, Jerusalem Venture Partners, HarbourVest Partners, and Menlo Ventures in 3 rounds.
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