text:
>Runner's World - My Event Ratings>
In short: Last did this race 9 years ago and it is just as good as everIn full: Other races could learn an awful lot from the organisation of this race. Faultless.Date of review: December 4, 2012
In short: probably my favourite raceIn full: This race just has the 'x' factor. Well worth the long trek down from Bristol. Once again, great organisation, superb value for money and a good day out. Can't wait for next year.Date of review: November 16, 2009
In short: Good race but same old problemsIn full: My only criticism of this race is the start which really has to be seriously reviewed. I was quite surprised to return this year to find the exact problems as last year. With everyone 'fighting' for the best possible start it becomes inevitably frustrating to spend the first 1k weaving in and out of people who were clearly not stood in the correct position on the line. Short of moving the start, not really sure what the answer is.Other than that no complaints. Great course, lovely weather and water bottle was just fine by me!Date of review: September 27, 2009
In short: Well done Chippenham. Fantastic organisation once again.In full: I wondered if this race could live up to the standard of last year. It did. Brilliant organisation. Massive thanks to everyone involved. Roll on next year.Date of review: September 13, 2009
In short: As previously said, faultlessIn full: I can only reiterate the other comments. This was a wonderfully organised race made even better by the glorious conditions. Well done to everyone involved. Superb.Date of review: April 6, 2009
In short: Great pre marathon training run made even harder by awful weather condititonsIn full: I can only concur with the thoughts of others regarding teething problems which should not occur in a race of this stature and I am sure the organisers could learn a lot from the comments, that is assuming the locals allow the race to go ahead next year.I made the course 20.3 miles which suggests we could have maybe started on the road instead of the field although no doubt this would have upset the residents even more!!That being said it was a great course and, desite the conditions, was an enjoyable run. My only real gripe was the lack of showers which were much needed. I would also like to thank the marshalls who braved the weather. I have no doubt they were a lot colder than I was by the end!Date of review: March 9, 2009
In short: Innacurate distance has meant time totally meaninglessIn full: I came down from Bristol for this race specifically to get a decent time in. Yes, it was a lovely course, nice weather, friendly etc but the 13.45 miles I ran as opposed to 13.1 has totally ruined the day for me. This may be harsh but I really think it is inexcusable organisation for a race of this size.Date of review: March 1, 2009
In short: Great day. Well done WimborneIn full: What a great race. Good weather, good course, fab organisation and lovely cakes. Definitely coming back next year. Well done Wimborne.Date of review: November 16, 2008
In short: Nothing undulating about this oneIn full: Was'nt quite prepared for the hilly nature of this course although quite enjoyed it. If this race is ran again then the organisers should seriously consider the numbers this race can accomdate, particularly if the start and finish remain where they are currently situated.Other than that can only agree with all the other comments.Date of review: November 10, 2008
In short: Wow. What a fantastic event. Can't wait for next year.In full: Despite years of racing this was my first marathon and I have to say I don't think I could find another to even begin to match this one.The organisation was superb. The marshalling and support was top class and the course was without doubt p.b material.Without doubt the best race I have ever attended. Well done to all involved and please hold it next year.Date of review: October 19, 2008
Visit the official Runner's World page
Follow Runner's World on Twitter
Click here
Other Natmag-Rodale Sites
Run For Charity
Injury Clinics
About Runner's World


text:
Pixie cut with beautiful side swept fringe
Delicate features are best offset with a pixie cut, that highlights and complements. Here, short, black locks are shorn to less than an inch, except for a dramatic fringe. The fringe takes up about three-quarters of the crown, and thickly sweeps down and across one eye, its feathered edges ending near the jawline. The shortened sections of fine-textured hair are short enough for some tufts to stand up in spikes, while the fringe provides the contrast of heavy, overhanging hair.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Amazing Breaker 3 stars level 4-79 tips
- App name: Amazing Breaker
- Developer: Dekovir
- Genre: Arcade
- Release: Jun 29, 2011
If you are stuck on Amazing Breaker 3 stars level 4-79 you came to the right place. Below you will find a video walkthrough and some written tips that will guide you through that level. Have fun and enjoy this great game.
3 stars level 4-79 Walkthrough
This page contains Amazing Breaker video walkthroughs for iOS (iPhone/iPad) called "79 hd | level 79 | 3 star walkthrough | stage" and has been uploaded on angrybirdscheatsnet official channel at Aug 16, 2012.
Still need help with this level? Here you can ask questions and discuss with other Amazing Breaker users.
Hit like if this helped you!
Stuck on some levels in Amazing Breaker? This walkthrough can help you finish the game.


text:
iHerb Customer Reviews
Savings of: $0.81 (13% off)
gluten-free pantry, french bread & pizza mix, 22
Posted by Reviewer1047306 on Jun 05, 2008
i've made gluten-free pizza many times from scratch and from bob's red mill and it's great but this product had very bad instructions for the pizza. if i didn't know how to make it i would have thrown it away. anyway, it was not as good as others i've had. it would probably be good for the french bread, but not for pizza.
Gluten-Free Pantry, French Bread & Pizza Mix
Posted by Reviewer2082639 on Feb 15, 2009
This is an excellent mix. The bread is the closest thing to tasting like wheat bread I have found that is gluten free. We use it to make all our pizza crusts, and also for bread cubes for dipping in cheese fondue. I usually use a bread machine, but I am going to try and bake it on a cookie sheet to make it into a regular loaf of french bread.
Great tasting and easy to make
Posted by CoolinArizona on Mar 30, 2009
I just tried this mix for the first time and used my kitchenade mixer to combine all the ingredients. It seemed a little gummy, but I added some dried herbs and used lemon flavored olive oil. Used a small 10" LeCreuset baking dish, let it rise, and baked for 30 minutes, then spread soft butter over the top and baked for another 10 minutes. It smelled divine and tasted delicious warm and slathered with butter.
not happy!
Posted by Reviewer2648100 on Feb 11, 2010
i am a baker and usually love GF pantry products, but with this one, the yeast didn't rise so it was awful. suggest using fresh yeast form the grocery, maybe.
love this bread
Posted by Reviewer2352133 on Jun 17, 2011
this is hard to find at reasonable price
great product
Posted by Reviewer2316462 on Feb 28, 2008
It was so awesome to find this bread mix. I recently moved and it is hard to find any stores in the area that carry this brand. I have to buy this type of mix because both my son and myself are celiac/wheat intolerant. I would recommend this to anyone who is celiac and requires a special diet.
Posted by Reviewer2659907 on Apr 29, 2008
My hubby loves this! thanks for a great product that does NOT taste like cardboard! Simply Sharon Sharon Pawlak
great pizza crust
Posted by Reviewer1309622 on Apr 28, 2009
tastes great
Posted by Reviewer1543877 on Feb 02, 2010
Gluten-Free Pantry's bread mixes actually taste like "real"read. Those on a gluten-free diet know what it means to have bread that doesn't crumble. I would recommend it to everyone.
Pizza dough
Posted by Reviewer3041182 on Feb 22, 2012
Prefered this pizza dough over the Pamela's Products, Gluten-Free Bread Mix for pizza dough. It was a bit lighter and not as chewy. Would get this one again.


text:
Skip to comments.Modesty in Ultra-Orthodox Brooklyn Is Enforced by Secret Squads
Posted on 01/30/2013 4:11:39 AM PST by KantianBurke
In the close-knit world of ultra-Orthodox Judaism, community members know the modesty rules as well as Wall Street bankers who show up for work in a Brooks Brothers suit. Women wear long skirts and long-sleeved, high-necked blouses on the street; men do not wear Bermuda shorts in summer. Schools prescribe the color and thickness of girls stockings.
The rules are spoken and unspoken, enforced by social pressure but also, in ways that some find increasingly disturbing, by the modesty committees. Their power is evident in the fact that of the half dozen womens clothing stores along Lee Avenue, only one features mannequins, and those are relatively shapeless, fully clothed torsos.
There are quite a few men, especially in Williamsburg, who consider themselves Guts polizei, said Yosef Rapaport, a Hasidic journalist, using the words for Gods police.
Its somebody who is a busybody, and theyre quite a few of them zealots who take it upon themselves and they just enforce. Theyre considered crazy, but people dont want to confront them.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Yet not a peep about TROP and dress/morality codes.
This IS the NY Slimes! Could you expect anything less?
Exactly. Ignore Sharia enforcers (no problems there) and focus on the Jooooos.
That is true.
Fanatics are fanatics. The ultra-Orthodox community keeps its people under very tight control, and, probably inspired by Islam, it's getting worse. There have been a couple of major child molesting cases there where no one denied the guilt of the perpetrators (rabbis) but instead publicly attacked the child victims and said they must have been dressing provocatively (!), etc. These modesty squads burst into people's houses and tear up their closets looking for "immodest" clothing and function exactly like the Saudi religious police. But the residents of these communities, even though they're living in America, don't dare to complain.
What difference is there between these people and the Taliban? Not much from where I'm sitting.
So you're gonna shoot someone who tells you not to wear shorts?
The 2nd amendment isn't about the clothes police, or hunting, or target shooting.
The Taliban will cut your head off, is that what these busybodies do?
Yep, NYT propaganda, yet people keep reading the PoS and posting the BS from there..... A better approach would be posting who their advertisers are, and attacking them until the NYT is gone.
As someone with a libertarian bent and fiscal conservative it would bother me big time if someone on welfare(and many of these people are in Israel and USA) would tell me how to dress.
Wait a minute. The NYT has a double-standard? They sound like liberals.
This is hard to believe. Brooklyn Jews can't be this easy to bully.
If some sky pilot was to get in my face about my manner of dress, he'd be wearing a fist.
That's precisely what the NYTimes is attempting to insinuate- moral equivalency between the Jews and Muslims.
The groups have long been a part of daily life in the ultra-Orthodox communities that dot Brooklyn and other corners of the Jewish world. But they sprang into public view with the trial of Nechemya Weberman, a prominent member of the Satmar Hasidim in Brooklyn, who last week was sentenced to 103 years in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing a young girl sent to him for counseling.
might have more to do with this story appearing in the Slimes than some underhanded plot to slander 'da joooooos' by comparing them to the mohammedans.
I also wonder if there's some sort of 'modesty police' thing going on in the Orthodox Jewish areas of Los Angeles. Drive through La Brea some time, if you don't know what I mean. There seems to be the same extreme dress code there.
So women dressing modestly is evil, but women dressing like whores in a "Slut Walk" is to be admired. This is the Progressive swamp the NYTimes has brought us and they can't STAND that these religious Jews refuse to wallow in it. Well I say good for them.
Forcing women to dress modestly is evil.
C'mon...don't fall for the Slimes propaganda. They are mixing in modesty codes in Brooklyn with a home break-in 50 miles away in the Monsey, NY suburbs, and even throw in a convicted child abuser for good measure. They DESPISE Jews who are observant instead of being depraved homos who shill for Obama like the Secular "Jews" who work at the Times.
NY Slimes gotta create equivalency between Jewish community leaders and the Saudi religious police. Scumbags!
And as soon as you tried to do that I would shoot you dead, meat on the street.
Talking isn't assault and doesn't warrant deadly force.
Lemme guess... This is publicity the next "reality" show, based on the popular 'Amish Mafia' series. Except with fundie jewish guys...
Make no mistake, the semi-literate panic buyers of guns and ammo are just as likely to hunt and kill Jews when the SHTF as they are to confront jack-booted government thugs.
In recent years, several prominent Israeli kabbalists have begged Jews to leave America while they can do so in comfortable circumstances because the circumstances are going to suddenly change.
FINALLY at the very end of the article we learn that these are those anti-Israel nut jobs who used to visit Arafat, yet for most of the piece the author makes us think this represents "ultra-Orthodox Jews is Brooklyn".
The simple fact is that Judaism is closer to islam than it is to chrstianity because it is a statutory rather than a salvational religion. That's why I don't pile on in all those threads chrstian FReepers post about how good old "Judaeo-chrstian" friendship will triumph over mean nasty islam with all its rules. How dare G-d tell people how to live!
One of chrstianity's many problems (and it has several) is that it threw over (at least in part) statutory for salvational religion. Left wing social religion could not have developed without this first great error. The western "enlightenment" chrstian conservatives champion against islam (but not against chrstianity) is part of the problem. If "western civilization" had practiced a purely statutory religion things would probably not have gone south this fast.
I realize that everybody is out to get 'da jooooooos' ... and Jewish people never do any wrong ... (or so it appears, from the comments some folks post on this forum) ...
That's funny, since Jewish FReepers do considerably less whining and crying "bigotry" on this forum than do Catholics.
"What difference is there between these people and the Taliban? Not much from where Im sitting."
The Taliban seek everyone to convert to Islam and force people violently to follow their ways.
These groups have no desire to convert anyone and only enforce their rules non-violently against voluntary members of their rare sub-cults.
Further, these isolated idiots are just that : isolatd idiots who have no standing in the larger Jewish community. About as representative of the Jewish people as that kooky church that celebrates at funerals is representative of Christians.
If you can't see a differece, you're a moron.
I'm with you, elder brother. Every word. Also, I believe the practices and statutes of God's People mean something more to God than to the general Western population. There is an increasing Americanized abhorrence for religious "rules and regulations and religious community, and we're all called "Pharisees".
Though I of course do not understand how many layers of blinders my Jewish friends must require, or layers of ear flaps it must take to avoid seeing and hearing that their Messiah has come with their salvation and mine.
I mean God Himself drew pictures, in crayon, in your Book, so we stiff necked Jews and Gentiles would recognize Him in the rest of the Book.
I believe we Catholics and Jews have favor and share the same destiny, remnant though it may be.
Not to say that, by God's Mercy, others can't lumber in late, at 5:00, having done no work or very little, like me, and seek Mercy.
God's speed, and hang right in there
Well, at least they don't take your guns.
Remember the good old evil days, back when they used to put skirts on piano legs ?
Quite honestly, most of the Jews in this country are dumber than bricks, no matter how much education or credentials they have, based on the fact that they vote for the liberal/socialist/fascist/communist demoRAT party that would send these Jews to the gas chamber in a heartbeat if they could.
More Jew-hating filth from the NY Fishwrap. One notes not a word about stoning/hanging/burning alive women who dress incorrectly in the wonderful utopia of Arab Sharia.
Stop embarrassing yourself by peddling half-truths and shut the h@ll up.
I think these are part of a sect seeking to live as a theocracy, and are only going into the houses of those who agree to be part of it, and while not sanctioning this means, yet adherents of liberalism would like to take away your guns, and your children as well if your religion or ideology is opposed to them (for your own good of course), as that is intolerable to them.
As far as modestly is concerned, the modern lack of it is a result of liberalism that rejects traditional Christian morality - which basically was much reflected in its laws - and results in larger and more intrusive government, and that of a progressively immoral kind as a post-Christian populace is deceived by their sophistry promoting their destructive ethos.
While even an atheist can be a relatively good person (but like Christians, not good enough for Heaven but in need of Christ), ultimately Divine influences on the heart of man are necessary if he will not be ruled from without.
Robert Winthrop (May 12, 1809 November 16, 1894), and Speaker of the House from 1838 to 1840, and later president of the Massachusetts Bible Society, explained that, Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled, either by a power within them, or by a power without them; either by the Word of God, or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible or the bayonet.
Except for the fact that the most damaging movements against Western Civilization, such as the Frankfurt School of Interdisciplinary Social Theory, have been of primarily Jewish origin.
See the "threatening me or my family" part. No citizen should passively endure that and I certainly won't.
BTW, maybe you should learn to be more articulate and stop the garbage mouth if you want to discuss this.
Over 70% of Jews in this country voted for 0bama in the last election, and 78% voted for him in 2008. The stats I recall is that approx 54% of Catholics voted for 0bama. In any case, anyone who voted for 0bama or democRATs in general should be ashamed of themselves for voting to destroy our country!
I had no intention of doing the latter, and i described what the liberals would like to do, but I read that some (from a Hasidic modesty committee) went into homes, but which must have been based upon the allegations below.
The Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes, who prosecuted the Weberman case, has now received allegations that members of a modesty committee forced their way into a home in the borough, confiscating an iPad and computer equipment deemed inappropriate for Orthodox children, officials say .
Not that this is something the NYT would see wrong if it was police raiding homes because they taught Judaeo-Christian values to their children.
I am very much aware of the private Chassidic-run buses into NYC from northern Rockland County neighborhoods. The buses are tailored to supporting their lifestyle, i.e. they are constructed like a synagogue on wheels so that the men can hold morning services there instead of having to first go to their community synagogues. A great time-saver. It is not only the rabbis who wear the characteristic Chassidic dress, but every man. They don't wear their "fur hats" every day, only on the Sabbath or holidays. Jewish law dictates that one should attempt to solve domestic problems within the community first. Going to outside authorities would only be done when community efforts failed. If you had been persecuted by civil governments for centuries and been murdered at the hands of these very same governments, you would also show extreme hesitation, perhaps to the point of not even considering the possibility, before going to a government entity to let your dirty laundry hang out to people not of your culture. How is that different from many FReepers who also don't trust the government?
Where do you get your "facts" about the Chassidim donating "huge amount[s] of money to the Democrat party"? I don't know ANY Orthodox Jews who support the Democratic party. They are all conservatives and therefore align with the Republican party. They are disgusted with the liberals' support of abortion, homosexuality, etc. And your comment "That's the only reason they've been able to get away with things for so long" smacks of anti-semitism.
Your circle of acquaintance might be quite small. Hillary got a very substantial share of their votes and she got some hefty geld from them, too. So, are many indeed occasionally Republican, and perhaps many not?
Now another question, please. How did they break for Romney? Inquiring mind wants to know.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


text:
Program starts in January 2013
Florence Study Abroad Information Meeting
Sat Nov 03, 2012
10:00 am - 11:30 am
Join us to learn how you can spend a semester in Florence earning twelve college credits.
It is an opportunity of a lifetime.
SMCCD District Office, Board Room3401 CSM Drive
San Mateo, CA 94402
Browse Events at this Location
Event Contact InfoMartha Tilmann
(650) 574-6533
Share this EventEmail to a Friend
Save to Your CalendariCalendarvCalendar
Google Calendar
Yahoo! Calendar
Windows Live Calendar


text:
The NYCLA Foundation, committed to the highest standards of governance, has adopted policies and protocols considered the best practices for non-profit organizations. Reorganized in 2004, the Foundation adopted new Bylaws, a Code of Conduct for officers, Board members and staff, and an Audit Committee Charter.
Additionally, the Foundation, with the advice of its auditors, has established systems of accounting for handling and expending funds, as well as for timely and appropriate reporting to officers and Board members, protecting the assets, and insuring that the charitable purposes of the Foundation are carried out.


text: Spend a day on the water in the Magellan Outdoors Men's Lake Fork Short Sleeve Fishing Shirt. Designed with 5 pockets, the shirt is made of lightweight 100% cotton poplin fabric with polyester mesh lining to help you stay cool and comfortable. UPF 20+ sun protection helps keep your skin safe. Button-down closure. Ventilated for cool, comfortable wear.


text:
About the Author: Luke Forgerson serves as DipNote's Managing Editor.
As my colleague Ruth Bennett mentioned in her entry, we opted to forgo our usual "year in review" blog post in 2011. With about 1,300 entries posted to DipNote last year, we felt that a series of entries highlighting aspects of the State Department's broad scope of work in 2010 might better give the many varied issues their due attention. As we conclude our series looking back, I'd like to spotlight ten of DipNote's entries that I found particularly memorable last year and hear from you, our readers, on what topics you'd like to read more about in 2011.
This past week, we remembered the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti one year ago. In the hours after the disaster, State Department Counselor and Chief of Staff Cheryl Mills highlighted ways each of us could take action to help Haiti. Her entry garnered more comments than any other posting on DipNote last year and reflected the desire of so many individuals in the United States and around the world to assist the people of Haiti after this tragedy. In the weeks that followed, Gordon Duguid and Paul Mayer told us about the U.S. response to the disaster and reflected on what they saw in Port-au-Prince.
In the face of great challenges last year, we saw individuals act with bravery and resolve, not only in Haiti but elsewhere in the world. Joann Lockard told us what it was like to be in Uganda in the days after the bombings last summer and voiced the difficult decisions one must make in the face of such a tragedy. Ambassador David Huebner described how the people of New Zealand demonstrated a generous spirit after an earthquake struck their country.
Ambassador Ertharin Cousin provided a number of entries on efforts to fight global hunger and advance food security. In Bangladesh, she connected with a group of rural schoolchildren, beneficiaries of a food assistance program.
In Afghanistan, Kathy Gunderman showed us that sometimes diplomacy comes down to a moment, reflecting on a memorable exchange she had with a group of Afghan farmers. Tom Countryman reminded us diplomacy often takes a sustained commitment, looking back on progress after ten years of diplomacy in the Balkans.
As we often see in diplomacy, shared traditions and values unite us. Tad Brown described Diwali and Thanksgiving in India, and Marianne Sartori celebrated both the Fourth and the Fourteenth of July in France.
Each of these entries offers a different snapshot of American diplomacy. Taken together, I hope they give readers a broader picture of what the State Department does. I am very grateful to all of the many colleagues who have taken the time over the last year to contribute to DipNote. The blog depends upon our colleagues to share with us the work they do on a daily basis. It also relies so much upon you, our readers, many of whom offer us your thoughts and feedback. We'd like to take this opportunity to hear from you once again -- tell us what you'd like to see on the blog in 2011. We look forward to hearing from you!
Susan C. in Florida writes:
I have visited the DipNote blog from it's beginning. It just keeps getting better and better. I like the new formats, such as "Week in Review", and the "new end of the year" reviews by the editors. As usual, the photos are outstanding and always pull me into the posting. I do appreciate the time the different authors of these postings take to tell us about what they are doing and what is being accomplished by the State Department around the world, as well as, here in the U.S.A.. Keep up the excellent job you are doing, it is noticed and appreciated.
Eric in New Mexico writes:
@ Luke,
I'll offer my hearty "second" to Susan's thoughts and a couple ideas that may be old and bold, and some new and perhaps due, in furthering this social experiment called Dipnote.
Three catagories of which may generate sustained debate on many levels.
- Greater interaction between the global public readership and the US gov.
- Greater understanding on the part of both (above) for policy, intent, and the thinking behind both, on both the philosophical and practical policy level.
- The fostering of considered, constructive debate in order to generate solutions to global problems and sustainability of human progress.
It has been my obligation as a citizen to inspire folks to think, whether some feel that may be warranted or not (chuckle), and in addressing issues knowing I don't have billions to throw at a problem, I really can't afford to be shy about it, nor in the asking for folks to lend an ear along with hearts and minds.
My feeling is neither can my government to be effective.
And what that manifests as on this blog is primarily the author of a blog post's responsibility to engage with the public directly, and engage with the public every day of the week.
If they have the time to write it, they have the time to respond to question or comment about what they wrote here, and that's only logical and appropriate.
I'm not suggesting how they should respond, just that they do on a consistant basis.
I've noticed as well that one may think of a "full soundbite" as paradoxical when only the full enchilada on video will suffice to garner the public's full attention and understanding of the interactions of senior officials within their duties and communications.
And then there's the topic(s) du'jour...of which the daily briefing @ State should I think be available on this blog as well as State.gov. ( I've stated the logic of doing so any number of times over the years)
I simply believe it should become part of the staple diet among the Dipnote readership.
And I don't know how PJ Crowley would feel about this, but I would suggest to him that it may be worthy in the training of junior spokespersons in responding to public question put thereby in the comment section.
Last but not least, I gather that some on your staff hesitate to direct readers to other blogs. Ok, I suppose there's some proprietary investment at work in that attitude, and notable exception made on occasion as appropriate.
But the success of this blog is found in its interactive nature as your remarks indicated.
Well State has 190+ embassies world-wide, and an email to the webmasters would very likely get them to include a link to Dipnote on their sites, and the blog-roll here should probably include every US Ambassador's blog in the world.
Take the USUN blog for instance, it's an "in-house" blog without the public able to comment directly on it.
Same with the Whitehouse blog.
Now the public can leave comment on the contact page, but it won't be public comment and an auto-responder isn't exactly human interaction.
If Diplomacy is all about networking on the practical level to generate imput, ideas, and common understanding, then as Managing Editor of this blog, how would you think best to approach this in order to evolve interactive government?
And what constraints might negate the possibilities for such evolution?
Thanks, and keep up the good work!
C.F. in Vietnam writes:
These are very valid points. Thanks for all the useful info.
N. writes:
A lot of useful information here ... thanks. I'll bookmark this.


text:
Legislators, do what's best for Minnesota
To the editor,
Under federal law, Minnesotans will have access to a Health Care Insurance Exchange to buy Health Care Insurance. The 2013 Minnesota Legislature had two choices.
First: do nothing and let the federal government impose a national Health Care Exchange on Minnesota.
Second: create a Minnesota Health Care Exchange.
The 2013 Minnesota Legislature wisely chose to create a Minnesota Health Care Exchange. Unfortunately, our local legislators (Rep. Torkelson, and Sen. Dahms) chose to vote against creating the Minnesota Health Care Exchange.
Why is a Minnesota Health Care Exchange a good thing? First of all, Minnesota Law provides several consumer protections that might not be provided in health care insurance policies offered by a national exchange. Second, Minnesota Law requires that certain health care procedures are covered, which might not be provided under a national plan. Third, the Minnesota Health Care Exchange will be run by and overseen by a board of Minnesota citizens, not a federal agency.
Starting in 2014, small businesses, farmers, and other individuals will be able to buy health care coverage through the Minnesota Insurance Exchange. Starting in 2014 a Minnesota citizen with a preexisting health condition will be able to buy health care insurance without fear of the policy not being issued or the rate being jacked up so high that the person cannot afford it.
It is disappointing that our local legislators chose not to support the creation of the Minnesota Health Care Exchange. I realize that hatred of Obama Care is almost a religious belief for many Republicans like Torkelson, and Dahms, but at some point these "representatives of the people" need to set aside their partisan hatred of Obama Care and start doing what is best for Minnesota.
Joe Kriegl
Redwood Falls


text:
Fair ~
High: 53°F ~ Low: 32°F
Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017
Tomato TragedyPosted Saturday, July 19, 2008, at 9:27 PM
Summertime in Missouri is tomato time! I remember when I brought my first-born child down from Alaska in '74 to show him off to the relatives, all I wanted to eat was my mother-in-law's fresh tomatoes from the garden. Tomatoes and cottage cheese, bacon 'n tomato sandwiches, tomatoes in salad - just tomatoes and sweet corn, till it came out my ears! My husband and I hadn't had a good tomato since we left Missouri in '69.
If I were a tomato-grower right now, I'd be just sick about what's happened this year with the salmonella scare. According to the latest figures, the nation's tomato industry has lost $100 million since the outbreak which began in April, sickening 1,220 people in 42 states.
The U.S. Food and Drug Aministration still hasn't figured out where the salmonella originated. Now they're recommending that the elderly and people with weak immune systems avoid eating fresh jalapenos and serranos and any food containing them, such as fresh salsa. They say that the tomatoes are okay.
It really doesn't seem fair. Growers in California, Florida and Georgia, the top three tomato-producing states, test their tomatoes regularly for salmonella and e-coli, and their crops were never under suspicion, but they're suffering the damages anyway.
"It's a government-made disaster," said Melanie Horwath, fourth generation tomato grower in the Salinas Valley. Her family's business sustained crop losses of $2 million. "The government has a responsiblity to only provide facts, not idle speculation. They're going to put us all out of business."
Growers are wondering why the trace-back is taking so long, when the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 requires food-handling companies to keep detailed records allowing tracing of food through the distribution chain.
"We know in the tomato industry we are required to hold these records," sayd Ed Beckman, president of the Californian Tomato Farmers. "If there was someone that is involved in the handling of any produce item that is not doing their job, we need to have an understanding that that's the case. If that's not the case, then why did it take so long to come to the conclusion that FDA has come to?"
Both salmonella and E. coli bacteria enter food through mammal feces, and can be transferred to produce by animals, humans and water.
Because of this animal connection, the FDA is trying to crack down on the proximity of animals to the produce farms. They've even suggested "clean strips" around the fields, barriers created by herbicides. One cantaloupe grower indicated that the FDA was requiring them to have all telephone lines rerouted, so that no birds are able to perch above the crops. Other growers are building huge fences to keep out wildlife.
Wow, whatever happened to life down on the farm??
Our world just continues to get stranger and stranger! What are things coming to, when you can't even eat a tomato without worrying about getting sick?? Maybe it's a good thing my mother-in-law isn't alive to see what a mess we've gotten ourselves into! It would be beyond her comprehension.
As for me, Paul Corbin brought me some produce Friday, and my goat friend Emma came by the office with tomatoes. Makes me glad I'm back in Missouri!
Eat local, folks!
Showing comments in chronological order
[Show most recent comments first]
I've had ripe tomatoes this summer, but I'm hungry for fried green tomatoes!
I can't even imagine $2 million worth of tomatoes!
-- Posted by goat lady on Sat, Jul 19, 2008, at 9:57 PM
I've had a few ripe tomatoes so far this summer, but it's not enough. More, more, I want more. If you don't make it to the farmer's market in my area by 8:00 you don't get any tomatoes. Alas, I was on my way to pick blueberries at 8:00 so I missed the tomatoes.
It reminds me of a John Denver song about there's nothing like "love and home-grown tomatoes."
Yeah, GL. Fried Green Tomatoes - both to eat and the movie. Tawanda!!!!
-- Posted by Ducky on Sat, Jul 19, 2008, at 11:04 PM
Sounds like another GWBush problem. The guy has screwed up everything including tomatoes. Glad the Mexican Restaurants in town and all the people eating their salsa ignore crap like this.
-- Posted by shannonhoon on Sat, Jul 19, 2008, at 11:17 PM
Our govt is inadequate, enough said.
Goat Lady, the older gentleman at Bloomfield on Thursdays has some of the best green tomatoes I have had in years, $2.00 for a large sack. last Thursday I split a bag with an older lady that didnt want that much. Watch out for some of the so-called home grown ripe ones, I had to toss 5 of 7 last week from a seller. Perhaps my fault, I should have looked further.
-- Posted by changedname on Sun, Jul 20, 2008, at 7:33 AM
Our govt. is our govt......maybe we are a nation of whiners.
-- Posted by shannonhoon on Sun, Jul 20, 2008, at 7:40 AM
MD, thanks for the tomato subject,,, not that it matters but I think I'll take a vacation for awhile,, seems every post by you folks turns into a 'darned political debate' and I know that wasnt your original intent.
Sayonara for a bit, good luck and blessings to you all.
-- Posted by changedname on Mon, Jul 21, 2008, at 8:10 PM
Madeline Dejournett's response:Sorry, Dexterite. I notice a few more of our regulars are taking a similar vacation. I hope to at least swing my blog back to safe ground.
Update as of July 21 - ABC News: A fresh jalepeno pepper grown in Mexico and processed in Texas has tested positive for the same strain of salmonella that's made 1,251 people sick since April. There have been 229 hospitalizations and two deaths.
Tomatoes have been cleared.
How do you think I'm going to get along
Without you when your gone
Took me for every thing that had
Then kicked me out on my own.
Lyrics from Another One Bites The Dust.
As Bon Scott says, don't let the blog door hit you on the way out.
-- Posted by shannonhoon on Mon, Jul 21, 2008, at 9:27 PM
thats the kind of response I KNEW would be coming.
-- Posted by changedname on Mon, Jul 21, 2008, at 9:50 PM
I agree, dexterite. It just isn't the same...I do now, however, have a real craving for tomatoes...
-- Posted by letseatcake633 on Mon, Jul 21, 2008, at 10:06 PM
Our notorious cake lady switching over to tomatoes: What is this world coming to?
Hang in there, guys. This, too, will pass.
-- Posted by goat lady on Mon, Jul 21, 2008, at 10:13 PM
dexterite didn't leave very long. He was only gone for an hour and 40 minutes. That's a long vacation though if you have never taken one.
-- Posted by BonScott on Tue, Jul 22, 2008, at 12:01 AM
Listen...can you guys hear that? I'm playing the world's smallest violen for Dexterite.
-- Posted by Jim Morrison on Tue, Jul 22, 2008, at 12:46 AM
letseat633cakes is right......not the same, never will be.
Goat....we are always hangin'....hangin' tough.
Jimmy...were there any violins at Cruefest?
Staley....any advice for dexterite?
-- Posted by shannonhoon on Tue, Jul 22, 2008, at 7:30 AM
Dexterite, in our government pervasive society a lot of these topics can't be separated from some sort of political implication. Commercial tomato growers and distributors were decimated by the FDA when there was no evidence they were causing salmonella. If one believes in the acceptance of responsibility, then the feds should provide 100% reimbursement to every tomato grower, distributor and retail seller harmed by the baseless warning to avoid eating tomatoes. I don't see that as political, just common sense.
-- Posted by FJGuy on Tue, Jul 22, 2008, at 8:14 PM
my advice would be not to throw tomatoes at a man when he is down...dexterite needed a breather after that GWB comment. The Dtown blog arena can be rough at times and you never know what's coming.
You say tomato and I say...
-- Posted by layne staley on Tue, Jul 22, 2008, at 8:54 PM
Dexterite is checking out. FootJoyBoy has all the answers. Just ask him.
-- Posted by shannonhoon on Tue, Jul 22, 2008, at 9:06 PM
You guys are posting on a TOMATO blog! Don't you feel a little foolish?
-- Posted by goat lady on Tue, Jul 22, 2008, at 9:11 PM
I suspect Hoon that you'd have steam coming out of your ears, nose and ... if you were a commercial tomato grower done wrong by the FDA, and you might also have a banker breathing down your neck. Humm, that part wouldn't be all bad if she was Chrissie's twin.
-- Posted by FJGuy on Tue, Jul 22, 2008, at 9:27 PM
Goat Cheese, that just shows the range of the Dead Rockers. We can add knowledge to any topic, including agriculture.(I use the term knowledge very loosely here.)
-- Posted by BonScott on Tue, Jul 22, 2008, at 9:53 PM
BonScott, you use the term "knowledge" very loosely, indeed.
Fellow bloggers, if one of the other bloggers bothers us or their comments fail to amuse or enlighten us, we have only to ignore them. We'll just talk around them and let them become "unpersons." Don't comment on their comments, stay on topic and enjoy the blog.
-- Posted by Ducky on Wed, Jul 23, 2008, at 1:05 PM
That's not very nice daffy duck. Who appointed you blog patrol? I don't believe we ever voted on that. Don't you think staying on topic all the time gets a little Magoo.
-- Posted by BonScott on Wed, Jul 23, 2008, at 4:37 PM
Remind me to never give you a badge Ducky... "unpersons" sounds pretty creepy.
-- Posted by FJGuy on Wed, Jul 23, 2008, at 6:44 PM
"Unpersons" is from George Orwell's "1984." The Party eliminated those who had fallen from favor by making them totally disappear, erasing any printed reference to them, as if they had never existed. Pretty scarey, all right. Orwellian.
-- Posted by goat lady on Wed, Jul 23, 2008, at 6:55 PM
Can't believe we're still on a tomato blog. Orwellian!
-- Posted by goat lady on Wed, Jul 23, 2008, at 6:56 PM
Thank you for reminding me GL. Actually I deleted the second sentence of that particular post that referred to O'Brien. Now there is a "knight" of a different kind. He would have found out what caused the salmonella outbreak, even if he had to use enhanced interrogation techniques to do so. O'Brien is a likely model for Jack Bauer on "24".
-- Posted by FJGuy on Wed, Jul 23, 2008, at 7:11 PM
Not familiar with "24," but the O'Brien character is the ultimate mind reader & brain washer... I hope that's not the future for mankind.
Tomatoes! We're supposed to be talking about tomatoes!
-- Posted by goat lady on Wed, Jul 23, 2008, at 9:06 PM
Looking at the bright side of the FDA's tomato debacle, is more people turned to buying produce from the weekly farmers markets that are in many mid-sized towns and cities -- so they were supporting small growers instead of the agri companies that provide store produce. FYI GL, the U.S. has based some of its enhanced interrogation techniques condemned by the civilized world, on what is shown on the fantasy TV program "24."
-- Posted by FJGuy on Thu, Jul 24, 2008, at 12:30 PM
Yes, indeed. I've been frequenting my favorite little road-side stand for locally grown produce rather than buying at the grocery store. I like cutting out the middle man and supporting the grower directly, plus the produce just seems to taste better. It's generally been more recently picked and probably picked when ripe rather than picked green and allowed to ripen during shipment.
The O'Brien character is alive and well and working in the Dept. of Homeland Security. He's probably reading this blog even as I type. Ha.
-- Posted by Ducky on Thu, Jul 24, 2008, at 12:41 PM
Oh, oh, remember Madeline's experience with FEMA? (Oh, no! I said the WORD!!) Sorry!!!
-- Posted by goat lady on Thu, Jul 24, 2008, at 6:08 PM
Madeline Dejournett's response:Oh, no! Ducky and Goat Lady, what have you DONE?? Now the government search engines will FIND me!!! I have no doubt that TWO incidents will doom me! They will come in the middle of the night and take me away! I will never be heard from again! I will become an unperson!! ARGGGGGGGG!!!!
Why did you say the WORDS??????????
Dead Rockers step aside......Quacker, the GOAT, and FootJoyBoy are carrying on one heck of a blog here. And now Maddie is piling on. Might we take a break and let this blog and others go back to single digits in comments?
I like how FootJoyBoy says that the great thing about the FDA debacle is people have turned against AgriBusiness companies and turned to supporting small town farmers. What a moron. AgriBusiness companies are supported by farmers like the ones ALL across SE Missouri. I guess you are talking about the garden growers like attend the Farmers's Market. GREAT, they do alot for our economy.
I am Hoon the unperson and don't require a response from the blogging middle class.
-- Posted by shannonhoon on Fri, Jul 25, 2008, at 9:32 AM
So sorry, MD. I forgot about all the little search engines crawling around the web like spiders waiting to pounce on unsuspecting bloggers. My bad. Guess they'll have to take us with you.
-- Posted by Ducky on Fri, Jul 25, 2008, at 12:37 PM
I imagine they are really concerned about the Statesman blogs, full of traffic from about 12 people + a handful of dead rockers.
-- Posted by shannonhoon on Fri, Jul 25, 2008, at 3:21 PM
Hey, I run with scissors and eat tomatoes at Mexican restaurants.
I'm freakin' crazy nuts!
-- Posted by Jim Morrison on Sat, Jul 26, 2008, at 12:28 AM
Hoon, small growers do sell to large agri businesses, but often at close to their cost to cover their overhead. Whatever profit they make comes from their sales direct to the public at roadside stands and farmer's markets. So it is very important to buy fresh wholesome produce from them.
Also Hoon, HS types have no sense of humor and they may take it literally that "dead rockers" are blogging on the Statesman. They may want to find out the secret of life after death and come knocking on your door! Be prepared!
-- Posted by FJGuy on Sat, Jul 26, 2008, at 1:38 PM
Watch out Hoon...scary words. Now, back to eating my tainted tomatoes.
-- Posted by Jim Morrison on Sun, Jul 27, 2008, at 7:31 PM
Hoon, didn't you know that Ms. Madeline's blogs have already attracted attention from FEMA???? Someone in Washington read one and off we went. Madeline, you may have to educate him.
-- Posted by Ducky on Mon, Jul 28, 2008, at 12:27 PM
Madeline Dejournett's response:Maybe so. Hoon, see my archives - 4/29/08 - "Page 2 - the rest of the story." I don't know what happened to the first FEMA blog. It has mysteriously disappeared!
Ducky, I just read yesterday that the CIA is funding programs on college campuses that are taught by CIA agents in the techniques of monitoring public sources of information, including internet websites and blogs. The long and short of it is we are all being watched.
-- Posted by FJGuy on Mon, Jul 28, 2008, at 5:39 PM
Madeline Dejournett's response:Suspicion confirmed!
If you need watching, you probably could be and I hope if you need it that you are.
-- Posted by I.B. Le Truth on Mon, Jul 28, 2008, at 8:50 PM
Oh, I.B., I'll be so disappointed if you're an undercover agent!!! Please don't report us to the C.I.A.!!!
-- Posted by goat lady on Mon, Jul 28, 2008, at 9:25 PM
Oh no, never. Our dear I.B. could never be an undercover agent.
FJguy, I'm not surprised. Those same kids will never be able to put that work on a resume because they'll never be able to admit that they worked for the CIA (at least not for 10 years).
Lonnnnngggg ago in a galaxy far, far away, the CIA was recruiting on my college campus. Not openly, of course. I was about to graduate and I took the first interview with this "company." The circumstances of the proposed employment sounded a little odd to me so I talked to one of my profs (a retired full bird colonel with very high connections) who wised me up and I didn't take the second interview. I don't know that they would have selected me - never will know - but I always felt that I had dodged a bullet.
Warning. Never say anything about tomatoes on a blog you don't want everyone to see. Big Brother is watching.
As goatlady would say, "orwellian."
-- Posted by Ducky on Wed, Jul 30, 2008, at 12:41 PM
Not that I am or ever was a CIA agent, but there are some very admirable jobs in the CIA and great careers. If you had the opportunity to work for the CIA and passed that up you probably made a very bad mistake. The pay and benefits are great. Would you be better off now if you had taken the job? If your Colonel had very high connections, more than likely he would have been a General. The CIA or retired Colonels. He probably took your job.
-- Posted by I.B. Le Truth on Wed, Jul 30, 2008, at 8:54 PM
Give me an R....R
Give me an E.....E
Give me a T......T
Give me an A.....A
Give me an R.....R
Give me a D.....D
What's that spell???????????????????????????????????
You guessed it.
One more time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-- Posted by shannonhoon on Wed, Jul 30, 2008, at 9:52 PM
Yep, if you say so. I guess you would be the authority on that.
-- Posted by I.B. Le Truth on Wed, Jul 30, 2008, at 10:54 PM
Hey Hoon, that sounded an aweful lot like that old 80's band Helix and their song "Rock You" from the "Walkin the Razor's Edge" album. I used to ride to school with one of my very best friends (you know who) and his older brother in his green and white Chevy/GMC truck rocking that out in the parking lot.
Then again, it also sounds like an old cheer from football and us "Trenchers" at B-ball games.
Ahhhh, this gin & tonic is going down well.
-- Posted by Jim Morrison on Wed, Jul 30, 2008, at 11:59 PM
Madeline Dejournett's response:Bitter fare!
Nope, my colonel kept right on teaching. No way I could work for the CIA then or now. Some jobs just aren't for everyone. I might have made more money and I'd probably be retired by now. Would I have been happier? No. It's a matter of personal conscience. I respect some of the things they do, but I don't want to do them.
-- Posted by Ducky on Tue, Aug 5, 2008, at 12:57 PM
Respond to this blog
Posting a comment requires free registration:
Off the wall
- Archives
- Blog RSS feed
- Comments RSS feed
- Login
Madeline (Giles) DeJournett is the Advance writer for the North Stoddard Countian. A retired high school English/history teacher, she spent 32 years teaching in 5 schools in Missouri and Alaska. These days, she lives quietly with a menagerie of wild and domestic animals on 52 secluded acres in the remote Tillman hills south of Advance. She graduated from Dexter High School in 1960 and Southeast Missouri State in 1964. She can be contacted at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Hot topicsAngels danced the day you were born!
(1 ~ 5:11 AM, Jan 26)
School dreams
The day Travis hid in the ham
Making biscuits and memories


text:
Topic: Sort Through Association
I have a table of Users and a table of Friendships. Each user has_many friendships, and each friendship belongs_to a user.
My problem is I have a friends list page which works great, but I want to sort it by a parameter of the user. I want to be able to say "sort my friends by name" essentially. Is there an easy way to do this?
Here is what I am trying:
@collection = Friendship.find(:all, :include => [:user],:order => "users.firstname ASC", :conditions => "friendships.status = 1 AND friendships.user_id = #{@user.id}" )
Last edited by SupaPuerco (2007-01-06 06:56:40)


text:
Skip to comments.How Mammoths Lost The Extinction Lottery
Posted on 11/04/2011 7:25:31 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Woolly mammoths, woolly rhinos and other large animals driven to extinction since the last ice age each succumbed to a different lethal mix of circumstances...
Researchers who studied the fate of six species of 'megafauna' over the past 50,000 years found that climate change and habitat loss were involved in many of the extinctions, with humans playing a part in some cases but not others. But there was no clear pattern to explain why the animals died off, and it proved impossible to predict from habitat or genetic diversity which species would go extinct and which would survive.
"It almost seems like it's a random process," says Eske Willerslev, a palaeo-geneticist at the University of Copenhagen who led the study published online today in Nature1. "If you ran the whole experiment again, we would have woolly mammoths and no reindeer, so Santa would drag his sleigh with woolly mammoths."
...Some scientists, noting that modern humans were spreading throughout the world around this time, envisaged a blitzkrieg in which technologically savvy people hunted these animals to extinction. The end of an ice age and the habitat changes it wrought led other researchers to lay the blame on climate...
The researchers created a series of snapshots of the European, Asian and North American ranges of these animals (drawn from climate records and hundreds of fossils) and a rough approximation of their population size (based on ancient mitochondrial DNA sequences) between 42,000 and 6,000 thousand years ago...
The team found no way to predict the future extinction of a species, based on either an animal's genetic diversity or the size of its range.
(Excerpt) Read more at nature.com ...
The Cycle of Cosmic Catastrophes:
Flood, Fire, and Famine
in the History of Civilization
by Richard Firestone,
Allen West, and
Simon Warwick-Smith
|GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach
Thanks Renfield.
Paleo-geneticists are always obsessing on the old man in the sky who makes miracles happen. And they call it science.
Maybe "Wooly" had something to do with it.
My thought exactly! Uncanny, eh?
And ~flying~ wooly mammoths, at that. Yeesh... And you thought that ~birds~ pooping on your freshly washed car was annoying...
We find frozen woolies left and right up North. I'm sure there are a few running around labs worldwide.
One of my favorite pieces in my knife collection is a Benchmade Gold class folder, with a Damascus blade and a pure white mammoth ivory handle. Hand made, limited edition of 100.
There's lots of mammoth ivory out there, but most is yellowish, with heavy graining and striping. This stuff is white and smooth. It's simply breathtaking. And to think how old that ivory is... Staggering.
Whst do we call it when an existing scientific theory is unable to explain phenemna that we know exists?
It means that the present theory is wrong.
What is the value(monetary) of a knife like that?
A great many 19th c billiard balls were manufactured out of mammoth ivory. And no, I don't have a citation for that. :')
They went extinct because of the Occupy Ice Age jokers.
I gather that wooly mammoth were also very limited in genetic diversity.
A biological theory, the "island theory", is that when a species are broken up on different isolated islands, they first diversify and become specialized to their individual islands, eventually becoming unique species, but are condemned to dying out because they become both over-specialized and inbred.
The same basic thing may have happened to wooly mammoths, by distance between herds.
I disagree. I think it is purely the large size. When primitive man invented the bow and arrow, all super sized meat on the hoof became easy pickins. Only in africa and india did supersized meat survive...which makes us wonder what was wrong with the humans in those two locations. In india they learned to tame the supersized animals. But in africa, it seems they just didn't learn.
Clues, Polar ice is thickest at the magnetic poles rather than the solar poles...
What causes water to react to magnetic fields...
How did Woolly mammoths die with flowers preserved in their stomachs... How, without digesting? Did the earths magnetic poles ever reverse... How, what could cause that?... Connect the dots.
Oh... of course it depends on the collector, but I figure it is in the vicinity of $1,500 or so.
Try the flooding of Lake Missoula and creation of the Columbia Gorge as one reason the Columbia wooly mamoth may have been wiped out. That was one epic (actually several) flood. Sixty MPH, and 200+ feet above current river levels. Boulders so large they were carried to the Oregon Coast Range.
I wouldn't be surprised. There's an astonishing amount of mammoth ivory raw material available. Especially now that other forms of ivory are largely illegal, and mammoth tusks keep being found all over the artic in the U.S., Canada and Russia... It may not be exactly plentiful, but it is available. If you want a set of mammoth ivory grips for your Colt 1911... They can be found without much trouble.
The big difference is the quality of the ivory. Most of the mammoth ivory is yellowed, or has harsh grain, stains, and lots of marking in it. Dark stripes from cracks are common. What attracted me to the knife was the pure white ivory. In mammoth ivory I've seen, that's fairly uncommon. That tells me they had a pretty special sample from which to make their handles.
Are you talking about the flood from the break of the ice dam? If you've ever been to "dry falls" in WA, they figure that the canyon downstream of dry falls was formed all at once... Maybe a period of three or so DAYS, after the ice dam finally broke.
Amazing stuff.
Chunky Soup indeed.
It sounds like a pretty sweet knife.
Velokovski's close approach of the protoplanet Venus (He correctly predicted both the temperature and composition of Venus' atmosphere before any probes were sent. The prevailing view at that time was that Venus was a warmer version of Earth).
The Northern Ice Cap had massive freshwater lakes - think the Great Lakes super sized - which collapsed into the warmer oceans sending water vapor into the stratosphere, which then fell back to Earth supercooled, flash freezing the beasts.
Theories abound, but none can be verified, currently.
That didn't work, but I love that page already.
from "Earth in Upheaval" (p 3)
High in the north above Siberia, six hundred miles inside the Polar Circle, in the Arctic Ocean, lie the Liakhov Islands. Liakhov was a hunter who, in the days of Catherine II, ventured to these islands and brought back the report that they abounded in mammoths' bones. "Such was the enormous quantity of mammoths' remains that it seemed . . . that the island was actually composed of the bones and tusks of elephants, cemented together by icy sand." 3
The New Siberian Islands, discovered in 1805 and 1806, as well as the islands of Stolbovoi and Belkov to the west, present the same picture. "The soil of these desolate islands is absolutely packed full of the bones of elephants and rhinoceroses in astonishing numbers." 4
Yeah, read most everything Velokovski wrote, but thanks.
How you like me NOW.
This could be a good Catastrophism list ping as well, so, thanks. :')
$10 a can, not bad.
Ping me for both, and you are welcome!
saw a show on cable the other day that posited a theory I hadn't heard before.
The climte change enabled many different species and related members of similar species to wander onto territories where they had not previously existed.
This intermingling esposed them to germs to which they had not previously been exposed, killing whole populations of larger species from disease.
That's a nice story, but there's no discernable evidence of a disease in the last mammoths. There is however evidence for sudden extinction. Yes, there were some isolated populations (dwarfed) which persisted until perhaps 2000 years ago, and the Earth can only show one face to the incoming space crud which was found embedded in the tusks of the last North American mammoths. :')
There are other dino books he could also enjoy. :')
This is Robert Bakker's theory in his 1985 book "The Dinosaur Heresies". Bakker notes that the mass extinctions at the end of the Cretaceous period did not occur at once but over a period of several million years.
Bakker speculated that because of continental drift historically isolated populations came into contact and thus succumbed to new diseases.
It's not surprising that the climate change doomsayers borrowed his theory.
Space crud embedded in the tusks of mammoths?
That's my boys! Fighting to the end against the alien crud from outer space while all the little wussies were hiding in caves and under rocks.
;') If the remains had been a little more durable, we'd see the same thing with the Clovis folks. :')
Paleothithic man 'not the main cause of deaths at vast mammoth graveyard'
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


text:
Michigan Democratic leader talks 2014 election
ESCANABA – Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer recently kicked off his annual tour of Upper Michigan, which included a visit to the Daily Press Monday afternoon.
Brewer said this time he's able to meet with approximately 14 local Democratic parties around both the Upper Peninsula and the northern portion of Lower Michigan during his trip. He will begin discussing the 2014 midterm election and the search for candidates to challenge Gov. Rick Snyder, Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, and Attorney General Bill Schuette, among others.
"Of particular interest is we're going to be campaigning very vigorously against Congressman Benishek again," he said.
Brewer criticized U.S. Rep. Dan Benishek (R- Iron River), who narrowly defeated Democratic challenger Gary McDowell (D-Rudyard) in November, and his "terrible record" – most recently for voting against emergency disaster relief for Hurricane Sandy. The bill, known as H.R. 152 or the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, makes supplemental appropriations for FY2013 to specified federal agencies and programs for expenses related to the consequences of the hurricane.
"His votes are unpopular. He's out of step with the district. He doesn't serve the district well," said Brewer, of Benishek.
Other locally targeted races of interest include State Sen. Tom Casperson (R-Escanaba) and State Rep. Ed McBroom (R-Vulcan).
"We've picked up five seats in the House," said Brewer. "Our goal is to get back into a majority and so races like the one against Rep. McBroom would be a priority for us. Same with the Senate – we're the minority. We want to get back into the majority so that's where Sen. Casperson's seat up here would be big."
One major topic of discussion Brewer will discuss on his tour is potential legislation that would change the state's "winner-takes-all" approach to the Electoral College voting system to a proportional system based on each congressional district's results.
According to a recent Detroit News article, State Rep. Pete Lund (R-Shelby Township) announced plans to re-introduce the legislation, which would award all but two of Michigan's 16 Electoral College votes based on congressional district results. Lund feels this system is more representative of the people, but Brewer disagrees.
"That's part of a national plan the Republicans are engaged in in a number of states where they can't win elections the old-fashioned way," he said. "…So what they've decided to do is change the rules in a number of states. Under their plan, even though the President carried Michigan by almost half a million votes – 10 percent last year – he would have actually lost the Electoral College vote and that's exactly their intention is to change the way the Electoral College votes are cast to rig it, essentially."
Brewer said this system is "not fair" and the party is urging Republican legislators and Gov. Snyder not to go down this path, also asking local Democratic activists to get involved by contacting their legislators.
Brewer also said a recent emergency manager law signed by Snyder is just one example of him ignoring the will of the people in the state. The new law will give local governments and ailing school districts a set of options regarding emergency management. If a review team finds that a financial emergency exists, communities can request an emergency manager, ask for a mediator, file for bankruptcy or introduce a reform plan with the state. The legislation was passed after Public Act 4 of 2011, Michigan's so-called emergency manager law, was repealed by a vote of the people in November.
"That law is essentially no different than the law that the voters rejected in November," said Brewer, adding it's just one of the issues that will come back to hurt Snyder.
"I think those who weren't convinced … are convinced now that he's not a moderate," said Brewer. "He's not somebody who's going to be bipartisan…He'll pretty much sign any Tea Party legislation that comes out of the Republican Legislature. So that bill and others like it are going to be part of our case against him come 2014."
According to Brewer, the entire process of pushing through the amount of legislation the State Legislature did at the end of 2012 was "undemocratic."
"The Capitol was literally closed to the public during part of that process," he said. "People couldn't even get into the building to lobby. Bills that were passed never even had a committee hearing. There were legislators … who didn't have a chance to read the legislation. They were ordered to vote 'Yes' on it and I think that offended a lot of folks – Democrats and Republicans around the state – that there was that kind of process that was very undemocratic."
Perhaps most notable of these bills that passed was controversial right-to-work legislation which will prohibit requiring nonunion employees to pay unions for negotiating contracts, representing them in grievances and other services. Supporters believe the laws give workers freedom of association and promote job creation. Critics argue the true intent of right-to-work is to drain unions of funds needed to bargain effectively.
Brewer said the party is working with the labor movement on a variety of options that deal with right-to-work moving forward.
"No decisions have been made. There could be lawsuits that'll be filed over it. There could be a ballot proposal. There could be recalls. All options are on the table but no final decisions have been made. And they're not mutually exclusive. You could follow two or three of those paths simultaneously," he said.
Brewer spent Monday in the Escanaba area and is scheduled to travel to Gogebic and Ontonagon counties today before heading to Houghton, Marquette, Munising, Newberry, and Sault Ste. Marie for the remainder of the week.


text:
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. "
Aircraft Guide—2014
Buyers' Guide » 2014
Viewing this report requires Adobe Reader be installed on your device. If it's not currently installed, click here to download.
Thursday, July 10, 2014 - 11:30am
Data about hundreds of jets, turboprops and helicopters.
As soon as its first owner departs from the manufacturer's delivery center, a new airplane technically becomes used (or preowned). For various reasons, however, 10 years after an aircraft's final production date is generally considered the milestone separating "newer" used business aircraft from "older" ones.
In deciding which aircraft to cover, we went well past this 10-year mark to provide information on all business airplanes and helicopters manufactured since 1997. This means our list includes some models manufactured before that year, as long as they were still being produced as recently as 1997. As a rule, a long production run is indicative of a successful aircraft.
We have not listed new models that, at press time, had yet to receive final certification.
Viewing this report requires Adobe Reader be installed on your device. If it's not currently installed, click here to download.
Add your comment:
By submitting a comment, you are allowing AIN Publications to edit and use your comment in all media.
-Thomas Edison
Most Popular
January 1, 2017
January 15, 2017
January 22, 2017
January 1, 2017
January 16, 2017
January 8, 2017
January 15, 2017
January 22, 2017
January 8, 2017
January 1, 2017
February 1, 2012
January 12, 2012
December 1, 2011
May 30, 2013
December 5, 2012
November 26, 2012
April 30, 2012


text:
by Travis Allen
Everyone wants a piece of today's A-listers. They're wanted by book publishers, conference organizers, and adoring fans everywhere. In certain circles, some of them have trouble getting around without being noticed.
Just to be clear, I'm not talking about Hollywood, Nashville, or Washington, D.C. I'm talking about the happiest place on earth: Evangelicaland. And to be even more pointed, I'm not talking about "prosperity gospel" heretics or charlatans. I'm talking about respectable Christian leaders—think John Piper, R. C. Sproul, and John MacArthur.
That's why I was so drawn to the panel discussion at this year's Together for the Gospel conference on the subject of celebrity pastors. It was encouraging to hear from gifted men, with a wide influence, who don't think of themselves as celebrities. And they don't want the rest of us to think of them that way either. Celebrated men, leading celebrated ministries, decrying celebrity status. Now that's something to celebrate.
The men on that panel uniformly acknowledged the challenge of Christian ministry in our celebrity culture. Actors and athletes, politicians and musicians, divas and dopes—they are often the producers of some of the most brainless tabloid drivel that dominates our media today. We are served a steady stream of that kind of pabulum. It infiltrates our visual and auditory senses through every means, inundating our minds.
Question is, what should Christians do about it?
First of all, Christians should not celebrate their leaders like the world celebrates its demigods. That kind of thinking is fleshly, worldly, ungodly. That kind of thinking divides Christians—it never unites them—because it detracts from the glory that belongs to Christ alone.
Paul rebuked the Corinthians for that very thing in 1 Corinthians 1-4. "What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed . . ." (1 Corinthians 3:5, emphasis mine). If Paul didn't die for the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 1:13), then neither has any man since died for the elect, the members of Christ's church.
Paul said, "This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 Corinthians 4:1, emphasis mine). As such, they should be thanked for serving us the Master's food; they can even be honored for bringing it faithfully, week after week, without spilling it on the floor. But they should never be adored or worshiped in any way. That kind of adulation belongs to our triune God, and to Him alone.
Today's American evangelical church needs to own that rebuke. Paul's admonition to the Corinthians is the Spirit's admonition to us. We need to examine ourselves to see if we've been committing the sin of admiring Christ's servants more than Christ. If so, we should confess, repent, and worship God alone.
At the same time, Christian ministers bear some of the blame. Shepherds have a God-given responsibility to look out for their sheep, to recognize and avoid the dangers inherent in the terrain. In our environment, in our day, it is a pastoral duty to divert people's attention from the vessel to the treasure it contains (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:7).
That's exactly why Paul said what he said in 1 Corinthians 1-4. He recounted for the Corinthians how intentionally countercultural he was in his ministry. "And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom . . . I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom" (1 Corinthians 2:1, 3, 4).
The rock stars of Paul's day were called sophists, public speakers with silver tongues. They wielded tremendous oratorical skill as experts in rhetoric and debate. They were witty, charming, and could sway audiences with ease. Sophists traveled the conference circuit (not unlike some of our own celebs), drawing massive crowds, dazzling and impressing the hoi polloi by waxing eloquent on any subject, ascending esoteric heights or even making mundane subjects sound absolutely sublime. In a day without mass media—radio, television, Internet—the sophists were it.
Contrary to common sense, Paul wanted to be as unlike the sophists as possible. What was he thinking? Didn't Paul want to attract big crowds? Didn't he want to see vast numbers, swarms of people, coming to Christ?
It's not that Paul was unconcerned about results. In fact, he was so concerned about results that he chose to subvert cultural expectations. He didn't give the people what they wanted; instead, he gave them what they needed—a faithful proclamation of the gospel message. Paul proclaimed "the testimony of God" to the Corinthians, determining "to know nothing among [them] except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:1, 2). He wanted to get himself out of the way, to give the Corinthians a "demonstration of the Spirit and of power" in the clear, plain proclamation of the gospel, so their "faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God" (1 Coritnhians 2:4, 5).
And why did Paul take that approach? Because the wisdom of men damns men. It's only the power of God in the gospel that saves them.
No true Christian intentionally sets out to prop up and worship a celebrated pastor. And no faithful pastor, celebrated or despised, wants his congregation to worship him either. That anyone would even be tempted to elevate him is a terrifying thought.
But the danger is with us at all times, in all cultures. From Corinth to America, from the first century to the twenty-first, all cultures are celebrity cultures, prone to worship its guitar heroes and rock stars. It's the danger of idolatry that lurks in every human heart. Even the aged apostle John was susceptible to elevating the creature above the Creator.
And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. But he said to me, "Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God." (Revelation 22:8-9)
And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. But he said to me, "Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God." (Revelation 22:8-9)
Knowing the danger that lurks within our own hearts—especially insidious in American culture, with the incessant temptations provided by modern media—it's our job as Christians, pastor and congregation alike, to obey the command of the angel:
"Worship God." And worship Him alone.
You have 3000 characters
remaining for your comment. Note: All comments must be approved before being posted.
Email me when someone posts a comment.
Many Thanks for a most timely reminder. How often we get so used to quoting a good preacher instead of quoting Scripture.I do hope and pray this affects many.
You have 3000 characters
remaining for your comment. Note: All comments must be approved before being posted.
Email me when someone posts a comment.
Wonderful reminder. Thanks
You have 3000 characters
remaining for your comment. Note: All comments must be approved before being posted
Wonderful blog post indeed. As Benedict (#1) implies, we shouldn't be so used to quoting pastors instead of Scripture. If the only authority we have for our doctrine is "Pastor so-and-so said," then we Christians are on shaky ground indeed! If we do not leave a sermon with a greater appreciation of God's Holy Word, then something is amiss.
Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Soli Deo Gloria.
I appreciate the article. It is sad to see this in the church. I have heard our own pastor refer to a well known theologian/seminary professor as a "rock star", using those exact words. So thank you for bringing this relevant subject to our attention.
Great post Travis and thanks for dealing with this subject. I was brought up in the "independent baptist circle" where the typical belief is that church leadership be structured in a way that makes one man (the pastor) the absolute authority of everything and everyone. What he says, goes, in every sense. He controls the money, the programs, the logistics, the services, everything -- and with absolutely no accountability, no system of checks and balances. In fact, it is taboo to question him about anything. One is viewed as a potential "troublemaker" if they dare inquire as to disappearing money or obvious error being propogated from the pulpit. Of course it usually never starts out this way -- who would follow that? But over time well-intended preachers fall prey to this flesh-inticing package of power, money, and prestige, which comes complete with no restraint. To put any sinful man in a position of total control is a recipe for disaster. It doesn't take long in a setting like that for the sin nature to take over. Mix that with some crowd drawing promotional talent, throw in a few strategic man-centered programs, and the ability to produce articulate, suave, funny, emotionally appealing sermons, and bingo! a "growing" church!... growing in crowds, buildings, and bank accounts, that is...not growing spiritually. And of course, any mention of Christ ruling and building His church has long since been abandoned. Instead these men become "legends" in their own mind. They begin to proudly strut about as though bullet-proof, bragging about all the "big things they are doing for God". They begin demanding their way with people, taking advantage of people, intimidating the weaker ones who are easily swayed. Young christians, or superficial non-christians who are temporarily energized by false hopes are also easy targets to manipulate. They can be "guilt-tripped" into giving all their loyalty and life savings. Members are badgered week after week for more and more their time and money which is poured into more and more programs and perks that do little more than elavate the pastor while lining his pocket. I have seen church after church devastated by this debauchery. Satan is having a field day in churches like this. Instead of joyously growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, unsuspecting people are used, misled, manipulated. These men see their church as a lucrative business with a primary goal of increasing the membership. "More members means more money" (and more fame) becomes the business model. Result? Spiritual starvation. Unable to keep up with increasing demands for their money and time, oppressed people become tired, discouraged, confused, and spiritually disoriented. Eventually, many will drift away, some stay but become lifeless, a split may occur,etc. The result is what satan wants, a totally ineffective church. Tragic. I'm thankful for GTY and men like John MacArthur so true to the Word!
All of this is so illuminating...,but it's also scary.
How do we help (in addition to prayer) those well meaning and loved brothers and sisters who are convinced they are doing well? Is it "damage done" or can they be helped? I believe they can be helped because as the Word of God says, "...but with God all things are possible." (Matt 19:26). Also, the apostle Peter said "Be sober,be vigilant;...(1Peter 5:8).But how do we help so many?
God is so kind to show me my sin and allows me to repent. Thank you for this reminder. The only one who should be worshiped is Jesus Christ.
Good question Raymond...we just keep preaching and teaching Truth. That was Paul's instruction to Timothy when the church he was sent to pastor was inundated with corrupt false teachers. It is the Word that exposes false teaching/teachers and enables those who are victimized to discern truth from error. It is the power of the Word that corrects, reproves, instructs those who want to know the Truth 2Tim 3. We cannot reach them all but still in a spirit of obedience, by God-given faith and endurance we labor and preach and pray with relentless diligence knowing that it is all a work of God. He will do His work through us. As His ambassadors our LORD has made us His Hands, His Feet, His voice. It is His Word that must be heard through us, it is His character that must be seen in us. Christ alone deserves to be seen, heard, worshipped, exalted, and glorified in His church. And He is doing His work. As Savior, purifier, glorifier He is building His church. So at the end of the day we can rest in the fact that Our Great Shepherd knows His sheep, cares for His sheep, and is shepherding His sheep. He sees to it that His sheep know His voice and follow Him (John 10). What a relief that is!
Acts 14:12-15
New Living Translation (NLT)
12 They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul was Hermes, since he was the chief speaker. 13 Now the temple of Zeus was located just outside the town. So the priest of the temple and the crowd brought bulls and wreaths of flowers to the town gates, and they prepared to offer sacrifices to the apostles.
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening, they tore their clothing in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting, 15 "Friends,[a] why are you doing this? We are merely human beings—just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.
I am very blessed to live in Scotts Valley attend CC Santa Cruz and have the privilege of being taught by Pastor Bill Holdridge (does not like titles like Pastor) but I do alot of studying online and listen in the morning John M. it is when my brain is most receptive and the afternoon to Jack Ableen I like his wit, now I know enough to be as the Bereans, but must admit I am in awe at Johns incredible study regiment, the time he puts in is staggering which makes my studying easy I just follow Johns lead (I have caught a few errors) I do not worship John but I sure do admire him.
John do I get a free book for my plug, okay a small prayer will do; for wisdom and discernment.
Message recieved Greg...thank you very much for the thought and time you put into your answer in order to help me. The expression " He sees to it " is indeed a relief. Thank you for that added encouragement.
Because of the resources God is providing through Grace To You and this blog, I should be able (with His guidence) to help any brothers or sisters within my sphere , who may have taken their eyes off Jesus without realizing it.
When I saw the header, the first thing that came to mind was the Dove awards. As a volunteer church musician, I can tell you that some of the most well known artists are humble and accessible at Christian music conferences, because they are real. They worship as they perform and the concerts are in fact large worship gatherings, but why do we need an awards ceremony? I am certainly not one that condondes being different to a fault, just to make a point, but if it is not about us or the music, then why look just like the SAG awards, or CMA?
I agree that Gods word does not want us to worship celebrity preachers.With TV celeb preachers,seeker friendly church, and emergent.It is hard not to lean too much perhaps when you find a preacher that studys and preaches Gods truth as opposed to so many who do no so well.I was hammered on a regular basis on tithing until I heard Dr. J vernon McGee and especially John MacArthur.Also Donald Cole at Moody Bible Radio and others.It(tithing) had caused a huge amount of division in our home between my wife and I (and even my daughters when I obeyed the topical sermons on tithing. For years and worked two jobs and more to do it.This is justb a hard learned example for me. There are others.I get confused are we to place confidence in all pastors equally when many seem to be off track?
Valid point Charles; it is difficult when you trust what a preacher says (especially when he sounds like he knows what he is talking about) only to find out his teaching is not Scriptural. As Proverbs 25:19 puts it -- putting confidence in a "faithless man" is like having a "bad tooth" Unbearable pain from a bad tooth can strike suddenly with no warning--usually before you realize there's a problem. And it effects your whole body until the tooth is removed! That kind of unexpected suprise trauma is what the Bible compares with the painful effects of suddenly finding out you have been led astray by a false teacher you always thought truthful. For that reason Psalm119:8 says "It is better to put your confidence in the LORD and not man..." That doesn't mean you can't trust anyone, certainly there is an array of Godly, trustworthy men like John MacArthur who we can all be extremely grateful for! But when it comes down to taking someone's word for it--i've had to learn the hard way -- check it --put it up next to THE Word and see if it's a match. If it's not, discard what that person is saying. All in all, God works a good thing in us through experiences like that. He teaches us caution and discernment; we trust God more and our own judgement less; it forces us to dig into the Word and learn it so we can easily recognize error; it drives us to our knees pleading for the safegurd of God's wisdom -- which, undeserving as we are, Our gracious LORD tells us He will give us upon request (Jmaes 1:5). How awesome is that!
previous post corrections: (Psalm 118:8) and (James 1:5) sorry for the typos!!!
Well done article on how we should watch our hearts and minds on the issue of elevating individuals into an idol. I think our model for evaluating other highly used individuals in the body of Christ, for we can certainly see and observe God's Holy Spirit gifting many today, is the book of Hebrews. The writer carefully names and speaks well of the great faith of various individuals in past history. People's attention was upon each one of them. So, this is a correct manner in speaking, thinking, and evaluating the men and women in our Evangeland today. Nothing wrong at all with giving honor to whom honor is due. Also, nothing wrong is noting how God is using someone in a special way and our desire to be under or near or close to that ministry and or minister. But always remembering they have their sins and weaknesses also and are like all of us in the body of Christ. Remember James comments Elijah, we too have the Holy Spirit and should walk by faith even as he did for the glory of Jesus!
Men in ministries have to guard their own personal hearts very closely or they will become puffed up in pride and arrogance. I think this is an ongoing thing thourghout the history of our Church and I also think we should not be so quick to judge another person's heart just because we may not agree with their methods and practices. Pray for all in the body and the various ministries and God will take care of the situations for us. Let's encourage all who adhere to the Gospel and the whole counsel of God.
I'm reminded of the wisdom of Warren W. Wiersbe ( a greatly devout man of God ) who wrote: "...even the most saintly men are made of clay."
Perhaps we can all help as we show it and sow it!
Much needed post.
or browse by Topic or