text:
Dead & Born & Grown marks the first time that esteemed producer Glyn Johns – noted for work with The Beatles and the Stones, amongst others – and his son Ethan (Laura Marling, Ryan Adams, etc) have worked on the same project: an alliance all the more remarkable for both men being individually attracted to The Staves.
It's not hard to tell why. The acappella harmonies of the three Staveley-Taylor sisters on the opening "Wisely & Slow" have such sweet clarity, blending country charm with the playful insouciance of The Andrews Sisters, that resistance seems impossible.
Wisely, the Johns afford the voices plenty of space, with just an organ drone fading quietly in after a minute, as the sisters muse upon the fate of a bereaved woman, asking, "Why is it you whisper when you really need to yell?" It's as perfect and precious as a Fabergé trinket, and it establishes a style, and a quality, that's repeated throughout the album. Not to mention a theme: on "Gone Tomorrow", the sweet sorrow of parting is crystallised in harmony over fingerstyle guitar, placid drums and organ; in "Tongue Behind My Teeth", a fonder farewell is mapped out in a cantering jangle of guitars and layered counterpoint harmonies; and with "Snow", the warm jangle serves as a quilt against the blanketing snow of separation.
Hailing from Watford, The Staves are like a distillation of all that's best about the folk heritages of England and America. On "Winter Trees", their voices have that cold, sharp precision born of the Anglo folk tradition; while "In The Long Run" presents a more American flavour, with the simple purity of the guitar recalling Simon & Garfunkel, and their harmonies embodying the innocence of West Coast hippie idealism.
The two traditions come together perhaps most strikingly on the languid, drowsy "Pay Us No Mind", where antique diction – "tarry" and "thee", etc – is suddenly exploded by the expletive in the line, "I don't give a fuck." But the real surprise is that it doesn't fracture the song at all, so adeptly do the girls negotiate the change. Magical stuff.
Download: Wisely & Slow; Gone Tomorrow; Snow; Pay Us No MindReuse content


text:
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Afternoon summary
• Margaret Hodge, the chair of the public accounts committee, has accused Robert Devereux, the permanent secretary at the Department of Work and Pensions, of not being in control of the universal credit programme. As he gave evidence to the committee she told him: "The way I feel from the way in which you answer the question is that you yourself were not in sufficient day-to-day overall control in monitoring this process." Devereux insisted he had a regular meeting with the official directly in charge of universal credit.
• Jeremy Browne, the Lib Dem Home Office minister, has suggested the Lib Dems could find coalition with Labour harder than with the Tories. This is what he told the New Statesman.
The Conservatives may be a magnetic force pulling the Lib Dems away from a purer form of liberalism but it's not true that if we were in coalition with Labour it would represent some easy, liberal utopia. There would be a much bigger gap . . . to accommodate the authoritarian instincts of the Labour party.
Labour was "intellectually lazy, running on empty" and "suffering from a leadership void," he said. "I just don't think of them as equipped to run the country."
• John Swinney, Scotland's finance minister, has placed more funds for housing at the heart of his spending plans for the next two years.
• José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, has said that the commission should be given new punitive powers to police democratic rights in the 28 countries of the EU.
• The Welsh government has unveiled plans to exclude companies that have blacklisted workers for taking part in trade union from multibillion-pound public sector contracts.
• The TUC has voted against military action in Syria. It has passed a motion saying: "We welcome Parliament's decision not to support military action. The TUC believes that the UN weapons inspectors must be given the opportunity to conclude their work, and that external military intervention, whether targeted on specific sites or otherwise, would not lead to an improvement in the situation facing the Syrian people and could make diplomatic and humanitarian efforts even more difficult."
That's all from me for today.
Thanks for your comments.
Here's an afternoon reading/viewing list.
• Robert Peston on his blog says that there is a flaw in the KPMG report making the case for HS2.
KPMG's two big claims are that HS2 will be disproportionately beneficial for economic growth outside of London and south-eastern England, doing something to narrow the north-south economic gap, and that for the UK as a whole HS2 will boost GDP by 0.8% by 2037.
Which also implies that the costs of building HS2 would be recouped from incremental tax revenues over 10 to 20 years.
But there is a bit of "but" here.
KPMG makes the following qualification, which made my jaw fall to the floor.
Itsays: "The methodology employed makes the implicit assumption that transport connectivity is the only supply-side constraint to business location. In practice, there could be other constraints that could inhibit the potential location effects, such as the availability of skilled labour and land in a given location".
I will translate. As I have mentioned, many of the gains to the regions that KPMG calculates are based on the reasonable notion that companies will be established in places where transport links are better. But it has taken no account of whether those regions actually contain available land to site new or bigger companies or have people with relevant skills to employ.
Which, some would say, is a flaw the size of Greater Manchester in its analysis - because KPMG is ignoring one of the fundamental causes of lacklustre growth in many parts of the UK, which is a shortage of skilled labour and of easily and readily developable land.
• Patrick Butler on his Guardian Cuts blog considers the findings of the report from the UN rapporteur Rachel Rolnik on the "bedroom tax".
• Carys Afoko and Daniel Vockins at nef consider how the "austerity story" favoured by the coalition could be countered.
The battle for the economic narrative will be won with stories, not statistics. It is time the opponents of austerity tell a story of their own. To win, they will need to do more than find their frames, they will need to be more coordinated, responsive to public opinion and find more credible messengers.
• Jonathan Portes at the New Statesman challenges the argument George Osborne made in his economy speech on Monday.
Despite the weight of academic research, the Chancellor goes on to claim that current developments support his interpretation of recent past history: "Proponents of the 'fiscalist' story cannot explain why the UK recovery has strengthened rapidly over the last six months. The pace of fiscal consolidation has not changed, government spending cuts have continued as planned, and yet growth has accelerated and many of the leading economic indicators show activity rising faster than at any time since the 1990s."
But this is an obvious sleight of hand. The claim that "the pace of fiscal consolidation has not changed" is not supported by any of the available data. Here is the OBR's own chart. As Robert Chote, the OBR's Chair puts it, "deficit reduction appears to have stalled".
• John Harris's Guardian video about Labour and the unions, filmed at the TUC.
David Cameron is never very complimentary about Ed Miliband. But Tim Farron, the Lib Dem president, likes the Labour leader. This is what he's said about him in an interview with the New Statesman.
I really like Ed Miliband, so I don't want to diss him. I don't want join in with the Tories who compare him to Kinnock ... First of all, he's a polite and nice person. I think he is somebody who is genuinely of the Robin Cook wing of the Labour Party, from their perspective what you'd call the 'soft left'. Somebody who is not a Luddite on environmental issues, somebody who's open minded about modernising our democracy, somebody who's instinctively a bit more pluralistic than most Labour leaders and a bit more internationalist as well.
Here's the Guardian video of David Cameron and Ed Miliband arguing about living standards at PMQs.
Lunchtime summary
• David Cameron has rejected Labour claims that the government is guilty of "total complacency" over the economy. Ed Miliband made the charge at PMQs, where he criticised George Osborne for saying in a speech on Monday that the coalition's economic policies had been vindicated.
The chancellor went out and said he had saved the economy. Total complacency and total hubris. At a time when, even today, unemployment is rising in half the country. It was the chancellor who choked off the recovery and now he wants to somehow claim credit for it. And people's living standards continue to fall.
Cameron said that the government faced a challenge on living standards but that it had kept interest rates low and raised the income tax threshold. "Real complacency is going back to tax-and-spend and borrowing through the roof," he said.
• Miliband has called Michael Gove "an absolute disgrace" for comments the education secretary made suggesting some people are to blame for needing food banks.
Here is the reality - you want to give maximum support to millionaires so you give them a tax cut. But it's a different story for those who go to food banks. And we know what this government thinks of people who go to food banks because the children's secretary said that people who go to food banks only have themselves to blame.
After Miliband raised the issue, Cameron declined to defence Gove's comments or to criticise them. Miliband then said Gove was "an absolute disgrace". For the record, this is what Gove said at education questions on Monday.
I had the opportunity to visit a food bank in my constituency only on Friday and I appreciate that there are families who do face considerable pressures. It's often as a result of some decisions that have been taken by those families which mean that they are not best able to manage their finances. What we need to do is to ensure the support is there not just financially but also to make sure that the right decisions are made.
• Cameron has hinted at his support for disciplinary action to be brought against two doctors who allegedly offered to arrange abortions on the basis of gender. As the Press Association reports, he said it was right that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decision not to take the cases to court was made independent of government, but he suggested that the medics could yet face professional consequences. He was responding to the Conservative MP Nadine Dorries who claimed the CPS's decision made Britain no better than India and China in protecting girls from gender infanticide. She said:
Last week, despite having enough evidence to prosecute, the CPS chose not to prosecute doctors in Britain offering to abort a baby because it was a female. And do you agree with me, Prime Minster, that this is very uncomfortable, the fact the 67 Act is now almost obsolete and puts our abortion policy on a par with India and China and a female foetus in the womb today is more vulnerable than she was last week?
Cameron said Dorries was "absolutely right" to raise the issue and he praised the Daily Telegraph for reporting the story.
In our country we do have independent prosecuting authorities. It's very important that they look at the evidence and they make a decision on the basis of likelihood in getting a conviction and the public interest in making a case and taking it to court. That's how things have to work in our country, but I share your concern about what we've read and what has happened.
Hinting that the doctors should face disciplinary action at work, he added "it's absolutely right that professional action should be considered as well".
• Britain's unemployment rate has fallen to 7.7%, in the first tentative step towards the 7% target Bank of England governor Mark Carney says may signal an economy strong enough to withstand a rise in interest rates.
• Vince Cable, the business secretary, has said the government should consider abandoning the next stage of its Help to Buy initiative to help house buyers get access to mortgages. Number 10 said this would not happen. This is what the prime minister's spokesman told reporters.
[Phase two of Help to Buy] will be launched. We are faced with a situation - because of the fall in availability of 90 to 95% loan-to-value mortgages - where many first-time buyers are faced with a real obstacle to making a home of their own. It is important we address this issue.
• Cable has also criticised plans to make some overseas visitors pay a £3,000 bond to enter the UK.
• Grant Shapps, the Conservative party chairman, has described as an "absolute disgrace" a call from the United Nations for the government to scrap the so-called bedroom tax. As Amelia Gentleman and James Meikle report, accusing Raquel Rolnik, the UN special rapporteur on housing, of having an agenda, Shapps said he had written to the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, demanding an apology and an explanation of Rolnik's findings.
• Patrick McLoughlin, the transport secretary, has sought to reassert the case for high-speed rail, saying HS2 could be worth £15bn to the economy.
• Nigel Evans, the former Commons deputy Speaker, has given an emotional speech in the House of Commons as he stepped down as deputy speaker in order to "robustly" defend himself against charges of sexual offences against seven men, including one count of rape.
• Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, has lost his temper in a debate over cuts to the fire service, telling one of his critics to get stuffed in a public meeting. As Rowena Mason reports, Johnson reacted angrily after firefighters heckled him from the gallery of City Hall, accusing him of being a liar and risking lives.
• José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, has suggested that the Conservatives could be overtaken by Ukip because Ukip are more Eurosceptic. As the Telegraph reports, this is what he said in response to a Tory MEP.
Your party is looking like Ukip. I have some doubts whether you are going to be elected in Britain or if it is not Ukip that will be the first force in British elections. Because when it comes to be against Europe people prefer the original to the copy. That is probably why they are going to vote for Mr Farage. I don't say this with any kind of satisfaction because although we have our differences we have worked together in many areas with the Conservatives.
• An Ipsos MORI poll has given Labour a lead of just three points over the Conservatives. As the Evening Standard report, it also suggests that Ed Miliband's personal ratings are also falling.
For the first time since he became leader, over half of Labour supporters (52 per cent) are dissatisfied with the way he is doing his job, compared with 40 per cent who are satisfied.
The split compares badly with the Prime Minister's solid rating among Conservative supporters of 71 per cent satisfied to 23 per cent dissatisfied.
It the worst rating for any Opposition leader by their own supporters since autumn 2003 when Iain Duncan Smith was ousted by the Tories as their leader.
• Delegates at the TUC have Union activists today supported ambulance workers across England who are threatening to take industrial action in a row over cuts to sick pay. As the Press Association reports, an emergency motion to the TUC conference in Bournemouth calling for backing for drivers and other ambulance staff won approval. Members of the GMB, Unite and Unison have rejected plans to reduce their sick pay, warning they could be forced to work while ill.
PMQs - Verdict
PMQs Verdict: Does "complacency" work as a Labour attack line? I'm not sure it does. Shadow ministers have been using it since George Osborne delivered his "I was right on the economy" speech on Monday, but it does not feel like an adjective that will resonate with the electorate. (When did you last vote against a party because they were complacent?) That was part of the problem for Ed Miliband at the start of the exchange. Another difficulty was that, in his first answer at least, Cameron did not sound remotely complacent. Miliband's questions became much more damaging to Cameron when he turned to living standards, challenging the prime minister to admit that prices have been rising faster than wages for 38 of the 39 months that Cameron has been prime minister, and inviting Cameron to defend Michael Gove's comments about food banks. (You can read a story about Gove's Marie Antoinette moment here, and the Hansard with the exact quotes are here.) At this point Cameron reverted to his boilerplate invective about Miliband being "weak". This is never very edifying, but if viewers are inclined to agree, it can work rhetorically, and Cameron was probably helped by the way some of the papers have written up Miliband's speech to the TUC yesterday. Miliband did not say anything particularly new about his Labour reform plans in his speech but, on the basis of briefing saying that possible cuts to the union vote at Labour conference won't be implemented any time soon (not that we really expected that they would) some of the papers have given him a kicking. The front page headline on the Times reads: "Miliband blinks first in union stand-off." Newspapers probably matter far less than politicians think, but there are still times when it must help the Tories having their message echoed in Fleet Street. As I said earlier, on balance I think PMQs was a draw.
Nigel Evans' statement to MPs
Here is the text of Nigel Evans' statement
I hope you will bear with me while I make this statement, it's been a few years since I made a speech in this chamber and I'm sad to say this is the speech. As many of you will know following recent allegations, I was charged with alleged offences yesterday. I now have the opportunity to robustly defend my innocence and seek acquittal. I have therefore decided the best course of action is for me to return to the backbenches and this is a decision I have made myself after careful consideration. I did not have the Conservative whip as deputy speaker and I am not seeking its return until after the conclusion of events. I will sit as an independent MP for the Ribble Valley.
It was one of the happiest days of my life when I was elected deputy speaker in 2010, it was an endorsement of my abilities to do the job by my colleagues and for that I am grateful. Since these allegations, I have not been able to fully fulfil my duties in the chair, which left me in a land of limbo. None of us were elected to the fine office of Member of Parliament to be put in that invidious position, unable to fully fulfil the reason why we were sent here.
I am so grateful to the Speaker and to the two other deputy speakers - Lindsay Hoyle [Chorley] and Dawn Primarolo [Bristol South] - for the unstinting support they have given me over the three years but particularly since May 4 in filling in for me on my chair duties. When I told Ms Primarolo on Saturday my decision, I even got a hug from her - thank you Dawn. I have had so many hugs, prayers and good wishes since May 4 and I would like to thank everyone who has shown me such compassionate consideration, my family particularly, my association, who have been marvellous, and even seasoned, crusty journalists have displayed a heart I have never before witnessed.
I was told I would soon see who my real friends are and that has been true. But the truth is there have been so many of them - so thank you to my dearest loyal friends, including loyal members of my staff at Westminster and the Ribble Valley. And to you, my colleagues, on all sides of the House who have spoken with me, looked after me and just shown loving attention. Party divisions disappear in times like this and they have, thank you. Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the Speaker's chaplain, and Andrew Tremlett, the canon of Westminster Abbey, have given me superb spiritual guidance which has given me the one thing everyone in this world needs, alongside air, water and food: that is hope. Hope is that essential key to giving us a fulfilled life and they have ensured I have retained that hope.
This is clearly the most painful thing I have endured in my life alongside the loss of my mother in 2009 and the loss of my brother earlier this year. Winston Churchill said when you are going through hell, keep going. Sage advice. And so I will see this through to the end with the support of the people that mean so much to me ...
It's the bread and butter of politics, giving support to the people who put me in the mother of parliaments, my home for the past 21 years and a place that has meant so much to me. I am proud to serve the people of the Ribble Valley and the best tribute I can give them now is to get on with the job that they sent me here to do."
And here's an extract from John Bercow's statement.
[Evans] has demonstrated to the satisfaction of colleagues throughout the House that he is competent, fair and good-humoured. He has proven to a loyal and hugely valued member of the chair's team. I am enormously grateful to him and I know the deputy speakers feel the same way.
I've taken the quotes from the Press Association and PoliticsHome.
That statement from Nigel Evans was peculiar. I can't remember anything like it. It was obviously heartfelt, but at this stage in proceedings I suspect many people will feel that it would have been more appropriate for him to remain silent.
Evans says he is proud to serve the people of the Ribble Valley.
The best tribute he can give them is to carry on with the job he was elected to do.
John Bercow, the Speaker, says Evans has rendered "exemplary" service to the House.
He had demonstrated that he is competent, fair and good-humoured.
He has been an immensely valued member of the chair's team.
In October he will announce details of the election to find a successor to Evans.
Evans says he is grateful for the support he has had from John Bercow, the Speaker, and his two other deputies, Dawn Primarolo and Lindsay Hoyle.
Primarolo even gave him a hug when he told her he was stepping down, he says.
He says even some journalists have expressed support.
He thanks colleagues for their support. And he thanks the Speaker's chaplain for her spiritual support.
Friends have given him "hope", he says.
He quotes Churchill saying that when you are going through hell, you should keep going.
As a backbencher he will be able to speak out on issues.
Nigel Evans' personal statement
Nigel Evans is making his statement.
He says MPs know he was charged. He wants to defend himself.
He is returning to the backbenches. As deputy speaker he had not have the Conservative whip. He is not seeking its return.
He says being elected deputy speaker was one of the happiest days of his life.
Since the allegations made against him, he has not been able to fulfill his duties. He has been in "limbo".
George Galloway, the Respect MP, asks if Cameron agrees that Britain and the US would already be at war if it were not for parliament. Doesn't that show Churchill was right to say jaw-jaw was better than war war.
Cameron accuses Galloway of "crawling up to dictators".
Labour's Virendra Sharma asks if the A&E crisis has anything to do with the cut in nursing jobs since the election.
Cameron says the number of clinical staff in the NHS has gone up since 2010.
Anne Main, a Conservative, asks Cameron to back a campaign to ensure garments sold in the UK are ethically traded.
Cameron says this is an important point. Companies should check their supply chains.
Labour's Lindsay Roy asks about falling living standards.
Cameron says the government needs to help people by getting the economy growing, and keeping taxes down.
Under Labour's policy mortgage rates would go up. That would wipe out all the help people have already received.
Labour's Stella Creasy asks about a constituent killed in Crete. The Greek authorities have not been supportive, she says.
Cameron says he will be happy to have a meeting on this.
Pauline Latham, a Conservative, asks what effect the industrial action proposed by the TUC would have.
Cameron says the document produced by Unite is frightening. Union leaders want to damage the economy and the country.
Richard Fuller, a Conservative, asks about trading standards. Yesterday a man in Dorset said he was made of steel, but collapsed.
Cameron agrees. Miliband folder faster than a Bouremouth deck chair, he says.
Kerry McCarthy, the Labour MP, asks Cameron if he thinks that people using food banks are not managing their finances properly.
Cameron says the use of food banks has improved partly because it allowed benefit offices to refer people to them. Labour did not do that because it was worried about the embarrassment.
Henry Smith, a Conservative, asks Cameron if he supports job fairs. Cameron does.
Labour's Tom Clarke asks why people with a mental illness are held in police cells.
Cameron says this has been a long-standing problem. The government is working with the police to address this.
Gavin Barwell, a Conservative, asks about youth employment.
Cameron says there are record levels of female employment. Unemployment is lower than at the election and long-term unemployment is lower than it was a year ago. But there is still more work to be done, he says.
Labour's Gavin Shuker says he also consulted his constituents about his question. People are worried about living standards because prices out-strip wages.
Cameron says when prices out-strip wages it is particularly important to cut taxes. That is what the government has done.
Gloria de Piero, the Labour MP, asks if Cameron is embarrassed that City bonuses are up £700m while people are struggling.
Cameron says City bonuses are 86% lower then when Labour was in power. He says that he follows Twitter and say de Piero invite people to suggest a question for PMQs this morning. The first reply asked her if she was happy about Miliband being her leader at the next election.
Gordon Birtwistle, a Lib Dem MP, congratulates Cameron on not implementing Plan B as Labour advised.
Cameron says the news on manufacturing is good. Labour does not like hearing this, he says.
Albert Owen, a Labour MP, asks Cameron if he will ensure the NHS has access to army records so that ex-servicemen and women can get appropriate treatment.
Cameron says the NHS must respond properly to these demands. He will look into the point about medical records.
Nadine Dorries, a Conservative, says Britain;s abortion policy is on a par with India or China because of the lack of prosecutions for people aborting on the grounds of gender.
Cameron says he agrees with Dorries on this point. He commends the Daily Telegraph for its campaign on this. But it is up to the prosecuting authorities to decide to take a case to court.
Snap PMQs Verdict: A score draw, probably. Miliband's Gove attack worked better than the complacency one, but Cameron didn't seem to be knocked off his stride and his Mililband-bashing worked in the chamber.
Miliband says the government gave a tax cut to millionaires. But they think differently about food banks. Michael Gove said people who use food banks have only themselves to blame.
Cameron says food bank use went up 10 times under Labour. Real complacency is promising no more boom and bust. Labour have no economic policy, no foreign policy and no leadership either.
Miliband says Cameron did not defend Gove, or criticise him either. Gove is an "absolute disgrace". Cameron is for the few not the many. He's a two-nation prime minister.
Cameron says Gove is delivering better school scandals. What is a disgrace is going to Bournemouth and caving in to the unions. Miliband promised Raging Bull. But he gave us Chicken Run.
Miliband says Cameron is showing "total complacency". it is the slowest recovery for years. For how many months have prices being rising faster than wages?
Cameron says household disposable income went up last year. Miliband talks about policy. The former chancellor (Alistair Darling, I think) said he was waiting to hear what Labour was saying on the economy.
Miliband says Cameron did not answer the question on living standards. For 38 of the 39 months Cameron has been prime minister prices have gone up faster than wages. The only exception was the month when people benefiting from their top rate tax cut took their bonuses.
Cameron says Miliband's speeches are so bad it's hard to know when he's finished. Miliband went to Bournemouth and bottled it. Top rate tax is higher than under Labour.
Ed Miliband also starts by condemning the "mindless cruelty" of 9/11.
Today's fall in unemployment is welcome. But youth unemployment is rising, and close to one million.
Cameron thanks Miliband for welcoming the fall in unemployment. But there is still a long way to go. There must be no complacency as we make sure this recovery delivers for people.
He quotes from the unemployment figures. Unemployment is lower than at the time of the general election. Miliband is right to raise youth unemployment. But the youth unemployment claimant count is down.
Miliband says George Osborne said on Monday he had saved the economy. "Total complacency and total hubris." Unemployment is rising in half the country. And the chancellor choked off the recovery. Can Cameron confirm wages are £1,500 lower than when he came to power?
Cameron says Osborne said Labour said there would be no growth without Plan B.They were wrong. Of course, more needs to be done to held living standards. But you do that by promoting growth, he says.
Annette Brooke, a Lib Dem MP, thanks Cameron for his leadership on humanitarian measures regarding Syria. What further steps will he take?
Cameron says someone becomes a refugee in Syria every 15 seconds. Britain is trying to get other countries to pledge more money, and to improve humanitarian access to the country.
David Cameron starts by saying it is the 12th anniversary of 9/11. He sends his condolences to the families of the 67 Britons killed in the attack.
Cameron at PMQs
PMQs is coming up.
The BBC's Today in Parliament team is ready.
Nigel Evans, the former Commons deputy speaker, is going to make a personal statement in the Commons after PMQs.
Last night Evans was charged with sexual offences against seven men. He has insisted that he is innocent.
After Alistair Darling, the Labour former chancellor, declared recently that he was opposed to HS2, Lord Adonis, the Labour former transport secretary, retaliated with a blog saying that it would be it would be an "act of national self-mutilation" to cancel the project. Those defending HS2 on the grounds that it would cut journey times were using the wrong argument, he said. Cutting a few minutes off the time to Birmingham was "beside the point". HS2 was essential because it would improve capacity.
The key justification is not speed but capacity. There will be an acute shortage of transport capacity from the 2020s to convey freight, commuters and other passengers into and between the major conurbations of London, the West Midlands, the East Midlands and South and West Yorkshire. Since there is no viable plan, let alone political will, to build new motorways between these places, or to dramatically increase air traffic between them, this additional capacity must largely be met by rail or Britain will grind to a halt. Rail is, in any case, the most efficient and green mode of transport for mass passenger and freight movements.
Ministers have got the message. Public support for HS2 has been on the wane, but today Patrick McLoughlin, the transport secretary, has made a fresh attempt to promote it and his speech suggests that he has accepted Adonis's point about needing to frame the argument around capacity. Here's an extract.
The benefits of faster journeys are easy to explain. But the main reason we need HS2 is as a heart bypass for the clogged arteries of our transport system.
It will lift the burden from our overcrowded system. Because the point about High Speed Two is that you won't have to travel on it to gain from the better transport system and economic growth it will support.
People who may never use the new line will still gain from more services for towns and cities up and down Britain. More room for local trains. More space for direct services to London from places that can't get them today. More space for freight trains – to free up our motorways.
But people ask: Do you really need a new line to get the capacity benefit? It's a sensible question. We asked it too - before deciding HS2 was right. Independent studies have looked at the alternatives. Yet another upgrade to the West Coast line. Or new motorways through the countryside. Or more air travel. None of them stack up in terms of cost or capacity or environmental effect.
We've already spent £9 billion on the last West Coast upgrade but that didn't finish the job. The overhead wiring is getting on for 50 years old. The bridges and tunnels are Victorian monuments and I've been out with the track workers to see them.
Pouring billions more in widening it and accelerating it would be like trying to run the M1 up the Old Kent Road. Already the line is operating close to the limit. That's why when Virgin wanted to run new direct trains this year to Shrewsbury and Blackpool, Network Rail said point blank: no there isn't the space.
McLoughlin has also published a 92-page report from KPMG (pdf) on the economic impact HS2 would have. It says that it could boost the economy by £15bn a year.
Here is some reaction to the unemployment figures. (See 9.36am.) As you would expect, the government is focusing on jobs, while Labour is focusing on living standards.
From Mark Hoban, the employment minister
This is a really encouraging set of figures, with the number of people in work rocketing by 80,000 in only three months - a rise driven entirely by a growth in full-time jobs. The private sector has created jobs for 1.4 million more people under this government, and there are now more people employed in the private sector than ever before. These are all positive signs that suggest the UK economy is turning the corner.
From Liam Byrne, the shadow work and pensions secretary
Today's headline fall in unemployment is welcome, but what today's figures expose is that while out of touch ministers are boasting, families are battling. They're battling another fall in wages, another rise in youth unemployment and yet another rise in long term unemployment. There is simply not enough work to go round and the proof is a record high in the number of part-time workers looking for full-time jobs.
Real wages fell yet again by £12 a week; unemployment went up across half of Britain; the youth jobless rate rose by 9,400 and long term unemployment rose yet again. There's now been an incredible rise of 364,000 part time workers looking for full time jobs since the election.
From Frances O'Grady, the TUC general secretary
These figures show how government cuts are continuing to hit vital frontline services with 21,000 jobs lost in the NHS over the last three months alone. Despite the chancellor's boasts this week, austerity is continuing to cause damage and we are far from a strong and sustained jobs recovery.
While the headline figures show small improvements, youth employment has fallen sharply and long-term unemployment is still rising. There are also still record numbers of people trapped in involuntarily part-time work with underemployment continuing to soar.
Across the economy ordinary people are yet to feel the benefits of tentative growth, with wages rising around three times slower than prices.
From Lizzie Crowley,senior researcher at the Work Foundation
Today's figures show positive signs of labour market growth. But there has been little impact on the youth labour market and wage growth remains sluggish.
Encouragingly, employment continues to grow especially in full-time rather than part-time work. There are now 80,000 more people in work than in the previous quarter, with growth concentrated amongst men in full-time jobs.
From James Plunkett, director of policy at the Resolution Foundation
The continuing tumble in real wages means we're still waiting for any sign of an end to the squeeze on earnings. Even optimistic forecasts would suggest it will be years, not months, before we can expect wages growth to outstrip the rising cost of living. The economy is showing signs of strength in jobs creation but sadly this has yet to be matched by earnings and, until it is, any recovery can only be partial at best.
The Resolution Foundation has also produced this graph to highlight the way wage increases are falling behind inflation.
You can read all today's Guardian politics stories here. And all the politics stories published yesterday, including some in today's paper, are here.
As for the rest of the papers, here's the PoliticsHome list of top 10 must-reads, here's the ConservativeHome roundup of today's political stories, and here's the New Statesman list of top 10 comment articles.
And here are two articles I found particularly interesting.
• Daniel Finkelstein in the Times (paywall) explains why he's in favour of HS2.
The Cities Minister and business economist Greg Clark points out that there is a new raft of economic literature full of studies that link growth to the ability of highly specialised individuals to meet with other specialists. Harvard's Ricardo Hausmann, for instance, in his Atlas of Economic Complexity, suggests that the ability of countries to link up those with knowhow is a determinant of economic growth.
Professor Edward Glaeser in his book Triumph of the City records that the development of new technology has increased rather than reduced the value of face-to-face contact. Technology companies, he observes, locate in Silicon Valley. In other words, they are willing to pay some of the highest real estate prices in the world in order to benefit from the physical proximity of other specialists.
The case for HS2 is as simple as this — it achieves one of the most important objectives of growth policy. It enables skilled people to meet face-to-face more easily. Of course, Britain has a place where this can be done: it has one of the world's great concentrations, London. HS2 would ensure that instead it has two of the world's great economic concentrations. The big advantage is not so much that it cuts the journey time between London and the North (although this is valuable), it is that it creates a network that slashes the journey time between northern cities.
With HS2 it will cut in half the journey time between Leeds and Nottingham and that between Manchester and Birmingham. It will be little more than half an hour from the East Midlands to York. Many journeys that currently take two hours or more will become shorter than a London Tube journey. Places that now seem completely separate will be linked together
• Mary Riddell in the Daily Telegraph says the dispute between Ed Miliband and the unions could end in disaster.
It will not be easy for moderates to reach a deal. Len McCluskey of Unite, far from being the red-eyed boss of Right-wing demonology, is a pragmatist hampered by those on the Left who would dearly love to sever ties with mushy Labour and join forces with some more amenable movement, such as the Socialist Workers' Party. Like other leaders, Mr McCluskey knows that Ed Miliband is the union barons' last best hope. Should they crucify him, then the last nails, plus hammer, are reserved for them. They are not going to get a more sympathetic party leader, or a better chance of Labour victory in the foreseeable future, and they know it.
With his own party conference imminent, and with the battle set to drift on, Mr Miliband should play his strong hand more boldly. Not for nothing did Tony Blair have a Clause Four Moment, as opposed to a Clause Four Eight Months, culminating in a spring conference. Mr Miliband, in bravely opting for a battle that is substantive rather than symbolic, has also chosen a timetable that will be the making of his leadership or its ruin.
"Ed prides himself on being a great strategic brain, but we're not dealing with this strategically," says one senior party figure. In the back rooms of Bournemouth and beyond, Mr Miliband will have to cut deals that displace such doubts, as well as appointing a general to negotiate with the unions on his behalf and an army of ground troops to deliver the rank and file.
Here are the regional unemployment figures. I've taken the table from the Press Association.
Region - total unemployed between May and July - change from previous quarter - percentage rate
North East - 136,000 - plus 5,000 - 10.4%
North West - 285,000 - plus 13,000 - 8.3%
Yorkshire and The Humber - 245,000 - plus 1,000 - 8.9%
East Midlands - 168,000 - minus 11,000 - 7.4%
West Midlands - 267,000 - plus 7,000 - 9.8%
East of England - 211,000 - plus 3,000 - 6.7%
London - 359,000 - minus 7,000 - 8.3%
South East - 267,000 - minus 29,000 - 5.8%
South West - 167,000 - minus 1,000 - 6.2%
Wales - 118,000 - minus 7,000 - 8%
Scotland - 203,000 - plus 10,000 - 7.4%
Northern Ireland, 60,000, minus 8,000, 6.9%
For the record, here are today's YouGov GB polling figures.
Labour: 39% (up 1 point from YouGov yesterday)
Conservatives: 33% (no change)
Ukip: 11% (down 3)
Lib Dems: 9% (up 1)
Labour lead: 6 points (up 1)
Government approval: -28 (down 2)
According to Electoral Calculus, this would give Labour a majority of 76.
Today did not have much luck driving a wedge between Vince Cable and George Osborne. But a presenter on Sky News (Joel Hills) has just got Cable to call for the possible abolition of one of Osborne's key housing policies.
Cable was asked about Help to Buy. This is designed to reinvigorate the housing message, and Osborne is very sensitive to the charge that it will trigger a house price boom. (Some critics claim that Osborne wants a boom to create a "feel-good factor" in the run-up to the 2015 general election.) In his speech on Monday Osborne devoted a long passage to explaining why he felt those fears were unfounded.
But Cable told Sky he disagreed. He even said the government should consider abandoning the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme due to come into effect next year.
Here's the transcript.
VC: The controversy is over the second part of the scheme, which is a guarantee scheme that does not take effect until the new year. And obviously the government is going to have to look at that in the light of the way the market is developing. The Bank of England also has a view about these things.
Q: To be clear, you think the government should rethink the second part of the scheme?
VC: Well, we should certainly think about how it should come into effect, whether indeed it should come into effect, in the light of changing market conditions. We don't want a new housing bubble.
Q: Do you see any signs of a new housing bubble?
VC: Well, there are people out there, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors yesterday were warning this was a real risk. I think in many parts of the country it clearly isn't a problem. If you are in Northern Ireland or Wales or indeed the East Midlands you would wonder what all this is about. But certainly in London and the south east, in the north east of Scotland, in other areas, there are serious housing inflationary pressures.
And here's more from the Vince Cable interview on the Today programme.
• Cable said that George Osborne was "spot on" when he spoke about the economy in his speech on Monday. (This is not quite the message that sources close to Cable were giving out yesterday.)
I think George Osborne got the tone exactly right when he spoke the other day. There has been good news and it does also get into some of the big long-term areas of export growth, business investment is recovering.
The point I'm trying to make is that this is a long term haul, we've got a marathon not a sprint here, it took us years of mistakes by the previous government to get us into this crisis, it's taken five years to start to crawl out of it and it's going to take a long time to get the British economy on the right track ...
I think George Osborne's comments the other days were spot on.
• He said that Sarah Teather, the Lib Dem MP who has announced that she is standing down in 2015 because she is angry about coalition policies, had "probably over-reacted".
I know Sarah very well and respect her, she's a superb local MP and we've obviously debated these things and I think some of the things she's been saying specifically about the I policy I've some sympathy with ad have express it, but I think she's probably over reacted and I'm very, very sorry that she's going to be leaving us at the end of this parliament.
I've taken the quotes from PoliticsHome.
Unemployment down by 24,000
Here are the headline unemployment figures.
• Unemployment fell by 24,000 between May and July to 2.49m. That's 7.7%, down 0.1 percentage points.
• The number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance last month fell by 32,600 to 1.4m.
• Average earnings increased by 1.1% in the year to July.
Here is the Office for National Statistics news release. And here is the ONS bulletin with the full details (pdf).
Here's more from Grant Shapps on Raquel Rolnik, the UN special rapporteur on housing. (See 9.03am.)
• Shapps said he would be writing to the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, demanding an apology and an investigation into how Rolnik was allowed to compile her report.
• He said Rolnik was not invited by the government to visit Britain to make her report. She had a visa that was signed off, but that was not the same as an official invitation, he said.
• He said she had had just one meeting with government officials, at the Department for Communities. That was called to discuss general housing policy, not the "bedroom tax", he said. The Department for Communities is not even in charge of this policy, he said.
• He said the UN did not say anything when housing waiting lists doubled in the UK.
There's PMQs, of course, but there's much more around too. Within the last hour we've had two cabinet ministers making news on the Today programme. Grant Shapps, the Conservative party chairman (and a former housing minister) , delivered a broadside against Raquel Rolnik, the UN special rapporteur on housing who has used an interview with the Guardian to say that an investigation in the UK has led her to conclude that the "bedroom tax" should be abolished. Here's what Shapps said.
I think this report is an absolute disgrace. I'm going to be writing to the UN secretary general today to ask a series of questions, including how this came about, how it is that a woman from Brazil has come over, a country that has 50m people in inadequate housing, has come over, has failed to meet with any government ministers, with any officials from the Department of Work and Pensions, or even to refer to the policy by its actual name anywhere in the report at all, to issue a press release this morning two weeks after coming over for a report that she's not delivering until the spring of next year. She's clearly come over with an agenda and, in fact, biased her own position by, for example, going to meet up with the Daily Record, a newspaper in Scotland that's campaigned consistently against the policy ... She's clearly got an axe to grind.
And earlier Vince Cable, the business secretary, was on. John Humphrys did not have much luck trying to get him to criticise George Osborne, but when the conversation turned to immigration, and Theresa May's plan to make some people applying for visas pay "bonds, Cable was happy to oblige.
What Nick Clegg actually proposed was that if somebody in the sub-continent, for example, is turned down for a visa, they could as an alternative come up with a bond and had that proposal been accepted I think most people would have not seen a problem with it, it would actually have made it easier for people to come who had good reason to do so. But the way some of our colleagues in the coalition interpreted was in a much more negative way of saying that everybody who comes here should pay this very large bond and that's what Sarah [Teather] reacted against. But in government I and Nick and others will be arguing for a much more sensible and flexible approach to the bond, which is, of course, not policy and is still under discussion.
I'll post more from the interviews later.
Here's the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Unemployment figures are released.
9.30am: David Laws, the education minister, gives evidence to the Commons education committee about the training and retention of teachers.
10am: Patrick McLoughlin, the transport secretary, gives a speech on the HS2 high-speed rail project. As Steven Morris reports, he will say that HS2 will give an annual £15bn boost to the economy, with the north and Midlands gaining at least double the benefit gained by the south.
10am: Raquel Rolnik, the United Nations special rapporteur on housing, publishes a report on the "bedroom tax". As Amelia Gentleman reveals, Rolnik thinks it should be abolished.
11.30am: Vince Cable, the business secretary, gives a speech on the economy. As Nicholas Watt reports, Cable will suggest that George Osborne is being complacent about the economic recovery.
12pm: David Cameron and Ed Miliband clash at PMQs.
2.15pm: Officials from the Major Projects Authority, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Treasury give evidence to the Commons public accounts committee about universal credit.
As usual, I'll also be covering all the breaking political news as well as looking at the papers and bringing you the best politics from the web. I'll post a lunchtime summary after PMQs and another in the afternoon.
If you want to follow me on Twitter, I'm on @AndrewSparrow.


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Flak for childhood tea seller Modi over plans for some young labor in India
By Rajesh Kumar Singh
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to exclude some family jobs from a revamped child labor law in a move with an unmistakable echo of his own childhood, when he helped his father sell tea from kettles at a railway station.
The federal cabinet on Wednesday approved amendments to a 1986 child labor law, aimed at imposing a broader ban on childhood work but also introducing a loophole for family businesses that critics say undermines efforts to end the practice.
Under the proposed changes, which must now be approved by parliament, children below the age of 14 may work after school or during vacations to help their "family or family enterprises".
The amendments would also apply to the entertainment industry and sports, except the circus.
Modi's administration said the proposed changes take into account India's socio-economic conditions and would protect its social fabric.
"In a large number of families, children help their parents in their occupations... children also learn the basics of occupations," the government said in a statement.
The move has drawn ire of child activists who say the exemption would open the doors for employing children in industries such as matchbox manufacturing, footwear and carpet making and would slow progress in eradicating child labor.
Some fear the changes could also be misused to deny education to girls, whose school drop-out rate is almost double than that of boys. Continued...


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Former University of Georgia safety Josh Harvey-Clemons, who was a five-star prospect in high school, is officially a Louisville Cardinal.
Harvey-Clemons, who has been in Louisville for several days, confirmed to Cardinal Authority on Friday night that he has "found a new home."
The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Harvey-Clemons said he would enroll at U of L in June. He will begin classes and workouts with the team and redshirt next season. He will be eligible to start the 2015 season and have two years of eligibility.
"I'm excited," he said. "I knew when the situation happened at Georgia where I wanted to go and when I got here it just felt right."
U of L defensive coordinator Todd Grantham recruited Harvey-Clemons to Georgia. He left after last season to take the job at U of L.
"Coach Grantham called me after everything happened and it all worked out," he said. "This is really the only place I looked at."
Harvey-Clemons was suspended for Georgia's opening game against Clemson and also the Gator Bowl last season for what Georgia reported as an undisclosed violation of team rules.
But when he was on the field, the former five-star prospect was a standout.
Harvey-Clemons had 66 tackles, an interception and a team-leading three fumble recoveries as a sophomore in 2013.
A product of Valdosta, Ga., Lowndes High School, Harvey-Clemons picked Georgia on signing day in 2012 over Miami, Florida and Florida State. He was ranked as the No. 36 prospect overall by Scout.com in the Class of 2012.
"I knew a couple of guys here and I liked it when I got here, so everything just kind of fell into place," he said. "It's a really good opportunity for me.
"I will have a year away (from playing) and be able to clear my mind and get adjusted to the surroundings. I'm excited."
Harvey-Clemons said his position coach in high school was former U of L player Terry Quinn.


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NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
The NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms features 8,091 terms related to cancer and medicine.
- pheochromocytoma
- listen (FEE-oh-KROH-moh-sy-TOH-muh)
- Tumor that forms in the center of the adrenal gland (gland located above the kidney) that causes it to make too much adrenaline. Pheochromocytomas are usually benign (not cancer) but can cause high blood pressure, pounding headaches, heart palpitations, flushing of the face, nausea, and vomiting.


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you could try the Duplicator plugin: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/duplicator/
regards, andi
i`ve asked 3 accountants and all 3 told me the same thing Hexahedron mentioned a bit earlier: since Envato is in australia, i don`t have to add VAT to the invoice.
also, my accountant told me that i have to write the "Service export" words at the invoice description….for example "Design and development services export".
Hi, Twitter did recently change their API , causing thousands of websites with the old API to stop displaying the tweets.
try to download the theme again, maybe it was updated in the meantime. and contact the author directly, he can provide better help.
dnp_theme said
Paying taxes is not mandatory. You should do this as a freelancer and not as a company, that entity cannot survive in EU.
i think you meant "VAT is not mandatory". the 16% tax is mandatory. also, what do you mean by "that entity cannot survive in the EU"? both entities – PFA and SRL – are perfectly legal and recognized throughout the entire EU. i have both and i`m invoicing EU clients for over 3 years from both entities.
Ciprian: i`ve asked 3 accountants and they all told me the same:
withdraw the money to your PayPal or bank account. the paypal account should be linked to your bank account and you must give the accountant a paypal monthly statement (extras de cont)
create an invoice with Envato`s business data (ABN Number, address, etc): http://abr.business.gov.au/SearchByAbn.aspx?abn=11119159741 you don`t have to send the invoice to envato, just give it to your accountant.
don`t add VAT to the invoice. at the service description write "Export servicii design/programare" or something like that. the word "Export" is compulsory (don`t ask me why….).
pay 16% taxes and profit:)
disclaimer: i strongly advise you to ask an accountant before issuing an invoice. if you don`t do it right, you could have trouble with the taxman.
take care. andi
here are some CPTs i use frequently for my clients. maybe some of them could be useful:
Team Members
thanks, andi
Hello, i`m not sure if this is the right place, but i`d like to suggest some very small improvements.
1. it seems that themes with OT included are getting soft-rejected because of: - REQUIRED : get_settings found in the file ot-settings-api.php. Deprecated since version 2.1. Use get_option() instead.
see here: http://themeforest.net/forums/thread/option-tree-comment-form-issue-in-theme-rejection/71429
would it be possible to update the ot-settings-api.php file, so there won`t be any more problems in the future?
2. would it be possible to add a custom class to the Textblock items (Admin – OT – Settings) , so we can color-code Textblock items? for example, i use Textblock items to add a separator between subsections in each Section. i`d like this textblock to be an other color, so i can see where my separators are.
a custom class on textblock items would be sufficient, and i could write my own CSS .
thanks in advance, andi
but shouldn`t notices from 3rd party items, like Option Tree, pass the inspection?
i mean, Option Tree is sponsored by Envato and built specially for themes on TF. If authors include it in their themes, i would guess it should pass the inspection automatically.
ok, replacing the OT get_settings is easy, but then every time you have to include a newer version, you have to do this again and again. i think that the author of OT (which is a magnificent plugin, btw!) should add the changes right into the plugin.
Hello all, this discussion is very interesting.
i`ve never heard of Payoneer before (i`m using paypal for a couple of years now, without any problems so far).
if i understand correctly from Payoneer`s website, you get a Mastercard, issued at a foreign bank , which you can use at any ATM that accepts Mastercard.
my questions are: 1. from which country is the card issued? inside the EU? outside? 2. is there a daily withdrawal limit? the bank i`m with (BCR), has a daily limit of 2000Lei (~600$). 3. can you transfer the money from your Payoneer account to your bank account? or can you only use their card?
thanks in advance. andi
Derek, let me also thank you very much for this plugin!
i have a question regarding the new OT version:
in v 1.8.1 you`ve removed get_option_tree() in the WordPress admin area due to theme conflicts.
can i use the new 2.0+ version in the Admin area, to add for example Header & Footer logos ? (and also maybe a custom login logo)
thanks, andi
i also try to use the golden ratio as much as possible in my client work, especially on image sizes.here is a useful ratio calculator: http://scale-tool.com/


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Take your sex play to the next level with the joy of glass! The Joystick is a perfect toy for beginners; the spiraled end can be used for vaginal and clitoral stimulation, and when you're ready to explore, the bulbous end can be used for both G-spot stimulation and anal play. Fracture-resistant and hypoallergenic, this toy can be easily cleaned. Retains heat and cold for increased stimulation. Compatible with all lubricants.
Ships Everywhere.
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This amazing sex toy truly sparked my love for glass toys. Have other dildos and vibes made from silicone, but i think this one is a new and thrilling, sex experience. I actually like the hard, smooth gliding sensation and it reaches all the right spots every time i use it. If you haven't tried glass toys, this is definitely the one to get.Anonymous - December 29 2014
Never owned any kind of glass sex toys so i was a bit nervous about trying one out. Is a very different feeling from the silicone dong i have, but i thought this new, hard sensation was a thrilling one. Read up about glass toys and liked the fact you can heat them up in the microwave and have a warm, soothing sensation or put them in the freezer for a chilly sensation. Recommend trying out this one, don't think i'm ready for anal play yet though, even if you can use it for that too.Anonymous - December 4 2014


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Top 10 Health Stories of 2009
Byron J. Richards, Board Certified Clinical Nutritionist
2009 was a busy year as gene-related exploration tools opened up a treasure trove of new discoveries. We've learned why some of the obvious good health habits, like getting enough sleep and exercise are more important than ever, and we've learned new things about health that were barely imagined even a year ago. Many of the following stories are feature length articles that are sure to broaden your understanding of natural health and as well as illustrating the extreme importance of taking really good care of yourself.
#10 – Sleep Well, Live Longer
Everyone knows that getting enough sleep is vital to good health. It is also vital to learning. It is now crystal clear that sleep problems reflect excess inflammation, which in turn reflects increased risk for virtually any disease.
Excessive Sleepiness Predicts Death
Sleeping Problems Disturb Cardiovascular Health
Alcohol May Disturb Your Sleep and Biological Clock
Sleep Problems are a Significant Risk for Type II Diabetes
Too Much or Too Little Sleep is Inflammatory
Sleep Desire, Caffeine, and Inflammation
Quality Sleep is Needed for Memory and Learning
#9 – Exercise is Corrective, Rejuvenating, and Good for Your Brain
Exercise is not just to maintain a better body weight, it builds and rejuvenates brain cells, helping intelligence at any age. Research continues to show that exercise reduces the risk for heart disease and improves the health of your liver.
Aerobics Promote a More Youthful Brain
Aerobic Fitness Makes Teens Smarter
Men Need Moderate-to-Heavy Exercise for Stroke Prevention
Exercise Helps Prevent the Re-Accumulation of Dangerous Fat
Aerobic Exercise Improves Stiff Arteries and Fatty Liver
Why Consistent Exercise Helps Keep the Weight Off
#8 – Adiponectin Linked to Multiple Disease Risks
Adiponectin, a hormone like leptin that comes from fat, has already been shown to be the single most important factor causing insulin resistance and type II diabetes. Now we see that low adiponectin starts heart disease in motion, handicaps immune function, and disturbs the rhythms of healthy metabolism. The adiponectin story is of immense importance to your health, and far from over.
Low Adiponectin Starts Cardiovascular Disease in Motion
Adiponectin Stops Sepsis – Relevance to H1N1 Swine Flu
The Blood Sugar Hormone Adiponectin is Linked to Your Circadian Clock
Magnesium Needed for Healthy Adiponectin Levels
#7 A Clear Path to Prostate Cancer Prevention
One in six men is needlessly heading for prostate cancer. This problem is mostly preventable and a new understanding of the androgen receptor points the way to good health – for those men wishing to take the steps it needed to stay out of the obvious risk zone.
Prostate Cancer & the Androgen Receptor – A Clearer Picture of the Problem
Coffee Reduces the Risk for Diabetes and Prostate Cancer
Prostate Cancer Treatment Causes Heart Disease and Diabetes
Prostate Cancer and Zinc – Can Zinc Be Overdone?
Leptin, Obesity, and Prostate Cancer
Another Study Linking Obesity to Aggressive Prostate Cancer
#6 – The Pitfalls of Bioidentical Hormones
The improper use of bioidentical hormones is putting the health of many women at risk and opening the door for unnecessary excessive regulation of the natural health industry. It does not appear that many natural health practitioners are planning on getting their acts together any time soon – so consumers need to understand the subject much better.
Oprah's "Crazy" Talk – Bioidentical Hormones – Helpful or Harmful? (Part 2)
#5 – The Unnecessary Epidemic of Type II Diabetes
How a subject like Western medicine gains a monopoly on treating an epidemic of type II diabetes is hard to understand when it is painfully obvious that their treatments fail to produce positive results. Solutions for consumers are now available – once again rooted in a much better understanding of natural health.
Insulin, Leptin, and Blood Sugar – Why Diabetic Medication Fails
Laughable Type II Diabetes Research Shines Light on Medical Ineptitude
#4 – Mind Rejuvenation
Nerve health is now much better understood. Boosting your brain's plasticity and flexibility are the keys to your mental health and mental abilities. Bad habits, poor mood, and even depression now need to be viewed in a different light with a far different set of solutions than have been employed by many over the past few decades.
New Insights on Addiction, Mood, Memory, and Cognitive Ability
BDNF at the Crossroads of Brain Function & Metabolism
Synaptic Plasticity – The Key to Your Brain's Future
Helping Glial Cells will Revolutionize Prevention & Treatment of Alzheimer's
#3 The Immune System Regulation of Metabolism
This major discovery has gone virtually unnoticed – though it has immediate practical application value to those interested in restoring and maintaining their own health.
Immunometabolism: The New Frontier
#2 How Bone Health is Related to Metabolic Health
Precise mechanisms linking thyroid, leptin, and bone health have now been documented. This information represents a fundamental shift in how health problems are caused and how they can be corrected. A case in point is the strength of your bones.
The New World of Bones – Thyroid, Leptin, Blood Sugar, and Bone Strength
Leptin, Thyroid, and Weight Loss
Oprah's Thyroid Problem Explained
#1 The Swine Flu Hoopla
No story dominated the health headlines this year as did the potential Swine Flu pandemic that never happened – at least yet. As such, it was a teachable moment. Those interested in natural health were able to overcome the potential fear of the Swine Flu by learning how nutrition can dramatically improve the immune response to a flu that has not been seen before, as well as by understanding the shortcomings of the protection offered by vaccines. Armed with knowledge and effective steps that can be taken, there is little to be worried about.
Using Nutrition to Help Perceive and Combat Swine Flu
The Narrow Scope of Flu Vaccine Usefulness
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- Review
Prom 13: London Philharmonic and Choir/Jurowski, review
Michael Church finds that a work by Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg, commissioned to act as an introduction to Beethoven's 'Choral' Symphony, has nothing in common with the master
Michael Church finds that a work by Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg, commissioned to act as an introduction to Beethoven's 'Choral' Symphony, has nothing in common with the master
As a recording manager and record producer, Mitch Miller nurtured the talents of some of the biggest names in American music – Tony Bennett, Frankie Laine, Johnnie Ray, Doris Day, Rosemary Clooney – and he made the US Columbia label the biggest in the country. For several years in the 1950s, he was the most important figure in the record industry and many younger talents followed his example and learnt how to produce records.
The bassoonist Kerry Camden was one of the most distinguished musicians of his generation.
Sir Simon Rattle, chief conductor and artistic director of the Berliner Philharmoniker since September 2002, will collaborate with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) at the Barbican for the first time in 10 years, when he returns to conduct Messiaen's Et Exspecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum and Bruckner's Symphony No 9 in March 2011.
Francesca Jackes on the dark side of the orchestra
It takes courage to programme six symphonies by a composer who has always struggled for even a sliver of attention. But Bohuslav Martinu, the 50th anniversary of whose death falls this year, is about to benefit from the BBC Symphony Orchestra's championship under the baton of his fellow countryman Jiri Belohlavek – and not a moment too soon.
Renowned conductor Sir Edward Downes and his wife, who died together in an assisted suicide clinic, were devoted to each other, the musician's manager said today.
Paavo Järvi's curious Mahler programme with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra brings together the original versions of three symphonic movements that were either once intended for different purposes ("Blumine" and "Totenfeier") or formed part of an incomplete work (the "Adagio" from the 10th Symphony).
Last Shop Standing lifts the lid on an industry in tatters. Graham Jones has worked at the heart of record retailing since the golden era of the 1980s. He was there during the years of plenty and has witnessed the tragic decline of a business blighted by corruption and corporate greed. Last Shop Standing is a hilarious yet ahrrowing account by a man who has been there and sold that.
Wigmore Hall's tiny platform was almost as crowded as Richard Wagner's staircase on Christmas morning 1870 when he presented his beloved wife Cosima with a performance of his newly composed Siegfried Idyll. Forest murmurs from the second act of his Ring opera "Siegfried" will have wafted through the lakeside house at Tribschen near Lucerne, dappled instrumental colours broken with bird-call and the sound of the super-hero's horn.
As Simon Rattle returns to his home city of Liverpool, Lynne Walker joins him in rehearsals to watch how he can transform an orchestra
All three works in this collaboration between Ilan Volkov, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and pianist Steven Osborne date from 1938 to 1940.
A highly charged performance of some of the most erotic music in the orchestral repertoire is as classy as it is explicit


text: RT Book, Whole DB /z-wcorg/ DS http://worldcat.org ID 35630650 LA English T1 Attempts by rogue regimes to influence U.S. policy : hearing before the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights of the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourth Congress, second session, March 19, 1996. A1 United States., Congress., House., Committee on International Relations., Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights., PB U.S. G.P.O. : For sale by the U.S. G.P.O., Supt. of Docs., Congressional Sales Office PP Washington YR 1996 SN 0160529956 9780160529955


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It was journey started with a lifelong friend but one the Vancouver Games chief will finish alone after his mentor Jack Poole passed away just hours after the Olympic flame was lit at ancient Olympia last October.
When the eloquent Irish immigrant watches the Games cauldron spring to life it will mark the end of an Olympic marathon, a gruelling test of physical and mental endurance that few have had the strength or determination to see through.
"This last year is a pretty meaningful year because it has been a very long journey and my whole family has changed," Furlong said. "I had no grandchildren and I now have nine. It has been a transformation personally.
"It's a long time, a long journey. With a Games you have it on the pillow at night and it's sitting there when you get up. You don't get to put it aside."
Furlong (pictured, right) once described the enormous task of organising an Olympics as something akin to steering a super tanker.
But his hand has remained steady on the tiller, navigating the multi-billion project safely through the worst economic storm since the Great Depression. He is now set to deliver a Games on budget.
There was little in Furlong's resume to hint that the man from Tipperary possessed the skills, fortitude and charisma to survive a job that had crushed so many others.
He arrived in Canada in 1974 and held a variety of jobs including teaching and operating a city-run recreation department.
Furlong does not have the magnetic personality of 2002 Salt Lake City chief Mitt Romney or 2012 London Olympic CEO Sebastian Coe or the steely charm of 2006 Athens Games saviour Gianna Angelopoulos.
A political novice, Furlong appeared ill-equipped to deal with local and provincial leaders never mind crossing swords with the politically savvy members of the IOC.
Yet he managed to avoid the scandals and infighting that plagued Olympic organising chiefs in Salt Lake City, Athens and Sydney.
The president and chief operating officer for the Vancouver 2010 bid, Furlong later moved into the role of CEO of the organising committee and his appointment did not receive widespread approval.
But like any Irishman who captained Gaelic football teams at the highest level Furlong does not lack grit or fear a fight.
"When I became CEO, there were a lot of people who were asking what it takes to be a leader of something like this," said Furlong. "I had a very different viewpoint.
"I never saw this about one person's leadership, I saw this about pulling together a compelling team of people.
"It's been an amazing thing, we've discovered that no matter what comes your way if you've got good people, a good team and a good focus and a good vision you can overcome anything."
What Furlong lacked in experience he more than made up for with a tireless work ethic and consummate leadership skills.
On the day he was appointed VANOC CEO, Furlong took his team to see a movie the movie "Miracle" an inspiring film about the United States hockey team's gold medal win at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games that became known as the "Miracle on Ice".
After travelling 1.2 million miles around the world promoting the bid, Furlong has logged thousands more criss-crossing Canada, beating the drum for a Winter Games that he hopes will bring together a country where some provinces are closer to Britain than Vancouver.
"I want this to touch lives," Furlong said. "As a boy I wanted to be in the Olympic Games. I wanted to carry the flag. It never happened for me.
"I competed at a high level and I never made it. This to me was a chance to catch up with that dream."


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Parnell unveils budget proposal
Budget totals $5.6 billion, a $1.3 billion decrease from current spending levels
ANCHORAGE – Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell chose a friendly crowd for the release of his budget for the coming fiscal year: the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, which generally supports budget cuts and his tax reform proposals.
Thursday, he told members he's planning to cut $1.3 billion in general fund spending for fiscal year 2015.
In the current fiscal year, general fund spending stands at $6.9 billion. In the coming year, Parnell proposes decreasing it to $5.6 billion.
The budget proposal follows news last week of a projected state revenue shortfall of $2 billion for the current fiscal year.
The governor wasn't all about cutting, though. He also pitched a plan to pay down part of the unfunded liability in the state pension fund from budget reserves.
His budget proposal would also increase the numbers of troopers and Village Public Safety Officers.
Click here to view the entire budget proposal.


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Answers Home
» Health & Wellness
» Allergies
My Cat Sneezes all The Time,We Thought it was just a Cold...
Ever Since we Got her Off the Streets the poor Cat won't Stop Sneezing.
We Could Be Cuddleing in bed Then,suddenly EVERYTHING is Coverd in nasty Boogers,We tried going to the vet Before,But the Medicine was no help.
Asked by
on Nov 21st 2007
in Allergies
- This question is closed.
My world is like that too. The vet said some cats after living on the streets have that issue. I also have a "gunky" nose, but baby saline drops (no meds in it), and HomeoPet Nose Relief (drops in mouth) have helped A LOT, BUT I still have issues and tissues! Plug-in vicks is helpful too, as well as staying in the bathroom while mommy showers. Good Luck!!!
Cleo (The Queen) RIP answered on 11/21/07. Helpful? / 0
Miss Cleo is right--some cats, like some people, just sneeze a lot. A friend of my mommy's who does animal rescue work, has a rescued kitty who does PROJECTILE sneezes! Everything for miles around is covered when Gus does this! If you've taken her to the vet and they've ruled out upper respiratory infections, etc., then poor Jinxy is just doomed to be a sneezer! Mommy's friends just learned to duck!
Izadore (Izzie) answered on 11/22/07. Helpful? / 0


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Undeterred by Taliban, climbers scale Pakistan's Killer Mountain
By Maria Golovnina
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - When Taliban gunmen mowed down a group of foreign climbers last month, Romanian mountaineer Zsolt Torok was perched on an icy flank of Pakistan's second-highest peak oblivious to the mayhem unfolding thousands of meters below.
"I called my wife (on a satellite phone) and she said the Taliban came and killed everyone in the base camp," he said. "I was shocked. We survived only because we'd chosen a different route."
Undaunted, Torok and four other Romanian climbers carried on with their ascent, becoming the first expedition to scale Pakistan's Nanga Parbat last week since the bloodiest attack on foreigners in Pakistan in a decade.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn massacre on June 22 when gunmen dressed as policemen stormed the 4,200-metre (13,860-foot) base camp, killing at least 10 foreign climbers and a Pakistani guide.
Victims included mountaineers from China, Lithuania, Nepal, Slovakia, Ukraine and one person with joint U.S.-Chinese citizenship. One Chinese climber escaped.
Several expeditions to Nanga Parbat - at 8,126 meters (26,660 feet), the world's ninth highest peak and known among climbers as the Killer Mountain - have since been canceled, dealing a blow to Pakistan's once thriving mountaineering sector at the height of the trekking season.
Torok, 40, and his team, passing though Islamabad on their way home after bagging the mountain on July 19, said they were unnerved by the attack but felt safe in the company of 10 armed Pakistani guards protecting their camp.
"Those climbers were innocent people," Torok told Reuters at the Romanian ambassador's residence in Islamabad. "Clearly those terrorists had prepared well. They wanted to shock everyone." Continued...


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Gathering up July's wildflowers we will begin in the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden. Mid-month we went in hopes of aloe flowers.
Last December's issue of Veld & Flora (journal of the Botanical Society of South Africa) has an article by Werner Voigt on the history of the Karoo NBG. The garden was established in 1921. In 1945 Swiss curator Jacques Thudichum worked with Louis Pieterse to move the plant collection from near Matjiesfontein to Worcester. The garden was opened in 1948 when Jan Smuts said – 'The human spirit craves for something more. It requires spiritual nourishment and here it is in the Karoo Garden.' In 2001 the word Desert was added to the formal name, to explain the word Karoo (place of great thirst) to international visitors.


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Firestone is a pain in the A*&
I just installed struts and took it into firestone to get it re-aligned since i have the lifetime alignment. they come out after an hour and tell me they cant do it because one of my bolts are missing for the lower control arm. Now i was just under the car the previous day and that bolt was there. I asked them if they were sure that it didnt break off when they tried to loosen it to do they alignment and they swore nervously no it wasnt there to begin with. The washer mark looks pretty fresh if you ask me. So now im stuck fixing it. This coming from the place that previously gave me problems that they could only adjust the toe and not the camber or caster since the vehicle had been lifted.
Re: Firestone is a pain in the A*&
Firestone has a reputation at least back in the eighties, of fixing what you ask them to fix and breaking something else so that you return to them to get that fixed. I've always found them to be dishonest and money driven. Or visa verse. Sorry this happened to you. But I believe they found a way to get more money out of you.
Re: Firestone is a pain in the A*&
Im starting to find this out, so far ive had nothing but headaches with them. They tried to blame it on whoever installed the lift must have broken it. I said that I installed the lift which did not require me to remove the lower control arm since it was just strut spacers. After them trying to find excuse after excuse I told them just get it off the lift I want my car back. I ordered the bolt from the dealer and am in the process of getting the broken one out to replace it. They wont be getting any money out of me, but it did cost me the price of the bolt and my time.
Re: Firestone is a pain in the A*&
Looking for some knowledge...
Took my car to Firestone for an alignment after some suspension work. I had read this thread, but the shop just opened and I figured they probably want to make a good impression on the community for at least a short while, so they would be a fairly safe bet.
As mentioned in another post, according to the report they moved everything into spec except my left caster claiming something was "locked, a bolt usually" and it prevented them from doing so.
Anyway since getting the alignment the ride has been very tight/bumpy/wobbly/choppy. Much more so then before. The most noticeable difference is that there used to be some play with the steering wheel where you could go a little one way or another before the wheels started to turn. Now there is none. Shoudn't it be the opposite? I'll note they also did a tire rotation for first time in the 25k miles I've owned it and who knows before then. Could it be possible I need to get them balanced?
Re: Firestone is a pain in the A*&
I had a firestone align my old WJ. They were willing to work with me even though I was lifted. No problems.
Re: Firestone is a pain in the A*&
wonder if they aligned it before the rotated and yea usually things dont get tighter as time passes its usually looser does it pull at all, how bout brakeing with hands off the wheel?
id keep an eye on your front tires for unusual wear maybe you got lucky and they had 2 jeeps in there that day and they rebuilt your front end by mistake and just aligned the other guys
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RealFriend Rewards December Check-In
- Alicia
- Seattle, WA
- Last updated: 3 years ago
Hi RealFriends:
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Tell us how you're feeling, and what you think might be in your December gift box.
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Email them to firstname.lastname@example.com
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