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|Oh, no. None of you have done anything wrong. And you're not devils. It's just that you all have to die. There's nothing you can do now.
|~ Bertolt threatens Armin Arlert
Bertholdt Hoover is one of the main antagonists in the anime/manga series, Attack on Titan. He is the true identity of the Colossal Titan; an Eldian who infiltrated the military of the Walls as a spy as a part of a plot to eradicate the "remainder of humanity", and the childhood friend of Reiner Braun. He was previously believed by the people of the Walls to be the mastermind behind the Titan advance and humanity's greatest enemy. The Colossus' identity serves to illustrate the moral ambiguity of the series. He serves as Armin Arlert's main antagonist.
He is voiced by Tomohisa Hashizume in the Japanese version of the anime and David Matranga in the English version.
The Colossal TitanThe second largest Titan ever encountered, having first appeared in the Year 845 outside the District of Shiganshina. It is approximately 60 meters tall with a physical appearance resembling a humanoid being without any skin, exposing muscles and connective tissue. In addition, it has not shown any interest in consuming humans. It appears suddenly and without warning in a flash of lightning, and disappears in a similar manner in large clouds of steam, which
constantly pours from most parts of its body. It possesses the ability to release this steam at high pressure to defend the weak point at the base of its neck. Possessing a physical mass far larger than any other known Titan, it was easily able to kick down the Gate into the District of Shiganshina and thus is partially responsible for the fall of the Wall Maria. It displays cognitive recognition when it appears before the District of Trost in the year 850, as after kicking down the gate into the district, it destroys the cannon artillery atop the wall so that the invading Titans would meet less resistance.
Early life
Bertholdt comes from a mysterious location simply referred to as his hometown (or homeland), and began a mission to attack humanity in the year 845. Little is known about his life prior to undertaking his mission, other than the fact that Reiner and Marcel were his childhood friends. The exact nature of their group, and their mission is yet unknown. It is mentioned that their goal was to exterminate humanity, and that they are searching for both the Ape Titan and a "coordinate" which they believe may be Eren Yeager or possible to locate with the assistance of Historia Reiss.
At some point prior to attacking Wall Maria, he encountered Ymir's Titan form while traveling with Reiner and Marcel. Still in a mindless state, she attacked the three boys and nearly killed Reiner. Marcel ended up sacrificing his life to protect his friends, while Bertolt appears to have fled in terror and possibly abandoned the other two in the process.
Fall of Shiganshina
Bertholdt first appeared as the Colossal Titan in the year 845, shortly after the history of the world and humanity's situation have been introduced, along with Mikasa, Eren and Armin. Its mere presence is enough to cause considerable panic amongst the population, as it is tall enough to see completely over the wall that is supposed to keep all Titans out. Within moments of its appearance, it attacks, repeatedly kicking the wall gates to the point that they rupture and open a hole large enough for other Titans to pass through. It then disappears after causing considerable structural damage to the wall, but does not attempt to participate in any meaningful way in the ensuing massacre itself.
Joining The Military
Eventually, Bertolt joined the military, with aspirations of joining the Military Police and living in the safety of the inner wall. As part of the 104th, he was considered to be one of the best in regards to 3D Maneuver Gear, enough so that Eren Yeager came to him for advice when he was dealing with faulty equipment. After seeing Eren's determination and desire to join the Survey Corps, he considered himself a coward for wanting to get far away from them. However, Eren encouraged him, saying that after witnessing the attack on his village, no one would blame him for his decision. Eventually, he graduated in the top ten of his class coming in at third place, just under his friend Reiner.
Battle of Trost District
Bertolt reappears as the Colossal Titan five years later in 850, again breaking through the walls so that its brethren can once again devour the humans inside. It is immediately attacked by Eren Yeager, however, it first repels and blinds him with vapor from its high temperature body before vanishing completely from view. He quickly disappear back at Trost, with a hood covering his face. He joins with the other cadets as if he had always been there, preparing to defend Trost for the evacuation. His elusive and quiet personality makes it easy for him to go unnoticed.
When Armin, Mikasa and Connie made it to the headquarters, with the help of the Rogue Titan, Armin devised a plan to get rid of the Titans in the supply room. Bertolt, part of the second group, came in from the ceiling and killed his target in one blow. The mission a success and everyone resupplied, he and the rest of the group leave the head quarters. On the way out, he joins Mikasa and others on the rooftop as they watch the rogue Titan being attacked and eaten by other Titans. Reiner suggests helping it out, but ultimately it ends up not being necessary as the Titan fights his way out and kills the Titan that ate Thomas. After the Titan collapses, he is among the first people to know about Eren's ability. Bertolt joins the Survey Corps with Mikasa, Reiner, Eren, Connie, Sasha, Krista, Armin, Ymir, Jean and a few others.
Female Titan
Bertolt trains with the Survey Corps for a month. Then he takes part in the 57th expedition of the Survey Corps, with all the other scouts of the faction. He does not take direct action in the Female Titan's plan to capture Eren. However, both Bertolt and Reiner are in one of the units that were given false information that Eren was in the right wing of the scouting formation. The two pass the information to Annie, who leads a horde of Titans to wipe out the right front. Since Eren was actually in the center rear of the formation, Bertolt nervously waits for Annie to succeed and disappear. The scouts wait for the Female Titan and capture her in the Forest of Giant Trees, while Bertolt waits with Ymir on a tree. Bertolt heards Annie calling the Titans to eat her, then he returns alive with the survivors at Karanes District after both Annie and Erwin failed their missions.
Clash of the Titans
In the aftermath of the failed mission to capture the Female Titan, Bertolt is among the recruits placed under observation at an old mansion and suspected of being a potential accomplice to Annie. He is shown to have occupied his time playing chess with Reiner, and quickly becomes involved in the operation to investigate the Titans that appeared within Wall Rose. Reiner requests his assistance on the Southern squad headed for Connie Springer's village, which is later discovered to be deserted.
That evening, the Southern squad meets up with a squad including Ymir and Krista and the decision is made to take refuge for the night in Castle Utgard. At some point during the night, the castle comes under attack by Titans and the recruits are forced to defend the interior from the smaller Titans that have invaded. After Reiner takes off on his own to investigate, Bertolt offers a strange observation of his friend's "bad habit" of risking himself for others. When a Titan manages to break through a stairwell door, he comes to Reiner's defense with a pitchfork and helps fight it off. The two reaffirm their promise to survive and return to their home together.
After a second Titan manages to enter and injure Reiner, he helps Ymir toss it out a window. Afterwards, he begins to behave in a withdrawn manner and responds to questions about how Reiner was in the past with a strange comment about how Reiner has changed and is no longer a "warrior". However, he refuses to elaborate further on the subject.
Eventually, their superiors are killed by the attacking Titans and the rookies are left defenseless. This drives Ymir to reveal herself to be a Titan, using her powers to protect the others. He, along with Reiner, are shocked to recognize her as the Titan that had killed their friend, Marcel, several years earlier.
The group is eventually rescued by Hange Zoë's squad and evacuated to the Wall, with the intention of regrouping with their main forces. Injured and distressed over their ordeal, Reiner breaks down under the stress and confesses their identities to Eren while Bertolt watches in growing distress. The two are viciously attacked and almost killed by Mikasa, and Bertolt asks if they're to transform right now. Reiner obliges, saying that as a warrior, he must do his duty till the bitter end.
Critically wounded and terrified, Bertolt transforms into a partial Titan form and begins to attack the soldiers on the Wall while Reiner attempts to kidnap Eren. In the chaos, he manages to capture Ymir and a random soldier, swallowing them both whole. Afterwards, he counters an attack by Hange's squad through generating intense heat and steam, burning anyone that gets too close. He remains in a skeleton-like state, burning profusely to prevent any attack against him.
Reiner then roars to signal his distress. In response, Bertolt topples from the Wall and lands on top of a fighting Eren and Reiner, exploding upon impact. The resulting explosion wounds most of the scouts, and allows Reiner and Bertolt to successfully capture Eren and flee the scene. Bertolt emerges from his Titan form carrying Ymir and wearing the stolen gear of a soldier he devoured. Several hours later, he takes refuge with Reiner and their two captives in the Forest of Giant Trees. However, he is mostly silent during the following arguments and discussions, only speaking up when prompted by Ymir or Eren.
Bertolt responds to Reiner's strange behavior with great distress, and is shown to have known about it long before anyone else. He is able to bring his friend back to reality by informing him that he is not a soldier, but rather that they are both "warriors". Ymir guesses this to have been the cause of previous tensions between them that she had observed.
Eren later confronts him about his role in the death of Carla Jaeger, demanding to know what he thought when he learned about the suffering he'd caused. He responds with a vague comment about having felt sorry for him, horrifying Eren and leading him to scream at them both. Eren expresses that they are murderers responsible for the genocide of innocent people. Reiner irritatedly says he already is aware, and Eren tells him to stop grieving as if he's a victim and that he is no longer human, being responsible for turning their world into a living hell. A frustrated Reiner asks what Eren wants from them then, if he wants for him apologize or atone for his actions or admit that killing is bad. He says that the person Eren once knew is dead and if it makes him feel any better, he can scream all he likes. This gives Eren a new resolve, and he vows that they both will die horrible, excruciating deaths. Bertolt remains silent at this point, as Ymir finds Eren's assurance stupid yet amusing, but she questions Reiner on what the "ape-like Titan" was. Noting that Reiner and Bertolt both looked like gawking, excited children at his appearance, she reveals that the ape-like Titan must have been responsible for the sudden appearance of Titans from the south. She thinks that it might be what they need to return to their homeland. Realizing Ymir might know something, Eren frivolously questions her on who the enemy is, in which she vaguely mutters a reply but is interrupted by Reiner. Reiner asks whether she believes that their world has a future, shocking everyone. He says that, considering all she knows, she should come over to "their side" and return with them to their homeland. He insists that she is trustworthy, since they share the goal of protecting Krista and he can ensure her future in exchange for Ymir's cooperation.
Though she agrees to work with them, Bertolt remains unconvinced and warns Reiner that she cannot be trusted. He brings up the death of their friend, who was devoured by Ymir, though Reiner reassures them that she can be trusted since her only consideration is Krista's safety. Bertolt worries he may be slipping into his delusions again, but is reminded that Krista has value to them since she's a member of the Reiss family and may be able to provide them with important clues. They discuss their mission to find the "coordinate", which may or may not be Eren, and Bertolt expresses his eagerness to go home and never return to the human lands. Reiner responds by teasing him, demanding that he confess his feelings to Annie once they make it home. Bertolt attempts to protest, but Reiner claims his tendency to stare at her gave him away.
The pair notice a signal flare and realize the rescue team has already found them, and prepare to flee. While Reiner subdues Eren, Bertolt confronts Ymir over the death of his friend. She states she has no memory of having done it, but apologizes to him and asks if he hates her. He admits he isn't certain, but he can't hold her responsible since none of them wanted to devour humans. He asks how long she wandered as a mindless Titan, and implies that he and Reiner may have also spent some time trapped in their Titan forms in the past.
As the group flees, Ymir notices the signal flares and becomes agitated. She demands that they kidnap Krista, and attacks Bertolt when they refuse. They are forced to land in the trees, and she further physically intimidates and threatens Bertolt until they relent. Once Ymir returns from kidnapping Krista, he straps an unconscious Eren to his back and both cling to the Armored Titan's back as he runs from the pursuing troops
Realizing how close the troops have already gotten, he shouts at Ymir about having delayed them so much. He demands to know what they've been doing all this for, and whether she intends to abandon Krista inside the Walls to save herself. His words get through to Ymir, and watches the exchange between the two women intently.
A short time later, Mikasa manages to get onto the Armored Titan's back and attacks first Ymir (and Krista) before turning on Bertolt. To escape, he slips down onto the front of Reiner's neck and shouts for him to protect them. In response, Reiner cups his hands around his neck and encloses Bertolt and Eren safely against his neck. Eren, now awake, begins to struggle and ignores all efforts to calm him down. The other members of the 104th Trainees Squad climb onto the Armored Titan's shoulders and begin to shout at Bertolt in his hiding place.
He initially attempts to ignore them, as Jean Kirstein and Connie Springer alternately attempt to coax him out and confront him over his betrayal. At last, he breaks into tears and yells at them that he never wanted to kill anyone. He confesses to having truly thought of the 104th as his friends, stating that their time together was enjoyable. Even so, he refuses to surrender and return Eren, stating that "someone has to do it".
Before he can elaborate any further, Hannes screams a warning to the group as Erwin Smith leads a horde of Titans directly towards them. This forces them to retreat for a time, while Reiner attempts to charge through the oncoming horde in his Titan form. It ultimately proves hopeless, and the Armored Titan is quickly overwhelmed by the large group and forced to begin using his hands to fight. No longer protected by his partner, Bertolt is forced to defend himself when the soldiers return in force and attack him. Beginning to panic, he shouts to Reiner that they have to bring Eren back to their home.
He narrowly escapes another attack by Mikasa, and is confronted by Armin, who reveals that Annie has been captured. Taunting Bertolt, he asks if they intend to abandon their comrade and claims that Annie is currently being tortured by the military. This drives Bertolt into a rage, and distracts him long enough for a wounded Erwin to launch a surprise attack and free Eren. Wounded, Bertolt can only watch in shock as the soldiers begin their retreat.
He remains perched on the Armored Titan's shoulder as it begins to hurl Titans at the fleeing soldiers, slowly healing his injuries. When Eren's power as the Coordinate activates, he senses it and reacts with shock. The partners begin to pursue Eren once freed from the Titan horde attacking them, but this freedom is short-lived. Taking advantage of his new-found power, Eren screams at them to stay away and threatens to kill them. Both react with shock and horror, sensing Eren's power and realizing that it has directed the horde at them once again. Reiner initially attempts to protect him from attackers, but they are quickly overwhelmed and he is forced to fight on his own.
His screams draw Ymir's attention, causing her to hesitate in fleeing with the soldiers. Just as a Titan is about to kill him, Ymir appears and rescues him. The three Titan Shifters begin to fight together, while the human soldiers retreat back to the Walls. The narration notes they did not pursue, leaving his fate in the aftermath of the battle unknown. Eren later expresses the desire to catch him and make him pay for his crimes, suggesting that he believes they survived.
This is confirmed in an epilogue, which reveals that he survived and fled back to the ruins of Shiganshina District. The group, exhausted from their two-day ordeal, rest atop Wall Maria while attempting to make sense of things. He questions Ymir about her decision to save his life, and is shocked that her actions were motivated by gratitude for having been saved from her "eternal nightmare". Knowing that she faces an uncertain future when they return with her to their homeland, Bertolt struggles to hold back his tears while thanking her.
Personality and Character
Bertolt gets very different perspectives and judgmentes from the audience: some consider him evil, some called him innocent and good-hearted, some mentally unstable, some good but too much apathetic and indifferent. The character was created to be mostly read through his facial expressions and buried emotions.
Bertolt is a quiet young man who identifies himself as someone that follows popular opinion with "no will of his own" and no purpose in life. This sometimes bothers his companions, because he acts as if he can't fight or do anything else, yet during his trainings in both Marley and Paradis' Walls, he excelled at everything he did and he was praised for his great shooting abilities. Likewise, his instructor noted him to be a person with great potential, but an utter lack of initiative, noting these words: "Highly proficient in various hand-to-hand combat styles and has great potential. But lacks in self-confidence and tends to leave it to others when it comes to showing assertiveness.". Because of his personality, passive behavior, and utter dependence on others' commands, Bertholdt's potential and talents are considered wasted and thus, at the Walls, he got the grade A- and ranked under Reiner, instead of Mikasa. He was further described by Eren Yeager as being taciturn, and often acting as "Reiner's shadow". Among his former comrades, he was particularly close to Armin Arlert and read with him. He was also often seen with Jean, Eren, and Marco. Other times he could find himself surrounded by all his comrades, due to him being with Reiner, who used to be the most popular trainee, and Bertolt never approved of this due to his fear of Reiner exposing their real identities. Bertolt failed to stop his partner from becoming too popular. Reiner developed a delusional personality entirely taken from Marcel and even got a crush on Christa. While Eren got along with Bertolt, the former still had his reservations about him, not having a clear view of his reserved and silent nature. Besides Bertolt's trouble with Reiner and concern for his mental stability, his relationship with Annie is completely unknown, except for Reiner and Armin's impressions that he has a crush on her and a some flashbacks with Bertolt with Annie, Reiner, Marcel, Porco, and Pieck as children, where Bertolt tells Annie and Reiner how loyalty towards Marley is important. Sometimes, instead of being alone or with Mina, Annie would join with Bertolt, Jean, and Marco during meals. He is often called Bert, even by Levi and the Survey Corps. Bertolt tends to remain in the background unless necessary. By his own admission, he is something of a coward and is noted for his low self-esteem and lack of aggressiveness, though ways to anger him do exist. When Reiner calls him unreliable Bertolt quietly agrees without protests and the only thing he acknowledges about himself is being athletic and able to fight. His best talent is actually his exceptional aim with guns, as he never misses his targets and is the best Warrior in marksmanship.
His withdrawn and emotionless behavior initially led to the impression of him being the least emotionally compromised of the three Titan agents. He showed little attachment or remorse over his actions, seeming to care only about his partner, Reiner. However, when confronted by his former comrades and questioned about their friendship, he revealed himself to be far more conflicted and guilt-ridden than it originally appeared. His claims of not having a choice add a further level of ambiguity to his character, leaving many of his actions in question. He shows great devotion to both of his fellow agents, Reiner Braun and Annie Leonhart, and is easily driven to action or anger when he feels either is threatened. He rarely smiles and the only times he did it more often was during his 3 past years of training. In reality, he is constantly nervous, gloomy, with a frowning face showing uneasiness and insecurity. He is wary of others and acts as a voice of reason to Reiner, cautioning him repeatedly about lowering his guard. He refuses to trust his prisoners and prefers to incapacitate them. His interactions with Ymir reveal that while his actions have caused considerable suffering, he is not a cruel person and is capable of showing genuine kindness towards others. Bertolt can also showed panic and slight tears when he saw Marco dying. He also points out that what he does is his job and his own feelings must not get in his way, causing Eren to view him as cold, indifferent, and unsympathetic person.
Raised as a Warrior child, Bertolt was trained to be only a ruthless war machine to serve the power of the Marley Empire. He was fed with lies and to believe that one day he could save all the Eldians living in the Marley ghettos from Ymir's curse by eradicating all the remaining rebel Eldians in the Walls. While Reiner and Annie allowed their feelings get in the way, Bertolt always remained focused on his mission and never forgot his real identity. In his mind general, Bertolt became neutral in the war and all he wants eventually is to just end his mission and return home with his companions, already accepting himself as a terrorist with a short life anyway. Before he started showing more of his way of thinking and remorse, the audience thought he was the worst of the titan trio, apparently being the least conflicted of them and acting indifferent about his actions, fo example his cold and composed reaction when Eren reminds him his role in his mother's death. The fans accused him of being evil and amoral, even after he showed his remorse when talking to Connie and Jean, accusing him of genuinely trying to be remorseful, but in reality being more able to kill than spare lives. At first Bertolt let his insecurity and fears get the best of him and was deeply remorseful to betray his comrades, especially when he's cornered by them. Months later he decided to stop hiding behind Reiner and cast away his guilt and carry on with killing his former friends for the sake of his real side and real companions, thus acting more aggressive and threatening, even accepting Mikasa's challenge to fight. To succeed his military mission, he had to embrace his role as the Colossal Titan even if he hated it, so that he could finally use his destructive power without hesitation. For the sake of his Warrior companions and to protect Marley's secrets, Bertolt lies to his enemies by making them believe what they always thought: that he is Humanity's Greatest Enemy and that he decided himself to kill all humans.
By his thoughts and extra information from Hajime Isayama, Bertolt showed that he's not very able to put a value for life in general since he doesn't see anything good about the world or any decent reason to live, to the point of not even having a will of his own or indipendent thoughts and simply follow the orders of Zeke Yeager and the military officers who sent him to destroy the walls and recover the coordinate. Among the many different perspectives from the fans, there are those who consider his behavior, from a psychological perspective, the one of a borderline sociopath and a bit suicidal who was only getting worse and more ruthless, despite his hate for violence, as his mission was getting more frustrating as well as seeing Reiner, Annie, Marcel, and Marco suffering too much while he was only shaking, running away, or sweating. Even after his death, much of Bertholdt still remains unkown and it's never revealed how his enviroment where he grew up has made him like that.
Although he genuinely pities his enemies, Bertholdt knows how to deal with his mission and broke down in tears once, due to a stressful situation at facing his friends' reactions to his lies. He also cried during Marco's murder, as he never prepared to have to dispose of him in human form only because he and Reiner talked to loud. As a child, he acted cool about his mission, then during the training in the 104th he became extremely quiet. He still attacks the Walls for a second time and causes the battle of Trost. When Reiner decided to not continue their advance to Wall Sina and focus on Eren's capture, Bertholdt was actually bothered, showing a weak disagreement in letting Eren plug the Wall because he had "worked hard" to prepare the Trost invasion. Another mistake of his was taking Erwin's bait and join with Reiner in the Survey Corps, wait one month before having Annie trying to take Eren from the more experienced Scouting Legion The best course of action would have been kidnapping the weak Eren back at Trost and flee to Marley, then return later to deal with the Reiss family. Upon facing the consequences of the exposal of his identity, Bertholdt panicked and lost all confidence to the point of tears, but nor enough to attack the Survey Corps and stealing a ODM gear and Ymir. When not nervous or scared, he acted passive and cold in Wall Maria.
Months later Bertholdt underwent a serious change and returns colder, detached, indifferent, callous, and a lot more dangerous and careless. He embraced his role as "the villain and the greatest enemy of humankind", and he was ready to fulfill his savage duty with his full potentital and abilities. Armin thought Bertholdt would listen to him, for the sake of their old friendship, and tried to talk him out his mission and turning into the Colossal Titan, giving him a change of negotiation and redemption: Bertolt rudely declined Armin's offer and mocked both Armin and his old self, statying that this time he wouldn't cry and flee and that Armin had no way to play mind games on him. In fact Bertolt remained calm and composed, and did not feel sorry or bad when he told his former friends that he will kill them and all humans inside the Walls because he has decided to do so. He was not fazed by Armin's attempt at manipulating him by bringing up Annie, and told him to have her fed to the pigs for all he cared. He did not feel panic or dread when other Scouts where going to kill Reiner and he had to leave him to himself, and Reiner was rather helpless at this point. This time Armin ended uo victim of Bertolt's mind games and ruthless behavior, resulting with everyone noticing tey were dealing with the infamous and imposing Colossal Titan, not the timid and nervous comrade they knew. Bertolt noted how Armin is unable to do anything to him as long as he shakes in fear of his presence. Their conversation it only ended with bickerings, mutual mind games, and Bertholdt and Mikasa fighting, when the latter finally felt too threatened and tried to kill him. Mikasa was dismayed to see that Bertholdt and the Survey Corps realized that they wouldn't find pity or negotiation from him. Bertholdt used his fighting techniques against Mikasa and repelled her attacks to get rid of her, unlike that one time where he had panicked and run upon seeing her.
Bertolt came to accept his villainous self, and rationalized that none of it is his or anyone's fault, but that the world is just cruel, and all of it was inevitable. Even if he admitted that he never hated Armin and the others, Bertholdt proceeded to blow up the entire district with a huge explosion that killed almost every person present. He showed disappoitment and annoyance when ironically his 104th old friends were the only survivors, admitting to himself that he hoped they could just die already. He then proceeded to destroy the entire city and attempted to kill all his former friends, while Zeke kept Erwin and Levi busy, killing all the other scouts that weren't on Bertholdt's reach.
At the end Bertholdt defeated Eren's Attack Titan and became a bit too arrogant and his overconfidence costed his life, when he thought he just killed everyone and broke Eren's spirit. He challenged Armin, who had actually prepared a plan to distract Bertholdt. As soon as he burned Armin, Bertholdt was nonchalantly ready to destroy Eren, and instead he was deceived and captured by a hidden human Eren, who took him by surprise from the nape. Levi decided Bertholdt's fate. Unprepared to die eaten by a Pure Titan to fix his own damage to Armin, Bertholdt was not ready to take responsibility of his action and could not accept being abandoned by Zeke, Pieck, and Reiner (the latter was unable to move). Despite his calmness fearlessness in the face of death and destruction, he was absolutely terrified of dying himself. In fact he suddently reverted back as his old self an screamed for someone to save him. When he saw that neither Reiner, Zeke, or Pieck were present, Bertholdt cried and called for Annie's name and then Reiner for the last time before getting eaten to pass his Titan form. Eren found no satisfaction in seeing him getting bitten alive, his companions not saying a word as well and only showing tears for the situation between Armin and Bertholdt. Bertholdt was neither mourned (publicly at least) or despised, but only treated as a dangerous sentient weapon that had finally been destroyed. After the events and Armin's horrified reaction, Eren and the others avoid mentioning Bertholdt again and during formal meetings his death is simply called "the fall of the Colossal Titan".
- Carla Yeager (Caused)
- Thomas Wagner (Caused)
- Nac Tias (Caused)
- Mylius Zeramuski (Caused)
- Mina Carolina (Caused)
- Franz Kefka (Caused)
- Tom (Caused)
- Marco Bott (Caused)
- Mitabi Jarnach (Caused)
- Ian Dietrich (Caused)
- Ruth D. Kline (Caused)
- Ymir (Indirectly Caused)
- Moblit Berner
- Unnamed Titan shifter (as a mindless titan)
- Numerous residents of Shiganshina District (Caused and Direct)
- Numerous residents of Wall Maria and surrounding districts (Caused)
- Numerous unnamed 104th Cadet Corps members (Caused)
- Numerous unnamed Garrison members (Caused)
- At least 18 unnamed Survey Corps members (Caused and Direct)
- Out of all the young Warriors in training, Bertholdt and Annie were the only ones who didn't look interested in the Marley's teachings at all and kept a nonchalant attitude about it. Both of them are self-admitted weak persons who follow the greater flow without ever using initiative or expressing their actual thoughts. They also use their abilities only when it's necessary, otherwise they do nothing or speak at all. Their behaviors and lack of teamwork didn't go unnoticed by Reiner to the point that, after he took Marcel's personality and became a leader, he sometimes called them slackers and unreliable, who let him plan everything alone. However, unlike Annie, Bertholdt considers loyalty important, hence why he never hesitated in his mission. Also unlike Annie, Bertholdt doesn't feel the need to cause creative deaths and inflict unnecessary extra pain.
- There are parallels between Bertholdt and Mikasa Ackerman: they both know they live in a cruel world and they were both terrified by it. Their fears were replaced by control, self-awareness, and coldness. The difference is that Mikasa did it while she was still a child and found something to live for, while Bertholdt only really stopped trembling when he realized he was just standing there all the time while he let most of the dirty job to Reiner and Annie and would not stop them when they made foolish mistakes. Mikasa's faces the cruelty of the world while looking beyond it and sees beauty and love, she focuses on those things and keeps living. Bertholdt doesn't see this and has only a nihilistic view of life. He's often apathetic and even admits to have no reason to live for to the point he considers death as freedom. In his last moments he had no problem with killing countless people anymore and was even cool with Annie being fed to the pigs or Reiner failing and die, possibly because he didn't expect to live longer anyway. He burned Armin alive with no hesitation, despite he was one of his favorite comrades, thinking he was putting him out of his misery. However, when he was defeated and was about being eaten alive, he still panicked and screamed for help.
- Another interpretation from readres is that perhaps he became too self-indulgent, having no true life purpose or actual like for life and will to live. It's believed that his projection of conflict into Armin is the culmination of all the subtle gathering of suppressed thought. So he would have been impenetrable not because the audience are denied access to his mind; rather, he is impenetrable because he doesn't do a lot of thinking, and when he does, it's superficial. The kind of defence he muster to explain himself is truistic, yet with a total absence of context it is cryptic and morally ambiguous. When he doesn't hide himself behind somebody he hides himself behind words.
- Bertholdt, Annie, and Marcel never returned to their families in their hometown (Liberio Internment Zone). Out of their group, Reiner is the only one who ever made it back to Liberio. Bertholdt did return in the Marley cities to deliver Ymir, but never returned to his hometown.
- Bertholdt's family has yet to appear, as Reiner avoided it when he returned to Liberio, along with Annie's father. Likely because of the Colossal and Female Titans officially listed as "missing". Marcel is the only confirmed dead and his parents appeared with his brother "Pock/Pokko".
- During the training in Marley, Bertholdt and Annie ranked above Reiner because they fight better than him and have more talent. While during the training in Paradis, Reiner ranked both of them, second only to Mikasa. Although Bertholdt and Annie are better at fighting and more agile, and Reiner always lost against them, it's apparent that he still ranked above them due to his stronger spirit, loyalty, and above all teamwork. All of those are the most required things requested by the Wall military and the most necessary things to fight and survive the Titans, and Bertholdt and Annie lacked those traits.


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The Overseas Program and its Relation in National Planning
Jewish Communal Service Association of North America (JCSA), National Conference of Jewish Social Welfare, September 1950
Topic: Immigration, International Relief/Aid, Jewish Organizations, Refugees
Name of Publication: The Jewish Social Service Quarterly
Editor: Aptekar, Herbert H.
Volume/Issue: Vol. 27/no.1
Page Number(s): 80-85
Genre: Article
Coverage: Europe , United States
Language: English
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Greenleigh, Arthur. The Overseas Program and its Relation in National Planning. The Jewish Social Service Quarterly. Jewish Communal Service Association of North America (JCSA),National Conference of Jewish Social Welfare. September 1950: 80-85. http://www.bjpa.org/Publications/details.cfm?PublicationID=5819
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Western blot analysis of Influenza A H1N1 HA using A) MDCK cell lysates infected with 4 HAU/ml of A/duck/Alberta/35/1976-like, H1N1 (B) MDCK cell lysates infected with 4 HAU/ml of A/duck/Ukraine/1963-like, H3N8 (C) MDCK cell lysates infected with 4 HAU/ml of A/mallard/Miyagi/53/1976-like, H5N3 (D) MDCK cell lysates infected with 4 HAU/ml of A/duck/Taiwan/33/1993-like, H7N7 (E) MDCK cell lysates infected with 4 HAU/ml of A/turkey/Wisconsin/1/1966-like, H9N2 (F) MDCK cell lysates infected with 4 HAU/ml of A/PR/8/34, H1N1 (G) MDCK cell lysates infected with 4 HAU/ml of A/Taiwan/126/2009, pdmH1N1 and H) MDCK cell lysates infected with 4 HAU/ml of A/Taiwan/3446/2002, H3N2. Samples were loaded onto a 12% SDS-PAGE gel and probed with an Influenza A H1N1 HA polyclonal antibody (Product # PA5-34919) at a dilution of 1:1000.
|Tested species reactivity
|Host / Isotype
|Rabbit / IgG
|Recombinant fragment corresponding to Internal region of Influenza A virus HA (A/duck/Alberta/35/1976(H1N1))
|1 mg/ml
|Antigen affinity chromatography
|Storage buffer
|PBS, pH 7, with 20% glycerol
|0.01% thimerosal
|Storage Conditions
|-20° C, Avoid Freeze/Thaw Cycles
|Tested Applications
|Dilution *
|Western Blot (WB)
* Suggested working dilutions are given as a guide only. It is recommended that the user titrate the product for use in their own experiment using appropriate negative and positive controls.
PA5-34919 targets Influenza A Virus H1N1 Hemagglutinin (HA) in WB applications and shows reactivity with Virus samples.
The PA5-34919 immunogen is recombinant fragment corresponding to Internal region of Influenza A virus HA (A/duck/Alberta/35/1976(H1N1)).
Influenza A virus is a major public health threat, killing more than 30,000 people per year in the USA. In early 2009, a novel swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus was identified in specimens obtained from patients in Mexico and the United States. The virus spread quickly around the world and on June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic. Influenza A virus has one of sixteen possible Hemagglutinin (HA) surface proteins and one of nine possible Neuraminidase (NA) surface proteins. The Hemagglutinin protein facilitates viral attachment while Neuraminidase is involved in viral release. These proteins also elicit immune responses that prevent infection or independently reduce viral replication. The genetic make-up of this swine flu virus is unlike any other: it is an H1N1 strain that combines a triple assortment first identified in 1998 including human, swine, and avian influenza with two new pig H3N2 virus genes from Eurasia, themselves of recent human origin. The distinct antigenic properties of the new swine influenza virus compared with seasonal influenza A (H1N1) virus suggest that human immunity against new swine influenza virus is limited, although the age distribution of reported cases suggests some degree of protection in older age groups.
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures. Not for resale without express authorization.


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In the future, fiberglass will...
October 17, 2007
The Talk, Page 2...
Survey Results for 10/17/2007:
In the future, fiberglass will...
...never achieve a top share in doors or windows.
...enjoy top share in both the window and door markets.
...top the door market, but not windows.
The industry's expectations regarding fiberglass are somewhat mixed, and I can't say I'm too surprised. Obviously, there are some fans out there. A little more than 30 percent of respondents see it becoming number one in both doors and windows. A similar percentage sees fiberglass topping the entry door market, but not windows. And finally, about 40 percent of you don't think it will become the market leader in doors or windows.
As I noted last week, I can see the day when fiberglass will hold the number one position in the entry door market. One key benefit of fiberglass over the current market share leader—steel—is resistance to dents and dings. Although I suspect there are some companies making steel doors that might dispute that. Of course, the technology for creating wood "looks" is advancing rapidly with fiberglass, and we've seen an expanding palette of designs that I imagine will further expand their appeal.
Finally, I would note, we've seen an influx of fiberglass doors from overseas. I have to believe this is lowering prices of fiberglass doors and making them an option for more buyers.
On the window side, the outlook for fiberglass is less clear. The material has some benefits that many in the industry like. "We here at Burnett and Sons, Sacramento, have been promoting fiberglass door and window products for some time now," writes Gene Patterson, who is with the company's window division. "We see fiberglass as a fairly 'bomb proof' material for homeowners who are concerned with the effects of hot sun from the south and southwest direction on traditional materials. The many colors available and paintability add to its appeal."
Whether he thinks it could surpass vinyl in market share, he doesn't say exactly, but "fiberglass will probably become the new preferred material for those who can't find the money in the budget for wood and clad wood products," Patterson predicts.
I'm not willing to predict fiberglass could surpass vinyl yet either. Vinyl remains a very cost effective framing material for windows. I've heard the pros and cons for both materials—fiberglass is stronger, vinyl can be welded, etc.—but I'm not enough of a technical expert to suggest there's any one best. I have heard others, like Patterson, say fiberglass has a particular advantage in hot, sunny climates, but I can find many others on the vinyl side who will tell me they have products that will stand up to those conditions.
So if I don't foresee fiberglass surpassing vinyl in terms of window market share, what do I expect. My best guess is that things will get more complicated, at least for market researchers. I think we'll see more products combining materials—with designers trying to optimize the benefits of each. This isn't anything new. We have wood products clad with vinyl, we have fiberglass products clad with wood, we have vinyl products reinforced with fiberglass, etc. And we're going to get more materials like wood/plastic composites working their way into the equation.


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Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Murder, My Deer
by Jaqueline Girdner
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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0425178854, Mass Market Paperback)The newly married Kate Jasper has to put her honeymoon on hold when she gets stuck in the middle of a murderous muddle.
(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 12 Mar 2015 17:59:43 -0400)
Newly married Kate Jasper is forced to put her honeymoon on hold when she finds herself targeted by a radical group of deer supporters and must track down a killer before it is too late
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I feel the best way to start the week after a long weekend is with a few bacon updates. Over the weekend it seemed bacon was on everyone's mind. Just about everyone I met had something bacon related to say. Here are a few I found interesting.
Seduced by Bacon: Americas Favorite Indulgence – A friend said they heard about this book on NPR over the weekend so I went to Amazon to check it out. The book has a one sentence description, "A celebration of bacon, filled with gorgeous photographs and seductive new recipes both savory and sweetâ€. I like how they say the recipes are seductive, that right there makes me feel like running out now and buying the book.
Guess What I'm Craving this Morning – Saskboy also had bacon on the brain. He sent me this post about the thought process this guy goes through in the morning featuring bacon. I found it funny that this guy is afraid to cook bacon without pants, some of the commenter's on the post think otherwise.
Oscar Mayer's New Package – This update comes from Andy at WGN Radio 720, it looks like even Chicago couldn't stop thinking about bacon. He sent me a link about the new bacon packaging from Oscar Mayer. Since I have been doing a lot of my food shopping at Trader Joe's I didn't know about the new look. Sadly they have a limited bacon selection there.
I hope your Monday is a little better after a few tasty bacon updates. If you ever come across some interesting bacon news let me know via any possible means of communication. Thanks!


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Microsoft Office 365 Security, Privacy, and Trust
Download this episode
Some of your most important considerations when evaluating a cloud solution should be the provider's privacy and security practices. Microsoft strives to take a leadership role in industry privacy, security, and compliance practices by following our Trust principles. This session focuses on the Trust principles of Office 365, our cutting edge security practices, transparency policies, respect for your privacy, and compliance of the service with industry standards.
For more information, check out these courses on Microsoft Virtual Academy:
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Event HomepageTechEd Europe 2012
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Microsoft Office 365 Service Reliability and Disaster Recovery
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Powering IT Transformation with Office 365
Managing End of Life for Office products and services
Microsoft FastTrack: The customer success service
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Office 365 ProPlus - What's new in 2016 and beyond
Windows 10 & Office 2016: The Cloud Ready Desktop
Office 365 - The Next Wave of Innovation
Preparing for Your Office 365 Project: Proper Planning Prevents Poorly Done Deployments
FastTrack for Office 365: Getting Started and Onboarding
Microsoft Office 365 for IT Professionals
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Ultimaker 2 Extended 3D Printer
5 or more $3,020 USD
10 or more $3,015 USD
20 or more $3,005 USD
Bigger in every way, the Ultimaker 2 Extended gives you all the space you need to print larger, more complex objects. And with its jaw-dropping speed, reliability and 20 micron definition, every print measures up to expectation.
Lead Time: 2 Business days. Shipping from USA
Simply screw them in and out in a matter of seconds and you're ready to print.
Create smaller, smoother and more detailed 3D prints using the 0.25mm nozzle.
For a faster print screw in a 0.80mm nozzle and you're good to go.
Even with more space for complex 3D prints, there's no loss of quality. The lightweight print head brings your design to life with an accuracy of 20 microns. Overhangs and bridging are easily handled too, thanks to the dual fan print head. The radial scroll wheel lets you adjust heat even whilst it's printing. And it will reliably print multiple large prints again and again.
When you buy any Ultimaker you get more than just a world-class 3D printer. You get the industry-leading support that comes with it. Whatever support you need, there's always help on hand.
Watch more videos here
|Product Condition
|Manufacturer Warranty
|12 Months (Excluding the hotend)
|Printing Specifications
|Print size ( X Y Z )
|223 x 223 x 305 mm
|Print Speed
|30 to 300 mm/sec
|Layer Resolution
|20 microns
|Print Precision (Layer Thickness)
|0.04 mm to 0.2 mm
|Filament Diameter
|2.85 mm
|Nozzle Diameter
|0.4 mm
|Filament Compatibility
|PLA, ABS and CPE
|Mechanical Specifications
|Print Plate (Build Platform)
|Heated bed (50° - 100° C)
|Software Specifications
|3D printing Software
|CAD Input data file format supported
|Client Operating System
|Windows / Mac / Linux
|Electrical Specifications
|Power Requirements
|50 to 60 HZ, 221 Watt Max
|Connectivity (Interface)
|Stand-alone SD card printing
|Shipping specifications
|Machine weight
|12 Kg
|Shipping box weight
|21 Kg
|Machine Dimensions
|357 x 342 x 488 mm
|Shipping box dimensions
|400 x 400 x 650 mm
|Shipping Location
|Lead Time (Processing/Handling Time)
|2 Business days


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Thanks to a 30-minute freshness guarantee, Auntie Anne's donates a lot of still-good food to the community
Two embarrassing truths are at war with each other in our country right now. On one hand, we're informed, 14 billion pounds of food are sent to U.S. landfills every year. And on the other, 30 million people - 12 million of them children - go to bed hungry every night.
Meet Dennis Kwon, the owner of a pretzel business at Washington Square. At his Auntie Anne's franchise, he and his crew are doing battle with hunger one pretzel at a time.
But don't get the idea this is a small effort. The Washington Square business gives away 1,500 pretzels a week, to the Good Neighbor Center in Tigard and to the local Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
That's more than 78,000 pretzels a year.
The reason this generosity is even possible is due largely to the '30-minute freshness guarantee' that all Auntie Anne's franchises are required to follow - and the corporation has more than 1,100 locations in 44 states and more than 22 countries.
What was happening, said Kwon, sitting at a table in his store next door to Starbucks just across the way from Cinnabon, was those pretzels more than 30 minutes old were being thrown away. It just didn't make sense, he said.
'It's for a good cause - and rather than just wasting them . . . ' he said, finishing the sentence with a shrug rather than words.
Before we go any further, though, let's review what Auntie Anne's is all about. The main product is a soft, hand-rolled pretzel roughly the size of a baseball glove. They come in 'original,' 'cinnamon sugar,' 'almond,' pepperoni,' 'sour cream and onion,' 'garlic' and then the little show-off 'pretzel dog,' which is a Nathan's hot dog wrapped in Auntie Anne's dough, baked and then stashed in its own little foil blanket. The business also offers 'stix' and bite-size 'nuggets,' not to mention the array of lemonade, ice cream and other goodies.
'We have it all ready'
Kwon and his 28 employees have been doing this for years now.
'They come Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays,' said the 42-year-old businessman. 'We have it all ready. We sort it out, we bag it and keep everything straight, by date and everything.'
Near the back wall behind the counter sits a large tub containing sizeable plastic bags, where the 31-minute-old pretzels go when they are evicted from their warm, bright home up front. Each bag is labeled: one for original pretzels, one for cinnamon, sugar and almonds, another for pretzel dogs, and a fourth for the pepperoni pretzels.
As soon as the bags contain 12 items, they are transferred to the big walk-in refrigerator in back, where they wait for the thrice-weekly pick-up.
'We're kind of tucked away in the corner of the mall,' said Kwon, of the store's spot inside the south entrance close to the mall's security office. But his franchise has two secret weapons: kiosks out in the mall - one not far from See's Candies and the other near Nordstrom. And those outposts are especially good for impulse buys from passing shoppers, he said.
They're also good contributors to the 30-minute freshness rule.
Every time an employee heads out to restock the kiosks with fresh pretzel replacements, there's a good chance he or she will return with some items bound for the reject bags.
Kwon has been with Auntie Anne's since 2004 and at the Washington Square since 2007. He was working at an Auntie Anne's in Spokane when he was offered the opportunity to open a new store here, he said, so he sold the other one and took the plunge.
'It's a great thing'
'It's a really good resource for the community, and I applaud them for doing what they're doing,' said Sydney Webb, outgoing executive director of the Good Neighbor Center and a former Tigard City Council member.
Ironically, said Webb, the Monday delivery of pretzels creates a challenge for the center because the 30 bags or so it receives is more than the center's residents and staff can easily absorb.
'We share it with as many people as we can,' she said. 'But it's food, and people are hungry - so it's a great thing.'
Starbucks has a similar donation program, said Webb, adding that the Tigard center also receives food from an assortment of restaurants and stores.
'There's a whole network in this entire area that go around picking up food and bringing it back here,' Webb added. 'There's a lot of sharing in the community, and it's all really great.'
Anticipating demands
Originally from South Korea, Kwon moved to the United States with his family at age 11, first to Seattle, but, he added, they 'moved around a lot.'
He went to the University of Oregon, where he met his wife, Marielle. They graduated in 1991 and were married the same year. They spent time in Boston, where Marielle pursued her optometry degree.
Life in Spokane was going fine, said Kwon, but he added, 'We'd been wanting to come back to this area because my wife and I both graduated from the U of O,' he said.
The real trick in running a successful pretzel franchise - especially one where the difference in profit and loss is tied to a 30-minute freshness policy - is anticipating the customer demands before they happen. Simple experience helps a lot, so they know enough to boost production at lunch and dinner times and hold back a little in the slow periods.
'Then, on the weekends, we just keep making and making them.'
Most of the time, there are four to five people on the premises, he explained. On weekends, that number climbs to 'about eight in the store here and one in each kiosk.'
'We make our dough fresh every hour,' Kwon explained, showing the large bowl and mixer where the ingredients are first stirred up. Then the dough is parceled out into metal bowls and left under the counter for a prescribed period of time before being shifted to the pretzel-making area up by the front window, where passersby can watch the lightning-fast flipping and whirling that turns fat ropes of dough into the familiar pretzel knot.
'That's the very best'
From the counter, trays of the raw pretzels go into one of several small ovens that never really stop baking. At a certain interval, the tray is pulled out and spun around to ensure that everything gets browned evenly. After about five minutes in the oven, the trays are yanked, the pretzels given a fine coat of butter and stood on end to dry for a second. Then - hopefully - somebody comes along and orders one while it's still only a minute or two old.
'Ideally, you want to sell them right out of the oven,' said Kwon. 'That's the very best.'
A sign on the front counter underscores the half-hour freshness guarantee: 'We guarantee you'll love your pretzel or we'll replace it with one that you do.'
The favorite choice of Washington Square customers is the original pretzel, said Kwon. The second-best seller is the cinnamon variety.
There is, by the way, a psychological benefit to working at a business where one of the corporate policies - in this case, the donation of unused food to organizations that need it - does something good for the community. We all recognize, Kwon acknowledged, that hunger is a serious problem, in the country, in Oregon and even in relatively well-to-do Washington County.
'My employees, they're actually excited to see that we're doing something about it, as a team, as a store,' he said. 'Just having employees that are excited, I think that makes the program go a lot more smoothly.'


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african red tea exfoliating lip salvation by Ole Henriksen
i have a serious addiction to lip balm and this is not a good thing. as mentioned in henriken's blog most lip balm contains petroleum which is not absorbed by the lips. this ends up making your lips even more chapped and hence my perpetual addiction. this lip exfoliator is made to counteract all that...and the ingredients are all natural!! doesn't get much better than that does it!


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Quote:no sé que tan bien usé el condón
Quote:mi cuerpo aún no se convence y sigo presentando sudores, ganglios y una serie de dolores, que espero que se vayan algún día. Ayudaría saber de alguien que lo supero del todo.
UBB.threads 6.2.3
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General Education
Bluffton is a liberal arts university. In addition to completing a major course of studies to prepare for a career, our students also prepare for lifelong learning.
All Bluffton students complete an integrated general education program. This core program begins with First Year Seminar, a course to guide students' exploration of individual identity, and concludes with a Senior Capstone course, which addresses our role as global citizens.
In between, students develop skills in writing and reasoning, and study the world around them in interdisciplinary courses in the arts, natural science, social science, humanities and religion. They then cross boundaries into a culture different from their own by participating in a cross-cultural learning experience. This program is designed to provide a basis for success in the 21st century.
"I learned the value of persevering through unfamiliar material. I enjoyed courses
like Introduction to Biblical Literature, where I was challenged to study the Bible
in a new way. These courses challenge you to overcome obstacles and in overcoming
them, make it easier to overcome future obstacles."
Phil Wiechart, alumnus


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Comparison of BSA, NGS, and BlockAid™ Blocking Solution
Mouse cerebellum cryosections were exposed to 5 µg/mL of Alexa Fluor® 488 goat anti–mouse IgG (no other antibody was added) and blocked with 6% bovine serum albumin (BSA), 5% normal goat serum (NGS), or BlockAid™ Blocking Solution, and compared to autofluorescence. Comparable fields were imaged with a 10x objective and the same exposure time. Intensity was quantitated using threshold measurement and plotted (relative fluorescence units).


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I in no way style myself a political pundit, and for good reason. If you're interested in coverage of the historic election of Barack Obama as president, check out the New York Times's front-page article. Justin Taylor is soliciting feedback from some fine Christian thinkers; I would encourage you to read Randy Alcorn's hope-filled piece, [Read More…]
Is There a Wilberforce Out There?
Tim Keller on Ministry in a Post-Christian Culture
Manhattan pastor Tim Keller recently addressed questions related to the unique challenges of ministry in our day in an online interview. I found the link through Florida pastor's Tullian Tchividjian's excellent blog. Here's what Keller had to say about the need for revival in our day (remarks published on Darryl Dash's blog): "We live in [Read More…]
Extremely Helpful Thoughts on Whether or Not You Should Do a PhD as a Christian
Following a link from Justin Taylor, I found this blog post by Regent's John Stackhouse extremely helpful in evaluating the often confounding question of whether one should do a PhD. The article targets evangelical students who are (primarily) considering a PhD as preparation for academic ministry, but it is so broad and trenchant that it [Read More…]
Jonathan Edwards on the Pastor's Chief Responsibility
The following is from a paper I just wrote on the subject. Edwards's "Farewell Sermon", delivered in June 1750 on 2 Corinthians 1:14, presents Edwards's most extended treatment of the theology of Christian ministry, specifically, the theology of the pastorate. The following quotation captures nicely Edwards's view of his call. Ministers are set as guides [Read More…]
What We Know About Self-Control, and What This Means for Students Who Check Their Facebook Page in Class
A couple of neuroscientists published an article in the New York Times today on the biology and effect of willpower. The article, "Tighten Your Belt, Strengthen Your Mind", by Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang, gives scientific verification to a principle your grandmother has been trying to teach you for years: self-control is good for you. [Read More…]
One Thing Jeremiah Wright Has Right: The Pastor Is a Theologian (and the Theologian Is a Pastor)
There's been much to-do about Barack Obama's pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. I came across a helpful collection of resources from NPR on the theological stream in which Wright fits, the black liberationist theologians and preachers. If you have a few moments, take a listen. NPR, of course, slants strongly left, but they're well-researched. Beyond [Read More…]
When Ordinary Is Extraordinary: A Reflective Review of D. A. Carson's Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor
This is one of the best books you will ever read about the Christian ministry. That is a dramatic claim. Right now, you're asking yourself if it's true. After all, this book written by New Testament scholar D. A. Carson and published by Crossway Books in 2008 is just shy of 160 pages; it doesn't [Read More…]
Becoming a Research Assistant: Or, How to Best Pursue Your Dreams of Assistantship-Based Glory
I've done a number of internship and worked as a research assistant a few times in my young life. In fact, I've gone so far as to label myself a "career intern" due to my completion of no less than five internships to this point in my life. In the course of my glorious and [Read More…]


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Posts filed under 'BP / Gulf Oil Disaster'
Outrageous: Louisiana's Republican Governor Signs Bill Blocking Lawsuits Against Oil and Gas Companies
Wow, what hutzpah and what a huge middle finger to all the people, animals, sea creatures and land damaged or destroyed by British Petroleum (BP) and oil companies past, present and future. Talk about a corporatocracy. This is just sickening. Talk about outrage overload:
Rejecting the advice of his own attorney general and dozens of legal scholars, Louisiana governor and potential presidential contender Bobby Jindal effectively blocked a New Orleans-area levee board from suing oil and gas companies for allegedly destroying the state's coasts – and in so doing, may have also derailed state and local claims against BP for damages and tax revenue lost following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Don Briggs, president of the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association, was also quoted in the statement distributed by the governor's office, hailing the measure as a "huge victory for the oil and gas industry."
The law, SB 469, essentially bars a levee district in New Orleans' East Bank – the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East, or SLFPA-E – from pressing forward in its lawsuit against 97 oil and gas companies, which it blames for exposing New Orleans to catastrophic damage from hurricanes Rita and Katrina by cutting thousands of miles of pipes and canals through sensitive barrier islands and wetlands that otherwise would have protected the coastal city.
The lawsuit, filed last summer, sought to force energy companies to restore the wetlands, fill in the canals, and pay for past damages.
"We are looking to the industry to fix the part of the problem that they created," SLFPA-E vice president John Barry told the Times-Picayune last year. "We're not asking them to fix everything. We only want them to address the part of the problem that they created."
Impeach the bastard for crimes against humanity and nature. Not only that, what, he wants to use taxpayer dollars to clean-up BP's mess? What, he probably doesn't care about clean-up at all.
Everyone in the country, er, the world needs to know about this. This is what politicians who are owned by oil and gas companies do.
We're Romanticizing Oil Spills? Really?
The most destructive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico ever, after which people and animals are still suffering is mesmerizingly beautiful?
Really? Is that where we are? Is that what we've become? People who see beauty in oil spills?
OMG, Solar Already!
Geezus can we please, please, please ween ourselves off of oil already:
BP is leading an industry-wide push to develop technology that can retrieve oil from formations that are so deep under the sea floor, and under such high pressure and temperature, that conventional equipment would melt or be crushed by the conditions.
One BP field in the Gulf of Mexico, called Tiber, makes the Macondo field that the Deepwater Horizon rig was probing look like simple puddle of oil. It is thought to hold twenty times the amount of oil as Macondo. At 35,000 feet below the sea floor _ 6.6 miles into the earth's crust _ it is about twice as deep.
There's an extraordinary amount of oil in similar discoveries around the world, several of which are controlled by BP. But BP first must figure out how to get it. New equipment, including blowout preventers far stronger than the one that failed on the Deepwater Horizon, must be developed. Then BP must convince regulators it can tap this oil safely.
Another disaster could threaten BP's existence, but success could restore the company's fortunes _ and perhaps its reputation. "There's 10 to 20 billion barrels of oil just for BP in this," says Kevin Kennelly, who runs BP's global technology operations. At today's prices, that's worth up to $2 trillion.
$2 trillion and the potential destruction of the environment but oh well, money's all that matters.
We are insane.
BP Execs Tried to Blame Blue-Collar Rig Workers for Oil Spill
BP executives wanted to concentrate blame for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster on "blue collar rig workers" in order to save themselves, U.S. government lawyers wrote in a court document that until Thursday was partially redacted.
According to the newly public and complete version of the court document, Justice Department lawyers are taking an even harsher tone against BP Plc for the 2010 oil spill than previously thought, invoking the language of class conflict.
The August 31 document from the Justice Department was already notable for its strong wording about what the government considers gross negligence on the part of the London-based oil giant and its management.
Government lawyers charge that the internal inquiry, run by BP executive Mark Bly, ignored embarrassing emails from drilling supervisors that preceded the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 people.
"Bly and BP's management in London purposefully limited the investigation by excluding any of the systemic management failures that led to the disaster," the lawyers wrote.
They continued: "This was a decision designed to ensure that the public and legal lines of accountability would be focused exclusively on blue collar rig workers and other contractor/defendants – but at all cost, not upon BP management and the inexplicable behaviors that coursed through the pages" of the internal BP emails.
This isn't all that surprising in and of itself — typical corporate behavior — but coupled with BP asking we taxpayers to pay for the cleanup, BP attempting to bribe politicians with tickets to NBA games, BP getting caught dumping sand on top of oil covered beaches in Louisiana, BP burning turtles alive that could have been saved and BP's CEO Tony Hayward going yachting while oil was still spewing into the Gulf, this company, that wants us to think of it as ecologically sensitive and cool and hip, this company is truly despicable.
And to think they were the #1 sponsor of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Trying to make us think they care about people and the planet and getting along and all that.
If I ever run across BP in person, since corporations are people after all, I might just spit in BP's face.
There's no End to BP's Exploitation of the Gulf Coast
While McDonald's will remain king of the chips at the London 2012 Olympic Games, BP has charged itself with delivering the culinary "spirit of the Gulf". The Louisiana Office of Tourism announced this week that the oil company would be hosting a series of events for Team USA that will pair three Gulf coast bands with chefs from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida preparing "the world's freshest and best-tasting seafood".
No doubt Team USA will enjoy the New Orleans jazz and Cajun food on offer, but it's more than a little troubling that, after the 2010 Gulf oil spill, BP has co-opted the phrase "spirit of the Gulf" as a promotional device to position itself as the gatekeeper to the region's culture and cuisine.
Back in the Olympics PR world, Crystal Ashby, BP's vice-president of government and public affairs, tells us: "BP is proud to use the power of the London 2012 Olympic Games as another way to promote the Gulf coast, draw new visitors to the region and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the community."
In the light of the Louisiana memorial's litany of loss, it's hard to say exactly how BP has promoted the Gulf Coast. Ravaging ecosystems and destroying community livelihoods, though, probably wouldn't make the list.
This Olympic marketing move looks, at best, horrifically ironic and, at worst, like rubbing salt (or should I say oil?) in the wound.
No kidding.
BP Named Official Sponsor of the UK's "Greenest Ever" Olympics
I don't know whether to laugh or cry:
It was billed as the "greenest Games ever." Hailed as the most environmentally friendly Olympics since the Greeks raced chariots through the streets of Athens (or some such equally ridiculous claim). In 2007, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) – with then-Prime Minister Tony Blair's full support – promised to ensure preparations for the London 2012 summer Olympics would be made with unprecedented deference to environmentalism and sustainable development. Well, as it turns out, the only thing that has been sustained is a sham of monstrous proportions – a fraud that should make any sensible human being bloody furious.
You see, all that tough environmental talk and all those lofty goals of sustainable development have been completely undercut (and even mocked) by one singularly thoughtless, contradictory act: Signing BP as the official "Sustainability Partner" of London 2012.
How sublime. The Brits pick as a major sponsor of the greenest Games since who knows when the perpetrator of the worst oil spill in U.S. history – a devastating environmental disaster that continues to wreak havoc on the Gulf Coast and its weary residents. BP is truly the perfect ambassador. When I "think green" the first thing that leaps to my mind is 205 million gallons of Louisiana sweet crude spewing into the loins of the Gulf of Mexico.
This is truly astonishing. Even if the London Olympics weren't being billed as the "greenest Games ever," it is an abomination that BP would be picked as an official anything for any event. They should be shunned.
Geezus. Awful.
Hillary Clinton's Pants Are on Fire
They think we're total idiots. I.e., I don't believe this for a second (i.e., filed under Dumbed Down and They Think We're Idiots):
Clinton says TransCanada working to upgrade safety of oil pipeline from Canada to Texas
A Canadian company that hopes to pipe oil from western Canada to Texas is working with U.S. officials to develop safety standards beyond those required by law, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday.
The new standards should ensure that if a permit for the 1,900-mile pipeline is issued, "the project will be as safe as it could possibly be," Clinton said.
"We've been clear from the beginning that the safety of the pipeline is one of our highest priorities," said Clinton, who is expected to decide on the project by the end of the year.
The State Department has authority over the pipeline because it crosses an international boundary.
Among other changes, the company has agreed to build the pipeline 4 feet below ground, instead of 3 feet…
Email this to your grandkids and ask them to bookmark it and read it again in 10 years. By then, advanced countries (those who are, today, weaning themselves of oil) will be living off of renewable energy and the U.S. will be creaking along, tearing up its national parks and wildlands for any shred of oil it can find. And, sadly, it will be dealing with oil spills because, as is true today, the people who are in charge of monitoring this shit are in bed with the oil companies.
So, hey Hillary, sounds good but I know better.


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Best camera ever: Woman thought she lost her Hawaiian vacation photos forever when her camera floated away. Not so! Camera just took a detour- 5,000 miles worth – turned up in Taiwan. Waterproof case worked and photos were fine. I smell a new ad campaign.
Ouch: Forbes story on the $20 million severance to outgoing American CEO Tom Horton is called "Paid to Fail", characterizes the bonus as "bogus" and an "obscenity" adds, "Horton wasn't even a real CEO. He was but a caretaker of a failed enterprise."
Delta's $3,700 box of chocolates: At least, that's what one report says they cost with miles. Kind of makes those fancy first class seats sound downright cheap.
Attention all hackers: The Dept. of Homeland Security – overseers of the TSA – wants you to combat "new and rapidly growing threats" via cyberattacks. Then when you're done saving the world, take a break – with a nice cheap flight.
End of World Peace? Injury to Lakers forward Metta may sideline him for the rest of the season. We only mention it because Delta Air Lines is a "proud sponsor" of the LA team.
Worst passenger: Gadling's resident stew says it's the guy who removes a bag from the bin to make room for his own, then dumps the other in the aisle (happened 3 times in Feb.) – and here we thought it was those screaming kids planes.
Passenger shaming: If you like Dog Shaming, you're going to love this site featuring photos of airline passengers doing stupid stuff.
Aching at O'Hare: 9 passengers at the Chicago airport had to be hospitalized after complaining about nausea. Can't blame airline food for this one since there are no meals in coach anymore.
Headline of the day: Again, from Time mag – "Southwest Airlines: We're Not Really about Cheap Flights Anymore". Look at the airline's new video and tell us what you think.
Best of Twitter: Well, the best according to Time mag anyway – and it includes Anthony Bourdain (we've written about him!) but astoundingly, no @RickSeaney.
Pay-by-the-pound: Another study says fat passengers should pay more than skinny ones but our Rick Seaney says, eh, don't hold your breath. What does Southwest think? Goodness knows they've ditched their share of 'too fat to fly' passengers.
Butterflies are free: They are at Singapore's Changi Airport which has seen a near 10% increase in passengers this winter – perhaps drawn by the colorful 'butterfly habitat' exhibit.
Freakjet photo of the day: Find the puppy.


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Lamb, mutton, and hogget (UK, New Zealand and Australia) are the meat of domestic sheep. The meat of a sheep in its first year is lamb; that of a juvenile sheep older than one year is hogget; and the meat of an adult sheep is mutton.
lamb n 1: young sheep 2: English essayist (1775-1834) [syn: {Charles Lamb}, {Elia}] 3: a person easily deceived or cheated (especially in financial matters) 4: a sweet innocent mild-mannered person (especially a child) [syn: {dear}] 5: the flesh of a young domestic sheep eaten as food v : give birth to a lamb; "the ewe lambed"
114 Moby Thesaurus words for "lamb": agneau, angel, babe, baby, baby-doll, bairn, bellwether, birdling, breast of lamb, buttercup, calf, catling, cherub, chick, chickabiddy, chickling, chicky, child, child of nature, chit, colt, cub, darling, dear, deary, dogie, doll, dove, duck, duckling, dupe, ewe, ewe lamb, fawn, fledgling, foal, fryer, gigot, gosling, hick, hon, honey, honey bunch, honey child, infant, ingenue, innocent, jambe de mouton, jumbuck, kid, kit, kitten, lambkin, leg of lamb, leg of mutton, litter, little bugger, little fellow, little guy, little innocent, little one, little tad, little tot, lout, love, lover, mere child, mite, mouton, mutton, nest, nestling, newborn babe, nipper, noble savage, oaf, offspring, peewee, pet, petkins, piglet, pigling, polliwog, precious, precious heart, pullet, pup, puppy, ram, rube, saddle of mutton, shaver, sheep, shoat, simple soul, snookums, sugar, sweet, sweetheart, sweetie, sweetkins, sweets, tad, tadpole, teg, tot, tup, unsophisticate, weaner, wee tot, wether, whelp, yeanling, yokel
Lamb \Lamb\, n. [AS. lamb; akin to D. & Dan. lam, G. & Sw. lamm, OS., Goth., & Icel. lamb.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) The young of the sheep. [1913 Webster] 2. Any person who is as innocent or gentle as a lamb. [1913 Webster] 3. A simple, unsophisticated person; in the cant of the Stock Exchange, one who ignorantly speculates and is victimized. [1913 Webster] {Lamb of God}, {The Lamb} (Script.), the Jesus Christ, in allusion to the paschal lamb. [1913 Webster] The twelve apostles of the Lamb. --Rev. xxi. 14. [1913 Webster] Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. --John i. 29. {Lamb's lettuce} (Bot.), an annual plant with small obovate leaves ({Valerianella olitoria}), often used as a salad; corn salad. [Written also {lamb lettuce}.] {Lamb's tongue}, a carpenter's plane with a deep narrow bit, for making curved grooves. --Knight. {Lamb's wool}. (a) The wool of a lamb. (b) Ale mixed with the pulp of roasted apples; -- probably from the resemblance of the pulp of roasted apples to lamb's wool. [Obs.] --Goldsmith. [1913 Webster]
Lamb \Lamb\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Lambed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Lambing}.] To bring forth a lamb or lambs, as sheep. [1913 Webster]
Lamb, KY Zip code(s): 42155
Lamb (1.) Heb. kebes, a male lamb from the first to the third year. Offered daily at the morning and the evening sacrifice (Ex. 29:38-42), on the Sabbath day (Num. 28:9), at the feast of the New Moon (28:11), of Trumpets (29:2), of Tabernacles (13-40), of Pentecost (Lev. 23:18-20), and of the Passover (Ex. 12:5), and on many other occasions (1 Chr. 29:21; 2 Chr. 29:21; Lev. 9:3; 14:10-25). (2.) Heb. taleh, a young sucking lamb (1 Sam. 7:9; Isa. 65:25). In the symbolical language of Scripture the lamb is the type of meekness and innocence (Isa. 11:6; 65:25; Luke 10:3; John 21:15). The lamb was a symbol of Christ (Gen. 4:4; Ex. 12:3; 29:38; Isa. 16:1; 53:7; John 1:36; Rev. 13:8). Christ is called the Lamb of God (John 1:29, 36), as the great sacrifice of which the former sacrifices were only types (Num. 6:12; Lev. 14:12-17; Isa. 53:7; 1 Cor. 5:7).
Lamb, mutton, and hogget (UK, New Zealand and Australia) are the meat of domestic sheep. The meat of a sheep in its first year is lamb; that of a juvenile sheep older than one year is hogget; and the meat of an adult sheep is mutton.
mutton n 1: meat from a mature domestic sheep [syn: {mouton}] 2: the square of a body of any size of type [syn: {em}, {mut}]
20 Moby Thesaurus words for "mutton": agneau, bellwether, breast of lamb, ewe, ewe lamb, gigot, jambe de mouton, jumbuck, lamb, lambkin, leg of lamb, leg of mutton, mouton, ram, saddle of mutton, sheep, teg, tup, wether, yeanling
Mutton \Mut"ton\, n. [OE. motoun, OF. moton, molton, a sheep, wether, F. mouton, LL. multo, by transposition of l fr. L. mutilus mutilated. See {Mutilate}.] 1. A sheep. [Obs.] --Chapman. [1913 Webster] Not so much ground as will feed a mutton. --Sir H. Sidney. [1913 Webster] Muttons, beeves, and porkers are good old words for the living quadrupeds. --Hallam. [1913 Webster] 2. The flesh of a sheep. [1913 Webster] The fat of roasted mutton or beef. --Swift. [1913 Webster] 3. A loose woman; a prostitute. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] {Mutton bird} (Zo["o]l.), the Australian short-tailed petrel ({Nectris brevicaudus}). {Mutton chop}, a rib of mutton for broiling, with the end of the bone at the smaller part chopped off. {Mutton fish} (Zo["o]l.), the American eelpout. See {Eelpout}. {Mutton fist}, a big brawny fist or hand. [Colloq.] --Dryden. {Mutton monger}, a pimp. [Low & Obs.] --Chapman. {To return to one's muttons}. [A translation of a phrase from a farce by De Brueys, revenons [`a] nos moutons let us return to our sheep.] To return to one's topic, subject of discussion, etc. [Humorous] [1913 Webster] I willingly return to my muttons. --H. R. Haweis. [1913 Webster]


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Millwall have banned a 13-year-old fan for racially abusing a Bolton Wanderers player during a Championship (second division) match last month and will assist in the boy's rehabilitation.
"Having completed our investigations into the incident, we have identified and interviewed a 13-year-old boy who admitted a verbal exchange with Marvin Sordell in which abuse was used," Millwall said in a statement.
"The individual has been banned from Millwall matches for the foreseeable future, but as a club we also felt, given the boy's age and background, we had a duty to play our part in attempting to educate and rehabilitate him."
The London club said the teenager, who has written to Sordell apologising, had been offered a place on an educational programme "in the hope that we can change his outlook on equality, racism and life in general."


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Hello Festus, Welcome.
This is a discussion on Howdy from Utah within the New Members Introduce Yourself forums, part of the Welcome To DefensiveCarry.com category; Hi I'm festus and I'm a gunaholic! I am glad to be here. Festus...
Hi I'm festus and I'm a gunaholic!
I am glad to be here.
Hello Festus, Welcome.
quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Hi and welcome
Chris - P95
NRA Certified Instructor & NRA Life Member.
"To own a gun and assume that you are armed
is like owning a piano and assuming that you are a musician!."
http://www.rkba-2a.com/ - a portal for 2A links, articles and some videos.
It is good to see some a lot of the PDO crowd here. It is much more polite than the soup sandwich PDO has become.
in omnia paratus
Festus, Here you can agree to disagree, And not get Z-bombed or
cussed at . Much more polite here.
quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
An armed society is a polite society.
in omnia paratus
Hey, Festus, welcome to the forum. I'm probably telling my age here, but I can resist. Are Marshall Dillion and Doc gonna be joining us as well?
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe. Albert Einstein
Not if I can help it...they left with Miss Kitty and I had to pick up the tab.
in omnia paratus
And a good sense of humor to boot. Welcome, festus.Originally Posted by festus
eschew obfuscation
The only thing that stops bad guys with guns is good guys with guns. SgtD
EOD - Initial success or total failure
Liberty Over Tyranny Μολὼν λαβέ
Hello from North Texas. Welcome to the forum. You're in the right place for a gunaholic.
For those who understand, no explanation is necessary.
For those who don't understand, no explanation is possible.
Welcome from the Panhandle of Texas
Certified Glock Armorer
NRA RSO, Instructor
Independence is declared; it must be maintained. Sam Houston-3/2/1836
If loose gun laws are good for criminals why do criminals support gun control?


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Allergy in a Nut Shell
The aim of this short book is to explain the basic concepts of food allergy.
The aim of this short book is to explain the basic concepts of food allergy.
What we are aiming to do is ask you to take a moment out of your day to give some thought for food you are eating
Vanilla beans are a wonderful and versatile thing.
They say that having a little bit of what you fancy does you good.....
Special care must be taken when cooking with microwaves
Many people have used low carb diets in order to lose the extra weight.
As a parent, you might feel that you're fighting a losing battle....
Eating raw food is the best way of improving your health and for losing weight.
Farming and food production have perhaps never been under greater pressure.
Hyperactivity food experiment tests childrens' reaction to high sugar intake


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Opinion: Romney and Obama Need to Cool their Jets on Iran
I came away from the third presidential debate more scared than ever of the prospect that the United States will be involved in another war in the Mideast in less than a year.
Despite the lip service President Obama and Mitt Romney paid to diplomacy and sanctions, both made it clear they will take the country to war, if and when Israel decides that Iran's nuclear program has reached the critical point.
Yes, both candidates also said military action is the last resort. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is running out of patience, and he has not been shy about pushing Obama into a corner, with his insistence on "red lines" to define at what point the U.S. would support an assault on Iran.
Obama had previously resisted such displays of machismo, but in the last debate he felt it necessary to inch closer to a red line: "We're not going to allow Iran to perpetually engage in negotiations that lead nowhere. And I've been very clear to them, you know, because of the intelligence coordination that we do with a range of countries, including Israel, we have a sense of when they would get breakout capacity, which means that we would not be able to intervene in time to stop their nuclear program, and that clock is ticking."
Not long after that statement, Romney declared: "Let me also note that the greatest threat that the world faces, the greatest national security threat, is a nuclear Iran."
It's not hard to imagine a US-Israeli strike against Iran spilling over into the broader Mideast. Certainly Iran would retaliate, and many analysts have warned of the likelihood of Hezbollah and/or Hamas launching attacks on Israel in support of Iran's efforts. With civil war raging in Syria, potentially drawing both Turkey and Lebanon into that conflict, the only question could become how deeply the United States would get involved.
Obama and Romney have both vowed to "stand with Israel," making it difficult to imagine that the U.S. role could be limited to bombing a few Iranian nuclear sites and flying home unscathed. All of these regional conflicts would be viewed as threatening to Israel, and therefore to us. There is hope, of course, that the proverbial cooler heads in government will prevail, but all of this saber-rattling by the presidential candidates, their Congressional allies, and Netanyahu cannot possibly make that prospect more likely.
It is extremely disappointing that Obama chose the debate as an opportunity to turn up the heat, rather than damp it down. Instead of vowing that Iran would never get a nuke with him in the White House, he might have cited the opinion of his top general, who has said a premature Israeli strike against Iran might be both dangerous and ineffective. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, believes an Israeli attack might delay Iran's nuclear program but would probably fail to shut it down. As reported by The Guardian, Dempsey added, "I don't want to be complicit if they choose to do it."
I would have felt more reassured if Obama and Romney had similarly tried to throw cold water on the idea of attacking Iran, rather than guarantee the U.S. would defend Israel. After all, the world knew before the debate that America will staunchly support Israel. Why not provide some leadership in the effort to negotiate with Iran, rather than pile on more threats?
It's also unfortunate that Obama (not to mention his opponent or scores of Congressmen) continually chooses to advance the misconception that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has the authority to order a strike against Israel, nuclear or conventional. Under the Iranian system of government, the commander in chief of the armed forces is not the president but the "supreme leader," Ayatollah Kahmenei. The ayatollah can also veto any laws passed by the parliament. Ahmadinejad can rant all day about wiping Israel off the map, but he lacks any authority to try do so.
Obama and Romney both know this very well, but many Americans do not, hence all the talk here about Ahmadinejad posing an existential threat to Israel. One hopes war can be avoided at least until next June, when Ahmadinejad will be leaving office, having completed his third and final term. Whatever else Ayatollah Kahmenei may be, he's apparently not as crazy as Ahmadinejad; he knows Israel has a nuclear arsenal and that it is quite capable of responding in kind to a nuclear strike from Iran.
Certainly a nuclear-armed Iran would make the region more dangerous, to Israel and all of its neighbors, but neither U.S. presidential candidate has made a convincing case for a preventive strike.


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Call for Papers
The Scientific Programme Committee encourages you to submit your abstracts for FCEI 2014 "Forging Global Collaboration". The abstracts should be written in English, the official language of the event.
Types of Contributions
Oral/Signed Presentations
Poster Presentation
Due to a limited number of oral/signed presentation slots the Scientific Programme Committee reserves the right to decide on the final mode of presentation.
Submission Guidelines for Oral/Signed and Poster PresentationsAbstract Submission
Abstracts should only be submitted electronically to email@example.com
If possible, abstracts should be based on any of the following topic areas:
The authors should indicate their presentation preference:


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With 1.7 million freelancers, we'll match you with the perfect talent.
I have started as a journalist in 1996, writing about the activity of the trade unions in Romania and public local administration. I published over 500 articles, some of them on the 1st page of the daily newspaper I worked for. I graduated the BBC TV journalism course in 1999. Starting 2000, I have worked as a public relation specialist, mainly in the press relation field. I wrote ready-to-publish articles, press releases and newsletters. I like to write on different topics because it supposes searching and new and interesting things to be...Read More »


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St. Mary's, located in the heart of Bolton, is one of the oldest Episcopal churches in Hinds County. As early as 1855, Bishop William Mercer Green, the first bishop of Mississippi, celebrated the Holy Eucharist in Bolton. Following the service, Bishop Green wrote in his journal: "The day was pleasant and I found, on my arrival, a large congregation of blacks as well as whites comfortably seated under the cotton shed. The crude extemporary seats were covered with clean cotton bagging and set on a triple tier of bales."
The cotton-shed service compelled local villagers to work for the establishment of an Episcopal Church in Bolton. On April 8th, 1872, members of the vestry signed articles related to the organization of St. Mary's Church. Four years later the church was built and the first service in the new church was held April 10th, 1876, with Bishop Green officiating.
The Collect for the occasion proclaimed: "O most glorious God, whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain; Graciously accept the Dedication of this place to thy service; and grant that all who shall call upon thee here may worship thee in spirit and in truth, and may their lives show forth thy praise: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen"
Bishop Green later made note of the historic service in his journal: "Preached at Bolton in their new and beautiful church, which, though in an unfinished state, may claim, both in design and workmanship, to be an ornament to the Diocese, and a monument in praise of the taste and labor of the builders."
After being closed for nearly two decades, St. Mary's doors were opened on September 12, 2010, the Holy Eucharist was celebrated. The Reverend Billie Abraham, rector of St. Alban's Episcopal Church at Bovina, officiated. Since then, St. Mary's has been named a Mission Station of St. Alban's Episcopal Church at Bovina. The occasion was celebrated at the 185th Annual Council.
St. Mary's has iniated the Second Sunday Series where quality preformances by local musical and/or lectures and celebration of the Eucharist have filled the church to capacity.


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After weeks of watching their season slowly slip away, Jets fans finally got the change they wanted under center. With Gang Green needing to win their remaining five games to even have a prayer of seeing January football, Mark Sanchez was finally pulled after another horrible outing in favor of third string quarterback, Greg McElroy.
It only took McElroy one series to get six up on No. 6.
McElroy entered the game with 60,000 rabid Jets fans loudly applauding the quarterback change. The ovation put the stamp in Rex Ryan's mind that his fanbase had finally had enough of the inconsistent starter. McElroy returned his coach's faith in him by leading the Jets on a 10-play drive that ended with a 1-yard pass to a wide-open Jeff Cumberland. The points proved to be all the Jets needed as they escaped Sunday's ugly contest by a final of 7-6.
"It's just something that I sensed, that I felt," Ryan said. "When you're around this game long enough, you get that feeling that, 'You know what? I've seen enough, and it's time to make that change.'"
Sanchez dug himself into a hole early throwing three interceptions in the first five drives, including his first pass of the game. He failed to advance the ball more than 100 yards in his three quarters of play and finished the day with less than 50% completions. After McElroy ended the scoring drought, the writing on the wall was set for the end of the Sanchez era in New York. One need only hear Ryan's postgame comments to sense the dwindling faith that he has in a player that he has defended most often.
"I'll let you guys know who's going to be the quarterback when I'm ready," Ryan said. "We'll evaluate our situation as the week goes on. … Right now I'm just happy with the win."
GWR bring's you the Week 13 installment of "Greats and Goats".
Greg McElroy, QB
- Given the fact that McElroy had limited snaps in practice this week, he succeeded in the area that Sanchez failed. After capping his first regular season drive with a touchdown, McElroy effectively ended Sanchez's day and created another quarterback controversy for the Jets. Finishing the day 5 of 7 for 29 yards and a score, the Jets looked better after the change and responded well to the young Alabama alum.
New York Jets Defense
- The defense came up in a big way on Sunday and kept the team in the game the entire way. It was a defensive clinic at MetLife as the Jets didn't allow any flow for the Arizona offense. They kept the Cardinals to under 150 total yards offense (2.5 yards per offensive play), limited them to just five first-downs, and succeeded in stopping all third-down conversions. The defense showed why they are still an elite force in the NFL.
Shonn Greene and Bilal Powell, RB - Two bright spots for the struggling offense were the running back tandem of Greene and Powell. Greene rushed for over 100 yards and Powell for over 50. Together they contributed to over half of the total net yards that the Jets racked up on the day.
Mark Sanchez, QB
- The biggest goat of them all proved once again that he cannot live up to the pressure as a starting quarterback. He threw three interceptions in five drives and was held to just under 100 passing yards. Coupled with the horrible performance last week that included butt-gate and you have a serious debate about who will be under center next week against Jacksonville.
Nick Folk, K
- The Jets kicker failed to convert his two field goal attempts today. He will have to prove to be more consistent in case he needs to come up big in the final four must-win games.


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Channel Sonia Rykiel's quirky-cool aesthetic in this playfully printed cotton-jersey tee. Pick out the sparkling crystal embellishment by teaming yours with glitter-finish pumps for the perfect high-low mix.
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- - Ecru cotton-jersey
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