text: MTA confers awards, honors at Annual Meeting Pres. Anne Wass opened the session by recognizing Anita Thompson, the 2010 ESP of the Year, who was honored in April at the annual ESP Conference. The next honoree was Teacher of the Year Jae Goodwin. "I didn't get here by myself," said Goodwin, recalling teachers who have mentored her. Goodwin told the delegates about a DESE committee meeting she attended where the topic was attracting more teachers to leadership positions. One young teacher said she had given up her date night to make the time to lead in her district, a notion Goodwin defined as "Wrong with a capital 'W'." When a superintendent at the meeting asked what she could do to encourage teacher leaders, Goodwin replied, "Pay her, recognize her in the community and take away some of her mundane responsibilities so she doesn't have to give up her date night!" Goodwin closed by holding up a cherished gift from one her mentors, a glue stick. As a parent, she had been surprised when the mentor, who taught Goodwin's daughter, sent a letter home pleading for basic supplies such as glue sticks. Goodwin said she wondered how it could be that her taxes did not cover such basic needs? She realized she did not understand enough about what a teacher's job entailed and under what conditions. She urged delegates to tell their stories in their community, the media and at the State House. "Find your inner Norma Rae. Stand up and speak your mind. Teachers are in a unique position. We can make a difference. We have an obligation to educate the public not just our students." Anne Wass presented the MTA President's Award to AFT Massachusetts Pres. Tom Gosnell. Both were elected to head their unions in the same year, Gosnell said, and he spoke about their work to build stronger ties between the associations. "The bottom line in life is humanity," Gosnell said, citing Wass's reputation for decency and strong personal relationships. "One can be a strong, capable leader and still have all of the human dimensions so important to all of us." Two were honored with MTA's Friend of Education Award: Robert F. Antonucci, president of Fitchburg State College, and Peter Meade, president and CEO of the new Edward M. Kennedy Institute. "If it were not for public education, I wouldn't be standing here today," Antonucci said during his acceptance remarks. "All of us together make it happen and I'm proud to be part of the team." Meade spoke about the role his Irish immigrant parents played in his education. "America had a great promise and they knew it was tied to education," he said, listing some of the many teachers who influenced his path. Teachers need never doubt that they can be strong advocates for children, said Meade. "You proved that the second you set foot into the classroom."


text:
First of all, I'm positive I never said I'm SURE the world would end in ten years. I am also positive I said I highly doubt this system has 10 years. And I still don't. Honestly it's hard for me to see 5!! But know one knows the hr. But the signs are more glaring than ever.
I will give you this. If this system is around in ten years, I will be utterly shocked, but not dismayed at my faith. No if we're here say 15-20.... Issue. You said when it's 50 years from now and I'll have raised my kids, yadda yadda, what then. Well 50 years from now, If Im alive, I'll be 81, but in the body of a 20 year old(according to scripture)
My point is, this is happening. There is very good reason for a Jehovah's witness to feel this world is dying at a very rapid pace. They look at the world differently than ayone else. We're paying attn to things everyone else is not. And it's goin down. If we're talkin in ten, you will most likely have become a Jehovah's witness
I have a question tho.
Scientist wants to prove God does not exist. Scientist uses lightning and amino acids to prove that's how life began.
If lightning and amino acids is how we came about, what role does th scientist play?
DaTPRiNCE...That EGYPTiAN Fella, #MeloMafia
Many people in America are racists towards Muslims because of 9/11 and the event happened in NY so building a mosque on the site is not smart, away from the site is fine.
I am just saying as a whole, there would be retaliation to this. I wouldn't be the ones yelling but it will look bad and could be worse if it happened.
And yes both the terrorist and the pastor are prob going to burn in hell.
"The Knicks are back" - Amare
Someone needs to hold you people accountable. You can't keep sayng the world is going to end and not be held accountable.
Christians have been saying the world is going to end for several hundred years. Always pointing to the signs. But religious strife has been occurring since the dawn of civilization. Same with war, death, disease, etc, etc. And in greater numbers than now.
The Dark Ages were much, much worse. Hundreds of millions of people died from the black plague alone. Almost 75% of the European population died. Per capita, many, many more people died from disease, war, famine, religion, etc,. But religious people said it was the end of the world then too. No different than now.
And to answer your question. The water represents the water. The electric pulse represents lightning. Simple. Do I really need to explain how lightning occurs? That should be elementary. Are you suggesting lightning has never struck the ocean?
A quick question for you: Why are dinosaurs not mentioned in the bible?
its 2 blocks away and is unrelated to the WTC, it just so happens to be near the WTC. and if this happens you'll see a lot of people starting to get in-between the building of religious places and such; and for all the wrong reasons. my view is if they passed the legal hurdles there is to buying a building then whos to interfere with what they want to build there? its a freedom of religion thats being exercised.
and what really aggravates me is that the american public listen to the media and thats it instantly think that islam is all about death and it supports terrorism, and in actuality its the complete opposite. its sad to say that the american public is retarded. ( not saying your one of them paul, just wanted to clarify that loll ) smart people would do their research and read on islam and see its a peaceful religion. people like pastor jones piss me off to an extent where i want to crack them in the face.
and as far as those terrorists and jones go i agree with you. i hope those terrorists and bi-laden and all his men really burn in hell for eternity simply because of what they've put their muslim brothers and sisters through in the aftermath of it all.
DaTPRiNCE...That EGYPTiAN Fella, #MeloMafia
Yes, the news, primarily Fox News, is making it seem as though a mosque is being built at the same location as the WTC. Please, do not watch Fox News. People that use Fox News as their primary source of news are the least informed out of any group. Even people that use The Daily Show as their primary source are more informed. (this is from a poll done by the Wall Street Journal)
The politicians that spread this misinformation are using the deaths of thousands of people for their own political gain. It should not be a surprise. They've been using it ever since it happened (see Iraq War) and since it is an election year, they are using it again. It's sickening.
Why so harsh on us for wrong ideas concerning prophecy? Are u equally as harsh on science when they have to revise previously theories based on new findings?
Yes the end of the world has been predicted for millenniums, and the world has always dealt with calamity. But Jesus tells us the sign that we're in the end, and its never fit a tkme like it has since 1914. Let alone the light that's been shed to help prove this.
I'm sure lightening has hit water. But what role does the scientist play? That is the million dollar question.
Probably because dino's are irrelevant as far as the bible. It's to tell us why we're here, and what's this all abt. Dino's don't fit.
Dinosaurs irrelevant? If you are correct about creation, all of the dinosaurs, that in reality evolved for over 150 million years, existed at once at the same time as humans. There would have been dinosaurs everywhere. All over the place. Dinosaurs the size of city blocks, T-Rex's (among the thousands of other dinosaurs) hunting and coming into their camps and eating not only their livestock but the people too. Dinosaurs would have been a major part of their lives. It would have been a terrifying existence.
For the most part, the bible mentions nothing about why we're here. The overwhelming majority is about God rewarding and then punishing the jews. A portion of it is about the proper way to live your life. How to live in your camp/community and how to deal with livestock and crops. God punishes the jews with plagues. He sends bears to kill a bunch of innocent children. You would think there would be at least one little mention about dinosaur attacks. They would have happened on a daily basis. I mean, the bible talks about what to do if you have a wet dream. How is that about why we're here?
No, this is just further proof that the bible is wrong. Dinosaurs are not mentioned, not even once, because they didn't know they existed (i.e. creation is incorrect). They were buried in the ground as fossils over 100 million years ago. We also know they weren't killed at once by a flood. If they had been, they would have been buried at the same level in the earth. But they are buried at various strata at different points in time. The age at the time these strata formed is very accurate (if you need me to go into this, I will). This is further factual evidence that proves, with 100% certainty, that the bible is incorrect about creation.
Keep making excuses. But this is how I know (amongst the other overwhelming evidence and facts that contradict the bible), with 100% certainty, God is not coming down to murder billions and billions of people.
The bible is wrong about creation. That is a fact. You can try and rationalize it any way you want, because you desperately want it to be true, but you cannot argue against the facts. And the facts prove your religion wrong. You will see, maybe in 5 years, maybe in 50. But eventually you will see.
Last edited by LJ4ptplay; Sep 12, 2010 at 11:48.
Read the bible more. God made the earth for life. Simply put.
The animals and huge beasts were here before man. I've already posted the article any the true Time and nature of the creative days. If was a lot longer than 1k years for a day. Read that? Probably not.
Here is a link to help u better understand the end.[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
The experiment simply shows that life can be created without god. By natural acts that occur naturally. Another example of creationists claiming that life cannot come about without god, scientists proving those claims false....and now you want to say the scientist is the role of god? Well, we can show how the molecules and elements that allow life, form naturally on their own as well. Still no god.
Last edited by LJ4ptplay; Sep 12, 2010 at 13:06.
"The Knicks are back" - Amare
Im sayin Jehovah is the reason those elements exist in the first place. The scientist is using elements that were already in place. And he had tk formulate some sort of system tk make it work. Order. Kinda like how everything is precisely situated for us to live.
And showing things that allow life is one thing. Oxygen allows life too. But its notthe cause of life. God is.
And just because it may be a theory as to how the universe first began, does not equal your version. In fact, your version of the universe is completely incorrect. If you want to say God started the Big Bang, created the laws of physics and biology that lead to where we are today and just let them run their course without influence, then fine. I can accept that view. But it still makes your version of the universe incorrect.
It baffles me because as much as you say science relies on its theories by covering broad .spectrums, you refuse to use that same thought process when discussing the bible. You are entirely closed minded to it.
the creative days could have been thousands of years a piece for all we know. the biblical langauge does not set a specific amount of time for each period. moses even called all the creative days ONE DAY, when referring to time relative to God. So no one knows exactly how.long each creative day was.
Then you say God didnt create the universe, and he does not exist, yet we stand here today with 7 Million followers living in peace serving A God you say does not exist. How can a being who does not exist, call such a shot?
Only explanation is you are fine being lost. You look at the prophecy at Isaiah 2 and say it has not happened. Which is folly and also why its hilarious you talk down at people with all of your supposed knowledge, because compared to some science, the Biblical reading comprehension is juvenile. Yet you have major issues comprehending it.
For instance, you take the verse in question to mean world peace. And in the long run, it will be. But that will happen when the earth is only home to Jehovah's people.
You think it concerns everyone, which again shows how you do not take into account the biblical theme. It is speaking of those in the last days who will willingly serve Jehovah acceptably, and will abide by his laws and therefore be in peace with one another. The world outside of Gods arrangement will never be in peace because it does not adhere to Gods will, and some dont even believe he exists!
Quite simply, the bible is over your head. The sad part is, its not because its complicated, but because of lack of faith.
Good day.
Whether you call yourself a Christian, Muslim, agnostic, or anything else, which are all false, self-imposed, ego-building constructs, these religions, cannot, in and of themselves, take away the essential goodness of what we are; and this has always caused subconscious struggle, surfacing in the form of stress, anger and other forms of acting out. We see this in various posts in this thread.
What and where you are, prior to your introduction and adoption of illusion, is your true, real home (warped into a pursuit for the false heaven, when true salvation has always been all around you but that the self-created/asserted YOU rejects). Not-you (what was before your confusion) is always trying to shine through, to break through the ego-created, ego-fulfilling barriers that you create in every moment of life.
In these moments of perpetuating the false self, whatever lies within (that original force) recognizes itself, if only for a split second (in the eyes of a Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, one of God's creatures, the mountains, the sky, etc.), in all that surrounds the body, it sees that it can go back home, i.e., heaven. In such a state there is neither separation, nor struggle.
But, the mind, believing deeply in the ambitions of the self-perpetuated self (ego): 'I am a Muslim,' 'I am a Christian,' 'I am a Hindu,' resists and denies the soul its chance to go back home. In this resistance lies our inheritance of pain, hate and separation.
Although everything: the silent trees, the peaceful wind, whispers to us that these self-created Gods, who become angry, are vengeful, discriminate against certain, condemned people, are not supreme, are limited, in fact, by their very own static, predictable characteristics and are thus in conflict with true, limitless, unpredictable God (reality), we continue to worship ourselves, and thus live in pain and conflict, in the image of these Gods who are us.
So much do we believe in the false that in most of the religions, the products of delusion, greed and hate are believed to follow the pious believer into his or her afterlife: he will gamble in heaven, have all of the things he wanted in heaven, etc.
You can never overcome God (reality), through worship of yourself, via the false, which is why you can never find perpetual fulfillment: peace, compassion, grace, in the Gods of money, power, position and hate.
In fact, true God is so powerful that, even as you hate, it silently absorbs your hateful actions into its very being.
Others, like you, not knowing their connection to the divine and the process we play in it, see it as the enemy, as causing the conflict, when truly it is their judging of the divine that causes conflict. This judging is self-created, as is the turmoil that results. God (egoless reality) is not the cause. The conflict is created by us, the tempter, the source of conflict is us.
Atrocities like the crusades, like 9-11, etc., are us, because the Gods that inspired them are us.
PEACE, and God Bless.
Last edited by OGKnickfan; Sep 24, 2010 at 11:57.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
"If healthcare providers are using their electronic health records to falsify medical billing or cover their tracks after mistakes, there's an easy way for investigators to find out: Check the audit trail."
"Unfortunately, federal rules don't require healthcare providers to keep their automated audit systems turned on. A study out this week from HHS' watchdog office (PDF) finds that many healthcare providers can simply disable their logs or alter them after the fact—and experts say the problem may be far worse than what the study found."
"HHS' inspector general's office this week reported the results of a voluntary survey of all 900 hospitals that had received federal subsidies to buy electronic health record systems as of March 2012. The survey, which had a 95% response rate, found that 44% of the hospitals reported having the ability to delete their EHR audit logs. Another 33% could disable the audit logs, while 11% could edit the records at will."
To view the full article please visit: Providers Not Required To Keep EHR Audit Systems Turned On


text:
I like this man these are good questions going forward. The biggest part was a total lack of ball movement. Wasn't that the big knock on Woodson in those Atlanta Playoffs? That his Offense was just ISO, ISO, ISO.
"It is easier to talk about money -- and much easier to talk about sex -- than it is to talk about power. People who have it deny it; people who want it do not want to appear to hunger for it; and people who engage in its machinations do so secretly."
-- Smiley Blanton
Aug 2010-Feb 2011
Carmelo Anthony was the biggest and longest saga in NBA. The Nets wanted Anthony, but Anthony wouldn't take the extension if traded to the Nets or another team other than Knicks. It was Knicks or no extension.
Feb, 2011
Carmelo got his wish and joined the Knicks, even though Knicks had the fewest tradable assets.
Mike DAntoni wasnt in favor of the move.The reason was obvious: Anthony is simply not the kind of player who works well in DAntonis floor-spreading, pick-and-roll offense. Knicks already second in the league in offense.
At the time, Stoudemire was second in the league in scoring at 26.1 points per game and Anthony was sixth at 25.2. Stoudemire was thrilled to add Anthony.
Stoudemire on the trade:
"Every team needs a 1, 1A punch, and so with the ways that we both can score .... we're very versatile, so it's hard to guard us."
Stoudemire said he had "no doubt" the All-Star forwards and longtime friends could play together, and said Anthony would handle the move to New York as well as he has. "It's what he wants. It's what I wanted, to come to New York and play on the big stage,"
Karl George on Billups after the trade:
"I think Chauncey will go down as one ofthe greatest winners," Karl said. "His record of seven or eight conference finals is, I mean, that's incredible. I think that's who he is,that's what he stands for. He brought one of them to us. Last year we had a miserable ending. I think therere many people, including myself, that will be sad for Chauncey. I know he loves Denver and we love him, but things happen. There's decisions that have to be made."
Karl, with more than 900 wins as an NBA coach, never known to criticize his departure players, even when he buttheaded with Ray Allen. George Karl on Carmelo after the trade:
" Melo is the best offensive player Ive ever coached, but his defensive focus, his demand of himself, is what frustrated us more than anything."
Carmelo on George Karls comment, "WHENTHE GRASS IS CUT THE SNAKES WILL SHOW."
Feb 2012
The Knicks flourished when Jeremy Lin arrived on the scene, winning 10 of 13 games when Linsanity took over the team. Lin became the center of attention and Carmelo was out of the spot light.
J. R. Smith, a close friend and a long-time teammate with Carmelo, signed with Knicks.
Carmelo on co-existence with Lin:
"He fell down from upstairs for us in the situation that we've been looking for a guy to take over that position. But it's going to take a lot of work, but I'm willing to do it, and we've all got to be willing to do it."
When I get back, Jeremy will have the ball in his hands and Im playing off that
As soon as Carmelo came back from a groin injury during Linsanity, DAntoni started to lose the team.[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
It is lost on no one that the Knicks' free-fallcoincides precisely with the return of Anthony. While Anthony was out with a groin injury, the Knicks won 6 of 7 games, including victories over the Los Angeles Lakers and defending champion Dallas Mavericks. With Lin leading D'Antoni's offense, the Knicks played fast and free, spacing the floor, hitting the open man, and even improving defensively.
But the day Anthony returned, the Knicks lost to the struggling New Jersey Nets, starting a sorry stretch that has washed away all the feel-good emotions of Lin's emergence and left them on the verge of missing theplayoffs.
Management, the coaching staff and the players know Anthonyis hurting the offense and in turn, the defensive morale, according to the sources. While D'Antoni's offense calls for Anthony to plant himself on thewing at the 3-point line, he often creeps in to his favorite spot in the floor-- the area between the elbow, the arc and the post. That kills the Knicks' ability to run the high pick-and-roll and ruins the spacing that is so critical to D'Antoni's offense.
"That's at the very core of our problem," one person close to the situation said. "That messes up the fluidity of the offense..."
When Anthony first returned -- and it still appears to be the case -- Lin would bring the ball upcourt and try to run D'Antoni's system.When Anthony would abandon the offense, Lin would not pass him the ball, which irritated Anthony, sources said. So when Lin tried to talk to Anthony on the court, Anthony would turn his back to the point guard and tune him out.
Carmelo in Feb averaged 2.8 DRB in 31.5 Min/game, lowest in his career.
Mar 2012
Knicks lost 6 straight and accelerated the resignation/firing of DAntoni.
Carmelo told a confidant he wanted to be traded. DAntoni resigned/fired the very next day.
Woodson took over. Magically Carmelo started to play good defense.
Apr 2012
Carmelo named Player of the Month in Apriland made Woodson looked like a genius and DAntoni a goat.
Carmelo exerting influence with the front office by openly stated that he was a big supporter of Woodson and that he wants him back for the 2012-13.
J.R. Smith on Woodson:
"Over and over, (Woodson) keeps showing his confidence in me. I have to step up and make shots. Coach gives confidence to keep shooting no matter how many I miss."
Playoffs 2012
Despite lost Game 1 and losing in Game 2, Woodson still adamant about sticking to his game plan: Lots of isolations for Carmelo and Smith.
Woodson refused using Stoudemire as play options, no designed pick-and-rolls where Stoudemire is most dangerous and received very few touches. Nor Woodson designed any screens to get Novak open. In frustration after Game 2, Stoudemire smashed and cut his hand badly.
Game 2:
Carmelo, 45 min, 26 FGA
Stoudemire, 41 min, 9 FGA
J. R. Smith, 31 min, 11 FGA
In 3 playoff games, Carmelo and Smith accounted for more than 50% of FGA by Knicks. 110/216 (team shot attempts)
From the look of things, Stoudemire, second in the league in scoring before arrival of Carmelo, wont be in Knicks uniform next season.
Here are some of my questions:
J R Smith in, Woodson in
DAntoni out, Stat on his way out.
Who is building a team in New York?
This is my house!?
If Carmelo is capable of playing good D under Woodson all of a sudden, was he purposely playing bad D under Karl and DAntoni, just to make them look like terrible coaches and for his own ulterior motives?
Did Woodson have a secret deal going with Carmelo before DAntoni resigned/fired?
Does that mean his job is guaranteed for as long as he follows Carmelos lead?
Is Carmelo Anthony a devious manipulator?
Far-fetched assumption? Or circumstantial points that way?
Belief can be manipulated. Only knowledgeis dangerous.
― [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
I like this man these are good questions going forward. The biggest part was a total lack of ball movement. Wasn't that the big knock on Woodson in those Atlanta Playoffs? That his Offense was just ISO, ISO, ISO.
I said it before and I will say it again. A franchise siding with ANY player over a coach or the management is doomed in the long run. There is a reason why players are not GMs and coaches. To win, teams need to be well crafted. The pieces of the puzzle must fit and quite frankly at the moment they don't, because Dolan was blinded by (Melo's) star power.
"Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand."
Kurt Vonnegut
13 straight Playoff losses, new NBA record - yihaaaaa, finally something to be proud of!
Who on earth build this ****ing roster?
After all those promises and announcements from Knicks players and officials this roster is hardly better than Isiah's.
As long as Iso star player is here, I doubt any other good players or coaches want to come to NY.
This has been another disappointing season and the future -- for the next three years at least -- is not promising. But let's be realistic. Amare' is untradeable and Melo is here to stay.
We have no first round pick this year and we will not have one in 2014. I anticipate that the salary cap will be in the $60M range for the foreseeable future. The combined salaries of Amare', Melo and Chandler over the next three seasons are, successively, $53.002M, $57.548M and $61.536M. There will be no impact free agent signings.
Our base will be Melo, Chandler, Amare', Lin and Shumpert. I do not think Lin will leave New York and perhaps will sign for less than the full mid-level. Lin was an economics major at Harvard. New York with its marketing potential is the perfect spot for him. Perhaps we can keep JR, but I expect that other teams will be able to give him more money. Same with Novak. Baron has been a disappointment and Bibby is finished. Douglas has a $2M plus team option for next year. I do not think we could trade him for a 2nd round pick. Landry --??
For over a decade now, the Knicks have attempted to buy rather than to build. Over that period our draft pick performance has been mediocre at best. We picked Channing Frye over Andrew Bynum. We picked Rolando Blackmon over Rajon Rondo. We picked Jordan Hill. We needed a point guard and we could have had Jennings or Holiday.
The attempt to "buy" LeBron made sense, but I do not believe we ever had a chance. LeBron was South Beach bound from the beginning. However, in order to entice LeBron, we overpaid for Amare'.
I am not a great fan of Melo, but that is because he is a bit of a self centered/ selfish prima donna. However, he is a truly great offensive player and has the athleticism to be a very good defensive player. Amare', on the other hand, appears to have lost something offensively and, despite first class athleticism, he seems entirely incapable of playing any effective defense. Someone, and I do not believe it is Woodson, has to find a way of integrating Melo, Amare' and Tyson.
Wow at all the people on this site panicking and needing to displace their frustrations on someone. Of course it has to be Melo because everyone else is injured, right?. smh
Those damn conspiracy theories are laughable and are equivalent to comic relief.
Who still actually believes that Dantoni knew how to get the most out of this team???? He just didn't. His philosophy wasn't condusive to the player personnel. The majority of people here and paid basketball analysts agree on that.
It's rediculous how many anti Melo threads have popped up all of a sudden. I'm gonna have to start exposing people as fakes on this site.
Real Talk
When a team's not working, you find the person to blame. If you got no one to blame then why the **** isn't the team playing good? Let me say something I've said a few times, we got a star in melo who is considered a top 10 player. There are a few teams in the playoffs who don't got a star even in the top 20. I'm not blaming melo for being selfish or shooting too much. But you're damn right I'm going to blame him for not winning when he get everything to go his way.
I want the knicks to win, and F*** yeah I'm blaming someone when they don't.
you should blame fields and novak.
novak why you no shoot ball in his face?
fields why you pass ball to lebron?
why you no do this?
why you no do that?
Edit: not saying people can't get blame but to blame a guy just for the sake of blaming someone is stupid.
Real Talk


text:
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Read more… Read less…


text:
No. 2: San Gregorio - San Mateo, Calif.
Another California hot spot, San Gregorio beach is the oldest nude beach in America.
Founded in 1967, this popular nudist destination in San Mateo offers two miles of soft sand and beautiful cave cliffs. Much less populated than some of our other top spots, roughly 100 sunbathers visit San Gregorio on any given summer day.
Because San Gregorio is privately owned, expect a small admission charge. Due to strong surf, swimming is not generally recommended, but other activities are offered, including tide-pooling and surf-fishing. San Gregorio is popular with the gay community, who tend to congregate on the north end of the beach.
Regardless of sexual orientation, nude beach-goers want to avoid straying north of the "Hazardous Surf" sign, which signals the end of the clothing-optional portion of the beach. Past this point, park rangers may cite visitors for nudity.
Last up, ready to take your talents to South Beach?
No. 1: Haulover Beach - Miami
When people think of hot sun, hot sand and hot bods in the U.S., Miami is likely the first location that comes to mind. If you thought a typical Miami beach was hot, then get ready for scorching!
Popular with both nudists and more modestly attired beach-goers, Haulover Beach is known for having soft sands, crystal-clear waters and tons of fabulous amenities.
Due to immense popularity, lifeguards are present to keep visitors safe, and from sunrise to sunset, beach-goers enjoy amenities such as shower stalls, food and drink vendors and barbecue grills.
If catching a tan isn't your idea of a day at the beach, visitors can keep active with volleyball games and surfing competitions.
There you have it, folks, the top five best nude beaches in America. Wherever your adventures take you, be sure to read up on nudist laws and etiquette, which vary from one beach to the next.
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text: Sometimes for creating wealth, humor works best. With the 2nd round of "Q.E. 2″ being pumped into the economic system and all the other craziness going on in our economy and world overall these days, I felt this short, very simple explanation I heard about how stimulus plans actually work at the ground level quite appropriate . . . → Read More: Creating Wealth – How A Stimulus Plan Works (Humor)


text:
Color: Black Sizes: Women's S, M, L, XL
SFJAZZ Hats
Keep the sun off or the cold out with our selection of fashionable hats in cotton and fleece.
Gift Cards
Redeemable for concert tickets, merchandise or membership, an SFJAZZ Gift Card is a fast and flexible way to share the world of jazz with those you love.
General Public: 866-920-5299Members: 415-788-7353Administration: 415-398-5655
SFJAZZ Center • 201 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102Copyright © 2016 SFJAZZ • San Francisco Jazz Organization


text:
Every process which starts from a terminal is tied to shell as a child process from which it was executed. In the situation when a parent program gets terminated the child process will be terminated also as a result parent process termination.
This is not particularity desired behavior when a user needs to run a process remotely and let the process run after logout. Fir this reason a nohup command exists. nohp ensures that the process is not tied to any particular shell so user can kill shell process by logging out and the process executed with nohup will be kept alive. Syntax for nohup is as follows:
$ nohup my-command > my-command.out &
Note the output file will be created as this will capture any STDOUT coming out from my-command. & returns a shell as it runs my-command on the background. Here is a small example to test this theory:
Run a yes command with nohup and redirect a output to the /dev/null. Make sure that you use & at the end of the command to run the command on the background:
$ nohup yes > /dev/null &
[1] 3594
now close or log out from the terminal, open another session and run a following command:
ps aux | grep yes
lilo 3594 98.3 0.0 3016 504 ? R 11:06 1:23 yes
Note that process PID 3594 is still running. To kill that process run:
kill 3594
If you wish to synchronize your system time with a world time servers all you need to do is to install a ntpdate utility and issue a following command as a root user and you are done:
# ntpdate pool.ntp.org
The above command will synchronize your system time / clock. However, if you want to stay synchronized you need to do little bit more work. The work involves installation and configuration of NTPD daemon. NTPD uses NTP ( network time protocol ) to access a specified time server over the internet. Later, it will keep your system time synchronized without your further intervention.
First we need to install NTPD service. On Debian or Ubuntu this step is easy as:
# apt-get install ntp
In most cases your NTP Daemon will be configured out of the box and installation of ntp package is all you would ever need to do to keep your system time synchronized with internet standard time servers. However, it is good to check certain settings whether they are in place before we leave a system time in hands of NTP daemon. The absolute bare configuration is:
driftfile - this file is used by a ntp daemon to store a clock drift / synchronization errorRead more ...
What if you want one user to run a command as an another system user without exchanging passwords. For example, you may want an user john to run a find command or custom bash shell script as an user greg or even as a user root ( superuser ) without password exchange. In this case a sudo utility with its /etc/sudoers configuration file will be your friend. This utility is very widely used but at the same time very little understood by Linux users of all levels.
This short article describes some basic of sudo usage and format of sudoers configuration file.
First we need to make sure that sudo and /etc/sudoers the sudo configuration file is available. To do that run:
$ which sudo
$ sudo -V
The first command should reveal a location of a sudo binary executable and the second program will output a version number of sudo command its self. The sudo configuration file sudoers is in most cases located in /etc/sudoers. You can use ls command to locate this file.
$ ls -l /etc/sudoers -r--r----- 1 root root 481 2010-04-08 21:43 /etc/sudoersRead more ...


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Hi i am new here and dont know how this works.
my daughter was born on the 19th november and she was 6 weeks early so she was put into special baby care unit and i wanted to breast feed so i started but they were wanting me up at the hospital every time she wanted fed (every 2/3 hours) which i couldnt do seeing as i have a 5 year old too i lasted a week and really couldnt do it coz i was trying to express and i wasnt getting much out and i was getting too sore with the pump so she went onto bottles but recently she has been trying to suckle both me and my partner (much to his shock lol) so i am wondering if she wants back and feeling she is missing somthing i have tried to see if she would go to the breast and she does the only thing is that i dont think i have any milk to give her as i stopped leaking months ago and when i try nothing comes out at all what can i do about this and how can i get my supply back as i feel she is missing out in such a wonderfull thing for both myself and my daughter.
I couldnt breast feed my son coz he wouldnt latch on so he missed out in it too and i would love to have that experience of giving my daughter what she needs as it will benefit us both.
Please help as i am a little confused about it all and dont know what to do for the best.
Thanx for listening and any advice would be great and very much appreciated.


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Helen LoveJanuary 29,2013
Helen LoveHelen Love
SPRINGFIELD Helen Love, 84, died Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, at her home.
She was born April 14, 1928, in Copake, N.Y., the daughter of Barney and Anna (Finkle) Cussuttica, and attended local schools.
On Dec. 26, 1961, she married Osmon Love in Copake. Mr. Love predeceased her Jan. 23.
She was employed as a machine operator with Becton Dickinson in Canaan, Conn., for many years, retiring in 1986.
Survivors include five children, Gilbert Klahn Jr. of Pittsfield, Mass., Anthony Love of Keaau, Hawaii, David Love of West Unity, N.H., Rodney Love of Ludlow and Karen Ruane of Long Lake, N.Y.; 19 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
The graveside service for Mrs. Love and her husband will be at a later date in Oakland Cemetery in Springfield.
Memorial contributions may be made to American Cancer Society, 55 Day Lane, Williston, VT 05495.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Davis Memorial Chapel in Springfield.MORE IN ObituariesCharles T. Baker
Charles T. Full StoryMarguerite Hoose
Marguerite Alice Peggy Hoose, 90, of Rutland, Vermont, died December ... Full StoryLouise S. Full Story
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Environmental Health
Send an Email
The forms in this section are provided in PDF format. In order to view and print them, you may need to download and install
Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Business License Application
New businesses in Mecklenburg County must obtain a business license from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Tax office.
Before Environmental Health staff will sign off on the business license request, you must:
Child Care Plan Review Application
The information required on this form is to be submitted with plans for
child day care centers in Mecklenburg County. The information is needed to allow a complete review of plans for new construction or remodeling of existing facilities.
Home Day Care Application
Home day care facilities in Mecklenburg County are regulated by the Health Department. This form must be completed and submitted, with the appropriate payment, before a permit to operate a home day care facility will be issued. For additional information, please visit the
child day care home page.
Limited Food Service Establishment Application
"Limited Food Service Establishments," are typically concession stands that prepare and serve food only at an amateur athletic event. Permits for limited food service establishments can only be issued to:
Public Swimming Pool Drain Safety Compliance Form
Form must be submitted turned in with public pool construction application.
Public Swimming Pool, Mandatory Report of Accident or Illness
Accidents or illnesses attributed to a public swimming pool must be reported to the local health department within two (2) working days. Completing this form provides the information required by the rules.
Public Swimming Pool Operation Permit Application
Public swimming pools in Mecklenburg County are regulated by the Health Department. Renewal forms are sent to all existing pools in December of each year. New pools, or facilities that have lost their applications can use this form to request a permit.
Plan Review Application
Technical Data Sheet
These forms are required by the Mecklenburg County Health Department in order to complete the plan review and approval process.
Pushcart/Mobile Food Unit Application
Pushcarts and mobile food units require a permit prior to beginning operation. This form is used to identify the unit operator and ensure that an approved commissary is secured from which the unit will operate. For additional information, please visit the
mobile food unit and pushcart page
Mobile Food Unit/Pushcart Route Update Form
This form is used to notify the Health Department that the route for a permitted mobile food unit or pushcart has been modified. For additional information, please visit the
mobile food unit and pushcart page.
Residential Care Inspection Request
Residential care inspections are requested by the agency holding the license. This form is to be used for requesting inspection for new facilities and renewal of existing facilities.
Residential Swimming Pool Application
Application Instructions
Plot Plan
The regulations require approval to construct a swimming pool and comply with minimum swimming pool barrier (fence) protection, proper disposal of backwash water, and pool setbacks from onsite water supply (wells) and wastewater disposal systems (septic tank systems).
Temporary Food Service Establishment Application (Operator Application)
Temporary Food Service Facilities must operate in conjunction with a public event and be located on the event grounds. This application must be completed and reviewed before Environmental Health staff will issue a permit for operation of a temporary foodservice facility. For more information please visit the
Temporary Food Establishment page.
Temporary Event Organizer Application
Information is required from the organizer of a circus, carnival, festival, or similar public gathering where food will be sold. This information is needed to allow Health Department staff to ensure that food service operations can be conducted while minimizing potential risk to the public. The application should be returned to the Health Department as soon as possible, but at least 2 weeks prior to the event. For more information please visit the
Temporary Food Establishment page.


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This print started out as a baseball card more than twenty years ago. Every aspect of it is designed to preserve the original look and feel of the card, from the printing pattern to the slightly worn edges. In fact, this print started by finding the actual card in our vault and then painstakingly re-mastering it with a team of designers. The authenticity extends to manufacturing; each print is made on high-quality, cotton fine art paper that measures 1/64 inches in thickness. Framed prints feature 2-inch flat wood or metallic frames with high-end, glare-resistant glass. And all prints are officially licensed by MLB and the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Tom Brookens was in a mini-platoon with Howard Johnson at third base for the 1982 Tigers, but Brookens got the much bigger workload by appearing in 140 games. Brookens was known more for his fielding than hitting and hit just .231 that year but did smack nine homers and 58 RBIs, which would each be the third-best totals in his career.
Intellectual Property Notice


text:
"It was a mad scramble," Skiba said. "Chris ran to the tent and got the rifle. Me and the other cameraman, Jason, sprinted for the cameras and Casey kept calling the moose until he was just a hundred yards away."
It was day 18 in the Alaskan wilderness and
Trent Skiba was hungry. With only small rations of trail mix, granola
bars and wild blueberries to tide over the Gaylord native and his group,
all four men sat at their campsite—the second day since finishing the
caribou, shot weeks before—and waited in the rain for hours, breaking


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Video: Northern Michigan Local Foods All Stars
MyNorth.com videographer Kris Riley interviews Justin Rashid, founder of American Spoon Foods, and a father of the modern local foods movement on the joys of foraging. Rashid also shares his ideas on how the local foods movement is strengthening our country's food supply and distribution.
Read a story on the Northern Michigan local foods movement in the May issue of Traverse, Northern Michigan's Magazine.


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Shangri La Tea Company Products:
Shangri La Organic Black Currant Decaf Tea Bags$8.9920 countQty.
Shangri La Organic Meyer Lemon Decaf Tea Bags$8.9920 countQty.
Shangri La Organic Black Currant Decaf Tea Sachets
Regular Price: $12.99
Special Price $11.6915 countQty.
Shangri La Tropical Passion Decaf Iced Tea Packets$12.996 countQty.
The Shangri La Tea Company specializes in producing high quality, organic teas, including loose leaf tea and teabags. Enjoy the finest organic green tea, white tea, black tea, or herbal tea blends by the Shangri La Tea Company and know that you are enjoying tea produced with the highest standards of environmentally friendly farming and socially responsible business practices certified by the Rainforest Alliance. Shangri La Tea Company teas provide top-of-the-line tea standards at prices within everyone's reach.


text:
Woven leather strap and thong on 'Bimini' from Stuart Weitzman is anchored with metallic silver ring detail.
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WalmartŌĆÖs existing signs are taller and bigger than the townŌĆÖs sign guidelines allow. They were put up before the current rules were in place, and thus were grandfathered in. Technically, if the signs are replaced they are supposed to come into compliance with the current rules. But Walmart wants to make its new signs just as tall and just as big as its existing ones that were grandfathered in.
The Sylva planning board voted unanimously to deny the Walmart plea for leniency. But the final say rests with the Sylva town board. They delayed a vote until a future meeting, but at least two town board members disagreed with the planning boardŌĆÖs recommendation and think Walmart should get the exception.
ŌĆ£They have had the sign for 17 years,ŌĆØ said Town Board Member Chris Matheson. ŌĆ£Suddenly because they want to make it look better it needs to be torn down because it does not comply.ŌĆØ
Matheson said the townŌĆÖs sign ordinance needs to be reviewed, in part, because it was written more than a decade ago at a time when the economy was doing better than it is now. The economic climate today should give businesses more flexibility in their sign size to help them attract customers.
Sylva Town Board member Harold Hensley agreed that the ordinance may be harming the local economy.
ŌĆ£IŌĆÖm not one to see us stand by and nit-pick a sign,ŌĆØ Hensley said.
The planning board began reviewing the townŌĆÖs 1998 sign ordinance last summer but has not yet completed the process.
Meanwhile, Town Board Member Lynda Sossamon and the owner of Radio Shack pointed out that other businesses sought similar exemptions of the sign rules and were denied, so why make an exception for Walmart?
WalmartŌĆÖs request for a bigger sign in Sylva isnŌĆÖt the first to cross the desk of town planners in Western North Carolina. In 2006, Walmart requested, and was granted, permission to erect signs larger than typically allowed in Waynesville ŌĆö although Waynesville made Walmart come down significantly from its original request. In 2011, the company applied for and got similar exemptions in Franklin. In both cases, Walmart argued the size of its massive shopping complex justified the larger size.
However, Sylva Town Attorney Eric Ridenour said giving breaks to certain businesses and not others may bring the Sylva board into treacherous legal territory. He said itŌĆÖs best to follow the law put in place and let it run its course, eventually bringing all the townŌĆÖs signs into compliance.
ŌĆ£No matter what your sign ordinance is everybody is going to want something bigger because it attracts attention,ŌĆØ Ridenour said. ŌĆ£ItŌĆÖs not like youŌĆÖre not going to know that Walmart is there.ŌĆØ
WalmartŌĆÖs existing sign along the road is about 34-feet tall. But the townŌĆÖs current sign regulations would cap it at a maximum of 20 feet. Also, based on eyeball estimates, its sign face appears slightly larger than the allowed 64 square feet.
In addition to the sign in the parking lot, Walmart wants to change the signs on the wall of the building, including the flagship decal.
Walmart wants the primary sign on its facade to be 298 square feet, although the townŌĆÖs sign rules only allow a maximum of 96 square feet. It also wants three smaller ones along the face of the building.
John Jeleniewski, who works as the townŌĆÖs code enforcer, recommended a compromise to the planning board. He suggested it hold fast on forcing the company to lower its pole sign.
But he recommended granting Walmart the exemption for the signs on the face of the building. He said his recommendation, though not heeded by the board, came down to aesthetics in part. A 96-square-foot sign on a 500-foot long building would look out of place and is not the intent of the law.
ŌĆ£WeŌĆÖre trying to reduce the eye pollution,ŌĆØ said. ŌĆ£But, to the other extreme, this is a very small sign on a large building ŌĆö instead of a very large sign on small building.ŌĆØ
Walmart representatives did not attend the town meeting and did not respond to requests for comment.


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Pet of the Week - Blueberry
Meet Blueberry! Blueberry is about 2 years old, spayed and has short gray hair. There's really only one work to describe Blueberry adorable! If her cute chubby little face and big eyes aren't enough to win your heart, wait until you meet her! She is super sweet and very affectionate. She loves to snuggle up close to her human friends and get hours of attention! Blueberry's personality will make her a great match for any home. With parental guidance, she should do well in a home with children of any age. With time to adjust and proper introductions, she should also do well in a home with other pets. She lived with both cats and dogs in her previous home and would likely enjoy the company of another four-legged friend! This adorable girl can't wait to steal your heart-come and visit her today!
If you would like to help our wonderful friends while they are waiting to be adopted, the Coulee Region Humane Society is always looking for donations. These donations go a long way in making the stay more comfortable for our animal guests.
Click here to view the latest updated Wish List from the Coulee Region Humane Society
Coulee Region Humane Society
911 Critter Court, Onalaska, WI 54650
Phone: (608) 781-4014
Fax: (608) 781-1646
Office Hours:
Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 9:00 a.m. -- 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday: 9:00 a.m. -- 7:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 1:00 p.m. -- 5:00 p.m.
Kennel Viewing Hours:
Monday and Friday: 1:00 p.m. -- 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday: 1:00 p.m. -- 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday: CLOSED
Saturday and Sunday: 1:00 p.m. -- 5:00 p.m.
Mission Statement:
The Coulee Region Humane Society actively promotes the humane treatment of animals and positive human-animal relationships.


text:
"I wanted to thank Catholic Answers for doing such a great job in defending the Catholic Faith. I find your tracts have helped me to more easily explain Catholicism at work and in online discussions."
"These are the living springs of great thoughts and great actions. Everything grows clear in the reflections from the Infinite."


text:
Rosario + Vampire
Mother and Child and a Vampire
Episode 16 | TV-MA
It's Parents Day at the school and there's drama in the air! Kurumi and Mizore's mothers don't get along, and they get a little crazy when they learn that both of their daughters are into Tsukune.
Official Site: www.funimation.com/shows/rosario-vampireHide Details


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Owner closing Moretown Landfill while seeking expansion
MORETOWN The company that operates the Moretown Landfill says it has reached an agreement with the state to shut down the existing operation.
In a news release sent out by Advanced Disposal, the company said it has reached a settlement that has been approved by the Vermont Environmental Court in which the company will close the landfill and stop taking in waste as of today. The company still hopes to open a new section of landfill.
In March, the Agency of Natural Resources denied recertification of the landfills Cell Three, citing groundwater and odor issues. The agency ordered the landfill to close by April 15, but the Environmental Court granted a 90-day stay after Advanced Disposal appealed the denial of recertification.
The landfill is still trying to expand into a fourth cell, and the news release said the landfill will be closed until that cell is permitted and constructed. According to the Agency of Natural Resources, the decision on Cell Three has no bearing on the proposed construction of Cell Four, for which the company is seeking permits from the state and town.
Accepting the closure ordered by the state is a change in the companys stance; it had said in May that it was seeking to remain open past the 90-day stay until the appeal process was complete.
The company said there were four reasons the landfill should be left open. It said the agencys facts about odor and groundwater pollution did not support the denial of recertification; if the landfill closed, drastic action would have to be taken, irreparably harming the employees and customers of the landfill; giving the landfill more time would not cause any more harm to the agency or other parties involved; and a longer stay would be in the publics best interest because the landfill provides an important and somewhat scarce public service to the residents.
Some of the residents in Moretown have been pushing for the shutdown of the landfill and are staunchly against its expansion, saying there is a constant odor emanating from the site, their wells are being contaminated by runoff from the garbage and the blasting the landfill was doing to open up space for trash was damaging their property.
The landfill had already greatly reduced the amount of trash coming in as Cell Three approached its capacity. If the landfill remains closed, the only landfill in the state that will take municipal waste will be the one in Coventry.
Casella Waste Management Inc., which operates the Coventry landfill, is seeking to double the amount of trash allowed into the companys transfer station in East Montpelier to accommodate the increased trash load due to the Moretown Landfill closing.MORE IN World/National BusinessWASHINGTON Long-term U.S. Full StoryNEW YORK Its not just the musical Hairspray that will air live on NBC tonight. Full StoryOXON HILL, Md. Far from the Las Vegas Strip, MGM Resorts International opens its $1. Full Story
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Nearly two years after the beginning of a civil war in Syria, an estimated 60,000 people have died. In a rare speech Sunday, President Bashar al-Assad refused to end the conflict. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.
Updated at 4:52 p.m. ET: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday outlined what was billed as a new peace initiative that included a national reconciliation conference and a new constitution in a rare speech about the uprising against his rule, which has killed an estimated 60,000 people and brought civil war to the edge of his capital.
His foes reacted to the speech with scorn.
George Sabra, vice president of the opposition National Coalition, told Reuters the peace plan Assad put at the heart of his speech did "not even deserve to be called an initiative."
"We should see it rather as a declaration that he will continue his war against the Syrian people," he said.
Speaking before an overwhelmingly supportive crowd that interrupted his speech with chants and rapturous applause several times, Assad offered no concessions and even appeared to harden many of his positions. He rallied Syrians for "a war to defend the nation" and disparaged the prospect of negotiations. There was little to no acknowledgement that there are Syrians themselves who have taken up the fight.
"We do not reject political dialogue ... but with whom should we hold a dialogue? With extremists who don't believe in any language but killing and terrorism?" Assad asked.
"Should we speak to gangs recruited abroad that follow the orders of foreigners? Should we have official dialogue with a puppet made by the West, which has scripted its lines?"
In an interview with a Russian television channel, Syrian President Bashar Assad vowed to live and die in Syria, amid the 19-month old uprising against him. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.
Assad said his initiative would not move forward until foreign funding for the rebels stops.
The European Union responded quickly, saying there can be no political solution until Assad steps down, a subject the Syrian president did not address in today's speech.
The State Department responded in a statement saying that Assad's speech is "yet another attempt by the regime to cling to power."
"His initiative is detached from reality," the State Department said, and "would only allow the regime to further perpetuate its bloody oppression of the Syrian people."
It was the 47-year-old leader's first speech in months and his first public comments since he dismissed suggestions that he might go into exile to end the civil war, telling Russian television in November that he would "live and die" in Syria.
As in previous speeches, he said his forces were fighting groups of "murderous criminals" and jihadi elements and denied there was an uprising against his family's decades-long rule. He struck a defiant tone, saying Syria will not take dictates from anyone.
At the end of the speech, supporters rushed to the stage, mobbing him and shouting: "God, Syria and Bashar is enough!" as a smiling president waved and was escorted from the hall past a backdrop showing a Syrian flag made of pictures of people whom state television described as "martyrs" of the conflict so far.
PhotoBlog: Destruction, resistance in war-torn Syria
Insurgents are venturing ever closer to Damascus after bringing a crescent of suburbs under their control from the city's eastern outskirts to the southwest.
Assad's forces blasted rockets into the Jobar neighborhood near the city center on Saturday to try to drive out rebel fighters, a day after bombarding rebel-held areas in the eastern suburb of Daraya.
"The shelling began in the early hours of the morning, it has intensified since 11 a.m. (4 a.m. ET), and now it has become really heavy. Yesterday it was Daraya and today Jobar is the hottest spot in Damascus," an activist named Housam told Reuters by Skype from the capital.
Assad officials in Moscow to discuss end to civil war
The Syrian Network for Human Rights, a London-based group that supports the opposition, said it documented 76 deaths throughout Syria on Saturday, 35 of them in and around the capital Damascus. Reporting in Syria is severely restricted, and NBC News could not confirm these numbers.
Amid violence and chaos in Syria, 400 US troops have been deployed to Turkey with Patriot missile batteries to bolster defenses along the border. NBC's Annabel Roberts reports.
Since Assad's last public comments, in November, rebels have strengthened their hold on swathes of territory across northern Syria, launched an offensive in the central province of Hama and endured weeks of bombardment by Assad's forces trying to dislodge them from Damascus's outer neighborhoods.
Syria's political opposition has also won widespread international recognition. But Assad has continued to rely on support from Russia, China and Iran to hold firm and has used his air power to blunt rebel gains on the ground.
Missile batteries
Despite the estimated death toll of 60,000 announced by the United Nations earlier this week -- a figure sharply higher than that given by activists -- the West has shown little appetite for intervening against Assad in the way that NATO forces supported rebels who overthrew Libya's Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.
But NATO is sending U.S. and European Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries to the Turkish-Syrian border.
Channel Four Europe's Alex Thomson has the rare opportunity to meet some of Syrian President Bashar Assad's troops.
Explosion at Syrian gas station kills, wounds dozens; opposition blames car bomb
The United States military said U.S. troops and equipment had begun arriving in Turkey on Friday for the deployment. Germany and the Netherlands are also sending Patriot batteries, which will take weeks to deploy fully.
Turkey and NATO say the missiles are a safeguard to protect southern Turkey from possible Syrian missile strikes. Syria and allies Russia and Iran say the deployments could spark an eventual military action by the Western alliance.
Syria's war has proved the longest and bloodiest of the conflicts that arose out of popular uprisings in Arab countries over the past two years and led to the downfall of autocratic regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More world stories from NBC News:
- Chavez ally re-elected, cementing position as possible caretaker president
- 'Nobody helped us for an hour,' Indian rape witness says
- 'Strong young woman': Taliban shooting victim Malala leaves hospital
- ANALYSIS: Is peace really in the air in Afghanistan?
- Commemoration or deification? Pakistan embraces 'political goddess' Bhutto
- Drug-resistant malaria threatens deadly global 'nightmare'
- From alcohol to kites: An A to Z guide to the Islamic Republic of 'Banistan'
- UK police: Attackers dressed as Oompa Loompas beat man
- Vatican launches swipe-card security system
Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook


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Improving the yields of the lowest yielding smallholder farmers in developing countries is essential to food security and the livelihoods of farmers.
Satellite images are a rich data source to map agricultural landcover across the globe.
Wheat is one staple crop that is already being negatively impacted by warming temperatures, and this effect is only expected to increase over the upcoming decades.
Europe is an important agricultural producer that, since 1980, has seen both substantial warming during the growing season and a stagnation of yield growth for important crops such as wheat a
Information on cropland productivity, market prices of staples, and household assets is of primary importance for food security assessments and policies. Traditionally, this type of informati
A constraint to progress in agriculture is the lack of reliable data on crop productivity at field or sub-field scales, particularly for small-holder systems.
This research works to quantify the interaction between heat and drought stress.
During the past three decades, satellite agencies (e.g. NASA, ESA) have accumulated rich satellite data, which enable us to conduct multi-sensor crop monitoring.
Adaptation of vulnerable areas to climate change is---and will continue to be---an important subject of negotiations taking place in several international forums, including
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Our research group consists of students with varying backgrounds ranging in ecology, biology, climate science, statistics, economics, GIS and remote sensing, and computer science. Students interested in joining should have background in one or more of these areas.
Please contact us to discuss the possibilities.
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BARRE A Granite City man accused of having sex with a 15-year-old is now facing charges involving sexual contact with another 15-year-old girl.
Jonathan Amell, 20, pleaded not guilty Thursday in Washington County criminal court to felonious lewd and lascivious conduct with a child. If convicted, Amell faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
According to the police affidavit for the most recent charges, the girl told police in November 2011 that Amell forced her to the ground and had intercourse with her, saying repeatedly that he loved her. She told police she said no to Amell a few times during the incident and said the encounter hurt.
Police said that when they questioned Amell, he admitted there was sexual contact between him and the girl but that she had initiated it and it only involved her hand.
Police said a DNA sample from the girls underwear and a sample given voluntarily by Amell matched. Amell told police before the DNA results came back that his DNA probably would be on the girls clothing from her touching him; he said she tried to take off her pants and have sex with him but that he refused.
Amell is already facing a rape charge from an incident in December. According to the police affidavit in that case, Amell and a girl were drinking at Bert Wendels house in Middlesex and the girl got extremely intoxicated. The girl said she and Amell went outside for a cigarette and that Amell asked her if she wanted to have sex. The girl said she turned him down, according to police, but said the next thing she remembered was walking into the woods and having sex with Amell.
In that case, Amell faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Wendel, 47, is facing charges of having a sexual relationship with the girl who had been at his house.MORE IN Central VermontMIDDLEBURY According to WebMD, Dystonia is a movement disorder that causes a persons muscles ... Full StoryTiffany Briggs and Kayla Jackson eyed each other across the table, clasped hands, and then it was... Full StoryMARLBORO Police are investigating a burglary on Higley Hill Road. Full Story
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We have the perfect accompaniments to round out your Easter meal.
Easter Side Dishes
Lunch, brunch, or an elegant dinner—no matter how you're serving your Easter meal, we have a side for you. Our picks will help usher in the warmth of spring, even if there is still snow on the ground.
Our first recipe is not only quick, but also versatile. Try one of our three variations on Asparagus with Balsamic Tomatoes to spice things up: raisin and pine nut, sesame-ginger glazed, or lemon-tarragon. If you're serving a large Easter dinner group, feel free to try all three.


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Honolulu police and the family of 11-year-old Makanani Tavai-Bright are asking for the public's help to locate the young girl who was last seen Friday night.
The family of Makanani Tavai-Bright, 11, said that the little girl went missing from their Kaimuki home Friday morning.
"It's frightening as a father that I'm not the one protecting her that she might be in a dangerous spot," said Makanani's father Kenneth Bright.
Kenneth and Makanani's mother, Doreen Tavai-Bright, are desperate to find their daughter.
They received reports of possible sightings in the Waikiki area.
On Sunday, family and friends passed out fliers with the girl's picture.
Her parents said the young girl has run away before, and they initially thought she did it again.
"It might have started off as a runaway situation but that it turned into a situation where someone has taken her and not letting her comes home or contacts us," said the missing girl's mother, Doreen Tavai-Bright.
Kenneth Tavai-Bright said immediately after realizing his daughter was gone, he went to an area supermarket frequented by his daughter before.
It is there, Kenneth Tavai-Bright said he made a disturbing discovery near the Kapahulu Safeway's outside stairwell, where he found her chopped ponytail.
"I smelled the hair it smelled like my soap, my shampoo it soap her hair color so in my head it's hers," said the missing girl's father.
The family runs a home care service, and Doreen Tavai-Bright says staff saw Makanani walk out of the home dressed in school clothes around 6 a.m. Friday morning, carrying a backpack.
However, the staff did not think it was unusual.
"I just want her home this is my baby she needs to be home with us," said the girl's father.
Makanani Tavai-Bright is described as about 4 feet 2 inches, weighing 65 pounds.
She has dark brown hair and brown eyes-- and was last seen wearing a multi-colored hoodie, black plaid shorts and shoes.
She was also carrying a light green camouflage backpack.
If you have any information, call Crime Stoppers at 955-8300.


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President Obama held a news conference at the White House Tuesday. As Nikole Killion reports from Washington, he covered quite a bit of ground.
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"History of the Far East" Among Three New History Courses to Be Taught at BSC During Spring 2010 Semester
CreatedTuesday, September 23 2008
Created byJim Nelson/Media Relations - (304) 327-4103 firstname.lastname@example.com
(Bluefield)—A "History of the Far East" will be among three additions to the Spring 2010 Semester courses that will be offered at Bluefield State College. Dr. David Haus will teach the three-hour course, which will explore the history of China, Japan, India, and the Middle East, 1800-present. The course will augment the International Studies program at the College.
"This course will examine the period of colonization through the end of colonization, and consider the causes for modern day concerns that have arisen within each country," the Assistant Professor of History said. Haus joined the College's faculty at the start of the Fall 2009 Semester.
He will also teach two new online courses during the spring. "The first course focuses upon World War II," he continued. "It's more than a history of the war. We will discuss the causes of the war, how countries dealt with mobilization, and how they've fared during the aftermath of WW II."
The second new online course—"Representative Personalities of the 20th Century—uses biographies of key figures as a strategy for teaching 20th Century world history, according to Haus. "I have chosen pairs of leaders with opposing points of view, for example—Woodrow Wilson and Vladimir Lenin—to examine significant world events," he explained.
Individuals interested in learning more about these learning opportunities are encouraged to contact Dr. Haus by e-mail (email@example.com) or phone (304-327-4316).


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Modern design with traditional character, Hanko is a time piece that combines a simple design concept with completely original looks.
Sharp black acrylic lenses reminiscent of a Japanese signature stamp give this watch its name and a newly designed stainless steel case with custom curves provide a design edge.
The brushed face and bracelet style strap have polished, tapered edges and beneath the surface twenty-three LEDs light up to present the time.
One touch of the upper button animates the sub-surface LEDs in a clockwise direction before the time is presented. Hours are shown in the centre circle of the watch, groups of five minutes are shown in the outer circle, in the same position as numbers on a clock, and single minutes are shown in the areas between. For more information take a look at the diagram or download the PDF manual below.
Designed to wrap neatly around your wrist, Hanko is ideal for small and large wrists because of its small, streamlined case and is available with white, blue or multi-colored LEDs.
000 234
This product is no longer available.
Tagged in: LED Watches | Mens Watches | Womens Watches | Unisex Watches | Wrist Watches | Metal Strap Watches | Under $100 | Small Watches | Light Watches | Unique Watches | Unusual Watches | Stainless Steel Watches | Silver Watches | Cool Watches | Futuristic Watches |


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A couple of years ago, and with great zeal, I replaced the incandescent (IC) bulbs in my home with CFLs, touted as superior in terms of energy savings and thus, I naively thought, superior in terms of environmental sustainability. I knew that CFLs should be recycled rather than tossed in the garbage, but I thought I wouldn't have to worry for at least five year, their alleged lifespan. So I was surprised when my bedside reading lamp bulb died a few days ago, sooner than my older ICs.
There I stood, peeved in the dark.
GE claims that CFLs last "10 times longer than a 100 watt regular soft white bulb." The fine print adds that the bulbs are "Guaranteed to last 5 years based on 4 hours use per day at 120V." So why did my bulb die? I found out that frequently turning a CFL on and off shortens its life. Energy Star recommends leaving the bulb on for at least fifteen minutes to assure its longevity. (Am I missing something? Weren't we were supposed to save energy?)
Trying to look on the bright side, I realize that my bulb is under warranty. I've never kept it on four hours a day, since I usually fall asleep after 15 minutes of reading. If I want a replacement bulb, I have to provide proof of purchase (like the UPC code from the original package) and my register receipt. Sorry, I don't have a receipt or packaging for something I bought two years ago. Even if I did, I'd have to protect the bulb with lots of packing material, buy a small box, pay postage—all of which would cost more than a new bulb.
How to safely dispose of the defunct CFL became the question. Waste Management sells a recycling kit for $19.95, which includes a prepaid return shipping label for up to 13 bulbs (www.wm.com/residential/recycle-by-mail.jsp [2]). But Home Depot takes back CFLs one at a time. I drop the bulb off there, hoping that it will indeed be safely recycled.
Luckily I didn't throw the bulb in a fit of pique. Each CFL contains five milligrams of mercury sealed within the bulb's glass tubing. Once the tubing breaks, the mercury is released as mercury vapor. EPA recommends precautions when cleaning up a broken CFL, which can be found at www.epa.gov/cfl/cflcleanup.html [3], including evacuating people and pets from the room and airing it out for 5-10 minutes.
It is estimated that between 600 and 670 million CFLs end up in U.S. landfills each year, releasing two to four tons of mercury into the atmosphere, almost half the amount emitted by coal-fired power plants. Popular Mechanics crunched the numbers (popularmechanics.com/home/reviews/news/4217864) and concludes that, despite those figures, CFLs still contribute less to mercury emissions than ICs in their over-all life cycle.
Not very encouraging, considering the impacts of mercury pollution on our air, water and food. Nevertheless, Congress passed legislation that will phase out IC bulbs completely by 2014, except for certain high and low wattage bulbs.


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Oakley Half Jacket 2.0 Sunglasses
Product Information:
Dependable, durable and stylish, the Oakley® Half Jacket® 2.0 sunglasses are your shades for any activity and every day. Stress-resistant O Matter® frame material guarantees prolonged use while a Three-Point fit ensures a comfortable wear. High definition optics make sure your vision is crisp and clear in an Oakley® style that filters 100% UVA, UVB and UVC rays and up to 400nm of damaging blue light.
- O Matter® frame material is stress-resistant, durable
- Three-Point Fit keeps the shades comfortably on
- Unobtainium components stay on through sweat, moisture
- Metal icon accents, semi-rimless design adds flair
- High Definition Optics for concise vision, impact resistant that meets ANSI Z87.1 standards
- XYZ Optics boost a wide peripheral view
- 8.75 base lens curvature protects your side from the elements
- Plutonite lens material delivers 100 percent protection of UVA, UVB and UVC rays and filters up to 400nm of damaging blue light
- Semi-rimless design increases downward vision
- Transitions® SOLFX™ photochromic lenses darkens and lightens the light in each setting as needed
- Iridium coated lenses cut down on glare, balance light
- Style: OO9144-01, OO9144-02
- Oakley
Country of Origin: United StatesWeb ID: 20600846
Customer Reviews:
Rated 3.8 out of 5�by 5 reviewers.
Rated 1 out of 5�by ds313 Not great Not great. And too small for a bigger guy No case either also folds up awkward March 4, 2015
Rated 5 out of 5�by Crazyfedexguy Awesome! Just bought these with the prizm golf lens and they are amazing on the golf course, great thing is that you can buy other lens (around $60) for normal wear such as driving. January 26, 2015
Rated 3 out of 5�by David Meyer Picture doesn't represent the glasses I was expecting Bright orange glasses what i got were more of a burnt orange or light brown plan on sending them back! That being said the lens are great make everything look more clear September 8, 2014
Rated 5 out of 5�by BC54 good sunglasses for the price These sunglasses are made well and are very durable. As a coach they serve their purpose being out in the sun all day. September 4, 2014
Rated 5 out of 5�by Payneful13 Awesome These sunglasses are amazing. They're so clear and grip my head well. I never realized that my old sun glasses weren't clear until I put these on my face. April 25, 2014
1-5 of 5


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George Alexander Louis put me over the top this week.
I need to vent, so here's another edition of Rapid Fire Rants:
• We can't report on what we think someone is thinking and report it as fact. That's not what responsible journalism is about. That's what bloggers do.
Sure, we sometimes speculate – responsibly – in columns or editorials. But our news coverage is grounded in fact and sourcing, not bias and political motives.
• Here's the deal: I love feedback and news tips. But if you've got something to say or want to rip on me or the newspaper, do it with a name attached to it. Otherwise, your cowardice is thrown into the trash bin and given no consideration.
• How can the McHenry County Ethics Commission read this portion of an email sent from a county email address and not see anything political?
"Since announcing my candidacy, I have been accused by local bloggers of working with a drug cartel, corruption, and now, publicly driving down the Crystal Lake Parade giving everyone 'the finger.' The personal attacks by my opponent and his supporters on my family, my friends, my wife, my children, my in-laws, co-workers, and county board members is despicable and have no place in a legitimate race."
That's a swing and a miss by the commission, which ruled the email sent by Undersheriff Andrew Zinke, who is running for McHenry County Sheriff, did not constitute a prohibited political activity.
• It was also disappointing to see the commission hide behind a provision in the Open Meetings Act and vote to go into closed session for its discussion. At least Commission Chairman Thomas Spencer voted against doing so.
• And for the commission and its members to not provide a reason for their decision is unacceptable.
• This was the first hearing the eight-year-old commission ever conducted. I'm told by Northwest Herald reporter Kevin Craver it looked that way.
• The amount of media attention in this country given to the birth of a royal baby on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean was an embarrassment.
• Why are all the members of the Metra board still on the Metra board?
• It's been crickets from the committee put together to tackle pension reform in this state. Par for the course. Tick, tock. At least lawmakers aren't getting paid until it's done.
• Michael Madigan is the poster child for why Illinois needs term limits.
• Jason Schaumburg is editor of the Northwest Herald. He wishes things would have turned out differently. Reach him at 815-459-4122 or via email at email@example.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Schaumy.


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U.S. Marshals Hawaii Fugitive Task Force Officers comprised of Deputy U.S. Marshals, Hawaii State Sheriff's Department, Maui Police Department, Hawaii County Police Department, Kauai Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives conducted a fugitive sweep on the island of Kauai.
Task Force Officers located and arrested 22 fugitives and cleared 34 state warrants during the three day mission which began on Tuesday. The three-day operation, which wrapped up Thursday afternoon, targeted fugitives wanted for drug possession, robbery, sex assault, and other violent crimes. Drug paraphernalia and a .22 caliber rifle were seized by the officers.
Thursday morning, Task Force Officers arrested Portugal native Marco Paulo Rodrigues, 37, in Kapaia Valley located on Grove Farm for multiple outstanding warrants. Rodrigues, a green card holder, was sought by Kauai County officials for probation violation and criminal contempt of court. He was also charged with owner/possession of prohibited firearm.
During the arrest, task force officers recovered ammunition, drug paraphernalia and a .22 caliber rifle outside Rodrigues' tent. Rodrigues, who eluded authorities on several occasion, was living at the campsite for approximately one month. The firearm was recovered pending further investigation by ATF. Rodrigues was booked into Kauai Community Correctional Center pending further court proceedings. He is being held on $11,500 bail.
In addition to the fugitive sweep, task force officers conducted a sex offender compliance sweep. Of the 120 names on the offender list, 103 sex offenders are compliant and 27 were non-compliant. Seventeen of the non-compliant sex-offenders were brought into compliance. Of the remaining 10 non-compliant offenders, investigative reports are being made for submission to the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for review and possible information charging.


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I attended the Eagle Ford Shale forum on April 19 and listened to many presentations on the hydrofracking boom in our counties. A speaker on the program asked if anyone in the audience had any concerns they wanted to talk about. I answered that I was concerned about the impact of fracking on the quality of our drinking water and air. He indicated that he was not qualified to answer, and no one else on the program volunteered.
I suspect that it's time for the folks of Live Oak, McMullen and Bee counties to have a lot of conversations.
Personally, when the boom is on and after it's over, I don't want my drinking water or air polluted by at least 596 fracking chemicals, some of which are strong carcinogens and neurotoxins, and 40 percent of which will remain in the earth. I know that there are others who feel the same.
Sean McCall


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While Christine Ross '11 was student-teaching in the Czech Republic, she mentioned to her class that she wanted to visit Egypt and ride a camel. "Four of the 13 students in my class told me they had already been to Egypt and ridden camels," she says. "And they're in fourth grade."
An elementary education major, Ross embraced her passion for internationalism by completing her student-teaching requirement at a British International School in Prague. She applied to a program called Educators Abroad Student Teaching (EAST) and chose the Czech Republic from more than 40 options.
"I love to travel," says Ross, who had also studied in Scotland for a term. "I knew my freshman year that I wanted to student-teach abroad so I carefully planned my schedule. Many people don't know that a program like this exists."
The school day was similar to American schools and she taught in English, but measurements were in meters and liters. Some of her young pupils spoke three languages. Typically their parents are in the foreign service or employed by multinational companies.
When her classroom teacher became ill, Ross took over and gained valuable experience that she hopes will qualify her for an international teaching position. "Teachers in international schools are connected around the world," she says. "But returning to Prague would be my first choice."


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Posted 25 September 2013 - 03:40 PM
I have dealt with some scandalous cats in my time, but nothing ever as bad as what this genre presents me with. Had a friend who was promoter and he hated dealing with hip hop cats the most.
A lot of scummy unprofessional, uneducated thieves in this business.
- Annie Hall Records likes this
Posted 01 October 2013 - 08:26 AM
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Posted 05 October 2013 - 11:44 AM
Posted 07 October 2013 - 10:33 AM
Posted 07 October 2013 - 10:54 AM
Posted 24 October 2013 - 11:15 AM
I am a bit reluctant to do so. We are in a honeymoon stage and I haven't yet taken charge of purging their youtube raps of some serious drekky at-home freestyles. I did not have the heart to knock on them because they came off so precociously sweet They are my first foray into coddling really young hustler/party scene cats from the get-go. Eh but, here are the young guys....
Real dope!
Posted 28 October 2013 - 07:36 PM
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The league, buoyed by the nation's best collection of quarterbacks, a rising tide of cash from the Pac-12 Networks and on-the-mark coaching hires, is trying to stick its fingers in the eyes of the college football playground bully, the SEC.
"It's may be the best the Pac-12 has ever been," said Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez.
You can make that case, but it would be better if Oregon's Marcus Mariota, UCLA's Brett Hundley, Stanford's Kevin Hogan, Arizona State's Taylor Kelly, Oregon State's Sean Mannion and USC's Cody Kessler made it for you.
Mariota and Hundley could end up vying to be 2015's top draft pick, and NFLDraftScout.com projects Hogan in its early first-round projections as well. Mannion, with perhaps the best arm of the bench and an NFL pocket-passer profile, is high-round material.
Kelly, it is important to remember, was so good last season that he earned second-team all-league honors ahead of Hundley and behind Mariota. Kessler threw for 2,968 yards in his first season as a starter and should push toward 4,000 in new coach Steve Sarkisian's hurry-up offense.
Oh, and Washington State's Connor Halliday is back after throwing for 4,597 yards in Mike Leach's Air Raid offense, and Cal's Jared Goff passed for 3,508 yards as a true freshman under Sonny Dykes, a Leach disciple.
Nothing in college football is more important than a talented, experienced quarterback, and the league has 10 returning starters at the position. And as Rodriguez notes, "It's not like you have 10 returning quarterbacks and some of them can't play dead in a Western."
The Pac-12's respect is so high that two of the three analysts on ESPN's GameDay -- Desmond Howard and Lee Corso -- picked UCLA to win the national title. Meanwhile, Oregon is widely considered the league favorite.
What the Pac-12 needs is for all this preseason respect to translate into the meeting room of the 13-member selection committee for the new four-team College Football Playoff.
All this left-coast strength comes at a time when opportunity is expanding. The Pac-12 played in only three of the 16 BCS title games, but it would have had seven more opportunities to win the national championship if a four-team playoff had been in place.
Until further notice, the SEC is king. Deservedly so. But the Pac-12 won't be on the outside of the discussion, its face pressed against the glass, looking longingly at the biggest prizes. The league is ready to kick down the door.
Five best opening-week games
1. No. 14 Wisconsin vs. No. 13 LSU, Saturday, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN (Houston). There are developing situations at quarterback. The Badgers are ready to go with junior college transfer Tanner McEvoy (who began his career at South Carolina) over 19-game starter Joel Stave. Wisconsin could have a two-QB plan, which is definitely what Les Miles says he's doing with sophomore Brandon Jennings and true freshman Brandon Harris. This is no time to make a killer turnover, because one playoff contender will get its hopes battered early in this battle of big-boy football.
2. No. 21 Texas A&M at No. 9 South Carolina, Thursday, 6 p.m. ET, SEC Network. Sophomore Kenny Hill (for the moment) has edged five-star true freshman Kyle Allen for the right to follow Johnny Football at Texas A&M. If that's not deep-end-of-the-pool stuff, then opening with a conference game against a physical Top 10 team certainly is.
3. Oklahoma State vs. No. 1 Florida State, Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, ABC (Arlington, Texas). A tricky opening game for the defending national champs, which is what FSU needs because it won't get tested much in the ACC. The Cowboys are coming off a 10-win season but could be pausing to reload with a Big 12-low 10 returning starters. The Seminoles have too much first-round talent, too much experience, too much Jameis.
4. No. 16 Clemson at No. 12 Georgia, Saturday, 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN. The teams will be trying to recreate last year's thriller -- won 38-35 by Clemson -- with starting seniors quarterbacks who showed unusual patience behind established stars. Cole Stoudt takes over for Tajh Boyd for the Tigers, while Huston Mason is the new man behind center for the Bulldogs.
5. Boise State at No. 18 Ole Miss, Thursday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN. The SEC is in a transitional year at quarterback, but watch for the Rebels' Bo Wallace, the league's top returning passer who also is fluent in the zone-read offense. This might be a good time for new Boise State coach Bryan Harsin to borrow that deep bag of tricks that Chris Petersen left behind.
Five players to watch in Week 1
1. J.T. Barrett, QB, Ohio State. All the redshirt freshman has to do is take over for injured Braxton Miller and lead the Buckeyes to a Big Ten title and the College Football Playoff. Expectations never change in Columbus. Barrett will debut Saturday against Navy in Baltimore.
2. Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU. The hype is so big for the freshman phenom that you expect him to descend into the stadium from storm clouds throwing thunderbolts to the turf.
3. Jacob Coker/Blake Sims, QB, Alabama. Nick Saban was/is waiting for one quarterback to "take the bull by the horns" but claims he's comfortable playing both in the opener at home against West Virginia. This could be the key position battle in all of college football.
4. Vic Beasley, DE, Clemson. Beasley, a leading candidate for national defensive player of the year honors, gets an immediate showcase vs. Georgia. Beasley had 13 sacks and forced four fumbles last season.
5. Rakeem Cato, QB, Marshall. Get used to hearing about the Herd. Cato, who has thrown for 8,117 yards in the past two seasons, could have Marshall (hello, easy schedule) in the big-bowl discussion all year. His potential Heisman campaign starts at Miami (Ohio) on Saturday.
Five coaches on the hot seat


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December is a magical time in El Salvador. Right after the last September rains and the windy days of October and November, a cool breeze and fresh spring-like days fill the atmosphere, announcing that the dry season (usually called "summer") is here, and suddenly everything is green, red and full of lights. It is Christmastime.
For Compassion El Salvador and for our partner churches, Christmas is more than just an evening service on the 24th. (That is right, in El Salvador, if you ask anyone about Christmas, they will answer without hesitation "December 24th.")
For our church partners, it is an opportunity to remember the birth of Jesus, but also why He was born on Earth. It is a great opportunity to bring families together, and share the love of God with the children and their families. It is a time for blessing, spiritually and materially.
In the towns, bright, conspicuous winter sale banners contrast with the green and red decorations and the white paint that imitates snow on the showcase at the local mall. (It does not snow in El Salvador, but since the culture is so Americanized, there cannot be Christmas without snow.)
The aisles of the supermarkets and department stores are filled with pine scent and artificial trees on sale. If you ever come and visit El Salvador in December, it does not matter if you are from the United States, Canada, France or Australia, you will know … it is Christmastime.
Children in other countries and conditions might dream about the latest action hero or the most beautiful and fashionable doll. The children at our centers think a little bit differently. Not because they do not like toys, but because there are other needs to be fulfilled.
"We had a case one time when two of our children, a girl and his little brother stopped attending school, and when we did the visit, it was because they did not have any shoes to go to school, and they were embarrassed to go barefoot."
– Sister Wendy, wife of the pastor of Tabernaculo Biblico Bautista Majucla Church.
One of the children at Tabernaculo Biblico Bautista Majucla Church is Mauricio, a cute 7-year-old who loves to talk. Mauricio specially enjoys asking people if they have heard about Jesus, and if they want to receive Him in their hearts.
Traditionally, under other conditions, Mauricio would ask for toys, but because of the financial conditions, Christmas gifts and gifts in general mean he can get the shoes, the pair of pants or the school bag that his mother cannot afford.
Along with the snow, reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, Christmas brings hope and happiness to the spirits of the Salvadoran people, and in many cases nostalgia, just like any other country that celebrates the birth of Jesus.
On the radio, on television, in the newspaper and along the street, the air is filled with colors, songs and smiles that shout, "It is Christmastime."
Compassion El Salvador has strong relationships with retailers, such as clothing and shoe factories, and school gear wholesalers as well as supermarkets, and obtains good products at good prices. This is how our 155 child development centers receive the information about what are the choices for the children, and who to contact in order to make the best investment of the Christmas money that the sponsors send for their children.
Because of these relationships, reps from shoe stores visit all of our development centers to take the shoe size of all the children. With the few exceptions when children prefer clothes or school supplies, the center staff then takes the measurement list to the store to choose the shoes.
In the case of Mauricio, he is wandering around the church very early in the morning, playing with his friends until brother Enrique calls him and takes the measurements. "It is a five," they say.
As the development center's Christmas party arrives, Mauricio is early, greeting everyone and smiling. The church looks happier than other days, and the decorations have a personal touch, with each of the sponsor's names hung on the decorations.
All the staff members are dressed in red with Santa hats, ready to celebrate with the children. Before they start, they elevate a prayer,
"Thank you Lord for our sponsors. Please bless them and take care of them wherever they are."
The children have a nice meal, and one by one they are called to receive their presents. Mauricio is eager to destroy the red paper and open the box, but he waits until he is home to show his present to his mom: a nice, black pair of shoes.
Families come together for the holidays. They go to church, and have dinner; cousins, aunts and uncles, grandpas and grandmas, brothers and sisters — the whole family comes together to celebrate and share.
The traditional dishes are turkey or the less-expensive chicken, pork, all kinds of salads, something called chirimol, which is chopped tomatoes, onions and spices with lemon juice and is as traditional in El Salvador as gravy or sweet potatoes.
The only big difference with how Salvadorans celebrate Christmas is that for Salvadorans it is not a silent night. Christmas for a Salvadoran means lots of noise with firecrackers and music.
The streets are full of children burning firecrackers. The neighborhoods are filled with music and laughter coming out of the houses.
For Salvadorans, lots of explosions, the smell of gunpowder from the firecrackers in the air, and music means that it truly is Christmastime.
Christmas in El Salvador might not be a silent night, but it definitely is a celebration for the birth of our Lord.